At the board’s first meeting of March – and final meeting at the renovated Olive Branch Methodist Church building – alderman Don Tullos said concerns about the celebration’s cost made him request the item be removed from the board’s consent agenda and placed under “new business” to be considered at the March 2 meeting.

The consent agenda is comprised of separate items that are either approved or denied with one vote. Board members may request an item be removed from the consent agenda if they wish it to be reviewed on its own merit.

“I brought this up because it is a big issue,” Tullos said.

The city has approximately $13,000 carried over from last year’s event, Tullos said. With a total of $27,260 budgeted for the 2010 celebration, Tullos requested that private donations fund the remaining $14,000.

Board members voted to set a limit of $27,753.35 on this year’s event, and apply the leftover $13,000 toward that amount. Tullos said he hopes private donations will help cover the balance, easing the city’s financial responsibility.