OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Dunkirk Treasurer Mark Woods looks at the camera while Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak and Councilman-at-Large Nick Weiser go over documents during a meeting of the Common Council’s Finance Committee Monday.

The Dunkirk Common Council’s Finance Committee got right down to the stinking guts of the situation Monday morning.

That’s a literal statement, not some metaphor about the city’s torturous finances. Councilwoman Nancy Nichols opened the committee meeting by inquiring about a fish processor at the Marina that is not working properly.

Department of Public Works Deputy Director Mike Przybycien acknowledged that heavy use has worn down the machine. He wasn’t sure if the city leased out the fish processor, promising to look into it immediately.

There are several fishing tournaments coming to Dunkirk this summer, and “no matter whose problem it is, we need to handle it so we look good in the national spotlight,” Przybycien said.

Nichols complained that some anglers in a hurry are misusing the machine. “They’re jamming it as fast as they can to get out,” she said.

There don’t seem to be any good alternatives to disposing fish waste through the machine, which Przybycien likened to a large version of a home kitchen garbage disposal. Dumping it in a garbage bin would be an early Christmas for animals, Nichols noting cats would frequent the site.

A few minutes later, the Finance Committee got down to big-picture business.

Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak sought and received support for budget modifications. She plans to present them as a walk-on resolution at today’s regular meeting of the full Common Council.

Luczkowiak said the city is “in the black,” with about $5.5 million more in revenue than expenses.

“We’ve balanced all of our accounts that are tied to the general ledger. Everything’s working,” she said.

Luczkowiak offered an update on Dunkirk’s 2024 audit, which city officials have clamored for. Auditors Drescher and Malecki “want to come in late next week and talk about how they can speed things up,” she said.

Treasurer Mark Woods had stated earlier that the Dunkirk Housing Authority is three years behind in its audits, “but they are catching up.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Nichols groaned.

Dunkirk has collected $8,616,584 in taxes on its 2025 tax warrant, with $1,156,763 still needed to satisfy it, Woods said.

Councilman-at-Large Nick Weiser, Finance Committee chairman, said he is going to take another look at city spending for the year, as he did at the end of the fiscal first quarter.

“The goal is net zero at the end of the year for each department,” he said.