Agenda - Council - 11/27/2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Riley stated that two or three of the positions would be hired later in the year, which pushes that increase into the next year and makes the increase this year look artificially lower. He explained that these positions automatically build increases into the budget for the next year. He stated that the City would already be at a one percent increase for the next year with just these new positions, in addition to the increase for existing staff, which equates to a sizeable increase for next year's budget. Acting Mayor LeTourneau agreed that is correct but noted that another way to think about this is that the recommendation for the staffing changes are based on the needs of the community. He stated that eliminating these staffing positions will impact the level of services provided to the community as well. He stated that he understands the funding impacts but also believed that these requests meet the needs of the growing community. Councilmember Kuzma stated that the City is growing, the population continues to grow, and the City has already fallen behind on the number of police and safety personnel required to keep the community safe. He stated that these are real needs for the community and he supports the personnel requests. Councilmember Shryock stated that safety is a priority and so she does support those positions. She stated that if reductions were to be made it would need to be done to the in-house staff. She stated that there is not that big of a difference in the long-term impact from the documents that she has seen, but there would be a difference in the level of services provided. Finance Director Lund provided additional details on the step increases, COLA increases, benefits and additional personnel. Acting Mayor LeTourneau stated that the costs of these positions are an expense to the City and are real expenses that move forward in future budgets. He stated that when the City continues to grow, that also adds revenue that offset some of those costs. He stated that the role of the Council and City is to attempt to figure out how to maximize the revenue of the City. Finance Director Lund noted that the five-year projection included the personnel requests but also included the road bonding debt and public works campus. Councilmember Shryock stated that the Council has chosen to offset 50 percent of the road debt and asked if that would be available the next year. Finance Director Lund stated that it would be the option of the Council whether to continue to use the PIR fund in the next year, but explained that eventually that fund would draw down. Councilmember Kuzma stated that the tax levy has remained stable. He stated that even though the overall costs are increasing, the tax levy is remaining stable and therefore the City is managing its growth to provide adequate services to its residents. City Administrator Ulrich clarified that the tax capacity rate has remained stable, even though the levy has increased. City Council Work Session / November 13, 2018 Page 6 of 8