Village of Colfax budget numbers not yet settled

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX —  Final numbers for the Village of Colfax’s 2013 revenue and expense budget are not yet available.

All together — between a closed session on employee wages and an open session on the rescue squad budget, general budget and water and sewer budget — the Colfax Village Board spent four hours in budget discussions on October 29.

No information is included in the budget yet on property taxes, the tax levy, or mill rates.

Following the 90-minute closed session, the Colfax Village Board approved a motion to increase the wages for Don Knutson (rescue squad director) and Don Logslett (streets) by 1.5 percent as of January 1.

The village board also approved a motion to increase the wages for Tony Braaten from $11 per hour to $12 per hour as of January 1 and approved a health savings account for Logslett at $900 per month to begin with the November 1 pay period.

Village board

According to the preliminary budget document, $30,202 was budgeted for the Colfax Village Board for 2012 and $29,910 is budgeted for 2013.

The 2013 budget includes wages for elected officials of $11,000. Another $1,000 is included for travel; $10,000 is included for outside services; $1,000 will go for dues and subscriptions; $5,000 is designated for legal services.

Municipal Court

The 2012 budget for the Village of Colfax included $15,374 for the municipal court.

As of April, the Colfax municipal court has been abolished, and the budget for 2013 includes zero dollars for the court.

Administration

The 2012 budget for administration was $131,988.

The administration budget included on the preliminary budget document for 2013 is $126,771.

The 2013 budget includes $33,000 for full time wages with retirement; $16,224 for part-time wages with retirement; $2,500 for election inspectors.

The budget also includes $5,000 for employee travel; $18,500 for unemployment benefits; $5,000 for office supplies; $11,000 for auditing; and $9,400 for assessing.

Village Hall

The 2012 budget for the Colfax Municipal Building was $11,515.

The preliminary budget for 2013 is $18,500.

The 2013 budget includes $200 for water and sewer; $1,300 for electric; $2,500 for heat; $1,000 for supplies and small equipment; $10,000 for repairs, maintenance and grounds; and $2,000 for property insurance.

Police department

The 2012 budget for the Colfax Police Department was $186,875.

The preliminary police budget for 2013 is $188,728.

The 2013 budget includes $36,000 for full time wages with retirement; $4,100 for part-time wages with retirement; $11,900 for part-time wages with no retirement; $57,004 in full-time wages with no retirement; $8,700 in payroll taxes for social security and Medicare; $1,000 for travel; $3,000 for unemployment benefits; $25,000 for employee insurance; $6,100 for employee retirement; $400 for water and sewer; $1,500 for electric.

The budget also includes $2,000 for communications; $1,500 for heat; $2,000 for general supplies and small equipment; $3,000 for technical supplies; $7,000 for gas and oil for vehicles; $1,400 for fleet repairs and maintenance; $5,000 for liability insurance; $1,500 for vehicle insurance; $4,900 for workers compensation insurance; $2,000 for outside services dues and subscriptions.

Fire protection

The Village of Colfax’s 2012 fire protection budget was $100,315.

The preliminary budget for 2013 is $99,420.

The 2013 budget includes $7,000 for Length of Service Awards (LOSA) for retirement.

The budget also includes $65,666 for hydrant rental and $22,254 for the budget levy for the fire department.

Ambulance

The 2012 ambulance budget was $18,528.

The preliminary ambulance budget for 2013 is $18,352, which is listed as the budget levy.

Building inspections

The 2012 budget for building inspections was $1,580 and the 2013 budget is $1,680.

Fred Weber is the village’s building inspector.

Streets

The 2012 streets budget was $251,304.

The preliminary 2013 streets budget requires some adjustment.

The 2012 budget included nearly $95,000 for the First Street project. The actual 2012 year-to-date for repairs and street maintenance is $105,681.

Street lighting

The 2012 budget for street lighting was $30,900.

The preliminary budget for 2013 is $32,125.

Cemetery

The 2012 cemetery budget was $19,150.

The preliminary cemetery budget for 2013 is $23,555.

The 2013 budget includes $4,330 for full-time wages with retirement; $5,000 for part-time wages with retirement; $1,215 for employee retirement benefits; $5,000 for repairs and maintenance on buildings and grounds; $4,000 for outside services.

Library

The Colfax Public Library budget for 2012 was $116,525.

The preliminary library budget for 2013 is listed as $118,974.

The budget includes $33,900 for full-time wages with retirement; $22,100 for part-time wages with retirement; $5,280 for employee retirement benefits; $1,800 for electric; $900 for communications; $2,200 for heat.

The 2013 budget also includes $2,500 for supplies and small equipment; $25,000 for circulation; $5,500 for property insurance; $5,500 for outside services; $3,246 for dues and subscriptions.

Parks

The Colfax parks budget for 2012 was $21,815.

The preliminary parks budget for 2013 is $33,985.

Much of the increase in the parks budget is for wages that were paid out for the parks but were not included in the 2012 budget, amounting to about $10,000.

The 2013 budget also includes $5,000 for technical supplies, $1,000 for gas and oil; $6,500 for repairs and maintenance on buildings and grounds.