08-09-2021 Council Special Work Session Packet

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position, warming house attendants ($14,500) and the remainder of the Recreation Department budget ($14,000) would need to be restored for a total of $82,303. Capital Equipment Replacement In line with the Capital Equipment Plan reviewed last fall, the City will be moving away from issuing Certificates of Indebtedness for Public Safety/Fleet capital equipment and will instead move toward a Pay-As-You-Go approach. The Capital Equipment Replacement levy provides budget flexibility in that the amount can be adjusted in line with needs and budget circumstances in the current year. The Plan estimated an initial levy of $321,000, but in order to more slowly implement the Plan, Staff has decreased the levy to $150,000 with an additional $100,000 of funding from General Fund reserves. Additional detail on Capital Equipment Replacement can be found on pages 78-99 of the 2022 Annual Budget document. Please note, the Single Axle Dump Truck is currently not funded. Street Maintenance The Street Maintenance Levy has increased $71,111 or 10%. The $782,224 levy will be used in combination with $120,000 from the Water Fund to complete a street preservation project in line with the City’s Pavement Management Plan. The 2018 Pavement Management Plan recommended increasing preservation funding from 5% to 10% annually. Increased funding will increase the annual project scope and is predicted to improve the overall condition rating of city streets. The City Council increased funding by 5% in 2020 and 7.5% in 2021. A slow decline in the overall condition rating is predicted in future years with an increase of less than 10%. Storm Water Utility The draft budget assumes the adoption of a Storm Water Utility (SWU). The budget is shown as the City’s third utility, Fund 603, on pages 117-119. Assumptions from the SWU Feasibility report, prepared by WSB and Associates, were used in the creation of the budget. With the implementation of the SWU the operating tax levy decreased $294,864 as the costs moved to the Storm Water Utility Fund to be funded by the proposed Storm Water Fee. Park and Trail Improvements A levy of $90,000 is requested in line with 2019 and 2020 funding. The Park and Trail Improvement Fund has completed the following projects since 2018: • Birch Park Playground Improvements ($30,000)