By VICKI MORTIMER

In rapid-fire succession, Avalon Council adopted a number of ordinances and motions at their meeting on Dec. 30, most with no discussion.

Council unanimously approved motions to keep The Citizen as the borough's official newspaper, to keep Chester Engineers and Shawn Rosensteel as the borough's engineers, to keep Ed Klicker as the borough's collector of delinquent income taxes, to keep the firm of Meyer Darragh Buckler Bebenek & Eck and Richard Canciello as the borough's solicitors, and to keep Chief of Police Thomas Kokoski. Council Member David Dixon did abstain from the vote approving the borough solicitor.

Council unanimously approved the borough's 2011 budget as advertised, again with no discussion. They approved an ordinance to keep the property tax millage at the 2010 rate of 9.01 mills.

Council approved a 5 percent contribution to the police pension fund, as required by the police department's contract with the borough. They appointed First Niagara as the new depositor bank for the borough.

They approved taking a $300,000 loan from Fidelity Bank at 1.5 percent interest. This money is used to pay bills and operate the borough until tax monies are collected.

The only matter discussed among Council was an ordinance to raise the garbage collection fee to $200 for 2011. Dixon complained that he did not know that council intended to raise the fee until he read it in The Citizen. Council president Ed Repp pointed out that Dixon had missed the council meeting at which the increase was discussed. Dixon responded that the matter should have been discussed at the finance committee meeting, which he did attend.

He wanted to know why the rate was to be $200 when the contract fee was $162 per household. He stated that he could not justify such an increase when he knew that his neighbors and widows on fixed incomes would have a hard time paying the increased fee.

Council member Vicki Donnelly stated that the rate needed to be $200 to make up for those who did not pay the fee. Dixon said that he was afraid that the increased fee was going to lead to more residents not paying .

The ordinance to raise the garbage fee was adopted, with Dixon casting the only negative vote. Jonathan Bernstein and Ralph Cortese were absent from the meeting.