CITY COUNCIL GIVES 2016 BUDGET PRELIMINARY APPROVAL

Logansport city officials gave preliminary approval to the 2016 budget at their meeting last night, including a 3 percent raise for all city employees. Police Chief Mike Clark and Officer Ryan Preston, who’s a school resource officer and secretary for the pension board, expressed concern that pay for the Logansport Police Department is not competitive with other communities. The board will have a final reading on the budget at their October meeting. Per ordinance 2015-40, the adopted general fund tax rate for 2016 is 3.01, up from 2.25 this year. Budgets are no longer advertised in the newspaper but are posted online at the Indiana Gateway for Government Units.

Mayor Ted Franklin reported that engineering for the SG Preston biofuels project for which the city council provided a $550,000 forgivable loan had been completed - under budget and ahead of schedule, according to the mayor.

The mayor also reported that the city had received payment ordered in the lawsuit filed by Logansport resident Julie Kitchell. The total amount paid was $26,173.80 -- Franklin said it came from the defendant’s legal counsel, who addressed the council during the public comment portion of the meeting. Jim Brugh again asked the council for an explanation of six checks issued to consulting firm William-Lynn-James for the power plant project. When Councilman Bob Bishop responded that a stack of documents was waiting in the mayor’s office, Brugh interjected. Franklin called for a recess and briefly left the council chambers.

In other business, the council approved $10,000 in funding for the Logansport City Bus, with councilmen Bob Bishop and Joe Buck voting against the measure, and approved a $450,000 appropriation for the Tower Park Pool.