Before the final vote on the 2010-2011 budget at tonight’s Decatur City Commmission meeting, Mayor Bill Floyd began a conversation with his fellow commissioners about the projected long-term financial obligations of the city and what he continually referred to as “pressure on the budget.”

Spurred by recent concerns about proposals to take on additional debt for unfinished capital improvement projects like renovation of the Recreation Center, Public Works facility, Fire Station No. 1 and the Beacon Hill complex, Floyd asked the City Manager and Asst. Manager Andrea Arnold to project out costs for some of the city’s larger financial obligations, specifically the retirement fund, health insurance and pension payments to retired employees.

While Mayor Floyd originally asked that the projections be discussed over the next year, Commissioners Boykin and Baskett later suggested that the projections be delivered much sooner so the commission could consider future obligations prior to making decisions about incurring additional debt for the aforementioned capital improvement projects by the end of the calendar year.

Commissioner Patti Garrett added an additional request to that: a breakdown from the City Manager of how the 2006 bond fund money was allocated and how it has been spent.  City Manager Merriss agreed to fulfill both the Mayor’s request for debt projections and incorporate Commissioner Garrett’s request in a document that would be available to the entire community in the next “few weeks”.

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From a letter to the Decatur City Commission from City Manager Peggy Merriss regarding future financing of capital improvement projects (page 73 of materials)…

Last week we were notified that our grant application for using stimulus funding to renovate Fire Station No. 1 was not selected so we will also be looking at what options exist for completing those improvements as well.

With the current State Superintendent of Schools, Kathy Cox, making the surprise announcement last month that she wouldn’t seek reelection in the fall, the race to fill her job has been thrown wide open.

Among the five candidates currently running for the post is Gwinnett County high school social studies teacher and Decatur resident, Brian Westlake.

Westlake, a Democrat, recently responded to a series of four questions posed by the AJC:

• 1. How would you manage a mandated 10 percent cut in education spending?
• 2. How will you restore public confidence in test results?
• 3. Do you support vouchers for public education?
• 4. Do you support pay for performance for teachers?

Voter registration for the 2010 fall election ends today.

Restaurant Eugene’s former sous chef, Kevin Ouzts, is recently back from a California food pilgrimage and ready to show the Atlanta food world what he’s learned.

After graduating from culinary school in Atlanta in early 2009, Ouzts headed out to America’s food mecca with stints at The French Laundry in Yountville and The Fatted Calf in Napa.  At The Fatted Calf, Ouzts discovered his passion: the art of Charcuterie.

This was something he had never encountered in the modern South.  As he details on his website, “As a native of Atlanta and the South, I discovered that this is a world that the city of Atlanta has never truly had the opportunity to embrace.”

Back in Atlanta today, Ouzts has founded his own company, “The Spotted Trotter”, which will sell everything from pates to terrines (which is like pate, but has more coarsely chopped ingredients) to jerky and crepinettes (a small, flattened sausage) at Sawicki’s and the Peachtree Road Farmer’s Market beginning next weekend.

Ouzts tells DM that he believes his product stands out because it’s made in boutique batches and “every primal cut, trim, or whole animal will be sourced locally either within the state of Georgia or surrounding Southeast.”  He continues, “We will use fresh, organic herbs and spices when available, except dried spices. All of our animals are humanely-sourced and the finest quality the Southeast has to offer.”

For the more gastronomically inclined among us, you can peruse a list of a few of the specific items which Ouzts will offer up for sale over the first few weeks of business.

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