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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION <br />December 5, 2016 <br />" ._ 1 /WL <br />218 rolling off an officer and he has expressed that already; this community values the <br />219 services of the department and the pro -active nature of the department. Council Member <br />220 Rafferty suggested discussion a reduction at the sergeant level. Mayor Reinert remarked <br />221 that changing the model that the department uses could be discussed but he believes that <br />222 requires a certain level of data that isn't present at this meeting. <br />223 <br />224 Mayor Reinert asked Chief Swenson to explain the $220,000 increase in the department <br />225 budget. Staff said it is mainly personnel — steps, wage increases and insurance costs. <br />226 <br />227 Mayor Reinert asked for a run-down on the Fire Department budget. He sees a drop <br />228 from 2016 to 2017. Ms. Cotton said the reduction primarily relates to the one-time <br />229 contribution to the pension plan in 2016; in 2017 that is picked up by fire state aid. The <br />230 offset between the reduction and the amount of that state aid contribution was explained <br />231 as uniform costs (turn -out gear) for three firefighters and contracted services Mayor <br />232 Reinert asked that staff keep the gear available for future use in case they properly fit <br />233 another employee in the future. Staff explained the increase in the PERA line item as an <br />234 incorrect estimate that didn't include certain wages. <br />235 <br />236 Mayor Reinert remarked that he'd like staff to give a presentation next month on the <br />237 Cartegraph system; in particular he'd like to see what the system does and what it can do <br />238 and the path to use it best for this city. <br />239 <br />240 Ms. Cotton reviewed the additional information in the report, including an updated gap <br />241 analysis, questions posed at the last review and the tax rate result. <br />242 <br />243 Council Member Rafferty noted the new positions included in the budget — the .6 FTE <br />244 position in Public Services, the .5 FTE position in Finance and a new Police Department <br />245 CSO position. <br />246 <br />247 Mayor Reinert noted that revenues appear to be going up by $300,000+ and he asked for <br />248 an explanation. Director Cotton explained that the figures are driven by the past use of <br />249 fund balance. <br />250 <br />251 The council will consider adoption of the budget at the next regular council meeting. <br />252 9. Advisory Board Appointments -Administrator Karlson reviewed the written <br />253 staff report. It would be appropriate to schedule a date to interview applicants. He noted <br />254 that only the Planning and Zoning Board has more applicants than open positions. <br />255 <br />256 The council will interview for open positions in January, prior to the first council meeting <br />257 in January (5:30 p.m.). Staff will update the council at the January work session. <br />258 10. Council Updates on Boards/Commissions —The council had no updates. <br />0 <br />