Ditches between Hennessey’s Second and Third streets were not included in plans for drainage repairs on the Mitchell Road project.

That’s what Hennessey Board of Trustees were told in a special meeting Tuesday, May 30.

The result: The town has to pay an additional $141,725 to get those streets as well as Fourth and Fifth streets, to drain properly.

It will be paid from the $817,552 in reserved capital outlay funds.

Bids came in higher than expected (low bid of $599,525) on this phase 2 drainage project not covered by a $300,000 matching Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

There were $232,173 in other change orders, not including the $141,725 cost for adding ditches and sodding on homeowner properties.

“I don’t think it was made clear to the board (at the May meeting) that the change order included that area,” said Trustee Bert Gritz.

“I’m just tight, I guess,” he said later in the meeting, “but unlike the federal government, I don’t want us to spend more than we are taking in…and I don’t want to make it a habit of dipping into the town’s reserves.”

Vice Mayor Harold Shaw questioned having to sod the lawns on the Mitchell Road properties and Gritz said since they were tearing it up they had to replace it.

All board members were present for the special meeting: Mayor Clif Vogt, Trustees David Jones and Randy Bohnstedt, Gritz and Shaw.

School’s Building Permit Ok’d

A building permit for an addition to the Hennessey Public Schools bus barn was approved by the board.

That bus barn is on State Highway 51 east of Mitchell Road, located in a flood plain.

Acting Town Administrator David Treanor said he checked with the state and that permit could be allowed as a variance with board approval.

Budget/Employee Raises Tammy Hunt of Crawford and Associates, the town’s financial advisors, went over a few items in the proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

She said it’s almost “identical” to last year and asked for input about any changes.

Last year’s budget was $4.7 million, up $1 million over the previous year.

Copies of that proposed budget were not available because Hunt said there would be many changes.

Board members discussed probable changes in salaries for the administrator and public works director positions to be filled. There was discussion that salaries for both jobs will depend on education and experience and they’d probably have to pay $55$60,000 for qualified people.

The board plans to reinstate the public works director job that was deleted in 2017 due to finances.

Trustees also discussed raises for current employees.

Last year’s employee raises were 3%.

Police Chief Aaron Pitts said it was 1.5% for the police department.

Jones noted the Consumer Price Index is up 8.7%.

“We pay our employees fairly well,” he said, but he believed raises should also be based on merit.

“I’m a big believer in state certifications that employees can get for their work.”

Jones said he didn’t want a 5% raise for an employee earlier this year because he thought it should have been more.

“You mean Tiffany’s raise?” asked Vogt.

Jones nodded yes. Tiffany Tillman, town administrator for more than 15 years, resigned shortly after that February meeting in which a motion for that raise failed.

Gritz said the current starting pay for a clerk in Town Hall is $10.50 an hour. He asked Town Clerk Kelley Vaverka about the starting pay at Love’s and she said $11 an hour, then Vogt said it’s $14 an hour at Walmart.

Jones talked about raises in the public works department saying “I want the trucks clean, the equipment being taken care of…I want people to take pride in their work.”

Gritz said the town pays for the insurance on all fulltime employees.

Hunt said most employers provide insurance now and some pay half for a family member.

“Our insurance is one of the best you can get,” Gritz said.

Pitts noted there are no police department dispatchers now.

“Since the yearly cost for the E911 service is $41,394 and the budget sheet now shows pay for one dispatcher this month, which we won’t have in July. Could we use that money to hire another officer?”

He was told that wouldn’t cover the cost.

Public Budget Hearing/Meeting Date

Hunt said the board needed to set a time and date next month for a hearing on the proposed budget.

She said it would need to be published in the newspaper five days before the meeting.

That hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. before the board’s 6 p.m. meeting in June.

Due to personal conflicts and to allow staff more time to get financials ready for the June meeting, the board changed it from the second Thursday to the third Thursday (June 15).

New Police Car

Trustees approved payment of $61,000 to Joe Cooper Chevrolet for a police Tahoe with the “police package” for $61,000.

The chief said the cost was more than expected.

Police department budgeted funds paid for $47,901.86 and the additional $7,248.40 came out of the restricted sales tax fund. The chief said the other vehicles are Fords, all are also 40-WD, and the oldest is a 2013 model they will use as a backup.

Personnel

After a 15-minute executive session, the board voted to hire Blaze Shimanek in the parks/cemetery department to replace Dylan Atherton.