City Council Has Municipal Funding on the Agenda

A brief public hearing was held by the Lamar City Council during their December 10^th meeting on the proposed 2018 Supplemental Budget to transfer appropriated monies between funds for the current year ending December 31st, 2018.

Lamar Office, Bianca Hernandez

Mayor Pro-Tem, Kirk Crespin, administered the oath of office to Lamar’s newest police officer, Bianca Hernandez during the council meeting.  She is a long time Lamar resident.

The council approved Resolution 18-12-02 which allows the city to appropriate additional sums of money to defray expenses in excess of amounts budgeted for the City of Lamar. This action allows for moneys to be transferred from one city account into another.  In this instance, the General Fund is transferring revenues which increased from $8,345,031 to $11,195,031; the Sales Tax Fund from revenues which increased from $3,760,813 to $4,160,813 and the Sanitation Fund for revenues which increased from $1,343,162 to $1,455,000.  The appropriation increases include the ARPA settlement monies in the General Fund, higher revenue from the Sales Tax than budgeted and unanticipated expenses related to the Landfill due to compliance regulations and insurance claim funds paid to the city from a trash truck fire.

The council approved the engagement letter from Holscher, Mayberry and Co., LLC for a 2018 audit on all funds of the City of Lamar. The council had approved a proposal from the firm in 2016 for the years 2017 through 2020.  The cost of the audit is not to exceed $41,900, but may be reduced to $38,100 pending the level of services provided by the firm through the year.

The council authorized the City Treasurer, Kristin McCrea to receive unclaimed funds on behalf of the City of Lamar form the State of Colorado Unclaimed Property Division. There are four listings totaling $264.30 comprised of money orders, unidentified remittances, warrants and vendor checks.

The council approved Resolution 18-12-01 which sets the interest rate for 2019 as 2.05% paid on Customer Utility Deposits.   This annual task is updated per the state Public Utility Commission.  There is no interest paid on the water deposits for the first 90 days after a new account is opened.

Belinda Groner, Barbara Hernandez and Claudia Gill of Heritage Defenders reiterated their concerns to the Lamar City Council during the December 10th meeting about adult oriented material available through the EBSCO research website used by local school students. Their comments were made during the audience participation portion of the council meeting prior to the regular agenda.  The Defenders group is also urging the council to explore the level of accountability from the Library Advisory Board regarding the accuracy of past meeting minutes relating to the approval of revisions in the Lamar Library Policy guidelines.

Groner and Barbara Hernandez stated that other research websites are available, but apparently are being passed over in favor of a continuation of EBSCO which is available to minor age students. Mayor Pro-tem, Kirk Crespin, responded, stating that these new statements will allow the council to focus on their concerns.  With regard to other websites, he said the council had reviewed one company suggested by the Defenders, but didn’t notice any major differences between the two, so for the time being, the Library is continuing to use EBSCO.

Eric Depperschmidt, Executive Director of Prowers Economic Prosperity, (PEP) provided the Lamar City Council with a quarterly update on the organization’s activities. “We’re posting a job listing link on our website which provides an overview of openings within the community,” he explained, adding that efforts will be made to publicize the site for the public.  Three new committees have been added to PEP, for budget, policy and incentive packages and the board is working again on SB 18-197 regarding the use of Ports of Entry in Lamar and around the state.  “We’ve been working on this issue since it was defeated last year in the legislature.  We want to get an earlier start this year and approach legislators in urban areas for their support.”  Depperschmidt said a simple, ten-question business survey is being circulated throughout the county for information on any future plans for growth, additional employees or any issues businesses may have in developing their customer base.

The council ratified an earlier phone poll which approved a MOU, Memorandum of Understanding between the Lamar RE-2 School District and the City of Lamar to enable the district to apply for a SAFER Interoperable Communications Grant. The funds will be used to upgrade public safety within the school district and the MOU will be transacted among the Lamar Police Department, E911 and Fire Department.

Bids were awarded by the city to All Rite Paving and Redi Mix and Prowers Aggregate LLC for its annual supply of asphalt, concrete and road base materials. The bids were requested by the selective Item Award Procedure which allows the city the leeway to award a bid on an item-by-item basis.

The annual state award of a grant to the Lamar Public Library was approved by the council by way of a drawdown form for the first time, a new means of processing the funding, which amounts to $4,905. The money will be spent on library materials outlined in the submittal form this past August.

The City Council has cancelled the December 26th meeting and the next regularly scheduled meeting will be on Monday, January 14, 2019.

By Russ Baldwin