City Council Highlights – October 22, 2018
Last updated on October 22, 2018
CITY COUNCIL
Watch the City Council meeting online.
GENERAL
Council Chambers Update
As of Monday, October 22, if you sit in a seat in council chambers that has power outlets on your right side, those are officially up and running if you need to charge a phone or laptop while you are in council.
Veterans Day Parade
Mayor Buddy Dyer’s Veterans Advisory Council is proud to host the 19th annual City of Orlando Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 10 in Downtown Orlando. This year’s theme is “Honoring Purple Heart Recipients and Their Families,” which ties in with our official designation as a Purple Heart City earlier this year.
During our opening ceremony, Mayor Dyer will be joined by the Veterans Advisory Council’s current Chairman, Michael Waldrop, as well as the council’s incoming chair, Priscila Kalagian. We hope you’ll join us for this special day honoring our brave military men and women. The parade starts at 11 a.m. at the corner of Robinson Street and Orange Avenue.
OPD and OFD Aiding in Hurricane Michael Aftermath
The City of Orlando continues to keep the thousands of people impacted by Hurricane Michael in our thoughts and prayers, and the city is collaborating with our state and local partners to provide aid and assistance to those affected. The city’s police and fire rescue team traveled to the Panhandle last week to assist local law enforcement with a variety of aid including search and recovery, water distribution, service calls and looter patrol, and OPD is still up there helping this week. Mayor Dyer thanked OFD and OPD for joining in the recovery effort and going above and beyond the call of duty.
ITEMS OF NOTE
Mayor # 2 – Police Chief Appointment
Orlando Police Department Chief Mina will retire on December 1, after more than 27 years of service with the Orlando Police Department.
He served our community with honor and bravery and we are forever grateful for your many years of dedicated service to our city and our citizens.
With Chief Mina’s retirement, on October 11th, Mayor Dyer announced the appointment of Orlando Rolon as the 39th Chief of the Orlando Police Department. There is no one more equipped to manage this department than Chief Rolon. He has risen through the ranks of OPD over the last 25 years, working in nearly every aspect of the department – and remains committed to ensuring the safety of everyone in our city.
City council approved Orlando Rolon’s appointment.
Mayor # 3 – Fire Union Contracts
City Council voted on the collective bargaining agreement for IAFF. Mayor Dyer thanked the leadership of the fire union – Ron Glass – and the city’s management team Deborah Girard, Jody Litchford, Brian Battles, Ana Palenzuela, Wayne Hellsby, Chief Rod Williams and Lynne Banks for their work in negotiating a new contract. This new contract balances our commitment to supporting our firefighters, ensuring public safety and our fiscal responsibility to taxpayers while remaining committed to investing in our firefighters to ensure they have the latest in equipment, technology and training and that we offer competitive wages and benefits.
B # 6 – Capital Improvement Special Revenue Bonds – Neighborhood Infrastructure Improvement Program and Packing District Improvement
The city is committed to investing in our neighborhoods and ensuring residents have amenities at our parks and a solid infrastructure. Council voted on an item to authorize the issuance of Capital Improvement Special Revenue Bonds to support these neighborhood capital projects including improvements to parks and recreation centers, stormwater, transportation, public safety and other neighborhood infrastructure. These improvements touch the lives of each city resident and visitor and enhance The City Beautiful.