Today's Feature

Budget In Good Shape.

The City Council Budget/Ways and Means Committee met Monday evening in a regular session. Items of discussion included the budget for the 2007 fiscal year.

City Administrator Tom Short provided new paperwork reflecting the budget cuts made at the previous committee meeting, which showed that the budget was fairly close to being balanced.

Short told the committee that all of the fund categories, after being re-figured with the changes, showed positive ending balances.

The general fund available budget is listed at $7.52 million, and the most recent appropriation amount is listed at $7.39 million, leaving $133,833 unappropriated. The original requested amount for general funds, which includes all department capital improvement requests, was approximately $12.1 million. This amount was largely reduced at the previous meeting due in part to the elimination of several larger roadwork projects from the budget until some of the other larger projects, like the Fairview/71 interchange are completed.

The committee also approved a cost of living adjustment for City employees in the amount of 1%.

Fire Chief John Cooper spoke concerning an alternative to purchasing a new pumper truck for the Fire Department. The purchase of a new truck had been included in the 2007 capital improvement requests for the Fire department, as the current pumper truck is burning copious amounts of oil. Cooper told the committee that it was possible to have the cab and chassis of the current truck replaced, using the body of the current truck, for approximately half of the cost of purchasing a new truck. The committee encouraged Cooper to seek bids for the work.

Stench Report:
Tuesday,
5/16/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage
Square

‘Course in the olden days not havin’ a tan was the sign of rank. Folks with tans had ta work outdoors. Now it’s a sign of havin’ leisure time ta be out on the lake. At least this guy was gettin’ his tan the old fashioned way, not out of a bottle.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• "When I go shopping at the grocery store, nothing irritates me more than to open a carton of eggs to see if there are any broken, and the carton not closing back up. So, I decided to find my own solution. I now take a rubber band in my purse to wrap around the carton to hold the lid in place until I get home. Once they’ve been opened, they never shut tight again. Case solved!" -- E.D. in Alaska

• For a fresher-smelling car, stick one fabric-softener sheet under each seat and one in the trunk. Change them monthly or whenever the smell wears out.

• Two products have hit the market in recent years that have an endless number of great applications: chalkboard paint and magnetic paint. These go on just like regular roll-on or spray paints, and make the surface either like a chalkboard or magnetized to hold magnets. Try it inside your kitchen cabinets or in the workshop. Check your local hardware store or home-improvement store for these products.

• "When the recipe calls for walnuts in banana bread, add pecans instead. Walnuts tend to dry out the banana bread, and pecans don’t." -- S.W. in Arkansas

• "It’s that time of year again to store my winter sweaters. I keep them in an under-the-bed plastic container that I bought a few Christmases ago. It’s a wreath box -- a big square. For most of my sweaters, I just lay them in the box, stacked, with a piece of tissue paper between each one. Then when I have the box mostly filled, I just fold over the sleeves into the box and put on the lid. Make sure your clothes are cleaned professionally before you store them, even if they don’t look dirty. Stains that set over the summer will never come up." -- N.W. in Michigan