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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.a. Minutes of the August 7, 2017, Work Session ProceedingsROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS AUGUST 7, 2017 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session meeting of the Rosemount City Council was held on Monday, August 7, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. at Rosemount City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order at 6:38 pm with Council Members Freske, DeBettignies, and Weisensel attending. Council member Nelson was absent. Staff present included the following; o City Administrator Martin o City Clerk Hadler o Parks & Recreation Director Schultz o Chief of Police Scott o Community Development Director Lindquist o Finance Director May DISCUSSION 2.a. 2018 Budget Discussion City Administrator Martin reviewed the changes made to the budget since the last work session. He introduced a 11-year data review of the levy and operating budget. The average levy increase has been 1.9% across the last 11 years. The average growth in budget is 3.14%. The current projected increase is now a 6.49% increase to operating budgets. This is down from 6.82% shown in the July work session. The total levy increase is now expected to be 3.91%, instead of 6.9% in the July work session. This would result in a $36 increase to median-value home, instead of $63 increase shown in July. The projected tax rate is down over 2%. Mr. Martin reviewed the total tax capacity over 11 years. Flint Hills accounts for approximately 10% of the city's tax capacity. Mr. Martin discussed the City Council budget, the opportunity for a new vendor for the community survey, and the potential for an ice agreement with Inver Grove Heights. Mayor Droste discussed the SKB funds and how those funds are utilized. Council member Weisensel stated it was getting put towards operations instead of capital investments. Council member Freske stated she has similar concerns. Mr. Martin reviewed a few more department budgets. Elections had no change. Council member Weisensel inquired about future election investments. City Clerk Hadler reviewed the opportunity for grant funds and electronic poll books. The finance budget removed the new accountant position that was originally recommended. The increased hours of the IT specialist are recommended to stay. Council member Weisensel asked about future software needs. Finance Director May discussed the future need for upgrade to the accounting software. He speculated it might be 3 - 5 years before it was implemented. 6.a. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS AUGUST 7, 2017 Council member Weisensel asked how the city will know when they need to upgrade. Community Development Director Lindquist stated the Building Department had originally had to look for new software because the vendor may go out of business. Mr. May stated there were about 4-5 different companies that provide most of the accounting software to cities. Council member DeBettignies asked about hiring someone who can code, so the city could create their own databases. Mr. May said he would not recommend it in the event those people left the organization. Mayor Droste suggested that easier reporting would be good for policy making. Mr. Martin stated this would be a good feature to look for in future software. Mr. Martin showed a chart for the Community Development budget over time. Staff is asking for the addition of a FTE Economic Development Specialist on July 1. The Retail Strategies partnership was removed. Council member Weisensel stated he prefers the Retail Strategies route. Council member Freske stated she prefers the Economic Development Specialist. Mayor Droste preferred Retail Strategies for a couple of reasons; the cost is not embedded in future budgets, and it might jump-start retail. Council member DeBettignies weighed issues and the decisions around the development, and stated the market is going to drive it. He questioned if spending $50,000 is worth it. Mr. Martin stated this is a continuous discussion with staff, and why staff is leaning toward the hiring of a staff, and how that person could potentially grow into the next communications person. Council members discussed development trends and potentially developable properties. Ms. Lindquist noted that Council and Port Authority have consistently requested additional tasks and this additional person could do some of those, and Retail Strategies would not be able to assist with that. Council member Freske reiterated some of those points. Ms. Lindquist stated she felt the city was too early for Retail Strategies, unless the Akron Avenue property sold. The Retail Strategies contract is for 3 years. Mayor Droste noted the expertise and connections in the Retail Strategies organization. Mr. Martin stated the final decision for this could wait; staff would retain the $50,000 placeholder in the budget and revisit this issue in future budget discussions. Mr. Martin reviewed the police budget. This budget did not change from the work session. The 2018 budget would add a full time officer on March 1. Mayor Droste expressed concerns about the growth in police