The Spring Valley City Council met in regular session December 11. Members present included Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, Mike Hadland and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Tony Archer was absent. No visitors had signed up to address the council.
The council certified the 2017 Final Tax Levy and adopted the 2018 budget. Zimmer shared information showing the multi-year budget comparison numbers for the years 2011 through 2018, so that the council could compare the various departments and their revenues. It was noted on the comparison form that the levy includes a $100,000 transfer for Courtland, $45,000 for a squad car, $35,000 for a pickup, and $30,000 for shop doors. Mayor Struzyk pointed out that the approved final levy is “the same amount as in the preliminary (levy)” with a general levy of roughly $629,000 and a total levy of about $1,283,000. Budgetary highlights noted included police increasing by $20,300 due to an increase in contract costs, sidewalk construction increasing from zero to $15,000, and street crack filling decreasing by $10,000. The budget also includes a 2.5% increase in the city’s payscale, and the council approved this through a separate vote.
Approval was given for the final pay for the Industrial Drive project, at $10,576.02. The council also voted to approve the purchase of a pickup truck for the wastewater treatment plant. Zimmer said since the truck will be used almost entirely in town, it should last for many years.
The council voted to approve Resolution 2017-38, Approving Joint Annexation. Zimmer explained, “This will be for what we call the Grub building, the one by Racks…the land around it was already annexed to the city… I have talked to the township, they’re fine with it.” The council also adopted Resolution 2017-43, Designating Polling Place. Zimmer explained, “This is new… our polling place does not change…” She said this resolution is simply due to new state regulations.
The council discussed Resolution 2017-41, Resolution Making Certain Findings with Respect to a Substandard Building (regarding damaged buildings downtown). Zimmer explained that, “The reason we’re doing this is… in the event you want to do a TIF district or financing or funding, we would need this resolution first… this is just to put it in place.” Todd Jones asked, “Is there a time limit to this?” Zimmer said the limit is three years from when the resolution is adopted.
The final council meeting in December will be at noon on December 27, and will be primarily for approving payment of bills. The first meeting of the new year will be Monday, January 8 at 6 p.m. The public is welcome. Zimmer also pointed out that the city’s full audit will be conducted January 31 through February 1.