Monday evening’s Iola City Council meeting began with the swearing-in of new council member Benedikt Middleton. He fills the Ward 4 seat that was vacated when former council member Mark Peters resigned in late April. Middleton was chosen at the July 8 council meeting to serve in the position.
Council members then considered bids for a pickup truck for use by the meter reader. The current truck is a 2010 Ford Ranger and has several issues with the steering column and ignition system. These issues have caused complete breakdowns and an inability to shift the car into park or drive. City Clerk Roxanne Hutton also noted that there are problems with the blinkers and wiper controls.
“We thought about putting the meter reader in a side-by-side,” said Hutton. “Which would be great and she would be thrilled to do it, but reading all the meters alongside the highway would be an issue.”
The city sought sealed bids for a new or used half ton pickup truck with less than 20,000 miles. Two dealerships submitted a bid: Louisburg Ford for $36,948 and Steve Faulkner Ford for $36,797. Both bids were for a 2024 Ford F-150 regular cab pickup. The council unanimously approved the low bid from Steve Faulkner Ford. Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock noted the cost would be split four ways between the electric, gas, water, and sewer funds.
IN OTHER NEWS, council members heard from the remaining department heads on their budgets during round table discussions.
For the city clerk and utility office, Hutton noted there hasn’t been much of an increase to the budget. “We do see postage going up again,” she said. “We’re just seeing little increases in buying all of our normal things — paper, postage, and envelopes.”
Schinstock, presenting the Police Department’s budget, noted the department’s training and vehicle maintenance budgets saw minor increases.
“The vehicle maintenance is mostly due to increasing fuel costs,” he explained. Additionally, the department’s copy machine has reached the end of its 10-year life cycle and needs to be replaced.
“They are also budgeting for the full replacement of a police car, as well as putting back enough money to cover half of another one,” he said.
Notably, Robby Droessler with the Parks and Cemetery department, mentioned setting $8,500 back for the future purchase of a backhoe. The expected replacement year is 2029 with a projected cost of $104,500.
Droessler also said they have budgeted to set back $18,600 for mower replacements and $16,000 for a replacement tractor. The mowers’ replacement years are expected to be in 2026 and 2027, while the tractor is anticipated to be replaced in 2027.
FIRE CHIEF Corey Isbell said the Fire Department plans on setting back $300,000 in 2025 equipment reserve funds to go towards the purchase of a ladder truck. The replacement year scheduled for the truck is 2029. The total cost of the truck is projected at $2.2 million.
In city administration, Schinstock said there isn’t much change in the budget.
“We always put a little back in capital outlay for computer replacement,” he said. The department has budgeted to set back $3,000 for computers and software.
Gregg Hutton gave the final budget update for code enforcement. “The department is setting aside $5,000 a year for a truck replacement somewhere down the road,” he said. The projected cost of the truck is $30,000 and is expected to be replaced in 2027.
