Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes 1 „ii,U;)\-l - "A\tcte c, o �� JOSEPH Council Agenda Item 4(a) MEETING DATE: October 21, 2010 AGENDA ITEM: Minutes — Requested Action: Approve the City Council minutes of August 5, August 11, August 25, September 2, September 16, and September 29, 2010. SUBMITTED BY: Administration ATTACHMENTS: Request for Council Action 4(a):1 -2 DRAFT CC Minutes — August 11, 2010 4(a):3 -4 DRAFT CC Minutes — August 25, 2010 4(a):5 -6 DRAFT CC Minutes — August 5, 2010 4(a):7 -14 DRAFT CC Minutes — September 2, 2010 4(a):15 -22 DRAFT CC Minutes — September 16, 2010 4(a):23 -30 DRAFT CC Minutes — September 29, 2010 4(a):31 -36 REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Approve the City Council minutes of August 5, August 11, August 25, September 2, September 16, September 29, 2010. 4(a):1 August 11, 2010 Page 1 of 2 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the St. Joseph met in regular session on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 5:30 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Al Rassier, Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso, and City Administrator Judy Weyrens. City Representatives Present: Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene and Police Chief Pete Jansky. Others Present: Mike McDonald, Ellen Wahlstrom. 2011 Preliminary General Fund Budget: Weyrens and Bartlett pres,, d a draft of the preliminary general fund budget. Weyrens stated that the department heads • ° ,' -d a budget for the respective departments which was then reviewed and re- drafted. The dep iqe d t heads did a good job keeping the budget at a minimum, keeping declining revenues in mind., a The following is a summary of the budget presented: • Proposed tax levy is increased approximately �, , ,000 from 201 a � „� • Debt Service funds have been reviewed t required levies "�� +' • Proposed levy illustrates a 1.83% increase tax rate a, • Proposed budget dues not include replace o• �±ffice staff osition, but v s in an entry level patrol officer. �� a � iii Frank stated that at the recent League � r, ies confereri 4iey stressed that Cities should move away from dependency on LGA and conc't ,pit ce m basic servieeting the basic needs of the residents. Frank stated it is his opinion th'te Ctttmds to looktoe services we provide such as snow removal and can we do with one less �<; have nology improvements created efficiencies that allow for staff reductions. He,a so expressed r er n as im ta conversion will have in the City. Frank stated that he old ike hear fro k eel is as what their budget goals are. °5b Rassier stated the he agrees that the City needs to w4 rt moving away from dependency on LGA. He stated that the City may he=to look .ems such as ii a EDA, do we need to not fund that function until the economy rebounds. Wick meted tha a a grees tl ity needs to look at the budget; however, it is the commerctajlindtnetrial properties that alley ,the tax`b trden to the residents, so it seems like now is not the time to stop funding the ED/., Rassier st ie.at tFe City may have to look at each department and the impact of one less aff person, which may that some services may not be completed. Rassier stated that is opinion is that the'ity needs to prioritize the needs and items such as parks may be a lesser item to fund, as essential services police water and sewer must be provided. Frank stated that itis his opinion that all items should be on the table, including the Fire Department. He expressed frustrations at the CouncTnever discusses the Fire Budget. Loso stated that the Fire Fund is managed by the Fire'Board which consists of St. Joseph and St. Wendel Township as they contribute to ion the fund. Each entity funds a port of the budget based on their proportionate share of valuation. Staff stated they will provide the Co” it with the detailed Fire Budget as the summary has been included in the budget material. Loso stated that he would like to see the budget reduced by 25% of the LGA projected. He too is concerned that the City is relying on LGA for operations and at some point the City needs to budget without. He also stated that the departments should be prepared to do with less, in tough economic times cuts have to be made. Loso stated that he would support not funding the EDA until the economy reverses. Wick stated that while the City is reliant on LGA, Economic Development becomes more important. The City needs to be proactive and diversify the tax base. As stated earlier, the only way to relieve the tax burden of the residents with reducing the budget significantly is to increase the tax base. Wick stated that he is supportive of looking at budget reductions but needs to see the impact to services as well. The 4(a):3 August 11, 2010 Page 2 of 2 Council requested that staff prepare a listing of all the services provided that are funded through the General Fund. In addition, staff should review the budget with a goal of reducing the budget 25% of the LGA received or approximatley $ 200,000. The Council will then review the budget again on August 25. Mike McDonald questioned the Council if the budget impact has been reviewed with a positive or negative impact on land values. It is his understanding that property values are decreasing so, which the budget illustrates no growth, it may in fact be negative. Staff will contact the auditors office to see if preliminary numbers are available Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:10 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. z Judy Weyrens � erI Administrator l E 83 g ilk, ,,Light,, i ,, N fi :, 6to aS`.s da F' � aiii p r:1 ff t' R6 � � fp s ,, 6 i E p aol4 a+ft s�� i t86Y ,, ? 