City Council Meeting - 2022-12-12

Detailed briefing

City Council Meeting — December 12, 2022 ATTENDEES: Matt McGarra, Jamie Melky, John Leo, and Nancy Rondell were recorded present at roll call. • Council opened and closed a public hearing on the proposed 2023 budget, amended 2022 budget, and 2023-2028 Capital Improvements Plan. Staff said the CIP contains 71 projects totaling at least $19 million, with about two-thirds of projected spending in the electric fund. The CIP is a planning guide and does not itself authorize spending. • The initial general-fund proposal showed a $140,000 deficit, driven chiefly by a proposed boardwalk contribution, a historical-fund transfer, and an ARPA-related transfer for water-tower work. Staff said the ARPA transfer is required because the funds first entered the general fund before being used for the water project. • Council direction was to avoid a deficit. Members supported holding off on a proposed $100,000 city commitment to the boardwalk until bids and donation totals are known, while reserving any resulting surplus for that project. Staff said this change could leave about an $85,000 surplus, with a further reduction in parks operating supplies potentially bringing the surplus to about $100,000. • Council also supported providing about $25,000 for continued museum operations while deferring the rest of a proposed transfer back to the historical fund. The City still needs to negotiate an agreement with the Historical Society for next-year museum operations. • A proposed $40,000 Ford Park window replacement was removed from the budget discussion. Staff said the windows are outdated, but the building is not currently planned for winter use and Council noted there is no overall plan yet for the building. • Staff proposed future policies for maintaining a general-fund reserve and creating a capital-reserves fund for needs such as the boardwalk, roofs, parking lots, and other infrastructure. Staff reported the general fund has roughly 9.5 months of operating fund balance but about five months of cash reserves. Worth watching: • Boardwalk costs, bids, donation totals, construction timing, and the amount of any City contribution remain unresolved. • The terms and cost of a next-year Historical Society agreement remain to be negotiated. • Staff plans to bring reserve-fund policies to Council at a future meeting. Upcoming: Staff will bring revised budget and CIP resolutions for Council consideration on December 19; the first January meeting is expected to be January 16. Why it matters: Council is attempting to preserve financial reserves while preparing for major infrastructure needs, especially the boardwalk.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.