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MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />Item 8. I. <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />SUBJECT: <br /> <br />Mayor and City Council <br /> <br />Pat Klaers, City Administrator <br /> <br />April 2 I, 2003 <br /> <br />Updates on State Legislative Session, City Budget, and Public <br />Safety/City Hall Project <br /> <br />The last update on (1) the legislative session, (2) the budget, and (3) the Public Safety-City <br />Hall project was on March 24, 2003. The next update is scheduled for May 12, 2003. <br /> <br />Legislative Session <br />There is not too much new to report regarding action taken at the State Legislature that has <br />a direct impact on municipalities. The state budget is still the main issue at the Legislature. A <br />fairly wide range of budget related proposals continue to be introduced and debated. <br />Attached for your information are the latest League of Minnesota Cities updates on the tax bills <br />that have been proposed. The legislative session is scheduled to end on Monday, May 19, <br />2003. <br /> <br />City Budu_et <br />The most severe municipal aids proposal that is being discussed at the Legislature is the <br />Governor's plan. At this point, staff is assuming that the Governor's proposal will be <br />approved and if something "better" gets signed into law then the city will respond <br />accordingly. Department head staff meetings, both as a group and individually, have been <br />held over the last month or so to discuss the budget. Additionally, I have sat in on <br />department staff meetings to answer questions and to provide these departmental employees <br />with the latest information. <br /> <br />The approach to making a $644,000 adjustment in the 2003 budget and responding to a $1.3 <br />million dollar reduction in aids in 2004 is to use city reserves, increase some fee based <br />revenues, make some cuts/reductions in services and programs, and to reduce or limit the <br />increases in the personal services category. We know that some reduction in state aids is <br />going to take place, so likewise we have been making some minor changes in the budget as <br />the year progresses. The proposal for all the budget changes will not be completed until after <br />the Legislative session ends. Overall, it looks like the city will be able to address and manage <br /> <br /> <br />