Per a request I made earlier in the year, the village went through a formal audit from the state auditor’s office. For the last couple weeks, a poor woman was sent all the way out here to Wyobraska to formally audit the village books. (We normally get waivers from the state.) With several villages in Nebraska busted over the last year for millions of dollars in missing money, I though it would be a good idea for a formal audit. (It’s not that I don’t trust our village clerk or the late village clerk, I just want the village to have a clean bill of fiscal health.)

As it turns out, the books are perfect. We’ve also spent a lot less than we projected this year.

Neither the accountant nor the village attorney thought much of my suggestion we dissolve the municipality and divide up the $500,000 or so we have in the bank amongst the ninety-three residents.

We finally have a new maintenance mechanic; we hired him tonight. He is from here, but moved away to Tennessee a long time ago. He moved back a couple years ago because Tennessee was too expensive. He’s starting on a sixty-day probationary period, during which the village will send him to state certification classes at our expense. He’ll start at $15/hour. We also hired a second person to mow city properties for the same rate.

I got two appointment cards in the mail from the VA today: I have an appointment at 1500 next Monday in Sidney, and 1501 (really) in Cheyenne. I need to get on the phone and ask them to work this out between them.