LORRAINE — The Aug. 11 meeting of the Lorraine City Council began with a public hearing on the 2021 budget. Council member Peter Solie asked for explanation of the changes to the water and sewer funds. City Clerk Michael Boyer said the city did not make any transfers out of the water fund into the debt service fund in 2019 or 2020, but there is enough revenue expected in the fund in 2021 to transfer to the debt service fund and pay the full water bond loan payments without raising water rates. There probably won’t be enough to do it again in 2022, so the city will have to evaluate rates charged to customers before that next budget is set, or else go back to collecting tax revenue to make the bond payments. The maintenance person’s salary was also reconfigured to take 50 percent from the water fund, 30 percent from the sewer fund, and 20 percent from the general fund. The sewer fund is more stable than the water fund and is generating enough revenue that we have been able to transfer money to the debt service fund to pay the full cost of the lift station loan payments each year.

Council member Cassy Vedder asked for an explanation of the expenditures in the Special Highway fund in 2021. Boyer said that it is money that we get from the state gasoline tax each year that has not been spent. It is listed as an expenditure next year to give the Council authority to spend it in case we decide to use it for street repairs or as matching funds for a grant. Vedder also inquired about the City Park items in the General fund. Boyer said the revenue for that item came from the pop machines, but we no longer operate them. Expenditures are just an estimate of repair and maintenance costs that we might incur for the park next year.

A motion was approved to accept the 2021 city budget as published.

In other business:

• Approval was given to a motion to amend the bills to be paid to add reimbursement for Joe Travnichek for mileage in the amount of $60.90 plus five hours of labor for assembling the new mosquito fogger and taking it to Salina for testing and certification.

• By consensus the council approved a request by maintenance supervisor Larry Klug to approve Jim Janssen to operate the city tractor to fill potholes in city streets.