MINI BUDGET ADVANCE
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM 211 WEST ASPEN AVENUE 1:00 P.M. |
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1. | Call to Order | ||||||||||
Mayor Nabours called the meeting of January 28, 2015, to order at 1:02 p.m. |
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2. | Roll Call
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3. | Mini Budget Advance | ||||||||||
A. | Overview | ||||||||||
Interim City Manager Jeff Meilbeck provided a PowerPoint presentation that covered the following:
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B. | Questions from 1/22/15 Mini Budget Advance | ||||||||||
Mr. Meilbeck provided a PowerPoint Presentation that covered the following:
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C. | Mini Advance #2: Infrastructure, Technology and Staffing | ||||||
Mr. Meilbeck continued the presentation.
Ms. Sayers stated that the numbers presented are reflective of the current year’s budget and ongoing needs. She stated that there has been a lot of success but the organization still has large needs. She also noted that pavement preservation has been removed from the list as it is now funded.
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D. | FY2016 Budget Strategies Discussion | ||||||
Mr. Meilbeck continued the presentation.
Councilmember Overton stated that the concept of needing to fix the structural deficit will take more than one year; he asked if staff can calculate or determine what a percentage of growth rate does to that and if it could be predicted. It is the projection of identifying a percentage point that is a direct connection between a growth rate and revenue generation. For example, if the City needs $5 million what gets it there, 15 new restaurants, 100 new jobs, etc. Councilmember Putzova stated that it is interesting to think and talk about what Flagstaff’s economy expansion would give in terms of additional revenue. She urged caution because what is being heard is that the economy is driven by governmental services and a lot of budgets will be cut. It is important to consider contraction as the Council and staff make projections for revenue. Management Services Director Barbara Goodrich stated that the questions raised may be good for the Rural Policy Institute (RPI) to do research on and help develop a work plan. Councilmember Brewster suggested that other agencies could join with the City to work with RPI such as the Chamber of Commerce and ECONA. Mr. Meilbeck asked the Council for direction on increasing ongoing revenues. Mayor Nabours stated that the question is if the Council is committed to increasing property tax or user fees to generate enough money each year to give a 1% increase in compensation. The other side of that question is if the Council is committed to finding some way to increase revenue, not from growth or sales tax, by enough to commit to a 1% increase in compensation each year. Mayor Nabours, Councilmember Oravits and Councilmember Overton stated that they were not in support of increasing ongoing revenues through increasing property taxes. Vice Mayor Barotz stated that she would like to see what kinds of proposals may come through the process before making a determination and Councilmember Evans agreed. Councilmember Brewster stated that while she does not like taking anything off the table, to add a property tax on top of the new sales tax would be hard for her to support. Councilmember Evans stated that the intention is not to raise the property tax above what is allowed within Council’s right. Relying solely on sales tax is not smart and an entire budget cannot be funded on sales tax alone. If this is going to be taken off the table the Council should redefine its goals as additional funding is needed to achieve them. She suggested reviewing other department fees outside of recreation to see if there are areas that need to be readjusted. She suggested increasing the liquor license fees to better capture the staff time used to monitor the licenses. Councilmember Putzova stated that the private sector is doing great and she does not see a reason why the Council should not pursue property tax increases. There are impact fees and other fees that should also be looked at. The community deserves a good level of service and for that good level of service there is a cost. There was discussion about the Council goals and the priority of those goals within the context of revenue generation and how that determines forward movement in achieving the goals. Councilmember Evans requested a memo from staff that lays out the revenue generated by the 2% increase in property taxes. Additionally, she requested information about what that looks like for the average homes in Flagstaff. A break was held from 2:25 p.m. through 2:35 p.m. Mr. Meilbeck moved on to the next question for Council to consider; whether or not they would like to reduce expenditures through program reductions to support the goals. Mayor Nabours stated that he is interested in seeing proposals of reduction. Councilmember Overton stated that this an exercise that has been done year after year and he does not believe that there will be any big changes. He explained that he would rather look at the division level for bigger dollars. Councilmember Oravits agreed stating that the return will likely be limited and he would also like to look at the division level or service reductions. Councilmember Brewster stated that service reductions will likely get heavy push back from the community and she does not think that these options are a good use of time. Councilmember Evans stated that she is not interested in this direction if it involves cutting employees and Councilmember Putzova agreed. Mr. Meilbeck explained that the next mini retreat is scheduled for February 11, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. Staff will be presenting information on revenue projections, expenditure forecast and budget modeling scenarios. |
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4. | Adjournment | ||||||
The Mini Budget Advance of January 28, 2015, adjourned at 2:51 p.m. |
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