Ledger-Dispatch

By Kelly Scott (kenos@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Ione Mayor Andrea Bonham swears in = former TSPN=20 reporter Pollie Pent as the city's latest police = officer.

Photo by: Kelly=20 Scott
Tuesday night was a busy one for Ione = City=20 Council, with several ordinance readings, the swearing in of a new = police=20 officer and the declaration that June 9 through 15 would be United = States Army=20 Week.

Former TSPN reporter Pollie Pent was sworn in as Ione's = newest=20 member of law enforcement by Mayor Andrea Bonham during the meeting. = Police=20 Chief Michael Johnson welcomed Pent to the force after the ceremony, in = which=20 Pent's husband, Richard, pinned her badge.

Johnson also announced = that=20 the small police department had received its second consecutive win in = the=20 California Law Enforcement Challenge, which recognizes the best in = overall=20 traffic safety between departments of similar size and type. Individual=20 departments submit an application documenting their effectiveness in the = areas=20 of policing impaired driving and speeding, and offering public = education. The=20 top safety programs are those that have combined officer training and=20 enforcement to decrease crashes and fatalities.

"This award is a = result=20 of the officers that were here in place since I came in late in the = year,"=20 Johnson told the council. "The back to back awards show the dedication = and hard=20 work this force puts out each day."

Johnson added that the award = will=20 allow the department to remain competitive for future grant funding, = something=20 it took advantage of last year with a seat belt grant from the = California Office=20 of Traffic Safety. Increased enforcement led to an increase in the = city's use of=20 seat belts, matching the state average of 94 percent, and a drop of 45 = percent=20 in traffic accidents last year.

"In this time of shrinking = budgets and=20 limited funding sources, we need all the grants we can get because, = ultimately,=20 it is the residents of Ione that benefit," Johnson said.

The = council also=20 held three public hearings, with a proposed increase in sewer treatment = rates=20 topping the agenda. Bonham recused herself from the vote because of a = coffee=20 shop she is planning to open, making her one of the potentially affected = rate=20 payers.

The current municipal code requires the city to adjust = sewer=20 rates annually. A proposed 35 percent rate hike was continued to a = future=20 meeting. If approved, it would become effective July 1. The new rates = would=20 affect businesses, schools, the California Department of Forestry and = other=20 "unspecified places of employment," according to the staff report City = Manager=20 Kim Kerr read.

Council members Jim Ulm and Jerry Sherman, and = Vice Mayor=20 Lee Ard each expressed opinions that the maintenance cost of the rate = hike=20 needed further study before any vote could be made. "It seems very = unfair at=20 this point to raise rates when businesses in town are struggling," = Sherman=20 said.

The first amendment on the development agreement between = the city=20 and JTS Communities was approved and will go to a second reading and = adoption=20 June 17. The amendment was an exemption from the California = Environmental=20 Quality Act now that plans for a multi-family project were=20 removed.

Although Ulm and Sherman criticized the amendment for = raising=20 taxes to residents, they were voted down and the first reading was=20 approved.

"The way I stand on this is I don't believe in raising = taxes on=20 people and I do not agree on this," said Ulm. "For that reason I will = vote=20 no."

Kelly = Scott