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EAST LIVERPOOL — With the blessing of council Monday night, East Liverpool Mayor Jim Swoger said he will head to the bank this morning and complete the paperwork for a new police cruiser. Even though the city took delivery of the fleet vehicle on Sept. 9 from Grand Ford, the paperwork for the loan had not been processed. Monday night’s action by council finalized the deal. By a vote of 6-1, council authorized the $28,500 in financing for the purchase. “I intend to be at the bank early in the morning and deliver the checks in the afternoon,” Mayor Jim Swoger said after the council session. In the meantime, Swoger got the car and parked it at City Hall Monday morning. The car was with Capt. Norm Curtis who is also owner of NGC Services which installs radios, lightbars and other equipment under a contract with Grand Ford. Curtis has not yet been paid for outfitting the fleet vehicle. Mike Severs, the head of Grand Ford, said the entire situation was blown out of proportion, and the dealership had no plans to take back the vehicle. “We’ve done business with the city for years,” Severs said. “We had no worries or concerns about not being paid. This is the way the matter gets handled with legislation, and we understand that.” Swoger admitted last week that the delay was unusual and unfortunate. “This is not solely council’s fault,” the mayor said Friday. “It was a combined effort of failures, but this is where the blame comes, and I understand that. I don’t have to like the situation we face - I just have to get it dealt with. We need to find out where we failed and correct the situation.” From now on, Swoger said funding issues like loans will be handled in one or two pieces of legislation instead of three or four. The separation is partially responsible for the delay, Swoger contends. The lone vote against the measure was from council member Homer Mercer. Mercer voted against the loan because he does not believe in using Capital Improvement funds to help pay for vehicle purchases. In other business Monday night, the East Liverpool City Council: - approved getting a $35,601 loan to repair three pump motors at the water treatment plant. - agreed to amend the city ordinances restricting the hauling of refuse between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. - agreed to obtain a loan for $42,807 for the purchase a new air compressor to fill firefighter air packs. - agreed to obtain a loan for $50,882 for snow removal equipment. The next meeting of the East Liverpool City council is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at City Hall.

 

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