Finance Committee

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Finance Committee Michael Schnetzer, Chair Karen Angelou Merisa Bowers Brian Larick Jamie Leeseberg Nancy McGregor Stephen Renner Krystal Gonchar, MPA, Clerk of Council Monday, December 13, 2021 Council Chambers * Immediately Following Committee of the Whole A. CALL TO ORDER. Chair Michael Schnetzer called the meeting to order at 9:06 p.m. B. DISCUSSIONS: ORD-0072-2021 TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, OHIO DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 2022. Schnetzer stated that where they left off at the last Finance Committee meeting, was an ask of administration to provide revised revenue projections and to provide any necessary reductions in order to have a budget that does not project a draw on general fund balance. Finance Director Joann Bury presented the items, see attached documents. Bury reviewed income tax as a revenue source; as a reminder, the original estimate was based on information known as of September 30; there was still some concern about post pandemic recovery and what businesses may need to do in order to address that; for the adjusted estimate, we laid in actual collections for October and November of 202, then increased the December estimate to be more in line with October-November collections; they seem to be trending that way; this resulted in an increased estimate of about $1.18M. Bury then looked to determine if that is sustainable; looking at our economy, what we’re collecting and what buckets we’re collecting them in; after discussing projects with Development and Planning, there are a few things to note. There are currently 14 projects in the works, which are estimated to have approximately $175M in capital investment; of those, City of Gahanna Page 1 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021 nine are anticipated to add additional jobs and wages. They also reached out to One Columbus, a research engine, and looked at main industries and what’s estimated for those; 2022 wages should increase by 3.9%; of the increase, 53% is related to net profits and 43% withholdings; 4% for individuals. First quarter withholdings are low but increased by 2nd quarter; at 3rd quarter we are at a 7 % increase. Bury stated that she believes there will be a continued increase in growth, therefore, $1.4M was added to the estimate, after accounting for some anomalies. Bury stated that for the appropriations side, they went back to each department and talked about inflationary increases; each department felt that they had added enough inflationary adjustments into their requests and that if things were exceeded they would just defer some things. Looking at a couple of things that did increase, natural gas was one where inflation wasn’t quite calculated high enough and so we have added an increase to the natural gas; had a slight increase on the IT Manager side; we have a premium holiday for health insurance that will be deferred; for some positions, they will be deferred to the end of 2022 or the following year; the additional police officer, facilities maintenance coordinator, the public information officer, and Parks maintenance worker. It was also determined that Planning would no longer need a part-time administrative assistant; saw reductions in the phone contract; all for a total of $360K in reductions. Page 40 of the budget book was revised based off those revenue adjustments; where we were planning to end 2021 with around $655K added to the fund balance, we are probably closer to $1.8M that will be added to the fund. Looking at 2022, the revised estimates, we are predicted to add back around $271K. We will have nearly six months of operational expenses. Schnetzer stated that this is not an aggressive revision to 2022, it is still a conservative outlook. The 2021 actuals that have occurred in the past couple of months are what’s driving the numbers. Bury confirmed. Angelou asked about the rationale for deferring the hiring of a police officer. Director of Administrative Services, Miranda Vollmer, stated that the hiring date would be expected in December 2022, based off the academy schedule; if there is a lateral hire, they can always come back to Council to ask for a supplemental appropriation. Larick said the adjustments to the revenue are almost a 5% gap from looking at this last week. Bury confirmed. Leeseberg asked to see the slide of the 14 projects. Nine of those 14 projects estimate more jobs. Bury said they have started, are in early phases, or will be coming online shortly. City of Gahanna Page 2 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021 Schnetzer asked if they are capturing construction jobs. Bury confirmed. Schnetzer stated that Council asked for a budget showing no use of the general fund for 2022; based on what we see here, that has been produced; asked Council if they are prepared to move forward with this in its current form. Schnetzer asked if there were any objections. Larick stated that he had concerns with the long-term picture of how this progresses. Schnetzer asked how these changes get incorporated. Bury stated that she will, as in past years, provide an updated reconciliation between the original and the final and submit to the Clerk. All agreed to place on the Regular Agenda for next week. Recommendation: Regular Agenda on 12/20/21. C. ADJOURNMENT. City of Gahanna Page 3