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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995 11-06 CCM Special Work Session 7:53 p.m. MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SPECIAL WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 6, 1995 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in special work session and was called to order by Mayor Myrna Kragness at 7:53 P.M. ROLL CALL Mayor Myrna Kragness, Councilmembers Kathleen Carmody, Debra Hilstrom, and Kristen Mann. Also present were Interim City Manager Cam Andre, and Director of Finance Charlie Hansen. Councilmember Barb Kalligher was absent. 1996 BUDGET PROCESS The Finance Director noted at the September budget work session several issues were left open. He stated decisions to cut specific dollar amounts from certain departments had been made but the Council has not decided on specific items to be cut. He suggested the Council may wish to take those issues up at this meeting. He added the Council has the option to make any other changes they would like to the 1996 budget with the exception of increasing the property tax levy. He noted changes can be made up until adoption of the budget in December. Councilmember Mann stated she would lice the Truth in Taxation hearing be part of her decision process with regard to the Contractual Services /Social Service funds. She added if the rest of the Council would lice to discuss this issue this evening that would be fine also. Mayor Kragness noted she had received several phone calls regarding cutting these funds completely for some services. She inquired if it may be better to split the funds among the services than to cut some of them completely. She added it would make it more fair. Councilmember Carmody pointed out for there are joint powers agreements for three of the programs. She explained when she was on the Human Rights and Resources Commission the Commission would go through a process of ranking the programs which were requesting funding. The Commission would then make a recommendation to the Council and the Council would basically ignore it. Councilmember Hilstrom added that frequently the staff recommendation is different than the Commissions recommendation. Councilmember Carmody asked why the City is funding two youth diversion programs. She didn't quite understand the difference between the 121VITE Inc. and Peacemaker. 11 -6 -95 -1- CORRECTION Councilmember Hilstrom added $5,000 is given to North Hennepin Mediation and one of their primary objectives is also youth diversion. There was some discussion as to whether North Hennepin Mediation deals primarily with youth diversion programs. The Director of Finance stated his understanding is that INVITE Inc. hires a worker that goes into the community and interacts with the kids. He stated his understanding of Peacemaker is that it is more of a mediation type program. Councilmember Hilstrom pointed out that in addition to funding INVITE Inc. the participants in INVITE Inc. also swim at the Community Center for free. Mayor Kragness asked if staff knows what the participation is in that part of the program. The Director of Finance stated he did not have that information. Councilmember Mann stated she would like to receive a copy of the information that is submitted by each of the human service program providers when requesting funding. Councilmember Carmody stated a frustration that she had while on the Human Rights and Resources Commission was that Peacemaker could never provide information on the success rate of their program. She noted that youth diversion is important but she would like to see information that shows the program is successful. Councilmember Carmody asked if the Council chose to fund those three programs that have joint powers agreements would there still be money left to fund North Hennepin Mediation Program, CEAP and INVITE Inc. The Director of Finance stated there would not be enough left to fund INVITE Inc. Councilmember Carmody asked if INVITE Inc. is an all or nothing proposition. The Director of Finance stated INVITE Inc. would have to be approached on that issue. He noted there would be approximately $6,315 after fully funding Project Peace, fully funding Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council, fully funding CEAP and funding the Five Cities Transportation Program through April 30, 1996. Councilmember Hilstrom asked if the City has the money to fund the assessment stabilization program. She noted the City is proposing improvements to one of the poorest areas of the community and added this program is, in a way, also a human service program. The Director of Finance stated the assessment stabilization program has been funded for the past two years out of the Municipal State Aid (MSA) construction fund. He stated that is not something he would like to divert over to this type of program. Councilmember Hilstrom stated she felt the stabilization of the streets and sewers is much more important to this community than some of these programs and that is one area the City will need to have money to put into. The Director of Finance noted that one of his concerns with the assessment stabilization program is that it is draining funds from the MSA fund. He added even with it scaled back the City will not be able to continue for more than a few years using the MSA fund to pay for this. He stated he has recommended at the staff level levying a property tax for this just as we levy for the portion that we know the City has to pay out of the property tax. Councilmember Mann inquired if there are enough funds available to fund the 1996 projects. The Director of Finance stated he was not certain but he would look into that question. Councilmember Mann stated she would have to take into consideration the availability of funds for the assessment stabilization program for 1996 before making any decision on the human services programs. 