The Holbrook City Council held a meeting on May 26, during which they approved the purchase of a new excavator to be used at the Holbrook Cemetery. Council members Kip Woolford and Mike Nilsson were not present and were excused from the meeting.
The new excavator has a small footprint and is more maneuverable than equipment being currently used. “The reason for this is to eliminate the problems we’ve had this year with damage to the grave sites,” stated Fleet Maintenance Manager John Gerwitz. He further explained the width of the machine allows it to go between the burial sites without going over them. The fiscal impact of purchasing the excavator is $44,384.
The council also approved a resolution designating Finance Director Randy Sullivan as the Chief Fiscal Officer (CFO) for the purpose of submitting the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report.
The council also passed and adopted the Fiscal Year 2023 Tentative Budget in the amount with expenditures of nearly $14.6 million, which is an increase from the previous fiscal year’s budget of $12 million. Young stated that city employees will receive a raise and that the unfunded liability of the PSPRS Public Safety Personnel Retirement System has been reduced. “Three years ago when I came it was approximately $9.5 million and he’s (City Manager Ted Soltis) got it down to about six and a half million ($6.5 million).” The proposed budget may be examined by the public at Holbrook City Hall, the Holbrook Library and online at www.holbrookaz.gov. A public hearing on the tentative budget and property tax levy will be held on June 9 at city hall.
Mayor Merrill Young thanked City Manager Ted Soltis for his work in regards to the budget. “It looks like almost all of the city employees are going to get a decent raise this year. He’s also managed to decrease our unfunded liability from PSPRS (Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System) substantially.”
Councilman Tim Dixon also thanked Manager Soltis for the conciseness of the budget and amount of new equipment the city has gotten. “I think the city is looking really good, and we have new equipment that we can be proud of,” he added.
During the summary of current events, Mayor Young mentioned a meeting with West Camp Wind AES, which is a company that is proposing to build a wind farm outside of Joseph City which will hold 104 turbines. “If anybody wants any information about this company, they do have a website www.AES.com/west-camp-wind.”
Manager Soltis informed the council that the splash pad and swimming pool is now open and the new baseball bleachers have been installed at Hunt Park. He also explained automated sprinkle heads and valves were replaced in all parks except for Lewis Park. “Lewis Park has a good amount of work before it can be automated, it’s not been automated for some time,” Manager Soltis explained, “That’s scheduled to be completed towards the end of the summer and into the fall.”
Manager Soltis also thanked staff for cleaning a burned down trailer on Desert View, which should be finished by next week. “Code enforcement is not an easy job, but it’s rewarding once the task is complete.”
