Dunkirk to look for budget cuts

DUNKIRK — City council would like to take another look at its 2019 budget.

Dunkirk City Council on Monday had a brief discussion about its budget before scheduling a special session for 7 p.m. Oct. 16 in order to discuss it further.

The reason council members decided to try to hold a special meeting to revise the budget next week was two-fold. First, Mayor Gene Ritter said the initial budget — $1,768,410 — would need to be increased by more than $30,000 because some items had been missed. That led to concerns from council members about budget overruns. They suggested taking another look at possible cuts, leading to scheduling the special session for next week.

Ritter said the proposed budget is up $126,595 over the current year.

The deadline to adopt the 2019 budget is Nov. 1.

Council also briefly discussed having a member attend a Jay County Commissioners meeting to request funding for a new roof at The Glass Museum before being informed that funds for the project had already been approved by commissioners earlier in the day.

“I think that’s fantastic,” said council member Jack Robbins. “They jumped in and took care of the problem.”

In other business, council:

•Learned from Robbins that work has begun on the most recent blight elimination project in the city. It will remove nine blighted homes as well as two trailers.

•Asked city attorney Wes Schemenaur to provide a copy of the city’s noise ordinance. Ritter and Bivens said they have received complaints from some residents about noise levels.

•Approved the following: the sale of a parks department truck for $100; payment of a $259.26 invoice from MacAllister Machinery of Muncie for glass cleaning, coolant and other services; updates to the policyies and procedures manual; payment of claimes totaling $136,453.80.

•Heard from Bivens that Dunkirk volunteer firefighters will be hosting their haunted woods from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, as well as Oct. 21 and 22.

•Heard from Johnson that some upkeep is being done at Dunkirk City Pool and it should be winterized by the end of this week.

•Were reminded that a high heel drive to support Glass Days is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

•Were reminded that the city will be flushing fire hydrants from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22 through 26. Residents may experience low pressure or discolored water at that time.