Published on May 22, 2025 3:15 pm
Last Updated on May 22, 2025 3:15 pm
Effingham city council members this week approved intergovernmental facility use agreements with the Effingham and Teutopolis school districts. The agreements allow the City to use the school facilities in the event of an emergency.
The Council also awarded a bid for downtown benches and trash receptacles for just over $67,000, and filled two vacancies on public bodies. Grant Bushue was named to the Effingham Public Library Board of Directors and our own Tonya Siner was named to the Effingham Tourism Advisory Board to replace our own Dave Ring.
City Administrator Steve Miller discussed cemetery rates for the coming four years. Miller said rates have fallen behind costs, so suggested a $100 increase this year in addition to the annual $25 increase. Miller also discussed the upcoming change in the electrical aggregation rate for Effingham and other communities in the local consortium, with the new rates due in June. He said the rates offered by the current provider might not be much different than the Ameren rate.
Fire Chief Brant Yochum said that a replacement of one more outdoor storm warning siren is expected soon. It will be the last of the city’s nine sirens to be replaced in an annual replacement.
Police Chief Jason McFarland reported that city police detective Matt Hoelscher, in his role as a special DEA agent, recently investigated a drug transaction that resulted in a federal indictment against a suspect.
