Local News – Thursday, June 30th, 2022

The Salem Board of Aldermen met Tuesday evening in the City Hall Council Chambers. The board approved Bill #3508 to establish a monthly electric service availability charge of $15 for commercial customers and $10 for residential customers for one year with those funds going into the electric reserve fund, plus a 13.14 cent per kilowatt hour rate for everyone with a minimum commercial charge of $52.58 and a minimum residential charge of $26.28. This charge will become effective for the bills for the July 15th through August 15th electric consumption. The board approved Bill #3509 to amend the 2021-2022 fiscal year annual budget to increase total intergovernmental transfers from $1,050,769 to $1,487,074; then approved Bill #3510 approving the City of Salem annual budget for 2022-2023 fiscal year starting July 1st. The new budget has a reduction in workforce, another $290,000 cut from the General Revenue Fund, the removal of the $1,500 deductible reimbursement to employees along with no cost-of-living adjustments or merit increases. The new fiscal year will have anticipated revenues of $14,606,126 with expenses expected to be $14,256,371 with intergovernmental transfers of $2,142,542. The board approved Resolution #20-2022 to extend the contract with Godi Excavating, LLC for the certified work site at the industrial park through October 15th. Mayor Greg Parker recommended that Thomas Relford and Kevin James be added to the Finance Committee, and Wanda Henson to the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and the board approved the recommended appointments. The board heard from Ewell Lawson, the Chief Financial Officer of Missouri Public Utility Alliance, who talked about utilities owned by local communities. He said utilities under local control fair better than those cities served by corporations or large companies driven by profits. He said MPUA provides training for linemen and advocacy services as well as emergency services through their sister cities. Chief Markets Officer Rebecca Atkins discussed how the alliance shops for the best available rates for their power pools as the alliance is a “pass through” system to the communities. She said the MPUA rates last year during the February cold snap were about 1/3rd less than other utility providers. Because the MPUA is a not-for-profit organization, they are able to look for the best value from all suppliers to keep costs as affordable as possible. City Administrator Ray Walden said the contract with People Centric has been suspended due to the budget cuts, but the board heard from Don Harkey on how the city should continue with their strategic planning steering committee, have a long-term vision, and forecast their needed revenues and expenses. Walden said the city offices will be closed on Monday, Independence Day; and everyone is invited to the parade Monday at 6:00 downtown and the fireworks at The Commons Monday night around 9:30. Walden said the city received a rebate check of $7,500 from Connell Insurance for the city’s Workman’s Comp insurance due to the lack of claims. The reduction of claims will also result in a reduction of premium of about $32,000. Mayor Greg Parker thanked the city staff and board for the hard work put in on the budget and understanding the tough decisions that had to be made. Public Works Director Mark Nash said he talked with the department heads about the staff reductions and how they will persevere. He said there were 95 disconnects Monday morning with 55 of them reconnected before the end of the day Tuesday. Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge showed the board the certified site application notebook and said signatures for the first two rounds of the ‘Welcome Home Program” have been secured. She said more applications from veterans are still needed, but the applicants must live in a house and not a mobile home and live within the city limits. Building Inspector Jarrod Brown said two of the three mobile home parks that have submitted their application for a license renewal, but he could only recommend the park at 701 South Pershing for approval. The other mobile home park who applied still needs come cleaning up before they can be approved. License renewal is due June 30th. The board approved a conditional use permit for an AT&T Cell Tower that was to be located at 1702 Doss Road, but Sherman Odom said AT&T has to meet with the Indian Council yet and they do not think the council will grant them permission to build the tower at that location. Odom said he may back applying for a new location depending on their decision. The board then went into closed session.

The July Fourth holiday weekend is a great opportunity to enjoy one of Missouri’s recreational opportunities or a backyard barbecue. Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, reminds Missouri’s travelers to make smart choices for a safe July Fourth holiday. Everyone should place safety at the top of their list when planning how to celebrate our nation’s freedoms. No matter how you decide to spend the long weekend, your smartest choice is to follow all Missouri traffic and boating laws. During the 2021 counting period, seven people were killed and 532 injured in Missouri over the holiday in 1,139 traffic crashes. Over the 2021 July Fourth holiday, troopers arrested 80 people for driving while intoxicated. The 2022 counting period for the July Fourth holiday will be from 6:00 Friday evening July 1through midnight on Monday July 4th. The Highway Patrol will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness & Reduction Effort) over the July Fourth holiday weekend. All available troopers will be patrolling Missouri roadways to enforce traffic laws and offering assistance as needed. Anyone needing assistance or who witnesses criminal activity while traveling on Missouri’s roadways can contact the nearest Highway Patrol troop headquarters by calling the Patrol Emergency Report Line at 1-800-525-5555 or *55 on a cellular phone.