08-20-18-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Fiscal disparities for the City decreased by 2.8% while the local taxable value increased by 5.1%, which shows a slight shift in the tax burden to non-residential properties. What this means is that the $3 net change in the first line of the preceding table is made up of the following: Change due to decrease in fiscal disparities $2 Change due to increase in taxable values ($5) Net Change ($3) The 2019 preliminary budget is currently being prepared assuming a 2.5% wage adjustment for all staff. This is what was approved for the I.O.U.E. union members. There is also a 10% increase assumed for health and dental premiums and a 3% increase for disability insurance. Two new positions have been included in the proposed budget. They are the Senior Engineering Tech and the Recreation Programmer. A majority of the cost for the Sr. Eng. Tech should be offset by a decrease in contracted services from WSB. Other changes to personnel costs include an increase to council pay, an increase in hours for the part-time Communications Coordinator because the 2018 budget only had it listed at 20 hours per week and the position was hired at 25 hours per week, and a change in the allocation between departments and funds for the Community Development Director and the City Planner. 2019 budget information was received from Ramsey County and Lake Johanna Fire Department for public safety. The police contract is expected to rise by 4.1%, or $48,475 for 2019. The main reason for this is the addition of another investigator. Ramsey County has plans to add another investigator in 2020. The fire costs are expected to rise by 5.5%, or $29,680 for 2019. Earlier this year, Council expressed an interest in accomplishing more patching and overlay work during 2019 to help lengthen the life of the City’s roads. An additional $100,000 was added to the 2019 budget to support this endeavor. A summary of the major changes is as follows: Description Effect on General Fund Increase Street Maintenance for patching and overlays (100,000) Add Recreation Programmer (66,480) Step/benefit increases (51,890) Ramsey County police contract (48,475) Add Sr. Engineering Tech (43,830) Lake Johanna Fire Department budget (29,680) COLA 2.5% (22,140) (362,495) In addition to the expenditure items listed above, permit revenues (building, mechanical, electrical and plan check fees) are expected to increase by $191,770. This is based on an analysis of 2015 – 2018 revenues.