City Council Minutes 08-25-2003 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Budget Workshop
Monday, August 25, 2003 - 5 p.m.
Members Present: Roger Carlson, Robbie Smith, Brian Stumpf and Bruce Thielen.
Members Absent: Glen Posusta
1. Call to Order.
Mayor Thielen called the meeting to order and declared a quorum present.
2. Review of 2004 Preliminary Budget.
City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller, reviewed the preliminary budget noting that the City
lost its state aid in 2003 and will be losing approximately $295,000 in state aid in 2004. In
spite of these losses he felt the preliminary budget worked out satisfactorily in that it provided
for the necessary services and supplied departments with equipment and staff they needed .
The proposed tax levy is estimated at $7,011,865 which is a 3.39% increase over the 2003
levy. Included in this amount is $118,900 for capitalized interest cost for the bonds the City
recently sold. Rick Wolfsteller noted that if the Cedar Street Improvement Project and the
Core Street Reconstruction Project were assessed in 2003, the $118,900 could be removed
from the budget and the levy increase over 2003 would be only 1.6%
Mayor Thielen addressed the $200,000 transfer from the Liquor Store operations to the
Community Center. With the expansion of the Liquor Store he questioned whether there were
excess revenues that could be added to the $200,000 transfer to help offset the debt expense
for the MCC. Until the revenue growth pattern for the liquor store was established, it was felt
that the transfer amount shouldn't be increased by much more than $50,000. Brian Stumpf
felt that the amount of the transfer from the Liquor Store funds should be looked at each year.
Rick Wolfsteller suggested leaving the amount of debt for the MCC because that is outside the
levy limits. Rick Wolfsteller felt it would be good to protect the maximum levy limit for the
City and felt the Council should consider levying the maximum allowed. Because of the
increased growth in the City and the increase of approximately 6% in tax capacity value, it
was felt that the City's levy increase would the not significantly affect the taxpayer.
The Council then reviewed the areas of increases and decreases in the budget. Since 2004 is
an election year, there was $8,975 budgeted to cover election expenses. The Council did
discuss whether there was a need to establish a second precinct in the City but did not feel it
was necessary at this time. The budget for the Planning Department did not include funding
for the Planning Technician position. The Council discussed blight enforcement which was
something the previous planning technician worked with. The Council felt it would be a
good idea to have somebody in place during the spring and summer months to handle code
Special Council Meeting Minutes - 8/25/03
enforcement. Since the Street Department was being funded for a full-time position, the
Council suggested arranging the hiring for this position for later in the year. By staggering
the hiring the City could have both a street worker and a code enforcement person. Park
Superintendent, Adam Hawkinson, stated that for Public Works the big concern is the
maintenance of the equipment which keeps Al Gapinski in the shop most of the time and he is
available only for snowplowing. He noted that with the growth in the parks and the required
maintenance, the Park Department will be looking at adding another employee in the 2005
budget.
The Law Enforcement budget increased because of an increase in the number of hours of
service being provided to the City as well as an increase in the hourly rate for that service.
The Council discussed the cost of contracting police protection as compared to the City
having their own police force. Economically, contracting the service was the best option.
The City's contract for assessing services increased from $8.50/parcel to $10.00/parcel and
the County is charging an addition $25/fee for each new house. This additional $25 fee will
be added on to the building permit or covered in the development agreement. Some funds
were set aside for a strategic planning consultant to help in analyzing the long term needs of
the city. Mayor Thielen also brought up the current salaries for the Council and other City
commissions. The Council has not had a salary increase since 1994. Mayor Thielen
suggested the City check with other communities to see what their Council and Commission
members are receiving and bring this information back to the Council. There was an
increase of $3,000 to cover bank charges and Robbie Smith asked if the City could find a bank
that could supply financial services at a lower cost. Rick Wolfsteller didn't know if there
were any banks within Monticello who would and the City has traditionally not gone outside
the City for banking services. The Council discussed the amount budgeted for the audit.
