Hat Trick Breaks Tie.

The City Council forced Mayor Kenneth Johnson to weigh in and decide three separate 5-5 tie votes during Tuesday’s regular meeting in City Hall. Two of the split decisions concerned setting the City property tax levy for next year, the third dealt with the starting salary for the proposed new position of Facility Supervisor.

The Mayor voted to accept the recommendation of the Budget/Ways and Means Committee and eliminate a voluntary 10 cent reduction in the levy. Council members voting for the tax increase were Budget/Ways and Means Committee members Jackie Boyer, Art Dunaway, Bill Fortune and Larry Ross. Council member Don Stearnes also voted yes. Voting against were Council members Lujene Clark, Trish Brewer, Charlie Bastin, H. J. Johnson, and J.D. Whitledge.

For the last two years the Council has reduced the allowable 95 cent levy to 85 cents. The vote will raise the levy back to the 95 cent level, generating a little over $60,000 more for the general fund.

The discussion on the issue opened with Bastin moving to amend the Council bill by reducing the amount of the levy for the City general fund from 44 cents to 34 cents. The motion would have left in tact the remainder of the levy which includes 19 cents for Parks and Recreation, 10 cents for Public Health, and 22 cents for the Public Library.

Clark and Brewer gave the most lengthy arguments for the reduction, with Whitledge and H.J. Johnson giving brief statements. Budget/Ways and Means Chair Boyer and committee member Larry Ross and Art Dunaway spoke in favor of the increase.

City Administrator Tom Short reminded the Council that although revenue was up slightly over budget for the last year, most of the gains shown came from the sale of City assets.

"Overall," Short stated, "City sales tax came in $64,000 lower than we had budgeted. Transportation sales tax came in $25,000 lower than we had budgeted. And the gas franchise tax was down $27,000 from the amount budgeted. Even though those were increases above the previous year’s actuals, they were lower that we had projected on our budget.

"So, one of the main revenue surpluses in the General Fund came from the sale of City assets. We can’t continue to fund ongoing operations selling off our assets. That’s going to catch up to you."

Bastin’s amendment to reduce the levy ended in a tie. The Mayor voted against. The vote on accepting the levy as originally proposed also drew the same vote, with the Mayor voting in favor of the 95 cent levy.

The debate over the starting salary for the Facility Supervisor, who will be responsible for the operation of Memorial Hall and the Civil War Museum, also put the final vote in the Mayors hands.

Council member Lujene Clark moved to amend the job description contained in Council bill 99-66 to specify that the entry level pay grade for the new supervisor would be 10-a. The City pay schedule is classified into grades, and within each grade are "steps"a thru m. The 13 steps within Grade 10 range from $20,249 to $25,807.

Typically an employee is moved up a step at predetermined anniversary dates of employment. According to City Administrator Tom Short, there are provisions in the pay plan to adjust starting salaries according to prior work experience. By specifying the 10a as starting pay, the City would not have the flexibility to offer a more qualified candidate a higher starting salary.

The vote on the amendment was 5-5. Council members Brewer, Dunaway, Stearnes, Clark, and Bastin voted for the 10a starting salary restriction. Members Ross, Johnson, Fortune, Boyer, and Whitledge voted against. The Mayor, broke the tie in favor of the Administrator’s recommendation to leave the starting salary flexible.

The City is currently accepting applications for the position.

In other action, the Mayor assigned the Budget/Ways and Means Committee as the oversight committee for the Economic Development Department.

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Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

Got a call the other day from a guy wantin’ to sell me on the idea of usin’ telemarketing services. Like I wanna be responsible for interuptin’ folks sittin’ down to watch Mash reruns.

What I want someone to sell me is a device that keeps telemarketers from callin’ my number. Some voodoo spell or somethin’ that wards off the evil spirits transmitted by telephone line. I know this topic has been discussed before on this page, but it remains on the top of my list of unwarranted harassment.

They don’t stop with the phones. I declined some offer the other day and soon received a letter tellin’ me what I was missin’ out on by not takin’ the deal. I’m expectin’ a call askin’ if I got their letter.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click and Clack Talk Cars

Dear Tom and Ray:

I am the proud owner of two vehicles with horizontally mounted filters. Both of them are Fords: a 1988 big Bronco and a 1993 Escort wagon. Do you have any tips for removing these oil filters without creating a mess? Letting the engine drain a long time before removing the filter helps some, but who can wait 24 hours for the oil to drain? I've tried pre-wrapping the filter with a plastic bag or newspaper, I've tried hanging funnels, and most recently, I intentionally punctured the filter to allow it to drain into a cup before removing it. My results: a worse mess!

This never happened on my previous cars whose filters hung down at a 45 degree angle. Do you know the answer to changing these filters without ending up with oil all over me? — Philip

TOM: Sure. The answer is your local gas station, or Quickie Lube, Philip. Research clearly shows that if you stand in the waiting room, the mess - at least from your point of view - is reduced significantly.

RAY: There is no good answer, Philip. We make a mess when we change these types of filters, too. We use a huge drain bucket that's about 2 1/2 feet in diameter. And that catches most of it.

TOM: And you can buy a drain bucket like that yourself at your local auto parts store. It's actually a transmission oil drain bucket, and it's designed to catch oil dripping from a large transmission oil pan.

RAY: But even that won't get all of it, Philip. Some of the oil will still run down the side of the engine and keep dripping long after you've cleaned up and gone in for dinner.