By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
At the Feb. 24 meeting of the Panora City Council, the councilmembers discussed the proposed budget and set a public hearing on the matter for Monday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m., immediately prior to the regular council meeting on that date.
The council voted unanimously to approve a 3% pay increase for all city employees.
Susanne Gerlach (Public Financial Management) offered a presentation regarding the city’s public utilities and rates. She suggested modest increases to the city’s water and sewer rates to help build up a balance for future needs.
“I think, overall, things look really good,” Gerlach said.
During the Public Forum portion of the meeting, citizen Josh Calmer spoke regarding a sewer issue at his property, 411 E. Main St. He explained that he received a large bill (nearly $7,000) from Accu-Jet for fixing the problem, but he feels it should not be his responsibility, since the issue was with lining in the pipes, and he did not contact Accu-Jet.
Mayor Curt Thornberry agreed and said he had experienced a similar situation at his property.
“This should be on us because this was on the inside of the pipe. He has no access to the pipe,” Thornberry said.
The matter will be added to the agenda for consideration at the March 10 council meeting.
City Administrator Lisa Grossman mentioned a dividend the city received from the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) Safety Group in the amount of $26,676.
“This is the highest dividend I’ve ever seen,” Grossman said.
The next regular meeting of the council will be Monday, March 10 at 5:30 p.m. The public is welcome. Interested persons may attend in person or electronically by visiting the website https://meet.goto.com/cityofpanora or by phone 1-312-757-3121 (Access Code 295-099-701, Audio PIN 220#).