Interestingly, Mayor Gahan is remembering the past when it comes to parks funding (and I agree we should), but his team urged us to forget the past when the topic was UEA leadership (I disagreed). County officials are coming down squarely on the side of forgetfulness, aren’t they?
Gahan vetoes New Albany-Floyd County parks deal; Parks, county officials disappointed, Daniel Suddeath (RollOver PopUp Picayune)
NEW ALBANY — Mayor Jeff Gahan announced Monday he vetoed an ordinance passed in April by the New Albany City Council that established a new interlocal agreement for the New Albany-Floyd County Parks Department.
The measure narrowly passed the council with a 5-4 vote April 19, as the issue has been a point of contention between the city and county …
New Albany had paid about $2 million more toward the parks system than the county over the past five years, though the existing agreement called for the two entities to split the funding equally based on population, which has been close to even in recent years.
After months of discussion, the Floyd County Council, Floyd County Commissioners and city council approved the new deal in April which called for equal funding mechanisms to be put in place by Oct. 1.
The new agreement would be void if either side failed to meet the funding requirements, but Gahan stated Monday he vetoed the ordinance because the county had failed to honor past parks deals.
“While I vetoed this proposed agreement, we are still currently operating under an agreement which requires equalized funding based on population,” Gahan said. “The city of New Albany will continue to honor our agreements and fully fund the parks department. It is time for the county to do the same for the betterment of all Floyd County.”
To read all about the “immediate reaction of disappointment from county and parks officials,” duck the pop-up, dodge the roll-overs, and visit the newspaper’s enduringly annoying web site.
