Finalized election results for the City of Tonawanda’s Common Council races came back Tuesday, with Democrats Bill Poole and Richard Slisz and Republicans Charles Gilbert and Blake Boyle slated to start next year.
The election was a rout for challengers, ousting every incumbent from the council, but Council President Carl Zeisz and Mayor Ron Pilozzi say it could have presented a unique set of problems for the government’s operation.
The main concern is swearing in a brand new council with no knowledge of the proper procedures of approving agreements and making local laws. When the city’s charter was revised, the election cycles for mayor and council president were staggered to occur separately, giving the government more continuity since the two leadership roles weren’t being voted upon in the same election. But Zeisz said he thinks it would be even more important for the council races to be staggered, since if he were forced to miss a meeting one of the other council members will have to take the helm.
Luckily the field of new faces includes Boyle, who has served on the council before and understands the procedures he’ll be asked to use. But to avoid a future problem, Zeisz and Pilozzi discussed examining changes to the charter that would have only two of the four council seats up for election at a time.
How that would be achieved is still in the preliminary stages, but have to involve shortening or lengthening the terms of two council members to reach balance. Zeisz said that’s what happened to him when the charter went into effect and the council president had to run for a two-year term before running again for the full four-year term in the next election cycle.
Legalities related to the recent walkability study conducted in the city were also discussed at Tuesday’s council meeting. Pilozzi received a letter from the Olmsted Center for Sight that discussed adding an audible traffic signal at the corner of Seymour and Niagara streets to assist the visually impaired.
The mayor asked for a legal opinion on how the letter opens the city to liability if a blind or partially blind person is injured in the crosswalk. Deputy City Attorney David Jay said the audible signals are more common in large cities and that he would examine state requirements for the devices.
Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.
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