Thanksgiving Day brought the Rushford Fire Department to the Mill Street Mall on a fire call. When they got there the fire had already gone out, but not before causing extensive smoke and soot damage throughout the mall. The State Fire Marshall inspected the mall the next day; the insurance adjuster hired an investigator as well. While the cause of the fire is not certain, it … [Read more...]
City of Rushford Village tax levy set
At the regular City of Rushford Village Council meeting December 21, the council set the tax levy for 2022 at $485,000, a modest 2% increase over last year. With the purchase of a new Freightliner truck and payroll raises for the new year, the proposed levy had been $495,000, a 3% raise. The council felt the compromise of a 2% raise would be appreciated by city residents. … [Read more...]
Rushford-Peterson reports financial status at Truth in Taxation meeting
December 20 found the R-P School Board conducting their regular monthly board meeting as well as the required Truth in Taxation meeting. Business manager Toni Oian presented a PowerPoint sharing the district’s financial status; Superintendent Jon Thompson then spoke to share his viewpoint on the district’s financial situation. Oian told the public that the local building … [Read more...]
Clean audit for Houston schools
Luke Gerden, manager of Clifton Larson Allen, an accounting firm from Rochester, appeared via the internet at the December 16 Houston School Board meeting to share the results of the current audit. He reported a clean audit with no compliance issues. Since the school had over $750,000 in federal expenditures this past year, a single audit was required as well. The Coronavirus … [Read more...]
Houston will cover EMT training cost
The Houston City Council decided to pay the training expenses of individuals willing to become trained EMTs at their regular council meeting December 13, 2021. People who train to become EMTs are asked to invest almost 200 hours of their own time for the training. They meet in person once a week during the course and complete the remainder online at their convenience. The … [Read more...]
Houston School’s Truth in Taxation meeting
The required Truth in Taxation meeting for Houston Schools took place December 2, the same night as the regular board meeting with several tax payers present. Gwen Rostad, Houston’s director of finance, presented an informational PowerPoint on Truth in Taxation and the current status of the district. Rostad pointed out that the assessor determines the market value of properties … [Read more...]
Rushford Village renews contract with CEDA
At their regular council meeting December 7, the Rushford Village Council approved the 2022 proposed CEDA (Community Economic Development Associates) contract for $13,790 – up $400 from the previous year. At eight hours every other week, this comes to a rate of approximately $66 per hour. Council member Bob Hart asked exactly what the city gets for that amount. Mayor Dennis … [Read more...]
Houston School accepts bond proposal
Kelly Smith, director in Baker Tilly’s Municipal Advisor Public Education Group, joined the regular Houston School Board meeting November 18 via Zoom to report on the bond sale he helped facilitate for the school earlier that day. According to Smith, interest rates were at near record lows. Robert W. Baird and Co. had the lowest bid of 1.607% on the 15-year bond term. The … [Read more...]
Rushford-Peterson waits for court results on OHSA ETS
Superintendent Jon Thompson informed the Rushford-Peterson School board at their November 15 meeting that R-P falls under the mandate issued by federal OSHA that calls for employers of over 100 people to require employees to have COVID vaccines or take weekly COVID tests and wear masks. This is supposed to go into effect December 5, 2021. Currently, there are several court … [Read more...]
A quieter Houston City Council meeting
The November 8 regular Houston City Council meeting was much quieter in several ways than previous meetings had been. In part, this was due to the installation of 81 baffles which improved the acoustics of the new community center; in part, it was due to the fact that the OHV trail was not on the agenda, nor was it discussed at all! PWD Randy Thesing shared that more baffles … [Read more...]