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Finance Commission Minutes August 21, 2014 Page 7 of 9 Review 2015 City Manager Recommended Budget Chair Schroeder stated going through the budget there had been a number of percentages for how much the levy was going up. She clarified last year's total budget went up 11.6% and this year's total budget increases 3.2%. Finance Director Miller stated these figures are correct. Chair Schroeder stated the tax levy impact on homeowners states the median value home would increase by $7.56 per month. This calculates to an 11.7% increase over last year so the property tax for the median valued home would go up 11.7% and the levy itself is only going up 4.9%. This is due to commercial values rising slower than home values. She clarified between the levy and the increase of the value of the home people may be seeing an 11.7% increase in their property taxes. Finance Director Miller stated this would be based on the current budget proposal. Commissioner Konidena asked what previous discussions had been in regard to Information Technology staffing. Finance Director Miller stated the current proposal is to add a System Engineer to the IT Division. Staff has discussed starting this process now rather than wait until after the New Year but the City Council would like to work through the budget discussions prior to starting this process. Commissioner Konidena asked what the Right -of -Way Specialist position was intended for. Finance Director Miller stated this position would pertain to anything in the right-of-way including electricity, phone, water and sewer lines, and storm water pipes. This person would be responsible for compiling all the information pertaining to what is in the right-of-way and managing the right-of-way in projects. Vice Chair Rohloff asked what a full-time Forester would be responsible for. Finance Director Miller explained the Forester would be responsible for tree management in the City. The Forester would be responsible for creating a comprehensive inventory of the City's trees and developing proactive plans for managing these and creating a comprehensive plan to use in developments. The City currently has a part-time person doing this. Chair Schroeder asked where the 2.5% inflationary increase came from. Finance Director Miller stated this is an estimate based on the information the City has at this time and is for all cost inputs including supplies and materials and services the City contracts for. Once the City is able to lock in prices on contracts, this number could potentially go down.