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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.a. Minutes of the July 10, 2017, Work Session ProceedingsROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 10, 2017 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session meeting of the Rosemount City Council was held on Monday, July 10, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rosemount Steeple Center, 14375 South Robert Trail, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order with Council Members Freske, DeBettignies, Weisensel and Nelson attending. Staff present included the following; o City Administrator Martin o City Clerk Hadler o Interim Director of Public Works/City Engineer Erickson o Chief of Police Scott o Parks & Recreation Director Schultz o Finance Director May o Community Development Director Lindquist o Fire Chief Schroeder o Assistant City Administrator Foster DISCUSSION 2.a. 2018 Budget Discussion City Administrator Martin introduced the 2018 Draft Budget discussion. The County has estimated the taxable value in the city for 2018 to be $29,624,000, a 6.3% increase over 2017. The 2018 Proposed Budget shows a 6.82% increase to the operating budget, or $844,700. That increase results in a 6.9% increase to the tax levy. The projected increase to City taxes on a median-value home would be $63. Finance Director May stated the median value home is projected to be just over $260,000 and the City's total market value in the City to be $2,596,431,786. Estimated increases to revenues are 11.2% or $981,800. Mr. Martin noted that revenue estimates are conservative. Mr. Martin noted some of the increases in the City Council budget, including; Community Survey ($22,000), which is usually done every four years, an increased contribution to the Leprechaun Days Fireworks ($3,000). Mayor Droste clarified that the last community survey was done in 2014. Council member Freske inquired about the price of the survey. Mr. Martin stated that he feels like that number is conservative. Council member Weisensel inquired about other services for community survey, like PolCo. Mr. Martin stated he felt that could come out of Council Designated fund. Mayor Droste discussed Eagan's recent survey and how they had to change to account for lack of land lines telephone. Mr. Martin discussed their vendor and how that might compare to Morris Leatherman. Weisensel stated he felt Morris Leatherman might be more comprehensive, but he might like to see the money spread out to some other services. Weisensel asked that the Leprechaun Days fireworks be a line item. Mr. Martin stated it was under Community Events. Council member DeBettignies asked about Council Travel and if Council is on track to spend the entire $22,000. Mayor Droste stated he would like to see more rules about how that is spent. Council member Freske asked about Employee Recognition; Mr. May explained how that was utilized currently. Assistant City Administrator Foster stated staff felt that number is adequate 6.a. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 10, 2017 given upcoming known commemorations. DeBettignies asked about vending costs and if that included operations. Mr. May stated it was materials and repairs, and that the City breaks even on that. Mr. Martin discussed the Administration budget having a slight increase of $4000, for an increase in employee training. Mr. Martin discussed the Election budget. Mr. May explained that the City levies an amount each year and carries over the funds during non-election years. Mr. Martin introduced the Finance budget, which reflects one additional FTE (Accountant) starting in July ($34,300 for 1/2 the year), and an increase in hours to the part-time IT specialist ($20,500). Mayor Droste inquired about what percentage of utility bills come in via auto pay. Mr. May stated that he was not certain, but estimated it was maybe 30-40%, and that fees for credit cards are very high. Mr. May stated the auto pay out of a checking account is the cheapest way to accept payments. Mayor Droste inquired about moving more people to ACH payment. Council members Nelson and Weisensel asked about charging a fee for utilizing credit cards. Mr. May stated he believed this was an option, but felt it would disincentivize utilization of online payments. Mr. Martin noted efforts at strategy staff is taking to making certain processes more efficient in the Finance Department utilizing Laserfiche software products. Ms. Freske noted that Edina gives a discount for signing up for ACH. Council member DeBettignies clarified the Finance salaries and how the changes were reflected in those. Mr. May discussed how the IT internship program was working. Staff is suggesting retaining the current intern as a part-time staff member, in lieu of hiring a new intern, the management of which is more time-intensive than a more knowledgeable staff member. Council member Nelson inquired about the line item regarding managed back-up storage. Mr. May and City Clerk Hadler explained the current storage of data on the City's network and the redundant back-ups. Mr. Martin introduced the Community Development