Finance Comm Minutes 09-10-2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Finance Commission Minutes September 10, 2019 Page 9 of 12 Commissioner Reif asked with respect to the OVAL, if the city does not get the State funding are there things that do have to be done to keep it operating or can the OVAL limp by for a while. Mr. Trudgeon explained barring any catastrophic failure, occasionally there will be leaks in the piping system which needs to be repaired. If it is a lot of leaks or in the middle of the OVAL where more concrete would be removed the city could do that, but it would come at an added cost. The city tries to band aid that as much as possible. The system is functioning but a lot of it is old. It is at a critical point where funding is needed and the reason why the city is asking for it. Commissioner Reif asked if the city is cautiously optimistic about getting the funding from the State. Mr. Trudgeon indicated he was. Last year the city got a bill introduced with local Legislatures supporting it with a hearing. The city has also gone through the formal process of going through the State for bonding dollars this summer. He feels the city is in a good position for getting funding. Commissioner Harold thought when looking at a 5.5 percent levy increase the twelve percent budget increase is an eye opener, but it was explained to him zeroing in on the number 5.5 as the total levy increase when considering the three primary categories explained, this is not unreasonable. He thought an 8.4 percent increase for the median value of a home is higher than what he would like but he thought the city is also tied to the realities of the funding formula. There is not really much that can be done to shift the formula when home values go up. Based on the information received on the call data, adding the additional fire fighters and police officers seemed reasonable to him as well. Commissioner Lee indicated he was comfortable with it. Chair Hodder asked for clarity on Attachment A, Item 6; there were two yellow highlights on the OSTC Debt 31 and 32 and what those debts were. Mr. Trudgeon indicated he was not positive but suspected those were related to the Park Improvement Bond from 2011 and the city also borrowed for the Fire Station. He noted he would follow up on that. Chair Hodder explained as far as the Budget By Detail/By Function the four million for the OVAL, the Finance Commission had discussed previously about the General Reserves and doing a gradual approach and he wondered if something similar could be done for the OVAL such as splitting that in half and would that be an option. Commissioner Murray thought mechanically either it gets fixed or it does not.