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Show . 0 MlW k Brigham City, Utah 84302, Sunday Morning, Volume 78,' Number 50 December 14, 1975 22 PAGES SC5Dae00 HlbnwiQini eafeDe O review ifeiDs to The award of an $18,000 bid to lay underground cable and approval of a resolution to clean up Brigham Citys electric rate schedule came at Thursdays weekly city council meeting. Messer Electric, Beaver, won the right to install cable from the citys Fifth West substation to Hospital Corporation of a distance of Americas new hospital 7,500 feet after submitting the low bid. The $18,000 price was substantially less than two other bids. Second-lowas Wasatch Electric, Salt Lake City, $24,440, with Interstate Electric, Salt Lake City, bidding $36,788. The cable will be laid a in four-foot-de- trench. Councilman Byron Armstrong described it as the first leg in the citys new electrical system. Brigham City will supply the materials which reportedly are now on hand. In its action on the rate structure, the council deleted two rates which Council12,000-vo- lt man Armstrong said are not used and fact, set rates lower than the city must pay for the power it sells. This does not mean an increase in power rates. Were simply cleaning up the rate schedule so we can get it into the computer, the councilman explained. In other business, the council accepted the $3,344 bid of Hansen Chevrolet to supply the city water department with a compact pickup truck. Mayor Harold B. Felt read a letter which he had been authorized to write to members of Utahs congressional delegation stating council support for the federal revenue sharing program. The mayor said it has become apparent that Washington is relatively cool to the continuation of revenue sharing beyond its final year of authorization in 1976. The council approved pay step increases for Marilyn Wendel fn the city office, and Dave Holliday in the water department. which, in , SINGERS will be among vocal music from Box Elder High school taking part in "A THE MADRIGAL students Christmas Carol Festival" Dec. 20 on the Brigham City Hall plaza. The program is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and is the first of its kind offered by the school, according to Director Wes Boman. The public is invited. On city hall plaza Saturday Prep singers set music event Something new for the local holiday is season a Christmas Carol Festival scheduled on the Brigham City hall plaza next Saturday, Dec. 20. About 265 students from Box Elder High school will perform, singing familiar carols in addition to Christmas music of more modern vintage. The hour-lon- g event will begin at 3:30 p.m. For years weve been invited to take in the songfest on Temple Square Salt Lake City). Ive thought for quite a few years about doing something like this part Audit discloses that district deficit is real there is a sizeable deficit in Box Elder School districts maintenance and operations fund. At least this is the conclusion of Wiggins, Taylor and Baugh, private accounting firm, which annually audits the districts books. Representing the firm Wednesday night, Dennis Sheffield, reviewing findings of the 1974-7audit, said they found a $363,000 deficit to exist in the maintenance and operation fund. Some have refuted district claims that such a red ink situation is real. Sheffield, accompanied by Keith Wiggins at a regular school board meeting, said the audit did disclose the deficit, adding that the board has taken positive action to correct measurThis referred to budget-cuttines and an upward tax adjustment effected 5 it. g BOR okays BC grant from two-yea- Will Look at Budget Speaking of this, Supt. J. C. Haws said if were on schedule, we should be no more than $180,000 in the hole when we take another look at the budget on Jan. 14. The board scheduled a public hearing and will open the budget on that date to accomodate new personnel salary figures and other adjustments. Sheffield reported also that a $141,000 deficit was found in the districts capital outlay fund. This is largely the result of spending on remodeling projects at Grouse Creek and Park Valley schools and the new vocational education building at Bear River High school. Such a deficit does not present the greater-than-expecte- d park grant Its official! Brigham $13,770 this year, steps taken to eliminate the r deficit in a period. City will receive a the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation for further development at John Adams park. The announcement came Saturday from Sen. Frank E. Moss With the city matching this amount, the ). funds will be used to finance a tennis court complex plus playground equipment, drinking fountains and jogging path. Approval of the grant was virtually assured earlier this year when it gained endorsement of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. appear. In a letter to what Among the numbers to be presented are ' the editor delivered earlier Miss Tovey said unfair pro-' d ground rules established beforehand by Mayor Harold B. Felt would prevent her from having a fair and Tlim sda Sleigh Ride, The Little Drummer Boy, some Spanish Christmas songs and Twas the the Hallelujah Chorus plus wall special Night Befoi e