CCAgenda_04Jan7 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- December 10, 2003 Consideration of Resolution 03-25 Adopting the 2004 Budget Mayor Gehrz said that the City lost $100,000 of Local Government Aid in 2003 and will lose $100,000 in 2004. This money helps the City pay for services that are mandated by the State. To handle the loss, the City decided to transfer approximately $135,000 from reserves and created a Reserve Policy. Council member Lindstrom said the City has lost Local Government Aid but has also lost tens of thousands of dollars in State tax. For a number of years, cities have had to pay sales tax on their purchases. That adds up to quite a bit of money. Council member Talbot said that in December, it seems like such a quick, simple thing, but the City Council and staff started working on the budget in June, 2003. Mayor Gehrz said that this year, the State Fair started to assist with paying for some of the policing costs. The City has applied for and received grants, and will continue to develop new sources. She invited anyone with ideas that are legal to let the City know about them. RESOLUTION 2003-25 Lamb moved adoption of Resolution 2003-25 approving the 2004 budget in the amount of $1,429,919. The motion was unanimously approved. Purchase of 10 SCBA Units for Fire Department Administrator Worthington said that in mid-2003, the City received a grant in the amount of $12,904.02 for the purchase often (10) Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), with the requirement that the City purchase at least $18,000 worth of equipment in order to receive the grant. The cost per SCBA was estimated at $1,800 for the purpose of that grant, based on information Ramsey County obtained. The Fire Department needs to replace 10 units at this time. When the City bid out the SCBA's, however, the per-unit cost was almost twice that amount, $3,295.00. The City's participation in the original grant would have been $6,000; the participation amount would now be almost $20,045.98. If the City does not apply to the County to use this grant by December 31, 2003, the City will lose the money. Staff has been exploring all other options, including replacing our SCBA with ahigh-pressure system (we now have low-pressure SCBA), and obtaining other price quotes. The units we are considering are the lowest price we can get, but these units are not part of Saint Paul's Joint Purchasing Master Contract, unfortunately, as Saint Paul has converted to ahigh-pressure system. If we were to purchase high-pressure units, we would need to convert our entire SCBA group over to high-pressure for safety reasons, and replace our cascade system (which is used for • filling the tanks). I~