Latest news with #Aldermen
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Efforts to make Manchester schools a city department get new life
An effort to ask Manchester voters if they support making the school district a department of the city — a topic debated on and off for decades — has new life. Mayor Jay Ruais broke a 7-7 tie Tuesday night when he voted to send a request — to look at either making the Manchester School District a city department or granting the mayor the power to set the district's budget — to the aldermanic Committee on Administration/Information Systems later this month, ahead of possible placement on the November election ballot. Voting in favor were aldermen Chris Morgan, Ross Terrio, Ed Sapienza, Norm Vincent, Kelly Thomas, Joe Kelly Levasseur and Crissy Kantor. Ruais said he recently spoke with the City Clerk's Office and several department heads on how such a change would impact them. 'The easiest thing to do would be, on the budget side, to give the mayor — whomever that is — budget authority,' Ruais said. 'Merging the entirety of the school district and the city beyond just the budget would require potentially 14 changes to the charter." He suggested that the administration committee come up with a recommendation about the best direction to pursue. For the matter to appear on a municipal ballot this November, aldermen will need to take a final vote by June 3. 'This would be a pretty significant lift, and I just think if we're going to do this, we should do it thoughtfully and substantively and go through the committee process,' Ruais said. Similar efforts have fallen short over the past 20 years. In April 2017, Levasseur proposed putting a question on the ballot that, if passed, would have put aldermen in charge of school finances. That motion initially passed, but a few weeks later aldermen voted to reconsider, ultimately rejecting Levasseur's original motion. Levasseur said the school district would have better supervision and oversight as a city department. More than 20 years ago, the school district filed a petition to determine whether it was a city department. According to Judge Joseph Nadeau's ruling, the 'school district functions as a substantially independent governmental entity' and was not a city department and not under the control of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. In 2001, voters passed by 4,000 votes a city charter amendment changing the school district to a city department. That amendment was later struck down by the courts, which ruled that it violated state law. The Legislature changed the law in 2003, but attempts to hold another charter vote have foundered — as in 2011, when aldermen voted against scheduling a required public hearing that would put the issue back before voters. pfeely@
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germantown looking to repeal holiday decoration ordinance
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — The city of Germantown is taking steps to repeal a city-wide ordinance on holiday decorations. This comes as the city faces a lawsuit after a woman said her First Amendment rights were violated after receiving a fine for displaying Halloween decorations on Christmas. 'This ordinance repeal, it's not going to remove the important framework that preserves the integrity of our neighborhoods, not in its entirety,' said Germantown's Vice Mayor, Mary Anne Gibson. The Germantown Board of Mayor and Alderman approved the first measure to repeal a city-wide holiday or seasonal decoration ordinance. Germantown drops citation for holiday decorations Right now, the rules limit the time a person can have decorations up 45 days before the intended occasion or 30 days after. Outside that time, decorations would have to come down. 'I do have some legal concerns about the seasonal decoration ordinance, and based on those, I would recommend that the ordinance as written be repealed,' City Attorney David Goodman said. Alexis Luttrell, the woman who filed the lawsuit, alleges her First Amendment right to free speech was violated. She argued that her skeleton decorations could be used outside of Halloween. 'That's not something that I'd do necessarily, but it was something,' said Germantown resident Reggie Raney. 'I did see the article and was like, that's silly.' Raney said her family is huge fans of Halloween and recalls that during COVID, decorations, whether seasonal or holiday, were up earlier than usual. 'We are charged,' Gibson said. 'Our mission is to promote and preserve the integrity of our residential neighborhoods.' Germantown's Board of Aldermen said while a total repeal is not in the books, they are concerned about the city losing its charm. Germantown considers getting rid of ordinance at center of skeleton decorations lawsuit 'I think most residents appreciate that Germantown is Germantown,' Raney said. The next reading is now set for April 14. 'We encourage all residents to come and attend that meeting and speak on the record if they choose to,' said Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo. The City of Germantown is still facing a lawsuit for the seasonal decoration ordinance. A scheduling conference is set for the end of April. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
