City Council Committee Agendas

Mount Vernon City Council Finance Committee Minutes October 15, 2015 Present: Councilmembers Fiedler, Molenaar, Lindquist, Quam, Hulst, Ragan and Urban, Mayor Boudreau Staff present: Finance Director Alicia Huschka, Fire Chief Hari, Police Chief Dodd, City Attorney Rogerson 1. Mayor Boudreau presented the 2015 Preliminary Budget to Council. Some of the items highlighted:  The 2015 preliminary budget is $42.5 million which is an increase of $4 million or 8.3% compared to the 2014 budget.  The Governmental Operating budget is $26.2 million representing an increase of 5% or $1.2 million compared to the 2014 budget.  The preliminary budget for the Current Expense Fund uses $335,608 of fund balance to balance the budget. This brings the estimated fund balance to $3.2 million, which is close the goal of 2 months reserve  Public defender contract has added a significant expense to the 2015 budget.  Other externally driven expenditures are going to be higher in 2015.  Various departments have been faced with increased workloads and no increases in staffing levels have created backlogs. Basic repairs to facilities have been delayed and are becoming a critical necessity.  Affordable Healthcare Act will impact the Governmental Operating Fund at $28,000 and $43,000 citywide. Various part-time positions have been reconfigured to help hold these costs to a minimum.  Various work plan goals are included, examples include a lag payroll plan, salary survey, and Fire Department deployment work group.  New revenue requests are from a variety of sources. 2. Alicia reviewed the budget with the following highlights:  Public Defense costs, union contracts, new employees as well as the impact of health care costs for part time employees are all examples of what makes up the majority of the budget increase.  Sales tax increase is predicted to be ½% higher than the 2014 estimated revenue.  The City was notified that a property owner had been awarded exemption from property tax and was issued a refund of $169,000 which reduces the City’s collection of property tax in October.  The Police Department’s budget was presented for review. City of Mount Vernon Finance Committee October 15, 2014 Page 2  The Fire Department’s budget was presented for review.  Chief Hari presented information on the recent Washington Survey & Rating that the Fire Department underwent. Budget discussions will continue at the October 22, 2014 Regular Council Meeting and the October 29, 2014 Committee Meeting of the Whole. The property tax levy will be presented for potential adoption on November 5, 2014 and the Council will be asked to vote on the preliminary budget on November 25, 2014. Adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Submitted by Rebecca J. Wade