HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-08-27 - Council Minutes
CITY OF CORCORAN
CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP
August 27, 2007
The Corcoran City Council met on August 27, 2007, at city hall in Corcoran,
Minnesota. Present were Mayor Guenthner, Councilor Hudok, Councilor Jacobs, Workshop Opened
and Councilor Thomas. Also present was Administrator Vergin, Police Chief
Gormley, Public Works Superintendent Pat Meister, and Planner Norm Gartner. Roll Call
Councilor Grabowski was absent. Mayor Guenthner reconvened the meeting at
6:30 p.m. from the August 16 workshop.
Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved by consensus.
Presentation – Norm Gartner Re: Combining Services Planning / Engineering
Planner Gartner had been requested to attend the workshop to provide an overview Services
to the council on his proposal to combine planning and engineering services. He is
proposing that the City retain his services with a monthly retainer of $12,000
($144,000/annually). He would provide engineering, planning, and code
enforcement services, along with the comprehensive plan work. His proposal
would also require that fees for large projects greater then $200,000 would be
negotiated. By providing a monthly retainer to Mr. Gartner the City will provide a
stable cash flow which would allow him to look at additional staff. The $144,000
annual retainer can be recouped by the City via fees and escrows that would be
collected from the applicants. The City gains cost control, and steadies his cash
flow.
The Council addressed the proposal versus hiring an in-house staff person. Pros
and cons for both were addressed. Concern was raised that one councilmember was
not present. Staff was then directed to prepare three comparisons for future
discussion by the City Council. 1. Extend 2007 base line; 2. Norm’s proposal; and
3. Allocated to a fully loaded employee.
Outstanding Items Outstanding Items
Planning, engineering and code enforcement were covered under the presentation
by Planner Gartner; therefore no further discussion on these topics took place.
Comprehensive Plan – Planner Gartner had prepared an outline of the costs and
timeline for amending the Comp Plan. Gartner explained that the $43,200 was
inclusive regardless of who was performing the work, Gartner Engineering or
Bonestroo. Administrator Vergin was advised to include this in the 2008 budget,
and also look at including funding for economic development.
Financial model for paid time off – Administrator Vergin provided an overview of
what is being proposed. Option 2 will provide the employees with time off very
similar to what they have now, but will still save the city approximately $13,000 a
year.
Health Benefits – Administrator Vergin provided an overview of what is being
proposed for 2008. The benefits package proposal would include a cafeteria plan,
that would allow employees to select benefits, which could include medical, dental,
flex spending, and additional life insurance. If an employee chooses not to seek full
utilization of their cafeteria plan, they can receive up to $300 cash back per month.
With this new package it is also proposed that the City would provide a self funded
short term disability program. Additional information on the short term disability
will be provided at the next meeting.
Revenues – The various sources of revenues were reviewed.
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CITY OF CORCORAN
CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP
August 27, 2007
Overview of Proposed Levy/Budget Certification of
Preliminary Levy
Mayor Guenthner explained that the Council will need to take action on the
preliminary levy at the September 13 council meeting, as it needs to be certified to
the County by September 15. That the Council will still have opportunities prior to
the final approval to make changes, but the final levy cannot exceed the certified
preliminary levy.
Directives to Staff
Directives to Staff
Staff was directed to provide the additional information on the planning and
engineering services; look at the impact to create a fulltime position in the public
works department versus contracting city hall cleaning and hiring part time
seasonal employees; and provide additional information on the proposed benefits
package.
Adjournment
Adjournment
MOTION
by Hudok, seconded by Thomas to adjourn the budget workshop, 9:25
p.m.
______________________________
Susan Vergin, City Administrator
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