Recent felons will continue to not be allowed to work as taxi drivers in Urbana, the city council decided Monday.

The main discussion addressed amending Chapter 26 of the Urbana City Code to allow those who have been released from prison for a felony in the last four years to be able to apply to work as commercial drivers. The current text of the code bans these individuals from applying for jobs as drivers of vehicles for hire.

After public comment from two Champaign-Urbana residents, Carol Ammons, Ward 3, and Dennis Roberts, Ward 5, agreed the language banning those who have committed a felony in the last four should be stricken from the ordinance. 

“I think that section should just be dropped right now, by us, say we don’t support it,” Roberts said.

Ammons also said that being a driver for a vehicles for hire is a good position for these individuals because it don’t require very specific skills, just a driver’s license and a clean driving record.

“The most critical period when they are released is the first six to eight months after that felony because you have low skills and can only do certain types of jobs at that level,” she said.

However, Diane Marlin, Ward 7, did not agree with striking the language, saying that being a taxi driver is a job that requires taking people to their homes, sometimes late at night. 

“There’s another layer of public safety that needs to be considered when you’re talking about vehicles for hire,” Marlin said.

Bill Brown, Ward 4, agreed, saying that a waiting period was not unreasonable, but that four years was excessive.

The council’s decision to return to the ordinance later was support by Eric Jacobbson, Ward 2. He said that he did not want to strike the language that night, but did not want it in the ordinance because it was “unjust.” He also said that the ordinance that was on the table was already improved, but that it would be ideal to work toward a better one.

Charlie Smyth, Ward 1, added that when the ordinance was written, this section might have been important, but it doesn’t mean much now.

“What we have here isn’t applicable to today’s society,” he said.

The motion was then carried to keep it as is, with two opposing votes from Ammons and Roberts.

The next six ordinances on the agenda were then carried out without further discussion. Among them were revising the annual budget ordinance, approving the addition of territory to the Urbana Enterprise Zone and requesting a permanent easement and a temporary construction easement from the Urbana School District. 

On the new business of the agenda, two resolutions were brought to the council by city staff, both on county zoning ordinances. The council moved to defeat both resolutions.

Due to the last committee of the whole meeting being cut short because it was going over time, after the city council meeting was adjourned, the committee of the whole meeting picked up where it was left off from the previous week.

Prussing and Comptroller Bill DeJarnette presented the 2013-14 fiscal year’s budget, saying that there were not many major changes. There would be a decrease in the operating budget, but an increase in project budgets by 25 percent due to projects that had been planned for years getting their funding.

The people’s budget and social service funding allocations were also discussed. The meeting was concluded with the council setting the date of June 1 for wards to have their allocations in for social service.  

Kat can be reached at [email protected].