Escanaba council approves budget amendment, two major equipment purchases and a $35,000 CDBG loan

The Escanaba City Council on June 19 approved an amendment to the city’s fiscal-year appropriations ordinance, authorized a $35,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) revolving loan to a local business, and approved purchases including a garbage truck and a tractor with a stump-grinder attachment.

City staff told the council the amendment is the annual adjustment required by state law to move money between departmental line items so no single line item is overrun. Staff estimated the year-end result will be a modest surplus of about $20,000 rather than the deficit previously in the adopted budget.

The council also held a public hearing and then voted to authorize Resolution 25-12, a $35,000 loan from the city’s CDBG revolving loan fund for Leverage Chiropractic LLC. Colleen Duflo, representing Northern Initiatives (which manages the regional RLF program for the city), said Leverage has an “excellent payment history” on a prior loan and that the fund is intended for working capital, equipment purchases and job creation for low- to moderate-income workers. Duflo told the council the program generally offers loans around…