Owensville aldermen on Monday unanimously adopted a $5.75 million operating budget for fiscal year 2020-21 beginning July 1.

Mayor John Kamler thanked City Clerk Bobbi Limberg and Deputy City Clerk Peggy Farrell for their work at preparing the budget following the resignation earlier this spring of their city administrator.

“These ladies did yeoman work,” said Kamler.

Ward 1 Alderman Cathy Lahmeyer thanked city staff and department heads for their input over numerous budget workshops conducted over the past two months.

Included in the fiscal year spending plan is $1,105,000 for construction of a new police station on city property between Highway 28 and West Franklin. Anticipated revenue and expenditures on all city accounts balances out with no surplus expected in any account.

Anticipated revenue is $5,758,866 including provisions for transferring capital improvement funds of $351,503 into General Revenue and $200,000 into Water and Sewer. The Park Fund will also draw $48,823 from reserve fund for use during the coming fiscal year. The Golf Course account will also receive $30,000 for operating from the surplus reserve account through June 30, 2021.

The Pool Account will receive $14,235 from the capital improvements fund. Bond payments for the water park will be $194,212 for the coming year and are assessed to residents through the voter-approved tax levy.

The Street Department will draw $378,347 from surplus reserves in the new budget. The new budget includes planned expenditures of $489,802 for permanent street construction and $20,000 for curb and gutter projects.

Aldermen also awarded a paving contract Monday worth $144,518 to N.B. West for paving Link and Kuhne roads.

Funds for the projects awarded Monday will come out of the city’s budget for the current fiscal year ending June 30.

The Link project was the base bid quoted for $52,359. The city’s street crew will rebuilding the road base for those two blocks and N.B. West will come behind to put down the new 4-inch deep asphalt surface and reestablish the road’s crown.

City workers upgraded fire hydrants and installed a larger water main in the two-block long project area. New lateral supply lines were installed to each residence in the project area.

The Kuhne Road project, bid as Option A for $87,874 by N.B. West, extends from Highway 28 to the end of the city limits and includes a 1-inch leveling layer over three areas measuring 1,790 feet in total length and a 2-inch overlay covering 3,800 feet.

West’s bid included a mobilization fee of $4,285.

Also bidding the base, Option A, and including a mobilization charge were Capital Paving ($168,800) and Higgins Asphalt and Paving Co., Inc., of Tipton ($176,370).

“We’re so fortunate our sales tax didn’t drop,” said Kamler. “I can’t think of very many towns that can’t say they didn’t drop.”

The city also is committing $245,000 to continue its effort to reduce sewer system inflow and infiltration through upgrades to mains and manholes.

Visu Sewer of Missouri is completing a project for slip-lining existing sewer lines. Don Maggi Construction began a project to replace existing 6-inch clay sewer lines with 8-inch PVC mains in alleys south of Highway 28 to East Franklin between Cuba and Hickory. Numerous manholes are also being replaced in this project area as the city has $476,000 budgeted in the current fiscal year. Spending to date on I&I work is listed on the budget at $25,211.64.

There are also plans to upgrade the city’s water meters at an estimated cost budgeted for the coming year at $200,000. The same figure was budgeted for in the current fiscal year with only $4,729 spent to date.

The city’s budget report noted revenue received from water and sewer user fees is only used for projects and costs associated with those respective departments.

The city’s General Fund lists anticipated revenue of $2,749,285 which is divided between the following funds, with balanced revenue estimates and spending listed as:

• General Fund Administrative: $591,735

• General Fund Elected Officials: $18,800

• General Fund Emergency Management: $23,200

• General Fund Police: $1,915,500

• General Fund Fire Department: $200,000

The Water and Sewer Department lists balanced revenue estimates and equal spending totals of $1,390,948. The Street Fund shows revenue and spending at $850,477.

The Park Fund shows anticipated revenue and spending totaling $748,186. Broken down by departments, Park Fund revenue and spending figures are:

• Park Department: $272,718

• Golf Department: $93,999

•Pool Department: $401,469

The budget was approved through Ordinance No. 1329. A resolution, No. 2020-3, creating job new descriptions for the Public Works and the Parks and Recreation directors’ positions and also authorizing a step and grade salary plan for all city employees by classification of positions,  was also unanimously approved. Aldermen also approved Resolution No. 2020-5 which authorizes “longevity payments” to employees who are topped out on the step scale. Board approval is required for the supplemental pay.