11 -6 -95 -2- The Council proceeded to review the data processing budget. The Director of Finance stated what he is proposing two items: that the Council approve $67,555; and that the Council approve a listing of permitted capital outlay items. He explained the staff could look at pricing and technology after the first of the year when we are ready to buy things and proceed down this list as far as we are able to get before the money runs out. He added it is difficult to predict what the pricing is going to be in February. Councilmember Mann inquired what the miscellaneous software items covered. The Director of Finance stated this line item gives staff the flexibility to upgrade our software without running back to the City Council for every $100 item. Councilmember Mann questioned the portable computer for the MIS Coordinator. The Director of Finance stated the main purpose is to allow the MIS Coordinator a faster way of diagnosing problems with the desk top PC's. He explained the fastest way to determine if a problem is PC based or network based is to unplug the PC and plug something else in. He noted this is rather cumbersome if you have to move another desk top PC into an office to do this but a portable can be plugged in very quickly and the MIS Coordinator could determine very quickly whether it was the PC or the network that was the problem. He noted the portable would also have a number of other uses. He added this would improve the MIS Coordinator's productivity. He explained the other proposed uses for the portable make it more expensive than the portable proposed for the Police department. Councilmember Mann questioned the Recreation League Scheduling software. She noted she had spoken with the Recreation Director and he had indicated there is already software in place and he wasn't aware that they were looking at league scheduling software. She asked if this software is something the Recreation division must truly have. The Director of Finance stated the request came from the Recreation division and he was under the impression this software would do something different than the software they already have. Councilmember Mann referred to the justification prepared for this item but noted the justification does not say this software will do more than our existing software. She asked if staff would give her more information on this software. The Director of Finance stated he would get more information on this item. Councilmember Hilstrom asked if the capital outlay listing which the Director of Finance provided is listed in priority order. The Director of Finance stated the list is pretty much in his priority order but when it came time to actually purchase the equipment he would want the Data Processing Committee to review the list and make recommendations. He stated if the Council would like to change the priority listing or make some specific direction on the priorities that would be fine. Councilmember Mann stated she felt the priority listing was fairly accurate but she would be concerned if items 10 and 11 were to move up on the listing. The Director of Finance stated if that is the Council's direction he would convey that to the Data Processing Committee before any decisions were made. Councilmember 11 -6 -95 ;_ Mann stated she wants to Police department to have up to date equipment but she did not believe it made sense to spend money on ergonomically correct work stations and then ask the officers to work on a portable in their squad car. She added if their space needs are met in this next year it would make more sense to get them a desk top PC at a little less money. Councilmember Hilstrom asked if the $67,555 would cover the 10 additional PC's that were requested. The Director of Finance stated his concern in limiting this budget to $67,555 is there may be equipment that breaks down and there wouldn't be replacement for it. He stated he believed if 18 PC's were purchased we would be far enough ahead so that we would be able to handle any breakdowns and we would be getting the ones that are a maintenance problem out of our inventory faster. He added it would still take some purchases in 1997 before we would be getting rid of the entire group that he views as being a problem. The Director of Finance stated he feels that items one through six are definitely in priority order and items seven through eleven could possibly be traded back and forth for priority levels. Councilmember Hilstrom asked if the number of PC's to be replaced be should be raised to 20 or 22 versus 18. The Director of Finance stated all the PC's would not fail at once and if we purchase the 18 standard PC's there will be enough new ones coming in so we can handle any failures. The Director of Finance stated that a number of items purchased in 1995 came in under budget so there is some money left over in 1995. He noted there are some printers that have been worked quite hard and replacements were requested in the 1996 budget. He stated he would like to propose that the left over money in the 1995 data processing budget be authorized for the purchase of printers in 1995. He added this would take care of the printer need before we begin 1996 and then printers would not have to be purchased in 1996. He added if the Council does not approve this suggestion then he would have to reprioritize the list and put some printers back into the list for 1996. He stated there is approximately $12,000 left over and each year we budget money for emergency replacement of equipment which totals $4,000. He added this would be enough to replace all the old printers that are in the inventory. Councilmember Hilstrom asked if staff had any estimates as to what would be left over at the end of 1995 to be put into the fund balance. The Director of Finance stated it is hard to predict what the year end fund balance would be because a number of factors affect this but they do not occur until year end. He stated he did not believe it would be as large as 1994's surplus. He stated it could be anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 for 1995. Mayor Kragness stated she had spoke with the Recreation Director regarding the 25C increase in admissions and he didn't . seem too clear on this increase. The Director of Finance stated the Public Services Director has spoken with the Recreation Director about this and the recommendation is to increase admission fees by 25C. Councilmember Hilstrom asked at what point will it be determined if this increase will be enough considering the figures on who is using the pool. The Director of Finance stated he does not recall when 11 -6 -95 -4- the last study of the community center fees was completed. He noted in the past few years some members of the City Council have been opposed to increases in the community center fees so there was not a lot of time spent studying the issue. He added if the Council is now interested in a full scale study of this issue then the staff will undertake one. Councilmember Hilstrom asked if it is possible to prepare a report based on the information that is collected at the time of registration and membership purchases instead of launching a full scale study. The Director of Finance responded affirmatively. He added from past experience in other cities it is not uncommon for half or more of the users of a recreation program come from outside the sponsoring community. Councilmember Carmody stated she would prefer it if staff could finish the Heritage Center and Liquor Store studies before they start on another project. The Council agreed and stated it would be good to have the information on the Community Center before the budget process starts for the 1997 budget. Mayor Kragness stated she would also like information