Today's Feature
Council Expenditures Discussions.The City Council will be looking at
several significant expenditure bills during its
regular meeting in City Hall this evening.
The second reading and the vote
on approving $199,942 for a new multipurpose
structure at Fair Acres Sports Complex is
scheduled. The 2,100 square foot concrete masonry
building with two levels, rest rooms, concession
sales area, storeroom, mechanical room,
scorers’ room on the second level, and
standing seam metal roof was recommended by the
Public Services Committee. Funding for the
building is included in the $1.5 million budget
furnished by the Steadley Trust.
A separate but related project
also up for vote is the extension of George
Phelps Boulevard between River and Fulton Street
adjacent to the Fair Acres Complex. The $128,744
price tag would come from City funds. The project
was scheduled in this years appropriations but is
slightly over budget. The Public Works Committee
has recommended accepting the bid.
The Council will hear first
reading of a Council bill that would amend the
fiscal year 1999-2000 budget and appropriate a
sum not to exceed $20,000 for accrued non-vested
retirement funds. The appropriation would be
reflected in the Economic Development
Director/General Administration portion of the
budget.
According to City Administrator
Tom Short, the funds would be used to offset
retirement contributions that would have
benefited City Economic Development Director Max
McKnight. Under the City’s retirement plan
with Local Government Employees Retirement,
(LAGER) an employee cannot move retirement
contributions made by the City until they have
been employed at least five years. If the
proposed agreement between the City and the
Carthage Chamber of Commerce is approved,
McKnight would leave the employ of the City with
only four years service and become an employee of
the Chamber. The Chamber would then contract with
the City for economic development services.
Short says the City/Chamber
agreement would put in play a unique set of
circumstances.
The $20,000 appropriation,
which would be transferred to a non governmental
retirement plan, would avoid any penalty being
assessed to McKnight for accepting the
City/Chamber terms.
The Council will also hear the
first reading of a Council bill amending a
portion the City personnel policy which deals
with worker’s compensation policy.
Commentary
Martin "Bubs"
Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
Things are
starting to pick up as the 2000 Session of the
Legislature finished its first month. As I have
told you in previous columns, the first few weeks
are notoriously slow as bills get filed,
committee hearings get underway, and preliminary
work begins on the state budget.
We did start floor debate this
week on two bills. One deals with health care
coverage and the other with the so-called tobacco
settlement. Since we are far from finished with
the health care debate, I am going to talk about
the tobacco bill this week.
General consensus is that we
are probably going to send the tobacco settlement
to a vote of the people. What this means is that
you will be voting on whether or not you want the
tobacco money to count as a part of total state
revenue. If it counts as total state revenue, it
would be subject to a Hancock refund. If not, it
wouldn’t be figured in the refund formula.
Until that is sent to a vote,
there was a bill to create a trust fund in which
to put the money when it is collected. The money
would be put in the fund until it can be decided
what to ultimately do with the money. The bill
was debated on Tuesday and it passed
overwhelmingly.
I voted against it as a matter
of principle since I am still opposed to the
tobacco settlement in any form. The last I knew,
tobacco is still a legal product in all 50
states, including Missouri. I think it is just
wrong to commit extortion against an industry
that is producing a legal product.
All this whole thing amounts to
is a money grab by the government and anyone that
uses tobacco is going to pay for it. How, you
might ask.
Rest assured that the tobacco
companies will raise their prices to cover the
costs of the settlement. Just as always happens
when government tries to stick it to businesses,
the public pays the price.
Who is next on the target list?
Will they go after companies that make cars,
guns, junk food, and who knows what else? If
precedent is set that governments will be able to
extract money from any industry they decide to go
after, no one will be safe from the money grab.
Don’t be fooled into
thinking this is the reimbursement for health
care costs that it was originally touted as being
for. Now that it looks as though it is going to
be a reality, every special interest group has
their hand out for a piece of the settlement.
Once these programs are in place and the money
runs out, guess who will pick up the ongoing
costs; that’s right, you will. The more
things change, the more they stay the same.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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