City of Tower returns 4th of July responsibilities to the community

The Tower City Council, at its January 23 meeting, unanimously approved turning all Tower Fourth of July activities over to an independent committee divesting the city from its role in collecting and accounting for all donations. Mayor Josh Carlson said that he had met with people interested in leading a committee and that he has confidence that they will lead Tower towards a great Independence Day celebration. For many, many years the Tower Fourth of July celebration was wholly independent, raising funds, planning activities and accounting for the finances of the celebration. At some point, in the early years of the 21st century, the city determined that it wanted control of the money and managed the funds through the city’s general fund. With this policy in place much of the responsibilities for organizing the event fell to the city hall staff. “Julie Johnson has volunteered to lead the committee and is planning a Monday, January 30 meeting to begin work for this year’s celebration,” Carlson said.

City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith provided the council with a dissenting opinion from Devin Ceglar, of Walker, Giroux and Hahne, the city’s Virginia based accounting firm. The responsibility for collecting the money and accounting and planning the celebration is a burden on the city hall staff and can easily be handled within the community, Mayor Carlson said. “The Walker, Giroux and Hahne opinion refers to the city’s general fund and tax levy,” Carlson said. Since the celebration is largely funded by private donations there would be no need for the city to handle the money, if it did not receive the donations, according to Carlson. It was determined that if the city received a donation the fire department could apply that money to the fireworks display which was handled by the fire department.

“I would like to see a plan from the committee before we vote on this,” Alderman Kevin Fitton said. This idea received a cool reception from the city council and Mayor Carlson moved to divest the city from the 4th of July Celebration. His motion was supported by Alderman Brad Matich and was quickly and unanimously approved by the council.

All other business before the city council was quickly resolved.

The city unanimously approved new appoinments for each retiring member of a board, committee or commission.

In other action, the council:

• Passed a resolution changing the Tower Economic Development Authority board from a five members to seven members

• Renewed the Ely Ambulance intercept agreement

• Increased the firefighter Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) pension contribution to $1,000 from the current $600. The firefighters pension contributions could not be increased for the previous five years, since joining PERA  and this was the first opportunity the city had to increase those amounts

• Held the first reading of an amendment to the ordinance permitting Midcontinent Communications to continue its franchise providing cable television service in the city

• Updated the city’s storefront loan program guidelines

• Accepted a Minnesota Department of Transportation airport grant.