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Home My WebLink About2015 08-24 City Council Workshop Packet AGENDA MAPLEWOOD CITY COUNCIL MANAGER WORKSHOP 6:00 P.M. Monday, August 24, 2015 City Hall, Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER B. ROLL CALL C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA D. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None E. NEW BUSINESS 1. Commission & Board Interview 2. 2016 Budget Discussion F. ADJOURNMENT THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK MEMORANDUM TO: Melinda Coleman, City Manager FROM: Lois Knutson, Senior Administrative Assistant DATE: August 18, 2015 SUBJECT: Commission & Board Interview Introduction The City Council will be conducting an interview of one candidate for openings on the Heritage Preservation Commission and the Parks & Recreation Commission. Currently there is one opening on the Heritage Preservation Commission and there are two openings on the Parks & Recreation Commission. The openings are due to resignations and term expirations. The applicant, Dorothy Molstad, is interested in serving on either commission. Budget Impact None. Recommendation Staff recommends that the Council interview the candidate as indicated in the schedule below. The suggested questions will be submitted under separate cover to the Council. During the interview process, Council Members should fill out their ballots. Once the Interview has concluded, Council Members should submit their ballots to staff, which will be tallied with the results brought back to the Council during the following regular meeting with a recommendation for appointment. Time Candidate Commission 6:00 pm Dorothy Molstad Heritage Preservation Commission Parks & Recreation Commission Attachments 1. Candidate Application E1 Workshop Packet Page Number 1 of 6 E1, Attachment 1 Workshop Packet Page Number 2 of 6 E1, Attachment 1 Workshop Packet Page Number 3 of 6 E2 MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Melinda Coleman, City Manager Gayle Bauman, Finance Director DATE: August 19, 2015 SUBJECT: 2016 Budget Discussion Introduction The maximum tax levy for 2016 needs to be adopted and filed with the County in September 2015. The City Manager, Finance staff, and department heads have been actively engaged in planning and preparing the 2016 budget, which funds all City operations and functions. As we continue to look for program efficiencies prior to the adoption of the final budget in December, input is needed on what the ultimate objective of the council is. Budget Planning Department Heads, along with the City Manager and Finance Director have been focused on the following:  The need to control and/or reduce costs  Assessment and consideration of new sources of revenue  Review of all existing City services for possible service delivery changes  Analysis of inter-departmental and inter-governmental service and/or resource sharing  Identification of critical needs in City-owned buildings and facilities Department Heads are looking at methods of addressing structural budget challenges in a way that is sustainable and makes increases in the City property tax levy based upon need and responsible decision-making. Governmental units of all sizes and circumstances face challenges, but for largely developed and established communities like Maplewood, the challenges are somewhat unique. Maplewood has very few areas within its boundaries that offer tax generating development opportunities. The City’s Budget The budget is composed of a number of different funds, the largest of which is the General Fund. The General Fund is the primary operating fund of the City and includes services such as police, fire, public works, parks maintenance, community development, citizen services and administration. There are essentially two sources of revenue that fund the General Fund budget – the property tax levy and revenues from other sources, such as fees, licenses, permits, fines, charges for services, etc. Workshop Packet Page Number 4 of 6 E2 Department requests for 2016 in the General Fund are $533,990 more than the 2015 budget. A majority of this increase ($328,210) is in personnel services. Union contracts are one of the reasons for this increase. Other requests include additional full time staff for the Fire Department, additional overtime for the Police Department to provide some more targeted policing services and to train officers as first responders, and the addition of a communications position. After taking all the department requests into consideration and calculating projections for 2016 revenues, the General Fund would require a tax levy increase of approximately $689,100 to maintain its current fund balance level of 40% of operating revenues. Tax Levy Based on requests made during the preparation of our Capital Improvement Plan, we continue to have a need for capital projects such as street improvements, parks, redevelopment and investment in city facilities. Over half of the City’s tax levy increases during the past 8 years have been dedicated to debt service costs while only about 1/5th has been applied to General Fund operations. Tax levy increases have not been able to keep up with the growth in operational costs due to the need for infrastructure improvements and redevelopment. New revenue sources are being explored for the Fire Department in the amount of $22,500 and for the Ambulance Service Fund in the amount of $58,750. This would involve charging for additional items such as auto extrications, lift assists, non-transport calls and gas line hits. With these additional revenues, property tax levies recommended in the 5 year Capital Improvement Plan and based on operational needs are as follows: FUND 2015 LEVY 2016 PROPOSED LEVY $ CHANGE % CHANGE Debt Service $4,792,820 $4,792,820 $0 0.0% CIP Fund 140,000 75,000 (65,000) -46.4% PD Squad & Equip Fund 255,000 300,000 45,000 17.6% Street project deficits 250,000 250,000 0 0.0% Fire Truck Replacement 0 60,000 60,000 100.0% Redevelopment Fund 0 25,000 25,000 100.0% EDA Fund 89,270 89,270 0 0.0% General Bldg Replacement 0 50,000 50,000 100.0% Ambulance Service 335,000 285,000 (50,000) -14.9% Community Center 500,000 500,000 0 0.0% Recreation Programs 160,000 175,000 15,000 9.4% General Fund 12,469,520 13,149,180 679,660 5.5% $18,991,610 $19,751,270 $759,660 4.0% Impacts on Median Valued Home Based on information received from Ramsey County on August 13, 2015, a median valued home in Maplewood is estimated to increase in value by 1.9%, from $187,300 to $190,800. The annual impact of different levels of the City levy increase to a median valued home is as follows: Workshop Packet Page Number 5 of 6 E2 LEVY HOME VALUE CITY TAX $ % CHANGE 2015 2016 2015 2016 CHANGE CHANGE 0% $ 187,300 $ 190,800 $ 790 $ 782 $ (8) -1.0% 1% $ 791 $ 1 0.1% 2% $ 800 $ 10 1.3% 3% $ 809 $ 19 2.4% 4% $ 818 $ 28 3.5% 5% $ 827 $ 37 4.7% Fund Balance/Reserves In keeping with City Council established priorities, Maplewood has a healthy fund balance of 40% of operating revenues. This level of a fund balance is crucial to the economic health and viability of local units of government. A City’s bond rating is, in part, based on the fund balance or reserves. The fund balance also helps a City manage cash flow and emergency needs. Recommendation Staff seeks Council guidance around priorities and considerations for the “maximum tax levy” for 2016. In full recognition of the range of implications, department heads will continue final preparation of a “maximum levy” recommendation based on the framework or guidance as provided by the Council. The final staff recommendation will be based upon feedback from the Council. Staff will continue to work with Council to present a “maximum levy” recommendation and implications assessment for your consideration and adoption in September 2015. Workshop Packet Page Number 6 of 6