SYCAMORE | With two weeks left until the end of the current fiscal year, city council members discussed final plans for the upcoming FY2007-2008 budget Monday.

Spending within the budget totals $47,863,964. Repairs and enhancements to Sycamore’s infrastructure accounts for approximately 92 percent of the budget. A portion of this will go toward the construction of a second fire station.

“We’re looking to get the ground scraped at the new fire station site,” said City Manager Bill Nicklas. “Weather permitting, we’ll be laying out the site by Wednesday of this week.”

City engineer John Brady said to allow five or six weeks before actual digging will take place.

“We will probably be very well into May before we’re ready to get into the footings,” Brady said.

An additional $10,000 within the budget has been identified, but not yet allocated.

“That $10,000 is in there,” Nicklas said, “and what I assume you would have me do, as I did last year, is to invite proposals from community groups.”

The council decided to withhold action on two additional $10,000-dollar grants from the hotel/motel tax which could be dedicated to two local museums.

“There’s a lot of opinion out there about that,” said 2nd Ward Alderman Pete Paulsen. “I’d like the people to have the opportunity to address that specific opportunity at a separate time. We can budget for it, but we don’t have to dedicate it at this time.”

The budget would also assist the city in more efficient operations.

“One thing in the plan is the merger between the public works and water departments, which I think will provide a lot of efficiencies,” said 1st Ward Alderman Alan Bauer. “Developing a funding source for road improvements during this year is part of the plan, as well, although it’s not specifically listed in the budget.”

The new budget is something the council can work with and will serve the citizens well, said 4th Ward Alderman Terry Kessler.

“It’s aggressive, and it’s a lot of money, but we’ve been able to increase our staff in our police department, our fire department as well as our public works,” Kessler said.