There was some concern about the lack of timeliness in completing the City's audit for 2002.
In addition GASB 34 regulations and reporting requirement would be impacting the cost of
the City's 2003 audit. Roger Carlson asked when was the last time the City had sent out
request for proposals for audit services. Rick Wolfsteller indicated that it had been at least 20
years. It was suggested that the City consider doing that.
In discussing the Deputy Registrar office, it was noted that the lease had not been renewed
with Christian Social Services for the area of the building used for the food shelf. The
Council felt if the area was not needed for the Deputy Registrar use there was no reason not
renew the lease.
The proposed increases in the hourly rate for the firemen on fire calls and increase in
compensation for fire department officers will be considered as part of the budget discussions
by the Joint Fire Board at their August 27, 2003 meeting.
In 2002 and 2003 State Transit Aid was available which covered much of the cost of the
Heartland Bus program. The City does have sufficient monies in the transit fund at this time
so no additional levy will be required. There was discussion of getting out of the program
next year and utilizing River Rider.
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Special Council Meeting Minutes - 8/25/03
Mayor Thielen asked about tree planting in the 2004 budget and noted that the City received
funds from the MCP for that purpose. The monies from the MCP are in the shade tree fund
and Adam Hawkinson indicated there will be a planting project scheduled probably in the
spring.
Brian Stumpf asked about the Xcel ballfields and their use by youth football since those are
the only fields with lights. Adam Hawkinson stated that because youth football plays later in
the year there is no time to restore the fields after their season is over. The condition of the
fields have deteriorated from this use so the Parks Department has been working with Gene
Emanuel of the youth football to find other fields for their use such as the fields at Pinewood
and two of the fields at Freeway Fields. The City is also looking at the possibility of
acquiring additional land for fields. Adam Hawkinson stated that youth football initially used
the fields at Xcel without the City being aware of their use of the fields and unlike other
groups using the City's facilities, they have not contributed towards the cost of maintenance.
Bruce Thielen suggested contacting Xcel Energy about the land they owned near the area used
by the Model Airplane Club. There was also some discussion on how the proposed freeway
interchange would impact the ballfields.
Rick Wolfsteller stated that there was nothing in the proposed budget for building
maintenance reserves for the Community Center. Kitty Baltos, Community Center Director,
felt there should be $37,000 a year set aside for building maintenance reserves. She stated
i that there were air handling issues that had to be looked at in the pool area and that was the
type of expense the building maintenance reserve fund would be used for.
There was a 3% increase in the budget for salary and benefits which would cover the cost of
living adjustments and other salary adjustments. Rick Wolfsteller informed the Council that
the City is in the process of getting price quotes for employee insurance.
Based on the preliminary budget, the tax payer will see very little difference in the city portion
of their tax bill. Besides losing state aid funds, the state also froze the amount the City could
collect. The City can raise only 60% of the approximately $300,000 lost when state aids were
cut. Brian Stumpf asked if tax increment financing was impacted by the state cuts. Roger
Carlson asked if fiends had been included for industrial land acquisition.
Rick Wolfsteller pointed out that if the City reduced their levy amount by $50,000 the City
would not be required to conduct a Truth in Taxation Hearing. Robbie Smith asked what the
balance was in the park dedication fund. Rick Wolfsteller indicated that there is presently
about $124,000 in the fund but $90,000 was taken out from this fund in the 2004 budget for
proposed expenditures.
If the City cannot lower its levy amount, it was suggested the Council set Wednesday,
December 5" at 5 p.m. as the date for the Truth in Taxation hearing.
Special Council Meeting Minutes - 8/25/03
ROBBIE SMITH MOVED APPROVE THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET DIRECTING THE
STAFF TO MAKE MODIFICATIONS SPECIFIED AT THIS WORKSHOP AND TO SET
DECEMBER 5, 2003 AT 5 P.M. FOR THE TRUTH IN TAXATION HEARING, IF
NECESSARY. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.
3. Adjournment.
The budget workshop was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Recording Secretary
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