City commission receives budget requests

The Concordia city commission received 2020 budget requests from CloudCorp, the Cloud County Resource Center and the Concordia Senior Center during its regular meeting on Wednesday.
Executive director Kim Reynolds presented the budget request from CloudCorp, which is once again seeking $55,000 to help fund the general operations and related project development and an additional $3,000 earmarked for small business development for a total of $58,000. That is the same amount that was requested for 2019.
CloudCorp will present an identical request for $58,000 to the Cloud County board of commissioners.
A request for $10,000 for the Concordia Senior Center to be used for operating costs and to supplement the wages of the nutrition staff was presented to the commission by Karal Closser.
The Concordia Senior Center served 18,672 in 2018. Volunteers delivered over 9,140 of those meals to home-bound seniors. Those numbers are up by almost 2,000 meals from the previous year.
Activities, education and social interaction are also provided at the Senior Center..
Closser said that the Senior Center continues to face financial challenges.
The Cloud County Resource Center is requesting $20,000 for 2020. That is an increase of $2,000 over what was requested in 2019.
Tonya Merrill, executive director of the Resource Center, presented the budget request.
The Food Bank served just under 1,800 people in Cloud County in 2018. Of those served were seniors over the age of 55 and children under the age of 12.
According to information provided to the commission by Merrill, the Food Bank is serving 18 percent of Cloud County including Aurora, Clyde, Glasco and Miltonvale and 24 percent of Concordia, assisting those food insecure people who might otherwise not eat one meal a day.
Merrill said that since January, the Food Bank has seen at least 15 new families and individuals each month.
The Food Bank has already fed 700 people for the year, and using that as an indicator, could pick up an additional 400 people between June 1-August 1.
Merrill, who works part-time, is the only Resource Center employee. There are also four regular Food Bank volunteers.
The Resource Center receives no state or federal assistance for the programs it offers.
Merrill said that Cloud County did increase funding for the Resource Center by $375 per quarter.
Neil Phillips with Jarred, Gilmore & Phillips, PA, Chanute, presented the audit report for the fiscal year 2018 to the commission.
The city entered into an agreement with Jarred, Gilmore & Phillips on October 31, 2018 to provide audit services at a fee not to exceed $13,000. The field work was performed on March 27-28.
Phillips stated that the city is in compliance with Kansas cash basis and budget laws.
The commission approved accepting the audit report and authorizing Mayor Mark Matthew to sign the management representation letter.