Clinton council approves consent items including wastewater resolution; member warns about proposed HB501

The Clinton City Council approved its consent agenda on March 24, including a wastewater resolution, after a motion and roll-call vote.

Council member Dane Searle moved to approve the consent items "as listed on the agenda." Adam Larson seconded the motion, and the council approved the items by roll call; the mayor announced the consent items were "approved unanimously."

During council reports, Searle raised an unrelated legislative concern. He described a proposed state bill he identified as House Bill 501 and said that in its original form it "would have required all residents of Clinton City to pay 1 and a half percent of the annual average income per water connection to your home." Searle said the arithmetic on that provision would have amounted to a very large additional charge for city residents; he characterized the draft as having "gone way too far," said it did not pass in its extreme form this year, and warned the council it could return next session.

Mayor Marie Doherty and other council members said statewide municipal groups and the League acted to oppose the measure during the session. The council did not take a formal public-policy vote on HB501 at this meeting.

Before adjourning, the mayor told attendees the council would reconvene at the police department for a work session on the general plan and reminded the public how to enter the lower parking lot for the session.

No other formal actions or budget approvals related to the wastewater resolution or HB501 were taken at the March 24 meeting; the wastewater resolution was part of the consent items the council approved.