Finance Committee

City of Verona Finance Committee City Hall – 111 Lincoln Street Verona, WI 53593-1520 MINUTES FINANCE COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Mara Helmke at 6:00 p.m. Roll Call: Chairperson Mara Helmke, Alder Christine Posey and Alder Patrick Lytle were present. Also present: Mayor Luke Diaz, Finance Director Brian Lamers and Public Works Director Bryan Manning, Parks Director Adam Waszak, Recreation Director Casey Dudley, Library Director Stacey Burkart, Planning Director Lucas Sivertsen, and Fire Battalion Chief Becky McCright. Public Comment: None Discussion and Possible Action regarding approval of September 9, 2024 Finance Committee minutes: Motion was made by Lytle, seconded by Posey to approve the September 9, 2024 Finance Committee minutes with no changes noted. Motion carried 3-0. Discussion and Possible Action regarding 2025 Budget Items: Planning Director Lucas Sivertsen stated that in the 2025 budget there was an increase in contracted services for a housing availability report that is required by the state, also an increase in publication due to a reallocation of where charges are now in the Administration budget of $1,400. Lamers stated the Fire Battalion Chief Becky McCright and himself went over the budget and determined that there needed to be an increase in Utilities based on current charges. McCright stated that there was an increase in equipment repairs budget due to some major repairs coming up for some of the equipment. Lamers stated that fuel budget was decrease based on current expenses. The outlay account is up $10,000 for the replacement of a group of computers. Lamers went over the Capital request and explained there was nothing out of the ordinary. McCright went over the need of a new position of a Firefighter. She stated that normal schedules are 24 hours on and 48 hours off. With the current staffing it leaves Wednesday and Saturday that are open that have to be filled by part-time or overtime, which was not always easy. She also stated that with this type of schedule and position it is also for the well-being of the staff. Lytle asked about overtime budget being reduced. Lamers stated he would be hesitant to do that, the budget currently is a dollar amount that is looked at every year and it would be a minimal reduction the way it is budgeted. Lamers came up with an estimate of $99,480 for the position and estimated the Town of Verona portion of that would be $11,958. www.ci.verona.wi.us Library Director Stacey Burkart went over the Library budget and explained the revenue from the County is expected to go up by about $250,000 and minimum funding required levy to go up by about $80,000. She stated for personnel there is a request for a position to go from grade 5 to 6 to be in line with other positions and also an increase in the summer LTE position from 60% to 100% for 12 weeks. She then went over the operating budget and stated there is $40,000 for a building needs assessment due to the increase in population and usage. Also included is for landscaping and parking lot. She went over other increases to books, media and subscriptions. The maintenance agreement for the new sorter that will be purchased and the portion of the new sorter is also included in the budget. She went over the need for bird/window collision measures for $15,000, new chrome books for the public and upgrade for the AV equipment. She stated that she increased the reserve funding to $135,000. Mayor Diaz asked about in-house cleaning verses contracted. Burkart stated she would love to but with 7-days and week and currently pay $30,000, the cost would be more. Diaz asked if the diversity software worked and Burkart stated she thought so and would like to give it at least one more year. Recreation Director Casey Dudley stated in the Recreation budget there were no significant changes. The one major change was the elimination of men’s basketball since there is competition for gym space. He stated revenue budget is a .75% increase and expenditures are a 3.04% increase from the 2024 budget. He stated the change in lifeguards where an individual from the school is in charge of the lifeguards for the beach and the school and the city will pay the school. Adam Waszak and Bryan Manning brought up a presentation for the Public Works and Utility Budgets (Available upon request). Waszak went over the water budget and talked about increases in training budget, correlator replacement and increase in large meter testing that increased the repairs and maintenance budget. For the sewer budget the major increase was the cost to Madison Metro Sewerage District of $179,612. Storm budget included increase to collection system repair, televising increase cost and increase in contracted services with Adaptive Restoration for vegetation. For the refuse and recycling budget he stated the contract with Pellitteri has a minor increase in it. Later in the meeting Lamers stated that the requested charge on the tax bill to go from $202 to $212 annually for revenues to keep up with cost. For the Public Works budget there was an increase for fuel and the price of materials continues to go up. Included in training is $5,000 for the Street Superintendent for public management classes through the UW. There was some discussion on the need and if other people request to go though something like this. Lamers stated if this is approved, the City should probably look at an agreement to commit to staying with the City or a payback agreement if they leave. Waszak stated there was an increase in supplies for sign and barricade replacement program. Waszak also talked about in the budget a cost included for a live answering service that can monitor calls instead of staff getting calls that were non-emergency. Waszak then went over the capital budget and went through the request. There was discussion on West Verona Avenue, Legion intersection and Rita Ave. There was discussion regarding Verona Ave and Main Street intersection in which Mayor Diaz had asked to put funds in to start looking at improvements. Waszak then went over the utility capital item and equipment request. He talked about the tractor replacement and may look at changing the request and rent instead of buying one for a cost savings over time. Discussion took place regarding the new public works building and if it was the right location. After further discussion the decision was to include it on the Common Council agenda to discuss. www.ci.verona.wi.us Adam Waszak brought up a presentation for Parks and Forestry departments (available upon request). In the Parks budget there is an increase in the utility budget with the new Century School Park, fuel increases, repairs, contracted services for the answering service and Training. In the Forestry budget increase to safety for signage and traffic control, commercial street trees and EAB project. He stated for the Cemetery that there was a contracted mowing service increase. Mayor Diaz asked about mowing in-house and after discussion would continue to be looked at as an option that the contract went through 2025. Waszak stated there is a request for an additional park maintenance employee with the additional parks and forestry needs. He then went over the capital budget for the Parks. Lamers went over the Municipal Court budget and stated the increases were from personnel cost with the COLA and health insurance increase. There was also an increase for outlay for the purchase of a computer for the Judge. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the City Investment Report-August 2024: Lamers stated that there was an increase due to the final August settlement for taxes from Dane County. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the Revenue and Expenditure Summary Report- August 2024: Lamers stated there is nothing to be concerned about at this time. Adjournment: Motion was made by Posey, seconded by Lytle to adjourn the Finance Committee Meeting at 9:21 p.m. Motion carried 3-0. Respectfully submitted, Brian Lamers CPA Finance Director www.ci.verona.wi.us