Police department officers and their families took command briefly of the Webb City Council chambers Monday as their newest member was pinned and sworn in.
Police Chief Don Melton introduced Daniel Watts, who wrote in his bio that he chose law enforcement as a career because it is one in which “I could make a difference in the community and be the change in someone’s life for the better.”
Watts, originally from Frontenac, Kan., graduated in May from the Missouri Southern State University Police Academy.
His badge was pinned by his wife, Kynzie. They have two children, Willa, 3, and Daxton, 5 months.
Bob Foos
A new budget, more conservative than usual, was presented for the fiscal year beginning Nov. 1 to the Webb City Council on Monday.
Under the budget, prepared by City Administrator Carl Francis and department heads, revenue amounts are the same as they were collected for the current year.
“Zero growth” in revenue is expected, emphasized Mayor Lynn Ragsdale.
Sales and use tax receipts have unexpectedly become lackluster. There was only a 2.74% increase in sale tax receipts for the current year. The surprise has been use tax receipts. They have increased significantly each year but fell by 3.07% during the current year.
Funds requested for big-ticket items were “highly scrutinized,” according to Francis.
The only such purchases included in the budget include: $500,000 for street overlay; $50,000 for the Mining Days Community Building parking lot; $100,000 for the second year of sharing with Joplin the Zora Street expansion; a sewer camera; $300,000 for sewer repair; $300,000 for water line repair and replacement, and the annual replacement of three patrol vehicles.
It was noted that American Rescue Plan Act funds, which have been used for capital projects since the pandemic, have all been spent.
Francis warned that he expects a big increase in the city’s portion of health insurance cost.
It’s possible employees will not, as usual, receive a cost-of-living salary adjustment in the spring. There’s a column including the COLA ($73,748) and one without it.
With the COLA, total expenses ($22,204,962) exceed revenue ($21,017,208) by $1,187,754.
Ragsdale pointed out that even if the year ends with deficit spending the balance in the bank is more than adequate. The ending balance is projected to fall from $10,306,865 to $9,119,111.
Council members accepted the budget on first reading and now have until the next council meeting, at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, to review it and request changes before voting to finalize it.
You can view the budget here.
Francis presented an idea that’s still in the discussion stage to charge everyone a fee to dump at the limb yard. The revenue would help defray fuel and maintenance costs involved in operating the site.
Francis said that even after banning commercial companies from bringing large loads the piles of ground-up limbs and logs continues to grow.
He noted that it costs approximately $150,000 per year to operate the compost program.
In other action, the council:
• Accepted Clyde Thornburgh’s resignation from the board of adjustments and appeals.
• Approved acceptance of a Missouri Department of Public Safety Blue Shield grant in the amount of $50,000. Police Chief Don Melton applied for the grant in order to purchase 25 body-worn camera’s for the department’s uniformed officers.
There are two requests on this month’s Planning and Zoning Commission agenda.
The first request seeks to rezone the Jane Chinn house property, on the southwest corner of Third and Pennsylvania streets for a duplex. The historic house was badly damaged by fire and is being demolished.
The second is to rezone the old Foodland/Ramey’s building on Broadway from C-1 commercial to C-2 commercial.
It was last used as a machine shop, which was allowed by a special use permit.