Today's Feature Capital Improvement
Plans.
The Carthage
City Council Budget/Ways and Means Committee met
last Thursday evening to begin the process of
setting the five year capital expense budget.
The Committee met together for
3 1/2 hours to discuss the budget and to read the
five year capital improvement requests from the
various City Departments.
Capital improvement which need
Committee approval include any equipment
purchased in excess of $2,500.
Budget Committee Chair Jackie
Boyer explained the proposed expenses and
revenues for the year 2000 alone do not match up
on paper.
"That means that some of
these projects aren't going to have the cost paid
in one year," said Boyer.
"Sometimes making cuts of
worthwhile projects are not very pleasant, but we
need to live within our means even if we are
starting out with a reserve."
The City will enter 2000 with
approximately $3.5 million in reserves according
to some estimations.
"We don't have $5 or $6
million in reserves and there are commitments
against that $3.5 million of significant
portions," Boyer continued.
The recommendations were
submitted prior to the meeting by the various
department heads.
The requests ranged from the
future repair and renovation project at Memorial
Hall, sidewalk and roadway repairs, renovations
to the city golf course, renovations to the
second floor of the City Hall, and equipment
needs for both the police and fire departments.
"We want some continuity
developed for the some of the projects,"
Boyer explained. "For example, we just don't
want to fix Hazel street today, when in three
years it is going to be torn up."
One example of a possible team
approach to expenses that has been suggested is a
city wide motor pool, shared between the Police,
Fire, Parks and Streets Departments.
Proponents say this could allow
tool requests to be centralized, and decrease the
number of maintenance buildings being kept up
around the city.
The Police department request
for computers in response to the Y2K problem (as
reported in Thursday's Mornin' Mail) has
also been said to emphasized the need for
interdepartmental cooperation.
City Administrator Tom Short
said the department is working to make certain
that the computers are compatible for possible
city-wide networking in the future.
"We (The City) need to
once again, not duplicate efforts," said
Boyer. "And there are going to be some toes
crunched (in the process)."
Short, reminded those present
that this was the first of many brainstorming
work meetings, and that the budget before them
represented a "worst case scenario" in
both the projected expenses and revenues.
This budget does not include
possible grants to fund specific projects.
Due to the fact that some of
the department reports were incomplete, and
because the committee wanted some questions
answered about some of the requests, the next
meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 2.
Extension Council Leadership.
New members of the Jasper
County extension council will be elected from
candidates nominated by county citizens.
"We need men and women who
will give of their time and talent to see that
the people of this county are served by higher
education programs available to them through
University Extension, and arm of the University
of Missouri System and Lincoln University,"
said Lloyd Cooley, chairman of the council.
"I think we have an outstanding slate of
people who have indicated willingness to serve
their fellow citizens."
The county extension council is
the governing body for University activities in
Jasper County. Council members work throughout
the year with University Extension staff to
determine the county's needs for higher education
and continuing education programming and help
plan activities to meet these needs.
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