CCP 09-09-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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It' Of the city that works for you Council Worksession August 26, 2014 5:00 pm Present: Mayor Dave Jacobsen Councilmember Gina Bauman Councilmember Brian Strub Councilmember Paul Jacobsen Councilmember Mary Burg Absent: Staff in Attendance: Dean Lotter, Brenda Davitt- Finance Director, and Kevin Mannetter- Interim Finance Director Guests in Attendance: 2015 Budget Lotter introduced Brenda Davitt to the Council and noted she would be joining the City on September 8th as the City's Finance Director. He provided comment on the process used to create the budget. Staff was pleased with the budget document, along with how it was assembled. He thanked staff for their assistance with the budget and for attending the recent retreat. He sent out a special word of thanks to Kevin Mannetter for filling in as the Interim Finance Director. Lotter reviewed the 2015 budget in detail with the Council. He discussed the staffing adjustments that were proposed for the coming year and noted how this would impact the budget. The percentage spent on personnel was further reviewed. He commented that the City would be losing assistance from the City of St. Paul and their records management system. Staff discussed the turnover ratio in detail. He reported the 2015 budget includes a modest increase to property taxes of 1.29% and explained how this would impact median value homes in New Brighton. He recommended the Council certify the tax levy at $6,925,000 on September 9th. Councilmember Jacobsen asked if the increase /decrease in Cable PEG fees had been accounted for in the 2015 budget. Lotter stated information on the changes was not available at this time. Councilmember Bauman believed that further information would be available in October. Lotter recommended the Council use $110,000 in reserves on the revenue side of the budget to purchase a records management system. Councilmember Burg thanked staff for the thorough presentation on the budget. She did not have any changes to suggest, and was pleased with the budgeting process followed by staff. Councilmember Strub believed the 2015 budget to be reasonable. Councilmember Jacobsen agreed and thanked staff for providing the Council with a strong budget for the coming year. Councilmember Bauman did not support the personnel or community center increases. She feared how the City would be impacted if LGA were to be withheld by the State in the future. While she appreciated the efforts of staff, she explained she would not support the levy increase as proposed by staff. Mayor Jacobsen thanked Councilmember Bauman for her comments and looked forward to future discussion on the budget. He understood there was a difference of opinion on the staffing levels. Lotter reported that the Council could discuss the budget further at in work session on September 2nd