By BRUCE A. FASOL
In the same manner that most of us want our household to end up at the end of every pay period, the City of West Frankfort finished the fiscal year with more money coming in the door than went out.
An audit report accepted by the West Frankfort City Council at its Thursday night meeting showed a surplus of $139,000, according to Fiance Commissioner Mike Simpson.
Mayor Tom Jordan called the audit “pretty good,” but said he wished it could have been better. He noted a decision to change worker’s compensation providers in 2012 had resulted in savings to the city, and that the city would continue to look for ways to cut expenditures.
One area of concern mentioned was a loss of $7,800 in the water/sewer department. Jordan said the council may need to look at a rate increase in 2013.
In other action, the West Frankfort City Council:
- Reported that the city will begin the process of buying energy under electric aggregation on Friday morning, when supplier responses are due to Select Energy, the company West Frankfort is using as the energy broker. These responses will be studied by the company before the next phase of the project, according to Mayor Jordan.
- Approved a bid to Randy Pearce Construction for a handicap ramp at the Veteran’s Memorial and Museum. Pearce Consruction was the low bidder. The 5-foot wide by 60-foot long ramp will allow handicapped persons access to the Museum located next to the railroad tracks.Approved paying routine bills of $372,532.55 for the month. This included payment for liability/workman comp insurance premium of $ 202,000.
- Voted on a provisional approval to transfer the liquor license from the current owners of Tom’s Mad Pricer to the new owners, pending sale believed to be completed in January.
- Approved final payments for the Mainline Road project.
- Approved a payment of $3,935 to Grimm Auto Repair for brake work on a fire department vehicle.
In commissioner reports, both Street Commissioner Tara Fasol-Chambers and Finance Commissioner Simpson praised work done by Street Department crews to clear city streets following this week’s blizzard. Fasol-Chambers said that they were hampered by having two members of their five member crew off work.
Finally, an end-of-the-year problem will necessitate a special council meeting on Monday, Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. Local tavern owners have requested a 2 a.m. closing on Monday night for New Year’s Eve. However, the request was not made in time to get the item on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting. The Council will take up both New Year’s Eve bar hours and Super Bowl Sunday bar hours at the meeting on Monday.
