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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-30-93 CCMLAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES NOVEMBER 30, 1993 Mayor John called the council meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the city council chambers. PRESENT: Mottaz, Conlin, John, Johnston, Finance Director Banister and Administrator Kueffner. ABSENT: Johnson. Finance Director, Marilyn Banister, gave a presentation on the proposed 1994 city budget. The percentage increase for the city of Lake Elmo is 8.1 % Mayor John opened up the public hearing at 7:25 p.m. in the city council chambers. The public hearing notice was published in the November 24, 1993 Stillwater Gazette Extra. Hugh Madson, 11060 32nd St. N., asked the following questions: License and other Fees $83 000 income: Do we allocate the license fees back to the areas such as Animal Control Officer and Building Official? Banister: The building permit fees covers the building official, but the animal licenses do not coven ACO. Staff salaries: If the city hasn't added staff, why are the staff salaries up over 17% from 1992? Banister: The difference is the way we distributed the percentages. Firemen's Compensation: The $159,000 for 1994 is 50% over 1992 and 67% over 1991. He is surprised that the $200,000 fire truck goes out on all calls. Is this necessary if its for a simple transport? Is there an incentive to go to calls that are not needed? He thinks the council should address this cost. Administrator Kueffner: There are instructions left at Washington County by the Fire Chief demanding that the Lake Elmo Fire Dept. be toned out for every call that goes out of the. County. Mayor John: This issue will be discussed with the Fire Department this weekend. St. Croix Animal Shelter Contribution of $10 000• He doesn't think the city should make a contribution to St. Croix Animal Shelter. The city should be billed for the service they are rendering. Banister: There are 27 stray dog/cats picked up a month and 90% of these animals are not recovered. If the city did not contribute to the Animal Shelter collectively with other cities, we would have to establish a structure or subcontract services. ( Gloria Knoblauch, 9181 31st St. N., asked why there was no moneys in the budget for the proposed trailway system. Mayor John: It does not occur in the budget because when the trailway system was proposed it was at the same time the council was holding budget workshops. The expenditures of this project is such that would require a bond issue. Todd Williams, 3025 Lake Elmo Avenue, asked the following questions? Why is the MSA maintenance listed at $14,000 compared to $41,000 in 1992? Banister: We were taking 25% off the regular construction for MSA, but in 1993 we had a MSA project (Jamaca Avenue). Computer Networking_ According to the September, 1993 minutes when the computer software was discussed, computer networking was not discussed. He did not see any great incentive for the city to have networking. He pointed out that the initial costs is not the only costs involved. There will be significant ongoing cost for support and maintenance. He has and is still interested in serving on a computer software committee. Firemen's Compensation: He voiced his concern on the high figure of the Fireman's compensation and encouraged the council to look into this. Why do we have this wonderful surplus of volunteer firemen now that we didn't have five years ago? Maintenance Reserves: He was always in favor of building up reserves. Roger Colombo, 11977 21 st St. N., commented on the high attorney fees ($65,000). He asked if the city had ever considered hiring their own attorney because he knew of attorneys that would be willing to work for that salary. Administrator Kueffner: The $65,000 includes all the legal work for the city, such as prosecution for speeding tickets, etc. The city does recover fine money from Washington County. The City has never considered hiring their own attorney. Mayor John closed the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. The Council will make a decision on the budget at their December 7, 1993 council meeting. M/S/C Mottaz/Conlin - to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. (Motion carried 5-0) , , , , , , , , , , r r r r r r r r r r r rLAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 30,1993 161 r r r r l l r r r r r 7:00 P.M. MEETING CONVENES 1. PUBLIC HEARING: PROPOSED 1994 BUDGET 2. ADJOURN THE LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL WILL ATTEND A BREAKFAST HOSTED BY THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1993 7:30 A.M. ST. CROIX CLUB, 423 MAIN ST, STILLWATER THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING IS FOR CHAIR RIETOW TO BRIEF THEM ON WHAT'S OCCURRING AT THE COUNCIL AND TO HEAR ABOUT ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE TO THE CITY OF LAKE ELMO.