Councilor resigns

Departure of Pat Lang creates another vacancy on Union City Council

The Union City Council voted to accept the resignation of long-term councilor Pat Lang on Monday. 

The council already had one vacancy, which was advertised but had no applicants. The city will elect three councilors in November. The mayor’s position is also up for election. 

Lang said, “I’ve worked hard to get the communication between the schools and the council back to a good level,” and she urged the remaining councilors to continue that precedent.

City Administrator Sandra Patterson said packets for those seeking election Nov. 6 would be prepared July 1 to be due Aug. 30.

Union city councilors on Monday unanimously adopted a $2.8 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The budget had been worked out over a series of meetings of a committee of citizens and councilors over the past two months.

The council also voted to approve the results of the library levy vote in May, clearing the way for the city to levy a property tax exclusively to fund library operations.

Voters approved by a vote of 407 to 218 to allow the city to levy about 45 cents on each $1,000 of property value over the next five years.

Bob Joseph spoke to the council about Union’s lack of any ordinances about dogs barking, saying he has had a persistent problem with a neighbor’s dog waking him at night.

He objected to the city’s referring all animal complaints to Union County Animal Control, which he said was not effective at resolving his complaint.

Both Patterson and Mayor Bill Lindsley explained the city did not have the resources or staff to enforce any animal city ordinances and agreed to meet privately with Joseph.

Patterson also asked the council to consider soon an ordinance to give the city power to condemn property abandoned and neglected by owners because of maintenance costs currently incurred by the city in such cases.

Included in the report from Union Fire Chief Keith Montgomery was that truck 72 had failed its annual pump test.