Warsaw City Council Tuesday night approved transferring its fire cumulative fund as a dormant fund to the rainy day fund.
Councilmen Joe Thallemer, Dan Hampton Charlie Smith and Jerry Patterson voted in favor of the transfer.
Councilmen Jeff Grose, Kyle Babcock and George Clemens were absent during Tuesday's meeting.
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said the city learned with the establishment of the fire cumulative fund with the fire territory that the fund can be dormant.
Wiggins said there is $803,933.26 remaining in the fire cumulative fund that needed to be transferred.
The council approved the transfer of the fire cumulative fund to the rainy day fund because the city has identified the fire cumulative fund to become a dormant fund.
A dormant fund gives city and town councils authority to order the transfer of any unused and not encumbered balance in any fund raised by a general or special tax levy the purposes of which have been fulfilled to the general fund or rainy day fund.
"I think because the money is set for capital expenditures it seems appropriate for it to be kept in a similar fund," Thallemer said.
"If that reduces the need for a bond down the road it will save the taxpayers and gives us latitude to do things without going through expenses on a bond."
The council also discussed a Department of Local Government Finance final 1782 notice, a notice for final budget recommendations.
During a special meeting Jan. 27, Clerk-Treasurer Elaine Call said she found a discrepancy in the general fund of a budget cut of $145,000 that was missed by the DLGF and should be applied.
The council approved a motion at the January meeting to allow for $400,000 of county option funds to go to the fire territory operating fund and allow Call to respond to the 1782 notice as submitted.
The notice claimed the city made an error in figuring funding for the Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Territory.
Call said during Tuesday's meeting the final budget has now been approved, although not all the numbers the city had hoped for.
Call said the budget is still $125,000 less than what the city wanted. The adjustments on the state's part put $3,038,135 back into the fire territory budget.
Because of the establishment of the fire territory, Warsaw was left with a dormant cumulative fire fund.
The council also approved an ordinance to transfer $5,000 from council utility to council miscellaneous.
The council approved a conflict of interest statement for Clemens, co-owner and chairman of Rabb-Kinetico Water Systems.
Also during the meeting, Wiggins informed the council that there will be a reception to honor Call March 5 at city hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. following the Board of Public Works meeting.
Call announced during the council's Jan. 19 meeting that she will resign March 5. A caucus will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. at city hall to select a new clerk treasurer.
Republican candidates who have filed so far for the seat are Kyle Babcock, LaShawn Brumfield and Lynne Christiansen.
