Willow Springs City Council Talks Food Vendors and 2022 Budget

The Willow Springs City Council met in regular session on November 18. After passing the consent agenda, Alderman Troy Yonker gave an update on a project that will place welcome signs on the highway at city limits. 

City Administrator Beverly Hicks and City Clerk Heather Duddridge gave an update on the CDBG buyout process of homes that were affected by the 2017 floods. 17 homes are currently being appraised. The Council unanimously passed a resolution that empowered the City Administrator, instead of the mayor, to sign closing documents in conjunction with the CDBG buyouts. 

The Council moved on to a discussion of the 2022 budget. Representing the Board of the Chamber of Commerce, Kim Rich was present to request “any help [the Council] can offer” to financially support the Chamber’s impending move to their new office space. In the past, the Chamber has had an office in City Hall, in a city-owned building, and most recently, in shared office space on Main St. The organization has frequently had support of some kind to offset the cost of utilities.

Last month, the Council did not take any action in response to a written request of the same nature. The Council responded favorably to the in-person appeal, with Hicks pledging to review the 2022 budget for space to help the Chamber, saying, “I think it’s something I could look into.”

As presented, the 2022 budget draft is $970 away from being balanced, which is not unusual or insurmountable at this point in the budget-setting process. 

Overall, the municipal budget has grown from roughly $6 million to $6.3 million. 

“Revenue neutral is the term I like to use,” Hicks said. Though revenues for the City are expected to increase, the cost of necessary supplies have also increased by more than 10%, she reported. The budget draft currently has a 5.9% cost of living raise for City employees and several capital purchases, including a dump truck, a tire roller, mowers, a skid steer, and used trucks. 

Hicks plans to present a final budget draft at the December meeting. 

Under new business, the Council approved members of a Planning and Zoning Board. They unanimously approved capital bids for a sludge truck for the wastewater department at a cost of $133,494 and a skid steer for the water department at $39,893. There was a discussion of an unavoidable delay in gathering bids for a replacement fire truck. 

An ordinance revising municipal election procedures was introduced and passed unanimously. Dates for candidate filing for the April election this year are from 8:00 a.m. on December 7 to 5:00 p.m. on December 28. This is a shorter period of time. Filing would normally extend into January. 

Another ordinance, defining and regulating mobile food vendors in the city, also passed unanimously. Food vendors are now required by law to obtain a business license, just as a brick-and-mortar business would.

The last topic of discussion in the public meeting was concern over pricing for energy costs this winter. The meeting adjourned into executive session.