Columbus will have to pay more than $107,000 from this fiscal year’s general fund to make up for revenue shortfalls from last year.
Councilmen approved a request from city financial officer Milton Rawle to transfer $107,572 from the general fund into special funds to cancel negative balances from four line items in the 2012-13 fiscal year budget.
Nearly $63,223 of that amount was due to a lack of revenue at the landfill, Rawle said. The city also had to finish paying for a bulldozer for that department.
“My hope is this fiscal year, now that there’s no debt on the bulldozer, we can recoup some of that money by the end of the year to go back to the general fund,” Rawle said, adding the city is operating in the positive so far this fiscal year for the landfill.
Another $10,975 will be used to zero out the narcotics unit line item. Rawle said expenses outweighed revenues by that amount partially because no drug seizures were recorded since February.
The city will have to make up a $15,359 shortfall in the 2010 street paving fund. Two invoices to Falcon Contracting and one to Neel-Schaffer adding up to that amount caused the negative balance on that account.
Finally, there were two invoices last fiscal year for renovation of the Trotter Convention Center which added up to $18,014. One of those was from architect Major Andrews IV and the other from city project managing firm J5/Broaddus for its services. A $2.3 million loan from the Mississippi Development Bank, which is funding that project and being paid back by fees-in-lieu from Columbus Light and Water, means the money owed from those invoices will be restored to the general fund.
Access issue leads to call for title search
Columbus resident Mary Jane Runnels spoke to councilmen during the citizen comment portion of the meeting about a first responder access concern in the Hunter’s Hollow/Fox Run subdivision. She gathered a 13-signature petition early last year to have the city remove a road-blocking barricade that was blocking emergency vehicles trying to respond to calls because GPS systems direct them to the barricade, which separates North Hunter’s Hollow from Timberlake Cove and Fox Run Circle. The city, however, does not own that property, a recent search has found, and city attorney Jeff Turnage will have to conduct a title search to see who the owner is.
“We couldn’t find a good reason why the barricade was there in the first place,” Runnels said. “Everybody in the neighborhood wants it taken care of, but no one knows what to do.”
Runnels said she temporarily backed off on the issue until last month, when her father, a resident of that subdivision, died and responders had difficulty getting to his home.
“The deputy coroner couldn’t get there. The funeral home couldn’t get there. One of the pastors couldn’t get there. That raised a little concern for us,” she said. “Our concern is emergencies and should there be an emergency that precious time would be lost because of (the blockage).”
While the city finds out who owns the property, temporary signage will be placed to direct motorists to either side of the barricade. Councilmen unanimously passed a motion by Bill Gavin of Ward 6 to conduct the search and place signs. Costs to pave the road in the future will also be involved.
“This barricade does present a problem. There are two ways in and out of the streets. The problem is that the GPS directs you through the other way and those emergency vehicles have a tendency to go the wrong way,” Gavin said. “One of the solutions we came up with was … possibly when you come down Hunters Hollow, that particular road down there putting some signage there that points to Hunters Hollow in one direction and Fox Run in the other direction temporarily until we can get this resolved because it’s not going to be resolved in just a short period of time.”
In other business, the council:
■ Issued two letters of reprimand to employees in the office of federal programs and administrative staff and increased the pay of a police officer in the investigations division. Those actions were taken in executive session and city officials would not discuss who received the reprimands;
■ Approved requests from city police chief Selvain McQueen to hire three officers and a work program supervisor;
■ Approved a request from public works director Casey Bush to hire a laborer;
■ Approved a request from federal programs director Travis Jones to apply for the HOME Investment Partnership Program and advertise for a public hearing;
■ Approved a resolution to support the Citizens for Economic Development Act.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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