The Houston Police Department will be receiving much needed cameras and tasers as a result of a one-time $43,497 Public Safety Aid allotment. Chief Brett Hurley presented his request at the December 11 regular council meeting. The camera system will be replaced on the 2014 squad car; the current system is outdated and no longer getting updates. The new system will move to a cloud based technology. Current tasers will expire after this year and need replacement as well. Additional security cameras for the Nature Center and the city park bathroom area were also included in the request. All of these items would qualify for the allotment.
Approximately $7,800 would remain from the allotment; Quinn suggested this could be used to purchase a skid for transporting patients with the recently purchased fire department’s ATV as requested by the ambulance and fire department. According to Fire Chief Steve Skifton, prices for a skid range between $5,000 to $10,000.
Councilman Cody Mathers asked what projects they would be deprioritizing if they approved the police department request. City Administrator Michelle Quinn informed the council the items requested by the police department were needed now; other items could be purchased later with other city funds. The allotment requires a tracking of the use of the funds; while there is no time limit on using the allotment, it would be easier to spend the funds and be done with the necessary tracking. The council approved the police department request.
Mike Bubany Presentation
Mike Bubany, Public Finance Advisor with David Drown Associates, visited the meeting to help the council prioritize upcoming projects and determine needed rate increases for water and sewer funds. Using a spreadsheet to illustrate the effects on the city budget from different projects, Bubany ultimately pointed out that the city could not afford to complete all projects on their wish list.
Two projects, Spruce and Cedar Street, will be done in conjunction with the state or the highway department. The council needs to be prepared to do those at the time those entities decide. It appeared that Spruce Street, scheduled for 2025, and Cedar Street, scheduled for 2030 or after, would be included in the budgeting as well as one more, possibly Grant Street. Jackson Street may be delayed since some of the issues with Jackson Street will be dealt with when other streets are worked on.
The city has been putting away some money to be used so the city does not have to take out a short term loan at the time of construction. Small Cities Assistance money will be awarded annually ($30,000 each year); this was not included in the budget projections and will help the budget.
Bubany will check with Matt Mohs about possible grants and send an updated spreadsheet to the city. At that time he will also make suggestions on water and sewer rate increases for the council to consider at their next meeting.
Other business
In other business the council:
•Appointed Brandon Olson and Ken Witt as assistant fire chiefs at the suggestion of Chief Skifton;
•Heard that a plate was leaking at the WTP leading to a loss of filter media; it will need to be replaced which will cause the filter to be down for four to five days;
•Conducted a Truth in Taxation hearing at which no one spoke or commented; the city proposed a 3.01% levy increase, necessary because of rising insurance and infrastructure costs;
•Approved the final 2024 budget with a total levy of $582,300;
•Accepted the resignation of Dale Moga as summer recreation director and approved readvertising the position and interviewing applicants;
•Approved a $1,100 hardship waiver for Annette Dulak to enroll in an EMT training course; Dulak will sign a Commitment to Serve agreement with the city and pay $500;
•Accepted a flag pole donation from Ron and Rae Evenson; it will be installed at the Nature Center;
•Heard and approved a request from the tree board to survey the community about tree replacement; the board will prioritize the city park tree replacement as a potential project to become a Tree City again and are creating a tree inventory for the city to use in applying for DNR grants;
•Accepted audit terms and letters of understanding from Smith Schafer;
•Closed the meeting to discuss the land appraisal for the land near the Owl Center; upon opening the meeting; they directed the council representatives to negotiate an agreement based on that appraisal with the Owl Center.
The next Houston Council meeting will be January 8 in the council chambers at city hall at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
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