City Council Worksession

Watertown City Council Work Session Mayor Steve Washburn Deborah Everson Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters 8/25/2020 - Minutes 1. Call To Order And Roll Call Mayor Steve Washburn called the City Council workshop to order at 5:30 p.m. on August 25, 2020. Council Members present: Washburn, Michael Walters, Deborah Everson, Adam Pawelk, and Lindsay Guetzkow City Staff present: City Administrator Shane Fineran and Clerk/Treasurer Lynn Tschudi. 2. New Business 2.I. Budget Work Session #3 - Draft General Fund Budget City Administrator Shane Fineran shared the first draft of the 2021 General Fund budget. The City continues to see positive growth with a 3% taxable market value growth from the previous year. Fineran explained the fiscal disparities number is $574,000 which is down from the previous year mostly due to growth in the community. Currently the budget is impacting the average value home with an increase of 3.1% or $42 annually. Fineran said the City’s policy requires a 50% fund balance and the first budget draft is calculating this number at 49%. He stated he does not expect this to be an issue with the excess revenues from 2020. Fineran noted the two biggest cost drivers for the budget are around public safety and consulting services. 2021 will be the first full year of three full-time officers on duty for Watertown. The fire department personnel will add 800 hours to their training line item. The consultant services will increase for site inspections at construction sites and code enforcement. Pawelk compared the fire training wages over the past three years and is concerned the increase may be too steep. Guetzkow asked if the activities such as mock car crash and Rails to Trails are “training” events that they now get paid for and were not in the past. Fineran said yes, any hours worked on behalf of the City of Watertown need to be paid being they are paid-on-call. The training wages are gradually being increased to reflect this. Washburn asked about the accounting software and if the costs are built into the operating budget. Fineran explained that the 2021 costs are currently in the Capital Investment Plan. He stated there are expenses built into the operating budget for a virtual server. Fineran said the virtual server may qualify for the CAREs Act funds. Council discussed the CAREs Act funds and what Watertown COVID expenses qualify. 3. Adjournment  Washburn asked about the accounting software and if the costs are built into the operating budget. Fineran explained that the 2021 costs are currently in the Capital Investment Plan. He stated there are expenses built into the operating budget for a virtual server. Fineran said the virtual server may qualify for the CAREs Act funds. Council discussed the CAREs Act funds and what Watertown COVID expenses qualify. 3. Adjournment Mayor Steve Washburn adjourned the workshop at 6:27pm 309 Lewis Avenue South; P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388