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Special City Council Meeting Thursday, May 22, 2014 Page 22 At the request of Councilmember Willmus, Mr. Trudgeon confirmed that person- nel costs that had increased upon his appointment as Interim City Manager had been rolled back. At the request of Councilmember Willmus, Mr. Trudgeon ad- vised that he anticipated the HRA coming forward with their 2015 budget request in June or July, at which time they were scheduled for a joint meeting with the City Council. At the request of Councilmember, Mr. Trudgeon confirmed, along with Councilmember Etten, City Council member of the HRA that the 2014 HRA budget included $25,000 for business retention and economic development (BR& E) efforts. At the request of Councilmember Etten, noted that current BR & E expenses had only been $5,000 to-date; and before he agreed to increase permit fees to support a$25,000 allotment for 2014, he would need to see a more detailed budget and in- tended uses. Councilmember Etten acknowledged that the HRA budget wasn't yet fully lined up, and he understood that the allotment may be expended over the remainder of 2014, he expressed concern that the City increase their allotment be- fore that point of clarification was made. In rationalizing his concerns, Coun- cilmember Etten opined that, in an effort to promote development, caution was needed to not increase fees to the level that discouraged people making improve- ments. At the request of Councilmember Etten, Mr. Trudgeon clarified that no increases in permit fees had been outlined yet, with the exception of normal annual infla- tionary costs, there was nothing tied to the proposed 2015 projected expenses and raising fees. Mayor Roe noted that fee revenue was increasing to levels experienced consist- ently several years ago, and was basically driven by improved economics and ac- tivities. Councilmember Willmus clarified and reminded Councilmembers that the City Council did not set the HRA budget, only the levy portion. At the request of Councilmember Laliberte, Mr. Trudgeon detailed the projected increases for 2015 from those of 2014: • An increase of$15,000 for studies for a total of$20,000 specific to economic development • Non-levy inflationary increases of$90,000 • Overall budget increase from $1.34 million to proposed $1.44 million; with $90,000 from the CDD Fund, and the remaining from levy-supported funds and attributed to inflationary personnel and supply costs. At the request of Mayor Roe, Mr. Trudgeon reported that the next scheduled comprehensive plan update was scheduled for 2017, and would be a line item in that year's budget.