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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-25-13 WSCITY OF LAKEVILLE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES November 25, 2013 Mayor Little called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Marion Conference Room at City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Little, Council Members Swecker, LaBeau, Anderson, and Davis Staff Present: Steve Mielke, City Administrator; Dennis Feller, Finance Director; Chris Petree, Public Works Director; David Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Allyn Kuennen, Administrative Services Manager; John Kornmann, Interim Police Chief, Char Friedges, City Clerk 2. Citizen Comments There were no citizen comments. Mr. Feller requested the City Council revise the agenda to include review and discussion of a revised water and sewer fund analysis prepared by Springsted Incorporated. This information was not available when the agenda packet was distributed on Friday. 3. Nuisance Code Enforcement Options /Ordinance Mr. Kuennen outlined the current process for enforcement and resolution of code and nuisance violations. Three options were presented, which include continuing the current process, establishment of an administrative citation process, or modifying the current process to allow the recovery of staff time and overhead costs. Council members expressed support for the cost recovery process, whereby the City would charge a fee for inspection services. This process would follow the standard procedures including investigation of the complaint, inspection of the site and mailed notices. Cost recovery charges would begin accruing with the second inspection and continue with the third inspection and into the citation stage for non - compliance situations. After due process has been completed, the City would send the property owner an invoice. If left unpaid, the City would assess the cost via State Statute 429. A per- inspection fee would be approximately $70.00 based on a typical violation scenario requiring a minimum of one hour of staff time. Consensus was to proceed with implementation of the cost recovery process and ordinance amendment for code and nuisance violations City Council Work Session Minutes, November 25, 2013 Page 2 4. Proposed 2014 Budget and Tax Levy a. New Employee Positions Fleet Supervisor: Mr. Petree presented proposed cost reductions to the 2014 budget with the addition of a Fleet Supervisor position. It is anticipated that the overtime budget in the Street Division can be reduced by $2,700 with the addition of a Fleet Supervisor position. He explained that the Fleet Supervisor would be responsible for monitoring and controlling maintenance costs, expanding the application of technology and would focus on fuel efficiency improvement and parts inventory control. Although exact cost savings is unknown, a 5% to 10% cost reduction could annually save the City $65,000 to $130,000 each year, beginning in 2015. Therefore, staff will reduce the 2015 commodities budget by a minimum of $65,000 if the Fleet Supervisor position is approved. Council member Swecker stated she is hesitant to approve a new position with a total compensation package of over $100,000. She asked if there is any way to shift current positions around so that these duties can be accomplished at a lower pay level. Mr. Petree explained the currently position structure in the Street Division. He pointed out that the fleet continues to grow and, with the current workloads, it would be difficult to shift duties without accruing additional overtime and impacting service levels. Mr. Mielke explained the importance of hiring someone with a high skill level who has the knowledge to expand and manage the application of technology to the City's fleet management system. Consensus was to place the Fleet Supervisor position in the 2014 budget Code Enforcement Officer: Consistent with previous discussion, Mr. Feller recommended the addition of a part -time code enforcement position in the 2014 budget. Council members concurred. Council Member LaBeau suggested that in the future, all new position requests include full details of the job description, increased costs and offsetting revenues, and efficiencies gained by the new position. b. Proposed 2014 Tax Levy Mr. Feller presented a summary of proposed revisions to the 2014 tax levy, resulting in a net reduction of $326,273. Therefore, the revised levy represents an overall increase of 2.5% over the 2013 tax levy. City Council Work Session Minutes, November 25, 2013 Page 3 Council members supported the 2.5% increase and a revised 2014 tax levy in the amount of $23,657,996. c. Information Distribution No discussion on the information provided d. Revised Water and Sewer Fund Analysis Mr. Feller provided copies of a Revised Water and Sewer Fund Analysis prepared by Springsted Incorporated, along with a sanitary sewer utility rate analysis. He explained that water and sewer rate adjustments are necessary to maintain revenues sufficient to meet operating costs, capital outlays and maintenance, debt service coverage and cash reserves. As requested by the City Council, additional scenarios were evaluated for the Sewer Fund. Mr. Feller outlined six different scenarios prepared by Springsted for sanitary sewer utility rates. The recommendation by staff and Springsted is to implement a rate increase based on Scenario Two. Scenario Two recommends a balanced approach to financing needed capital assets, incorporating both debt and cash to minimize the rate increase needed. The recommended rate increase is 6.35% in 2014 through 2016, 6% in 2017, and 2.90% in 2018. Council Member Swecker expressed the importance of consistency in the rates, avoiding large fluctuations and suggested utilizing the issuance of debt to cover additional capital expenses. Mr. Mielke explained that several factors, including growth, will have an impact on future sewer and water rate increases. He recommended a review of the rates each year. Staff is recommending a one year increase of 6.35% for sanitary sewer and 4.25% for water effective February 1, 2014. Council members concurred. 5. Preliminary Met Council 2040 Population and Household Forecasts Mr. Olson presented preliminary 2040 population, household and employment forecasts recently released by the Metropolitan Council for the City of Lakeville. He explained that there are significant differences in the Met Council's 2040 forecasts compared to the 2030 forecasts, which were the basis for the City's 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update. The current 2040 preliminary population forecast of 72,400 is 16,400 less than the previous 2030 population forecast. The current 2040 forecasted average household size is 2.37 persons per household, while the previous 2030 forecast was 2.65 persons per household. While the data seems to support that household sizes will decline, staff feels an average household size of 2.37 is low for this city, as Lakeville continues to attract young families. The previous City Council Work Session Minutes, November 25, 2013 Page 4 forecast of 2.65 persons per household is more realistic for Lakeville, which supports a projected 80,825 population by the year 2040. Mr. Olson and Mr. Mielke explained the importance of accurate population forecasts, which are the basis for comprehensive planning and affects the Metropolitan Council's investments in services for transportation, transit, parks and sewer /water lines. Mr. Olson explained that the Metropolitan Council is actively seeking comments on these preliminary forecasts, and he recommended the City comment on the forecasted average household size. The next draft of forecasts will be released in January. Mayor Little stressed the importance of backing up the City's comments with supporting data. Council Member Anderson stated he feels the City needs to take a strong position from an economic development standpoint, and suggested commenting on the forecast model itself, which doesn't seem to be responsive to the available land that could accommodate growth. Council Member LaBeau suggested that the City review its projections after the Met Council reviews its numbers. A letter will be drafted, signed by the City Administrator, and forwarded to the Metropolitan Council. Council Member Anderson asked how the City of Lakeville is engaging in the Met Council's Thrive 2040 process. Mr. Mielke stated our involvement has been minimal; however, he recommended inviting Met Council representative Patrick Boylan to the City Council's January work session to provide an update. 6. Other No additional information Mayor Little adjourned the work session at 7:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Charlene Friedges, City glerk Matt Little, Mayor