The Fairbury City Council approved the proposed budget and appropriation for the 2022-2023 fiscal year during Wednesday night’s regular meeting.
The city's fiscal year runs from May to May each year. The proposed appropriation amount of $10.4 million includes many future potential projects which will likely not occur due to a lack of grants.
This is the planned amount of money the city will actually spend. The 2022-2023 proposed budget is $3.8 million. It is $400,000 more than the previous year's budget and the new budget represents an 11.8% increase from the prior year's. The Council voted and approved both the appropriation and annual budget amounts.
Superintendent Brett Ashburn reported the TP&W Railroad is running behind on their schedule to repair the road crossings in Fairbury. The goal is to finish the crossing repair work before the Prairie Dirt Classic race scheduled for July 29. The railroad may or may not meet this date due to unforeseen circumstances.
Each year, lime waste is created by the city water plant when they remove calcium from the public drinking water. Metro-Ag Inc. has been contracted to remove the lime waste for many years. This company then uses lime as fertilizer on farm fields. The Council voted to continue the contract with Metro-Ag Inc.
The new contracted garbage service will begin on August 1. The Council voted to approve amendments to the existing city codes to reflect this change. The city of Fairbury will discontinue its current recycling program since the new company offers recycling. The city will continue to accept used electronics from Fairbury citizens.
Over recent years, most of the lights operated by the city have been converted to LED to save money. The Council voted and approved converting the lighting in the Street and Fire Department to LED as well.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the Consent Agenda was approved, including the last meeting minutes, financial reports, police reports, and sidewalk requests.