budget over time. Mr. Martin noted the amount of the Dakota Communications Center in the budget, it accounts for almost 50% of the police budget. Chief of Police Scott discussed the changes in the roles of police over the past decade, and increases in crime across the county, and increases in electronic crimes. Mayor Droste inquired how much turnover Chief Scott has seen since he arrived. Chief Scott outlined the medical and maternity leaves he has seen. Council member DeBettignies noted the good relationship he saw with one of the officers with the residents during Night to Unite. He also noted that Rosemount does not want to be known as the city not to be a cop. Council member Freske noted the significance of the city being a “training ground”; the city has had 10 officers leave for upward mobility and work-life balance. Mayor Droste inquired about how to justify the growth in budget to residents. Mr. Martin stated the per capita cost compared to neighboring cities is a powerful story. Chief Scott discussed the percentage of the city budget. Mayor Droste asked if it was necessary to add someone immediately instead of waiting. Mr. Martin stated we could stick with the current plan. Council member DeBettignies inquired if Council has received feedback from residents about the ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS AUGUST 7, 2017 increase. Council member Freske stated she has heard no negative feedback. Council member DeBettignies stated he has not either. Council member Weisensel stated he has heard negative feedback. Mr. Martin reviewed the Fire Department, with an increase of 14.24%, due to increased wages and stipends. Council members discussed the history of wages over time. Mayor Droste asked for statistics about how much firefighters earn each year. Mr. Martin reviewed the increases in the Public Works budget. The long term plans for three of the PW budget needs increases. Council members and staff discussed the impacts of pushing items back year after year. Mr. Martin explained that Public Works staff has created a long-term maintenance budget that is flattened over the next 15 years. Council member DeBettignies inquired the city's level of debt service. Mr. Martin stated it was very low and the city has some capacity in that area. Mr. Martin reviewed a 7-year projection of population, household, budget and levy growth. Council members and staff discussed the numbers and how the projections would affect the budget. Mr. Martin discussed levy increases in other cities of the county. So far, Rosemount would be the lowest increase at 3.91%. Council member Freske inquired what the median value home increase would be without the SKB funds. Mr. Martin stated it would be around $56 increase for the median value home. Mr. Martin asked for Council direction moving forward and comfort levels with budget numbers moving forward. Mayor Droste stated he would like to move forward. Council member Weisensel stated he would like to see something lower and that use of SKB funds should be maxed at $125,000, the same as 2017. He suggested delaying staff additions and maxing the increase at 3.75%. Council members discussed ways to trim the budget and the impacts of each. Council member DeBettignies stated the Council has "kicked the can down the road" and now it's time to catch up. 2.b. Parks Projects Parks and Recreation Director Schultz gave a recap of the RAAA meeting he attended recently. The organization has prioritized Flint Hill’s over UMore for future park development. Mr. Schultz inquired if Council is comfortable with that plan. Mayor Droste stated he was 100% behind it. Council member Freske inquired about the next phase. Mr. Schultz stated it would be parking lots, and connecting trail, and 4 fields. Mr. Schultz discussed the frequency of soccer, lacrosse and football games and tournaments. He stated Dakota REV is also still interested in a covered field. Council members and staff discussed ways to fund the projects. Mr. May discussed how much was available in the SKB funds each year. The UMore project is estimated to cost 1.6 million for Phase 2. Flint Hills phase 2 will cost approximately $2.7 million. Adding the concession stand would make it closer to $3 million. Mr. Schultz stated staff would attempt to raise in-kind donations to offset those ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS AUGUST 7, 2017 budgets. Mr. Schultz asked if the council would be comfortable staff moving forward with design and budgeting on the Flint Hills project. Council was in agreement with this plan. The new fields would be operational in the fall of 2019. STAFF & COUNCIL UPDATES Community Development Director Lindquist inquired if council would be supportive of an event center in the rural residential area of the city. Council expressed concerns about traffic on the gravel road. They were comfortable with the microbrewery, but not certain about the event center at this time. Mayor Droste inquired about street connections on the north side of the city. Ms. Lindquist explained where the transportation plan currently shows streets. 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 10:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler City Clerk