Russellville works on budget

Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Jessi Murray sported an Ivy Tech Friendship t-shirt as she passed out dozens of roses to fellow students and community members during Greencastle's Friendship Day Wednesday. Picking up roses were (from left) students Ashley Nelson, Ashley McCammon, Heidi Joslyn and Misty Wiltermood. Friendship t-shirts are also for sale at Ivy Tech for $8. Sponsors for the annual event are Ivy Tech, the Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, Eitel's Flowers and Gifts, the Downtown Branch of Old National Bank and Asbury Towers Retirement Community.

RUSSELLVILLE -- The quite war between the Russellville Town Council and Clerk-Treasurer Kay Smith over the handling of the town's $120,000 budget continued at the board's September meeting Wednesday night.

The council presented a revised 2008 budget proposal that Smith drafted after meeting with Ron Stinson, a local representative with the Department of Local Government and Finance, last month.

Council President Sally MacAfee expressed her displeasure that Smith scheduled the meeting with Stinson and drafted the budget without the board's input.

But Smith said after the council meeting that she drafted the budget because that is the Clerk-Treasurer's job. The council has the authority to make changes to it.

Smith's budget is 25 percent more than the proposal drafted by council members and presented at the special meeting Aug. 19.

At the time, MacAfee said she had to guess on most of the figures, since the town council did not have the 2007 budget to reference.

The new draft manages to increase the 2008 budget by less than $500, despite giving 10 percent raises to all town employees. The highest paid employee, Town Marshall Michael Biggs, will make $7,040 in 2008 if the budget is approved as is.

Despite having apparently worked out account balance kinks with the DLGF, the budget was not presented on the official forms.

MacAfee told Smith she needed to present council members with the official proposal and paperwork by Monday.

MacAfee announced the final budget hearing for 4 p.m. Sept. 26.

The council also heard from Water Superintendent Mike Varvel who talked about a number of water plant repairs the town has paid for.

There are also several upgrades and repairs that the town must undertake in order to bring the facility in line with Indiana law, he said.

Those repairs were in response to complaints from residents about the town's water bills, which have recently increased to an average of $52.50 per month per customer.

The Russellville Town Council meetings are open to the public.

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  • Is it quite a war or is it a quiet war? Just wondering?

    -- Posted by reinhardjf on Thu, Sep 13, 2007, at 4:57 PM
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