manalapan budget - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T09:32:59Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/manalapan+budgetManalapan: Do they fight, adapt or resign?https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-do-they-fight-adapt-or-resign2023-10-04T18:31:06.000Z2023-10-04T18:31:06.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Commissioners seek ways around new law on personal finances</span></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Manalapan commissioners want to know if there’s any way local elected officials can get around a new state law — other than by resigning their seats by Dec. 30 — that requires them to make public more of their personal financial information.</p>
<p>“I really think it’s opening up the door to some very serious problems,” said Vice Mayor John Deese, who has written the governor seeking his assistance in changing the law. “We could lose our entire commission over this.”</p>
<p>Some ideas mentioned at the Sept. 25 commission meeting included putting assets in a spouse’s name, turning the Town Commission into an appointed body — though that would require a referendum and raised the question of who would do the appointing — or simply refusing to file the required form and paying the penalty instead.</p>
<p>Commissioners say the increased requirements don’t make sense for officials in small towns, especially in places like Manalapan where it’s difficult enough to get people to fill the elected positions, where commissioners earn no salary and where the limited candidate pool includes business executives who may not want their financial portfolios or client names available online for anyone to see.</p>
<p>“There aren’t any gold bars or cash in my suits or anything like that,” said Mayor Stewart Satter, who has suggested he may resign instead of complying with the rules of the new law. He said the requirements are “political window-dressing” and won’t better protect the public from unscrupulous officials.</p>
<p>Commissioners plan to hold a workshop meeting Oct. 24 to get more information about the law and what options are available. It’s possible, if a majority of the commission would rather resign than comply, that Gov. Ron DeSantis would fill the vacancies. Officials said nothing in the Town Charter would require DeSantis to pick town residents for the seats.</p>
<p>The new state law requires mayors and other municipal elected officials to disclose their full net worth, certain clients and the aggregate value of jewelry, art and other household goods. It requires the information to be filed in an online system and available to the public who want to see it. Those who don’t comply can face a penalty of up to $20,000 and possible removal from office.</p>
<p>Town elected officials currently must fill out Form 1, which asks for sources of income, liabilities and interests in businesses, but without specific dollar amounts. Starting Jan. 1, they will have to fill out the more detailed Form 6, which is already required to be filed by the governor, lieutenant governor, legislators, county commissioners, sheriffs and various other officials.</p>
<p>At the commission’s Sept. 18 meeting, state Sen. Bobby Powell, D-Riviera Beach, said it’s virtually impossible for changes to be made to the law before it takes effect in January. Powell, who voted against the new law, suggested the commission work toward building a coalition with officials from other towns to push for changes to the law when the Florida Legislature convenes next year.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Budget, tax rate approved</span><br /> Commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 25 to keep the town’s tax rate the same, at $3 per $1,000 of assessed value. That represents an overall 13.35% tax increase for existing properties, not including new construction, because of rising property values in town.</p>
<p>The commission also adopted a $7.88 million general fund budget — which covers the town’s day-to-day operations — for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, a 12.8% increase. The general fund budget includes $166,132 to cover the cost of a 7% raise for town employees, $291,944 for insurance costs, $274,500 for the security guard contract on Point Manalapan, and $2 million for the fire-rescue contract with Palm Beach County. </p>
<p><strong>In other news:</strong><br /> • Commissioners approved a site plan revision for Thaikyo Asian Restaurant, 201 S. Ocean Blvd., in Plaza Del Mar. The changes include an extension of the awning-covered outdoor dining area on the north side of the building farther to the east (the front of the building). It will include a lounge area for patrons waiting to be seated and a window opening for bar service. The restaurant plans to make the changes in the spring, following peak season, said project manager Kermit Schilling.<br /> • Town Manager Linda Stumpf told commissioners that former Mayor Peter Blum, who died in January, included the Manalapan Library in his will. P</p></div>Manalapan: Town budget to include more police and 7% raises for all employeeshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/town-budget-to-include-more-police-and-7-raises-for-all-employees2023-08-02T15:42:47.000Z2023-08-02T15:42:47.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>A new police contract approved by Manalapan commissioners July 25 includes 7% annual pay raises for the next three years, lifting the starting salary for new hires to $65,000, and giving officers a $200-a-month gas allowance.</p>
