July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Redkey finances still a mess (7/19/05)
Attorney doesn't have all info he requested
By By Robert Banser-
REDKEY — Urging the town council to get more involved in the budget-making process and to keep a closer eye on spending versus income, Redkey town attorney John Brooke described the town’s troubling financial situation to council members in detail for more than an hour Monday night.
Voicing frustration at the end of the meeting, Brooke said he is still looking for more support from town council members to straighten out the numerous financial problems.
If current spending trends continue, the town will be facing a deficit of about $30,000 by the end of 2005, Brooke said. He anticipates another loan, against future property tax money, will be necessary sometime in the late fall, basically just to meet payroll needs.
Also Brooke pointed out that several points of information requested from Redkey clerk-treasurer Brenda Adkins more than a month ago have yet to be produced.
One of these relates to copies of all outstanding financial claims against the town.
“What sort of bills are still outstanding against the town?” Brooke asked Monday night.
The initial response from the clerk-treasurer was that with the approval of the payment of claims at Monday night’s meeting, everything would be caught up. However, Brooke persisted with his questioning, asking about an outstanding bill to Peerless Midwest of Westchester for some water department work which has already been completed. “We’re paying Peerless $1,000 a month,” Adkins said.
“That’s an outstanding bill. I think,” Brooke said.
Also the attorney pointed out that existing lease-purchase arrangements for town police vehicles fell under the same category.
“Are there other bills which the town is paying on time?” Brooke continued.
Council member Dottie Quakenbush asked if the $825 fine which the town agreed to pay in April to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management had been paid yet. This fine related to the town’s ongoing efforts to gain IDEM compliance concerning the elimination of combined sewer overflows.
To the apparent surprise of council members, Adkins said that the town still has not drafted a check to pay the IDEM fine.
Following further discussion and comments from the audience, Brooke said, “The bottom line is that the town will have to borrow more money in October to continue to operate.”
Adkins asked if it might be possible to just watch spending more closely. However, town president Violet Erlenbush disagreed, saying gas and utility bills could not be cut back. “We’re not spending on new things. We’re just maintaining,” Erlenbush said.
Just the payment of employee wages “will eat up” most of the remaining money — “putting the town in the red,” Brooke said.
Also Brooke recommended increases in sewer, water and trash bills to residents and property owners. He said these were all overdue with the last sewer rate hike in 1988 and the last water rate hike in 1999.
The trash collection figures also need to be increased, as the city is now charging property owners $6.50 a month for trash pick up, while with its most recent increase, the town is now paying $7.50 a month per pick up.
Brooke recommended that the town hire an accounting firm to do a rate study to determine what adjustments should be made in the water and sewer rates. However, after discussing the matter with Erlenbush, the attorney said the consultant’s fee might be less if the town waited until after a scheduled Indiana State Board of Accounts audit which is expected to be done sometime this summer.
Favoring such a delay, Erlenbush said, “Redkey’s finances didn’t get into this shape overnight.”
The discussion about town finances took up nearly an hour and a half of the council’s time Monday night, and at times Erlenbush banged her gavel several times to restore order.
After town council critic Joe Anderson was told by audience member Don Knisely that if Anderson didn’t like the situation, “There was s a road leading out of town,” Brooke interrupted to say the discussion was no longer productive and “creating animosity.”
Brooke continued that he felt the town council should be more involved in the budget-making process and schedule some public hearings or meetings on the upcoming budget for 2006.
“The town council should start looking at this to crunch some serious numbers,” Brooke said.
Also discussed at the meeting were plans to try to collect outstanding water bills, as well as move the clerk-treasurer’s office into the computer age. Quakenbush volunteered to help investigate the computer idea, while Adkins said she still did not have an overall list of delinquent water and sewer bill customers.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, council members:
•Voted to drop a proposal to adopt an ordinance regulating the use of golf carts on town streets.
