SALEM — City council approved the Solid Waste Management Plan for the Carroll-Columbiana-Harrison Joint Solid Waste Management District and an increase to the city’s engineering review fee Tuesday.

The waste management plan was discussed by the Committee of the Whole prior to the council meeting, where Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey explained that the plan will “shift some authority from state officials,” instead investing it in a committee to review regulations and standards for solid waste. Councilman Andrew Null asked if there was any reason not to approve the plan, and Dickey explained that she had spoken with several waste management companies in the area and “couldn’t find anyone that objected to it.”

Null also said that council was meant to receive a memo containing information about the plan in February which never arrived, putting the city and several other member municipalities “behind the 8-ball” as the plan was originally meant to be passed prior to May 1. However, Null also said that he had spoken with district representatives that confirmed that it would not be an issue if city council delivered their opinion on the plan in Tuesday’s meeting. The committee voted unanimously to forward the resolution authorizing the plan to the council for consideration, and council unanimously approved it.

Dickey also noted that she had received questions regarding pickup of the city recycling bins all going into one truck, and that the company said they sort the recycling at their facility as people fail to properly sort their items, frequently throwing trash and other un-recyclable items into the bins.

Other legislation approved included an update to section 133.09 of Chapter 133 of part one title five of the codified ordinances of the city of Salem, which will see the city’s Engineering Review Fee double from $750, to $1,500. Councilman Jeff Stockman, who introduced the ordinance, said that the change was to bring the city’s fee in line with those of other area municipalities. While the ordinance originally lacked the emergency clause, meaning there would be a 30-day waiting period between passage and implementation, council voted unanimously to add the emergency clause prior to passage, meaning the change will take effect immediately.

Other legislative matter included a unanimous vote to table a resolution authorizing Dickey to sign an application to the State of Ohio to form a second designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA) on the east side of the city, and transfer it from the Rules and Ordinances Committee, which is chaired by Stockman, to Councilman Jake Gano’s Economic Development Committee for further discussion.

Council will meet next at 7 p.m. May 21.