At its Oct. 17 meeting, the Cedar Bluff Utility Board unanimously approved an unbalanced budget of $712,000 for the 2005-06 fiscal year.

The utility board will operate with a $3,000 deficit due to $709,000 in total revenue.

According to utility board member Ethel Sprouse, anticipated revenues such as Corr Wireless rent and Aid to Construction program fees are expected to cover the above shortfall.

Included in the budget is a 25-cent raise for utility board employees, an 18-cent raise for compensatory pay and a $5 standby pay increase for on-call workers.

The utility board accepted the resignation of employee assistant Billy Goss. The utility board agreed both to advertise for a working manager with experience in lagoon systems and draw up job descriptions and hiring standards at its Nov. 7 meeting.

In other business, the utility board voted to reject a $25,000 bid for board-owned property on Spring Street.

At its Oct. 3 meeting, the utility board voted to advertise the position of Utility System Manager in the Rural Water Association in local media outlets. The board agreed to set the position’s salary between $35,000 - $50,000, contingent on the applicant’s experience.

In another matter, the utility board explored the possibility of hiring Perry Medical Group for the board’s workman’s compensation claims.

In addition, the utility board agreed to post meetings for the first and third Mondays of each month. Any and all meeting changes will be made only upon a meeting’s cancellation