City Manager Lon Pluckhahn Gives City Update in Advance of Next Council Meeting

From City Manager Lon Pluckhahn

Budget information is starting to trickle in.  In a welcome update, the contribute rate for the police and fire retirement system is not going to increase as much as previously expected.  Health insurance premiums are still not known, but we expect to get information on that in short order.  The League of Cities conducts budget training sessions in mid-November, where we will get the finalized rollback information and road use tax estimates.

We have been following up with agencies about potential funding sources for the Plasmapower project from the Washington D.C. trip.  At this point, we have to wait until the federal staffers are back to get guidance from a few of them, but several of the programs work through local lenders.  So far we have gotten clarification on USDA loan guarantees and a federal pilot program through the Department of Energy.

The police union and AFSCME have both formally asked to open bargaining for new contracts.  Council members need to be very careful with discussions with employees of the bargaining units while negotiations are open. Marion has been very good about not having prohibited practice complaints filed against elected officials and we would like to continue this trend.

ElPlast has now signed off on the development agreement for their project.  The company would still like to get started with construction this fall, but it may slip to spring depending on the final building design.  Their builder indicated that the design of the building may be higher than originally thought, which would increase the value of the facility.  If that is the case, it may be necessary to amend the development agreement.  As more is learned I will keep the council updated.

As you may have noticed, 13th street next to PDS Investment’s new building has not been repaired and opened yet.  The construction manager left a message for me on Friday and noted that they expected the paver to be there on Wednesday of next week.  We will continue to keep a close eye on this and re-evaluate if the paver does not show up when expected.

I am still seeking council members to make presentations on local option sales tax.  The meetings have been scheduled around the community.  If you are able to take a meeting, please let me or Amber Bisinger know and we will run through the presentation with you.