Christmas pantomime. The public is invited to attend. impartial hearing. The development apparently came as a to more than two dozen citizens who attended the council session. Although library board members were ptsent and prepared to present reasons' for her dismissal, the city council agreed that it would be unfair to conduct a hearing surprise Snowville seeks improvements Revised budget hearing set Yes, here, let our own townspeople hear we do, Director Wes Boman said. Taking part will be the Madrigal Singers, concert choir, Liberty Belles, mixed chorus and special entertainers. It will be the first such yule gift from the high school to the community. The Brigham City Library board expects to hire a new city librarian by Jan. 1, having had 10 applicants for the job. This was disclosed Thursday after an expected confrontation between the library board and Miss Fern Tovey, former librarian who was fired Nov. 17, failed to materialize. The showdown, scheduled during a regular weekly city council meeting, was averted when Miss Tovey declined to challenge posed by that in the maintenance and operation fund from which salaries are paid. In a management letter accompanying the audit, two weaknesses were noted excess funds being retained in secondary schools and some instances of sloppy roll book keeping. The latter is important because the district receives state financial assistance based on students in average daily attendance. Soften Criticism Sheffield softened this criticism when he noted that in earlier years, it was an exception to find roll books in total compliance with state requirements. Now, just the opposite is true. Of excess funds at secondary schools, it was stated: We noted that at each of the high schools, several thousand dollars were being retained and invested at the local level under the discretion of the principal The exact source of all such funds was not identified on the records although the studentbody fees and bookstore revenues contributed to the excess. Inasmuch as the district subsidizes the operations of all the schools in the district in several ways, consideration should be given to establish a policy with (Continued on Page Three) School board votes to buy 4 new buses Box Elder County School district will buy four new school buses next year. A decision to purchase the units came at Wednesdays meeting of the board of education. However, it turned out to be more than a routine matter with differences of opinion expressed about the size of the new units. Following a recommendation of Supt J. C. Haws, the board voted to purchase two buses and two with 84 capacity. Drivers and mechanics had urged that buses be no smaller than In the end, however, economics were a major influencing factor. The units will cost $17,555 each. The larger buses are priced at $24,733 apiece. The larger units will be purchased from Bryson Sales and Service. Archibald Ford, Tremonton, will supply chasses for the smaller units, $10,768 each, and Hasco will furnish the bodies at $6,787 each. These firms all were low bidders for the respective units. Need Improvements In other business at a regular board meeting, patrons from Snowville talked about needed improvements at the elementary school in their town. Spokesman Garn Larkin cited the need e for a room which could serve for physical activities, sewing classes and programs. Also, he said the schools restrooms are multi-purpos- getting ancient and with a sprinkling system they could plant more grass on the school grounds. lengthy discussion followed, during which Dr, Haws pointed out that agreements have been made with Brigham City and Howell for development of school grounds. The communities have installed sprinkling systems with (Continued on Page 11) A Commission okays zoning change in south Willard The Box Elder County commission has approved rezoning of 25 acres in south to RR-1- , following a Willard from RR-recommendation of the county planning commission. The action came this past week after a public hearing on the matter the previous week. The change will permit one residence on one acre of property. The old classification allowed one residence on a minimum five-acr- e site. The acreage is located on the east side of the highway and north of Chadwicks nursery. 5 without her being present. The hearing or review was agreed to by the council three weeks earlier after citizens and spokesmen for the Utah Public Employes association requested it. The city council doesnt have authority to reverse a firing decision by the library board. It can only recommend. City Attorney Omer Call confirmed this Thursday, reading a prepared statement based on research he had done on the subject. Referring to state law, he said clearly the library board of directors has the power to appoint, replace and discharge the librarian independent of the city council. "Further the city council would not, in my opinion, have the authority to set aside the hiring, removal or replacement of a librarian by the library board. I find no provision fop public meetings . to air possible grievances between the librarian and the library board of directors the attorney stated. He then gave advice that, with Miss Toveys failure to