Dublin council unanimously approves ‘In God We Trust’ on PD vehicles

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By JESSIE HORTON

TheFlashToday.com NEWS & SPORTS – FREE & LOCAL

DUBLIN (October 9, 2015) — With one unanimous vote near the end of the meeting, the Dublin City Council approved a motion that will allow the Dublin Police Department to place stickers with ‘In God We Trust’ on their patrol vehicles. The controversial move has been made by a number of departments across the state following one panhandle police department.

“I think putting In God We Trust’ on our police vehicles was the right thing to do,” said Dublin Mayor David Leatherwood Tuesday morning. “And after how fast the council unanimously approved it, I knew they felt the same way. It’s a positive thing for our community and we’re proud to be a part of that.”

The council spent  nearly two hours in closed session before getting to the public part of the meeting. On the agenda for closed session discussion for the Monday night meeting was a motion on a possible land option and the Code Enforcement position for the city. However, council members and the city attorney announced they would also go over some legal items involving the city’s possible change to an at-large election system from the ward system.

Coming out of the closed session, council members took no action on the election system until further information can be obtain by city officials. In like fashion, the council tabled the land option until more information could be brought back and sent the code enforcement position to the city’s Codes and Ordinance/Public Safety Committee for further research and discussion before a vote is taken.

The council discussed and tabled a measure to allow Moblelite to place six poles for wireless and cellular service within the city limits, asking city administrators to bring more information about the wireless and cellular service the company is bringing to Dublin. They also tabled motions regarding online bill pay and action on the possible purchase of used police vehicles for Dublin PD, wanting more information on both.

Dublin Police Chief Michael Jennings said he was looking into different possibilities and options for the department and asked for more time to bring information to the council.

“We need good, reliable vehicles for the department and when we get them, we’re going to take care of them,” Jennings said. Adding he has already started implementing new protocols for taking care of police vehicles.

Council members approved a number of housekeeping items as well. Those included:

• approving three resolutions that will allow GrantWorks to move forward with the CDBG grant they are helping the city apply for,

• accepting the April as Fair Housing Month proclamation,

• appointing Tom Gordon to fill the remainder of James Fritts’ term on the Dublin EDC effective immediately,

• appointing Dr. Harlan Raley, Kenny Horton and Tom Gordon to a two-year term to the Dublin Economic Development Board starting January 2016,

• accepting Jeff Weaver’s resignation from the Erath County Appraisal District,

• appointing Miles Gilman to replace Weaver for the unexpired term,

• approving the closing of Park Street between Dublin National Bank and the Grist Mill overnight and the day of the St Patrick’s Day Celebration in March for the Keep Dublin Beautiful Car Show,

• selecting colors for paint in the Dublin City Hall remodel, and

• accepting the bid on the Dublin City Hall remodel from Calvary for $186,000 to be paid by TML insurance.

Before adjourning the council received a list from city staff on cost saving measures they’ve implemented recently. Those lists are provided below and including all cost saving measures city administration remembered from the past several years.

pt1 pt2 pt3

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