2015.08.25 WS Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Of 11f qEW TU the city that works for you Council Worksession August 25, 2015 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, Craig Schlichting, Bob Jacobsen, Patty Isaacson, Janice Gundlach, Jason Hicks, Tony Paetznick, Dan Olson, Joe Hatch and Andre Barte Guests in Attendance: There was a brief discussion surrounding City Manager Lotter's representation on the Metro Area Water Supply Advisory Committee, along with the goals and objectives for this group. Lotter provided comment on the valuable experience that the City of New Brighton would bring to the table for this committee. 2016.Budizet Lotter discussed the 2016 budget proposal. He noted staff recently held a retreat in order to draft a preliminary budget document for the Council to review. Davitt provided the Council with a presentation on the 2016 budget. She explained the purpose of the City was to provide effective services to the City and its residents in a cost conscious way, while providing adequate funding for these services. She reviewed anticipated departmental expenses for the coming year along with revenues. The tax base and proposed levy was discussed along with historical values. Staff commented on the tax levels for median value homeowners. Davitt discussed the next steps for the Council and the preliminary levy. She reviewed the timeline for the budget approval process and recommended the Council provide staff with feedback. Councilmember Jacobsen questioned what areas of the budget had the largest increases in 2016. Davitt stated the 2016 budget increased $638,000. Of this increase, $267,500 was directly related to the street reconstruction project. Several other increases were due to personnel increases, golf course expenditures and TIF admin funding. Councilmember Bauman did not support the 9.22% budget increase. She believed that the budget the City should reconsider the organizations it belonged to, as this would reduce expenses. She suggested non- fleet/fleet expenses be reviewed as well. She indicated that because one time County funding and all of the LGA was spent in 2015, the City's expenditures would only continue to rise. She did not believe that the City should have hired a forester. In addition, she did not support the City spending further funds on the Community Center renovations. She explained that New Brighton households were making less now than in 2007 and she feared that residents would be taxed out of their homes. She did not believe that the services provided by the City have increased over the past and did not justify the large budget percentage increase. It