<p>Commissioners also decided to add two new officer positions to the department to beef up overnight patrols, so that patrol coverage can continue even if two officers are tied up with an arrest or other stop.</p>
<p>The changes are on top of the renovation of the town’s police headquarters, which was completed in July.</p>
<p>“I think we’re spoiling our Police Department as we should. They’ve got a big increase and huge benefits, and now they have a new headquarters,” Mayor Stewart Satter said at the meeting.</p>
<p>“Our goal in offering the enhanced compensation and benefits is to take care of those who take care of us every day,” Satter said in a follow-up email to <em>The Coastal Star</em>, “and to help Manalapan retain our trained and experienced police officers in what is a very competitive employment environment.”</p>
<p>The department, which has struggled to fill vacancies over the past several years, was fully staffed as of June 30, Police Chief Carmen Mattox said. The number of sworn officers will increase to 10 as of Oct. 1.</p>
<p>The additional officers came at Satter’s suggestion during a July 24 budget workshop. He was concerned because there is one officer each on the beach side and on The Point overnight, but one helps out the other if the situation calls for it. The extra positions will ensure coverage continues while the two are tied up.</p>
<p>Police won’t be the only ones getting 7% pay raises this year, as the budget includes a matching 7% salary boost for all town employees.</p>
<p>To pay for the salary increases and other budget priorities in the coming year, the commission approved a not-to-exceed proposed property tax rate of $3 for every $1,000 of taxable value, the same as last year. That rate is considered a property tax increase even though it’s not changing, because of rising property values of 15% in town this year. The $3 per $1,000 tax rate is expected to raise $6.28 million in property taxes, which is about $740,000 more than last year, or a 13.3% increase.</p>
<p>The proposed rate can still be lowered, but not raised, during public hearings on the budget and tax rate scheduled for Sept. 18 and 25.</p>
<p>Town Manager Linda Stumpf has proposed a $7.3 million operating budget — an increase of 8.3% from the current budget — and $650,396 for capital and infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>The proposed tax rate means a home assessed at $1 million last year, which receives a homestead exemption, will pay about $90 more in town taxes this year. A similarly valued non-homesteaded property will see about a $300 increase.</p>
<p>The budget includes $2 million to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for fire rescue services, a 13.7% increase of $245,000.</p>
<p>The biggest unknowns are for property and liability insurance. Stumpf’s budget includes a 40% premium increase, though she has been advised the increase could be as high as 60%. The actual renewal costs aren’t expected until late August, Stumpf said.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Home construction extension granted</span></p>
<p>Commissioners were upset that an Ocean Boulevard home under construction for four years still isn’t finished.</p>
<p>A building permit was pulled in 2018 and construction began in 2019 on the property at 1460 S. Ocean Blvd. The property was purchased for $12.4 million in 2017 and the new unfinished home is now on the market for $79.5 million.</p>
<p>Attorney David Miller, representing property owner 1460 South Ocean Boulevard LLC, requested a building permit extension until February 2024 — but then told commissioners he would prefer a year’s extension “out of an abundance of caution.”</p>
<p>He blamed Florida Power & Light for the delay in Coastal Construction’s finishing the project.</p>
<p>“They’ve been unable to get permanent power. Coastal has been emailing FPL for almost three years about the transformer permanent power hookup. Still haven’t been able to get a commitment from FPL,” Miller said. “Apparently, the power for this house got reassigned to I believe four or five different individuals by FPL over the course of the last 21/2 years, which I think is a large part of what the holdup was.”</p>
<p>But Satter didn’t buy that argument.</p>
<p>“This is taking way too long. It has nothing to do with FPL, with all due respect,” Satter said. “I have no interest to extend the permit for eight months. It’s not fair to the neighbors.”<br /> Commissioners, seeing few alternatives, approved a shorter permit extension to Dec. 26, but placed a number of conditions on the extension. Those conditions include having better screening on the north side of the property, placement of additional fresh rock and grass to reduce the amount of sand blowing from the construction site, and painting the front of the house to make the property look more finished.</p>
