RCC discusses budget

By Staff, 11/10/20 9:44 AM

ROSSTON – No action was taken during the November meeting of the Rosston City Council Monday night, though the panel did hear about the proposed 2021 budget.

Rosston Mayor Dale Quarles said there will be few changes from the 2020 to the 2021 budgets as the budget for 2020 was successful, doing well on revenue. He said part of the reason was the city tightened up on people not paying their water bills and sent them shut off notices. This, he told the council, resulted in a $20,000 increase in water revenues over 2019.

He reminded the panel the city  still needs a new pickup and will be looking to get the best deal possible on one.

Quarles pointed out the water project is now in he bid process, saying he expect there to be a lot of interest with several bids submitted. First, though, will be installing new computerized water meters that can help determine if there’s a leak somewhere as they record water usage by date and volume. He said there’s a lot of problems with the current meters, some aren’t working and some run backwards.

According to Quarles, work on refurbishing the water tower won’t likely start until after winter’s over as the tower needs to be painted inside and out.

The proposed street budget for Rosston in 2021 is $27,500 on the income side and $27,000 in expenses. The expenses include $15,000 for gravel and cold mix, $7,500 for maintenance and $4,500 for street lights (utilities).

Anticipated income for the coming year is expected to be $166,485.42, with expenses totaling $125,070. The bulk of the expenses are for payroll for the mayor, treasurer/recorder, water clerk, water operator, fire chief and city council. It also includes $900 in holiday bonuses, $12,000 for office expenditures, $30,000 for solid waste and $15,000 for utilities.