by Ellie Beman

Canby’s final municipal budget reflected a minimum of tinkering from the preliminary numbers city council has been looking at for several months and passed on a unanimous vote.
The bottom line, $1,314.055, down just $7,500 from 2009, was approved at the council’s last regular meeting of the year.
Of that amount, taxpayers will come up with $393,490 in property taxes with the remainder from fees, fines, initiative funds and local government aid from the state.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s decision to delay or suspend cuts in LGA came just days before the council’s final vote.
On the plus side, the street budget got a $7,000 increase in anticipation of next summer’s infrastructure project and the category entitled “advertising and promotion” to cover the cost of an improved city website and possible increased support for the Chamber of Commerce.
The entire budget is available for review in the city offices and in the public library.
The council’s next big order of business was to appoint a new member for a year to replace councilman Bob Sik who has moved outside the Canby city limits.
At the Dec. 2 meeting, the council voted to table their selection pending written resumes from candidates.
In the end Sik wound up naming his replacement, nominating former mayoral candidate Jennie Wittrock Seidel, who was approved four to one Gene Eilers was the lone dissenting vote.
In her statement, Seidel said her motivation in seeking the appointment was predicated on her interest in promoting Canby “I have been interested in and supportive of the City of Canby since moving here nine years ago, attending many of the council meeting and being knowledgeable on the financial condition of the city.”
In other business, the council okayed a flurry of licences: cigarette and off sale liquor licenses, Canby Liquors; on sale liquor, coin operated machines and card playing for Clark Hanson VFW and Parrot Bay.
Mayor Gene Bies closed the meeting to discuss labor negotiations. Council members did not come back into open session following the brief discussion.