appear, was followed: I would therefore suggest even though such meeting has been scheduled, that it not be held and grievances not be aired unless and only after the librarian has, in such meeting, requested that such meeting go forward and claimed grievances be therein aired, Issues Statement Herbert Blue, vice chairman of the library board, Friday, issued a statement concerning the issue: The library board was prepared to present the reasons for Miss Toveys dismissal but because of her request that the hearing not be held and because she was not present, we felt we should not do so. Miss Tovey and her representatives have chosen to try the board in the newspapers. We have elected not to involve ourselves in a charge and counter-charg- e exercise which could go on indefinetly and which would benefit no one. We instead stand on our dismissal motion and we will not reply to the public charges. This may not be a satisfactory solution but the board feels it is the only reponsible course open to us. Our concern is for the library and library services and this is where we intend to concentrate our attention. Blue said the board had received 10 applications to fill the librarian post. Of these, seven were selected for interview and the list now has been trimmed to four finalists. The board reportedly is checking the references of these candidates and expects to name a new librarian by Jan. 1. Text of Letter Following is the complete text of Miss Toveys letter to the editor: After much thought and with deep regret, I have decided to drop my termination appeal currently pending before the Brigham City Town council. I want to express special appreciation to the competent representation given to me throughout this case by the two (Continued on Page Three) $2.1 million for 1976 County adopts budget after hearing comments Box Elder county officials Friday adopted a $2,143,695 budget to cover anticipated county expenditures in 1976 but not before hearing a plea from farm spokesmen to ease the property tax burden. Comments on the budget were aired in an hour-lon- g hearing conducted in the county commission room in Brigham City. The $2.1 million figure compares with estimated expenditures for this year of $1,880,295. A dozen persons attended the hearing, most of them county officials and employes. Ross Rudd, Garland, representing the Box Elder County Taxpayers association, urged the commission to seek other sources of revenue, "move in a different direction from the property tax. A long-tim- e farmer, Rudd said under the of the current situation people in Box Elder county enjoy what of us pay for. He had reference to the heavy tax load carried by agriculture. three-quarte- one-quart- er Serve Cities Rudd futher said sanitary landfills operated by the county mainly serve Brigham City and Tremonton residents and are not used by farmers. Wes Scott, Fielding, president of North Box Elder Farm Bureau, said he didn't feel that were getting our money out of the weed department". Rudd futher compalined that not enough is being spent in the extension servic" telling the commission that "we ought to spend twice as much to adequately serve the farmers Commission Chairman Don Chase said the property tax is a continuing concern but "basically is the means left for the county to get revenue. He explained also that landfill disposal sites are operated by the county from Plymouth south. And as for the extension service, these personnel are not paid by if youve got the county but he said suggestions, well be happy to go to bat for you. Mrs. Alma Alex, Brigham City, chairman of the Box Elder County Democratic party, responded to the farm spokesmen by declaring that city residents dont benefit from the property tax exemption provided farmers by the Green Belt amendment. She declared also that not only do city residents pay their "fair share" of county property taxes but also city taxes and we dont feel we get any more services than county residents. As for the landfills, Mrs. Alex said by not using them, some farmers have created refuse heaps that are unsightly. County Assessor Clifton G. M. Kerr pointed out that the county takes only tax revenue collected annually. The largest shait. about 70 percent, goes to schools. iut-uison, executive director of the Uah Taxpayers association, ascertaining that a pay increase planned for county employes next year averages about 10 percent, including benefit, said the pressure to raise salaries will require a one-miincrease each year. ll ployes have not been militant. He called them a great bunch of employes. The new budget has $91,000 to cover pay increases and benefits. Elected officials will not receive an adjustment, however. We really feel we have no fat in this budget, Chase remarked at the outset. Rudd called for more spending in recreation to provide areas for riding vehicles, motorcycles and other to provide relief from the trespass in Due to Militancy Olson said this is due to employe militancy in demanding more money. If you dont have it here, youre lucky, he told the commission. Commissioner Chase said county em problem. He said nighttime surveillance by the sheriffs department has eliminated blems previously experienced by pro- |