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Stilwell council approves hires, event permits and sales-tax agreement; tables several budget items
Summary
The Stilwell City Council approved three hires, multiple special-event permits and a sales-tax budget agreement while tabling decisions on EMS funding, lease policy, insurance and other budget adjustments pending additional information.
The Stilwell City Council on Monday approved hiring the city attorney and auditors, granted permits for community events and adopted a sales-tax budget agreement, but postponed several budgetary decisions and a proposed lease policy until staff can provide further financial details.
Council voted to hire Jeff Jones as city attorney at $40,000 annually effective July 1 after a motion by Jim and a second by Lane; the motion carried on a roll-call vote. Council also approved hiring Mike Green as auditor for fiscal year 2023–24 and engaging Crawford & Associates to compile the annual financial statements for the same year; both actions passed following motions and affirmative roll-call votes.
The council approved a special-event permit for Eddie Rich’s swap meet and granted the Chamber of Commerce permission to use Fletcher Park and close specified downtown streets for its July 4 picnic, adopting an amendment to expand the Second Street closure from Olive to Oak to ease traffic flow.
Council approved a sales-tax budget agreement for FY24–25 that covers allocations including police and a fire-truck loan. A motion by Jim and second by Debbie passed in roll call with affirmative votes.
At the same meeting, members tabled several items that require clarification before final approval: proposed general-fund budget adjustments, the proposed property-insurance payment to OMAC, the Samsara software license renewal and a proposed city lease policy intended to make leases revenue neutral. Council members repeatedly asked for more complete documentation from the city’s CPA and for meetings with affected tenants and stakeholders before taking action.
“We have not received the official report from the CPA,” one council member said during the EMS and budget discussions, noting the body was waiting on firm numbers. On the depot lease, staff reported the city paid about $11,639 in upkeep over the prior 12 months while the tenant was charged $10 per year, prompting calls to meet with the tenant organizations before changing lease terms.
The meeting concluded with approval to enter executive session to discuss items 11–13 under the cited authority.
