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TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Lori Johnson, City Administrator
DATE: October 24, 2014
SUBJECT: October 27 Budget Work Session
At Monday's budget work session we'll review the Utility Fund budgets that were rescheduled
from the last work session. Please bring the October 13 special meeting packet with you on
Monday. If you need another copy, please let me know.
The items originally planned for this work session include reserve fund review, fees, 2015 pay,
and other miscellaneous budget items. The reserve funds supported by a tax levy were
discussed early in the budget process; thus, it makes sense to delay in depth discussion of the
reserve funds until the upcoming Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) work sessions. However, if
there are any specific reserve fund questions or issues you want to raise before the CIP
meetings, Monday is a good time to do so to allow staff to research the matter or incorporate it
in the draft 2015 CIP.
As far as fees, I believe we have addressed most of the fee related issues as we reviewed the
departmental budgets. The City Clerk distributed the fee schedule for staff input and it will be
the main topic of discussion at our upcoming staff meeting next week before it is updated and
distributed to the Council. If you have specific fee schedule questions or changes you want
included in the fee schedule, please let us know. You will have another opportunity to review
the fee schedule and make changes at a future meeting before it is adopted in December.
The third item of discussion is Council direction on a 2015 adjustment to the pay plan. As we
discussed previously, the 2015 Council contingency allocation includes funding for a market
rate adjustment consistent with the City's Compensation Plan. At Monday's meeting I will have
survey data for surrounding communities for the Council's reference. If there is specific data
you want prior to the meeting, please let me know. Action on this item is not requested or
needed at this time, but Council input and direction would be helpful at this time.
Finally, our budgeting process starts in May and we know that between that starting point and
December when the budget is adopted, some items are going to surface that weren't
anticipated and that priorities may change or we may simply have additional projects and
priorities that warrant discussion before final adoption of the budget. Such is the case with the
memo attached from Ross Demant, Parks and Recreation Manager, regarding senior
programming. Staff wants to inform and get Council direction before proceeding with this
programming addition. If there are other loose ends or outstanding questions you have about
any aspect of the budget or tax levy, it would be helpful for staff to get that information so we
can make adjustments and respond accordingly. This is intended as open discussion from both
staff and the Council before the 2015 budget is finalized.
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