July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Redkey finally gets good financial news (01/19/07)
Redkey Town Council
By By ROBERT BANSER-
REDKEY - "Starting to turn the corner" is how Redkey town attorney John Brooke said he views the latest developments for this financially-troubled community.
In her year-end financial report clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby listed balances of $8,700 in the water operating fund, and $22,500 in the sewage operating fund. At the end of 2005 both of these funds were in the red, she pointed out.
Also the general fund reflected a $43,000 balance at the end of 2006, Kirby said. Overall the balance in all town funds topped $302,000, as of Dec. 31, 2006, she pointed out.
Her good financial news was greeted with a round of applause from the council and members of the audience at Thursday night's town meeting which marked the first of the new year for Redkey officials.
"We're making a lot of progress, but we still need to watch our spending," Kirby said, noting that even she was surprised at first by the size of the balance in the sewage treatment fund. "That's a good feeling," she said.
Another factor in the turnaround, according to Brooke, is that the town is starting to make progress in collecting past-due water and sewer bill accounts.
The attorney provided an update on cases which his office has filed in small claims court against 14 delinquent water-sewer bill accounts. Judgments in the town's favor have been issued in six of the cases, and court hearings or trial dates have been set in the other eight cases.
The total amount of the 14 claims was in excess of $40,000 and the judgments in Redkey's favor totaled nearly $30,000, Brooke said. He noted that some of these were default judgments where the defendants did not respond in court, and liens will be placed against the property. If the land is sold in the future, the liens will have to be paid, he said.
In other action at Thursday night's meeting, newly elected council member Doug Stanley was unanimously chosen to be the town council president. This marked the first session of his new term, although he had previously served on the council in the 1980s.
Dixie Toy was elected vice president.
See Redkey page 5
Continued from page 1
Next Stanley appointed council members to oversee the various town departments. These included: water and sewer utilities, Toy; streets, Darrell Smith; fire department Dottie Quakenbush; parks, Charles Noble; and police department, Stanley.
If some of these assignments don't work out, they can be changed at a later date, Stanley said.
In other business at Thursday's meeting, council members:
•Unanimously approved moving forward with plans to apply for a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant for the construction of a new water reservoir tank and water main improvements.
Wayne Bailey, representing Commonwealth Engineers Inc. of Indianapolis, said the grant proposal has been scaled down to only constructing a new reservoir tank and upgrading some of the town's water lines. Bailey said that repairs to water mains along Ind. 1 will be eliminated from the project because the state plans road construction work in that area in the near future.
•Listened to a presentation from Mid-Atlantic Storage Systems, Inc., of DeKalb, Ill., about a new type of elevated water tank and its advantages over traditional welded tanks like the one currently located in Redkey. Maintenance costs would be lower on this type of tank, as it doesn't need to be periodically painted, company representative Jim Wary explained.
Following the presentation, Stanley said, "That took a little time, but this is something we need to spend a lot of time on."
•Approved an ordinance prohibiting parking on the south side of West High Street between Oak Street and Railroad Street, directly across from the truck bay doors for the Redkey Fire Station. Fire Chief Randy Young had requested the passage of this ordinance to make it easier for the fire trucks to get in and out of the station.
•Introduced for further study and review, two draft ordinances. One deals with mobile home requirements and the other is intended to prohibit loitering. Both are scheduled for more discussion at the next town council meeting on Feb. 15.
•Approved a request from the Redkey Optimist Club to sponsor a circus in the community with a tentative date of May 17 which is a Thursday.[[In-content Ad]]
In her year-end financial report clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby listed balances of $8,700 in the water operating fund, and $22,500 in the sewage operating fund. At the end of 2005 both of these funds were in the red, she pointed out.
Also the general fund reflected a $43,000 balance at the end of 2006, Kirby said. Overall the balance in all town funds topped $302,000, as of Dec. 31, 2006, she pointed out.
Her good financial news was greeted with a round of applause from the council and members of the audience at Thursday night's town meeting which marked the first of the new year for Redkey officials.
"We're making a lot of progress, but we still need to watch our spending," Kirby said, noting that even she was surprised at first by the size of the balance in the sewage treatment fund. "That's a good feeling," she said.
Another factor in the turnaround, according to Brooke, is that the town is starting to make progress in collecting past-due water and sewer bill accounts.
The attorney provided an update on cases which his office has filed in small claims court against 14 delinquent water-sewer bill accounts. Judgments in the town's favor have been issued in six of the cases, and court hearings or trial dates have been set in the other eight cases.
The total amount of the 14 claims was in excess of $40,000 and the judgments in Redkey's favor totaled nearly $30,000, Brooke said. He noted that some of these were default judgments where the defendants did not respond in court, and liens will be placed against the property. If the land is sold in the future, the liens will have to be paid, he said.
In other action at Thursday night's meeting, newly elected council member Doug Stanley was unanimously chosen to be the town council president. This marked the first session of his new term, although he had previously served on the council in the 1980s.
Dixie Toy was elected vice president.
See Redkey page 5
Continued from page 1
Next Stanley appointed council members to oversee the various town departments. These included: water and sewer utilities, Toy; streets, Darrell Smith; fire department Dottie Quakenbush; parks, Charles Noble; and police department, Stanley.
If some of these assignments don't work out, they can be changed at a later date, Stanley said.
In other business at Thursday's meeting, council members:
•Unanimously approved moving forward with plans to apply for a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant for the construction of a new water reservoir tank and water main improvements.
Wayne Bailey, representing Commonwealth Engineers Inc. of Indianapolis, said the grant proposal has been scaled down to only constructing a new reservoir tank and upgrading some of the town's water lines. Bailey said that repairs to water mains along Ind. 1 will be eliminated from the project because the state plans road construction work in that area in the near future.
•Listened to a presentation from Mid-Atlantic Storage Systems, Inc., of DeKalb, Ill., about a new type of elevated water tank and its advantages over traditional welded tanks like the one currently located in Redkey. Maintenance costs would be lower on this type of tank, as it doesn't need to be periodically painted, company representative Jim Wary explained.
Following the presentation, Stanley said, "That took a little time, but this is something we need to spend a lot of time on."
•Approved an ordinance prohibiting parking on the south side of West High Street between Oak Street and Railroad Street, directly across from the truck bay doors for the Redkey Fire Station. Fire Chief Randy Young had requested the passage of this ordinance to make it easier for the fire trucks to get in and out of the station.
•Introduced for further study and review, two draft ordinances. One deals with mobile home requirements and the other is intended to prohibit loitering. Both are scheduled for more discussion at the next town council meeting on Feb. 15.
•Approved a request from the Redkey Optimist Club to sponsor a circus in the community with a tentative date of May 17 which is a Thursday.[[In-content Ad]]
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