$10,000 To Be Taken From Each Department To Fund Budget Amendment
Two budget amendment requests listed in the consent agenda raised questions at Monday night’s city council meeting.
The amendments were requested to increase the General Fund Account Attorney Department. The money for the increase was made available by transfers from the police and fire budgets. The request was for $10,000.00 to be taken from each of the emergency responders budgets to pay the increased salary of the city attorney.
According to the 2025-2026 budget, $48,000.00 had originally been budgeted for the city attorney fees, but the financial statement for this month showed a balance in the attorney fund of only $4,077.50. Submitted purchase orders, however, were in the amount of $10,787.50, making the increase necessary to pay the recent invoice.
The breakdown of the invoice is as follows: monthly retainer fee-$2,500.00; additional fees$4,087.50 and miles and fees$4,200.00.
City Manager Andy Freeman told council members the police and fire had extra money in their payroll budgets mainly due to not being fully staffed.
Also questioned on the claims register was a payment #2 to the State Auditor and Inspector for the DA requested state audit in the amount of $342.25. City Clerk Shannon Couch told members this was the second payment made on the audit currently being conducted.
In the treasurer’s report, City Treasurer Ginger Cornell told members even though the sales tax collections for this month were up from last month, total collections year to date are down by approximately $34,000.00. Cornell went on to say the use tax for same time period was up.
In agenda action, members approved the following:
• change order No. 4 for the street paving project for quantity additions on Vinita Street;
• approval to rebuild the fire department substation at its original location which will require to be built on a portion of the city right of way of Woodruff Boulevard; and
• approve renewal permit with the Department of Environmental Quality on the Chickasaw Nation/ OWRB Project.
City Council
No action was taken on agenda item for bids for generator installation at city hall because no bids were received.
Library manager Ginger Britt presented an update of the Mary Parker Memorial Library. Britt thanked the city for the repairs and upgrades on the library building and gave members facts about the programs the library offers and the number of people accessing the programs. Britt said approximately 17,000 visits were made to the library in the past year.
Grant writer Sherry Snyder updated council on current grants being pursued for the city.
In the consent agenda, members approved the following:
•payment not to exceed $900.00 to FirstNet for cell phone service;
•payment not to exceed $25,000 to Finish Line for February fuel expenses; and
•payment of $272.50 to TCM Bank-Visa for overnight mailing fees of the asbestos water samples.
Ward 4 Councilman Ryan Peters was absent at the meeting.
Special Council Meeting Held Tuesday, March 3
Sulphur Council members met in a special meeting last Tuesday evening to address issues with two major projects currently in progress in the city.
Members were asked to discuss the street paving project design and bid specification review. The total paving bid was $1,811,959.50 from Pavers, Inc. of Davis. This bid allows for approximately $181,000.00 to be available for change orders on the project.
Since several change orders have already been submitted due to unforeseen issues on the various roads that were engineered in the project, it was decided after a lengthy discussion, to finish the current roads in progress and rebid the West 14th Street portion of the previously engineered roads.
Members approved a change for $19,000.00 for a drainage issue on Tahlequah Street before re-surfacing.
Council members approved rebidding the water line installation from the water well site in the OWRB/Chickasaw Nation project.
The bid had previously been awarded to CD Brown Construction but no contract was ever executed within the allowable time frame so the project had to be rebid.
Members tabled action on a DEQ Permit renewal request on the OWRB/Chickasaw Nation project because the request stated the land acquisition for the well site was complete, and it it wasn’t.
A letter to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to request a bridge be added to the scope of OWRB/Chickasaw Nation Project was approved.
Ward 4 Councilman Ryan Peters was absent at the meeting.
