WORK SESSION OF THE MONTGOMERY CITY COUNCIL MONTGOMERY CITY HALL

6:00 P.M. MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

WORK SESSION MINUTES

Call Meeting to Order Mayor Jean Keogh called the Work Session of the City Council to order at 6:05 p.m. in the Montgomery City Council Chambers.

Roll Call Council members present: Tim Siebsen and Mayor Jean Keogh. Council member Bob Taraba arrived at 6:10 p.m. and Council member Bill Wencl arrived at 6:37 p.m. Council member Mladek was absent. Also present were Brian Heck, City Administrator, Heather Slechta, City Clerk-Treasurer, Shane Oksanen, Water-Wastewater Operator, John Schmidt, Police Chief, and Jake Keohen, Montgomery Messenger.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

2015 General Fund Budget Discussion Geoff Iverson form the TCU Youth Baseball Association requested that the Council consider updating the paint and making repairs to the Grandstand at Memorial Field. The American Legion Baseball District 3 Tournament will be played in Montgomery in 2015. Iverson stated that they will put bids in for the amateur All-Star games as well as for the high school state baseball tournament playoff games. Iverson also informed the Council that $124,000 was put into the park with gambling money in the 1990’s and since 2011, $67,500. Heck informed the Council that it is estimated to cost the City $15-$20,000.00 to paint the grandstands. Keogh and Siebsen felt that it would be a benefit to get sentence to serve in to pressure wash the grandstands as well as painting. Siebsen also requested that the Baseball Association try to do some fund raising as well as have volunteers help with the painting project.

Levy Parameters The five (5) year plan calls for a general fund levy of $1,160,798 and a levy for debt service of $620,000 for a total levy of $1,780,798. This is an increase of $17,632 all of which goes to debt service. Rather than lowering the general fund levy by a few hundred dollars ($1,160,874 to $1,160,798), Heck suggests the levy remain unchanged at $1,160,874. Adding the $620,000 for debt service, the total levy would be $1,780,874 or an increase over 2014 of $17,708. While the general fund levy stays flat, the debt service levy increases by 2.9%. The good news is that the levy for debt service is anticipated to decrease beginning in 2015 by approximately $68,000, even with the added cost of the 5th Street project. By 2017, an additional $40,000 is anticipated to drop from the property tax supported debt, which will free up capacity to consider additional infrastructure funding.

CIP Priorities In considering allocating the resources of the city, the council will need to identify and rank the city’s priorities. The city conducted a resident survey as part of the comprehensive plan update and staff solicited input from residents via the website. The survey asked to pick the top five (5) items that need to be addressed in the city from a menu of options such as alleys, streets, parks, fire, police, economic development, sidewalks/trails, downtown improvements, etc. The resident survey overwhelmingly indicated that street improvements are a priority. The web survey also showed that street improvements are a priority. Downtown improvements, development, and park improvements round out the list of priorities. Based on this information and what council has expressed over the past few months, the 2015 budget includes a $200,000 transfer to a newly created Street Improvement Fund as well as $145,000 for street maintenance materials and work. The Public Utilities Committee worked on the street improvement plan and is recommending the Council allocate $345,000 for street improvements.

Heck also made a request to add a regular part-time employee to the Public Works department. The key functions of this position will be to maintain the parks and other city property during the summer including mowing, trimming, and general up keep of shelters and recreational facilities; snow removal in the winter; and cleaning and maintenance of city buildings. The added cost for this position is approximately $27,200. No additional equipment is necessary except maybe a trailer to haul mowers. There may be additional fuel and maintenance to equipment. There is no additional cost related to janitorial work since the city already pays for all cleaning supplies. Considering the potential operational costs associated with the position, the total estimated outlay is $27,900. The position would be paid for by eliminating the two cleaning contracts and the mowing contract. For 2014, these three contracts cost $35,100. By bringing these duties back in-house, the city could save approximately $7,200 in 2015. Heck is also suggesting allocating funds for an internship program. An intern, usually a student in a Masters of Public Administration, provides a valuable work experience for the individual and allows the city to complete some special projects current staff may not have time to pursue. An intern can provide assistance in all areas of the city’s operations.

Chief Schmidt is looking to replace the Crown Victoria and the Expedition and purchase one new vehicle. The Police Department would then run using only two vehicles.

2015 Budget Changes Heck also described several alterations to the 2015 budget format to make the document easier for council, staff, and the public to use and understand. Heck stated that the following formatting changes will include: the ambulance will be moved out of the general fund and become a special revenue fund, and the cable franchise fee will be moved out of the general fund and will become a special revenue fund. Moving these two programs to special revenue funds allows the revenue to be kept with the program and not roll into the general fund. Heck will also decrease the number of department accounts in the general fund. It will decrease from the current 20 or so to 10. This will cover the main departments of the city and include: Council, Elections, Administration, Planning and Zoning, Police, Fire, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Library, and Unallocated. Heck will also create individual CIP budgets for Parks, Streets, Ambulance, Fire, and Equipment. This will allow the City to build funds dedicated to each of these particular areas.

When Heck asked for feedback on the Capital Improvement Plan, Council member Siebsen stated he would like to get the grandstand and dugouts painted and repaired as well as paving the parking lot at Northside Park. He also expressed support for fixing the bathrooms at Memorial Park by the Horseshoe Pit and for allocating more than $10,000.00 to sidewalk repairs and maintenance. Mayor Keogh and Council member Wencl agreed with Council member Siebsen’s assessment and priorities. All members also felt strongly to allocate funds toward a street improvement fund. Heck noted that the cost of the inflow and infiltration costs at the WWTP are lower than originally anticipated. Council also discussed the city-wide trail system to tie into the “Czech Country Trail” connecting New Prague, Montgomery, and Lonsdale. Mayor Keogh asked about painting the exterior of City Hall.

The work session adjourned at 7:00 p.m.