The Junction City Fire Department moved into its brand new station at the city’s municipal building on Shelby Street on June 8. And the very next night, firefighters answered their first emergency call from their new home.

When Chief Cory Kitchen told the Junction City city council and mayor about their first run from its bright and shiny space, council member Vicki Bowling said, “I bet that felt good.”

Kitchen answered, “The boys says it felt good. They were proud. Everybody that showed up on the scene talked about it. They were very proud about it, and that makes me feel good.”

Kitchen added, “On behalf of the fire department we would like to thank you all for giving us a nice facility.”

Mayor Jim Douglas said, “We thank you for what you all do.”

In other fire department business, Kitchen asked the council to approve spending some of the department’s surplus state aid money, which is given to every fire department annually, on an electronic key pad lock, e-dispatch computer program and an emergency reporting system. The council unanimously approved the purchases. The key pad had already been bought; the e-dispatch costs $583 a year; and the emergency reporting system costs $958 a year.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a 50-cent raise for all city employees. They had not received a raise for two years,

• Tabled the county’s request to donate to the Gathering Place Senior Citizens Center feeding program.

• Approved the second reading of the Junction City Code Enforcement Board.

• Approved the second reading of the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget. A summary of the budget includes:

• General Fund revenue – $989,000

• General Fund expenditures — $419,110

• Police Department expenditures — $223,250

• Fire Department expenditures — $59,740

• Cemetery Fund expenditures — $15,000

• Municipal Aid Fund expenditures — $196,900

• ABC Fund expenditures — $75,000