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City Council Monday night (9/19)–City Council will vote to purchase the last private property for the Shodeen apartments project, Fisher’s dental office, for $605,600. That includes $350,000 for the property, $250,000 for relocation costs, and $5600 for closing costs. The money will come from the General Fund reserves. Details of property purchase: http://il-batavia.civicplus.com/AgendaCe…

City Council Committee of the Whole Tuesday night (9/20)–Proposal to hire a Communications Coordinator. If the Communications Coordinator would inform the public of proposals before they’re set in stone, seeking community input, that would be very welcome. If it’s just to exert the City’s influence in media and attempt to control the conversation in social outlets, that money would be better spent elsewhere. Details on the position: http://il-batavia.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/9400?fileID=5561

School Board meeting Tuesday night (9/20)–approval of the 2016-17 budget. They will again increase taxes to the maximum allowed by law, capped by the Consumer Price Index (fortunately, fairly small this year). But at least the Finance Director, Tony Inglese, deserves credit for improving the budget format, providing more detail and rearranging items into proper categories. Because of the differences, it’s hard to compare to previous years, but is a good starting point for moving forward. Budget: http://www.boarddocs.com/il/bps101/Board…