Agenda - Council - 01/08/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion by Councilmember Shryock, seconded by Councilmember Johns, to close the public hearing. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor LeTourneau, Councilmembers Shryock, Johns, Kuzma, Musgrove, and Riley. Voting No: None. The public hearing was closed at 7:37 p.m. Council Business Councilmember Shryock asked and received confirmation that if residents do not believe the value of their property to be correct, they can speak with the County assessor and appeal that value at the Board of Appeals and Equalization in 2019. She also reviewed the distribution of property taxes, noting that of each dollar paid, 42 cents are received by the City of Ramsey while the County and other entities are receiving the remaining 58 cents per dollar. Councilmember Riley stated that he is against the proposed budget. He stated that the City should look to compare the City's increase in taxes with the consumer price increase and future inflation rates. He stated that he is also concerned that the increases in this budget build in automatic increases in future years. He explained that the levy is being bought down by about two percent by using the revolving fund. He stated that if the budget is adopted as proposed there are partial year employees that will be added and will be fully funded employees in 2020. He stated that any new and existing positions also receive COLA and step increases. He stated that without even making a decision on 2020, there would already be an increase of four to five percent just because of the additions to this budget. He stated that within five years the City is looking at hard decisions, using the example of the public works facility and street reconstruction funding. He explained that the increases in the budget this year make it much harder to plan for those items in future years. He stated that he will not support the proposed budget. Councilmember Shryock stated that the Council has had thorough discussions at the worksession meetings and there are tough decisions. She stated that there are staff that are being overworked and staff that are unable to respond to resident calls because of the current staffing level. She stated that at the last worksession she made the comment that if these positions are needed because staff is being stretched thin, she would want to ensure that the current staff is being treated correctly and not stretched too thin. She stated that staff has said that these are needed positions that will help alleviate the stress and extra hours that other staff members are putting in. She stated that at the last worksession she made the comment that she would support these positions but then there needs to be an understanding that additional positions may not be approved in 2020. She stated that she will support the budget as the City is in a position of catch-up and is short staffed, but the City needs to be mindful in the years to come as there are big decisions to be made in the future. She noted that road debt continues to add a large amount to the budget. She stated that in mid -January a road funding discussion will begin to determine the different options for road funding, as that element continues to have a huge impact on the budget. City Council / December 11, 2018 Page 6 of 18