Minutes - Council - 12/14/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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this public and on the tax statement, the City is held accountable, residents are not surprised to find out that they have actually being paying 15% on average depending on the home value, or 15% on utilities that are covering roads, which is transparent. Also, as the City grows, if putting it on the general tax levy, it will continue to grow with the City. Because of the $500,000 fund to cover the first two years, the tax levy that doesn’t cover the road projects but since it continues to grow, in 2030 it will have a $1.5 million surplus to put toward future roads work quicker versus a deficit of $712,000. Essentially, it is being tied to City growth and being transparent. He stated hopefully that will snowball, pay for roads quicker, bring that number down, and get ahead of roads that way. Motion by Councilmember Riley, seconded by Councilmember Woestehoff, to close the public hearing. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Kuzma, Councilmembers Riley, Woestehoff, Heineman, Howell, Musgrove, and Specht. Voting No: None. The public hearing was closed at 7:47 p.m. Council Business Councilmember Howell stated that she will not be voting in favor of the budget tonight but not because of the road funding. She felt it is unfortunate that the last Council was not transparent about what percentage taxes went up by adding the franchise fee. She felt that would have eliminated some of the contention on the current Council and they could have applauded the last Council for addressing the road issue, which needed to be done and took courage to do. She stated the lack of transparency, however, is an issue. She felt this made it transparent for everyone as far as what percentage they are paying so she is in favor of doing that even though it is a high tax percentage. Regarding the personnel requests, she noted spending has gone up quite a bit more with personnel and if the costs had been kept down and the Council had been more serious about addressing what positions couldn’t be added to the budget, the percentage could have been kept down for the residents. She restated she will not be supporting the budget because of the personnel increases. Councilmember Riley stated he won’t be supporting the budget either. With regard to transparency and due process, he would support a plan where the roads are fully funded, but they are not fully funded when a smaller amount is being collected than before when it was fully funded. Assuming that there will be continued growth on the tax levy, he was uncomfortable with the budget, wouldn’t accept it, so he will be voting no. Councilmember Woestehoff echoed Councilmember Riley’s comments, noting the franchise fee does associate with growth, as more houses are added and more franchise fees are collected. He noted it is more economical for the first year of a new house and the City has lots of new houses. He pointed out that in this five-year period, it would have made the City more money than the tax levy because on a new build, taxes are initially lower. He stated there is a huge burden to the business community that hasn’t been discussed. To Councilmember Riley’s point, he stated the roads are being underfunded another $300,000 and the numbers show that with a mean house value, if it is lower, then less is taken for the roads. If things were fully funded it would be City Council / December 14, 2021 Page 9 of 19