Brief special meeting aligns budget for next fiscal year

A special meeting Monday of the Rogers City Council to adjust the budget before the end of the fiscal year (Wednesday) was almost as short as a wait at the traffic light at Third and Erie, but just as necessary. The annual budget adjustment is typically taken care of at the second regular city council meeting in June, because it?s usually the last meeting before the new fiscal year begins July 1.

?The sole purpose of the meeting is to review and approve the necessary budget adjustments for the fiscal year ending June 30,? said mayor Beach Hall during the two-minute meeting which included 15 seconds for the Pledge of Allegiance. ?And that will be the sole topic of conversation.? Prior to reaching that agenda item June 21, the meeting abruptly came to an end when councilman Gary Nowak walked out of council chambers. He left behind councilman Jim Sinclair, with whom he had had several exchanges during the session, and Hall.

Councilmen Patrick Lamb and Karl Heidemann were not able to be at the meeting. There wasn?t a quorum to legally vote on any more action items or to continue discussing any matters. Hall did the only thing he could do, and that was to smack the gavel down and bring the meeting to a close.

AS THE BEGINNING of Monday?s special session approached, one had to wonder if the special meeting would be conducted at all. Hall and Heidemann were ready before the start time of 10 a.m., and with Nowak and Sinclair out of town, the wait was for Lamb. The second hand went past 10 a.m., which was followed by an announcement from Hall. He said Lamb was on his way. ?I regret that we weren?t able to transact the last item of business at the last council meeting,? said Hall. ?I think those that were here today had their questions answered concerning the budget adjustments. It all went smoothly and quickly today.

?I am very happy we had a quorum today and were able to transact business, because this is something that had to be done by the end of the fiscal year.? Heidemann said he reviewed the budget and believed it to be ?in

line with what had been projected.? City manager John Bruning said an actual dollar figure was difficult to come by because a few ?little items? were adjusted across the board.

?THE BUDGET is an estimate and so there is always some variation in actual expenses versus what we projected,? said Bruning. Clerk/treasurer Theresa Heinzel and staff member Judy Darga went over the budget document prior to presenting it to council and that?s where staff determines if any budget adjustments are needed. ?There were a few minor changes because of some unexpected events. I don?t have any further questions,? said Heidemann.

Lamb offered a motion to approve the recommended changes. The motion was seconded by Heidemann and eventually approved on a 3-0 vote. One of the quickest special meetings, which started at 10:06 and ended at 10:08 a.m., was in the books. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 6 at 7 p.m.

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