ACTION ITEMS AND DISCUSSIONS
Ordinances and Finance Report.
The May 19th evening City Council meeting began with a report from Councilor Robin Phillips on the local COVID-19 statistics from the District Seven Health Department’s web site.
As of that evening there were no new cases of the virus, zero probable cases and three active cases. Councilor Fred Waidely said one new case had been reported the previous day.
The council moved on to accept the city’s rewritten Nuisance Ordinance 21-849.
City Attorney Fred Snook has been conferring with the council for several months regarding changes the council wanted to make to the ordinance. Councilor Waidely made a motion to proceed to a vote on Ordinance 21-849 by title only. Changes made to the original Nuisance Ordinance include clarifying definitions, establishing federal and civil penalties, providing for requests of hearings and appeals plus, approving the summary of the ordinance.
Waidely requested the three-reading rule on ordinances be waived and the final vote be taken that evening. The vote to waive the three-reading rule was unanimous and a motion to accept Ordinance 21-849 was also passed unanimously.
Later in the meeting the council approved the annual Memorandum of Understanding with Lemhi County which is an agreement to not charge building fees on either of the entities building projects.
City Finance Director Amy Fealko gave a summary of the past month’s financial status. The city’s total cash balance is now $6,114,245. In the departmental breakdown of those funds the Sewer Fund shows the largest share at $1.8 million with $1.7 million of that reserved for various contingencies. The Water fund shows $884,799 and there is $495.543 in Streets and Alleys. The General Fund shows $777,077.
She said the city is doing very well with 58 percent of the year completed. They have received 71.4 percent of the expected revenues and expenditures are at 58.7 percent which puts the city right where it should be for this time of year.
Fealko said the city has received almost 75 percent of the expected property tax revenue and Sales Tax and Revenue Sharing is at 52.1 percent. She said Liquor Sales Revenue is down a bit at 43.4 percent received.
All the city departments look good compared to expectations. She said that an audit request has been received from a firm working for the state to track expenses related to the COVID-19 virus.
The one overbudget department is the Salmon Valley Center due to the unexpected replacement of all the pipes under City Hall which amounted to $12,000. She said the bill would have been a lot higher were it not for all the work city crews did on the project.
The entire monthly report is available for viewing on the city web site…cityofsalmon.com
The city will hold a special session meeting on the morning of June 15 to begin 2022 budget discussions.