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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 08/18/2009 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCILBUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY,AUGUST 18, 2009 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, Ron Case, Jon Duckstad, and Kathy Nelson BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION: Don Uram—Chair, Richard King —Vice-Chair, Annette Agner, Eapen Chacko, Jon Muilenburg, Richard Proops, 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, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Heritage Room H I. PROPOSED 2010-2011 BUDGET Budget Advisory Commission Recommendations Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) Chair Don Uram reviewed the commission's response to the City Manager's proposed 2010/2011 budget. Uram said the BAC would like to supplement these "higher level" recommendations by reviewing and providing input on the proposed line item budget. Uram said, in general, the BAC supports the proposed budget;however, they have several recommendations. Uram said the BAC believes the City Manager's proposed budget relies too heavily on the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) over the next two years, which will result in an "imprudently" low balance in the fund. The BAC recommends that use of BSF be decreased by reducing expenses, eliminating or delaying proposed discretionary "enhancements" to the budget, implementation of a franchise fee and a transfer of a portion of the Economic Development Fund. In particular, the BAC recommends delaying implementation of the Fire Department Duty Crew initiative, which would cost $120,000 in 2010 and $240,000 in 2011. The BAC also recommends that the addition of two police officers (at a cost of$156,000) in 2011 be delayed. The BAC recommends that the City consider instituting a street lighting fee, which would spread the cost of street lighting across all users of the system. City Council Workshop Minutes August 18, 2009 Page 2 Commissioner Dick Proops distributed a document outlining his thoughts on the proposed budget. Proops said the City has done a great job reducing the operating budget,but he has not seen a comparable effort made in the area of major capital expenditures. Proops listed a number of capital projects he believes should be deferred, specifically development of Cedar Hills Park. Proops said he is concerned that it appears that capital improvements are being expensed to the general fund. He recommended that a CPA firm be retained to review the system. Council Discussion Mayor Young encouraged the BAC to examine the proposed line item budget in coming months. He agrees that 2010 is not the time for budget enhancements. He said he needs more information before he can decide whether or not a street lighting franchise fee is advisable. He would like to have more discussion on the use of the Economic Development Fund. He thinks this is an appropriate time to spend down the Budget Stabilization Fund; however, the amount that should be used is open to further discussion. He said there must be an effort to control expenses to avoid a significant tax increase in two years. Council Member Case said balancing the budget with the Budget Stabilization Fund will result in its depletion by 2012. He said he is not proposing tax increases,but feels the City needs to determine what taxpayers want. He said the BAC should focus on how to do what we do better, not on what we do. Regarding the proposed fire duty crew initiative,he feels response time is important and a duty crew may be necessary to keep response times where citizens want them. Council Member Aho said the City does need to spend down the BSF,but not too quickly. He said there should to be a balance between spending and revenues. He would like the BAC to help find areas where spending can be reduced. He requested more qualitative information on the duty crew proposal, and thinks it would be appropriate for the BAC to examine the proposal in more depth. Aho said he is generally not in favor or franchise fees, but would like more input from staff on the proposal. He said the purpose of the Economic Development Fund is fuzzy and it would be a good idea to reexamine it. Council Member Nelson said she has mixed feelings about franchise fees. She said the groups a street light franchise fee will most impact(such as churches and non-profit organizations) are already struggling economically. She said you should call it a tax if you are going to tax it. She said employee wages cannot stay flat forever and salaries need to keep up with the cost of living. She said the BSF is meant to cover things like the Fire Pension. She said the City cannot continue to cut and cut and still continue to be the community Eden Prairie is today. She would like to explore ways to cut costs in the area of communications and technology. She would like the BAC to address the question of whether or not the City can be run more cheaply. Council Member Duckstad agreed that the BSF balance will go too low as proposed. He agrees that this is not the time to make enhancements to the budget. He said he does not have enough information to make a decision about a street light franchise fee. He said these City Council Workshop Minutes August 18, 2009 Page 3 types of fees tend to move in the direction of less transparency. He said he is not comfortable with the Economic Development Fund being split out from the CIP. Next Steps Neal said the City Council will discuss the proposed budget and the BAC recommendations in more detail at the September 1 Workshop. At the September 1 City Council Meeting, the Council will set a preliminary levy. The Council will approve a final budget on December 15. The final budget can be set at or lower than the preliminary levy. Nelson said she would like to hear more about the duty crew concept from Chief Esbensen. She would also like information on emergency response budgeting. Council Chamber II. OPEN PODIUM III. ADJOURNMENT