Plains passes budget, receives ARPA funds
September 16, 2021
The Plains Town Council last week approved the 2021/2022 fiscal year budget of just over $8-million, an increase of 16% from last year's budget.
Four council members - Chris Allen, the council president, Connie Foust, Joel Banham, and Chad Cantrell from his home on the phone - unanimously approved the budget at last Tuesday's meeting at City Hall. The council approved the preliminary budget in June and later held a public hearing, but few people attended, according to Mayor Dan Rowan. The fiscal year actually began on July 1, but the budget approval had yet to be approved, which isn't unusual, said Rowan.
The law enforcement department had the highest budget at $243,600 - $180,000 that went to salaries of the three officers. The fire department received $46,950, which included about $30,000 in donations and fundraising. Roads and streets will get $82,386. Administration, which includes personnel, office supplies, utility services, legal services, etc., totaled $234,00. Water and sewage are not covered in the general budget because they are considered enterprise funds, according to the mayor.
The Finance Committee, which included the mayor and three council members, started working on the budget in May, regularly meeting with department heads to go over their requests. This year's budget included the numerous grants, which the town must include in its expenditures.
The mayor was recently informed that the town will be receiving $2.6-million in water infrastructure improvement projects as part of the American Rescue Plan Act - ARPA - grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. "This is great news. We'll be able to have improvements that would have taken many years to complete," said Rowan, who applied for the funds in July. He said that the town was ranked 50th out of almost 300 applications and the first 74 projects will be funded at $2-million each. The town asked for money for four projects - a new well, First Street water main, water main at Town Pump, and service line replacements. Rowan said they replace about 15 of the old galvanized lines a year and they've replaced about 200 of them, but with the ARPA money, it will all be done next year. The number one request was for a new well to bring the number of water sources to three. Rowan estimated that a well would cost around $1,375,000, at a site that would be located north of town.
One of the items the mayor considered putting on the application was for a new water tank, but he thought it might jeopardize getting the other items. Rowan told the council members and the 10 spectators at the meeting that divers inspected the town's 500,000-gallon storage tank last month and found that most of the corrosion discovered three years ago had not progressed substantially, although about a dozen spots will need to be repaired by divers, who would also vacuum sediment on the tank's bottom. Rowan believes the town will need to start planning to replace the 55-year-old tank. He said he'll be looking at possible grants to pay for a new tank, which would be about $1.5-million. The mayor went to Somers recently to see its new concrete water tank, which he was told was a little over $2-million.
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