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Written by Amanda Moreno
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Wednesday, 09 June 2010 |
Summer time isn't all fun and games.
Students may be out of school and not having to worry about math problems, but city departments are bringing out their math skills and looking at their budgets.
Cathrine Wilks, certified public accountant, provided the city commission with the Mid-Year Agreed Upon Procedures Report. Representatives from the Municipal Auditorium Board, County-City Library and Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department were on hand to request funding for their 2010-2011 budgets.
Larry Ludlum spoke on behalf of the Municipal Auditorium Board, requesting continued funding from the city and informed commissioners about upcoming renovations. Through the funding of an anonymous donor, the auditorium board will receive matching funds to help cover the cost of a new air conditioning system and renovations to the downstairs bathroom.
According to Ludlum, through fundraisers, the board was able to raise about $25,000 and have submitted the paperwork to the donor. Once the paperwork is completed and funding is confirmed, they will start looking for bids on each of the projects.
"It is also our hope to fix the windows in the balcony," Ludlum said. "The windows are looking pretty worn."
The city currently owns the municipal auditorium and is responsible for the maintenance of the structure, according to Ludlum. They have also started covering the utilities associated with the municipal auditorium, which have been running from $3,000 to $7,000 a year depending on what activities and programs go through there.
There is an estimated 4,000 people a year that attend events at the auditorium. It has been able to serve many purposes; acting as a venue for public meetings, safety meetings, concerts and other entertainment events, and will even be used as a wedding venue this summer.
"There has never been a wedding there, but this summer will be the first wedding," Ludlum said.
The municipal auditorium board has made numerous improvements and provided excellent upkeep to the building, according to city manager Eddie Brown.
"I would like to personally commend Larry and the board members for the work that they do," Brown said.
Becky Brock, County-City library director, requested a budget of $30,300 this year. Her request includes a $600 annual increase, which was going to cover a free online tutoring program, but the program has been discontinued.
"The original plans were to cover the expenses for that program, but it turns out we were the only library interested in it," Brock said. " The service is no longer offered due to lack of interest."
The extra funding will not be wasted though. There are plans to purchase more books pertaining to niche groups. Large print books have become a popular thing and Brock said she would like to expand the inventory of top authors and best seller books.
"We are trying to meet our patrons needs the best we can," Brock said. "If they come in with a request, we do our best to fulfill it and have been able so far."
On top of the in-house library programs, reading visits are made throughout the year, to daycares and head starts. The library also has a monthly home schooled story hour program, weekly story hour and monthly book clubs. Recently, the library was able to activate their online catalog, which allows patrons to renew book check outs, search books, request books and provides other helpful links.
"We had a lot of people asking when the online catalog was going to be up and running," Brock said. "We decided to be part of the first group of libraries to try it and have tracked about 2,000 searches a month."
The last renovation to the library was 10 years ago, according to Brock. At that time a security system was installed and the number of people going through the library has increased.
"We are very fortunate to have the community support that we do," Brock said. "I want to give a special thank you to the board because I have some excellent board members."
The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department was also on hand to deliver their budget request. According to Don Ware, the health department has requested the same budget since 1980 and will continue to do the same for the coming year. They are requesting a budget of $15,000, which would cover general operating cost.
"I don't foresee any major changes," Ware said. "We are going to continue to ask for the same budget."
According to Ware, the health department is funded by the city and county, with the county providing $19,500 to the budget. The funding is put into the rural and local health services program that the health department provides.
"The state receives a portion of the money generated from those programs," Ware said. "The other third is allowed to be used as funding for the other services provided."
Even though some businesses are able to run on a small budget, there are those that are finding it hard to make ends meet and aren't receiving help from another source.
The Holiday Inn Express and Days Inn were behind on their payments of Hotel/Motel taxes, but have since made attempts to be compliant. Days Inn has paid in full and is current. Holiday Inn Express has paid $2,640 and is expected to be paid in full, by mid-week, according to Brown.
Geneva Meneses, current manager, of the low-income senior citizen housing, requested consideration of a discount or price adjustment for the water bill at the property.
She acquired responsibility for the property eight years ago and has been making efforts to become fully compliant. As of last week, the housing complex is running in full compliance and on a fixed budget. With the water rate increase, the bill has jumped about $80.
"I am not allowed to raise their rent rates due to the stimulus money," Meneses said. "They aren't allowed a raise for two more years."
The budget that is currently being used barely covers expenses and with the water rate increase, the budget is not able to cover all the expenses.
"I can't shut off the water, but I don't know what to do," Meneses said. "I'm asking you to consider some sort of discount."
As far as up keep for Lake Sweetwater dams, work crews have become limited and has slowed down the progress. Once Lake Sweetwater is completed, the work crews will begin work at the Oak Creek dams. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 11 June 2010 )
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