05-12-2021 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Local Government Aid (LGA) The City will receive Local Government Aid (LGA) of $434,909 in 2021. Due to the potentially volatile nature of the LGA, only $86,901(20%) has been budgeted in the General Fund and $347,503(80%) has been budgeted in the General Capital Improvements Fund (Fund 400). Under the current LGA formula, the City will only receive $329,109 in 2022 unless legislation is passed at the State to provide the same funding level as 2021. Cell Tower Sale The closing on the two cell towers occurred in 2020. As part of the sale, the City received a lump sum payment of $324,873 and will receive $72,774 per year for the next nine years. All transactions related to the sale of these cell towers have been recorded in the Owasso/Woodlyn Redevelopment Fund (474). The current cash balance in Fund 474 is $672,618. A transfer from the EDA Fund (105) in the amount of $350,000 occurred in 2013 when Fund 474 was created. Unreserved Fund Balance As we have discussed, the City of Little Canada’s unreserved fund balance for the General Fund was $2,682,015 on December 31, 2020. According to the City’s adopted Financial Policy, the City strives to maintain an unassigned minimum fund balance in the General Fund in the range of 42.5% to 65% of the subsequent year’s budget expenditures. The current unreserved fund balance equates to 63.55% of the City of Little Canada’s 2021 budget expenditures. The City Council may wish to utilize a portion of these funds for identified one-time expenditures in 2022. Storm Water Utility Over the past few years, the City Council has been considering establishing a Stormwater Utility due to the increasing costs of maintaining the City’s stormwater system. If the utility is established, property owners will pay for stormwater fee based on their impact to the stormwater system. The fee will be added to the quarterly utility bill. In addition, approximately $14,000 in General Fund operating expenditures will shifted to the new utility fund and there will be a corresponding reduction in the property tax levy. PRELIMINARY BUDGET NEEDS FOR 2022 City staff has begun to identify operational needs for next year following the City’s five-year Strategic Plan. Several changes to our organizational structure have been made in the past two years related to creating operational efficiency, including a long-term planning staff solution, reclassification of the City Clerk position, hiring of a code enforcement officer, additional hours for the Parks and Recreation Coordinator position, and establishing a Utilities Supervisor position. Staffing Needs In 2022, additional hours are needed in the front office area in order to continue providing excellent customer service and front counter coverage. The former Code Enforcement Officer provided backup to the front office area. Since that employee left the City, the Leadership Team members have been providing backup when the Customer Service Representative is out of the office and the part-time staff are out of the office or have left for the day. The proposal is to increase the part-time Accountant position from 26 hours per week to 32 hours per week. In addition, based on current market conditions it will be necessary to increase seasonal wages for 2022 in order to successfully recruit seasonal parks and maintenance staff.