ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Liberal City Commission kept things short and sweet during its most recent meeting Tuesday evening.
To begin, Mayor Jose Lara read a proclamation for Fire Prevention Week 2024 before presenting it to Sparky the Fire Dog.
“WHEREAS, the City of Liberal is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting our community; and WHEREAS, fire is a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally, and homes are the locations where people are at greatest risk from fire,” the proclamation read. “And WHEREAS, home fires killed more than 2,700 people in the United States in 2022, according to the National Fire Protection Association, and fire departments in the United States responded to 360,000 home fires; and WHEREAS, roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or with no working smoke alarms; and WHEREAS, working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires almost in half; and WHEREAS, smoke alarms sense smoke well before you can, alerting you to danger in the event of fire in which you may have as little as two minutes to escape safely; and WHEREAS, Liberal residents should install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home; and WHEREAS, Liberal residents will make sure their smoke alarms meet the needs of all their family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities; and WHEREAS, Liberal residents should test smoke alarms at least once a month. WHEREAS, residents who have planned and practiced a home fire escape plan are more prepared and will therefore be more likely to survive a fire; and WHEREAS, Liberal’s first responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of home fires and home fire injuries through prevention and protection education; and WHEREAS, Liberal’s residents are responsive to public education measures and are able to take personal steps to increase their safety from fire, especially in their homes; and WHEREAS, the 2024 Fire Prevention Week theme, 'Smoke alarms: Make them work for you' serves to remind us the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home. THEREFORE I, Jose Lara, Mayor of Liberal, do hereby proclaim Oct. 6 through 12, as Fire Prevention Week throughout Liberal, and I urge all the people of Liberal to make sure their homes have working smoke alarms and to support the many public safety activities and efforts of Liberal’s fire and emergency services.”
After the proclamation was read, the commission then approved Ordinance No. 4619 concerning adopting the Development Plan Agreement for the Larry Street and Hickory Street Development project.
The commission then heard a short presentation about the 2025 budget before ultimately approving it.
“As you all know, the 2025 Notice of Budget Hearing was published in the Leader and Times Sept. 12, and that publication contains a proposed total budget amount of $61,694,205 with a mill levy dollar amount of $6,932,800. This equates to an estimated mill levy of 49.472 mills, which based upon the July 1 estimated valuation from Seward County, and it's 3.815 mills lower than what was contained in last year's budget,” Chief Financial Officer Scarlette Diseker said. “We were able to achieve this through several ways, including lowering expenses where it made sense to do so, raising our commitment to revenue generation and reimbursement follow-through on accounts, and improving overall efficiencies where needed. On Nov. 1, the final assessed valuation will be determined, for which the number of mills necessary to fund our dollar request is subject to change; however, the levied dollars will not change. The City of Liberal will not exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for 2025. I want to express appreciation to the Liberal City Commission and all city staff, from employees to the different department heads, who deserve all the praise for their continued efforts to maintain the quality and level of services that they provide to our citizens at the lowest cost possible. The budget process is always challenging, but always rewarding when we get the finished product.”
“I would also like to extend my appreciation to all the hard work everyone puts into the budget, everyone always does an amazing job,” Lara said. “It is quite a task putting together a budget for a city this size and make sure everything's accounted for that needs to be.”
The commission concluded the meeting's new business by appointing Caroline Johnson to a four-year term starting in October 2024 to the Liberal Housing Authority Board and also appointing Kathleen Alonso to the unexpired term of Renae Hickert on the Liberal Memorial Library Board to be completed in July 2025.
