City Council - 05/03/2011 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2011 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher
Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, 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. CITY COUNCIL/BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING FOLLOW-UP
Finance Manager Sue Kotchevar provided a list of potential CIP funding sources that
were outlined at the April 28, 2011, educational session of the Budget Advisory
Commission (BAC) and City Council:
• Tax Levy
• Special assessment for reconstruction
• Use of debt for reconstruction projects
• Right-of-Way fees charged to internal utility funds
• Tax-exempt property fees (PILOT)
• Accumulation of fees charged to all users for facility replacement(funding
depreciation)
• Naming rights
• Franchise fees
• Street light utility
• User fees
• Local option sales tax (if passed by legislature)
• Other
She asked the City Council for input on which funding sources they would like the BAC
to explore in more detail.
Nelson said the tax levy and special assessment for reconstruction are standard funding
tools, and she does not think additional research is needed. There was general agreement
that the local option sales tax is not desirable that this time and does not require further
analysis.
Nelson said she likes what the City did with water utility rates last year, and she would
like something that mirrors that fee structure for street lighting. She likes the idea of
City Council Workshop Minutes
May 3, 2011
Page 2
everyone helping to pay for it, including tax exempt entities. Nelson said the City needs
to build up a dedicated fund in a way that is fair to all property owners.
Mayor Tyra-Lukens said it is important to know what neighboring cities are doing. She
would like to know if they have fees or other funding mechanisms that should be
considered in looking at the overall tax burden.
Council Member Case suggested dedicating money from a possible cable franchise fee
increase to particular purposes. He would also like the BAC to explore a street light
utility option. Case also said a franchise fee is politically intriguing, and he would like
more background information on what other Minnesota communities are doing. Public
Works Director Dietz said it is unclear whether or not a Plan B city can legally impose a
street light utility. Dietz also said that assessing for street reconstruction,rather than
taxing for it, would help prioritize projects since property owners would be required to
pay up to 20 percent of the cost.
Council Member Butcher said it will be important to let people know these things are
coming down the road, so they can anticipate their costs.
Dietz said staff recently reviewed the 5-year CIP for road projects. The major unfunded
items are road reconstruction and maintenance of roads that are not part of the state-aid
road system. Dietz strongly recommended the City develop a long term dedicated
funding strategy. Case said the fact it that there are 250 miles of road in Eden Prairie that
will have to be reconstructed in the next 50 years. Council Member Aho asked if there is
a system in place to identify which roads need to be fixed first. Dietz said the City has a
software program that inventories and ranks roads on an ongoing basis. Nelson said she
would like to see the two-year projection of which roads will need repair.
Aho said there are a variety of needs for funding. He said he would like the BAC to look
at the City's different funding needs over time and then identify streams of revenue that
match those needs.
II. 2011 BUDGET PROCESS UPDATE
City Manager Rick Getschow shared his message regarding the 2011 budget, which was
posted on PrairiePages last week. He said he foresees good things for the City; however,
we are still dealing with declining property values and rising taxes. He asked all
employees to be mindful of this as they are preparing their 2011 draft budgets.
Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked the City Council Members to review the mission and vision
statements and comment on whether or not they think they are still relevant. Aho said he
feels the mission and vision statement should stand; however, we may need to adjust our
strategies temporarily in light the current economic conditions. Case said he thinks the
mission and vision statements are still relevant,based on the outcome of the 2010
election. Nelson said that under Key Objectives, the second item should be revised to
include the word "innovatively." The revised sentence would read, "The City will
deliver high quality public services effectively, efficiently and innovatively."
City Council Workshop Minutes
May 3, 2011
Page 3
Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked what the Council needs to do in terms of continuing the
budget discussion. Getschow said the draft budget will be presented to the City Council
in June. He suggested waiting until the fall to hold a planning session to continue the
strategy discussion, since the April 30 meeting had to be cancelled due to a scheduling
conflict.
Nelson said she would like to have each department give a presentation on what they are
doing and why, and how it will look in the future. Case said the City Council needs to
have more discussion on how raising or lowering services will impact the budget.
Butcher Wickstrom said she would still like to look at how we do our work and how
innovation can be used for process improvement.
Council Chamber
II. OPEN PODIUM
III. ADJOURNMENT