Minutes - Council Work Session - 07/22/2025

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Mr. Vranicar shared that this project was bid at a lump sum amount to have the project completed by a certain time. He noted that they had a $50,000 credit to extend the project by four months. He said that because of this, the City could have reduced its costs by $50,000 if they accepted this bid. Mayor Heineman asked if they wanted the City to accept that bid, and when they did not, they promised a shorter timeline that they knew they could not meet and just took the additional money that the City was paying. Mr. Vranicar said the shorter timeline project was the alternate bid. Mayor Heineman asked why they would offer an alternative if they knew they would not be able to finish the project by the deadline. Mr. Vranicar said they have incurred more than $50,000 in additional costs on this project. He noted that the costs for engineering services are out of their control. Councilmember Buscher stated that they have to get this project done. She added that the first delay in the project was the responsibility of the City. Councilmember Specht noted that this is a very small percentage of the overall project cost, and he wants to make sure that they maintain good relationships with the contractors. He said the residents deserve to have this project finished. Councilmember Riley shared that he is surprised that another extension proposal was not offered to meet in the middle to cover these costs. Councilmember Olson said they want to have this project done without cutting corners, so he is supportive of moving forward for this reason. The consensus of the Council was to move this to the Council meeting to be voted on. 2.02: Continued Review of Preliminary 2026 General Fund Budget/Levy City Administrator Hagen continued the review of the preliminary 2026 general fund budget and levy. Councilmember Riley stated he is resistant to most or all of the personnel requests as it would be a large amount in 2026, but would also build in an increase for next year and the years following. He said his ideal increase would be 7%. Councilmember Specht said the positions that he would not be supportive of would be the Communications Specialist and the Recreation and Volunteer Assistant. He stated he would like the overall increase to be between 5% and 7%. Councilmember Stewart shared that she does not like that the City is consistently getting closer to a 50% tax rate, as it is a very dangerous slope when it comes to tax dollars and home values. She City Council Work Session / July 22, 2025 Page 3 of 6