Agenda for Regular Meeting

Synopsis:  This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration and City Council, at the recommendation of the Wilmington Ethics Commission, for City Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance is part of a comprehensive set of revisions to the City Code to repeal certain provisions that are no longer necessary or appropriate and to amend sections that require clarification or updating. Additionally, it includes substantive recommendations from the City Ethics Commission to improve and modernize ethics requirements in the City.   This Ordinance amends Chapter 2, Article V, Division 6 to make the following substantive changes: (1) changes the title from Code of Conduct to Code of Ethics to more accurately reflect the substance of the code; (2) provides an updated definitions section to improve clarity of the code; (3) requires the Ethics Commission to make advisory opinions publicly available in a form redacted to protect the name of the requester, which will help educate the public and city employees; (4) eliminates the practice of permitting an  absence of conflict of interest affidavit, which is not in keeping with best practices of financial disclosures; (5) changes the annual filing deadline to May 1 to ensure filers have received all financial and tax documents to help them make accurate disclosures; (6) amends those required complete financial disclosures to include members of certain boards and commission in addition to all elected officials and appointed officials to improve transparency; (7) requires financial disclosures of household members to improve transparency; (8) lowers the thresholds for certain income related financial disclosures to improve transparency; (9) amends the gift disclosure to include the aggregate value of gifts from a particular source over the calendar year to improve transparency; (10) revises the co-signed loans disclosure to require disclosure of the co-signer to improve transparency; (11) adds a real property disclosure for property involving city expenditure which ensures transparency of such acts; and (12) adds a requirement to disclose board service, which is in keeping with best practices.

Synopsis:  This Ordinance is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance approves various traffic and parking regulations in the City.

Synopsis: This Ordinance is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and Approval. This Ordinance amends Chapter 5 of the City Code by requiring healthy beverages to be offered as the default beverage offered with a combination children’s meal inclusive of a drink, sold together at a single price. This ordinance does not prohibit a restaurant’s ability to sell, or a customer’s ability to purchase a substitute or alternative beverage if requested by the customer.

Synopsis:  This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance amends Chapter 2 of the City Code by establishing three reserves in order to: (i) maintain the financial stability of the City; (ii) provide citizens with essential and quality services; and (iii) limit the need to increase taxes or water/sewer rates.  First, it creates a tax stabilization reserve in the general fund to provide a reserve to pay City obligations and limit the need to increase taxes.  Second, it creates an operation and maintenance reserve in the water/sewer fund to provide funding in the event of adverse economic conditions or a public emergency that impacts the operations and maintenance of the water/sewer fund such that immediate action is required. Third, it creates a rate stabilization reserve within the water/sewer fund to provide a reserve to pay City water/sewer obligations and limit the need to increase water/sewer rates. Finally, this Ordinance addresses certain housekeeping matters, including (i) the replacement of the term “undesignated” in current Section 2-378 of the City Code (which will be renumbered as Section 2-376.2) with the term “unrestricted” because the term “undesignated” is outdated and the term “unrestricted” is more appropriate and (ii) the renumbering of certain Sections and Divisions of Chapter 2 of the City Code for continuity purposes and to retain sufficient reserved Sections for potential future amendments to the City Code.  This Ordinance shall be deemed effective as of June 30, 2018.

Synopsis: This Ordinance is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance amends Chapter 8 of the City Code to require that developers who receive financial assistance from the City of Wilmington on residential construction projects require their construction contractors to participate in and hire workers from Residential Construction Apprentice Programs.