State Budget Cuts Affect Knox Highway, Park Departments

Knox City Council

The Knox City Council is trying to come up with a solution to a problem that is not uncommon to them, but inconvenient all the same. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston told the council that he received a notice from the State Board of Accounts detailing their budget order and explaining what amounts each budget would receive.

Houston explained that on the whole, the budgets are looking good, but there are two budgets that will need to be reworked due to cuts from the state. The Motor Vehicle Highway Fund, with a balance of $413,131, was cut by $24,536 – not a hefty cut, but still a hindrance. The Park Department’s budget was also cut by $11,135 for a total budget amount of $146,358 – another small cut, but park officials are calling it another obstacle to their five-year plan.

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City of Knox Sells Old Firetruck on eBay

Jeff Houston

Online auction shopping website eBay came to the rescue of the City of Knox recently. Unable to sell used equipment and vehicles, the city has turned to eBay and it has turned out to be a gold mine. The most recent thing sold was an
old fire truck, as Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explains.

“We sold the old firetruck on eBay for $4850, and that seems to be a pretty good process for us. We used to set vehicles around and put “For Sale,” and we did set this up here so people could see it, but it had the email address and stuff to be able to bid on it for a certain length of time on eBay rather than to come in and make bids with us. I like it a lot better, and I’m real happy with the rate that we are getting compared with what we were getting before,” said Houston.

As they say, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” The old fire truck was taken away by a buyer in Michigan.

An interesting story about eBay. The founder, Pierre Omidyar, sold a broken laser pointer in 1995. It was the first item sold over eBay, and Omidyar was so astonished that he called the buyer back and asked, “Do you realize this laser pointer is broken?” To which the man replied, “I’m in the market for broken laser pointers, not new ones.”

Omidyar then realized eBay might really be successful.

Incumbents Re-Elected in City of Knox Primary Election

Rick and Marlene Chambers

Knox City Democrats went to the polls yesterday and re-elected Mayor Rick Chambers, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, and City Councilman Ron Parker in the contested races.

Chambers defeated challenger Mark Smith 401-288 in the mayoral race, and at party headquarters, he thanked his supporters.

“It’s been an exciting four years and I’m just humbled by the public coming out and voting and supporting me,” said Chambers. “We’re here to support the public. I’ve got to thank my family. My Mother-in-Law, my kids, everybody else that helped me, and the City workers who have made me look good for the past four years. We’ve got to thank them.”

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Jeff Houston Seeks Another Term as Knox City Clerk-Treasurer

Jeff Houston

We’re less than two weeks away from the 2011 Primary Election, and we’re talking to the candidates running for office in the City of Knox Election.

Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston is in his 5th year in the position. We asked Houston what he enjoys about the job.

“I enjoy working with people, and I enjoy planning for the future with the City,” said Houston. “Right now we’re working on a number of different projects including the new J.W. Hicks project. We’re working with different grants – we’re working in the park right now with a five year grant. I like interacting with the different people in the City and with utility customers. All in all, I enjoy the job altogether.”

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