Tuesday, August 17, 2010
 
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Cash in the bank, downtown grants and more

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[August 17, 2010]  Monday evening all 10 aldermen were present for the voting session of the Lincoln City Council.

Cash flow is improving... for now

Chuck Conzo, city treasurer, spoke about the state of the city's finances as of the end of July, saying that at that time the general fund portion of the city's accounting records was still running in the red to the tune of $75,430.

He said that Logan County had issued two payments for the city's share of the property taxes collected. On July 5 the county issued a check for $112,730 and on July 30 they issued another for $473,209.

This helped in bringing the red ink from approximately $95,000 in June to $75,000 by the end of July.

In July the state-issued payments on non-home rule tax, municipal sales tax and motor fuel tax totaled $574,439.

Since the first of August, the state has issued additional payments of $266,885 in municipal sales tax and another $65,000 in non-home rule tax.

Conzo said that the result is that as of this date, the black ink is once again flowing in the general fund and there is a new balance of $142,156.

Conzo concluded his report by saying that he didn't want to sound all gloom and doom, but that the council needed to be cautious. The state's ability to pay is going to be temporary, and eventually it will get back to the point that the city is receiving nothing from the state of Illinois.

The reason is that the state began a new fiscal year July 1. Right now, they are paying last year's obligations with new money. By law, the state has until Dec. 31 to pay all their previous-year obligations. The problem is that while they are getting caught up for now, they will run out of money before they can become completely current, and the new obligations will then go unpaid.

Armbrust and Busby say NO

A vote to make a portion of Davey Street a no-parking zone passed with a vote of 9-1, with Alderman David Armbrust voting no.

When the vote came up to create a volunteer group to enforce the city's two-hour parking rule, it passed with a vote of 8-2, with Armbrust and Alderman Buzz Busby voting no.

When these two motions were made, there was no real discussion prior to the vote. However when a motion came up that would assist with the downtown streetscape projects, Armbrust and Busby continued their pattern of voting no, but this time not without discussion.

The first motion made was to dedicate $100,000 from the non-home tax rule funds to the local match requirement for the grant applications that are being prepared for submission to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

During discussion Busby said he felt that whatever money is available should be dedicated to street repairs. He said there are streets in town that are in terrible condition and they should be the No. 1 priority. He added that now is the wrong time to be doing this type of project in the downtown area.

However, Alderwoman Marty Neitzel commented that she had recently seen a commercial on television about Monticello. She said that the small town in Piatt County just to the east has done a lot to improve their downtown area, and it is paying off for them.

Neitzel went on to say that the city of Lincoln needed to do something to attract people to the downtown area.

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Alderwoman Joni Tibbs added that the downtown area is the heart of any city, and it has to be healthy if the city is to survive.

When the vote was taken, it passed 8-2, with Armbrust and Busby once again voting no.

The second motion that involved the grant applications was a resolution recognizing that there were blighted structures in the downtown area.

Mayor Keith Snyder said the grants required that there be a certain percentage of blighted structures that needed improvement or demolition. This resolution would assure the grantors that the city recognizes their blighted structures and will take action on them once the grants are awarded. This motion passed unanimously.

No new parking on Broadway

Last Tuesday Snyder asked that city fire Chief Kent Hulett, city engineer Mark Mathon, and Tracy Jackson, the street and alley superintendent, investigate the possibility of removing a no-parking zone along the north side of the post office on Broadway.

The space is currently marked as parking for emergency vehicles only, but it was observed by a city constituent that it is not being used in that manner.

Mathon said the group of three had taken a good look at the area. Using the fire department's ladder truck, they observed how the truck's turning radius made it impossible for it to get out of the fire station without crossing both lanes of Broadway and entering into that possible parking area.

Mathon said that with laws regarding distance from corners and alleyways to parking spaces, and the fact that the nose of the ladder truck enters that area, it would be impossible to add space there.

On a lighter note

The mayor showed the council items that had been donated specifically for a giveaway to kids during the art and balloon fest. Items depicting the city-sponsored balloon, Wally, were given to the city by the balloon pilot, Steve Woller, and included, among other things, a large cap in the shape of the orange and white striped fish that is Wally.

Snyder also noted that he is going to prepare a proclamation making Aug. 27 Max Mitchell Day in Lincoln.

Mitchell, who is from the Champaign area, has participated with his balloon, Travelin Lite, in all 22 of the city's annual festivals. In addition, Mitchell has been sponsored all 22 years by the same local business, Logan County Title Co.

[By NILA SMITH]

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