What you need to know about Ottawa

The Ottawa city government already is.

Although the city of Ottawa does the usual city government stuff like mow the grass in parks, dig graves, fill potholes and patrol the streets at night, Ottawa is a business in its own right.

The city operates its own electrical, water and sewer utilities and has discussed establishing a natural gas utility although that likely would be several years away.

City Commission

The "board of directors" for the Ottawa city businesses is the Ottawa City Commission.

City commission elections are every two years, and three commission seats stand for election each time. Elections are on a non-partisan basis and commissioners are elected from the city at-large.

The two top vote-getters get four-year terms and the third place vote-getter gets a two-year term. The mayor's position, which is largely ceremonial, is rotated among the commissioners every year. The city has been a commission form of government since 1913.

Regular commission meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of the month in the commission room on the first floor at Ottawa City Hall, First and Hickory streets. Normally, the first Wednesday starts at 7 p.m. and the third Wednesday begins at 9:30 a.m.

The commissioners also tend to hold work sessions each Monday, generally at 4 p.m., in the commission study room on the first floor of City Hall. Usually, the commissioners discuss, rather than act on items during the work sessions.

In addition, the Ottawa City Commission also meets in joint session with the Franklin County Commission and the Ottawa USD 290 Board of Education every third Wednesday of the month at noon. The joint meetings' locations are rotated among the governments.

All meetings are open to the public.

In addition, the city has several other boards and commissions that help advise and shape city operations and the city is always interested in citizens who like to serve on those boards. Members are appointed by the city commission.

City manager

The day-to-day operations of the city government is handled by the city manager. The city has been run by a city manager since 1970.

The city manager heads a list of city officials who run various departments for the city. Phone number is 229-3637.

City clerk

The city clerk is the chief financial officer, someone you may not see frequently but you'll be in frequent contact with the office. The clerk handles much of the city's governmental business including records, commission meetings, information and budgets; and is in charge of the city utilities' billing and payments division.

Planning and codes

Another frequent contact for many Ottawans is the Planning and Codes Department, which administers planning and zoning matters, building permits and building inspections. The department also leans on people with weedy lots, junk vehicles or neglected buildings.

The department also serves as the staff for a majority of the city's citizens' boards: the Ottawa Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals and the appeals boards for building, electrical and plumbing codes.

Library

Another city official you may see a lot of the head librarian.

The Ottawa Public Library occupies the main floor and the basement of City Hall. The director's office, the reference section and microfilm records are on the main floor. The library's book, children, audiovisual sections and Internet-ready computers are in the basement.

The library technically is a city function, but it is an autonomous organization with separate personnel and budget and supervised by the Library Board which is an autonomous board.

Public works

The public works director supervises the city's Parks, Street and Cemetery departments and the Prairie Spirit Trail. The department also oversees the Ottawa Municipal Airport and the Carnegie Cultural Center and serves as the staff for the Tree Board.

Human resources

The city's human resources director is the city's risk manager in charge of the city's insurance and safety programs.

Utilities

The utilities director normally doesn't hear from the public unless the lights go out. The director is in charge of the city's water, sewer and electrical utilities.

Most of the revenue in the city budget comes from its utilities. The electric utility is expected to generate more than $14 million of the city's $23.6-million 2003 budget.

As a comparison, the city expects it will bring in about $5 million in property and sales taxes and other fees in 2004. The rest of the revenue will come from water and sewer utility payments.

The city has a work force of 150 employees, about half of which work for the utilities.

In the last few years, the city has adopted a crash program plowing money back into its businesses.

Sewage treatment plant

The city has a new $11 million sewage treatment plant and has been improving or replacing the city's aging sewer lines.

The city recently completed the "spine" of a new sewer network serving a largely undeveloped area in southern Ottawa. The new network spurred a flurry of residential developments in southwestern Ottawa.

Electrical network

The city has been upgrading its electrical network and is planning to add substations to improve the city's connection to power supplier Kansas City Power and Light. The substations will help the city meet growing demands for electricity and provide more reliability.

The city electric utility has its own power generating plant. However, as a rule, it's cheaper for the city to buy electricity from other larger public and private utilities and "wheel" the electricity over Kansas City Power and Light transmission lines. The city generates electricity during the summer, when demand and wholesale electric prices are higher.

The city soon will discuss whether to upgrade or increase its generating capacity.