Lester said a 15-minute break would be held between meetings.
Council member Todd Hickman said, according to the city’s charter, council meetings must start at 6:30 p.m. To change the meeting time would require a vote by Monroe residents, he said.
Vice Mayor Christina McElfresh suggested holding the work sessions on a different day than council meetings. She didn’t like the idea of only allowing one hour for work sessions in case there was “good momentum” that would have to be stopped.
Council agreed to possibly start the work sessions at 5:30 p.m., and council meetings at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.
Lester said staff would prepare legislation for council to vote on at a later meeting. The work sessions could be cancelled, he said, if there weren’t enough issues to discuss.
Economic development director: ‘Numbers are good’
Seth Geisler, economic development director, reviewed the city’s three Community Reinvestment Areas with council members.
He said 12 Monroe industrial and commercial businesses in Butler and Warren counties are active in the CRA program that provides tax abatements.
One CRA is located in Warren County, north of Ohio 63, and the other two are in Butler County, one in the downtown area and the other includes several businesses on Salzman Road.
Those businesses receive tax abatements that range from 10 to 15 years and 50 to 100-percent, he said.
The companies employ 2,889 workers, more than 1,100 higher than projected, according to 2024 statistics. The $154 million in payroll is more than twice the projected payroll of $72 million, he said.
“The numbers are good,” Geisler said.
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