UNION — A budget for fiscal year 2024 totaling $26,103,352 was approved at the Dec. 11 city of Union council meeting. The ordinance was adopted by unanimous vote.
The annual appropriations ordinance was passed as an emergency to provide for the expenses and operations of the city in 2024.
“This ordinance deals with fiscal year 2024 that we are getting close to seeing here in the next couple weeks,” said City Manager John Applegate. “I don’t know where the time has gone but it is going by fairly quick. This deals with the proposed expenditures for fiscal year 24. The budget committee reviewed all the information. It is a total budget of $26,103,352.
“One of the biggest items within the budget is the $4.683 million grant we received from the state for Phase II of the wastewater treatment plant upgrade,” Applegate added.
“You mentioned the figure of $26 million, but I’d like to say that we didn’t have $26 million just to go out and spend on things,” said Vice Mayor John Bruns. “It was offset money that we had grants for… money that was already spent that we were being reimbursed for. It’s not that we had $26 million in the bank to go out and play with.”
In other budget matters, council adopted Ordinance 1775 to amend the annual appropriations ordinance for 2023 under emergency status. The original ordinance was adopted in September 2022 for fiscal year 2023.
“This deals with amending various line items in the budget and is required by law,” Applegate said. “This is part of the work that we did with the budget committee last week.”
Council adopted the ordinance by unanimous vote.
In another budget related matter, council adopted by unanimous vote Ordinance 1777 to establish a regular pay table, pay grades, step pay increases and salaries as well as the maximum number of full-time, regular part-time, part-time seasonal and auxiliary positions for the city in 2024.
During the visitors’ comments section of the meeting, residents Lynda Griffin and Chrisondra Reese addressed council with concerns.
Griffin had issues with the city’s trash hauler, Rumpke, which she alleged that two years ago broke two of her trashcans she had just purchased. She said a Rumpke supervisor came to her house and helped repair one can, but it was broken again the next time trash was collected.
She asked Rumpke to just replace the trashcan. Rumpke offered her use of one its trashcans for free, but she feels they are too big and heavy among other things. Two years later nothing has been done to rectify the matter.
She also said Rumpke often does not collect trash on the assigned pickup date and sometimes takes two days to return to collect trash. Griffin also wanted to know how Rumpke received a contract to collect trash in the city.
She also stated that as a poll worker she often assists voters with vision impairment by reading to them what issues or candidates are on the ballot. Some residents vote for candidates based on party affiliation, and asked why council members did not list their party affiliation when they come up for election.
Mayor Michael O’Callaghan explained that council members are not allowed to list their party affiliation. Griffin also asked how she could get on the ballot if she wanted to run for council.
Members of council addressed all of her questions and concerns.
Reese discussed issues with a neighbor that does not maintain their property with bushes growing over onto her property and wanted to know what could be done about it.
Applegate said there have been several similar issues over the years and they are never easy to solve.
“If you’ve got a good neighbor and they understand, but if you don’t that is another problem,” Applegate noted. He suggested Reese give them notice that she is going to cut the bushes back or the city could cite them, but it is a process that would probably end up in court before it is resolved.
Reach Ron Nunnari by email: [email protected].
