09-06-1994 CC MIN - SPECIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Minutes September 6, 1994 Page 7 e The Council agreed to reduce its City Council Contingency fund by $10,000. The Council directed staff to increase the revenue projections for items related to growth and development in the City by $30,000. The Council agreed to increase the Liquor Store transfer in to the General fund by $40.000, but indicated its desire that this not be an established amount for future budgets, and that this amount be reduced in the future. The Council disagreed and did not authorize the use of $20,000 from its cash flow fund in order to balance the budget. This may be necessary at a future point during the budget balancing discussion, but was not acceptable at this time. The above budget adjustments further reduce the budget gap by $80,000 and leave a budget gap of $164,000. The City Council agreed to request the EDA to absorb an additional $8,000 worth of expenses for personnel, videotaping, and Elk River pins: to reduce the City Council Contingency by $12,000 by delaying the hiring of new employees in 1995 (reducing the $80,000 goal to $68,000 - as previously discussed); cut $15,000 from expenditures by directing staff to make these departmental cuts: and cut $5,000 from the capital outlay request by directing staff to purchase the police vehicle VCR camera now through the use of undesignated equipment reserves. The above items equal an additional $40,000 in cuts and further reduce the budget gap to $124,000. e The City Council agreed to reduce the Ice Arena contribution by $5,000 and to reduce the Fire Department Retirement Fund contribution by $1,500 due to no contributions being necessary for the new Fire Chief. The Council did not authorize any further reduction in its Contingency fund as suggested by reducing wage increases for 1995. The $6,500 in reductions noted above further reduce the budget gap to $117,500. The Council reviewed the need for additional revenues and discussed an increase in the Utilities contribution to the City to cover general City expenses that are associated with meeting our growth and development challenges. The City Administrator reviewed the proposed $36,000 increase in this contribution. The City Council requested a joint meeting with the Utilities to discuss an increase in its contribution and other City/Utility issues. Until an agreement is reached for an increased contribution, the budget gap remains at $117,500. The City Administrator noted other options for reducing this gap which include additional reductions in expenditures, and additional increases in revenues. Action necessary by the City Council on 9112/94 in order to certify information to the County by 9/15/94 was reviewed by the Finance Director and City Administrator. The Council discussed certifying its maximum tax levy and budget and options to reduce this amount later in the year. e