<p>The first two permits cost the owner almost $462,000. The new permit extension fee is $83,161.53.</p>
<p>Despite the new deadline, Satter predicted the owner would be back seeking yet another extension.<br /> <br /> <strong>In other business:</strong></p>
<p>• Stumpf reported that the town’s iguana removal efforts, which began in June, are having an effect. She said 50 iguanas have been removed from public property so far by the hired company.</p>
<p>• The town has revamped its water utility billing and residents should see the difference on the latest bills. The new system gives residents the ability to pay their bills online. It also makes it easier for properties with multiple meters. Instead of receiving separate bills, as in the past, those residents will now have all their meters listed under one account.</p>
<p>• The commission approved a $96,544.82 contract with The Paving Lady for the construction of a new landscaped island in the Land’s End Road cul-de-sac. It was the only bid received for the project.</p>
<p>“While the unit prices are higher than we would normally anticipate, because this is a smaller project adjacent to valuable property with exceptional finishes, it is understandable that the costs are higher than average,” reported Thomas Biggs of consultant Mock Roos & Associates, which reviewed the bid and is being paid up to $10,000 by the town for construction oversight.</p></div>Manalapan: Lower tax rate still means more taxes for town budgethttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-lower-tax-rate-still-means-more-taxes-for-town-budget2022-09-28T15:55:32.000Z2022-09-28T15:55:32.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>New gatehouse security guards, increased wages for town workers, and planning money for a town sewer system are all included in a new $7.3 million Manalapan town budget effective Oct. 1.<br /> Town commissioners on Sept. 27 approved the 25.2% general fund budget increase along with a reduced property tax rate of $3 for every $1,000 of assessed value — a rate that will increase taxes paid to the town by 21.2%.<br /> Mayor Keith Waters said much of the increase is being shouldered by new property owners in town, where property values soared 28.2% this year, fueled by the pandemic’s heated housing market.<br /> “We are delighted, with what’s going on in the community, to lower the millage (property tax) rate and at the same time provide additional funding for the operation of the town,” Waters said.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related:</strong> <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-south-county-s-new-tax-rates-taxes-and-budgets">South County's new tax rates, taxes and budgets </a></p>
<p>The commission lowered the tax rate 5.3%, from $3.17 per $1,000 of assessed value, which will reduce the tax bill of property owners with homestead exemptions. <br /> However, more than half the properties in town are not homesteaded, making them less protected from higher taxes.<br /> The new budget includes:<br /> • $264,532 for a contract with Cambridge Security Services Corp. to provide services at the town’s gatehouse on Point Manalapan. Commissioners approved the contract at a special meeting Sept. 16 after receiving complaints about the previous company.<br /> • A 5% raise for all employees and a 5% “one-time inflation adjustment” for them. Unlike a salary increase, the inflation adjustment — or bonus — will not be added to an employee’s base salary. The authority for the inflation adjustment was approved by commissioners at the special meeting Sept. 16.<br /> • $593,684 for capital equipment and improvements. Among the capital items are $166,684 to renovate the Police Department squad room, $143,865 to replace two police vehicles and the town manager’s vehicle, and $60,000 for a new generator.<br /> • A $520,000 transfer to the utility fund to cover some of the professional service fees for work being done with the town’s septic-to-sewer project, and for other utility project capital costs.<br /> Under the approved tax rate, the town is expected to collect $5.6 million in property taxes, which is $1 million more than in the previous year.<br /> The commission approved a total town budget of $14.5 million. Besides the general fund budget, which covers nuts-and-bolts expenses of town government supported in part by property tax collections, the town has a utility fund budget of $7.1 million and a library fund budget of $61,500.<br /> <strong>In other action</strong>, the commission voted to no longer require Ocean Boulevard property owners seeking to create or demolish a pedestrian passageway under State Road A1A — connecting the eastern and western portions of a property — to go before the town’s Architectural Commission for approval.<br /> Officials said that commission’s review isn’t necessary since the tunnels aren’t visible. The tunnels still must adhere to other existing town building regulations and reviews.