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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP November 30, 1993 ~ CITY of ANDOVER Special city Council Meeting - November 30, 1993 Andover Public Works Building 1785 Crosstown Boulevard N.W. Call to Order - 7:00 p.m. 1. proposed 1994 Budget Discussion 2. 3. Adjourn ) .....- ...' . ~ \;¡}~*E ~ CITY of ANDOVER Special City Council Meeting-November 30, 1993 Minutes A Special Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Jack McKelvey at 7:00 P.M. at the Andover Public Works Building, 1785 Crosstown Boulevard N.W., Andover, MN to discuss the 1994 proposed budget. Councilmembers Present: Dalien, Jacobson, Knight, Perry Councilmembers Absent: None Also Present: Frank Stone, Public Works Superintendent Daryl Sulander, Finance Director; Dale Mashuga, Fire Chief; Brian Kraabel, Public Works 1994 Proposed Budget Discussion Mr. Sulander explained that our target of a 3.5% city tax increase is closer to 9.5% after we got the final net tax capacity which bases our individual taxes which the property owners pay. After doing a brief comparison of tax rates for 1991, 1992 and 1993 and comparing them with 1994, it shows that in 1991 prior to the fire station bond being on the tax rolls, the city rate was about 11 percent. In 1992 it went to a little over 17.5% which includes the first time issue for tax for the Lower Rum River Water Management Organization. In 1993 with the large jump in 1992, our fiscal disparities aid took a substantial increase and that dropped our rate artificially in 1993. Now with that drop we get hit with a reduction in the fiscal disparities aid which is a one year lag in how they pay those aids to us. Because it dropped from 1992 to 1993, our fiscal disparities drops from 1993 to 1994. That cost us about $30,000 in fiscal disparities aid, which is part of the reason the 3.5% increase went to 9.5%. That, coupled with a reduced tax capacity, impacted us so we're looking at about a 9.4% increase. If we reduce the property tax levy to the 1992 rate it would require us to cut $54,400. If we bring it down to a 3.5 percent increase, we would have to cut $78,630 from the budget. Mr. Sulander stated that at this meeting Council should look at the alternatives we might have to take after next week's Truth in Taxation hearing. Our proposed general fund budget is $2,820,000 and the funding from the property tax dollar, which is $1,491,000, needs to be explained to the public. Under recent legislation, Mr. Sulander is also required to explain the city salaries and benefits that are paid from the property tax and private consultants and contractural agreements that we have and compare them from 1993 to 1994 and how they impact the tax dollars for the individual residents. It was noted that none of the Council had received any phone calls regarding the Truth in Taxation notices that were mailed to the residents. Mr. Sulander had received several calls; however, they were from residents questioning the increase in their property values. - ~ . . Special City Council Meeting November 30, 1993 - Minutes Page 2 Councilmember Dalien stated that he checked our total rate with others in the county and Ham Lake is the only city that has a total combined rate lower than ours. Councilmember Jacobson noted that our increased percentage appears to be high but taxes are not going up that much. Councilmember Dalien stated that if the school district is successful in getting their bond issue passed next year, it wi 11 be a different story. After some discussion, the concensus was that there is nothing in the budget that can be cut at this time. Council decided to leave the budget as it is until after the first public hearing and then see if it's necessary to make any changes. Administrator Job Descirption Mr. Sulander presented the Council with copies of a proposed job description for City Administrator, based on a resolution creating the position. He also put together the ads which will be in the St. Paul pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He noted that the League Cities Bulletin December issue will go out on the 20th of December. Therefore, he changed the deadline for applications to January 7, 1994. Council asked that the ads be changed to reflect the salary as being in the low to mid-50's. Councilmember Knight requested that staff evaluate the positions we now have and make any suggestions for possibly combining duties. He noted that we are going from an Engineer/Administrator to an Administrator and contracting with TKDA for engineering services. Mr. Sulander noted that TKDA'S assistance will be on development projects and their costs will be part of the project cost. Councilmember Perry noted that several years ago Council discussed the fact that the combination of positions was too demanding for one individual to handle. She didn't feel that the Administrator position should be included with another function. She suggested that we authorize the ads to be placed and put this on the agenda for Thursday night for discussion at that time. Council agreed. MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by Dalien to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, u- ¿(.LL Vicki Volk Acting Recording Secretary ~ - ,~.... I'··.. . ... -. -: