Iola City Council members heard from department heads as they took their first look at the city’s 2022 spending plan.
The budget discussions took the better part of two hours, and followed about a month of work sessions, City Administrator Matt Rehder explained.
A few items of note:
— The property tax levy, if approved, will be largely static at about 48 mills, if it passes the Council’s muster, while enterprise fund rates would be unchanged.
— The only projected change for utilities would be base meter charges for sanitation and gas customers, whose fees would increase $1.50 and $3 per month, respectively. Those items would be set outside the budget adoption process.
“Those funds have been losing money the past few years,” Rehder said. The gas meter fee was last changed in 2003; the sanitation fund in 2012.
— The Fire Department’s budget discussions have been “fluid,” Fire Chief Chase Waggoner noted, while the city awaits word on whether its contract to continue providing countywide ambulance service is accepted by county commissioners. If and when that service continues, and if the city expands its ability to handle long-distance transfers, would certainly affect staffing.
— The city likely will change how it funds its share of the Allen County Historical Society. In years past, the city allocated a portion of its convention and tourism funds to ACHS. Rehder is recommending the donation be set at half a mill, or about $15,000 annually.
Council members will continue budget talks at their July 26 meeting, with a goal of adopting its 2022 spending plan in August.
IOLAN JOE Hess would like to see steps taken to protect the Recreation Community Building from flooding.
He proposed the city install a protective wall, roughly three to four feet high, and deep enough into the soil to reach bedrock surrounding the building.
Piping and water pumps would be a part of the system to remove water that comes in up from the ground as well, Hess said.
If a wall is too costly, Hess said the city also could dig a trench around the building to replace porous soil with clay to slow water seepage, and slope the dirt up the edge of the building to provide more water runoff.
As an aside, Recreation Superintendent Jason Bauer — at the meeting to discuss his department’s budget — noted he and others scurried to the building during torrential storms in June to clear water that had entered the building.
THE COUNCIL’S July 26 meeting will be at the John Silas Bass Community Building because Riverside Park will be hosting the Allen County Fair that week.
