Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Emmet City Budget Is Good

Emmet's overall budget looked a whole lot better than projected, when all was said and done.

The Emmet City Council, in its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, Jan. 12, approved adjustments to the 1999 document to bring everything up to date.

The city received more money than was expected by a considerable amount. The projected overall budget for the city's general fund was $62,081, but the city actually received $78,331.51.

In the sanitation department's budget alone there was an increase of more than $6,000 in revenue not projected.

The general fund was first budgeted at $31,025 for 1999, while $40,788.55 came in. This was a difference of $9,763.55.

Sanitation expenses were more than expected by $1,449.64, primarily in the area of wages and salary.

Administrative expenses were less than budgeted by $2,844.76, as several sections under this budget were not as expensive as first expected.

The expenditures for general utilities was also less than expected for 1999. The budget was set for $4,400, while only $3,015.68 was spent.

The budget for the fire department also was in the black for the year. The 1999 budget called for $6,234.53, while the expenses turned out to be $4,910.66.

Other budgets coming in less than projected included the building and maintenance fund, parks and recreation and police.

Revenue for the street department were considerably more than anticipated as well. The city received $28,137.65, while the budget was $20,992. This means Emmet received $7,145.65 more than expected.

The total expenses for the department for 1999 were $25,415.35, or $5,415.35 more than expected.

The biggest difference was in the water and sewer department, where the actual revenue far exceeded the projections.

The city had budgeted $24,470 in 1999 for this department, but received $73,347.44, for a difference of 448,877.44.

The primary reason for this was the money from the rural water project and increase in water rates.

With interest and permits, the city's overall water and sewer budget was $80,809.57, while the projected revenue was set at $27,720.

On the other side, expenses were also more than expected. The projected expenses were $34,929.20, while they turned out to be $42,978.82.

The water department exceeded its budget by $8,049.62.

For the sewer portion, the expenses were thought to be $45,000, and wound up being $52,765.41 for a difference of $7,765.41 in the red.

The council approved changes balancing the budgets out in all departments where there were differences.

Emmet Mayor Dale Booker said the water system has been hectic because of the construction work.

But, he told the panel, several improvements were made by the city (see related article) with the intention being to adjust the budget after the fact.

However, he said, there are still problems with the contractor who installed the water system.

But, Booker said, this situation means the city can't drill the proposed new well. Until this is resolved nothing can be done concerning the new well.

He said the city does have the money for the drilling, but will have to kick in $60,000 or $70,000 to have the job finished. This, though, is not a problem because the city has the money on hand, Booker told the council.

The job superintendent recently visited Emmet, looked around and reportedly said a crew may need to return this spring.

There has been a problem with the existing well also as the alarm has been going off regularly.

Booker said this has been checked time and again, but the problem can't be isolated.

The pumps in this well were originally installed in the 1960s.

When the alarm goes off, though, it automatically shuts the pump off and cuts off the water supply. Booker said it's not a problem getting the pump restarted, but no one has been able to find out what's causing the situation.

Councilman Dick Snell asked about an electric utility meter being installed for the city.

Booker said this was for a new sewer pumping station off Main Street. It cost $2,600 and was the least expensive way to get the service the city received, he told the panel.

According to Booker, this pump station is going to one house, but another six lots have been surveyed for future construction.

"This is a cheap price to pay for getting a family in Emmet and three children in school," he said. "We can put in one more pump station and service the entire area."

The pipe to the pump is an inch and a quarter, attached to a two-inch line. The city did the work and didn't have to contact the Arkansas Department of Health, the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Service or any other agency because of the price, Booker said.

Had the project ran more than $10,000, he said, it would have had to be let for bid, and these agencies would have been involved.

"This is just an addition to the existing system," Booker said.