CBT News Review

Former City Manager Bill Watkins will start a new job as the general manager of Riback Supply Co. in August. The company sells plumbing, heating and cooling products to builders, contractors and homeowners. Watkins left his position in March, and the new city manager, Mike Matthes, starts work Monday.
MO-X shuttles were running on their normal schedule two days after a tornado damaged Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and left one of the company’s vans balancing precariously atop a parking garage, the Columbia Missourian reported. Shuttle services to St. Louis had been cancelled for one day because of the airport’s closure.
In the next few weeks, the University of Missouri will enter the silent phase of its next major fundraising campaign, when administrators and development officials will meet with supporters who have the potential of making large donations. The overall goal will be to exceed the $1 billion raised in the previous campaign. Public fundraising is expected to begin early next year.
AT&T held a public forum to discuss plans to build a new service tower at Columbia’s Fire Station No. 2 on April 20 — but no one showed up. Three representatives from AT&T and a contracting company were prepared to discuss the potential effects of the tower, which would accommodate the data flow required by some of its services such as 4G technology.
It cost more to keep the lights on at the new downtown parking garage in its first month than the city collected for public parking, the Missourian reported. In March, the new garage at Fifth and Walnut Street brought in $2,735; that month’s electric bill was $3,298. Overall revenue from the new garage totaled $23,362, with the Columbia Police Department accounting for $20,736 of that amount with 48 annual permits at a cost of $432 per space.
The City Council voted unanimously to allow manufacturers a three-year phase-in of the new sewer rates approved in March. Although manufacturers are technically defined as employing more than 25 people, companies with fewer employees could also apply for a manufacturer designation. The Council also put off until June a proposal to double parking meter rates and hike parking garage hourly rates. In a joint agreement with Boone County and the MU System, the Council hired law firm Lathrop & Gage to represent the city in its appeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommendations to clean up Hinkson Creek. The appeal is expected to cost $150,000 and will be split evenly between the city, county and the system.
A proposal to merge Columbia’s Convention and Visitors Bureau and the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs has met some resistance. Both offices are currently without directors. In a letter to Interim City Manager Paula Hertwig, members of the Cultural Affairs Commission voiced their concern that the workload of both leader positions would be impossible for one person to handle.
The Missouri Senate passed a $23.2 billion state budget plan for the next fiscal year. The proposed operating budget for next fiscal year is about the same size as the plan lawmakers had approved for the current year. But growing costs in some programs, such as the Medicaid health care plan for the poor, mean that other areas such as public colleges and universities might take a cut, the AP reported.
Gov. Jay Nixon approved a bill phasing out corporate franchise tax, which is levied on business assets exceeding $10 million. The tax will fade away incrementally during the next five years. Nixon also vetoed a bill that would make it tougher for employees to prove they were fired because of discrimination. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce condemned the veto and said in a statement that the intention of the bill was grossly misrepresented.
In other employment news, the governor announced an incentive package that will help Bonnybrook Steel Forms, a company that manufactures steel forms for precast and prestressed concrete producers, move forward with plans to locate a manufacturing facility to Glasgow and create 109 new local jobs.
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel announced a $1.5 million low-interest loan for Environmental Engineering in Jefferson City. The loan will be used to refinance debt and increase cash flow at the company that employs 97 people on mechanical contracting jobs throughout mid-Missouri. The state legislature voted to continue the treasurer’s lending program.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and several others challenging the federal health care law, according to media reports. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel said the plaintiffs did not have standing for many of their claims and that other claims were not ripe for review. The Republican leader said he’ll appeal.
The Missouri Health Connection, the state-designated entity overseeing the development of a statewide health information exchange, unanimously approved Cerner Corporation to be the technical service provider for the project. MHC has been awarded $13.8 million in federal funding for the project, which will streamline the information-sharing process.
Missouri holds its own when it comes to tax environments friendly to entrepreneurs and small businesses, according to new rankings from a small-business advocacy group, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Missouri landed at No. 15 with a Business Tax Index score of 32.58, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council’s Business Tax Index 2011 report.
But smokers might not feel the same way if a proposed cigarette tax increase is approved. Missouri State Rep. Chris Kelly recently outlined a plan that would raise the current state tax per pack from 17 cents to 98 cents. The Columbia Democrat said the increase could generate $425 million in state revenue.