4�N 4 q14 q 4hy �l' lit"- .k„ 01 F ti i 38> , , AC 45 4(a):4 August 25, 2010 Page 1 of 2 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the St. Joseph met in regular session on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 ^ at 5:30 PM in. the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Al Rassier, Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso, and City Administrator Judy Weyrens. City Representatives Present: Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene and Police Chief Pete Jansky. Others Present: Brad Ireland, Eric Sandrock. CSB Sewer Billing: Weyrens presented a final draft of a letter to the oliege /Monastery of St. Benedict outlining the position of the City regarding the draft sewer use agr t. The letter is a summary of the Council discussion at the August 5, 2010 City Council meeting, 14clarifying the desire to enter into a sewer use agreement whereby they are billed in the same m w the residents of St. Joseph. Council Frank stated that he objected to the format o t ding a that this matter be moved to the next regular Council meeting as it does _ appear that the is being transparent. Wick and Rassier stated that the letter is a summary of as discussed at thWast Council meeting and the staff is requesting the City Council sign the letter Rirt it can be forwarded tot The matter cannot wait until the next meeting as the sub commi e, meeting before that a nd draft letter outlines the position of the City. Frank clarified that while he m ,� o f disc $ � owith the con , of the letter he is merely opposed to the format of the me . It was the �� n _ en u f the Council ti i2 a letter clarified the position of the City and those Council „ gibers who chi signed the letter. ,�°' u' pill American Burger Bar, Liquor License: Weyrens ted the Cowl with ant on -sale intoxicating liquor license for the American Burger Bar. The Am ican ' ,Bar is op ng in the former Stonehouse Restaurant, 213 CR 75. Weyrens stated that e�applicat t has been submi by Brad Ireland and the Police Chief has completed the background check on theff icer. Police Ch ief Jansky stated that his department did complete and background check arm he recommends t e Council accept the application and issue an on -sale liquor license as guested. He that his background check included contacting the Police Departments in Woodbury andtt, Paul, where Ireland has restaurants with liquor licenses and neither department had n .ire commend,. Symanietz made a motion to issue an on -sale liquor lice nse to the American Burger Bar, 213 CR 75 as requested; the motion was seconded b y L o y Ayes: Rassier, Wick, Sym Loso Names Noneain: Frank Motion. Carried 4:0:1 Loso questioned Frank as to why h=abstainedto which he responded that he does not agree with the format of this meeting. Budget, 2011: Weyrens Stated thaSt the August 11, 2011 Budget meeting the City Council requested an inventory of services provide 'yre City. The list of services was requested to gain a better understanding of the different functions provided by each department in relation to the budget submitted. Therefore, Weyrens presented a summary of each function provided with a brief discussion. The Council discussed proposed cuts to building inspection, prosecution services, skating hours, snow removal and cable operations. Weyrens stated that the budget can be reduced further by removing some one time expenditures that have been included. For example, the Police budget includes a $ 10,000 expenditure to review and revise the police polices. In 2009 the City Council budgeted for capital expenditures, but froze capital spending to prepare for proposed reductions in Local Government Aid (LGA). As a result of the proactive decision of the Council, the City showed a surplus of revenue for the year 2009. Therefore, if the City allocated approximately 50% of the surplus to fund one time expenditures, the 2010 budget could be reduced. The remaining surplus could be designated reserve balance to increase the reserve balance to 4(a):5 August 25, 2010 Page 2 of 2 prepare for continuing reduced aids. Finance Officer Lori Bartlett presented the Council with a list of projects that totaled $ 92,000, all of which could be funded through the 2009 surplus. One of the projects on the list included dredging of the Millstream Pond. Their was some discussion on whether the project was needed or could be delayed. The Council agreed to place the transfer of $ 92,000 to the capital fund on the September 2, 2010 City Council agenda and requested staff provide additional information on the dredging project. Bartlett stated that she had contacted the Stearns County Auditors Office and they were able to provide very preliminary data regarding St. Joseph's growth. It is anticipated that the net tax capacity for the budget year 2011 will decrease approximately 4.2 %. In addition, the tax records indicate that uncollectible taxes have increased approximately 1 %, with St. Joseph collecting 96.4% of the total taxes payable. When questioned if the proposed preliminary budget included 1 tithe maximum allowed, Bartlett responded it does not. The current legislation allows the Cite 3; ,;: U ' hack the LGA that has previously been un- allocated by the Governor, the proposed budget do , tst febabture all of the Toss. The Council concurred that since the budget at this time is preliminary n the Citycan reduce the budget once the final growth numbers are available, the preliminary bu® t should be established at the limit established by the Department of Revenue. The Council reaffi the budget will be reduced once the impact can be determined. Staff was directed to prepare h preliminary budget resolution for the September 2, 2010 Council meeting. American Burger Bar: American Burgers r owners Brad i ffi nr Eric Sandrock, approached the Council to introduce themselves and dint eir restaurant. l�nd stated the American Burger Bar is the third restaurant his company has opi tld they offer a led menu, but all items are homemade including all dressing, sauces and marina" The ablishment is a restaurant first and bar seconded and is scheduled to open on September 2, 2010. The Ostaurant will have approximately 25 employees with 5 being full time. Ireland stated that they�`w be open wren days eek and offer brunch on Sunday mornings. The Council comed Ireland and Sat rock to the St. Joseph Community. Shared Services Resolution: Weyrens stated that a rhas met with the City of Waite Park regarding opportunities for cooperation and colltoration. Waitark has prepared a resolution showing intent to study and review potential opportunities. The viewed the proposed resolution and requested that the resolution be- amended to remove thection dulling the services that could be reviewed, as they felt that the Administrators WO aware of e opport�jtes and they did not need to be deatiled. With that deletion, Wick made a motion authoriz the Administrator and Mayor to execute resolution 2010 -021, Reviewing Shard,SServices with the City of Waite Park. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unaimofrly. Adiourn:_ Loso made a motion to djourn at 7:40 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens 4(a):6