COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - MINUTES - 9/11/2008
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – CITY OF MUSKEGO Approved 9/18/2008
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 11, 2008
The meeting was held at Tudor Oaks, S77 W12929 McShane Drive, in the Oak Ridge
Dining Room. Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 6:42 p.m.
Present were Ald. Fiedler, Schaefer, Schneider, Werner, Borgman, Pavelko, Snead,
Finance Dept. Supervisor Mueller and Deputy Clerk Blenski. IS Director Sommers,
Computer Specialist Quijano, Assessor Mecha, and several Tudor Oaks residents were
also present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited at the Common Council meeting
held just prior. The deputy clerk stated that the meeting was noticed in accordance with
the open meeting law on 9/8/2008.
There were no issues with the agenda.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ald. Snead moved for approval of the August 26, 2008 minutes. Ald. Borgman
seconded; motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Presentation and Review of Proposed 2009 Operating Budget
Mayor Johnson stated he would present an overview of the proposed budget and some
commentary. It was the consensus of the committee that individual items would be
voted on at the end of the budget process after all the discussion was heard. The
budget public hearing will be held on November 3, 2008 at City Hall.
The Mayor acknowledged Sharon Mueller for preparing the proposed budget. The City
is facing a difficult year financially, and some staffing adjustments are proposed to make
ends meet. He thanked all the Dept. Heads for holding the line, which resulted in an
increase in expenditures of only 2.65%.
The Mayor outlined his goals for the 2009 budget:
1. Maintain City services at the current level.
2. Limit the use of fund balance to 50% of the preceding year’s surplus.
3. Create efficiencies with City government.
The following were some of the steps taken to achieve those goals:
Early retirement incentive program. Two employees took advantage of the program.
Outsourcing services to be more efficient.
Merging departments.
The proposed budget would result in a City tax rate of $4.34. This reflects a decrease
of $0.35 or 7.49% from last year’s rate.
Mayor Johnson identified the significant changes between the proposed 2009 budget
and the 2008 budget:
Committee of the Whole Page 2
September 11, 2008
Revenues reflect a decrease of 2.65% ($365,241) due primarily to the 2% State levy
limit and reductions in State transportation aids and interest earnings on investments.
The Mayor is proposing to establish a fee to cover the cost for fire inspections required
by State law to be done for commercial properties. This would result in $50,000 in
revenues. At the same time, the existing Point of Sale inspection fee is proposed to be
eliminated. This results in a $15,000 decrease in revenues.
On the expenditure side, the Mayor noted that he has recommended approximately
$471,000 of additional reductions to balance the 2009 budget: They include the
following:
General Government - Reduction of $141,783
Not funding the City Administrator Position.
Outsourcing the Information Systems Department and creating a new GIS/IS
Department.
Reclassification of the present GIS Position as the new City Coordinator of GIS/IS.
Public Safety - Reduction of $49,597
Not funding the Clerk Position in the Building Inspection Department
Not funding two Inspector Positions. These represent the two positions that will be
vacant due to the retirement of the employees that held them.
Public Works - Reduction of $77,169
Not funding one Highway Maintenance Position. This is a result of the employee
taking early retirement. The Mayor noted that one seasonal employee would be
added to work June to September.
Parks and Recreation Department - Reduction of $117,238
Not funding two Parks Maintenance Positions.
Outsourcing grass cutting services.
Elimination of baseball field preparation.
Addition of one seasonal employee.
Community Development - Reduction of $48,885
Reclassification of the GIS Position to the new GIS/IS Department
The Mayor also noted the following miscellaneous items:
Contingency fund reduction of $2,400 due to the .5% Contingency Policy.
Moving the payment of $34,053 from the General Fund Operating Budget for the
Town Hall Project to the Parks Dedication Special Revenue Fund.
Decreasing COLA for all employees from the 2008 level and reducing the maximum
merit rate from 3% to 1.5% for all nonrepresented positions. This results in a
savings of $60,908.
