Mayor Roy Kissell received a letter recently from the White County Sheriff’s Office notifying him that dispatch charges would go up 46% next year from $11,000 to $16,100. He was under the impression that there would be only a small increase and doesn’t know how they arrived at that number. No meeting was held with the various communities under the agreement to discuss the amount, as all the board members thought there should be. Kissell said they are considering other options, but as of now doesn’t know what they’ll do. The board unanimously agreed to table the matter until they can get some answers.
The annual tax levy was passed in the amount of $193,810.
The radios are ready to be installed in the new police vehicle and all the vehicles have the emblems on them as well as having the new flashlights.
Concerning houses on the repair or demolish list, one is being worked on and have been given an extension for completion, one is under new ownership and the new owner is improving the property and two others are going to court. The board also approved resolutions to repair or demolish seven additional houses.
In TIF news, the paperwork on Donovan Mead’s welding shop has yet to come in.
All residents are again urged to remove limbs and leaves from culverts and ditches to prevent them from being clogged up.
The 2020 board meeting calendar was approved. All meetings, except in September, will still be on the first Monday of every month at 7 PM.
In the police report for November, there were seven reports written, no arrests made and three citations issued, as well as five 9-1-1 calls.
The board agreed to donate $750 for food baskets to the Ministerial Alliance Food Drive. Last year, they gave out 78 food baskets and 89 gifts to children.
The lighting of the Christmas Tree will be at 6 PM this Friday with Santa at the Lions Club after the ceremony serving cookies and hot chocolate, and there will be a vendor fair at the Lions Club on Thursday, December 12.
The annual employee Christmas Dinner will be December 14th at 4 PM at the Hideout in Marion.
A 40 minute executive session was held to discuss employee’s salaries and bonuses. It was decided that all would receive a one dollar an hour wage increase, in line with the state’s minimum wage laws, and they would receive the same holiday bonus as last year.
The next village board meeting will be on Monday, January 6th at 7 PM.
