Laserfiche WebLink
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />August 27, 2013 <br />Page 3 <br />stated that 80% of respondents indicated they would support renewal of the $2 million operating <br />levy and 61% of respondents indicated support for a $400,000 capital projects levy. <br />Ms. Webster indicated survey respondents were asked about the School District's information <br />level and credible sources of information, stating that 41 % of respondents identified the School <br />District newsletter as a credible source of information and noted that 12% of respondents <br />consider the grapevine as a source of information. <br />9 Mr. Laney discussed the legislature's changes in education funding and the way that operating <br />10 referenda are defined and funded and because there was a lot of confusion about the new system, <br />11 the School Board decided that no referendum would be issued in 2013 and to wait until 2014 in <br />12 order to provide enough time to sort things out and clarify the issue for residents. <br />13 <br />14 Ms. Webster presented 2013-2014 enrollment information and stated that 80% of Wilshire Park <br />15 students are residents and the average number of resident students per grade at Wilshire Park is <br />16 87. <br />17 <br />18 Mayor Faust commended the School District for its job performance ratings of 92% and <br />19 expressed the City Council's thanks for sharing the survey results with the community. <br />20 <br />21 C. 2014 Preliminary Budget Presentation. Shelly Rueckert, Finance Director, presenting, <br />22 <br />23 Finance Director Rueckert presented the 2014 preliminary budget and discussed the 2014 budget <br />24 calendar and 2014 budget parameters, including budgeting expenses at amounts that maintain the <br />25 present level of City services, and pointed out that the City will receive $442,967 in Local <br />26 Government Aid (LGA) in 2014. She stated the 2014 overall levy shows an increase of <br />27 $206,218, which represents an increase in debt service requirements, and the proposed levy <br />28 increase is 3.8%. She indicated the road levy will increase 12.6% and this represents the <br />29 addition of the 2013 road project into the debt service schedule along with prior road debt <br />30 restructuring which produced significant savings but deferred payment into 2014. She stated that <br />31 the City's 2014 LGA will provide more resources for unmet needs and provide property tax <br />32 relief; in addition, the 2014 LGA will address the costs related to severance obligations and will <br />33 slow the growth of the road improvement levy. She reviewed 2014 General Fund revenues and <br />34 expenditures and advised the overall levy amount of $5,633,007 is comprised of the General <br />35 Fund levy, Capital Improvement levy, and three debt service levies with an overall levy increase <br />36 of 3.8%. She stated the average homeowner paid $810.50 in 2013 for a home valued at <br />37 $207,000 for City services, or $67.54 per month, and the average homeowner paid $419.12 in <br />38 2013 for street improvement projects. She indicated the City has a long history of offsetting levy <br />39 needs by pursuing grants and service partnerships and has received over $15 million worth of <br />40 grants and donations since 1999, or $1,898 per resident. She summarized the 2014 preliminary <br />41 budget and indicated the General Fund operating budget totals $3,123,343 and represents a 0% <br />42 increase, the proposed 2014 capital equipment budget totals $299,100, and the proposed liquor <br />43 operations transfers total $347,444, of which $239,244 will provide funding for the General Fund <br />44 and $108,200 will go to the capital equipment budget. She added the City Council will set the <br />45 2014 preliminary operating budget and property tax levy on September 10, 2013, followed by <br />46 final adoption of the 2014 budget and levy on December 10, 2013. <br />47 <br />