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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/07/1990 Council Minutes14I CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION 7 DECEMBER 1990 Mayor Harold Bisel called the City Council budget work session to order at 3:30 p.m., Friday 7 December 1990. Members present: Neil, Reinert, Bohjanen, Kuether. Randy Scumacher, City Administrator, Daniel Tesch, Assistant to the City Administrator, and Paula Scholer, City Accountant were also present. Mr. Schumacher began the meeting by differentiating between the August budget, and the November budget that they should follow this afternoon. The November budget represents cuts that staff has already made. The purpose of this afternoon's meeting is to give the Council the opportunity to make cuts, and voice their opinions on programs. This budget he added, represents a 9% increase over last year. It was the concensus that we would proceed by department, and address them line item, by line item. Mayor and Council Mr. Bohjanen stated that he felt the 5% to 8% of this budget could be cut. He stated that he would leave it up to staff to determine where the cuts should be made. Mayor Bisel suggested that the Council consider adjusting council salaries so that they would be closer to the mayor's. He offered for their consideration $3,600.00 for the Mayor, and $3,000.00 for Council members. It was noted that the Council is attending more and more meetings, and rapid growth of the city means an added work load for council members. Mr. Schumacher explained that the Council would have to pass an ordinance which would take affect after the next election. It was the concensus of the Council that an ordinance of this nature be drafted. Mayor Bisel also asked that a possible tie in with the cost of living be looked into. Mr. Reinert also asked staff to explore the availability of PERA for Council members. Elections It was explained that this is a rather fixed expenditure, based on the number and type of elections planned for the coming year. Mr. Bohjanen offered a 5% cut for this budget. Administration Mayor Bisel reminded the Council that Mr. Schumacher's only significant change in this department was the addition of a Finance Director. Mr. Reinert suggested holding off on adding a Finance Director at this time. Mr. Schumacher responded that it was at Mr. MacGillivrary and Mr. Tautges suggestion that we add this position. The complexity of the City Charter, and the number of development projects we are presently undertaking make this a very important position PAGE 1 1 1 1 CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION 7 DECEMBER 1990 with the City. He added that this was only placed here for their consideration based on our professional consultants recommendations. Mr. Reinert stated that he would like to see how this position would decrease our consultant's budgets. Council Member Kuether added that she would like to see additional information specifically, a job description and what impact this position would have on the consultant's budget. The Council discussed the City Charter, and the expense and added difficulties it creates. Mr Bohjanen stated that he would like to see the charter placed on the ballot this coming election, and added that he would like to see a 10% reduction on this budget. Council Member Kuether questioned the increase in insurance. Mr. Schumacher responded that it was due to the fact that it is on a new car. Assessor The assessor is a fixed cost, part of a contract signed with the County. Legal Printing Mr. Bohjanen had questions on this area, especially the newsletter. Staff was requested to look into the possibility of a less expensive printer. It was the concensus of the Council that the newsletter continue to be published quarterly. Consultants Mr. Schumacher went through the various consultants with the Council. Mr. Bohjanen stated that he would like to see a 5% -10% decrease in this department. Council Member Kuether questioned what was under the Planning and Economic Development consultants. Mr. Schumacher responded that some of this would be advertising in such publications as the Real Estate Journal and City Business. Council Member Kuether wondered what we were advertising, adding that we should wait until we had something to advertise. Mr. Reinert concurred stating that he did not feel that we were ready to market ourselves, and should wait till our infrastructure was in place, and had enough residents to support various businesses. Mayor Bisel stated that the Economic Development Committee (EDC) has been working very hard to put into place the ground work we need to lure retail businesses. Mr. Reinert added that once we have a housing base, businesses will be breaking our doors down, in the mean time we should bank role our advertising dollars. Mr. Reinert questioned who controlled PAGE 2 148 149 CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION 7 DECEMBER 1990 the EDC dollars. Mayor Bisel responded that the Council okays all expenditures on the disbursement list. Mr. Bohjanen felt a 10% cut could be found in this department. It was the concensus of the Council that staff reevaluate other consultants, and remove all dollars that served the same purpose as recreation, and place those dollars into our own recreation program. Planner Mr. Neil questioned what exactly was the role of the Planner? Council Member Reinert added that he did not feel that the Planner was 100% busy, and that he may have been hired before his time. He suggested a combination planner /engineer, noting that individuals of this nature used to be prevalent. This would reduce our engineering costs. Mayor Bisel stated that our last planning consultants did not even know where Lino Lakes was, and that it is important, in our growth stage, that we have a planner on staff. The Planning and Zoning Committee used to create a lot of animosity and now that is gone. Mayor Bisel added that a combination planner/ engineer would be nice, but questioned whether a planner was an engineer, and an engineer a planner? Mr. Schumacher reviewed with the Council the Planner's job description. Council Member Reinert stated that he would like to see this position eliminated and the money banked until a new combination employee could be found. Council Member Kuether was in agreement, but questioned what would happen to the people already going through the planning process. Mayor Bisel did not agree, and felt we are in too sensitive of a period to not have a planner. Mr. Reinert stated that he did not feel we should not have a planner, but should reevaluate the position. Council Member Bohjanen stated that there is a personality problem here. He stated he has heard this in the community, and that Mr. Miller comes on too strong. He suggested that we look into reducing this position to part -time, and look for someone in the mean time. Council Member Kuether did not believe that the dollars we spend for the planner's position are effective, and that Mr. Miller is not the right man for the job. Mayor Bisel did not agree. Council Member Kuether added that she did not want to over burden the staff at this time. Mr. Schumacher stated that he needed a concensus from the Council so that he could adjust the budget accordingly. Mr. Reinert suggested that he felt the majority of the Council at this time acknowledge that we needed a Planner, but that other aspects of his job other than land use planning, ie economic development should be reevaluated. All agreed that this is not the time to be discussing individual personalities. PAGE 3 1 1 1 1 CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION 7 DECEMBER 1990 Design and Review Board The Council determined that these were fixed costs. Government Buildings Mr. Schumacher informed the Council that the staff was recommending the purchase of a new air conditioner at city hall. Charter Commission Council Member Reinert stated that he felt better communication was needed with this body. Council Member Kuether, a member of the Charter Commission responded that they never meet. Mayor Bisel added that they do get a copy of our minutes and were informed through that of our actions. The Council set their next work session for Tuesday the llth of December at 4:00 p.m. Work Session adjourned. t ` :eq At4:41 r•X*? '''✓t i5U PAGE 4