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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br /> Date: 08/25/14 <br /> Item No.: 12.b <br />Department Approval City Manager Approval <br />Item Description: Finalize Discussions on the Preliminary 2015 Budget and Tax Levy <br />B <br />ACKGROUND <br />1 <br />At the February 24, 2014 City Council meeting the Council considered the proposed 2015 Budget <br />2 <br />Calendar which outlined a series of steps to establish an eventual budget. To date, the budget process <br />3 <br />has included the following steps: <br />4 <br />5 <br />May 12, 2014 Preliminary report on budget and tax levy impact items <br />6 <br />May 22, 2014 Departmental budget presentations <br />7 <br />Jun 16, 2014 Discussion on City Council Budget Goals & Priorities <br />8 <br />Jul 14, 2014 Presentation of the 2015 City Manager Recommended Budget <br />9 <br />Aug 11, 2014 Budget Hearing <br />10 <br />Aug 25, 2014 Review the 2015-2034 CIP & Funding Strategies <br />11 <br />12 <br />The Council is now asked to finalize their budget-related discussions in advance of the adoption of a <br />13 <br />preliminary tax levy and budget on September 8, 2014. City Staff is seeking final guidance so that an <br />14 <br />accurate portrayal of the programs and service levels can be depicted along with the applicable financial <br />15 <br />impacts. <br />16 <br />17 <br />th <br />At the July 14 Council meeting, the Council asked for an expanded look at cash reserve levels and <br />18 <br />how they’ve varied over time. The attached memo (Attachment A) provides that supplemental <br />19 <br />information. In addition, it was noted that the Recommended Budget includes a 2% cost-of-living <br />20 <br />(COLA) adjustment for all City employees and that further information regarding this recommendation <br />21 <br />would be forthcoming. <br />22 <br />23 <br />Finally, we thought it would be important to revisit the 2015 tax levy impacts to ensure the Council has <br />24 <br />the most up-to-date information. This supplemental information is presented below. <br />25 <br />26 <br />2015 COLA <br />27 <br />The City has contractually agreed to provide a 2% COLA in 2015 to all of the City’s collective <br />28 <br />bargaining units except for the firefighters group. The 2% amount was based on similar COLA’s <br />29 <br />provided by peer communities. Like Roseville, many of those same communities have also budgeted <br />30 <br />2% in their preliminary 2015 budgets including their non-union employees. <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />