Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Winsted council whittles year 2000 budget



Winsted City Council was able to cut more than the $12,000
it needed to balance the budget at Tuesday’s meeting.

Looking over pages and pages of a line item budget, the
council set out by addressing all expenditures from trees to desks.

Later into the meeting, the council discovered $7,500 on
a line item labeled improvements, which was marked for spending on park
play equipment. The city had previously purchased those items and opted
to cut that amount.

Having already cut a significant amount out of the budget,
that item put the council over its $12,000 goal of what it was seeking to
cut.

Council Member Jeff Albers urged the council to continue
making cuts, saying, “This benefits us all.”

Budget cuts were made in the public safety and police department
budget. The council discussed with Police Chief Mike Henrich about cutting
back on the call time officers are paid for, and turning those periods over
to the McLeod County Sheriff’s Department for assistance.

Albers said he had discussed the matter with the sheriff,
merely to get information, and told the council that there might be a concern
if the one car that patrols the area was in a town far from Winsted when
a call came in.

Albers noted that an officer from Winsted would still get
time and a half if he/she responded to the call, but Henrich noted that
if officers are not paid for on-call time, they would not have an obligation
to be in town or even to answer the call.

He said he was concerned about the repercussions if an
officer, not under obligation to respond to a call, were to opt not to go
to work.

“As long as you say, ‘Hey Mike, that’s not a problem,’
then it’s okay,” he said.

Ultimately, the council decided not to make a cut on call
time pay. However, it did cut the monies that go to paying for a part-time
officer in the summer months.

A cut of $1,200 will result from eliminating a part-time
officer on Fridays during the summer.

The council opted to stop making cuts in the budget after
Council Member Bob Kegler reminded the other members that whatever is left
over from a budget is returned to the city’s general fund.

City Clerk-Treasurer Betty Zachmann said that the city
is attempting to build up the general fund. Also, the cuts will not necessarily
translate into a decrease in the tax levy, which has yet to be set.

The working budget is now at $1,022,648.

The city passed a resolution to apply for a $150,000 grant
to make the old city hall handicap accessible. The grant, which may or may
not actually be a matching grant, is from the Department of Children, Families,
and Learning.

Albers questioned whether applying for such a grant indicated
that a decision had already been made on the future of the old city hall.
He added that the council should have some dialogue before such a decision
is made.

Mayor Floyd Sneer said it would be beneficial to have such
grants in place and he believed that the library option for the old city
hall would be most likely.

It was also noted that the council is waiting on reports
from its engineering firms and the architect to determine how to proceed
with plans for the old city hall.

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