2014-09-10 CC WS Minutes - Approved

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City Council 2014-09-10 Minutes of Work Session City Council 2014-09-10 8:10 p.m. Minutes of Work Session Present were Mayor Tom Wilharber, Council members Jeff Paar, Steve King, D Love, and Ben Fehrenbacher. Also present were Kurt Glaser, City Attorney, and Lee Mann of Stantec. The purpose of the work session was to cover two agenda items: Budget 2014 . The Council reviewed draft budget for 2015. It was noted that the levy would increase by 4.25% as it is proposed. The Centennial Fire District budget was presented, noting that the budget omitted the capital equipment amount that has been in there in previous years. The reduction would be about $20,000. Since the CFD budget is likely to go up by at least $75,000 in 2016, the consensus was to not reduce the budgeted amount for fire protection. Council discussed the request by Park and Rec for an additional $15,000 per year for programs and projects. Several pending projects were cited. Consensus was to increase the budget to add $15,000 for Park and Rec, however, it was pointed out that the amount could change after the public hearing in December, and that it should be clear that no promise is being made about future budgets, noting the significant increase that is anticipated in fire department costs in 2016. The levy would go up by about 4.89% with the added amount for Park and Rec. The preliminary budget and levy will be on the next council meeting agenda for action. Franchise fees. Administrator Larson reported that Finance Director Ellie Paulseth was unable to be here, but that revenue of $100-$120,000 per year based upon a rate $7 per household is estimated. It was noted that Forest Lake recently adopted a franchise fee that did not receive significant objection from the public. In that case, the city committed the revenue to street reconstruction, with the understanding that it would reduce the need for special assessments. Several future expenses were noted as possible uses for the revenue. These included the increased cost of fire protection following Lino Lakes’ departure from the fire district in 2016, trail reconstruction, street construction and debt service. Council was concerned that it would be viewed as just another tax, but it was noted that when business looks at locations, the tax rate is a significant consideration. Having more costs go into the levy only makes the city less competitive to business and the city is already among the highest tax rate cities in the metro area. Consensus was that staff should identify what steps would be needed to implement a franchise fee of $7 per household. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m. Dallas Larson, Administrator 11 Page of