Sedalia council adopts fee changes, creates sewer root reimbursement program and approves software subscription

The Sedalia City Council on Sept. 16 approved a package of ordinances and a budget resolution that formalize updated fees, create a homeowner reimbursement program for sewer root removal and authorize an annual ArcGIS online subscription payment.

The measures were approved by roll call votes after brief presentations from staff and committee chairs. Council adopted updated sanitation container rental fees (Bill No. 2025-151), created the Sedalia Sewer Root Removal Reimbursement Program (Bill No. 2025-152), approved a budget amendment and companion ordinances to fund a two-year ESRI ArcGIS online subscription (Resolution 21-42; Bill Nos. 2025-153 and 2025-154), amended animal shelter fees (Bill No. 2025-155), corrected mechanical permit fee language (Bill No. 2025-156), and finalized a gift agreement (Bill No. 2025-157). Council also approved a records-destruction request and several liquor licenses and accepted the minutes of the Aug. 18 meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Bill No. 2025-151 — Ordinance amending the fee schedule relating to sanitation container rental fees. Final passage: approved by roll call (Scribner; Boggess; Hiller; Cross; Foster; Franklin; Robinson; Ames — recorded as yes). Outcome: approved; effect date noted as Oct. 1 for fee adjustments.

- Bill No. 2025-152 — Ordinance creating the Sedalia Sewer Root Removal Reimbursement Program. Final passage: approved by roll call (Hiller; Cross; Foster; Franklin; Robinson; Ames; Scrivner; others recorded as yes). Outcome: approved. Program details: reimbursement up to $500 per eligible homeowner for cleaning the public portion of sewer mains; program funding is designated annually and city liability will not exceed the budgeted amount.

- Resolution 21-42 and Bill Nos. 2025-153 & 2025-154 — Budget amendment and ordinances to align fiscal year 2026 budget to cover the second-year ESRI enterprise agreement payment. Resolution 21-42 approved; Bill No. 2025-153 (budget order regarding public works) and Bill No. 2025-154 (annual ArcGIS Online subscription quote acceptance) were approved by roll call. The two-year subscription payment due for the term beginning Oct. 14, 2025 was stated as $20,300.

- Bill No. 2025-155 — Ordinance amending the fee schedule relating to animal shelter adoption and violation fees; final passage approved by roll call. Outcome: approved; updated adoption and violation fees to take effect Oct. 1, 2025.

- Bill No. 2025-156 — Ordinance removing the word “commercial” from the mechanical permit fee schedule to clarify application to all mechanical permits. Final passage: approved by roll call. Outcome: approved; change described as clarifying language only.

- Bill No. 2025-157 — Ordinance authorizing a gift agreement between the City of Sedalia, the Heckert Family Foundation, and Sue Heckert. Final passage: approved by roll call.

Other council actions

- City clerk’s office request to destroy records meeting retention schedules under RSMo §109.230 (as read into the record) was approved; destroyed items to be shredded after approval.

- Liquor license approvals: two special-event licenses for The Local Tap (700 S. Ohio) and a renewal for Woods Express 570 (703 E. Broadway) were approved in block vote.

Context and next steps

City staff indicated the sanitation and animal shelter fee revisions will take effect Oct. 1, 2025 unless otherwise noted. The sewer root removal reimbursement program requires homeowners to provide documentation and an assigned release of liability; the staff packet includes an application checklist to be distributed from the clerk’s office. Council designated that program funding will be set annually in the budget process, limiting the city’s exposure to the budgeted amount.

Provenance (selected evidence excerpts)

- Topic intro for Bill 2025-151: excerpt where operations director Justin Bray outlines need to formalize sanitation container rental fees (transcript excerpt starting at s=2471.73).

- Topic finish for Bill 2025-151: roll call confirmation and “Motion passes” (excerpt around s=2534.35).

- Topic intro for Bill 2025-152: public works committee description of the sewer root reimbursement program (excerpt around s=2572.68–2616.43).

- Topic finish for Bill 2025-152: final passage roll call and “Motion passes” (excerpt around s=2711.66–2741.15).

Speakers (attributed in this article)

- Andrew Dawson, Mayor (City of Sedalia government) — called the meeting to order and presented proclamations.

- Justin Bray, Operations Director (government) — presented sanitation container rental fee changes and answered questions about which portion of sewer mains the reimbursement covers.

- Chairwoman Boggess, Finance Administration Committee (government) — introduced the audit presentation and committee items earlier in the meeting.

- Chairwoman Franklin, Public Works Committee (government) — presented items from Public Works committee including the ESRI subscription budget alignment.

- Chair Scribner, Public Safety Committee (government) — presented the animal shelter fee item.

- Clerk Myers, City Clerk (government) — provided process details for public comment and maintained sign-up records.

Authorities referenced

- RSMo §109.230 (certification and destruction of records) — referenced in the clerk’s records-destruction item.

Clarifying details

- ESRI ArcGIS two-year subscription payment amount cited in the meeting: $20,300 for the term beginning Oct. 14, 2025.

- Sewer root removal reimbursement: up to $500 per eligible homeowner; applies to the public portion of sewer mains (city-maintained portion); private-side repairs remain the homeowner’s responsibility.

- Effective date called out for several fee adjustments: Oct. 1, 2025.

Proper names

[{"name":"City of Sedalia","type":"agency"},{"name":"ESRI ArcGIS","type":"other"},{"name":"Heckert Family Foundation","type":"organization"},{"name":"The Local Tap","type":"business"},{"name":"Woods Express 570","type":"business"}]

Searchable tags

["fees","sewer","budget","ESRI","ArcGIS","records","liquor_licenses","animal_shelter","Sedalia"]