2003_0407_packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

f J1h o f ` i Thursday, April 3, 2003 Dear Fellow City Employees, These uncertain economic times have caused us to change how we approach our everyday lives. The impact is already being felt by individuals and employers in Minnesota and across the Nation. In an effort to trim its own budget this year, the State of Minnesota is proposing to eliminate $717,000 in funding to the city of Roseville this year. The elimination of this state funding may be permanent. In spite of the City's f n racial strength, the loss of 71 .000 this year is substantial. To put this in perspective, $717,000 is about the amount of money we spend in an entire year responding to fire calls. It is about the same amount we spend each year on all of our street maintenance and snow - plowing and ice control. It is similar to the total amount we spend on p all our park maintenance. Like everyone else, the City of Roseville will probably have to cut its budget to absorb a loss of funding this large. The final decisions about our budget will be made by the City Council. We will begin budget discussions With the City council this Monday, April 7th. But I want you to know we are facing a budget challenge and some of the things I am recommending to address it. I will be recommending some voluntary incentive programs to help some city employees retire or resign, and thus reduce our budget. If the council approves we will explain those incentive programs to you . y in detail and give you time to consider them. You are the reason we are successful in providing excellent services to our citizens. So I want to do everything I can to maintain your services and our productivity. But we also must operate the city with the funding available to us, One way to be fair to you and still reduce our budget is to offer incentives so people may choose whether to retire or resign. There are also some programs we will probably have to cut or reduce. I am trying to preserve all of our `core" programs that are most important to our residents. That doesn't mean the commune won't notice our program cuts. They will. I'm sorry about that; we will do everything we can to avoid prograrn cuts. And for program cuts we cannot avoid we will fully infornm our residents of the changes. But w must balance our budget with the money available to us. 2660 Civic Center Drive 4e Roseville **.* Minnesota ** 5511 651-490-2200 TIED 651 -490 -2207 *.*e www.ci.roseville.mn.us