Herington commissioners approve licensing amendment, GAAP waiver and five-year Union Pacific wastewater agreement; appoint mayor and vice mayor

The Herington City Commission on Jan. 7 approved several routine but administratively important measures, including an amendment to the city—s licensing and fees ordinance, a resolution waiving certain GAAP accounting requirements for budget purposes and a five-year wastewater discharge agreement with Union Pacific.

City leaders said the licensing-and-fees change revises section 4-1311 to distinguish utility contractors from other city contractors; the commission approved the amendment on first reading and authorized the mayor—s signature. City staff described the GAAP waiver as a routine, auditors-required housekeeping resolution that permits the city to prepare its budget on a cash basis under state guidance. The wastewater discharge agreement updates effective dates and fixes an averaging method for rates covering Feb. 1, 2025, through Jan. 31, 2030.

The commission also completed routine organizational votes. The body unanimously appointed its leadership for 2025: Commissioners voted to recommend and confirm Eric (last name not specified in the transcript) as mayor for 2025 and appointed a vice mayor by unanimous roll call.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: Approve minutes of Dec. 17, 2024. Outcome: approved (roll call recorded: Commissioner Scarf: Aye; Commissioner Staats: Aye; Commissioner Bell: Aye; Mary Garris: Aye). Notes: standard approval of minutes.

- Motion: Appoint Eric as mayor for 2025. Outcome: approved (roll call recorded: Commissioner Scarf: Aye; Commissioner Staats: Aye; Commissioner Bell: Aye; Mayor Gares: Aye). Notes: motion moved and seconded; no objections recorded.

- Motion: Appoint Mr. Bell as vice mayor for 2025. Outcome: approved (unanimous roll call; exact names recorded in roll call at the meeting).

- Motion: Approve agenda. Outcome: approved (roll call recorded: Commissioner Naylor: Aye; Commissioner Scarf: Aye; Commissioner Stets: Aye; Commissioner Bell: Aye; Mary Garris: Aye).

- Motion: Approve consent agenda. Outcome: approved (unanimous roll call recorded).

- Motion: Adopt ordinance amending section 4-1311 of the licensing and fees ordinance (ordinance number to be inserted). Outcome: approved (roll call recorded: Commissioner Naylor: Aye; Commissioner Scarf: Aye; Commissioner Staats: Aye; Commissioner Bell: Aye; Mary Garris: Aye). Notes: staff said the only edits were to subsections c and d to separate utilities from other contractors; ordinance number was left blank to be filled in after staff review.

- Motion: Adopt GAAP waiver resolution (annual). Outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). Notes: staff described this as an annual, auditors-required housekeeping resolution.

- Motion: Table two traffic/ordinance items for staff review. Outcome: approved (motion to table carried by roll call). Notes: commissioners asked staff to confirm section references before publication.

- Motion: Approve wastewater discharge agreement with Union Pacific for Feb. 1, 2025to Jan. 31, 2030, and updated rate structure; authorize mayor's signature. Outcome: approved (roll call recorded; unanimous).

What changed and why it matters

The licensing-and-fees amendment clarifies which categories of contractors must be licensed and how utility workers are treated under city code; staff described the edit as narrow (changes in section 4-1311, subsections c and d). The GAAP waiver is an annual administrative step auditors expect for cities that budget on a cash basis. The Union Pacific agreement locks in an averaged rate approach for the railroad—s permitted wastewater discharges for five years, replacing a yearly recalculation with a multiyear average to avoid annual rate resets.

Process notes and next steps

Staff noted one minor follow-up: ordinance numbers and some cross-references were left blank in the approved ordinance to allow one more staff verification before final publication. Commissioners moved two items to the next meeting so staff could confirm statutory section references. The wastewater agreement takes effect Feb. 1, 2025, through Jan. 31, 2030, per the commission action.

No controversial policy shifts or expenditures were adopted at the meeting; commissioners described the agenda as largely housekeeping.