08/31/2000 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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• DRAFT CITY OF LINO LAKES CITY COUNCIL Special Work Session on Proposed 2001 Budget Thursday, August 31, 2000 Community Room, Lino Lakes City Hall Present: Mayor John Bergeson, Council Members Donna Carlson, Jeff O'Donnell, Jeff Reinert Absent: Council Member Caroline Dahl Also Present: City Administrator Linda Waite Smith; Director of Administration Dan Tesch; Director of Finance Al Rolek; Director of Community Development Brian Wessel; Director of Public Services Rick DeGardner; Director of Public Safety Dave Pecchia; City Engineer John Powell Mayor Bergeson convened the meeting at 8:35 a.m. Overview City Administrator Waite Smith shared the objectives the management team had when beginning preparation of the draft budget and the process used to compile it. She also explained strategies the management team employs to contain costs. Finally, she explained that since the last tax rate increase in 1999, the City has absorbed a number of costs including salary adjustments and operation of an additional building complex. Finance Director Rolek reviewed the budget calendar and explained that the maximum levy must be certified to Anoka County by September 15. Therefore, the City Council needs to adopt a maximum levy at its September 11 meeting. After the levy is certified, it can be adjusted downward but not upward. Rolek then explained changes that have been made since the last budget, including an allowance for salary adjustments in 2001, the addition of 5.70 full time equivalent (FTE) staff units, accounting for the entire salary of the Senior Coordinator in the General Fund instead of using CDBG funds for half, centralizing costs such as newsletter production and office supplies, separating the administrative positions in Community Development into a new cost center instead of showing them in the Economic Development Division, and beginning the process to implement a GIS program. Next, Rolek referred to a comparison of the adopted tax levy for 2000 and the proposed tax levy for 2001. He noted the TIF penalty which is shown as HACA (Homestead and Agriculture Aid) that is withheld from the City by the State imposes a significant constraint on the budget. He indicated that although the State Legislature dropped levy limits for 2001, they may well reinstate them the following year. He suggested it might be beneficial to include the TIF penalty in the debt levy because in the past debt levies have been outside the levy limits.