Council hears committee updates, discusses outage tracking pilot and moves into executive session on personnel

Baldwin City — Council committee chairs provided updates and the council approved motions to go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel.

Budget and finance: Councilmember Scott said Baker Tilly will be asked to present year‑end financials at the next council meeting so the public and council can review where funds are expected to finish. He reported electric and water funds look healthy relative to last year while wastewater revenue is down; staff will work with the utility to determine the cause. The council discussed a bill‑format change intended to separate debt payments from usage charges; if approved, the format change would be presented in January and, if adopted in time, would be effective for the Jan. 1 billing cycle.

Utilities and communications: Committee members reported installation of new speed‑limit and no‑parking signs at several parks and that many park restrooms are closed for winter. Staff said the new substation option uses chain‑link fencing with privacy slats as a lower‑cost alternative and noted recent copper theft at the site. The council discussed Outify, an AI‑based outage tracking vendor, as a pilot to improve outage notices and customer communications.

Executive session: The council voted to enter executive session to discuss nonelected personnel with the city attorney and the League of Municipalities, then returned to regular session and approved a second executive session including the interim city administrator, Russ Harding. Both motions passed on voice votes. The meeting then adjourned.

What happens next: Baker Tilly will present year‑end financials at a future meeting; staff will continue utility outage and billing work and pursue the Outify pilot as appropriate. The executive-session discussions are confidential as permitted by state law.

(Reporting note: executive session motions and committee items are summarized from the meeting record; confidential personnel deliberations are not reported here.)