Council OKs appropriation of 8 million

SALEM -- Council has approved an 8 million appropriation measure to get the city through the first three months of next year.
Councilman Justin Palmer cast the only vote against the 15-page measure. He said he had voted against it only because he had not received it in time to completely read it.
At the same time, council gave a first of three readings needed for passage of an ordinance that would alter the split of income tax receipts. The city has been putting 80 percent of the receipts into the general fund, while the rest went to capital improvements. The proposed legislation would put 75 percent of income tax money into the general fund, with the rest going to capital projects.
Some officials feared that altering the division could result in layoffs in safety forces as the city tries to deal with a growing drug problem. But Palmer said that city Treasurer James Armeni, who was not present, said that the new percentages could be adopted without layoffs. Palmer said that Armeni was expecting a larger carry-over balance into 2007 that would keep funding for the safety forces and allow for the extra projects.
In other action, council reversed itself and unanimously approved Primo Citino for another term on the city's utilities commission. In a split vote earlier this year, council voted against a new term for Citino simply because his term was up. Mayor Larry DeJane had asked council to approve another term for Citino.