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09-13-21 Special City Council MinutesCITY OF OTSETO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 CITY OF OTSEGO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 6:00 PM OTSEGO PRAIRIE CENTER Call to Order. Mayor Jessica Stockamp called the Special Meeting to order at 6:00 PM. Mayor Jessica Stockamp; Councilmembers: Tina Goede, Tom Darkenwald, Jeff Dahl, and Brittany Moores. City Staff: City Administrator/Finance Director Adam Flaherty, Human Resources/Assistant City Administrator Sabrina Hille, Streets Operations Manager Kevin Lamson, Parks and Recreation Director Ross Demant, and City Clerk Audra Etzel. 1. 2022 Budget, Tax Levy and Capital Improvement Plan Review. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty reviewed the budget meeting #7 materials which included a memorandum, general fund budget summaries, and a tax levy summary as outlined in the packet. Staff is seeking Council input during these budget review meetings in order to effectively and efficiently move the budgeting process forward. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty reviewed the following: Pay Plan Assumptions were discussed at the May 24th meeting, including a 3% cost of living increase (COLA); comparable to neighboring cities which averaged 3.09%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was also reviewed, starting at 3% in March, up to 4.6% in May and most recently 6.5% in July. CM Darkenwald said they will have to monitor the higher inflation and will need to review next year, nothing he is comfortable with 3%. CM Goede noted the CPI has changed since May. Benefits Assumption were reviewed, the following are estimated increases: Health 10%, Dental 5% and Disability/Life Insurance 3%. Staff is working to finalize the renewals of the City's policies with the insurance providers. CM Dahl asked about the portion paid in by employees. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said the City has a maximum contribution towards the policies. CM Dahl asked about the COLA being enough to cover insurance increases. Human Resources/Assistant City Administrator Hille said the deductibles are $4,500 for single and $9,000 for family, this coming year they are planning to add a super tier with in -network providers for a reduced deductible. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty noted the HSA contribution amount increased in 2021 from $1,000 to $1,500 due to the rising deductibles. Staffing changes are proposed to include: Administrative Internship (possible $3,500 grant option), PT Finance Assistant, FT Street Maintenance I, and FT Park & Recreation Operations Coordinator. Staff provided additional overview and discussed hiring timelines and budget impacts. CM Darkenwald asked how many hours the current PT Finance Assistant works? City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said 18-22 hours, depending on the week. CM Darkenwald asked about hiring a FT Finance Assistant vs. two PT Finance positions as an option. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said that is an option to consider. The FT Street Maintenance I would most likely be a June hire and the Parks and Recreation Coordinator would be a possible May hire. Mayor Stockamp asked about the benefits of hiring a Park & Recreation Operations Coordinator. Parks and Recreation Director Demant said as they talked through what type of position. The Park and Recreation Operator Coordinator in addition to Page 1 of 3 CITY OF OTSETO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 park maintenance and recreation would do crossover duties between the departments. Such as overseeing certain contracts, building maintenance, allowing for more multifaceted tasks. CM Darkenwald asked if the Parks Department was the best place to add this position? City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty explained they would like to have one person completing these duties. Parks and Recreation Director Demant said they looked at the parks needs and some staff are helping in both parks and recreation; giving examples of the summer breakdown 80% P&R and 20% additional tasks vs. the winter breakdown 60-70% P&R and 40- 30% additional tasks, for example coordinating the building maintenance. CM Goede said the title sounds like staff wants someone to oversee facilities, she thinks the title of the operation coordinator as a higher level position or manager. Mayor Stockamp asked if less seasonal positions would be hired with the creation of this position, Ross said yes. CM Darkenwald asked about using existing staff and hiring someone at a lower level. Human Resources/Assistant City Administrator Hille said the job descriptions could be modified. Mayor Stockamp also asked about using existing staff. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said the seasonal positions are typically June -August, there are significant duties to be completed in the spring and fall. Parks and Recreation Director Demant Ross said a seasonal Park Maintenance position is hard to fill. CM Moores asked about seeing the financial impact. Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said the budget impact is approximately $51,000 for a May hire with benefits. CM Darkenwald noted there is more work as the City continues grows, he is just trying to understand the transition to a 40 -hour position. CM Moores would like to see an example of daily tasks. Mayor Stockamp noted she is struggling with the title of the position. CM Darkenwald at 6:55 PM motioned to reconvene this special meeting following the 7 PM City Council meeting, seconded by CM Goede. Roll Call: In favor; Goede, Stockamp, Darkenwald, Moores and Dahl. Against: none. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Stockamp reconvened the special meeting at 7:39 PM City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said the Park's position will need more outlined information. Does the City Council want to include the funds in the preliminary budget on September 27th and have the option to remove before the final budget adoption in December? After further discussion, the City Council concurred to remove the staff addition from the budget. The City Council agreed they would like to see more details regarding the proposed position. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty reviewed the following: Contracted Services included: Assessor, Building Official & Inspections, Law Enforcement and Fire Protection. The City Council concurred as presented. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said there are unique expenses in the budget. Elections are held every other year with approximately $69,000 in the 2022 budget. IT has funding for information security analysis working with a third parry to do a comprehensive information security analysis. The Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2012, approximately $38,000 was included in the budget. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty reviewed the budget summary: noting a $757,738 increase (11.5%). The budget breakdowns were presented. With the changes discussed tonight, the budget will be reduced with the removal of the full-time position. CM Dahl asked Page 2 of 3 CITY OF OTSETO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 why franchise fees were declining? City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty, less customers paying for cable. The proposed levy for September 27th is $8,585,005 with all the information currently available and maintain the rate of the current year which is 34.653. A median valued home with the appraised value from Wright County, the value of that home increased over 12%, but their taxable market value increased over 14%. The City is maintaining the tax rate, however the value increase is driving up the tax by 13% on the City portion; it is tied to the value of the home increasing. Mayor Stockamp motioned to call for a special meeting on September 27, 2021 at 6 PM to meet with the Wright County Sheriff's contract and discuss franchise fees, seconded by CM Dahl. Roll Call: In favor; Goede, Stockamp, Darkenwald, Moores and Dahl. Against: none. Motion carried 5-0. CM Darkenwald asked about the Franchise Fee funds. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said the funds would go into the pavement management fund (franchise fees, property taxes, special assessment and state aid), not in the general fund budget. The Council will adopt the Preliminary Tax Levy for Taxes Payable 2022 at the September 27th meeting as a consent agenda item. The final budget and property tax levy will not be adopted by the City Council until December, so changes to the budget can still be made between now and then. Noted, the property tax levy can be decreased, but the levy cannot be increased. The City Council concurred as presented. 2. Adjourn. CM Darkenwald motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 PM, seconded by CM Goede. Roll Call: In favor; Goede, Stockamp, Darkenwald, Moores and Dahl. Against: none. Motion carried 5-0. (ti Ma or Jessica Stockamp ATTEST: " ! �L— Audra Etzel, City Clerk Page 3 of 3