Minutes - Council - 12/08/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Finance Director Lund reviewed the staff report and recommendation to adopt Resolution #15- 12-294 Adopting the 2015 Payable 2016 Municipal Tax Levies (General, EDA, and Debt Service) in the amount of $9,971,075, to adopt Resolution #15-12-295 Adopting the 2016 General Fund Budget in the amount of $10,925,127, and to adopt Resolution #15-12-296 Adopting the 2016 EDA Budget in the amount of $83,618. Public Hearing Mayor Strommen called the public hearing to order at 7:17 p.m. Citizen Input There was none. Motion by Councilmember Shryock, seconded by Councilmember Kuzma, to close the public hearing. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Strommen, Councilmembers Shryock, Kuzma, Johns, LeTourneau, Riley, and Williams. Voting No: None. The public hearing was closed at 7:17 p.m. Council Business Councilmember LeTourneau stated that the Council has spent a lot of time on this and has had a lot of good discussion. He stated that his position on this issue is a bit different from other members of the Council and he is not totally satisfied with the direction this issue has gone. He stated that the proposed budget is a bit short of his expectations as two positions, a drug task force officer and- code enforcement employee, are not included tonight. He stated that his intention was to have those two positions included in the budget in order to meet the expectations of residents during a time of growth. Councilmember Riley stated that the Council spent a lot of time on this issue, noting that the discussion started early in order to have sufficient time. He stated that the City is in a growth mode and the levy is increasing by 5.9 percent. He stated that he also did not get the budget he wanted as he advocated to keep the levy growth equal to the increase in value growth, which was 5.5 percent. He explained that in his household they do not spend more than they make each year. He stated that the budget is fairly close to the increase in value and therefore he will support the budget. Mayor Strommen agreed that the City is growing and growth dictates a certain number of positions in order to keep up with that growth. She stated that the Strategic Plan guides the investments the City makes and noted that the City Council is very committed to road maintenance as that issue has not been included in past budgets. She stated that is a significant investment for the City. She noted that the Council had very robust discussions including value, City Council / December 8, 2015 Page 4 of 9