•Approved second and final reading of an abandoned vehicle ordinance.
•Agreed to establish a seven-member planning commission which is one of the requirements for adopting zoning codes for the community.[[In-content Ad]]
Voicing frustration at the end of the meeting, Brooke said he is still looking for more support from town council members to straighten out the numerous financial problems.
If current spending trends continue, the town will be facing a deficit of about $30,000 by the end of 2005, Brooke said. He anticipates another loan, against future property tax money, will be necessary sometime in the late fall, basically just to meet payroll needs.
Also Brooke pointed out that several points of information requested from Redkey clerk-treasurer Brenda Adkins more than a month ago have yet to be produced.
One of these relates to copies of all outstanding financial claims against the town.
“What sort of bills are still outstanding against the town?” Brooke asked Monday night.
The initial response from the clerk-treasurer was that with the approval of the payment of claims at Monday night’s meeting, everything would be caught up. However, Brooke persisted with his questioning, asking about an outstanding bill to Peerless Midwest of Westchester for some water department work which has already been completed. “We’re paying Peerless $1,000 a month,” Adkins said.
“That’s an outstanding bill. I think,” Brooke said.
Also the attorney pointed out that existing lease-purchase arrangements for town police vehicles fell under the same category.
“Are there other bills which the town is paying on time?” Brooke continued.
Council member Dottie Quakenbush asked if the $825 fine which the town agreed to pay in April to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management had been paid yet. This fine related to the town’s ongoing efforts to gain IDEM compliance concerning the elimination of combined sewer overflows.
To the apparent surprise of council members, Adkins said that the town still has not drafted a check to pay the IDEM fine.
Following further discussion and comments from the audience, Brooke said, “The bottom line is that the town will have to borrow more money in October to continue to operate.”
Adkins asked if it might be possible to just watch spending more closely. However, town president Violet Erlenbush disagreed, saying gas and utility bills could not be cut back. “We’re not spending on new things. We’re just maintaining,” Erlenbush said.
Just the payment of employee wages “will eat up” most of the remaining money — “putting the town in the red,” Brooke said.
Also Brooke recommended increases in sewer, water and trash bills to residents and property owners. He said these were all overdue with the last sewer rate hike in 1988 and the last water rate hike in 1999.
The trash collection figures also need to be increased, as the city is now charging property owners $6.50 a month for trash pick up, while with its most recent increase, the town is now paying $7.50 a month per pick up.
Brooke recommended that the town hire an accounting firm to do a rate study to determine what adjustments should be made in the water and sewer rates. However, after discussing the matter with Erlenbush, the attorney said the consultant’s fee might be less if the town waited until after a scheduled Indiana State Board of Accounts audit which is expected to be done sometime this summer.
Favoring such a delay, Erlenbush said, “Redkey’s finances didn’t get into this shape overnight.”
The discussion about town finances took up nearly an hour and a half of the council’s time Monday night, and at times Erlenbush banged her gavel several times to restore order.
After town council critic Joe Anderson was told by audience member Don Knisely that if Anderson didn’t like the situation, “There was s a road leading out of town,” Brooke interrupted to say the discussion was no longer productive and “creating animosity.”
Brooke continued that he felt the town council should be more involved in the budget-making process and schedule some public hearings or meetings on the upcoming budget for 2006.
“The town council should start looking at this to crunch some serious numbers,” Brooke said.
Also discussed at the meeting were plans to try to collect outstanding water bills, as well as move the clerk-treasurer’s office into the computer age. Quakenbush volunteered to help investigate the computer idea, while Adkins said she still did not have an overall list of delinquent water and sewer bill customers.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, council members:
•Voted to drop a proposal to adopt an ordinance regulating the use of golf carts on town streets.
•Approved second and final reading of an abandoned vehicle ordinance.
•Agreed to establish a seven-member planning commission which is one of the requirements for adopting zoning codes for the community.[[In-content Ad]]
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