The 2008 fiscal year will end with an estimated surplus of approximately $50,000. The
Mayor recommends that the 2008 projected fund balance plus an additional $64,115 of
undesignated funds be used to balance the 2009 budget.
Mayor Johnson stated that outsourcing the functions of the Building Inspection
Department was reviewed. With the proposed staff reductions for 2009, outsourcing
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September 11, 2008
would not result in any cost savings. The Mayor turned the presentation over to
Finance Department Supervisor Sharon Mueller.
Ms. Mueller briefly reviewed the Official Notice for the budget public hearing, which will
be published on October 16, 2008. The public hearing is scheduled for Monday,
November 3, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. She noted that 76% of the General Fund balance is
designated for cash flow purposes and partial funding of the accrued compensated
absences liability.
Ms. Mueller reviewed the General Fund Revenues, which are broken down into nine
categories:
Taxes - primarily made up of the tax levy and provides approximately 72% of funding for
the budget.
Intergovernmental Revenue - this category includes aids from other governments. It
does reflect a decrease in transportation aids due to the fact that the City received two
years of funding in 2008.
Licenses and Permits - includes fees associated with regulation and compliance. There
is very little change from 2008. Building permits does reflect a $20,000 increase due to
the development on Moorland Road. The other changes to note are the inclusion of
$50,000 for the Fire Inspections and the reduction of $15,000, which reflects the
elimination of the Point of Sale Inspections. The Mayor had noted both of these
changes earlier.
Fines, Forfeits and Penatlies - these are court-related fees. No significant changes to
note.
Public Charges for Services - these are fees collected to provide a service. The
significant change is in the Construction Review Fees, which are down approximately
97% due to economic conditions. The total revenues for Recreation Programs will
increase from the prior year. In addition, Development Charges have also decreased
due to the economy.
Intergovernmental Charges for Services - these are reimbursements from the Little
Muskego Lake District and school district.
Miscellaneous Revenue - these are business-type revenues. The main account is
Interest on Investments and reflects a decrease due to lower interest rates.
Other Financing Sources - the Mayor has proposed to use 68% of City reserves to help
balance the budget.
Interdepartmental Revenue - these are costs recovered from the water and sewer
utilities.
Ms. Mueller stated that the Mayor’s proposed 2009 budget reflects total expenditures in
the amount of $13,418,483, which is a decrease of 2.65% ($365,241) from 2008. Ms.
Mueller reviewed the graphs in Section 4 of the proposed budget. These depict the
sources of revenues that she just discussed.
Ms. Mueller next reviewed the General Fund Expenditures:
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September 11, 2008
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Common Council/Mayor - 2.76%
Clerk-Treasurer 2.22%
Position will not be filled.
Administrator -100.00%
Revaluation done in 2008 and not in
Assessor and Board of Review -30.83%
2009
Labor negotiations
Law 33.33%
Insurance premiums lowered with
Non-Departmental -6.18%
increased deductibles
Nonpresidential election year
Elections -47.80%
Municipal Court 1.08%
Building Maintenance 6.37%
New department
Geographic Information 0.00%
Systems/IS
Outsourcing functions of existing
Information Systems -26.76%
dept.
Dept. reorganization
Finance 25.42%
($198,150)
General Government Total -8.29%
PUBLIC SAFETY
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Police Department - Police Patrol 2.92%
Police Department -Civilian -1.80%
Personnel
Partial cost of hydrant rental to be
Volunteer Fire Department -3.56%
shifted to water utility customers.
Creation of one dept.
Trunked radio costs
Non-Departmental Public Safety 69.15%
Not funding three positions, but
Bldg. and Plumbing Inspection -39.28%
including an additional $25,000 for
contracted services.
($91,797)
Public Safety Total -1.54%
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Non-Departmental 15.00%
Non-Dept Public Safety -33.33%
$550
Health and Human Services 13.25%
Total
Committee of the Whole Page 5
September 11, 2008
PUBLIC WORKS
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Change in engineer position
Engineering Dept. -13.07%
Not funding one position due to
Public Works Administration -17.37%
retirement.
