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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.a. 2016 Draft BudgetEXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Work Session: June 8, 2015 AGENDA ITEM: 2016 Draft Budget AGENDA SECTION: PREPARED BY: Dwight Johnson, City Administrator AGENDA NO. 2.a. ATTACHMENTS: Draft 2016 Budget; Program Budget (to be distributed Monday) APPROVED BY: ddj RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion only BACKGROUND Attached is the first draft of the 2016 budget. The focus at this time is on the operating budgets; recommendations on the City’s Capital Budgets will be forthcoming later this year. Department directors proposed budgets for next year. Jeff May and I met with each department and adjustments were made both up and down in the proposed budgets. The result of this first draft is a proposed increase in the property tax levy of 2.64%. The current projected increase for the median value home is $35 per year. The total projected 2016 City tax for the median home is $959, which still favorably compares with $1,058 paid on the same home in 2008. DISCUSSION Revenues •Permit revenues are projected to increase by $112,000 over the 2015 budgeted amount, an increase of 18.48%. •The City’s tax base increased by 6.84% which includes both higher valuations for existing properties as well as new construction during 2014. •There are no state levy limits in place for 2016. Expenditures The draft budget includes: •A full year of operation for the new Activity Center ($33,900). •An allocation for fireworks for Leprechaun Days ($7,000). •An increase in the Intergovernmental Initiatives line in the Council budget for ongoing work on the County broadband initiative ($8,000). •Increases in the communication budget for our web site to migrate to a new platform ($8,300), and higher Cable Commission costs for equipment and cable TV programming ($23,600). •An increase in fire salaries of $12,100 to allow for pay by the hour for fire department calls rather than a flat stipend. •A decrease of $79,100 in the Fire Department Relief levy based on the current surplus and a new 2 five year projection. • A new position of Human Resources Coordinator on July 1 to provide backup and assistance for the Assistant City Administrator in routine HR duties and indirectly assist the City Administrator and Finance Department. The 2016 net cost (after eliminating current part-time salary allocations) is about $11,000 but would require an additional $36,000 in 2017. • Additional part-time salaries ($17,000) are provided in Community Development to help with summer inspections in the event the department gets significantly busier next year. Items NOT funded in this draft budget include: • The parking lot improvement behind City Hall ($345,000 with all add alternates) will be included in a capital budget due to the size and scope of the project rather than the public works operating budget. • A requested new Patrol Sergeant ($120,000) is not included in this draft pending further information and review. Additional information should be available later this summer before the preliminary budget needs to be adopted. • No money is included for a community survey ($20,000). Before the recession, we did community surveys about every other year. • No money is included to operate any new indoor recreational facilities above and beyond revenues provided by that facility. If the City decides to build a new indoor facility, it is unlikely to be completed before the end of 2016. Unknown items include: • No bargaining with employee bargaining units has begun yet. • Fiscal disparities and captured TIF capacity calculations to help refine the estimated impact on a median value home are not yet available. Program Budgeting As requested by Council, the operating budgets are also presented in a program form this year for the first time. City services and expenditures were divided up into about 100 programs to try to show the City’s various services and the estimated cost of each one. Viewing the budget in this format may assist the Council and the public in setting priorities for what services should be increased, decreased, or terminated. Performance Measures About 44 performance measures are provided for the various operating budgets to help identify the value and effectiveness of the City’s various services. The City is gradually adding new measures over time. RECOMMENDATION The Council should direct staff on additional questions to be answered or researched and provide general guidance on the direction of the budget. We normally would have our second budget meeting in early August, since we will not have much additional information before then.