City budget approved

Portland City Council on Monday approved the city’s 2016 budget.
Mayor Randy Geesaman told the council the estimated budget for 2016 is $6,786,965.
A council member also raised concerns about the city’s methamphetamine problem.
It marks an increase of $262,850 from the city’s 2015 budget. The general fund increased by $72,519, and the motor vehicle highway fund saw a 33 percent increase of $303,619.
The mayor also noted that slight budget increases were made to accommodate expected increases in insurance costs.
The full budget is available at http://www.budgetnotices.in.gov.
Council members Don Gillespie, Kent McClung, Judy Aker, Bill Gibson, Mark Hedges and Kip Robinette, absent Michael Brewster, voted unanimously to approve the budget on first reading. It will go to Jay County Council for a non-binding review Wednesday and then will be sent to Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
City Council will then need to approve the budget on second reading.
The tax rate is expected to be about the same as it was for 2015 at $1.38 per $100 of assessed value.
McClung commented about the number of condemned methamphetamine houses in the city. He said he is concerned because he noticed a large number of such houses in his neighborhood on the city’s south side.
“It kind of hits hard when you’re taking a walk and see those notices on the front doors,” he said.
Geesaman noted that he and police chief Nathan Springer have discussed the issue. He plans to have a meeting with the health, police and building and zoning departments to talk about it.
He called it an “epidemic problem.”
“It’s something we’ve always seen in the big city, now we see it everywhere and unfortunately we’re not immune to it in Portland,” he said.
In other business, the council:
•Asked the public to be patient with city hall over the next few weeks while the building is repaired and remodeled.
•Heard the mayor will hold a public forum at 7 p.m. Thursday at Holiday Inn Express.
•Learned several area counties have expressed an interest in having U.S. 27 designated a historic route. The issue was originally introduced to the state legislature in 2007. Gessaman said the city and county will have the opportunity to adopt a resolution in support of such a designation.