Among the items on the City Council meeting agenda Thursday night were resolutions to approve the city’s operating and sales tax budgets for 2011. 

When it came time for the operating budget’s approval, Carolyn Brown made a motion to postpone the vote until January to allow input from Mayor-elect Allen Maxwell on the decision. The motion to postpone the budget vote failed with a 4-4 tie, allowing the vote to approve the budget to proceed.

The operating budget for 2011 then passed with a 5-3 margin. Alderman Tim Chase (one of the three “no” votes)  stated, “I vote ‘no’ solely for the reason that I feel we should wait til January to pass it.  The budget’s fine. I just would like for the incoming mayor to have some input on it.”

When the budget for the sales and use tax came around,  Brown again made a motion to postpone the vote til January and it also failed with a 4-4 tie.

City attorney Bill Daniels reminded the council they can make an adjustment to the budget at anytime in the upcoming year, not just in December, as is the usual practice.

This budget also passed with a 5-3 margin.

The Monticello City Council approved an additional $20,000 to add to the currently allocated $45,000, from several years ago, to be used for renovations and improvements to the Monticello City Square.

The modernization project will take place in four stages:

1.   fountain
2.   sidewalks
3.   columns
4.   sod

This is the same topic of last week’s meeting, where council member Claudia Hartness argued with the rest of the council over the improvements.  At that meeting, the council asked the square improvement committee to provide a drawing and cost estimates, which led to Wednesday night’s meeting.

Last week’s video has been viewd 425 time, so far.

MonticelloLive on Vimeo.