on the cost of family memberships and if the fee is the same for residents and nonresidents. She suggested asking the Lions Club and Rotary Club if they would sponsor some low income families for memberships. It was agreed to increase the admission fees by 25G. Councilmember Carmody asked if it was necessary to cut $3,900 from the Street Department or does the Council want to hold that until after the public hearings. The Director of Finance stated the Council could deal with that issue tonight or put it on hold. He noted the Public Services Director has indicated that in view of the fact that the City is going ahead with the reconstruction program she could cut back a little bit on the sealcoating program and the $3,900 could be cut out of streets contractual services. Councilmember Hilstrom asked what the implication of cutting the sealcoating program would be on the streets, The Director of Finance stated the City spends in excess of $100,000 on sealcoating so it would be a small cut in sealcoating. He stated he is not sure how many streets/blocks that would translate into. Councilmember Hilstrom stated she would rather not see the cut made to the street maintenance. Councilmember Mann stated she would have to concur with Councilmember Hilstrom and added she has a concern with the tire balancer. She asked if City staff is trained on how to use the balancer or are we going to have to take on new staff, and in addition to the staff the benefits etc. The Director of Finance stated that he was fairly confident that the existing staff could quickly learn how to balance the tires. He noted it is a question of efficient use of the mechanics time. He explained if they have a car in the shop that they are doing a tune -up on, the tires could be balanced in a matter of a few minutes. Whereas, if the car has to be taken out to have the tires balanced someone has to actually take the car and wait their turn. Councilmember Mann stated that reasoning makes sense as long as in the 1997 budget there won't be a request for the position of tire balancer. The Director of Finance stated there would not be a request for additional personnel in 1997. Councilmember Hilstrom inquired if staff could ask the Public Services Director if there is 11 -6-95 -5- another area, other than the sealcoating budget, that can be cut. She added cutting the sealcoatin budget is not an option for her. The Director of Finance suggested putting the $3,900 cut on hold until the next meeting. Councilmember Mann requested the Street department prepare other options for the budget cut. The Director of Finance asked if before they move through the budget they could give him some direction with regard to the printers. It was agreed that the funds left over in the data processing budget should be used for the purchase of printers in 1995. The Director of Finance stated he would prepare a resolution for the next council meeting authorizing the expenditure and there will be backup material which will explain where those printers are needed and what staff proposes to buy. The Director of Finance stated the next areas to review would be the HRA and the EDA and noted there is a minor change that is precipitated by new information from the State of Minnesota on homestead credits. He added in this case the homestead credits are going down by $79. He explained there was a small contingency account built into the EDA and the best way to balance out their budget is to take it from the contingency account. Councilmember Mann inquired what the contingency account balance for the EDA is at this time. The Director of Finance stated it is $7,9$1. Councilmember Mann asked if typically the balance is carried over. The Director of Finance explained there are two ways that cities handle contingencies. He noted some cities create a separate contingency fund and if there is money that is appropriated to that contingency fund for that year and it is not spent it carriers over to the next year. The other approach is to not have a separate fund but have it operate in the general fund and money is appropriated each year in the general fund for the contingency account. He noted if it is not spent during the year it becomes part of the general fund balance. He stated the second method is the one that Brooklyn Center has always followed. Councilmember Mann asked if $7,000 is about average for each year. The Director of Finance stated he does not recall what has been in the account in past years but it is probably fairly typical. The Director of Finance noted potentially the City does have about $10,000 of additional revenue in the general fund compared to what the figures showed in September. He explained that part of it is the estimate the State gave for the homestead credit went up slightly, by about $700, and then the tax levy that is required for the special assessment bonds that were sold is less than what had been budgeted. He noted between those two there is potentially $10,000 more that the Council could spend. Mayor Kragness asked if the $10,000 could be put back into human services. The Director of Finance stated that could be done or as Councilmember Mann suggested the Council could cut the tax levy by that Mayor Kragness stated she would like to see it put back into human services. Councilmember Hilstrom requested a report on the grant stabilization program and noted that she felt the streets and sewers are critical. She also asked how much money the City was planning to spend in 1996 on parks. The Director of Finance stated Engineering is working on that and noted they are talking about two to four playgrounds, a couple would 11 -6 -95 -6- be minimal work and then one or two might be the more extensive work. He added they also have discussed resurfacing of one or two tennis courts. He stated he believed the report would be brought to the Council sometime in November. Councilmember Hilstrom asked when the enterprise funds would be discussed because it is an issue that has been talked about at a couple of work sessions. The Council agreed to discuss this issue at the November 20, 1995, work session. Councilmember Carmody asked to discuss the facility rental charges. Councilmember Mann stated this item should not have been brought to the Council at this time because the steering committee will be reviewing this issue at their November 17, 1995, meeting. The steering committee would like to have the opportunity to discuss the issue before it is brought to the Council. A discussion then ensued regarding whether the committee will ask the City to pay these fees or not and what the original intent of the committee was. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Councilmember Mann and seconded by Councilmember Hilstrom to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m. Deputy City Clerk Mayor 11 -6-95 -7-