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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 10-17-1996 SpecialMinutes Special Council Meeting October 17, 1996 A special meeting of the Plymouth City Council was called to order by Deputy Mayor Lymangood at 5:55 p.m., in the Public Safety Training Room, 3400 Plymouth Blvd., on October 17, 1996. PRESENT: Deputy Mayor Lymangood; Councilmembers Wold, Preus, and Black. City Council Candidates Saundra Spigner, Jeff Johnson, Judy Johnson, and Tim Bildsoe. ABSENT: Mayor Tierney; Councilmembers Anderson and Granath. STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Johnson, Assistant City Manager Lueckert, Community Development Director Hurlburt, Public Works Director Moore, Finance Director Hahn, Finance Office Supervisor Leitner, Park Director Blank, Public Safety Director Gerdes, and City Clerk Ahrens. Deputy Mayor Lymangood announced that the purpose of the meeting is to consider the 1997 proposed budget and Capital Improvements Program. He noted that a quorum was not yet present. Report on Capital/Water Resources Lew Discussion was held on the proposed Capital Improvements Fund. Councilmember Preus explained that property tax dollars would be used to create this new fund. It is proposed that the fund would be initially used to fund a multi-purpose activity center which would be built in 1998 at an estimated cost of $2.2 million. He said that including this item in the Capital Improvements Program and levying funds for the Capital Improvement Fund would start this project in motion, but would not guarantee that it would be constructed. Without the proposed Capital Improvement Fund, the proposed activity center and field house projects would be pushed sometime into the future. Manager Johnson said that an activity center of 15,000 to 20,000 square feet is envisioned to be constructed adjacent to LifeTime Fitness. The center could provide space for senior programs, as well as other recreational programs, and could be used as rental space on weekends. Deputy Mayor Lymangood announced that a quorum was now present and called the meeting to order at 5:55 p.m. Motion was made by Councilmember Wold, seconded by Councilmember Preus, that the City Council candidates be given full speaking privileges at this meeting. Motion carried, four ayes. Special Council Meeting October 17, 1996 Page 2 Candidate Judy Johnson asked if the proposed activity center would be connected to the LifeTime building. Manager Johnson responded that it would be connected if possible. Manager Johnson presented information on the Capital/Water Resources Levy and policy questions addressed by the Council Subcommittee. There is a large number of capital requests facing the City. Staff has identified about $15 million of possible projects that have been discussed either by the Council or a Board/Commission of the City, and existing capital fund balances are less than they have been for some time. A capital levy could also meet a dual purpose of helping to meet a possible decline in state aid. Plymouth currently receives $1.8 million in HACA. He said that in response to the Council's desire to reduce the overall levy by $100,000, staff has prepared a list of possible budget reductions totaling $104,000. The Subcommittee also recommends increasing the general fund contingency to $150,000, the capital levy to $280,000, and the water resources levy to $150,000. The net reduction in the levy of $35,000 would further reduce the property tax rate from 14.56 to 14.48. Manager Johnson said the City will need the contingency funds to meet cash flow requirements for the first half of the year. The City has a policy to always maintain a 40 percent budget cash reserve. Councilmember Wold asked how the reduction in the property tax rate to 14.48 would impact the amount of taxes paid on an average value home. Manager Johnson said that a home valued at $175,700 would realize a $1.30 City tax reduction. Councilmember Preus asked about the amount of the 1996 General Fund surplus. Manager Johnson estimated that the 1996 surplus would be between $500,000 and $1 million. He said that of this surplus, 2/3 came from unexpected revenue sources and 1/3 from having less expenditures than were budgeted. Finance Director Hahn said the surplus was about $1 million in 1995 and about $500,000 in 1994. He said there has been a surplus in the City every year, which is needed to maintain adequate cash flow. Manager Johnson said that projects proposed to benefit from the capital levy are an activity center in 1998 and field house in 1998. Another possible project is construction of an additional gym area at Armstrong High School which is proposed to be funded from 1.3 million in tax increment financing funds in 1997. Special Council Meeting October 17, 1996 Page 3 Manager Johnson said that the Council Subcommittee also considered how to provide accountability for the capital levy funds. The Subcommittee recommends establishing a new capital levy fund which would have policy guidelines similar to the Community Improvement Fund. The intention is that the capital levy fund would be a pay-as-you-go fund with no large accumulations. Report on Information Technology Budget Manager Johnson reviewed the Council Subcommittee action and recommendations on the Information Technology Budget. The Subcommittee discussed acquisition strategies and balancing costs with risk, and affirmed the strategy to acquire six months behind the technology curve. The need for network -certified equipment compared with consumer grade computers was affirmed. The Subcommittee also affirmed the personnel request versus the contractual option. He stated that a second computer at the maintenance facility will run the necessary operations of the City in case of a disaster at City Hall. The Subcommittee reviewed the timetables for installation of various software packages. Major financial packages will be ready by year-end. The existing mainframe will be available until the new software is installed and running. Councilmember Wold said that the Subcommittee considered the idea of buying stronger upgradable equipment; however, this was not recommended by Information Technology Manager Birnbaum, Councilmember Wold, or the volunteer consultant involved in the review process. He believes that the recommendations of the Subcommittee are sound. Councilmember Lymangood asked about the disaster recovery plan. Finance Director Hahn explained that the City currently uses tape backup, rather than a second computer. Councilmember Wold explained that it is currently too expensive to replicate the mainframe