By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
You’ll soon be hearing a lot more about the city’s economic development.
At its regularly scheduled legislative meeting Tuesday night, Commissioners approved an agreement with Durham Brand and Co. to provide branding and marketing services for the Economic Development Department.
The services — things like strategy, style guides and templates — will cost $92,750 ($46,375 of which will come from the General Fund, while $46,375 will come from the economic development fund).
Twenty-five percent ($23,187) will be due at the start, followed by five monthly installments of $13,912.
The only question about the agreement was posed by Commissioner Michelle Williams, who wondered whether the city would have enough money left over to actually go through with some of the company’s recommendations.
“There is funding proposed for implementation,” said Tom West, the city’s economic development director.
The proposal passed unanimously.
Commissioners hear 1st reading on budget amendment
Commissioners heard a first reading on the most recent budget update. Now, if approved, the total general fund budget will be $63,780,817.
Mayor Joseph U. Meyer said the budget may get another amendment of two in the future.
A second reading and final vote should be held on Dec. 14, Meyer said.
City agrees to opioid funding — with a catch
Commissioners agreed to execute the Kentucky Local Governments’ Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding.
In March 2021, the state enacted legislation for an “Opioid Abatement Trust Fund.” The Fund oversees the distribution of proposed settlements from Johnson and Johnson, as well as distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Berge.
The legislation splits 50 percent of the proceeds to the state and 50 percent to the counties and cities. But the legislation says the cities and counties must enter into an agreement establishing the local allocation.
But last week, Mayor Meyer noted that Covington has spent much more money fighting opioids than the county, saying the city’s police respond to 2,000-plus drug-related calls per year.
Meyer said the city should pressure the county and state to better reallocate the funds due to the overwhelmingly high number of opioid-related crimes in Covington.
“We absolutely have to be in a position to get our fair share,” he said.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Commissioners agreed to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Local 237, covering the term from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.
The agreement would be for $465,922 — $371,339 from the ARPA fund, $85,987 from the general fund and $8,596 from the stormwater fund.
Hirings and promotions
Commissioners approved the hiring of several positions Tuesday night, including several in the fire department. One was the promotion of Assistant Chief Michael Bloemer to Deputy Chief of Operations. Other hirings and promotions included:
• Sheena Switzer, Parks & Recreation Administrative Assistant
• Samantha Meredith, Covington Police Cadet
• Battalion Chief Corey Deye to Assistant Chief of Training
• Captain Joseph Bowman to Battalion Chief
• Lieutenant Daniel DeCarlo to Captain
• Engineer Dylan Meyer to Lieutenant
• Firefighter Jason Lauer to Engineer
The hirings were placed on next week’s consent agenda, while the promotions were set for the regular agenda.
Police Department accreditation
Commissioner Ron Washington noted near the end of the meeting that the city’s police had recently achieved their accreditation, and he congratulated them on the accomplishment. He said only three departments in the state had such accreditation.
Meyer out next week
Mayor Meyer said he would be absent from next week’s meeting, as he will be attending a conference.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a legislative meeting held at 6 p.m., Dec. 7, at the City Building at 20 W. Pike St. in Covington. The meetings can be followed live on Fioptics channel 815, Spectrum channel 203, the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky (TBNK) website, the TBNK Facebook page @TBNKonline, and the TBNK Roku channels.