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Housing programs <br />Monument signage <br />Place making initiatives such as floral baskets, fountains, artwork, landscaping <br />Median maintenance for City and County Roads <br />Investment software <br />Pro-rated benefits for PPT staff <br />Deputy Clerk in Administration <br />COUNCIL’S PRIORITIES <br />Staff continued to focus on the Council’s strategic priorities when preparing the budget. The priorities are as <br />follow: <br />Financial Sustainability <br />Community Engagement <br />Economic Development <br />Operational Excellence <br />Workforce Engagement & Development <br />All change requests were approached based on the notion of whether or not the request aligned with one of <br />Council’s strategic priorities. Keeping these priorities in the forefront of all budget discussions is an important <br />step towards achieving the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan. This is important for the City to be able to <br />safeguard and sustain its future success and long term viability. <br />EXPENSE REDUCTIONS – Historical Perspective <br />To better understand the proposed 2017 budget, it’s important to understand how past budgets were compiled. <br />New Brighton has remained agile and responsive in the wake of the economic recession of 2008. Responding <br />to Council’s directives, city staff engaged in a variety of cost containing strategies that ensured operating <br />budgets and tax levies were held flat or even reduced. The following is a list of implemented cost saving <br />strategies with one strategy even being implemented before 2008. <br />New Brighton previously restructured to the public safety staffing model for delivering police, fire and <br />emergency management services. This model essentially eliminates the need to employ a full-time Fire <br />Chief; a position that would easily demand an annual salary of $100,000 not including benefits and other <br />costs. With the passing of time, it’s easy to forget about this ongoing savings, but essentially, the City <br />has saved $1.6million in salary alone with the creation of the hybrid Public Safety Department. <br />In 2009, staffing was structured differently than it is now and carried a larger cost. Staffing in 2009 cost <br />the City $339,000 more than the staff costs proposed for 2016. <br />Fleet, Non-Fleet, and Pavement Management is a Council adopted plan from 2010 and was readopted in <br />2012. The plan provides for cash funding of all of the assets listed in the program resulting in a $25 <br />million plan over the next 20 years without any borrowing needed, aka bonded debt. This Fleet, Non- <br />Fleet, and Pavement Management plan is now included in the City’s 10 year Capital Improvement Plan <br />or CIP. Adherence to the CIP will mean that the Fleet, Non-Fleet, and Pavement Management Plan will <br />continue to be funded without borrowing, but one of the goals of the CIP is to make bonding for streets <br />by 2025 unnecessary. <br />In 2015, the senior leadership team was reorganized. This reorganization resulted in the reduction from <br />five members of the Senior Leadership Team to four and also eliminated other positions so that dollars <br />could be reallocated. The savings resulting from this organizational change was $167,000 with $116,500 <br />2