Several amendments proposed for Glasgow budget

BY MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
GLASGOW NEWS 1
Multiple changes to Glasgow government’s current fiscal-year budget were initiated Monday evening with approval of the first reading of an ordinance to make those amendments.
The amendments are not official until the Glasgow Common Council approves a subsequent reading and the changes are published.
The first batch of amendments proposed in this ordinance would transfer money from the unappropriated portion of the General Fund in these amounts to the following:
— $14,000 to the Fire Department Maintenance and Repair Accounts for repairs to two trucks and a heat unit;
— $55,800 to the fuel accounts of the street, fire, animal control and police departments/divisions;
— $12,700 to the Police Department Drug Restitution/Seizure Account for seizure and restitution activity;
— $41,500 to the Street Department Maintenance and Repair Account for the repair of two trucks;
— $49,850 to the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center Maintenance and Repairs Account for repairs and replacement of heat units and roofing;
— $7,800 to the Street Department Construction and Maintenance Equipment Account for bid overage on street sweeper; and
–$246,768 to the Parks and Recreation Contractual Improvement Account for repair and replacement of Richardson Stadium.
A few amendments were to bring monies back into certain accounts within the General Fund:
— $862,604 from sale of property (administrative account);
— $41,600 from sale of property (street department account);
–$7,500 from sale of property (parks and recreation account);
–$246,768 from insurance check from Richardson Stadium fire.
Also, from the unappropriated Sanitation/Landfill Fund, $63,200 would go to the sanitation and landfill fuel accounts and $10,500 for repairs to the one-arm garbage truck, while $16,050 and $19,000, respectively, would go into sanitation and landfill accounts within fund from the sale of properties.
In summary, that would be $428,418 from the unappropriated portion of the General Fund, nearly $1.16 million into General Fund accounts, and $73,700 from the Sanitation/Landfill Fund and $35,050 into that fund.
City attorney Rich Alexander, as he read the proposed ordinance, said the $862,604 figure included properties along West Main Street for the judicial center project, the building next to City Hall which had been leased to what was then the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce and the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist and Convention Commission but which has been purchased by the latter, and properties that had been sold through the code enforcement process.
Before the vote took place, Mayor Henry Royse said he had asked City Treasurer Stephanie Garrett to be present in case they had any questions, because “she understands every penny that’s on there.”
Councilman Terry Bunnell did not ask about the items specifically, but said it appeared they have spent about $250,000 that had not been budgeted, and they are slightly more than halfway through the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
“Talk to us about moving forward with the second half of the fiscal year,” Bunnell said.
Garrett said, “Everybody knows how our economy’s going.”
Fuel costs had risen overall, “and this is an estimate of what we think will get us to the end of the [fiscal] year for our fuel,” she said.
Garrett said they’ve had a dump truck, a bucket truck and, in the fire department, a ladder truck and an engine truck to tear up, so that was several thousand dollars in expenses that were not anticipated.
She said numerous items have been sold from various departments to try to help offset those expenditures, and cost of the street sweeper purchased was more than budgeted.
She said that overall, though, they’re doing well, and except for the things that have gone up or torn up, they’re on schedule with the anticipated budget.
With Councilman Patrick Gaunce absent, that approval vote along with all others were unanimous.
Before the old- and new-business action items, the council heard a report from Eddie Furlong, director of the Glasgow Parks and Recreation Department, about the various programs and projects under way that are under his purview. Glasgow News 1 reported about this separately at this link.
Old business addressed included second reading of an ordinance rezoning approximately 0.77 acre at 302 S. Morgan St. and 400 and 402 E. Wayne St. from general business (B-2) to small-lot, medium density residential (R-3), and a municipal order to reappoint Terrell Alexander to the Fort Williams Restoration Commission.
Other new business, aside from the budget amendments, included approvals of the following:
— First reading of an ordinance to adopt a supplement to the Glasgow Code of Ordinances;
— Resolutions authorizing the city to dispose of surplus equipment from the Administrative and the Parks and Recreation departments, the items for which are listed in exhibits provided with the agenda packet at this link.
— A resolution ratifying a May 19, 2022, resolution of the Soccer Association – composed of Glasgow and Barren County governments and school systems – board of directors to convey property in five tracts totaling approximately 1.87 acres along Ky. 1297 to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for road improvements at the purchase price of $66,800;
— Resolutions authorizing application for separate grants – one for household hazardous waste management and one for transportation funds for the transit program;
— Resolutions approving easements from the city to Gooden Properties LLC and to the Glasgow Electric Plant Board in the area behind City Hall for utility work.
In addition:
— Royse had provided the council with the names of individuals he would like to appoint to two boards, which he’s required to do at least two weeks in advance of any vote on the appointment.
He proposed to appoint David Harrison to the Code Enforcement Board to fill the unexpired three-year term of Abby Medford that goes through Aug. 31, 2024, and, for the Glasgow Electric Plant Board, Keith Rowlett to fulfill the unexpired four-year term of Mark Haines that runs through July 31, 2025.
— Executive orders issued by the mayor updating two portions of the Glasgow Police Department Standard Operating Procedures – response to resistance policy and the uniforms/equipment policy.
— The council went into closed session, citing the exception allowed for by the Kentucky Open Meetings Act pertaining to personnel, for approximately 45 minutes. Upon continuation of the open session, Royse announced no action was taken during the closed session and proceeded with announcements, which included the closure of all city departments except that the city bus will be running on abbreviated hours of 8:15 a.m. to 3:55 p.m. Monday for Presidents Day. Trash and recycling that would normally picked up Monday will be collected on Tuesday instead.
–The next regularly scheduled council meeting is at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.