HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-25-2012 Council Special Work Session Minutes CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION June 25, 2012
APPROVED
1 CITY OF LINO LAKES
2 MINUTES
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4 DATE : June 25,2012
5 TIME STARTED : 7:15 p.m.
6 TIME ENDED : 8:30 p.m.
7 MEMBERS PRESENT : Council Member Stoesz, O'Donnell,
8 Rafferty, Roeser(arrived at 7:25 p.m.) and
9 Mayor Reinert
10 MEMBERS ABSENT : None
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13 Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson; Finance Director Al Rolek;
14 Community Development Michael Grochala; Public Safety Director John Swenson;
15 Economic Development Coordinator Mary Divine; Public Services Director Rick
16 DeGardner; City Clerk Julie Bartell
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18 Financial Impacts on the 2013 City Budget-Finance Director Rolek distributed and
19 reviewed a table indicating possible 2013 budget impacts in the area of expenditures,
20 revenues and other. In the area of expenditures, the personnel impact includes some
21 decisions made already as well as some contract settlement assumptions. In the area of
22 revenues, Mr. Rolek pointed out possible loss of grant funds if certain police grants are
23 not renewed. In the area of franchise fees, discussions are still underway with Centennial
24 Utilities. There are also some cable television fees that have been used as general
25 revenue but that should be redirected for upgrades. The use of fund surplus is a year to
26 year discussion and is of course limited by the threshold set by the council; a special
27 section indicating a fund surplus analysis is included in the table. Mr. Rolek then noted
28 the possible reductions of estimated budget gap figures that are suggestions/ideas for
29 review. When asked about the budget position for 2012, Mr. Rolek noted that the figures
30 are below where he'd like them to be but the city is just getting into the busy season for
31 construction, etc. The mayor called for information on the city's snow plow budget;
32 there was very little need in that area last winter. Mr. Rolek explained that it's difficult to
33 pinpoint where that budget is exactly since funding is spread across several budget areas
34 (i.e. equipment, supplies, overtime). Mayor Reinert asked that staff put together some
35 figures for council review.
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37 Administrator Karlson noted some potential revenues sources, including utility and
38 franchise fees, grant funding, economic development and lastly, staff reductions, adding
39 that additional staff reductions would probably result in service reductions at some level.
40 The mayor said he continues to urge the city to seek efficiencies through organization.
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42 The council discussed economic development activity in the city. Economic
43 Development Coordinator Divine noted that new development is slow in the area
44 currently with the focus more on filling in existing areas. Community Development
45 Director Grochala added that staff is meeting with larger builders and he gave an update
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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION June 25, 2012
APPROVED
-- 46 on those discussions. The builders are honest in explaining that they are following
47 rooftops and traffic and he can see that the areas of the metro that have jobs are growing
48 areas. The mayor suggested that the council is interested in following the city's economic
49 development planning and he recommends that a special meeting be held each month to
50 discuss that topic and specifically to put together goals and how to work for them. He'd
51 like to see information brought forward on the following:
52 - What does an average new home bring in for the city?
53 - What's the impact of commercial/industrial development?
54 - Types of housing that are being built.
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56 Regarding the Legacy development area, Mayor Reinert suggested that staff meet with
57 Anoka County with the goal of forming options and look for opportunities to get things
58 going. Mr. Rolek pointed out information he distributed that indicates how the city is
59 financing the Legacy costs and noted that it could continue through 2015.
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61 The council moved back to the budget discussion. At the request of a council member,
62 Mr. Rolek noted that the contingency budgeted for 2012 is $75,000,none of which has
63 been used. Council Member Roeser offered a suggestion to continue to look for third
64 parties to perform services (such as Jani King). Mr. Karlson noted that area city
65 administrators are meeting regularly to discuss collaboration efforts, including in such
66 areas as water utilities and building inspections. Council Member Roeser remarked that
67 the storm water utility may be a discussion that merits a revisit. Council Member Stoesz
68 suggested that the city should be investing more in information technology as a way to
69 greater efficiency; he would at least like to see IT as a separate line item in the budget.
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71 The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
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73 These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on
74 July 9, 2012.
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79 Juli e Bartell, City Jerk Je R-i ert. Mayor
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