The Hopkins City Council, at their regular meeting Monday, discussed delinquent bills. The city says there are 48 customers with delinquent bills totaling $28,688.32. The highest is over $3,000, while there are several others that have run charges of over $1,000.
Some have made arrangements to pay the city and are making payments. Water Superintendent Chris Bird said the city should focus on those who were making no effort to pay. Some are on sewer only, so the only solution would be to cap their sewer. “There is no sense messing with them,” he said. He said he would work this summer on disconnections. A possible solution worked out involved sending letters, and then imposing a lien on the property. Once the lien was put on, the residence would be disconnected and a $500 disconnection fee assessed. Service would not be restored until the disconnection fee was paid. The city will draft a letter for council members to review.
One complication was where one person owned the land but someone else owned the trailer.
The city will defend itself against a lawsuit filed against it by former clerks Teddy Phipps and Krystal Bowen, who the council dismissed last year. The city has liability insurance, and the insurance company provides legal representation for the city as part of its policy. The insurance company has retained attorneys to defend the city.
The city has turned in required paperwork to the Missouri State Auditor’s Office and the Missouri DNR.
Alex Dandy of the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments introduced himself to the council. He talked about the revamped COG website and said that they wanted to get back to helping cities develop strategic plans. He talked about some of the services that the council offers.
The council voted to pass a new animal control ordinance. It is a violation if any animal attacks other people or pets.
The city and council members signed off on paperwork to open a bank account for the $500,000 CDBG grant for the fire truck. The first step will be to open the bank account; then, bids will be solicited for the new fire truck for the Fire Department.
The Hopkins CBC will meet on March 10th at 6:30 pm in the basement of the Christian Church. The Hopkins Picnic will be August 7th to 9th this year. The city will be drafting paperwork for that event for a future meeting.
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