Building permit revenues are lower than expected, Jordan Finance Director Tom Nikunen told the city council tonight.

The city budget calls for $230,100 in revenues to come from building permits. During the first quarter of the year, only $7,855.62 had been received. That's a little more than 3.4 percent of the annual budget, according to Nikunen's monthly finance report.

"Theoretically, we should be at 25 percent," Mayor Ron Jabs said, "but we're at 3.41 percent."

The Jordan School Board approved the move to paying more for its special education director if the possibility should present itself.

The district pays for 40 percent of its special education director’s salary, with another 40 percent coming from Belle Plaine and 20 percent coming from Montgomery-Lonsdale.

If the option arises, the district would like to increase it’s portion to 50 percent, while Belle Plaine would increase its portion to 50 percent. In this option, Montgomery could share its director with the Minnesota River Valley Special Educational Cooperative.

Jordan Superintendent Larry Kauzlarich isn’t receiving the help he had hoped for.

Kauzlarich said the ideas for reducing the district’s operating costs have not been coming in from the public like he expected. As it is, Kauzlarich said, most of the suggestions have been raised internally through the administration.

“From the community, I’m getting nothing in the way of suggestions,” Kauzlarich said.

The Jordan school district will ask for the help of 30 residents as part of its cost-cutting committee. Applications for the committee, which will begin meeting later this year, are due by Feb. 8.

The committee will likely look at a list of possible cuts considered by the district and rank them in the order of how they feel the district should cut, Superintendent Larry Kauzlarich said. And while the board has yet to decide to make any budget cuts or how much those cuts might entail, he thinks it won’t be easy.

Contractor E.H. Renner recently began drilling Well No. 8.

Sixty-eight residential building permits have been issued this year.

Here's what Jordan Finance Director told the city council on Oct. 15 about the low number of building permits this year:

Jordan's proposed fire hall expansion project has been continually delayed. 

City Attorney Annette Margarit said on Monday that the project will not be ready to bid in July.

An agreement to pay Kyle and Kathryn Thill $720 for 72 square feet of land, up to $500 for replacement landscaping, and the cost of  the quit claim deed and paying any deed tax was approved by the

The number of building permits being taken out is down, compared to the 2006 number.