By Sue Moore
The Village Council at its June meeting accepted the recommendation of Manager Ken Schippers to join the South County Sewer and Water Authority (SCSWA) at an annual cost of $2,000.
“That way we have a say in what is going on with the authority,” he said. The village will join Brady, Schoolcraft, and Pavilion Townships and the village of Schoolcraft.
The village actually maintains a lot of the authority’s equipment, he told the council. The authority has used the village’s pumped sewage capability since 2000 for the sewer system around Indian and Pickerel Lakes. “There are 11 lift stations that we maintain and they pay the village $2,500 a month for that service. If we join, we can be more collaborative this way.”
New ordinances are about three quarters of the way through the Planning Commission’s deliberations for downtown Vicksburg, Councilman Chris Newman reported. They will affect signage, exterior appearance, awnings, and building closures when finally brought to the Council for approval.
The spending limit for the village manager without prior council approval was changed from $500 to $3,500. The $500 limit had been in effect since 1985.
It was announced that Village Clerk Tracy Locey would be resigning on June 18. She was complimented with a standing ovation by council members and the audience for the two years she has worked to reorganize and re-staff the village offices.
A special meeting was held to review budget amendments for the 2014-15 fiscal year, including an increase in total revenues over expenditures of $81,400. The changes reflected actual revenues and spending at the end of the fiscal year.
Total revenues for 2014-15, originally budgeted at $6,255,100, were amended to $5,631,200, a change of $623,900. Total expenditures for 2014-15 were budgeted at $5,698,300 were changed to $4,993,000, a decrease of $705,300. Details of the amendments are available at the Village Hall.