operations; however, this is a viable option with the new equipment and software installation. Public Safety Director Gerdes said it is highly unlikely that the City would have a disaster that would seriously impact both the maintenance facility and the City Hall. Council candidate Judy Johnson asked how the City disposes of old computers. Councilmember Lymangood said if the computers are usable, they have been sold at public auction. Councilmember Wold said there may be other options to consider in the future, such as donation to the schools. Candidate Johnson said she would favor investigating this option. Proposed Planner Position in 1997 Budget Community Development Director Hurlburt said that the proposed 1997 budget for the Planning Division includes funding for an additional full-time planner position. She Special Council Meeting October 17, 1996 Page 4 asked for authority to fill this position immediately, instead of waiting until after the first of the year. She said there is an existing staff vacancy, a continued high level of development activity, and significant workload relating to the new zoning ordinance. There is also preparation work for 1997 planning activities including the Comprehensive Plan update including Northwest Plymouth and a continued high level of development reviews. Director Hurlburt said that staff has interviewed to fill the existing staff vacancy and excellent candidates are available to fill both positions. This would avoid another round of advertising and interviewing, and the orientation and training of the new employees could be combined. Manager Johnson said there would be no fiscal impact of filling the planner position in 1996 because the senior planner position has been vacant. Motion was made by Councilmember Black, seconded by Councilmember Preus, to authorize staff to fill the 1997 budgeted planner position no earlier than November 1, 1996. Motion carried, four ayes. Councilmember Preus said that in the past Councilmember Anderson has expressed concern about adding employees without considering whether they are needed long-term. He asked if this position will be needed many years into the future. Director Hurlburt said that the position will be needed for many years and that the planning division will still have less staff than comparable communities. Report on Council Information Requests Manager Johnson reported on previous City Council requests. He presented information on correspondence that was provided to Hennepin County staff and elected officials on assessed valuation information. Manager Johnson reported that the concept of a rolling average of property values was discussed with Springsted representatives. In general, they were not enthused about the idea and felt there could be as much downside as advantage to the concept. The Council reviewed information from Park Director Blank on corporate contribution programs. Manager Johnson reported on current and future tracking of parcel inspections by the Assessing Division. The current software does not provide a means of tracking which homes were physically inspected during the annual quartile review. The inspections have been manually tracked since 1993. New software scheduled for installation in the fall of 1997 will provide the capability of tracking and retrieving this information. Special Council Meeting October 17, 1996 Page 5 Manager Johnson presented information on a meeting held with representatives from Eastman Kodak regarding copy machine problems. Manager Johnson said the City Attorney will report later on whether an ordinance must be changed to accommodate the Truth in Taxation meeting time of 7 p.m. on December 4. Manager Johnson presented information on commercial/industrial property tax projections and county tax rates. Councilmember Lymangood requested that this information be presented at the Truth in Taxation hearing so the public can examine what is happening with commercial/industrial taxes and the county's tax rate. He said it is difficult to communicate the good job the City is doing of reducing the property tax rate when taxpayers still have bottom-line higher taxes. He noted that the county's tax rate is slightly less than in 1993; however, the tax amount has increased nearly 25 percent for commercial property. Motion was made by Councilmember Wold, seconded by Councilmember Black, to direct staff to present a graph at the Truth in Taxation hearing showing Plymouth taxes paid and County taxes paid on average value residential and commercial properties. Councilmember Preus suggested that school taxes paid should also be included in the graph. , Councilmember Wold agreed and said the intent is to demonstrate the difference between Plymouth and other taxing jurisdictions. Motion to amend was made by Councilmember Preus, seconded by Councilmember Wold, to prepare additional school tax information on graphs for public review at the meeting for commercial and industrial property, as well as the percentage breakdowns for the four school districts along with a school district map. Council candidate Spigner said that school taxes are changing, and there are many issues reflected in the school district tax. Councilmember Lymangood said there are various factors, such as School District 284 building the largest high school in the state. Councilmember Wold said the graphs will simply show where tax dollars are going from 1993 to the present. Motion to amend carried, four ayes. Main motion as amended carried, four ayes. Special Council Meeting October 17, 1996 Page 6 Plymouth Civic League Request Manager Johnson said that the Plymouth Civic League has submitted a budget request. Councilmember Preus explained that 1997 will be the 25th anniversary of Music in Plymouth and the Civic League is requesting an increase of $2,500 over the proposed budgeted contribution. Motion was made by Councilmember Preus, seconded by Councilmember Black, to increase the 1997 contribution to the Plymouth Civic League by $2,500 and to fund this increase from the earlier budget savings identified, thereby incrementally increasing the previously reduced levy. Motion carried, four ayes. Councilmember Wold requested that the communication with Hennepin County regarding the handwritten calculations on assessed valuation be added to the next regular Council agenda. Councilmember Wold said he looks forward to implementation of the assessing tracking system and a future update on the Partners with Plymouth program. Motion was made by Councilmember Black, seconded by Councilmember Wold, to adjourn the meeting at 6:55 p.m. Motion carried, four ayes. I/ alef Cit Clerk