Beneville appoints Denise Michels to port panel

The Nome Common Council has finished a long “to-do” list concerning the fiscal plan for spending year 2017-2018. The Council unanimously approved the seven parts of the fiscal plan at its regular meeting Monday evening. These are the amounts:

General Fund Municipal Budget $12,090,782. School Debt Service Fund Budget, $557,952. Special Revenue Fund Budget, $231,588. Capital Projects Fund Budget, $430,000. Construction Capital Projects Fund Budget, $0.00. City of Nome Port of Nome Fund Budget, $1,595,545. City of Nome Port of Nome Capital Projects Fund Budget, $7,096,869.

In approving the General Fund Municipal Budget, the Council also exercised its power to assess and levy general property tax. According to the state assessor, the total assessment valuation of all taxable property within the City is $317,172,294. The total sum of revenue obtainable from sources other than municipal property tax is $9,093,929. The General Fund Municipal Budget shall rise by a levy of 10 mills upon taxable real and personal property within the City of Nome.

Last year’s mill levy was 11 mills; however this year the value of a mill went up with an increase in valuation over the past three years.

The City reduced the total expenditure by $176,500 by dropping the Public Works Dept. expenditure for machinery and equipment as a result of eliminating the capital expenditure request for a tractor and a used side dump truck and adjusting the cost for the telehandler-extended forklift and freight cost. 

The library’s expenditure was increased by $5,500 for travel and operating supplies previously covered by a federal pass-through grant, Institute of Museum and Library Services. The city’s contribution to Nome Preschool Association went down by $10,000.

An ordinance authorizing the purchase of real property by the City of Nome from Arctic Gold Mining failed to make it through public hearing and final passage. The measure would allow Tom Moran, city manager, to negotiate a purchase of real property —five acres in Tundra Lakes Subdivision — for a purchase price of $25,000. The land is currently used by Nome Volunteer Fire Dept. as a training site—along Center Creek Road. Nothing doing, said Councilman Stanley Andersen. echoing his sentiment expressed when the subject came up at the regular Council meeting on May 22.

Arctic Gold Mining should be donating the land to the Nome Volunteer Fire Dept. rather than trying to make a profit off a volunteer emergency services program, Andersen said.

“We can’t afford to lose it for firefighters’ sake”, Councilman Lew Tobin said. Councilman Louis Green Sr. wanted to hold off awhile for more information. Councilman Jerald Brown thought $25,000 was a fair price.

The motion failed with Councilman Thomas Sparks and Councilman Lew Tobin voting yes, Andersen, Brown and Green voting no, and Councilman Mark Johnson abstaining because he has a business association with Arctic Gold Mining.

 In his utility report, John Handeland, NJUS utility director, announced that he had hired Ken Morton as assistant manager and chief financial officer.

At the end of the meeting, Mayor Richard Beneville appointed Denise Michels, former mayor and Kawerak employee to a vacant seat on the Nome Port Commission. Ron S. Lemmons, employee of Bering Straits Development Corp. and Shawn Pomrenke, self employed, also applied for the seat.

Tom Moran, city manager, congratulated David Barron of the City’s maintenance department for achieving May Employee of The Month.

The Nome Nugget

PO Box 610
Nome, Alaska 99762
USA

Phone: (907) 443-5235
Fax: (907) 443-5112

www.nomenugget.net

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