Skip Navigation Links

City Approves Budget for 2017-18

Monday, April 17, 2017 - Posted 8:58:17 PM
The Minonk City Council approved the 2017-2018 budget at their Monday night council meeting with the exception of Alderman Russell Ruestman who voted no. Alderman Ruestman at the previous council meeting voiced his concern over a $446,000 deficit built into the budget.

City Adminstrator Austin Edmondson commented on the current budget report. He said the MFT Fund is over its budget because of increased cost in the annual repair program this year. The Water Fund has not continued its rebound but in fact has gotten worse showing a loss of $23,319 on a cash basis year to date. In light of the work needed in the water department for the next fiscal year he said we should take a hard look at water rate structure. The Sewer Fund continues to hold a good positive margin of $67,092. The balance in the Garbage pick-up fund is down a bit to $4,162, but that is still enough to cover the next City wide clean up scheduled for May 12th & 13th. The Ambulance Fund deficient has increased to $54,698. The good news within the ambulance budget is that the rate of expenditures is right where it should be, it's just that revenues continue to lag.

Police Report

Expect enforcement to increase as the spring weather approaches. There is ample time to correct violations without fines or court appearance and costs, as long as the correction Is documented by the Police Department. Currently there are two juvenl/es and two adults needing to complete community service hours, which is managed by Minonk Police Department and Woodford County Probation. Please contact the Chief if any community service is needed. Minonk PD continues to investigate their open cases and most recent residential burglaries and thefts working with Woodford, LaSalle and Marshall Counties. They have positively Identified a suspect, and have recovered stolen property from those cases. They are currently working on an arrest warrant with Woodford County States Attorney for the suspect in those cases. The community has been actively reporting any suspicious activity, which has helped with current cases, and even resulted with arrests in a couple incidents.

TIF II Funds Awarded to The Sweet Shop

The council approved TIF II funds of $5600 to Fred and Francis Allen for facade improvement to The Sweet Shop at 6th and Chestnut.  The amount is 1/3 of the project cost of $16.780.  The funds will be used to remove the shingles on the front overhang with metal siding and add a new soffit with lights.  Also, the north side of the building will be repainted above the mural.

In other business, the City has filed a lawsuit against Dennis Berlin seeking a fine for keeping a warehouse in a business district and also violating the City's public nuisance ordinance.