SCOTT COUNCIL ADJUSTS BUDGET

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Council unanimously approved an amendment that eliminated the budget deficit and put the city in the black for fiscal year 1996-97.

The city's original budget was estimated to be at a $127,701 deficit, the second consecutive year the city had run in the red. The amended budget, approved at the first regular meeting of October, bumped the city up to $8,443 over budget.

One of the ways the city was able to balance the budget was readjusting the projected revenue and slimming down a few programs. The city had estimated it would take in $220,000 in sales tax this year. Finance committee chairman Gary Miller said that after reviewing the figures he thought that estimation was unreasonably low and readjusted the projection to $245,000. The city took in $233,000 last year in sales tax, $15,000 more than was projected.

In other city business:

-- Members split on a vote to restructure the format for the council meetings.

An ordinance to allow the mayor to restructure the council meeting's order of business passed 5-2, with council members Brenda Moyers and Norman Brant dissenting.

City Attorney Frank Siebert said there is no law governing the arrangement of city meetings.

Cummins said he would not remove any segments of the meeting, such as public participation or approval of new ordinances, but he may rearrange the order in which they appear on the agenda.

-- Council members approved an ordinance stating it was illegal to resist arrest or stop detention. It made the city's code current with a recent rewording of state statutes.

-- The city bought back three cemetery spaces from Robert Terry of Ste. Genevieve for a total of $36. The spaces were bought many years back.

-- A representative of Lady Luck has contacted Cummins and requested a meeting. Cummins said he gave no reason for wanting the meeting and it may simply be an update of where the city and the gaming establishment stand on their negotiations.

-- The city discussed plans to apply for a feasibility study from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about cleaning out a series of overgrown ditches around the Scott City area.

Miller said recent adjustments to the Corps' work requirements may enable the city to receive the Corps' services free for projects up to $100,000. The city would be responsible for paying half of whatever amount over $100,000 the project would require.