by Dave DeMars
The Rice City Council met Sept. 20 prior to its regularly-scheduled meeting for a “working business meeting” to discuss the city budget. The council then unanimously approved the 2017 budget and adopted the resolution for certification of the 2017 preliminary levy.
The proposed budget increase for 2017 was $24,252 more than in 2016. During the course of the regular council meeting, Brandon Curtis addressed the council about the letter sent to each resident that attempted to explain the upcoming budget and levy.
“About that levy, that wishlist – this money that you guys put out last year – where the fire department is getting $8,000 and whatever else is all on that – but our taxes have went up,” Curtis said. “You guys are still going to get that money in 2017 – correct?”
Mayor Dale Rogholt quickly answered no.
“Then our taxes are going to go down a hundred dollars?” asked Curtis, to which Rogholt replied no.
Rogholt said, “The money is not spent, so it’s going into a reserve account, so we don’t have to – should I say – in the future we won’t have to do it if we want to do it. OK? … We already got the dollar, not spent, so when we do it, we don’t have to ask for another dollar.”
Council member Allen Voigt tried to explain further, saying the money for the fire department rescue rig had not been spent and was still there, and was still to be used for the rescue rig.
But Curtis said there was a part-time police officer who had to be paid and wondered where the money was coming from.
Council member Paula Kampa added the letter talked about the rescue rig, about getting a new council table, a new computer and shingling for the Lions building and other items. All those things have been done.
Voigt explained the money for the council table was used instead to tile the bathroom in the city hall since that was more pressing than replacing the council table.
Curtis wondered at the meeting whether it would not be wiser to sell the building in spite of the fact it’s a historic building; Curtis said Kristi O’Brien of O’Brien’s Pub had previously made an offer to buy the building.
Throughout the life of the building, the $9,000 for new furnaces will be made up and pay for itself, according to officials. As for the offer, it was pointed out the building cannot be demolished since it’s on the list of historic sites and was built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.
The council moved on to approval of a new payment system of bills, using computer-generated checks and authorizing the clerk/treasurer and the mayor to pay bills that come due during periods of time when the council might not meet, but vendors needed to be paid.
Other council actions included:
- Approval of a gambling permit to Rice Women of Today for the 2016 calendar raffle
- Acceptance of the resignation of Rice Recreation Manager Warren Ellingworth
- Approval of posting the position and the hiring of a new part-time Rice recreation manager. (Salary range would be $3,600 to $4,200 per year. Closing date for hiring is Monday, Oct. 3.)
- Approval of using Sentence to Serve personnel to paint 150 fire hydrants in the city at a cost of $1,200 or about $8 per hydrant. (Cost of hiring another company to do this work would be about $85 per hydrant.) Street department will flush and grease hydrants later this year.
- Approval of maintenance department replacing shop lights with LED (light-emitting diodes) at a cost not to exceed $840, about $8 per bulb.
- Approval of the purchase of three Trane furnaces for the Old City Hall at a cost not to exceed $9,100.
- Setting a personnel committee meeting to deal with evaluations at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, and a finance committee meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17.