09-09-2020 Workshop Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a Workshop meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, Minnesota was convened on the 9th day of September, 2020 in the Conference Room of the City Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in said City. In accordance with the requirements of Minn. Stat. Section 13D. 021, the City Administrator has determined that an in person meeting is not practical or prudent because of a health pandemic or an emergency declared under Chapter 12 of the Minnesota Statutes. Because of the health pandemic and emergency declaration, it has been determined that attendance at the regular meeting location by elected officials and members of the public is not feasible. Therefore, some or all of the City Council members may be participating by telephone or other electronic means. This meeting will be recorded in its entirety. Members of the public may monitor the meeting on the CTV North Suburbs website (live stream) or use the meeting linkprovided on the city website prior to the meeting. Mayor John Keis called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and the following members of the City Council were present at roll call: CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Keis, Council Members Fischer, Torkelson, McGraw & Montour. Absent: None. ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Chris Heineman, Parks & Rec/Community Services Manager Bryce Shearen, Finance Director Brenda Malinowski, Public Works Director Bill Dircks, Community Development Director Corrin Wendell and City Clerk Heidi Heller 2021 PRELIMINARY BUDGET DISCUSSION The City Administrator explained that tonight staff and Council will be reviewing and discussing the 2021 Budget. He stated that there had been some direction to keep the levy lower this year due to COVID-19 concerns. The Finance Director stated that the budget initially shows a 2.68% levy increase, but there are three additional items that staff are proposing to be added to the budget. She reviewed the proposed budget and compared amounts to 2020, and reviewed the market value increases in 2021. The City Administrator explained that 43% of the city's budget goes towards police services. He stated that when the Sheriffs Department increases their budget, it causes city staff to have to cut back on city services in order to keep the levy increase lower because the police costs take up so much of the budget. The Finance Director reviewed the top expense and revenue impacts to the 2021 budget. The Parks & Rec/Community Services Manager stated that he is proposing to increase the hours for the part-time Recreation Coordinator in order to increase productivity in the Parks & Recreation Department, along with being able to utilize their skills in other departments. The City Clerk is proposing to contract with Ramsey County to administer the city's elections beginning in 2021. She noted that the