Overheard

The Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 30 approved City Utilities of Springfield’s 2008 Operation Plan & Budget. Total appropriations are $701.7 million, covering $479.2 million for normal operations and $222.5 million for work on the Southwest 2 plant now under construction. Springfield City Council is expected to vote on the budget at its Sept. 24 meeting. CU’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Also at its meeting, the board approved a $270,000 funds transfer from customer support to cover bad debt write-offs from the January ice storm. CU earlier this year estimated the ice storm hit the utility with about $36 million in recovery costs. Federal Emergency Management Agency announced in August that it had approved $21.3 million, or 75 percent, in reimbursements of those costs.

Get In Line

With between 40 and 60 requests coming in daily for basketball season tickets at JQH Arena, Missouri State University officials may create waiting lists for several categories of seats. The MSU arena is under construction and slated to open in November 2008, in time for the 2008–09 basketball season. The deadline to request season tickets is Oct. 1. Ticket requests will be taken after that, but those submitted before the target date will be given first preference. For the men’s basketball season, waiting lists are being considered for $2,000 seats in Rows 1–6. Season tickets remain for other Premium One seats, including courtside seats at $5,000 each and loge seats at $2,500 each. For the women’s basketball season, a waiting list is being considered for Premium One seats in the lower bowl, approximately Rows 1–3, at $2,000 each. Season tickets remain for courtside seats at $3,000 each and loge seats at $2,000 each.

Quality Jobs Changes

Gov. Matt Blunt on Sept. 3 signed into law a bill that increases the funding capacity for the state’s Quality Jobs and Enhanced Enterprise Zone programs. House Bill 1 sets the cap on the Quality Jobs program at $40 million, up from the previous lid of $12 million. The cap on the Enhanced Enterprise Zone program rises to $14 million from $7 million. The Quality Jobs program was created in 2005 and offers financial incentives to eligible businesses for creating new jobs. The Enhanced Enterprise Zone program offers incentives in specified areas that have the potential to create jobs in a targeted industry. The bill also creates a state match for the federal New Markets tax credit, which encourages investment in small business in rural and emerging urban areas.

Job-training Funds

The state has approved $5.1 million for job training at 179 Missouri companies, including a handful in the Springfield area. The funds are appropriated to the Missouri Job Development Fund and administered through the state’s Customized Training Program. They will offset costs of skill training for 21,704 new and current employees at the approved companies. Area companies slated to receive funding include 3M Co., Central States Industrial Equipment & Service Inc., Edmonds Dental Prosthetics Inc., GE Motors by Regal Beloit, Jack Henry & Associates Inc., NorthStar Battery Co., Polar Tank Trailers, SRC Automotive, SRC Heavy Duty, Tracker Marine Group, Tuthill Vacuum and Blower Systems, Watts Radiant Inc. and Webco Inc. Community colleges and career schools will administer the Customized Training Program locally.