Time of Year
Weekly Update #227 5/26/2024 to 6/1/2024
It is that time of year. What time I am referring to will be explained over the next few paragraphs as I share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
Last year, while planning the 2024 budget, one of the additions I requested was a line to fund cancer screenings for Seymour Fire Department. This past week, all the arrangements were finally complete, and the first round of screenings has taken place. During contract negotiations this request was an easy one to agree to working on, and I am glad to see year one done. The baseline has now been set, and we will now rotate so all Seymour firefighters will be screened every 24 months. With the higher risk they face I can’t thank the bargaining committee enough for bringing forth this idea that allows for early detection. I would guess this becomes the cancer screening time of year for SFD.
This week, I am going to hit on a couple of grass topics. The first is due to a request to council for a business that wishes to become Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED, certified. While this is newer to us in Seymour, the LEED concept is built on decades of expertise and allows corporate citizens to build efficient, healthy, and cost-saving green buildings. The request was to allow for natural native grass options to businesses who are working towards LEED certification. Council approved the request with a 5-2 vote.
The second grass topic is on the residential side of grass. This time of year the ordinance administrator shifts gears into the lawn mowing side of things. While council approved for a grass exception for those working to become LEED certified, and LEED does offer residential certifications, that doesn’t mean you can just let the grass go. When residential grass goes above ten inches, the ordinance administrator will send out a letter notifying the property owner they will need to get it resolved in the next ten days. After ten days he will check up, and if the problem has been resolved, no more action is required. If it is still not resolved, then the process of assigning a mowing service to resolve the problem begins. After the contractor bills the city, a lien will be placed on the property. This is the last resort that we hope we don’t have to get to, but it happens several times per year. Thank you to everyone that keeps their yards mowed in the summer, and if you see one that is getting overgrown, you can always reach out via 812-522-4020 and ask for the ordinance administrator to report it.
In the last few paragraphs, you have seen a few examples of items that come around at this time of year. Another that starts now is next year's budget cycle. While we work on capital planning each January to get that piece of the puzzle laid out early, now is the time where we start to look at the operating budget for the following year. Monthly, each department keeps tabs on how they are tracking via the appropriations report. As they start to look forward, they review to see what could go down or up to keep things on target for the following budget year. The process will take roughly four to five months to get the 2025 budget worked through with line adjustments and cost of living raises being all parts along the way. Today, I will leave you with a phases-of-life quote from Alanis Morissette because each phase of the year has its challenges as well, "They're different kinds of challenges depending upon what phase of life I'm in."