EAST MOLINE -- Aldermen on Monday approved spending about $197,600 to buy a new garbage truck. The funds will come from landfill host fees and financing from The National Bank.

The vote was 5-1 with Ald. Dave Kelley, 5th Ward, opposed and Ald. Gary Westbrook, 7th Ward, not present.

In other business, the council unanimously approved an agreement between East Moline and the Illinois Department of Transportation that will let the city use $32,000 in IDOT money for improvements to the intersection of 7th Street and 30th Avenue as part of the federal "Safe Routes to School" initiative.

Safe Routes is operated by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. It is designed to help children develop a healthy lifestyle by encouraging them to use their feet or bicycles to get to school.

The program encourages making students' potential routes safer by improving safety and reducing traffic around schools.

Acting as the committee of the whole, aldermen also set a public hearing on the upcoming budget for 6 p.m., April 1, in the city council chambers, 915 16th Ave.

The budget will only be for eight months as the city switches from fiscal years to calendar years for budgeting.

Instead of a fiscal year that would run May 1, 2013, to April 30, 2014, the city will budget for May 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2013, officials said. The city then will begin budgeting based on the calendar year starting Jan. 1, 2014.

The change is designed to streamline the budgeting processes and tax levy discussions.