budget. Staff is proposing the addition of a full-time Economic Development Specialist ($42,900) to increase capacity to engage in marketing, outreach, business retention and attraction efforts. Community Development Director Lindquist provided staff comparisons in comparable and neighboring cities. Ms. Lindquist stated the position would address additional communications that have been suggested by Council members in the past. Council member DeBettignies inquired about Fire Marshal and Building Secretary positions. Ms. Lindquist explained the organizational structure of those positions. The Building secretaries also function as the City's receptionists. Mayor Droste compared growth in the city during the current decade and the 1980's. Ms. Lindquist discussed the differences in growth in those time periods. Council member DeBettignies asked if there was a budget for activities for the Economic Development (ED) position, and also, is the Port Authority Retail Strategies in addition to the ED position, or is it one or the other? Mayor Droste noted that developers won't want to talk to low-level person who will be referred to someone higher up. He suggested restructuring the department somehow. Ms. Lindquist noted the importance of ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 10, 2017 having a consistent strategy. Council member Freske supports the additional position to invest in the work and see progress. Mayor Droste questioned the capacity of current staff. Ms. Lindquist noted that staff is very busy working on the Comprehensive Plan update, and has consistently been busy with projects since her arrival of in the organization. Council member Nelson, inquired about staff space with additional staff members. Mr. Nelson also inquired about the direct effects of earlier economic development efforts, such as Buxton. Ms. Lindquist stated that there was no direct result. Council members and staff discussed current strategies and recent successes. Mr. Martin moved the discussion to the Police budget. The department is looking at a 7.33% increase, or $288,200. Chief of Police Scott discussed the proposed changes in the department. The increase reflects earlier plans to add a full-time Patrol Officer, which is partially paid by a grant in 2018, and would result in a decrease in overtime costs. It also includes the addition of a detective. The case load for detectives has increased dramatically over time, as the sophistication of crimes increases. Chief Scott reviewed his department staffing strategy and issues that arise when the PD is short-staffed. He discussed how imperative it is to provide additional work-life balance to his officers, in order to maintain service quality and decrease costs of hiring. Council member Weisensel inquired about a 3 - 5 year plan for other departments. Mr. Martin stated that the other departmental increases are occasional versus the PD, which has some catch-up to do. Mr. Weisensel asked if those increases are addressing the long-term goals set by Council earlier in the year. Council member DeBettignies stated the city has been running very lean for over 14 years. Council members compared budgets to growth and service levels. Mayor Droste noted that the increases might be causing problems for future councils. Council member Weisensel stated that growth is one thing, but tax capacity is still increasing. Council member Freske inquired about quantifying the issues of turnover. Chief Scott explained the city has lost 10 people in the last few years. Council member Nelson noted the overtime costs and asked about decreases in that costs. Chief Scott stated about 75% of overtime is patrol officers, but adding the detective would still decrease the overtime costs. Council member Freske inquired if the city would be better off adding a patrol officer. Chief Scott stated the city needs a detective, which will help alleviate the work load on patrol, as well. Mr. Martin introduced the Fire Department budget; which reflects requested increases in Chief and Asst. Chief stipends, and increased firefighter pay from $10 to $12 per hour. The Chief is currently working 20 - 30 hours per week for a $12,000 stipend. The current fire budget of $384,000 amounts to $16.29 per capita. Mayor Droste inquired about changes in the Fire Department over time. Finance Director May discussed the shift in the fire department budget items from 2010 to current, and noted that the city has not levied additional funds for that department, and still been able to add contributions and hourly wages. Fire Chief Schroeder discussed wages of firefighters over time. Council member DeBettignies noted that even with the proposed increase in 2018, the per capita cost is still only a little over $18. Council member Weisensel asked about a five or ten-year plan. Fire Chief Schroeder discussed the ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 10, 2017 duties and demands of the Fire Chief. He suggested that by 2020 the city should have a full-time Fire Chief. His full-time counterparts in the County have similar duties and earn over $100,000/year. He noted the difficulty in recruiting and keeping fire