SPECIAL
MEETING OF THE CITY OF CONNELL, WASHINGTON
CONNELL, FRANKLIN COUNTY, WASHINGTON
The Special
meeting of the City Council of the City of
PRESENT:
Mayor Gary Walton, Perry Skoglund, Monica Pruett, and Andy Sawyer.
EXCUSED: Councilmembers
Ron Boyer and Roel Martinez
STAFF:
City Administrator
OVERVIEW - City Administrator Tackett explained that it
was time for Council to start thinking about which items they would like to have
cutback and to set some goals for FY 2004. With
the increase in expenditures and a decrease in revenues the budget would be in
the red by FY 2005 if some items were not cut.
City Administrator Tackett advised that the role of staff was to present
all available options to Council so that they make informed choices.
The City’s budget was well balanced with 30% coming from Property Tax,
16% from Retail Sales & Use, 25% PUD Occupational tax, 14% Utility tax, and
14% from Intergovernmental Revenues, this last item being an issue since these
will go down in 2005.
Foreseeable
revenue problems included the Intergovernmental Revenues and the 1% increase per
year for Property Tax. Foreseeable expenditure problems included the rising cost
of health insurance, approximately 15% per year, rising cost of general
insurance, also increasing approximately 15% per year, and the increasing cost
of electricity.
City
Administrator Tackett advised that staff and Council keep in contact with local
employers and see how they are being affected by the general economy.
Mr.
Tackett also advised that he had done a survey on wages for city employees and
that every city employee for Connell was underpaid.
It had been discussed that with the increasing cost of health insurance
that one alternative would be to have the employees pay for a portion of their
benefits.
City
Clerk/Treasurer advised that retirement benefits are based on wages alone not
wages and benefits. If employees
have to pick up a portion of their benefits but their wages were increased to
make up for it, it would be better for the employee in the long run although at
this time the City was not looking to increase wages for its employees.
City
Clerk/Treasurer Eckman also advised that the City budget was based on $300,000
from cash carry over but that if the City continued to dip into those funds it
would lose its cushion for the coming years.
Council would need to set goals and priorities about the services the
City would like to maintain and at what levels.
City
Administrator Tackett commented that currently the city did a good job of
maintaining the streets, buildings and parks.
Council should consider if they would like those items maintained less.
Other cities had cut their police departments or fire departments.
Mayor Walton also discussed purchasing the uniforms used
by the public works crew and having them maintain their own or doing away with
the uniform. It was also brought up
that city vehicles were currently being driven home and that maybe that should
not continue for those employees that lived out of town.
The City was also doing the maintenance for the library and may need to
look at having the library do their own.
City Clerk/Treasurer Eckman noted that currently the city
transfers about $180,000 out of the General Fund into the Capital Improvement
Reserve. It would be possible not to
transfer as much which would mean there would be less for improvements on
streets, parks, city hall, fire protection, police improvement, community
center, planning, museum, industrial park and tourism.
Not impacted would be the water and sewer since these have to be
maintained by the rate structure. Also
to consider would be that if no money is going into these reserves that several
years from now what are our streets, parks and buildings going to look like, or
will there be any money to purchase a new police car.
Councilmember Pruett noted that it would be an option to
not put as much in the reserves so that services would not be cut.
Clerk/Treasurer Eckman advised that the budget for FY
2004 was basically the same as 2003 but
Council would need to start thinking about setting their priorities for 2005.
There
being no further business to be heard before the City Council of the City of