Good help seems to be hard to find for the City of Columbia.

During the Feb. 18 meeting of the Columbia City Council, a planned discussion of an updated code of ordinances was postponed due to a number of issues discovered in a draft copy  of the document prepared by Municode, a national company which specializes in codifying legal documents for city and county governments.

Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm said he, Ward II Alderman Michael Lawlor, Ward IV Alderman Mary Ellen Niemietz and other city staff had concerns with the “legal review” which was supposed to have been completed  by Municode during the draft process.

Brimm explained that there were several examples of contradictory language in the draft.

For example, one section states the deputy chief of police is appointed by the chief of police, but a separate chapter states the deputy chief is appointed by the mayor with advice of the city council.

He also pointed out several ordinances which had not been updated as well as inconsistencies in referring to the city administrator position interchangeably with other titles.

Brimm said the draft also contained language inconsistent with Illinois state statutes, adding it was “especially troubling” that Municode named Columbia as a “home rule” municipality even though it is not.

“It still seems as if there is quite of information that they were provided as part of the initial submission of documents that is not reflected in the draft,” Brimm said.

He also noted Deputy City Clerk Kelly Matthews went through the code prior to submitting a “red line” copy containing all ordinances and amendments passed since 1997, but those changes were not included in the draft. 

Brimm and Columbia City Attorney Terry Bruckert were scheduled to make a conference call with Municode to ask why the changes were not made.

“Municode’s reputation is better than this,” Bruckert said. “This is a little surprising, and I’ll remind them of that.”

Brimm added it would not be “realistic” to achieve the original March 14 goal for passing the revised city code due to the draft setback.

He anticipated a Committee of the Whole meeting would be needed prior to the March 3 council meeting to review the items which need the most attention.

The holdup in adopting an updated code follows a particularly protracted process in developing the city’s latest comprehensive plan. 

The new plan was adopted at the beginning of the year, wrapping up more than three years of work which included delays related to COVID-19, staff shortages and changing firms after finding the first draft for the plan did not meet the city’s expectations.

An overhaul of Columbia’s code of ordinances is to be one of the first steps in accomplishing goals described in the comprehensive plan.

There was a bright side to the meeting, though, as the council approved a bid submitted by Baxmeyer Construction to begin excavation for the city’s long-awaited Creekside Park.

The project has been in the works since February 2019 when the city was awarded a $400,000 grant for creation of the park.

The city was unable to meet grant-required deadlines due to pandemic restrictions, leading to Columbia returning the grant money but then securing a separate $600,000 grant in March 2023.

 The bid of just over $1 million will include construction of a lake, a fishing pier, parking lot, walking trails and playground area.

Aldermen also approved  purchase of supplies to replace water mains along Cascade Drive, Evergreen Lane, Metter Avenue (Ferkel to Cherry), and Daleview Drive (between Ghent Road and Daleview).

During the beginning of the meeting, Columbia Information Technology Director James Mitchell gave officials a report about his department’s activities in the past year. 

Mitchell reported that changes in certain programs have saved the city money, and Brimm noted that in-house training provided by Mitchell and his staff amounted to “unquantifiable” cost saving.

Also in the last year, Mitchell worked with the Columbia Police Department to install eight new cameras in different parts of the city which are used by the CPD for investigative purposes. The city is slated to add nine more cameras during the upcoming year.

The next meeting of the Columbia City Council will be 6:30 p.m. March 3 at City Hall.

The meetings are also streamed live and available afterward as a recording through Facebook on the City of Columbia, IL – Government page.