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Crawford council approves resolution to lien delinquent utility bills, finalizes sheriff contract and OKs multiple maintenance and procurement items
Summary
On Aug. 12 the Crawford City Council approved Resolution 2025-07 to allow delinquent water and sewer charges to be placed as special assessments on the referenced property, certified compliance to NDOT (Resolution 2025-08), finalized a Dawes County Sheriff contract and approved multiple equipment, maintenance and payroll items.
The City Council of Crawford, Nebraska, approved a package of resolutions, contracts and procurement measures at its Aug. 12 meeting at the Crawford Library.
Mayor April Grant and the three council members present — Christopher Dean, Patti Page and Dianne Gaston — unanimously approved Resolution 2025-07, which authorizes the city to collect delinquent water, sewer and use charges against the identified property (BLOCK: 07 LOT:1 ADDITION: OT) as a special assessment. Council later approved Resolution 2025-08, the municipal annual certification of program compliance required by the Nebraska Department of Transportation.
The council also finalized a contract with the Dawes County Sheriff Department. During discussion, Council Member Christopher Dean urged that the sheriff's office attend council meetings and suggested attaching a $500 penalty for each failure to appear; Mayor April Grant said the council should move forward and test the contract during the first quarter. The contract was approved by motion.
Other actions approved included authorizing ASAP Express to ship state water samples to Lincoln to reduce costs; renewing the Cummins maintenance/service plan for backup generators serving water, sewer and the infiltration gallery; granting a pay increase of $0.47 (amount as stated on the agenda) for Edward Blacksheep tied to obtaining a wastewater operator certification (the agenda did not specify whether the $0.47 is per hour or a lump sum); and accepting Morford's quote to carpet main areas and stairs in City Hall. The council also approved the consent agenda items that had been separated for discussion and accepted bills, claims and requisitions with the claims total listed as $105,425.54.
Why it matters: The lien authority in Resolution 2025-07 gives the city a formal mechanism to recover unpaid utility charges by assessing them against property tax records; the sheriff contract decision affects local public-safety coverage and expectations for sheriff presence at council meetings. Routine maintenance and procurement approvals affect the reliability of city water and sewer services and municipal facilities.
Votes at a glance: Council Member Christopher Dean moved the initial consent motion (excluding items c and e); motion seconded by Patti Page and carried (AYE: Dean, Page, Gaston). Resolution 2025-07 (delinquent utility assessments) was approved on a motion by Dean, seconded by Page (AYE: Dean, Page, Gaston). Resolution 2025-08 (NDOT certification) was approved on a motion by Dean, seconded by Gaston (AYE: Dean, Gaston, Page). The Dawes County Sheriff contract was finalized on a motion by Dean, seconded by Gaston (AYE: Dean, Gaston, Page). ASAP Express shipping, the $0.47 pay increase for Edward Blacksheep (agenda amount; unit not specified), the Cummins maintenance renewal and Morford's carpeting quote were each approved by unanimous council votes as recorded in the minutes. Bills and claims were approved on a motion by Dean, seconded by Page (AYE: Dean, Page, Gaston).
The council did not vote on the possible sale of certain city properties during the meeting; that topic was discussed and deferred for future action.
