Agenda - Council - 01/09/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . to respond to the specifics of those cuts. There was some discussion with staff as to whether there was room in the budget to cut, and staff is willing to go back and look at the budget again if that is the desire of the Council. Mayor Gamec stated at the last work session Council discussed the budget and directed staff to make some cuts. $265,000 is a good amount of money, but as far as individual taxes it likely only comes to about $17.00. There were also cuts made to the budget earlier when revenue on the building permits was not coming in as expected. He stated he would be in favor of the consensus at the last work session following the second or third review after staff reviewed the budget. Finance Officer Lund advised with an additional $265,000 in cuts to the budget the effect on a $250,000 home ,would be a savings of $30.00 on taxes from the proposed budget with the 39.94% tax capacity rate. Councilmember Jeffrey stated he agrees that at the work session there was a consensus that the proposed budget with the 39.94% tax capacity rate .might be somewhat acceptable. However, during the Truth in Taxation meeting the Council heard from the residents, and one thing that concerned him was that in a few years the City will have more debt service. The comment was made that now is the time to capture what they need because in subsequent years they will not be able to grow due to the increase in debt service. Councilmember Jeffrey stated he does not necessarily think that is the way to budget and plan going forward; knowing that there is a bubble coming, now is the time to prepare for what that might look like. He would support sending the budget back for another look to see if there are areas that can be looked at. He questioned if the growth rate can be anticipated with the leadership transition that will be occurring. He stressed the need to be very conservative and watch this closely. If growth will occur it can pay for itself going forward, but they nee~ to stay tight on this budget and levy. Councilmember Cook stated he is concerned about 11 th hour cuts and trying to make a decision on $250,000 in cuts after looking at this shortly before a meeting. He recommends approving the budget the way it has been presented, which.is what was agreed upon earlier. If they come into a situation six months down the line, adjustments can be made. He stated the Council has worked on this budget for quite a while and he is concerned about making cuts at the last minute. He expressed concern in cutting funding for consultants, as there may be more consultants needed next year due to the shortage of a city administrator.. They may also have to pay someone for doing a nationwide search for a new administrator. Councilmember Elvig stated he has not been supportive of the increase in the budget. His base concern is that if the cycle of growth is turning down, the City needs to do that also. The City has had the opportunity to put in infrastructure and amenities on the back of the development that has been occurring. He does not see those funds available at this point, and it concerns him to try to fund initiatives of the City on an increase intax capacity. If this budget is approved now and they plan to make cuts to it later, that is still the same bill to the citizens, which is what he is against. He is also concerned with the possible need to raise the tax capacity rate again next year to keep the budget afloat because the property values will not likely increase next year. He. stated at some point in time the budget needs to be brought back down and held. Under his City Council! December J2, 2006 Page 27 of 29 -71-