Budget crunch time arrives for City Council

Three weeks from now the Hutchinson City Council has to let McLeod County Auditor Cindy Schulz know how much taxes it intends to collect from property owners in the city in 2009.

That means the council has to have a pretty good idea what the 2009 city budget will be, too. For that reason, the council plans to review the proposed budget during a public hearing at its 5:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday. In preparation for that, council members will take part in a 4 p.m. workshop.

The council had a similar meeting last week during which the council leaned toward not including money for mosquito spraying in 2009.

Under new business, the council will discuss it course of action following the announcement that longtime Finance Director Ken Merrill intends to retire Dec. 31.

The meeting takes place in the council chamber of City Center, 111 Hassan St. S.E.

For more, read the Leader’s Aug. 26 print edition.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)