A decision from the Monticello City Council regarding amending the FY2024 city budget is one step closer.
During the special Feb. 26 work session, the council agreed to a public hearing for the amendment: Monday, March 18, at 6 p.m.
“I want to thank the city staff for working very hard on this amendment,” praised Council member Mary Phelan. “I know it was painful, but I feel we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve closed the gap by over half a million dollars. But we started out the year $1 million upside down. If you’re strictly looking at revenues versus expenses, now it’s only $421,000. I do feel there is some headroom in that gap.”
City Clerk Sally Hinrichsen reminded Phelan and the rest of the council that the amendment does not include the $600,000 internal loan the city gave itself to purchase the Fraser Farm property for the airport. That loan will be paid back at 4 percent interest.
“So you could effectively add about $600,000 to that (budget),” clarified City Administrator Russ Farnum. “With the airport loan, we’re investing money that we’d have to (spend) anyway.”
Farnum also informed the council that work will soon start on the city’s new sewer plant project.
“We have been cleared by the USDA to have our pre-construction conference for the waste water treatment facility,” he said. “We’ll have our contractor start on-site real soon. There will be about 50 people on site.”
Jim Tjaden, Water/Wastewater superintendent, said the general manager from Bill Bruce Builders out of Eldridge was actually on-site the week prior (the last week of February).