</p></div>Manalapan: Property tax increase fuels budget that puts employees firsthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-property-tax-increase-fuels-budget-that-puts-employees-2022-08-03T17:54:21.000Z2022-08-03T17:54:21.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong><br /> <br />Manalapan’s newly proposed budget includes a half-million dollars to kick-start its switch from septic tanks to sewers, as well as money for 5% pay raises and a 5% one-time bonus for town employees.<br /> Town commissioners set a tentative property tax rate of $3.00 for every $1,000 of taxable value at their July 26 meeting, following their second budget workshop that morning. That’s a 5.3% drop from the current tax rate, but one that still amounts to a 21.2% property tax increase due to the town’s skyrocketing property values. <br /> The commission will hold public hearings on the budget and tax rate at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 16 and 27 at Town Hall.<br /> Commissioners opted against having a more significant tax rate reduction in order to address some key priorities, which include getting the town off septic tanks and making sure town employees are fairly compensated for the work they do.<br /> Town Manager Linda Stumpf included $520,000 in the town’s $6.6 million operating budget to pay for some of the professional fees and needed studies for the septic-to-sewer conversion project and possibly other utility projects. <br /> “That will help with the projects and the planning of the projects,” Stumpf said. If the money was not included in the budget, the town would have to borrow the money to do that preliminary work, she said.<br /> Commissioners plan to give 5% pay raises to employees on top of a 5% pay boost they awarded in March, hoping to keep them from looking elsewhere for employment and creating a cushion for them during a time of high inflation. Stumpf said employees would be pleased, especially since the town’s police contract called for only a 3% raise this year.<br /> Still, Commissioner John Deese said the town ought to do more to help employees during a difficult financial time. He successfully persuaded other commissioners to add the 5% bonus that would be a one-time deal and would not continue driving up salary costs for years to come. The bonus will cost about $110,000, he said.<br /> Deese also requested a salary study be done so the town can decide if other salary adjustments will be needed later to stay competitive with other municipalities.<br /> “I understand we have a smaller town, but we also get services far and above what you would have in other towns,” Deese said. “It’s a real serious and competitive marketplace out there and I think if we don’t address that and pay more attention to it, we could potentially find ourselves in a more difficult position going forward.”<br /> Among other notable items:<br /> • The budget includes money to hire a new security company to handle duties at the guard house on Point Manalapan following dissatisfaction with the current company. The new figure, $264,532, is a 30% increase from the current budget.<br /> • The cost for fire-rescue services from Palm Beach County is increasing 13.1%, to $1.79 million, the largest increase in the past five years. Interestingly, the increase is due to rising property values in South Palm Beach, which the county uses to determine Manalapan’s assessment. South Palm Beach saw a big boost in its property values due to condo construction there. </p></div>Manalapan: Town may have money to play with, thanks to rising property valueshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-town-may-have-money-to-play-with-thanks-to-rising-prope2022-06-29T15:09:50.000Z2022-06-29T15:09:50.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Manalapan’s rising property values have town commissioners looking at many things they might like to do next year, given the extra tax dollars that would be available even if they don’t raise the property tax rate.<br />In fact, Manalapan commissioners say they want to lower the tax rate. Higher property assessments mean they can do that and still collect increased property taxes for their budget priorities.<br />The money could be used to pay for some water treatment plant improvements that have been delayed, or to start getting all residents off septic tanks and onto a sewer system, or possibly to give employees a one-time bonus on top of a 5% pay raise that’s already in Town Manager Linda Stumpf’s preliminary budget.<br />During a budget workshop on June 27, commissioners even talked about starting the process of eliminating power poles and placing utilities underground, but only because it might make sense to do it at the same time that sewer pipes are installed.<br /> “It makes common sense that if you can do it, do it all at one time,” Mayor Keith Waters said of the suggestion by Commissioner John Deese. “If we want to look at that, that’s probably not a bad idea because sooner or later, you know, all these poles are going to have to come down at some point. It might as well be, with what we’re doing, sooner, in my opinion.”