Budget and Finance Committee

City of Sidney, MT Budget and Finance Committee Meeting February 10, 2026 5:30 PM 115 2nd Street SE |Sidney, MT 59270 Committee meetings are open to the public attending in person. If the public does not wish to participate in person, they are also invited to participate via a Zoom meeting or via phone: Meeting ID: 713 080 5898 Passcode: 4332809 Call: 1-346-248-7799 1. Call to Order The Budget and Finance Committee meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was stated by all present. 3. Committee Members Present Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen (via phone) and Mrs. Skinner. 4. Correction or Approval of Minutes a. January 13th, 2026 Budget and Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Alderman DiFonzo requested the correction of Mrs. Skinner not having voted on the recommendation for the Pilot Tourism Grant and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated she will make that correction. Motion was made to approve the January 13th, 2026 minutes with the correction. Motion made by Buxbaum, Seconded by DiFonzo. Voting Yea: DiFonzo, Buxbaum 5. Visitors None. 6. Monthly Reports a. January 2026 Treasurer's Report Budget and Finance Committee Meeting February 10, 2026 Page 1 of 4  Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin presented the January 2026 Treasurer's Report. She stated the revenues and expenditures are skewed in the water utility fund due to the large water tower project that has not commenced and in the sewer utility fund due to the storm water project that has been completed. She further stated they have received the oil and gas payment this month and it is continuing the trend down. Mrs. Skinner asked about the budget because we had 59% of revenue with two oil and gas payments and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated during budgeting they intentionally under budget the anticipated revenue due to fluctuations, so as much as the payments are trending down, we are still on par for the budget. She stated this could impact budgeting for next fiscal year. 7. New Business a. TBID Administration Fee Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin presented a TBID report from Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Schmeierer who administers the TBID. She stated the oridinance passed in 2023 allows the City Council to apply an adiministration fee that has not been applied and per the report provided Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Schmierer is recommending a 6% administration fee that will be applied and withheld from their payments quarterly and she seconds this recommendation. Motion was to recommend withholding a 6% administration fee from the TBID payments, per the City Code. Motion made by Buxbaum, Seconded by DiFonzo. In discussion Alderman DiFonzo stated it is time we started to be compensated for this and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated especially since they have been tracking their time through the lawsuit. Alderwoman Buxbaum stated Deputy Schmierer holds the TBID down and carries it also and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated she does and she is very grateful for all she does with it. Voting Yea: Christensen, DiFonzo, Buxbaum b. City Hall Updates 504 Compliance: Handicap button on Council Chambers door, kickplate to protect wainscoting for front counter, remove auto closures on public restrooms. Fix flooding issues in back lot Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated in the ARPA grant fund for the City hall remodel $56,000 and in the City Hall $105,000 about $161,000 total available. She stated as part of the 504 requirement, Owen Dotson came through city hall to ensure that although we are ADA compliant, are we handicap user friendly and in that there was some recommendations that included removing the automatic closures from the public restrooms for wheel chairs, a push to open handicap button on the council chambers door and a kickplate on the wainscoting at the front counter so they can pull their wheel chairs in far enough to use the counter. She stated she would like to have B&B Builders do a work order to present a cost to move forward on correcting these issues to the City Council. Budget and Finance Committee Meeting February 10, 2026 Page 2 of 4  Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated at the City Management meeting this last month they reviewed the several options for using the remainder of the funds for the City Hall Remodel that are currently available such as finishing remodeling the back meeting room to have a Public Works meeting/training room and possibly add two offices, replace all of the garage doors and mechanics or fix the flooding in the back parking lot. She stated it was an easy choice to recommend to fix the flooding. She stated every time it rains substantially, due to drainage the water flows into the back door and into the basement where they keep their paper files. She stated the Public Works could possibly do the work but she would also like to pursue a cost estimate from a contractor to not over burden them. Alderman DiFonzo stated finishing the remodel needs to be done and the flooding has been an issue forever and asked if this was only asking for approval to get work orders or cost estimates. Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated yes, without knowing even an estimate of the costs, they would not move forward without approval of the work orders. Alderman DiFonzo asked if these will be separate work orders and she replied yes, the 504 updates would likely be on one and the flooding on another. Motion was made to recommend approval of pursuing work orders to do the 504 updates to City Hall and to fix the flooding the back parking lot. In discussion Mrs. Skinner stated she feels this decision is wise, as it is protecting the integrity of the building and the files. Motion made by Christensen, Seconded by Buxbaum. Voting Yea: Christensen, DiFonzo, Buxbaum c. Local Government Review: City Administrator Position Assistant Public Works Position Alderwoman Buxbaum provided a Benefits of a City Administrator she prepared that shows her reasoning on the why having a city administrator would push the City's capacity to another level. she stated also provided is a job description example for the city administrator and while we are discussing this we should also be discussing the addition of an assistant public works director for succession planning for PWD Hintz. The Budget and Finance Committee reviewed and discussed the organizational chart that would be in effect and the pay that would go with the positions, with a scenario provided by Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin. In the scenario it included cutting two positions of the Deputy Clerk/Treasurer and an open water operator position, adding the City Administrator and the Assistant Public Works positions, putting all equal ranking positions at equitable pay and a 2.9% COLA matching last year's COLA. The scenario showed that with the cutting of the unfilled position and the Deputy position that would no longer be needed, the increase in payroll would be directly due to the COLA increase, not due to the Administrator and Assistant Public Works positions. Other cuts could include cutting back an open sewer operator position to part time, Budget and Finance Committee Meeting February 10, 2026 Page 3 of 4  cutting an open police officer position that has been vacant for numerous years and the hope that the Assistant position could be filled in-house. The Budget and Finance Committee discussed the importance of succession planning, especially for a key and complex position with a specialized skill set as the Public Works Director and that having an assistant working under PWD Hintz in training to take over the position will be key for a smooth transition at his retirement. The Budget and Finance Committee reviewed the "Benefits" sheet and the job description provided for the City Administrator and agreed that key parts of this position would be working with the Mayor on HR, budget setting, oversight and management, strategic planning, working with department heads, succession planning and carrying out policies set by the City Council. The Committee discussed the importance of Department Heads still having authority over their departments, but coordinating with the City Administrator, and that certain areas would fall strictly under the Department Heads, such as police matters under the Police Chief. Specific areas of the job description were discussed to be amended After discussion the Budget and Finance Committee had the general consensus that Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin should amend Alderwoman Buxbaum's "Benefits of a City Administrator" to discuss roles and duties only and to provide this along with the organizational chart as information to the public for the Local Government Review. Also in the general consensus was that Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin would make the suggested amendments to the City Administrator job description and create an Assistant Public Works job description to bring back to the Budget and Finance Committee for continued review and discussion. 8. Unfinished Business Nothing. 9. Comments and Questions from the Committee Nothing. 10. Adjournment at 6:46pm. Budget and Finance Committee Meeting February 10, 2026 Page 4 of 4