06-24-13 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION June 17, 2013 DRAFT 2 O’Donnell asked if there are other postemployment benefits that the city must consider 46 such as sick leave payout. Mr. Rolek said nothing else instituted by the L egislature. 47 48 Regarding the matter of levy limits , Mr. Rolek provided written information est imating 49 where the city’s levy limit would fall under the new law. The limits have been reinstated 50 for one year . Mayor Reinert noted that the gap with the levy limit in place wo uld put the 51 city over by $440,378. As previously discussed, the city’s sales tax exemption could take 52 $73,000 off of that. 53 54 3. Job Vacancies – Administrator Karlson discussed current staff vacancies, noting that 55 there is no decision anticipated from the council tonight on the positions but the existence 56 of vacancies c ould impact discussions on the gap. The total cost related to all open 57 positions is about $282,000. Directors will be reporting on impacts if any positions were 58 not to be replaced, perhaps at the July work session. Mayor Reinert concurred that the 59 council will be receiving additional information. 60 61 Mayor Reinert indicated that the discussion about t he 2014 budget will continue; he still 62 feels that more drill down on efficiencies is needed. He recalled that Administrator 63 Karlson prepared an organizational revie w and that was a good report and results were 64 effective. The mayor sees that this may be the time to bring in an outside consultant. 65 66 Council Member Roeser noted that two half -time positions were mentioned and he 67 wonders if half time positions may be mo re expensive just because of pending new health 68 care mandates. Also he recommends that the city budget for labor arbitration costs since 69 that seems to be a yearly expense. 70 71 Council Member Rafferty said he questions why the budget sees certain things cha rged in 72 a way that is confusing to him. For example he doesn’t see where the cost of iPads is 73 charged; shouldn’t that be charged to the council budg et? He also wonders about line 74 items for servers. Finance Director Rolek discussed the city’s accounting methods and 75 how he could provide more segregation but that it does create more work and uses more 76 time. The mayor remarked that he understands that Council Member Rafferty is looking 77 for more detailed budget information and that may help him to drill dow n. Council 78 Member Roeser said he understands that at a certain level, accountability can save costs 79 and also provides more details for the council and they make decisions. 80 81 Mayor Reinert noted that there has been discussion about the proposed budget gap and 82 things that could be looked at to fill the gap. He’d like to have more rather than less in 83 the area of ideas. He sees that there are good discussions underway about such things as 84 IT services and breaking down those costs and reviewing them is good practice but that is 85 large in scope and wouldn’t impact the 2014 budget. 86 87 Council Member Roeser said he continues to encourage a review of revenue generating 88 possibilities. For example the city is included in the recent fiber optic upgraded system; 89 coul d some of that bandwidth be sold? How about the former Early Childhood Center 90