09-10-2012 Council Workshop Minutes

Home Browse Search

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 addition of a Rainwater Garden Maintenance item that the City will work cooperatively with the Watershed District on. The Administrator reported that the Watershed has asked if Little Canada would serve as a pilot test site for this program and has asked for some cost participation from the City. The Administrator felt the $2,500 budgeted was a reasonable amount. The Street Lighting expense category is estimated to increase by 2.16 %, and Recycling /Sanitation to increase by 22.91 %. This large increase is due to the fact that the conversation of the newsletter from grayscale to color was not reflected in the 2012 Budget. City Garage expenses are projected to increase by 38.08% primarily due to the expenses related to utilities and the addition of Public Works West building in 2011. The Administrator reviewed expenditures related to Parks & Recreation noting a projected increase of .82 %. Community Service expenditures are projected to increase by 1.68 %, and Shade Tree has no projected expense increase. The Administrator noted that total General Fund expenditures are projected to increase by 2.35 %, from $2,999,911 to $3,071,790. The Administrator also indicated that the General Fund Budget has a projected surplus for 2012 at $148,061, but noted that the expenses for interim finance director services have to be posted to the 2012 budget. The Administrator reviewed the listing of City personnel positions, noting that the City is lightly staffed. In 2008 the City had full -time equivalent (FTE) positions of 20.26, and in 2013 will have 18.75 FTE. The Administrator noted that the Fire Marshal is a contracted service and changes have occurred in the accounting staffing. The City Administrator then pointed out the various special funds included in the budget document noting that these still need additional review and refinement. The funds include Park/Rec Special Fund, Cable Tv Budget, Recycling & Disposal Budget, Debt Service Funds, TIF /HIA Funds, General Capital Improvement Budget, 10% Fund Budget, Infrastructure Capital Improvement Fund, Park Land Acquisition Budget, and Water /Sewer Capital Replacement Budget. The City Administrator also recommended that one additional Fund /Budget be created for Fire Equipment Replacement. The City Administrator recommended that two additional Budget Workshops be held, one in October to review Capital Improvement Budget and one in November to review the 2013 Budget in its entirety. The City Administrator noted that one of the City's goals has been to eliminate reliance on Local Government Aid (LGA). With that in mind, 5