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COWM.2022.09.27 (APPR)APPROVED CITY OF MUSKEGO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES September 27, 2022 5:30 PM Muskego City Hall, W182 S8200 Racine Avenue CALL TO ORDER Mayor Petfalski called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL Present: Alderpersons Hammel, Kapusta, Schroeder, Kubacki, and Madden. Absent: Alderperson Wolfe Also present: City Attorney Warchol; Public Works and Development Director Kroeger; Assistant Deputy Clerk -Treasurer Crisp. STATEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICE Assistant Deputy Clerk -Treasurer Crisp stated that the meeting was noticed in accordance with the open meeting law. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Alderperson Kubacki moved to approve. Alderperson Madden seconded; motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of Committee of the Whole Minutes - September 13, 2022 Alderperson Hammel moved to approve the Committee of the Whole Minutes from September 13, 2022. Alderperson Madden seconded; motion carried. NEW BUSINESS Mayor's Proposed 2023 Budget Mayor Petfalski read his Summary Comments regarding the 2023 Proposed Budget. SUMMARY COMMENTS How we fund local government in the State of Wisconsin is broken. Relying almost exclusively on the local property tax is not only unpopular, but not what was planned when the state first adopted a state income tax when the plan was to distribute 85% of that tax revenue back to local communities. Local government is the most responsive and important form of government we have in this state. We provide, police, fire, public works and elections to name a few of the essential services residents expect. Currently, state statues caps our new property tax revenue to the rate of net new Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 Page 12 construction. This past year that was .865% or $118,254. Put on top of that, the CPI increased by 8.4 % (through August) and you can see we are headed towards a difficult road ahead. The budget process started with over a $1,255,253 projected deficit, the largest in recent history. Through prioritizing the requested initiatives, shifting some budgeting philosophes and anticipating some significant health insurance savings by shifting to a new carrier on January 1st we are presenting a balanced budget for the council's consideration. As we continue to grow as a community, we need to monitor investments in the services we provide to the taxpayers. Those services, by and large are the product of our hard working employees. We need to find ways to maintain our existing staff as well as recruit the best and brightest for open positions. This budget makes a priority in those goals so we can maintain the image of being a great community to live and raise a family. This city budget is built upon Council defined budget goals with desired outcomes in the best interest of Muskego taxpayers, and the 2023 Proposed Budget is consistent with that measure. Based on the agreed upon comprehensive goals of the Committee of the Whole, the balanced budget as prepared by the department heads and I is proposed to maintain a low mill rate of $3.81, which again is one of the lowest mill rates of any municipality in Waukesha County. Following are the 2023 Comprehensive Budget Goals as approved by the Committee of the Whole: • Apply Net New Growth as Allowed per the State Levy Limit • Maintain High Bond Rating • Limit One -Time Funding Sources • Avoid Depletion of Special Revenue Funds • Recognize and Respect the Expertise of Incumbent employees thru Competitive Pay Increases & Benefit • Packages • Abide by the General Operation Fund Balance Policy • Budget Goal Setting as a Collaboration between the Committee of the Whole, Mayor and Staff Budget Process: This evening, the Committee of the Whole received the 2023 Proposed Budget for initial review. We will however, continue researching further budget adjustments as we go through this process. The goal is to have an approved budget on October 25th with a public hearing and budget adoption that evening. If there are specific questions regarding any line item, I encourage Council members to contact the respective department head in advance to discuss the item(s) to aid in identifying the precise information desired. Significant Changes from the 2022 to the 2023: Revenues The proposed 2023 general fund revenue budget reflects a tax levy increase of $149,693 or 1.098% and is within the State levy limit. Increased revenue is derived from new growth. The additional funds will be utilized to offset expenditure increases in protected services, technology, human resources, employee pay scale adjustments and merit increases. Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 Expenditures Page 13 The proposed 2023 general fund expenditure budget is in balance with the proposed revenue budget, resulting in a 2.44 % increase over 2022. In support of the goal to recognize and respect the expertise of incumbent employees this budget reflects a recommended pay scale adjustment of 2% along with a maximum 1 % merit pay for non - represented employees. The Police Union Agreement is up for negotiations which we are hoping to commence soon. Personnel costs also include employee benefits which fluctuate considerably from year to year. This year we are looking to the insurance market for some savings by keeping our plan levels similar, but inviting other carriers to provide those benefits at a substantial savings. Over the past two years we have concentrated our efforts on becoming self -insured to realize the most savings, however, the partners we had approached to implement this change were not successful in showing a savings in this path at the current time. As a reference, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers rose 8.4 % for the 12 months ending 8131122. Taxes Per the 2023 Budget Goals, the entire available net new growth is proposed to help fund increased expenditures within the general operating and debt service fund. Based upon Assessor provided data, the net impact will again produce an estimated City tax rate of $3.81 per $1,000 of assessed value the same rate compared to the prior year. COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW None. ADJOURNMENT Alderperson Kubacki moved to adjourn at 5:44 p.m. Alderperson Schroeder seconded; motion carried. Minutes taken and transcribed by Assistant Deputy Clerk -Treasurer Crisp.