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Council Meeting Minutes December 8, 1993 Page 2 Public Hearing. continued A Temporary Building Inspector would be hired to assist with the high demands for pennits. This position will be paid with revenues derived from the permit activities. The proposed cost would be $50,000. A telephone study would be undertaken to evaluate the City Hall phone system and that cost would be $5,000; there will be no dedicated revenues associated. The staffing for fire prevention services have been increased to 40 hours per week. The cost would be $50,000; and does not involve dedicated revenues. Because the current staffing level of 1 seasonal assistant does not allow the needed work to be completed; the seasonal street maintenance staff would be increased to 3 positions. Those costs would be $11,000. and do not involve dedicated revenues. A pick-up truck for the fire department will be purchased at a cost of $20,000; and does not involve dedicated revenues. A street patching "hot-box" would be purchased at a cost of $40,000; and does not involve dedicated revenues. One item of note is the elimination of the General Fund contingency. This decrease of $150,000 has a positive effect on the fund. One Maintenance Worker position will be added to staff the new water treatment plant. This position will be paid for by the Army and those costs are $40,000. The City's financial policy uses property taxes for programs which are of a general benefit. Examples of such programs include: parks, police, fire, sidewalk constructions and street maintenance. These programs are included in the General Fund and Capital Projects areas of the budget. Along with property taxes, General Fund and Capital Projects programs are financed with State Aides and customer charges. To fully fund the 1994 Annual budget, an increase of 8% is recommended for taxes, while an average increase of 3 % is proposed for service fees. The capital projects fund involves an increase which reflects Family Service Center costs. Fulton noted that in the last several years, the operating fund's tax levy changes have shown a stable trend and decreased slightly. The general fund's strategy includes revenues from: State aids - 24%; property taxes - 35%; and 41 % from customer charges. Egan noted that 83 % of property taxes goes towards the general fund and operations; and 17 % of tax dollars fund capital. A $800,000 surplus created in 1992 allows for a revenue change which provides an $160,000 annual contribution to pay for operations. This surplus will be included in annual contributions for the years 1994-1998. One important change is the increased revenue received from building permit fees. Those fees are expected to be $145,000 above the '93 budget amount and should total about $320,000. Fulton added that within the General Fund, 24% of the revenue comes from State aides in the form of local govemmeot assistance and homestead credit. In recent years, these State aids have fluctuated greatly which directly impacts on the required level of property tax. In 1994, New Brighton will receive $66,000 less in State aid than in 1993. I I I