At its meeting on Monday, March 3, the Hillsdale City Council approved funding for various projects, and discussed whether it should continue to provide live video of meetings.
First, the council approved 7-0 a bond issue for the Hillsdale Community Health Center, to pay for its recent renovations. The bond issue does not involve any government money, according to City Manager Linda Brown.
Next, the council discussed whether to renew funding for Dial-A-Ride, a service that provides low-cost transportation to residents, for the upcoming fiscal year. The city pays $54,000 per year for the service, out of a total cost of $336,100, with the rest covered by a combination of state and federal grants and ride fares, according to Councilperson Mary Wolfram.
Councilperson Sullivan said that he was concerned about possible grant reductions due to the “sequester,” but Brown said that she did not know what effect the sequester could have.
“I’m not sure if there will be an effect,” Brown said. “There are many divisions of [Michigan Department of Transportation].”
Wolfram said that providing the service is pretty cheap for Hillsdale on average, costing the city itself only $1.80 per ride.
Judy Buzo, dispatcher and coordinator for Dial-a-Ride in Hillsdale, said that it is worth preserving.
“I have one lady in the Hillsdale High-Rise with just one leg,” she said. “She’s so grateful to be able to go – she just breaks your heart.”
Judy also said that the small amount the city pays for Dial-a-Ride means a lot to all of its users. The council approved funding, 7-0.
The council also voted on renewing the city’s contract with Cintas, a uniform and corporate supply company. Brown said that, after discovering the rate the city was getting from Cintas was more competitive than that offered by similar companies, she recommended renewal. The council approved, 7-0.
Finally, the council discussed an internal matter: whether to continue recording and providing live feed of its meetings. Councilperson Brian Watkins said that a cost-benefit analysis was in order.
“If it’s not being used, we don’t want to keep paying for it,” he said.
Mayor Doug Moon said that he agreed.
“If we’re not getting viewers, that’s $1,000 a month that could be spent better elsewhere,” he said. “If we’re using it, great. If not, let’s reappropriate it.”
Brown said that the video feed doesn’t save her or her staff any time. But Watkins said that it has at least one effect.
“Since we’ve started showing these meetings online, we’ve had, on average, smaller turnout,” he said. jbutler@hillsdale.edu