City Council Minutes 11-13-2007 Special
Special Council Meeting Minute..: 11/13/07
MINUTES
SPECIAL COlNCIL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COl:NCIL
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 -5 p.m.
Members Prcscnt:
Clint Herbst, Wayne Mayer, Tom Perrault and Brian Stwnpf.
Members Absent:
SusieWojchouski
1. Call to Order.
The meeting carne to order at 5 p.m. with a quorum oflhe Council present.
2. Reviewofllroposed2008bud~t.
City Administrator, Jeff O'Neill opened the special meeting on the 2008 budget by
reviewing projects thai have been completed as well as those projects still in progress. He
talked about staffing and organizational issues and how that impacted the budget process.
The Finance Department then reviewed with the Council a list of items that had been
removed from the budget as well as some items that had been added, Some of the items
cut included: t) Publication of minutes; 2) MEADA contribution; 3) Decrease in the
arnol.lOl for consulting fees for fiber optics; 4) Reduction in the amount for the temporary
personnel for the building department and 5) Reduction in the maintenance fee for
PermitWorks.
Wayne Mayer asked about the 510,000 that was added to Planning and Zouing for
"branding". Jeff O'Neill it was important to have Ihe branding effort coincide with the
development of the fiber optic system.
The Council discussed a vehicle for the fire department duty officer. Fire Chief Steve
Joerg stated he is not reimbursed for his mileage. The vehicle would allow the duty officer
to go dircctlyto thc scene, cvaluate the situation and alert the department if the situa tion
was a false alarm or a situation not requiring a full department response. The duty officer
shol.lldbe the first on the scene to determine how the scene should be setup to best handle
the emergency. Steve Joerg explained the responsibilities of the duty officer and how this
position is utilized in emergencies. Steve Joerg indicated that the duty officer vehicle
would need to be equipped with certain options likeopti-scan. He thought a squad car
would work well for the duty officer vehicle. The Fire Department was comfortable with
removing this item from thc 2008 budget so it could be studied further.
The Council questioned the need for the temporary personnel for the Building Department.
Gary Anderson, Building Official, stated code enforcement takes a considerable amount of
staff time. Jeff O'Neill said there isn't any scientific way to measure the need for the
temporary position.
Duane Gates from Monticello Community Education asked that the City keep their
contribution to Community Education in the 2008 budget. He eJ<plained that the
Community Education had over 3300 registrants for their recreational programs. With the
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City's support Commllnity Education can continue programs that they can't recoup fees on
citing as examples, Wednesdays in the Park and the Prairie Fire Theater program for
children. He also pointed out the school offers tennis facilities for the use ofthep ublic
which is something the City does not provide. In addition thc school and the City working
together give a good image of the community. Brian Stumpfsaid he doesn't want to take
away from the children but he felt there is probably duplication in the programs offered by
the Monticello Community Center and Community Education. Since economic times are
difficult now, he teItthis should be looked at. He pointed out that the City makes a
substantial contribution to the hockey arena with the City receiving 200 hours of ice time
for their S75,000 contribution. He asked if the City was the only goverrunent entity
contributing to the Community Education program. Duane Gates replied that Becker
Township contributcs $550 which is the only other government contribution besides the
City of Monticello. The contribution for Community Education was left in tor now but the
contribution for the YMCA programs was removed.
The amount budgeted for RiverRider was reviewed and the Council generally discussed
the quality of the program and the service it provided to cityresidcnts. Thecontribution
tbrthe Central Minnesota Initiative Fund was pulled since it was felt their pro grams did
not impact the City of Monticello. Funds in the HRA budget for marketing were
discussed. The marketing for fiber optics was also discussed. Tom Perrault questioned
how mnch more prep work was needed for fiber optics. He was Informed the City must
have a full markctingplan in place before the City can bond for fiber optic s.
The Council discussed the amounts budgeted for park improvements which included funds
for the gazebo at East Bridge Park. The money for the ga~ebo was left in thc budget but
the Council felt that staff should be able to get a local contractor to do th eworkforless
than the arnount budgeted. They also questioned whether there weren't other parks that
needed the gazebo more than East Bridge Park.
Tom Perrault noted the expenditures for Walk & Roll exceeded budget. The Finance
Department said some of this cost is picked up by sponsors. Tom Perrault stated the
marketing of this event makes It appear that it is a Chamber of Commerce event not a city
event.
The Council discussed at length the need for a vehicle for DMV. At the present time
DMV staff uses their personal vehicles to provide courier services to those dealers within
the city and they are reimbursed mileage. It was also noted that there is no room to store
another vehicle. It was felt that when the DMV was providing courier services to dealers
outside the City, the Council would again look at the issue of a vehicle. The Council did
determine to leave funding for a vehicle in the budget.
Tom Kelly, Finance Director, reviewed additional items that were budgeted including au
administrative assistant for Community Development and salary increases for the
firefighters, tlrechiefand fire secretary.
Tom Kelly noted that this budget would require the use of$935,000 in reserve funds. The
Truth in Taxation Hearing for the City will be held on December 4, 207.
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3. Adjourn.
The workshop closed at approximately 6:50 p.m.
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Recording Secretary .
Special Counci] Mccting Minutes: 11113/07
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