fighters compared to when he was younger. Mr. May discussed the importance of remaining competitive compared to other cities and that wage strategies need to reflect the need to both recruit and retain firefighters. Also, the Fire Department has not had large fluctuations in the past. Mayor Droste inquired about how efficiencies could be gained given that most fire calls are not fires. Chief Schroeder discussed the balance between fire and police during medical situations. Council member Nelson inquired about using technology to manage calls. Chief Schroeder discussed the current technology that is utilized. Mr. Martin introduced the Public Works budgets. Governmental Buildings has a projected 7.16% increase, or $41,100. The main increase is a transfer to long-term Building Maintenance Plan of $18,000, for a total of $110,000. Mr. May noted that the original staff proposals were significantly higher. Public Works Director Morast noted this is a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario. Mr. Martin noted that a few of the necessary projects were HVAC at City Hall, a retaining wall, and window in Public Works building. Council member Weisensel inquired about the long-term projects. Mr. Morast discussed some of the long-term necessary projects. Council member DeBettignies inquired about the recommendations of the Facilities Task Force. Mr. Martin stated there will be some professional work to be done to assess those task force recommendations. The PW Fleet Maintenance budget has a projected 3.52% increase, or $23,000. The PW Street Maintenance budget has a projected 7.7% increase, or $109,600. Some of the new expenses include purchasing traffic counters, an increased transfer to long-term parking lot maintenance program of $20,000, and additional crack sealing and sealcoat in the amount of $30,000. The PW parks Maintenance budget has a projected 6.47% increase, or $60,800 to cover additional horticulturist hours, additional landscaping supplies, the construction of a dumpster enclosure and water supply to a community garden, and an increased transfer to the long-term parks maintenance program of $25,000. Mayor Droste inquired about technology to track traffic on trails. Mr. Martin introduced the Parks & Recreation budget; which reflects a $43,300 increase to cover additional staff time to the Steeple Center / Recreation Coordinator hours and additional programming for seniors. Parks & Recreation Director Schultz discussed the operations and impacts on the budget. Council and staff discussed current and future organizational structure of the senior organization. Council member Nelson inquired about Steeple Center revenues and how many hours are not charged for. Mr. Schultz estimated the value of free usage to be approximately $30,000 - $40,000. Council member Weisensel asked for a report on usage. Council member Nelson inquired about staff splits between Arena, Park & Recreation, and Steeple ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 10, 2017 Center., and which locations are maintained by staff versus contractors. Staff provided details on each topic. Mayor Droste asked that staff examine ways to make the city more vibrant with events. Mr. Martin showed trend lines for budget and population increases. Mayor Droste asked for a comparison with percentages. Mr. May noted the increases in tax capacity compared to other cities in the County and compared to the City during the recession. Council and staff discussed demographics and growth, housing stock and trends, pending housing developments, development costs and the economy. Mr. Martin asked for Council to weigh in and provide direction for staff moving forward. Mr. May clarified the changes in Enterprise Funds, and that the levy increase is 6.9%. Mayor Droste inquired about future budget increases if the city does not see growth in population or growth. Mr. May discussed the levy growth, tax rate, and tax values. Council members and staff discussed balancing budgets, repurposing revenues from the CIP, fund balances, credit ratings, and 2017 expenses. Council member Weisensel inquired about putting budget onto OpenGov and see if we get any feedback on the numbers. Mr. Weisensel asked for a smaller increase and for Council to prioritize some of the larger increases. Council members and staff discussed the potential to redirect the SKB funds to the general fund. Mr. May explained the way the SKB funds are currently dispersed. Mayor Droste inquired about longer term budgets. STAFF & COUNCIL UPDATES Council member Freske discussed the Rosemount High School 100-year celebration gala. This celebration will be the Foundation kick-off. The event will be semi-formal event. They will also have a tail-gate party for the football game. Council member Nelson noted that Paul Essler has a concern regarding youth sports and Council should watch for an email. Mayor Droste noted a dedication for the bridge at Highway 52 on August 2nd. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council and upon a motion by Droste, second by DeBettignies, the meeting was adjourned at 11:12 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler City Clerk