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• August 14, 1997 <br /> To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br /> From: Chuck Whiting, City Administrator <br /> Re: August 18, 1997 City Council Work Session <br /> The main topic for Monday evening will be the 1998 preliminary budget and levy. The budget the <br /> Council is receiving in this packet is dated 8/14/97 and comes after the Council directed staff to <br /> review the initial preliminary budget dated 7/28/97 and revise with the objective of closing a gap <br /> between revenues and expenditures. Council will recall from the initial preliminary budget the <br /> following: <br /> A. The 7/28/97 budget had a negative balance of$398,047 <br /> B. Revenues did not include any tax levy increase or franchise fee <br /> revenue <br /> C. Department expenditures had not been reviewed and therefore <br /> not pared down to correlate with revenues <br /> Over two meetings this week, department heads and myself met to close the noted gap. The <br /> following were given consideration: <br /> A. Revenues sources, specifically, maximizing the tax levy allowed by <br /> by the Legislature, a phasing out of the franchise fee instead of <br /> a complete stoppage, utilizing existing unallocated fund balance, <br /> and some consideration of increasing building permit fees <br /> B. Reducing expenses by reviewing long term capital expenses and moving <br /> some purchases back, cutting of minor operational costs not <br /> perceived to effect services significantly, some consideration of <br /> service and program elimination or reduction, review of interfund <br /> transfers for accuracy in accountability and programmatic costs <br /> C. Consideration of personnel related costs, particularly relative to projected <br /> pay step increases, two union contract negotiations, one other collective <br /> bargaining agreement, non-union personnel and management staff <br /> D. Long-term trends and assumptions the City faces relative to its fund balances, <br /> tax base growth, service level expectations and levy limits <br /> The budget dated 8/14/97 uses these considerations and will be discussed thoroughly with the <br /> Council on Monday evening. Council members requested at the August 4 work session more <br /> direction from staff on budget issues and goals. Each department has put together their work plan <br /> and that is included in this packet. Each department head will be present Monday(except the <br /> Police Chief)to review with the Council each department budget and work plan. Since <br /> • department heads mainly work with expenditures, Bruce and myself will want to discuss with the <br /> Council the revenue side of the budget in some detail. Additionally, Kay Andrews of Northwest <br />