DECATUR — Financial statements presented at the Feb. 8 city council meeting show Decatur’s general fund came in under budget in both expenses and revenue in 2009.

According to the statements, the city had $20,040 less income than expected, but spent $34,173 less than it budgeted for in 2009.

Decatur received $38,404 more city sales tax than originally budgeted for, but saw a $3,694 drop in county property tax, a $8,530 drop in county sales tax and a $15,829 drop in franchise taxes.

Administrative expenses were $24,830 less than expected, fire department expenses were $8,437 less, library expenses were $761 less and parks and recreation expenses were down $1,395, according to the report.

Mayor Bill Montgomery reported that after some difficulties, the city’s new financial software was working well.

“I want to commend Kim (Wilkins) for staying with it,” he said.

In other business, Montgomery appointed alderman David Sutton to oversee the water and wastewater department. The mayor assigns each council member a city department to watch over during the January meeting after they are elected.

Sutton was not elected, but was appointed to fill former councilman David Cook’s po-sition when he resigned last spring. He was not assigned a department when he joined the council, Montgomery said.

The council also passed a motion to update signature cards for two of the city’s accounts at the Decatur State Bank. The action will allow the police chief, city recorder, public works director, mayor and administrative assistant to sign for the accounts.

Department Reports

Water department manager Rocky Mills reported the Benton-Washington Regional Public Water Authority had called complaining about not having enough water from Decatur’s wells. Mills finally discovered the problem was that the regional water authority was not using one of their own wells, he said.

Montgomery asked if it would be helpful to put the water tower on Browning Road back into use. The tank holds 300,000 gallons and was put outof service a number of years ago, Mills said. It could easily be replumbed and putback into service, he said.

Public works director James Boston said it is time to consider updating the master plan for water storage. The plan was last updated in 1998, Montgomery said.

Boston reported the wastewater treatment plant was in completecompliance with phosphorus levels during the month of January. Even after the new plant was opened in July, keeping phosphorus levels under new tighter limits remained a challenge.

“It looks like we have the answer for phosphorus... That was a victory we really needed,” he said.

After consulting the plant manufacturer, engineers and chemists,wastewater department employees found the answer on their own, Boston said. The system for distributing alum, a chemical used to pull phosphorus out of the water, was not working properly. Installing new lines solved the phosphorus problem and will save the city thousands of dollars in chemical expenses, he said.

Fire chief David Flynt reported the Decatur Fire Department’s ISO rating will be re-evaluated this year. The rating is currently seven inside city limits and nine outside of town.

Flynt said he will be working with a fire chief from the east side of Benton County that recently went through the evaluation process to make sure the Decatur Fire Department is ready.

Montgomery reported that the unusual amount of winter weather in December and January hasn’t had a big effect onthe street budget. The state highway department clears Highway 102 and Highway 59, and city employees clear the side streets, he said.

“We’ve been very fortunate, knock on wood,” Montgomery said.

News, Pages 1 on 02/24/2010