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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/17/2009 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 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 L otthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Heritage Room H Budget Advisory Commission Members Gwen Schultz, Annete Agner and Dick Proops were absent. I. BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) Chair Don Uram reviewed the commission's recommendations on the proposed 2010 budget. The BAC report says the proposed budget relies too heavily on the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF). The BAC offers several ways to reduce use of the BSF in the 2010 and 2011 budgets, including reducing expenses, delaying proposed "enhancements" to the budget, implementing a utility franchise fee, and transferring a portion of the economic development fund into the BSF. The proposed budget enhancements, which the BAC suggests delaying, are the Fire Duty Crew and the addition of two Police Officers. A utility franchise fee would allow the city to recover the cost of street lighting, and would spread costs across all users. The BAC also recommends that the City and the Firefighter Relief Association review available pension plans and investment options. Uram referred to an e-mail to the City Council from a member of the BAC, which contains additional recommendations. Uram said the e-mail reflected the individual's opinions and not the opinions of commission as a whole. The BAC report commends the City Council's decision to enter into a new professional services agreement for legal prosecution services, which will save the City $75,000. The BAC encourages the City Council to explore other cost saving measures. Council Member Duckstad asked why the BAC report did not include an examination of wages and staffing. Uram said it is the BAC's understanding that wage levels are frozen for 2010, and they have not had the opportunity to discuss wages and staffing levels for 2011 yet. City Council Workshop Minutes November 17, 2009 Page 2 Council Member Nelson asked whether or not the BAC looked at the City's various administrative areas to see if cost reductions are possible. Uram said the BAC took a comprehensive overview of all that is happening in the City,but did not have the opportunity to delve deeply enough into many areas to be able to make specific recommendations. BAC member Eapen Chacko said that the BAC did look at the IT budget and functions for possible savings,but did not identify anything for 2010. He said they will reexamine this area for 2011. The BAC also looked into the feasibility of outsourcing assessments, but did not reach any firm conclusions on cost savings. Nelson asked if the BAC was aware that one of the proposed Police Officer positions is not a new position but backfilling an open position. BAC member Rick King said the commission took that into account when making its recommendations. Mayor Young asked for an update on the status of the hiring freeze. He said he understands some open positions have been filled. He said not filling the open positions would have been a way to help ease the challenge of balancing the 2010 budget. He would like Council to have a better idea of what positions are open and whether or not they need to be filled. Neal said four open positions have been filled in recent months, with a net decrease of 10 FTE in 2009. Neal said the hiring freeze was a temporary measure designed to help balance the 2009 budget. Young said the City is still facing serious financial challenges and he thinks keeping unfilled positions open would be a good way to help meet those challenges. Young said he is not in favor of a utility franchise fee. Aho, Duckstad and Nelson also said they do not support a utility franchise fee. Nelson said adding a Fire Duty Crew is a matter of health and safety, so she does not necessarily consider it an enhancement of current service levels. She said she is not willing to take it off the table just because it costs money. It is a policy decision and not just a budget decision. Case said he does not see a BAC analysis of the impact of not adding a Fire Duty Crew. Case said response times are critical. Adding minutes to a response time to a fire could mean a fire that is many times larger than it would otherwise have been. He said he does not feel that it is the BAC's call whether or not a Fire Duty Crew is implemented. Chacko said the BAC asked for data on the incremental impact of not implementing a Fire Duty Crew, but they were not able to obtain a brief answer. The information they received indicates response times are good, but they did not receive specific numbers. Case said the difference in response time with a Duty Crew is the time it takes to get an on-call firefighter from their home to the station. Case said he believes the Fire Duty Crew is worth the cost, which would be approximately 80 cents a month per property owner. Young said Eden Prairie has a long history of strong public safety. He feels it is unfair to imply that it would be otherwise if a Duty Crew is not considered. He said if the Duty Crew is a staff priority, staff needs to find other ways to get to a flat budget. Young asked for clarification of the BAC's recommendation regarding the Fire Relief pension. Uram said the BAC is recommending a review of the Fire Pension investment City Council Workshop Minutes November 17, 2009 Page 3 program and its mix of assets. King said it might be a good idea for the City and the Firefighter Relieve Board to meet to determine whether or not it is possible to provide fire benefits at a lower cost. He said analysis of the investment portfolio would be helpful in those discussions. Aho said he is concerned about the BSF being spent too low. Reductions in spending would help alleviate this problem. He asked if the BAC has any other suggestions that could be fleshed out. Uram said the BAC does not have the information they would need to recommend specific cuts. These types of recommendations would need to come from staff. Duckstad asked for clarification on CIP facilities user charges and a list of capital expenditures for 2010 and 2011. Neal said staff will distribute this information to Council Members before the December 1 meeting. Dietz said some communities charge special assessment fees for overlaying pavement in front of homes. Those assessments can be from $1,500 to $2,000 per household. He said $4 per month for street lighting might be more palatable for residents. Case said he feels the street lighting fee is a user fee, and he is not opposed to the concept. Council Chamber II. OPEN PODIUM 1. Barbara Kaerwer—Proposed Ordinance Defining Public Facilities Kaerwer asked the Council to consider tabling the second reading of the ordinance defining public facilities. She believes the ordinance might make it more difficult to carry out her wish to donate her Gordon Drive home and land to the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District. 2. Jennifer Prince—Proposed Ordinance Defining Public Facilities Prince said she lives on Beehive Court and she is a neighbor of Kaerwer. She and her husband are block captains and have talked to many neighbors. She said people feel the ordinance is directed at Barbara's plan and they would like the Council to table action on the ordinance until everyone has a better understanding of the implications. Mayor Young said the ordinance is designed to define what types of structures are appropriate in residential neighborhoods. He said Council will further discuss the proposed ordinance during the regular Council meeting. 3. Ryan Laing—YMCA's Central Middle School Program Laing said he coordinates the YMCA's Y's Start program for at-risk students at Central Middle School. He said the program assists students who lack focus on their academic or social path and helps create an environment in which they can grow. He City Council Workshop Minutes November 17, 2009 Page 4 said he wanted Council to know the funding the Y receives from the City is important to their program. 4. Thomas Casey— Proposed Ordinance Defining Public Facilities Casey said he is an attorney representing Kaerwer. He distributed talking points he and Kaerwer would like to use in formal discussions with the City, Watershed District, and neighbors. He also asked the Council to table the second reading of the ordinance until further discussions can be held. III. ADJOURNMENT