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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/18/2008 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES JOINT WORKSHOP OF THE CITY COUNCIL & BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2008 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Jon Duckstad, and Kathy Nelson BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION: Don Uram, Chair; Katherine Kardell, Vice Chair; Commissioners Richard King, Jon Muilenburg, Richard Proops and Gwen Schultz CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, Assistant to the City Manager Michael Barone, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Heritage Room H I. PROPOSED 2009-2013 CIP Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) Chair Don Uram reviewed the commission's report to the Council on the proposed 2009 to 2013 Capital Improvement Plan. Uram said the BAC met monthly from April through November. Staff from each department provided details of their 5-year capital improvement requests, including anticipated funding sources and justification for projects. Uram said that, in general, the projects were described in adequate detail and staff provided the commission with additional information when requested. Uram gave a brief overview of the BAC's recommendations. Utility Infrastructure BAC found that utility infrastructure funding is stable; however, staff should consider raising rates to help cover depreciation. Conservation and alternative landscaping should be encouraged. Street and Roadway Capacity Funding will be a challenge, particularly in the Golden Triangle Area and the Major Center Area. The BAC recommends that staff consider charging businesses for capacity improvements. Special service districts in the GTA and MCA should be also considered. City Council Workshop Minutes November 18, 2008 Page 2 Pavement Manaizemen The BAC encourages the City to pursue a street utility through the legislative process to fund both pavement management and road projects. Facilities BAC recommends that staff continue to look at cost/efficiency payback as part of replacement criteria. BAC also recommends that projects be bid together whenever possible to obtain better pricing. Parks & Recreation BAC recommends staff consider cutting or delaying projects by some set amount(e.g., $2 million). BAC also recommends funding Miller Park Baseball Stadium out of cash park fees rather than the CIP fund. Jon Muilenburg, who was a member of the BAC Parks & Rec subcommittee, said that most questions the commission had regarding Parks & Rec projects were answered through meetings with Director Jay Lotthammer and his staff. He said the BAC does feel that Parks and Recreation needs, in particular, require ongoing evaluation. IT BAC feels it needs more information on the proposed transition from LOGIS and recommends considering a third party vendor/outsourcing for HR/Payroll software. BAC recommends conducting RFP processes to verify costs savings of software purchases. BAC also recommends staff explore "on-demand/on-line" offerings ("rental" of software) in addition to traditional software purchases. Vehicle and Equipment Replacement The BAC recommends staff quantify savings for lengthening vehicle life. Fire Projects-SCBA Equipment BAC recommends pursuing a lease option for this equipment. Police Projects —Remodeliniz BAC recommends staff consider pushing the project out if feasible. A report on staff responses to the commission's recommendations was distributed, as well as a status report on the 2007 BAC recommendations. City Council Workshop Minutes November 18, 2008 Page 3 Discussion of BAC Recommendations Council Member Nelson said the City will need to consider the trade-off between requiring businesses to pay for additional capacity and economic development. She is said she is concerned about the recommendations in several areas calling for fee increases. Nelson said there also seems to be overlap between the work of the BAC and other commissions,particularly that of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission. Uram said that the BAC looked at projects in relation to the Capital Improvement Plan and long term funding. King said the BAC only considered items related to budget. BAC Member Dick Proops said the presentation does not reflect a comprehensive review of the 2009-2013 document, which was distributed at the most recent BAC meeting. Kotchevar said the document is a compilation of all of the recommendations and findings the BAC gathered over the past eight months. II. BAC SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENTS ON THE 2009 BUDGET Uram said that although the BAC's main charge in 2008 was to review and make recommendations on the 2009 to 2013 CIP, they had two additional recommendations for the City Council to consider. First, the BAC recommends cutting the 2009 operating budget to 2008 levels "in light of the current fiscal environment." This would require a$2 million reduction in the proposed 2009 budget. Second, the BAC recommends setting a target balance for the Economic Development Fund. Any amount over the target would be transferred to the capital improvement fund. Council Member Duckstad asked if the BAC has specific recommendations on where the $2 million reduction in the operating budget would be made. Uram said that since the BAC's charge was to examine the CIP, they have not looked at the 2009 budget line-by- line and do not have specific recommendations on it. BAC Member King asked if the City Council would like the BAC to develop some options. Young said if there were more time,he would like the BAC to recommend options. Nelson asked if the BAC looked at where the 2009 operating budget increases were. She said she recalls some of them being in areas that are not under City control, such as increased costs for benefits, fuel and heating. Uram said the BAC's discussions were general. King said the biggest expense for an organization like the City is labor. He said many organizations are cutting planned increases. Proops said cutting the proposed budget at this point poses several problems. He said there is little time to identify areas to cut, some cost increases are unavoidable, and employees are also affected by the economy. He recommends offsetting the budget with cash received from the sale of City property to Presbyterian Homes. City Council Workshop Minutes November 18, 2008 Page 4 The City Council Members thanked the BAC for their time and effort over the past two years. Council Chamber III. OPEN PODIUM Barbara Karwaer urged the City Council to consider the value of the Dunn Bros./Smith Douglas More House as a historic landmark and a community meeting place when deciding on which lease proposal to accept. IV. ADJOURNMENT