12/12/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Finance Officer Lund advised the building permit data processing system and the laser fiche system are likely equal to the $28,000 suggested in cuts for line item 6405. Chairperson Strommen requested input from staff on whether there is room for additional cuts in the proposed budget given the concerns the Finance Committee has stated, or whether the current proposed budget is what is needed to function. Finance Officer Lund explained the majority of the expense is included in the consultant line item. This line item is based on how much the Council is willing to spend on consultants for the different projects. Councilmember Elvig stated it is difficult to say what the Council is willing to authorize without knowing how the line item was compiled. In general, there was a lot of consultant work done in 2005, and it does not seem there is much coming forward in 2007 in comparison. He noted there will not be a City Administrator on staff and the City will be down one staff person, which may require backfilling with consultants to overcome some of that shortage. However, even with that in mind he is comfortable with the 2007 projects compared to 2005. Public Works Director Olson stated the City went to Washington D.C. two years in a row to lobby for Highway 10 improvements. Consultants were significant in that effort of finding additional money for the corridor improvement. The amount of funding allocated to consultants is dependent on what the Council would like done. He advised the Engineering Department has added $25,000 for the match that will be required for Highway 10 interchanges. Community Development Director Trudgeon stated the Community Development Department typically budgets approximately $20,000 in professional services. This year $50,000 was budgeted specifically for the Comprehensive Plan, although the cost will likely be close to $80,000. A CDBG grant has been obtained to fill some of the gap, with approximately 2/3 of the cost coming from the budget. The Comprehensive Plan is mandated every ten years, so it is a significant hit to take in the budget in one year. If staff has to get leaner they can look at ways to do that, such as what can be done in-house; the City now has GIS capability, which they did not have previously. Also, the Comprehensive Planning process will likely extend into 2008 and, if necessary, some of the costs can be backfilled in the 2008 budget. RFP's will be brought before the Council at the December 28 Council meeting, and in February there will be a better estimate of the costs. The McKinley Grant will lay a lot of foundation and groundwork to hopefully minimize costs; the Comprehensive Plan update has been started with a lot of wetland and natural resource information gathered that will come out of the Landfill Tipping Fund. Staff can make the budget work, but 2007 is an unusual year for Community Development, and the dollars are more needed than in the past. City Administrator Norman stated staff will take direction from the Council. However, to seriously look at additional cuts to the budget in the amount being discussed, staff needs time to review the budget further, which will require a special meeting to be scheduled. He suggested the full Council weigh in on the discussion of whether to direct staff to review and recommend additional significant cuts to the proposed budget. Finance Committee I December 12, 2006 Page 3 of5