City Discusses Furloughs, Grant Monies

The Feb. 1 meeting of the Glasgow City Council was a mixture of good news and bad. In the latter category, the council announced that hoped-for resiliency grant monies from the federal government in the amount of $18.1 million were awarded to other areas of the country thought to be in greater need. Many of the recipients were cities with larger populations and areas currently suffering critical damage to key infrastructure. Following on the heels of grant disbursements totaling nearly $700,000, Mayor Becky Erickson and council members were clearly disappointed, but chalked the setback up to a learning experience. "We're very disappointed," said Erickson, "but it was a good exercise and we learned a lot in the process."

Additional bad news came in the way of a letter addressed to Erickson from BNSF Assistant Vice President for State Government Affairs Juan M. Acosta. The letter announced the possibility of another 14 furloughed employees at BNSF's Glasgow location, bringing the number to 60 since April, 2015. In the letter, BNSF cites, "decreased customer demand in the near term due to sharply lower energy prices caused by global oversupply, the strong U.S. dollar, which has decreased commodity exports, and slightly lower agricultural demand in the midst of strong global competition." Acosta went on to explain that BNSF hopes to begin recalling furloughed employees as early as the latter half of 2016.

On a positive note, Erickson discussed two tax assistance programs – one aimed at senior citizens and the other at the wider public – that may help offset the cost of living for area residents who meet criteria laid out by the Department of Revenue. The mayor indicated a concerted effort to extend these programs to the public and provide assistance with the application process. Said Erickson, "Phone conferences are being planned with the DOR in Helena." She also indicated that after consultation, at least one area resident with whom she is in contact has qualified for the aforementioned programs to the tune of several thousands of dollars. Details TBA.

Other council business included changes to the city's personnel policy manual to cover health benefits for employees in grant-funded positions, and approval for the expenditure of funds relating to the sale of three police department vehicles.