Road Maintenance -18.83%
Street Signs and Guide Board -25.14%
Storm Water, Sewers and Drains -1.64%
Increase in personnel, sand and
Snow Removal and Ice Control 41.17%
salt based on prior year data
Street Lighting-Utilities 5.98%
22% increase in fuel costs
Machinery and Equipment 14.82%
City Garage 5.68%
Bridges and Dams 36.43%
Weed Cutting -10.51%
($44,333)
Public Works Total -2.35%
CULTURE, RECREATION AND EDUCATION
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Increase in amount paid to LML
Non-Departmental 32.47%
District (15% of district’s operating
budget)
Library 3.52%
Parks Dept. - Administration 1.09%
Not funding two maintenance
Parks Dept. - Operations -29.19%
positions.
Parks Dept. - Historical -11.48%
Parks Dept. - H.S. Athletic Field 0.00%
Recreation Administration -1.54%
Aquatics 0.00%
Arts and Crafts -7.55%
Athletics 12.29%
Safety 2.27%
Senior Activities 0.00%
Short-Term Child Care 4.92%
Athletic Leagues 57.54%
Varied Interests 2.32%
New Programs -7.27%
($38,754)
Culture, Recreation and -1.69%
Education Total
Committee of the Whole Page 6
September 11, 2008
CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Reclassification of position
Planning Dept. -17.61%
($65,219)
Conservation and Development -17.61%
Total
CAPITAL OUTLAY
Department 2009 % Change Rationale/$
from 2008 Budget
Police Dept. -0.34%
Vehicle removed from 2008 budget;
Public Works Dept. 26.89%
replacement proposed for 2009.
$159,734
Capital Outlay Total 23.72%
CONTINGENCY FUND
2009 % Change Rationale
from 2008 Budget
($80,450)
Contingency Fund Total -54.63%
DEBT SERVICE
2009 % Change Rationale
from 2008 Budget
Non-Departmental 25.00%
$3,000
Debt Service Total 25.00%
OTHER FINANCING USES
2009 % Change Rationale
from 2008 Budget
($9,822)
Other Financing Uses Total -17.59%
TOTAL GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES - $13,418,483
Ms. Mueller stated that the projected 2009 General Fund Balance is $4,428,881. She
reviewed the graphs in Section 6, which depict the general fund expenditures that she
just discussed.
The following requests were made for additional information:
Total revenue vs. expenditures for the recreation programs.
Information regarding outsourcing functions of the Bldg. Inspection Dept. for 2008,
2009 and projecting out for 2010
Committee of the Whole Page 7
September 11, 2008
At this time, the Mayor took questions from the audience.
Ald. Schaefer asked if the budget included funding for the health insurance for the two
employees who accepted the early retirement option. Mayor Johnson stated that would
be discussed at the next meeting. It is proposed to take the money from the
Compensated Absences Fund (Special Revenue Fund). He also noted that the budget
does not include any potential compensation and severance for those employees
whose positions may be eliminated or not funded.
Ms. Mueller reviewed Section 7 Staffing Summary. The 2009 proposed budget does
not include funding for nine existing full-time positions, which are: City Administrator,
Director of Information Systems, Computer Specialist, Building Clerk, two Building
Inspectors, one Highway Patrol position, two Park Maintenance positions. Of the nine
positions, three have retired, the City Administrator position is currently vacant, and the
other five positions are staffed by existing employees.
The Mayor encouraged the aldermen to direct any questions to him or Sharon. He
stated that he could request all Dept. Heads to be present at the next meeting, but
noted that there is very little change in the operating budgets from 2008. Ald. Werner
requested that a representative of the Parks Dept. be present. The Dept. Heads
present did not wish to speak.
Ald. Werner stated that the September 25, 2008 COW meeting would be held at
Muskego Regency. He asked that the aldermen come early to allow time for
communication with the residents.
ADJOURNMENT
Ald. Snead moved to adjourn at 7:56 p.m. Seconded by Ald. Fiedler, motion carried.
Jill Blenski, CMC
Deputy Clerk