Lewisport amends budget
In a meeting lasting less than 30 minutes, the Lewisport City Council approved the first reading of an amendment amending the 2020-21 budget. The budget ordinance increases the General Fund by 121,000, said Lewisport City Administrator Brent Wiggington. He said the increase came from CARES ACT money the city received from the Federal Government in regards to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The amendment also revised the revenues and expenses in the gas system. When the city approved the 20-21 budget, Dal-Tile had not yet closed. When the plant closed, it changes the city’s gas revenues, as well as its expenses. The city amended the Gas System revenues from $1.8 million down to $1.4 million.
The city also purchased gas for the Dal-Tile plant, and passed the cost on to the company. When the plant closed, the city no longer needed to purchase gas for the company. Therefore, the Gas System’s expected expenses dropped from $1.7 million down to $1.2 million dollars. The city plans to hold the second reading, and approval of the budget ordinance, at its next scheduled council meeting.
The city also scheduled the Lewisport Heritage Festival for September 23 through the 25th of this year. Wiggington said they chose this date because it was the only date the ride company had open on its calendar. In addition, the city had approximately $24,000 in the account for the Heritage Festival. It costs $30,000 to hold the festival, so the city allocated $6,000 for the festival.
Wiggington also reminded the council that the upcoming budget cycle, 2021-2022 contains two Heritage Festivals in the same budget: the one scheduled for this September, and the one scheduled for June of 2022.
Public works supervisor Jason Roberts said everything is going well with the city utilities. He said the Kentucky League of Cities recently completed its liability inspections around the city, and the results of these inspections qualifies the city for a 6-percent discount upon its policies.
Lewisport Police Chief John Garner said everything is going well with the police department. The city’s fleet of police cruisers is beginning to age, and the city needs to look into replacing the oldest vehicle.
Mayor Chad Gregory gave a quick update on the Gas System. He said with the recent severe cold, the Gas System usage was higher, which helped the system’s revenues.
By Ralph Dickerson
