It’s budget time of year, and the Callaway Village Board has been busy ironing out the funding and spending for the community for the next year. That was one of the items of discussion during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting.

After some discussion, the board did adopt the proposed budget. Paulsen admits this year’s budget looks a little different because of the pool bond. The Village has to show that expense on the budget, and will then use the bond funds to pay it. “So it just looks a little odd because of that,” he said.

The mill levy did go up slightly this year, as property valuations went up significantly. That, in turn, leads to an increase in property taxes. “It will be interesting to see what our taxes will do when the pool gets added into our valuation,” Paulsen added. “That’s why our ongoing fundraising for the pool is so important, and we continue to apply for grants.”

The board was informed at the meeting that the Custer County Sheriff’s Office is planning to partner with the Village of Callaway on a pilot program to handle dog complaints and enforcement of village ordinances pertaining to dogs. “This is a new program and we are a test community to see how it works because we have so many dog complaints,” explained Village Board Member Lawrence Paulsen.

Lawrence Stump is the village ordinance officer in Callaway but does not have the authority in that position to enforce penalties on dog complaints, prompting the CCSO to get involved.

Another topic of discussion involved the proposal of adding storm sewers to the streets of Callaway, as there are currently none in place. However, that is an expensive project. “We looked at possibly doing one or two blocks of storm sewer a year, but we tabled that,” said Paulsen. “Just the materials alone are about $15,000 per block. We know there’s a water problem, and we want to address that.”

The Village is also pricing a replacement for the tank of the trash truck and is looking at replacing the bucket truck. Pauslen said there is money in the sinking fund for those items. “There is a 3-year waitlist to get one, so we are contemplating getting on that list,” he said.

The board approved replacing the tablets for board members and purchasing a new laptop for Village Clerk Lori Bonde. The board’s tablets, Paulsen explained, are several years old and have “worn out.”

Meanwhile, construction continues on the new swimming pool and Village Economic Development Director Amber Harrison is busy searching for and applying for any grants she can find that may help defray those costs. Paulsen said the goal is to have all of the concrete poured and bath house up which will allow the crew to work on the inside of the building all winter.

The Village also has about $400,000 in excess LB840 funds, which must be used for specific items that will benefit the community.

“We basically have those funds just sitting there waiting for somebody to use them,” said Paulsen. “There are laws for LB840 and what that can be used for.”

He encourages anyone who has an interest in learning more about the LB840 funds or has an idea for using those funds to contact Amber Harrison.