CITY OF TIPTON – CITY COUNCIL MEETING – Monday December 2, 2024

The regular meeting of the Tipton City Council was held at 7:30 p.m. Monday December 2, 2024 at City Hall.   Those present were  Mayor Jarrod Shivers, City Clerk Brigit Gasper, City Superintendent Rod Barker and City Council members –Mark Towner, Michael Ohnsat and Jessica Krier.  Councilmember Ben Avery was absent.

Mayor Jarrod Shivers called the meeting to order.  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 

Minutes from the November 4, 2024 meeting were reviewed and approved.

There were 6 late fees charged for utility bills,  4 full payments and 2 partial payments. There has been a substantial increase in bills that are received late.  The late charge for utility bills is $5.00 if paid after the 10^th of the month; bills are mailed out on the 15^th so there is plenty of time for the bills to get paid. Bills can be dropped off at the bank, so local customers don’t even have to be concerned about mailing time.  Surrounding town late fees will be researched and this will be discussed in the future.

The sales tax receipt for November is $6687.97.  This will not settle into the bank account until after December 1 because of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Total receipts for November were $100,557.65; disbursements were $106,379.32. Bills and income for the month of November were reviewed.  

The radio controlled siren has been installed and is working.   The City of Tipton paid for one half and TREB construction paid for the other half.    

Property tax is due December 20 for properties owned by the City of Tipton.  These will be paid with the tax on the restaurant building purchased by Shirack Enterprises prorated with the City paying the  tax for 10 months and Shirack Enterprises paying the remainder.  The tax-exempt status for the property which includes the football field which was purchased from the Diocese is still pending.  After calling the Mitchell County Appraiser’s office,  it was reported that these exemption requests are taking quite a long time with the State.  We were instructed to pay ½ of the tax on that property and if the property is deemed exempt, then they will refund the tax amount paid.

There will be a transfer of approximately $1200.00 from the General Fund to the Park fund for the total of the alcohol tax distribution that was deposited to the General fund in 2024.  This is required every year.

There has been some rock purchased by individuals for their use on their property.  These funds are deposited to the street fund.

Mark Towner made a motion to pay the bills; Michael Ohnsat seconded.  Motion carried.

 The KMIT Workman’s Compensation premium is due Jan. 31, 2025; the amount will be $1832.00 annually.  This is an increase of 4.2% from this year.  A Premium Audit Notice will need to be completed at the end of the year and sent back to the auditor with documentation by mid-February 2025.

Annual wage increases were discussed for 2025.

The SAM registration which needs to be completed annually for the U.S. Government was completed and Brigit received notification that the registration is now active effective December 2, 2024.

In old business, a bill was received from Oak Creek for the cost of the Community Building Door Entry System that was installed.  Todd Brummer and Brigit had completed a Dane Hansen and SVCF Grant early last spring.  A full distribution was made from the SVCF fund and the remaining amount was distributed from the Dane Hansen fund.  The remaining funds from the Dane Hansen fund will need to be used withing a year of receiving the funds or at completion of the tuck pointing portion of the project. 

It was reported that the construction of the concession stand structure will be started soon.  The foundation portion is completed.  Discussion was held on the ongoing expenses the city will incur in the future for this property and this will be addressed with those involved. 

The items in the library which was located in the restaurant building have been distributed to teachers for their appropriate grade of students.  This will be completed by the end of the year.

The City Council will be judging light displays in town between Dec. 16 and Dec. 21 for the  annual Christmas Lighting Contest. Winners will be announced at the January 2025 City Council meeting.

The clerk position is still open as Brigit is wanting to retire.  Several have been approached as to whether they have interest in the position, but no one has shown any interest. Anyone interested can call Brigit Gasper, Clerk or Jarrod Shivers, Mayor.

The next meeting will be Monday, January 6, 2025 at 7:30 pm.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Brigit Gasper, City Clerk