<br /> If the town were to leave its tax rate unchanged of $3.17 for every $1,000 of assessed value, it would collect $1.2 million more in property taxes this year than it did last year because of the rising property values. Stumpf recommended lowering the tax rate while still allowing the town to collect more taxes from residents.<br /> Under Stumpf’s proposal, the town would set a tax rate of $2.83 for every $1,000 of assessed value, which amounts to a 12.2% tax revenue increase. Commissioners said they’d prefer to see what might be accomplished with a tax rate of $3 for every $1,000 of assessed value, which would produce a 19% tax revenue increase. That would give commissioners $315,000 more to work with than in Stumpf’s preliminary $6 million operating and capital projects budget, and still be 5.3% under the current tax rate.<br /> “I want to send a signal very clearly, that the millage rate is going to go down,” Waters said, referring to the tax rate.<br /> Commissioners will set the town’s tentative tax rate at a 9:15 a.m. July 26 meeting before the regular 10 a.m. commission meeting. Residents will get notices of their proposed assessments in August, followed by public hearings in September before commissioners adopt a new budget and tax rate for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The town taxes are only a portion of a resident’s total tax bill.<br /> Highlights of the commission discussion around Stumpf’s preliminary budget include:<br /> <strong>Succession plans:</strong> Stumpf, who plans to retire in two years, has also been handling the town finance director’s duties, something not typical of a town manager. The budget includes $39,000 to hire a CPA firm to take on those duties, which will make it easier for the town to fill her position.<br /> In the Police Department, Chief Carmen Mattox wants to reinstate a lieutenant’s position by converting an existing position. While Mattox has no specific plans to retire, Waters said it would be good to have “somebody else who understands and knows the force” ready to take over.<br /> <strong>Employee raises:</strong> Stumpf included 5% raises for employees after commissioners said earlier this year they would like to go above the typical 3% raises and keep the town competitive with other similarly sized local governments. When Deese talked about possibly going even higher, Waters warned that the town has to be careful about changes that can’t be reversed and could burden the town if property values plummet in the future. Deese said the commission might instead consider a “one-time bonus” that doesn’t get built into employee base salaries.<br /> <strong>Security guard woes:</strong> Commissioners are looking at replacing the firm handling security at the guardhouse, a situation that Stumpf said “has become untenable” based on continuing complaints from residents. The firm recently added a Barcalounger in the guardhouse, she said. “The complaints I’m getting is that there’s no visible gate guard. When we drive by, they’re actually inside with the door shut, on their cellphone,” Chief Mattox said. <br /> <strong>Moving building plans online:</strong> Town Clerk Erika Petersen said she is nearing the end of a project to scan all filed Building Department plans and place them online. About 9,000 documents remain and should be scanned during the next year, while all new filings are submitted online-ready. <br /> <strong>Capital projects budget:</strong> Stumpf suggested almost doubling this year’s capital projects budget even before commissioners started talking about other things they might want to include. The amount Stumpf proposed for the projects increased from $292,615 in the current budget to $572,894. The main items are $166,684 to renovate the Police Department squad room at Town Hall and $134,715 for three new vehicles — two for the Police Department and the other for Stumpf.<br /> Commissioners have a lot to consider about getting homes off septic and onto sewers.<br /> “We’re going to have to do this sooner or later. We’ve guessed it’s like a 10-year window, but it’s a guess,” Waters said. “If we do the sewers now, we know that we can get some help” paying for the work from other governments, he said.<br /> While Deese and the mayor said it seems to make sense to bury utility and sewer lines at the same time, public support has been mixed.<br /> “I talked with dozens and dozens of people about undergrounding and natural gas, and not one of them was interested in moving to natural gas. They were all perfectly fine with propane and with the tanks,” Waters said.<br /> “Undergrounding with the utilities was sort of up in the air, because half the people said it was a great idea aesthetically, but it really doesn’t have any bearing [logistically] because we’re attached above-ground going over to the mainland.”<br /> Waters acknowledged that much of the natural gas opposition stemmed from the personal cost property owners would have been facing to connect. <br />If the town could pay for the additional construction needed through taxes, residents probably would have much greater buy-in, he said. </p></div>Manalapan: Firefighters union drops push for tax district as town protests costhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-firefighters-union-drops-push-for-tax-district-as-town-2021-09-29T18:02:31.000Z2021-09-29T18:02:31.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Joe Capozzi</strong></p>
