A big update on learning about how the Urbana City government works is that the City Council training materials are now up on the City website here. We'll be adding that to the Urbana City government information page here.
There were Urbana City and Cunningham Township budgets passed, with links and further information below. The big fight for the City Council in June was over appointments. The mayor was adamant about wanting a smooth appointment and reappointment process. There was concern that City Council members might turn the process into an inquiry where applicants may face a barrage of public scrutiny again. From the News-Gazette a couple weeks ago:
Mayor Diane Marlin says she will not allow city council members to use a longstanding reappointment process to derail the careers of police command staff or other veteran city employees.
Last week, Marlin pulled from the agenda the normally routine reappointment of 19 city employees in six departments, including police and fire, after learning that “at least one council member intends to ask for certain people to be treated individually” instead of being voted on as a group...
Marlin was referring to the grilling that police Chief Bryant Seraphin received last year in the wake of Aleyah Lewis’ April 2020 arrest following a report of shots fired. Several officers were accused of using excessive force on the 21-year-old, who refused to comply with their commands.
More at the full article here, including the unusual nature of Urbana's appointment process that goes beyond the typical heads of departments, but other mid-level staff as well. The appointment discussion at the last City Council meeting is available here in the meeting video. With very limited and general council comments the appointments passed with just one no vote by Council member Grace Wilken. The mayor explained that there had been constructive talks with Council members about getting through this particular appointment vote smoothly and it had been expected to go through prior to the meeting.
In other Urbana City Council related news:
- A follow up article with Council member Shirese Hursey on race issues in Urbana a year after an interview as part of the News-Gazette's "Being Black in America" series in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests.
- Concerns about street conditions and highlighting the Capital Improvement Plan.
- WAND had a brief video segment on policing concerns before the City Council.
- A petition for more cameras and security in Ward 3.
- Curbanas: an adaptation for outdoor seating and Urbana businesses.
The City of Urbana's proposed Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget is available here and Capital Improvement Plan here. The approval of the budget was explained in this staff report and passed at the June 28th City Council meeting along with an amendment to the previous budget.
The Cunningham Township Town Board passed its budget and it is available here.
So far the Urbana City Council meetings have continued with remote participation with the Zoom meeting app. It appears likely they will return to in-person meetings soon, according to a News-Gazette article with updates on the Champaign City Council in-person meetings as well.
Urbana City Council meetings have had an overwhelming number of public participants and lengthy meeting times. The public input is generally over concerns about policing, transparency, mental health and criminal justice reforms. In the meeting videos with zoom, there is a clock on the screen for participants to watch their time. This graphic in the search preview can help quickly locate these sections of the meetings for navigating to or around these parts of the meeting, depending on what you're searching for.
Meeting agendas and video links:
June 7th City Council Meetings:
- Public Hearing on the Budget: agenda, video.
- Special Meeting on appointments: agenda, video.
- Committee of the Whole: agenda, video.
June 14th Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:
- Town Board Announcement: hearing/meeting moved to June 28th (agenda/video).
- City Council Public Hearing: agenda, video.
- City Council Committee of the Whole: agenda, video.
June 28th Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:
- Town Board Public Hearing: agenda, video.
- Town Board Meeting: agenda, video.
- City Council Meeting: agenda, video.
April and May Urbana City Council overviews are still in progress, but will hopefully be up in the next couple weeks.
