08/27/2012 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION August 13, 2012 DRAFT DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES : August 13, 2012 . 8:00 p.m. . 9:25 p.m. : Council Member O'Donnell, Rafferty, Roeser and Mayor Reinert : Council Member Stoesz Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson; Community Development Director Michael Grochala; Public Services Director Rick DeGardner; Finance Director Al Rolek; Public Safety Director Swenson; City Clerk Julie Bartell The special meeting was called for the purpose of discussing the 2013 Budget. 1. Budget Gap - Finance Director Rolek noted that the draft budget presented to the council is slightly lower for 2013 than the 2012 budget. That being said, there is a gap in excess of $400,000, related to use of one time funds in 2012, reductions in non -tax revenues (primarily building permit revenue), an increase in pavement management funding, and an increase in capital equipment replacement. Some offset to the negative gap are a tax shift and reductions in the budget. Staff has started with the assumption that the levy will remain constant from 2012 to 2013, with that levy being under the state tax cap set for the city in 2011. Mr. Rolek explained that with the decrease in property valuation, maintaining the levy would increase the tax rate. To hold the same rate would require in excess of an additional $500,000 in revenue increases or expenditure decreases. Regarding labor settlements, the budget assumes a one percent increase across the board. Additionally noted is inclusion of a $75,000 contingency for the year. 2. Projected Voting Equipment System Costs - Administrator Karlson noted that a voting equipment expense will need to be added to the budget. Anoka County will be purchasing the equipment for cities and receiving repayment over a ten year period. 3. Potential Revenue Sources — Administration Karlson noted information on franchise fees and updated the council on negotiations with CenterPoint and Xcel. A city wide franchise fee for gas utilities is an item to be discussed; the current budget includes a presumption of about $90,000 as the amount the city currently receives from Centennial Utilities only. Council Member O'Donnell expressed concern and suggested that the $90,000 should not be included in the budget. Administrator Karlson said he asked the Public Services Director to look for additional revenue in parks and recreation program fees since the city does subsidize the cost of the programs. That is not a large item, however, and would probably fall in the area of $10,000.