City Council Sets Tax Request

The Blue Hill City Council met on Tuesday, September 15. The 2009-10 Personal & Real Property Tax Requirement Request amount in the proposed 2009-10 Budget was set at $101,000. This amount is unchanged from the previous several years. The 2008 Property Tax Rate was 0.369443. The 2009 Proper try Tax Rate has been set at 0.357187. The decreased rate is due to increased property valuation within the city limits. There was no public discussion on the tax request during the Tax Request Hearing. Tim Eiseman addressed the board with concerns of traffic speed on the newly paved South West Railway street and considerations for correcting the issue. Eiseman also discussed additional breeds of dogs that he feels should be added to Ordinance No. 615. The council will review both concerns and address them at a later date. Sylvia Alber addressed her concerns with Mayor Schunk's lack of compliance with a city ordinance. Subject was discussed. Notice of the City Council's vacancy resulting from the recent recall election will be published in the Blue Hill Leader and will be posted at City Hall, the Post Office, and the Community / Senior Center. Interested candidates should contact Mayor Keri Schunk. Schunk should present her nomination to the City Council on Tuesday, October 13. A lengthy discussion was held on personnel policies to be included in a new personnel policy manual for city employees. A revised draft of the policies will be submitted, again, in October. Discussion was also held on a new health insurance program offered by the Nebraska League of Municipalities. Additional information was requested. Discussion was held on old lease agreements between the city and Burlington Northern Railroad. The downtown park, some utility accesses, and three of the four wells to the north of Blue Hill all reside on Railroad right-of-way. BNSF has transferred management of the properties to Railroad Management Company. The city will pay the requested lease amount on one of the tracts but has suggested additional information before submitting a payment on the other tracts. An amendment was made to the wording of Ordinance No. 622 dealing with electric rates. Customers who have meters on the primary side of the system owned transformers will now receive a 1.5% discount on their energy costs instead of on their total billing. Discussion was held on certain dogs in the community that have demonstrated aggressive tendencies. Discussion was also held on contractual opportunities and what government agency is responsible for animal control. Discussion was held on proposed improvements to the ball fields. The council requested additional research. Additional items discussed were recent work on Hickory Street, upcoming Boy Scout / Cub Scout activity, pest control services, the city's website, and personnel review of the Deputy City Clerk.