After having postponed the final decision on the 2021 budget and levy at an earlier meeting in December, the Blue Earth City Council voted on the final numbers at their meeting this past Monday night.

The levy totals $1,723,704, which is a 3-percent increase over the current year’s amount.

The levy includes $738,314 for the General Fund and $985,390 for the Debt Service Fund.

Before the vote on the levy, the council reviewed their list of goals for 2021.

Among the goals were work on the tennis courts, Three Sisters progress, filling the Golden Spike Business Park and others.

Councilman John Huisman outlined reasons why he thought the budget should include funds so the economic development specialist contract with CEDA (Community Economic Development Associates) could be increased from four days per week to five.

“Even if we don’t do it right away,” Huisman said. “But we decide three, four months down the road that we need to do it, but then we can’t do it because the funds are not there. This way the funds would be there if we want to increase the days.”

Other ways to fund the increase were suggested, including using future COVID stimulus money, or taking funds from the liquor store surplus. Mayor Rick Scholtes indicated some extra funding is already built into the budget.

After the discussion on the 2021 goals, the council voted to accept the levy increase at 3-percent as proposed.

In other business at the meeting, the council:

• Voted to accept the annual city fees schedule, with a couple of changes.

One change was to raise the animal license fee from $5 to $10 and to work on rewriting the animal ordinance to include changing the license from being an annual fee to a three year license.

• Heard a report from city attorney David Frundt concerning the nature and operation of the Blue Earth Community Library Board.

Frundt said his research indicated the library board was a statutory governing board, and not an advisory board, which gives the board more authority over, and responsibility for, the operation of the library.

The council spent some time discussing what this means as far as hiring employees, setting budgets, etc.

“I think this means we just control the money – setting the budget,” mayor Scholtes said. “And by law we cannot decrease the amount from the current year, but we can increase it.”

It also appeared the library board would hire any library directors, but the city would hire the other library workers.

“This just doesn’t seem to make any sense to me,” councilman Marty Cassem said.

Frundt said he understood that, but according to the state law, that is the way employees would be hired or fired. The city would hire the employees except for the director.

• Voted to have CarlsonSV serve as the new city auditing firm. They were the lowest of three bids for performing the annual audit.

• Voted to accept the annual contract with Bolton and Menk to serve as the city’s engineering firm. There were no changes in the fees charged by the company.

• Approved two variances. One was for a new multi-family housing complex proposed to be built by APX Construction of Mankato. It will be located at the intersection of 14th and Moore streets.

The other was for an addition onto a garage at 1219 Highland Drive for Chad and Angela Lawrence.

• Passed a resolution to OK some budget transfers, which had already done earlier in the year by council requests.

• Authorized a new Joint Powers Agreement between the city of Blue Earth with the State of Minnesota, dealing with access to court records.