<p>Manalapan officials are vowing to continue fighting a possible plan by a powerful union to create a new taxing district for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue service.<br /> The county’s firefighters and paramedics union this summer considered a plan to initiate legislation next year that would allow the creation of the taxing district and have it up and running by October 2023.<br /> But concerns from some municipalities led the union in September to postpone the proposal indefinitely, Scott Bielecky, president of the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Local 2928, told The Coastal Star on Sept. 20. <br /> “I’m not going to say it’s completely gone, but I don’t believe it’ll come back any time soon,’’ he said. <br /> “There are a lot of questions. The intent was not to have people so opposed to it without understanding it. We just ran into confusion over it.’’<br /> Bielecky said he was reluctant to get into specifics of the original proposal. But a document circulated to municipalities offered a general outline of a taxing district aimed at offering the most efficient use of tax dollars while ensuring “fair and equitable costs” to residents and visitors.<br /> It would not be fair and equitable for homeowners in Manalapan, town officials said.<br /> The small but wealthy town of 419 residents will pay about $1.58 million under a contract with the county’s Fire Rescue for service in the year that started Oct. 1.<br /> The proposed new district would have scrapped Fire Rescue’s system of offering service to the county’s unincorporated areas and 19 municipalities through two municipal service taxing units or service contracts. <br />If the proposal had gone through, Manalapan homeowners would have paid a tax rate levied against the assessed value of their properties. Under the current contract, Manalapan’s costs are based on either South Palm Beach’s assessed property values or the actual cost to run the station next to Town Hall, Manalapan Town Manager Linda Stumpf said. <br /> Property values in Manalapan are just under $1.5 billion while values in neighboring South Palm Beach, which also has a contract with county Fire Rescue, are roughly $457 million. <br /> “It’s not good for Manalapan if this goes forward, and the union is pushing for it,’’ Stumpf told the Town Commission on Sept. 17.<br /> “When I heard about it I was horrified, because it affects us substantially. It will affect the rest of the people in the county, because the millage rate will be a little bit higher than that MSTU.’’<br /> Stumpf said her understanding is that Manalapan and Jupiter would take the biggest hits of all the county’s municipalities. <br /> “It will cost you substantially more than you pay now,’’ she told the commissioners, urging them to voice their opposition to local legislators. <br /> The proposed new district would have offered relief to Manalapan’s general fund budget, by removing the $1.5 million cost for the fire rescue contract, but town taxpayers would have ended up with a higher annual tax bill, she said. <br /> Mayor Keith Waters noted that Manalapan would have paid three times more than South Palm Beach for fire rescue under the proposed district.<br /> “That’s not fair,’’ he said in an interview after the meeting. “Just because we have nicer homes doesn’t mean we have more people.’’ <br /> Bielecky said town officials needn’t worry.<br /> “I don’t see it coming back any time in the near future and I’m sure if it were to, there’d be a lot more discussion,’’ he said. “If we bring it back, we will reach out ... and answer any questions.’’<br /> In other business, Stumpf said the town remained at an impasse on a new police contract because the police union is objecting to her coronavirus policy at a time when the pandemic is affecting the town’s police force. <br /> The policy ranges from wearing protective masks to testing protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated people, but the union felt it was too restrictive, she said. <br /> “We have one more meeting with them to see if we can come up with something that is agreeable,’’ she said Sept. 10. “I just think we need to protect the residents and employees here with a policy that gives us some restrictions.’’ <br /> Meanwhile, the police chief’s September report mentioned at least one officer hospitalized with COVID-19 and plans to hire a part-time officer.<br /> “Unscheduled absences continue to occur due to COVID-19,’’ Chief Carmen Mattox wrote Sept. 10. “Personnel have tested positive and require time to recover. Others have been exposed and are required to quarantine. At this time no vacations are being approved until staffing levels increase.’’</p>
<p>• The commission approved a $12.48 million budget and 3.1695 tax rate for the year that started Oct. 1. The tax rate is the same as the previous year. </p></div>