08/31/2000 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • The Charter Commission budget shows a marked decrease, largely because historically the Commission has not spent anything. Council Members requested a history of Charter Commission budget and actual spending. The Seniors budget now contains 100% of the salary for the Senior Coordinator who is a 0.625 FTE. Part of the salary used to come from CDBG funds but last year the rules for CDBG funds were changed. Waite Smith noted that this budget originally contained a request for a $1,200 refrigerator. The request was cut but staff is hoping that CDBG funds might be used to purchase it. Council Members asked about the possibility of providing congregate dining at the Senior Center. Staff agreed to research this. Council Members also noted that the Senior Center is currently located in the old city hall, which is not near where most seniors live. A location within the Town Center would make more sense. Waite Smith suggested the Council consider stockpiling CDBG funds for several years to help provide facilities, perhaps in cooperation with some other development. Al Rolek explained the Finance Department budget. He is requesting that the Accountant III position be increased from 0.75 FTE to full time and that a 0.50 FTE for MIS be added to the part time Accounting Clerk -Utility Billing position. Waite Smith noted that during preparation of the 2000 budget, it was noted these positions should probably be full time but it was decided to wait for the new finance director to determine. The Legal Consultants budget contains only inflationary adjustments. Council Members asked why the criminal attorney cost is so much higher than the municipal attorney. Pecchia responded that the criminal attorney prosecutes all violations cited by Lino Lakes officers and by State Highway Patrol within the borders of Lino Lakes or on the Interstate beside the City. Other Wessel distributed a report form an internal staff committee on GIS (Geographic Information Systems). He explained that the consensus of the committee is that GIS would be a valuable addition to the City's technology but the estimated $100,000 needed to implement couldn't be found in the proposed 2001 budget. Instead, $5,000 is being carried over from the 2000 budget and an additional $15,000 is being requested for 2001 to do a demonstration project and lay the foundation for future implementation. DeGardner reviewed the detail for Capital Equipment Requests for 2001. He noted the Flusher truck is now inoperable and therefore, unsupervised ice rinks probably won't be flooded this winter. He explained the alternatives he has explored: renting a truck, buying a used truck, using a Fire vehicle, contracting with another city, repairing the truck. None of them is viable. Lead time is six to seven months to actually get a truck. Council Members agreed that DeGardner should immediately start the process to obtain the truck.