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08-04-03 WSCITY OF OTSEGO BUDGET WORKSHOP August 4, 2003 Roll Call: Otsego City Council: Mayor Larry Fournier, Councilmembers Jerry Struthers, Vern Heidner, and Virginia Wendel. Councilmember Scharber arrived at 6:15 p.m. City Staff: City Administrator Michael Robertson, City Clerk Judy Hudson, City Accountant Gary Groen, City Bookkeeper Kathy Grover, and City Assessor Pete Merges. Mayor Fournier called the workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. REVIEW OF CITY ASSESSOR'S CONTRACT PROPOSAL City Assessor Pete Merges was present to review his contract proposal. He would like to be paid $10 a parcel in 2004. Plus the County Assessor's office is implementing a $25 fee for each new building to make up for the extra work done in a building's first year. Pete would like a similar fee implemented in Otsego. There was considerable discussion of the new fee. Administrator Robertson was directed to check with Wright County to see if they are charging the fee consistently to all local governments including townships. Pete Merges noted there are more trips and paperwork that have to be done for a new building. Robertson was also directed to find out what nearby cities are paying for assessing. Administrator Robertson estimated Assessor costs at $42,000 in 2004. He said the $25 fee would add somewhere between $2- 4,000 in additional costs. Council directed this contract be placed on the next Council agenda. REVIEW OF 2003 SEWER & WATER FUNDS Administrator Robertson and Accountant Groen reviewed the 2003 water and sewer funds. They noted both funds were making money before depreciation was accounted for. Robertson said that People Service would do a rate study for water and sewer for free and that he had told them to go ahead. Robertson suggested that the Council review that study which should be completed by the end of the year. REVIEW OF PROPOSED 2004 BUDGET Council reviewed the following items. Salary Increase - Council agreed the proposed 3% increase was ok. Health Insurance Increase - Robertson reported that health insurance was going up 26% and dental was going up 90. Funding these increases would increase the City's General Fund cost by $27,000. Council discussed various options for reducing the costs. Robertson stated that changing to the next lower health plan would save only $6,000. Robertson was directed to see how much money could be saved by a combination of insurance and self insurance on deductibles. Mayor/Council - There were no major changes and Council was ok with the proposed budget. Finance Deipartment - There was an increase of $10,000 due to Gary Groen's hours being increased. Council was ok with the proposed budget. Planning Commission - There were no major changes and Council was ok with the proposed budget. Police - Council agreed to add 8 hours per day to the budget, bringing the total to 32 hours per day. Code Enforcement - - Council was in consensus to keep code enforcement within the Building Department because the Building Inspector will often be the first person to check on potential problems. Mayor Fournier adjourned the meeting at 7:54 p.m., stating that the next budget workshop is scheduled for Monday, August 18, 2003 at 6:00 p.m.