Western-Star.com

Lebanon City Council approved an update to the city’s temporary sign ordinance at its meeting Tuesday.

Last year, some residents complained to council members that the existing ordinance was being flouted during election seasons, and Mark Yurick, city attorney, expressed some concerns that the law was unconstitutional.

The city had individual rules for political signs, which could only be displayed 30 days before an election.

“If you have to refer to the content of a sign it’s against the first amendment,” Yurick said. “Taking the focus away from the message and focus in on the type of sign as a temporary sign.”

The legislation council approved Tuesday categorizes political signs with all other temporary signs, and that worries Mayor Amy Brewer.

“With the current regulations we have, there have been true abuses,” she said. “People know what the rules are and that they can get around them. As we approve this and we have an election coming up, residents need to take responsibility.”

In other action, an ambitious group of road construction projects caused Lebanon officials to make an almost $1 million inter-fund advance to make up for a cash shortage in the city improvement fund.

City council unanimously approved a measure transferring $800,000 from the city’s general obligation bond fund to the capital improvement fund.

The transfer dollars will be used to pay for the downtown streetscape project that the city will be reimbursed for later this year through a grant, said Pat Clements, city manager.

Shareé Dick, city auditor, said these type of “inter-fund short-term advances” are not common, but are done “from time to time.”

Both the bond and improvement funds receive income tax revenue and bond monies pay the city’s general obligation debt, she said.

The transfer was necessary because the city had to pay for all of this summer’s road improvement projects at the same time, but income tax money is deposited on a quarterly basis, she said. City officials hope to repay the bond fund by the end of the year.

Contact Christopher Magan at (513) 696-4525 or cmagan@coxohio.com