Minutes - Council - 09/13/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

6) Review and Adopt "Proposed" 2005 General Fund Budget Finance Officer Lund advised the 2005 proposed budget includes $375,000 of capital outlay items with an additional $66,917 for first-year depreciation on these items. About 26 percent of these capital items/depreciation will be funded from the Equipment Revolving Fund with the remainder to be funded from the issuance of Capital Equipment Certificates. In total, Public Safety is now 42.79 percent of the budget. General Government is 27.80 percent of the budget. Public Works and Parks represent 26.88 percent and miscellaneous and transfers make-up the balance. The proposed budget would bring the City's staffing level more in line with other communities. The proposed General Fund Budget must be adopted by September 15, 2004 and submitted to the County Auditor along with the certified property tax levy. Councihnember Elvig stated this is a significant issue. Police, Fire Inspection and Civil Defense, as well as Public Works and Parks are up from previous years, and Administration is down from previous years. He is encouraged that their administration and those types of costs are going down and they are really putting their efforts with Police, Fire and such, which is a healthy trend. Finance Officer Lund advised Public Safety has increased from 36 percent to almost 43 percent of the total budget, and Public Works and Parks increased from 25 percent to 27 percent of the total budget. Motion by Councilmember Elvig, seconded by Councilmember Cook, to ratify the recommendation of the Finance Committee and adopt resolution #04-09-269 adopting the proposed 2005 General Fund Budget. Further Discussion: Councilmember Elvig commented he was hearing concerns with police coverage in the evenings and nights, and this budget will allow for better coverage in those areas. He noted health costs for employees has gone up, and there were also LGA cuts. He has requested that staff look at finding room for a juvenile diversion program in this budget. The cost for this is approximately $10,000. The Boy Scouts would head this up, and the county is very interested in bringing it in. They would also try to get the city of Andover to participate with another $10,000. He explained this is a mentoring program for first time offenders that the Boy Scouts have gotten very good at. Councilmember Strommen requested Councilmember Elvig to supply the Council with some of the success rate statistics of the program. Councilmember Elvig stated the program has a success rate of approximately 80 percent. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Elvig, Cook, Kurak, Pearson, Strommen, and Zimmerman. Voting No: None. Committee Input Councilmember Elvig indicated there was a brief discussion regarding the delinquent water billings. City Administrator Norman will be pushing Connexus to resolve this issue. City Council/September 13, 2004 Page 16 of 29