The Monticello City Council met at 6 p.m. on Monday, January 29, for their first meeting of 2024. City Clerk, Taryn Wigley called the roll and found that all of the Aldermen except for Cedric Leonard and Clarissa Pace were present. After an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, minutes and financial reports from last month were approved. The council then moved on to the business of handling the items listed on the agenda.
The first item on the agenda was to read the 2022 Legislative Audit Reportable Findings and the city’s response to the findings. The audit found two items that the city has since addressed and corrected. One item occurred through human error, and the other was the result of the city being victimized in a case of stolen and altered checks that occurred in the area.
The council then accepted and approved a resolution to make final updates and adjustments to the 2023 operating budget.
The council also approved a resolution for the update and adjustment of the sales and use tax budget from 2023.
The next item on the agenda was to approve a resolution that would remove certain positions from the city’s general pay scale, and it would allow for the creation of a separate pay scale for those positions. These positions are Director of Finance and Operations, Finance Manager, Public Works Manager, Water-Sewer Supervisor, Street Supervisor, and Solid Waste Supervisor.
The council members also approved a resolution that would remove the Monticello Fire Department from the city’s general pay scale and create a new pay scale for the fire department.
Next, the council adopted a resolution to adopt an Operating Budget for 2024, which will appropriate money for every expenditure.
The council members approved a resolution that would extend the contract with the Monticello Economic Development Commission (MEDC).
The council approved a resolution to adopt a budget for the proceeds of certain sales and use taxes.
The aldermen approved a resolution that would allow the city to purchase a 2025 International MV607 Flatbed Truck for $121,624.03. The city has five old vehicles that will be traded in for credit towards this purchase.
The next agenda item was to pass a resolution authorizing the use of State Aid Street program funds to resurface Hyatt Street.
The council also passed a resolution extending the water purchase contract between the city and the Greenhill-Brooks Chapel Water Association.
The final resolution passed was to amend Ordinance No. 406, which deals with membership in Monticello’s Planning Commission. Ordinance No. 406 was passed in 1959 and calls for 10 members to be on the commission. This amendment would do away with the 10-member requirement and also clear up some of the antiquated language. The amendment would cap membership at six members and would allow the immediate past chairman to serve in a non-voting advisory role. The ordinance was approved via the emergency clause which made it effective immediately.
Mayor Jason Akers then discussed the 2023 achievements of all of the city’s departments, and he also gave a rundown of the goals they have set for 2024.
“Thank you all for what you do,” Mayor Akers said to the department heads. “You aren’t thanked nearly enough.”
Mayor Akers then moved on to the State of the City Address which he is required to give according to Arkansas law. He began his address by introducing the 2024 Monticello Organizational Chart. He said that this is something that the city is extremely proud of and is also something that the city has never had before. Akers said that the city received $2,227,400 in grant money in 2023. This was an incredible amount of money that the city didn’t have to spend. He also noted that the city saved $2,755,807 on infrastructure projects by doing a good bit of work internally and researching alternatives to previously bid projects. The city raised an additional $171,000 through the liquidation of unused property, as well as an additional $386,271 by eliminating wasteful and ineffective spending. The city also saved $1,671,000 by consolidating labor and removing redundancies. Currently, the city of Monticello is $7.2 million in the good. If American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are not taken into consideration, the city is still $5.6 million to the good.
Akers concluded his address with the following statement:
“From a financial standpoint, the city of Monticello is in above-average shape. We are starting the year with nearly $14.7 million in cash and CDs. In 2023, the One Cent Sales Tax raised $3.1 million. Much of that was due to inflation, but we hope to see those levels remain consistent in the future. We should have an estimated $1.5 million in allocated funds from the One Cent Sales Tax to be used for City Council initiatives. We have many infrastructure projects underway that will help improve the lives of our citizens. In 2023, we started the year with our transfer station being out of compliance. We have remedied this since then. Our solid waste fund was not only in the hole, but we owed $100,000 to the company that hauls for us. Since then, we have not only paid off our debt, we have, as of today, $65,464 to the positive, in our solid waste account. We have worked on updating and changing many outdated and antiquated practices. I believe that change starts with the right attitude and mastering the basics. I am a firm believer that going through these early struggles built character. We have refocused and readjusted our staff. We have placed them in positions where they can maximize their strengths and excel. We advocated for and obtained a pre-annexation agreement to protect the city’s water and resources for generations to come. If you live outside of the city limits, we want you to succeed and prosper. We welcome you as our brothers and sisters. We want to share our water, police, and fire resources with you, but we also need you to contribute something like the citizens who live inside the city limits. Bring something to the table, and become a part of our city. We have begun writing Policies and Procedures where there were none. We have held regular and structured meetings. We have seen results and developed teamwork. As we move into 2024, we will continue to bring positive changes to our city. This positive change will come from the involvement of the citizens of Monticello. You, the public, decide what you want to happen. Come to our meetings and have your voice heard. Come to the meetings and hold us accountable. A post on Facebook won’t change anything. We have to put boots on the ground, rather than fingers on a keyboard if we want to see change. Being scared to have an open and honest dialogue is why our country is in the shape it is now. The only thing that we should collectively fear is leaving a dismal Monticello for our children and grandchildren. May God bless each of you, and may God bless the great city of Monticello.”
