Budget Error Raises Concern
At the Britton City council meeting on Monday night, a concerning accounting error was discussed. Finance Officer Jennifer Athey pointed out an error in the spreadsheet used to create the city budget. The amount of taxes requested from the county, approximately $534,000, was added to the city’s estimated appropriations twice. The error had not been detected by the auditing firm either.
Mayor Clyde Fredrickson explained, “Essentially, we don’t have as much to spend as we thought.” He expressed concerns about having enough cash on hand to pay next month’s expenses. Athey said the problem comes at a delicate time as the city also received bills for two quarters of sheriff/jail fees from the county (totaling $120,000) plus the bill for an $80,000 skid steer approved in last year’s budget that recently arrived.
The group discussed how to handle the matter. Fredrickson noted some revenue coming in, including reimbursement for the airport fuel station work. They also planned to pursue financing for the skid steer and would pay just one quarter of the sheriff’s fees for now. With all of that, Athey was confident that they would be fine with next month’s expenses.
In ISG Engineer Rachel Kloos’s update, she noted that ISG is working with NECOG and Public Works Supervisor George Flanery to create and submit cost estimates for a Community Access Grant for possible road work. The grant could cover a maximum of $600,000 of work on qualifying roads. The council discussed submitting the application for two blocks between Scott’s Lumber and Cliff’s up to 9th Street by the railroad tracks. These roads are major truck routes and accesses for Full Circle Ag, Hardware Hank, Cliff’s, Scott’s Lumber, and Truss Pros. ISG estimates that the city would pay about $600,000 for the work after the grant should it be approved. The council voted to submit the grant application and if chosen, look at financing later.
A revision to the city’s firearms policy was discussed and approved to allow public works employees to use a pellet gun on gophers at the cemetery. The policy now allows the use of firearms for “employees who are carrying or using City-provided firearms for uses approved by the City Council and assigned by their supervisor.”
Various issues surrounding the pool were also discussed. Pool manager Laken Warner asked that the council consider paying pool employees for the three and a half days the pool was closed earlier this month due to a biohazard in the pool. She explained that an occasional missed day for weather is expected but being closed for multiple days becomes a hardship for staff. The amount of lost wages was around $3,000. After some discussion, the council noted that since it was a matter beyond the staffs’ control and that money was already in the budget for wages, that they would pay the employees. Warner also asked the council to consider adding a policy about such instances in the future.
Two letters received about the pool were also discussed. One was very complimentary of the staff, management and the operation of the pool. The other raised some concerns over having lifeguards sitting around on lengthy breaks. Warner noted that they follow rules governing how many guards are needed based on swimmers. She added that the population of the pool can change quickly so you cannot really send lifeguards home if there are only a few swimmers.
She also addressed the closing date for the pool, which was last Friday. She emphasized that once sports practices start and staff leaves for college, she is unable to find enough coverage. Warner added that they stayed open longer this year and brought up examples of other area pools that close around this time as well.
In other business, a conditional use permit was approved for CDJ Electric for a building. The council tabled the Jay Marx property matter involving road encroachment on Marx’s property adjacent to 14th Avenue.
During the meeting there was also a closed session for about 40 minutes with members of Britton Economic Development to discuss economic development matters. No action was taken after the closed session.