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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-06 - Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 6, 2009 1. Call to Order/Roll Call. The Corcoran City Council met on October 6, 2009, at City Hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Mayor Guenthner, Councilor Milbrandt, Councilor Gmach and Councilor Thomas. Councilor Hudok was absent due to a work conflict. Also present were City Administrator Donahue, Director of Public Safety Gormley, Cpl Hamilton, Public Works Superintendent Meister, Office Manager Smith - Arens, and Deputy Clerk/Bookkeeper Heinecke. Mayor Guenthner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Guenthner stated this would be a meeting where the formalities would be dispensed with in order to work through the several documents provided by staff. Administrator Donahue informed the council that City Engineer Vander Top would be delayed and could not attend the meeting until 8 PM. Mayor Guenthner said that Item 4 on the agenda would be moved down the agenda. 5. City Performance Report and 9. Cash Flow and Investments. Administrator Donahue presented the monthly Performance Report and asked for comments on the report, its layout, and if it presents the financial picture of the city that the council needs. Council was satisfied with report. Council would like staff to work on a report that gives more historical information on financial expenditures and revenues in order to get a better understanding of trends to make future decisions on spending. There was also a brief discussion on cash flows and the graphs included in the council packet. Council expressed interest in the administrator continuing to work on presenting this type of information to the council and to also work on listing the city's various funds, determining balances, and if those balances can be used for general daily cash flow needs of the city. 6. 2010 Budget. Administrator Donahue provided an update to the council on the staff efforts to fine tune the draft 2010 Budget based on the council's previous review and direction. Administrator Donahue informed the council that staff has taken the ($173,000) deficit present when the council last reviewed the budget to the latest version (09 -29 -09 Rev.5) which has a positive balance of $2,077. Mayor Guenthner discussed his memo of October 2, 2009 sent to the council which presented options to cut additional expenses by up to $100,370. Council discussed the pros and cons of each option. Director of Public Safety Gormley gave a presentation of the Police Dept and proposed additional cuts in the Police Dept Budget of $10,500. Staff presented information and options on the city's contribution level to employee benefits. Office Manager Smith -Arens presented a memo she developed on city employee benefits and options for funding in 2010. Administrator Donahue summarized his understanding of the council's discussion and directions on the 2010 Budget: Additional cuts of $10,500 in the police budget, $15,000 in the PW budget, staff will revisit the Workers Compensation expenditure figures and possibly make additional cuts of approximately $4,000. Staff will come back to the council in November with further refinements incorporated in the budget. 7. Employee Benefit Package. Administrator Donahue said the level of city contribution to the employees benefit package, while undecided by the council needs to be determined very soon. The required "Open Enrollment" period for employees to enroll or change insurance plans needs to be held in the first part of November. There is also staff time needed to prepare the employees updated information for submission to the insurer. Therefore, the council was urged to make a decision by the regular council meeting of October 22, 2009. Council asked for additional information from the employees and from the administrator on the existing benefits and on options. This information is to be included in the council packet for the October 22, 2009 council meeting. 4. Discussion of Possible TIF Projects. City Engineer Vander Top, now in attendance, and Page -1- CITY OF CORCORAN SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 6, 2009 Administrator Donahue introduced the topic and provided background information. The council discussed several possible development scenarios that could be undertaken with the TIF Funds available for infrastructure improvements. The most favorable scenario by consensus was bringing water to the "downtown: area of Corcoran. Staff was directed to put together the discussion points and ideas expressed by council at council meeting perhaps in November. 8. Hamel fire Contract and Possible Funding Formula Change. Council reviewed the information from the council packet provided by Administrator Donahue. Discussion by the council led to a consensus that the council did not favor changing the funding formula at this time due to the high probability that the data on fire calls could change in a given year with one or two significant events. Those "significant fire events" could skew the formula if only a three year call history was to be used for the Medina proposed 50% call history and a 50% property valuation formula instead of the current 30% call and 70% valuation formula. Council also stated that the Administrator should propose to Medina funding the approximately $2,900 increase suggested by Medina but not change the formula at this time. Council adjourned at 9:20 pm. Dan Don. ' ue, City Administrator Page -2-