Council Approves Fire‑Union Pay Adjustment, Refers Credit‑Card Appropriation and Several Appointments

Key votes and actions on April 22:

- The council approved Item 2, an amended order to appropriate $445,000 from free cash to cover newly ratified fire union salaries. The council amended the originally proposed $350,000 to $445,000 and approved the measure on a roll call vote of 11–0.

- Item 3, a request to appropriate $150,000 from free cash to cover credit‑card expenses, was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means for further review; councilors asked the administration to provide the total annual interest paid for credit and debit card transactions.

- Licenses and renewals (Items 10–12) — including a secondhand dealer and two junk‑dealer/collector licenses — were renewed in a single roll call (11–0). Several administrative appointments (Items 4–9) were referred to the Committee on Legislative Affairs and Elections with a request to invite HR and chief‑of‑staff staff to that meeting.

- Additional routine approvals included new special‑license petitions and motor‑vehicle dealer license actions that the council approved after committee recommendation.

What happens next: The CFO and administration will provide details on credit‑card costs to Ways & Means; procurement will proceed once the council has authorized required appropriations and funding. Departments named in referrals are expected to appear before the requested committees.