2014-06-25 CC WS Meeting Minutes

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City Council 2014-06-25 7:25 p.m. Minutes of Work Session Present were Mayor Tom Wilharber, Council members Jeff Paar, Steve King, D Love, and Ben Fehrenbacher. Also present were Mark Statz of Stantec., and Finance Director Ellie Paulseth. The purpose of the work session was to cover three agenda items: Discuss engaging services of recruiter to replace the administrator, review a draft of the 2015 Budget and review the 2015 Street Mill-Overlay Program. Recruiter. At the previous interviews, Council consensus was that the firm of Brimeyer-Fursman was preferred over Springsted. Mr. Fursman was invited to this evening’s meeting, but was unable to attend due to being out of the country. Council considered whether a recruiting firm is needed. Mr. Fursman will be invited to the Council meeting of July 23, to discuss the recruiting process. Administrator Larson will discuss the issue with Fursman and see if it is possible to streamline the process to reduce the cost. Budget 2014 . Finance Director, Ellie Paulseth, reviewed a draft budget for 2015. The budget includes an increase in local government aid of approximately 10% from $54,000, to $60,466. The expense budget includes $200,000 for the street overlay program, and a significant increase in the amount allocated to Centennial Lakes Police. The police budget has not been vetted by the Governing Board, so it is likely that number will be reduced. The levy for Bonds increased slightly and the overall levy would rise by 4.6%. No major increases are needed in utility rates, but an inflationary adjustment may be indicated as well as an adjustment to Sewer rates to account for Met Council’s increase in sewer treatment cost. Storm Sewer rates may need to increase to meet the needs for ditch and pond cleaning. Council asked that rates be surveyed in neighboring communities for comparison as increases are considered. 2015 Street Program. The Council reviewed the street mill and overlay program presented by staff. The street list shows a maintenance project for 2015, of about $278,000. The city budget contribution was increased from $169,000 to $200,000 and special assessments increased to $525 per property to raise approximately $80,000 in total assessments. Administrator Larson reviewed projections for the program out through the year 2020. In the projections, City contribution is increased about $10,000 each year and special assessments are increased by $25 each year per property. The cash flow works well until 2018 when it goes into a deficit. However it appears that the deficit can be managed by modifying the timing of the program, either deferring a few streets or suspending the program for a year. Since the program in 2018 is overlaying streets that are 11 or 12 years old, it seems very feasible to adjust to available cash flow. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:45 p.m. Dallas Larson, Administrator