City Council Worksession

Watertown City Council Work Session Mayor Steve Washburn Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters Dan Schuette 7/26/2022 - Minutes 1. Call To Order And Roll Call Mayor Steve Washburn called the Watertown City Council work session to order at 5:44 p.m. on July 26, 2022 in the council chambers of City Hall. Council Members Present: Steve Washburn, Dan Schuette, Adam Pawelk, and Dan Schuette. Council Members Absent: Lindsay Guetzkow and Michael Walters. Staff Present: City Administrator Jake Foster, and Administrative Services Director Maggie Reisdorf. 2. New Business 2.I. 2023 Budget Kick-Off City Administrator, Jake Foster, introduced this item to the City Council. He informed that during the meeting, he would review important dates and timelines related to the drafting and establishment of the 2023 Budget. Foster provided budget data from previous years to visualize past trends and future goals. He reviewed potential high-impact budget items for the 2023 budget including city projects, funding sources, market values and economic factors. Foster concluded by asking the City Council for their goals/objectives for the 2023 budget. Specifically, asking them their priorities for services and/or projects, concerns, budget messaging, etc. Pawelk mentioned that he would like to make sure that the city is balancing projects and tracking when projects come in higher or lower than expected. He said that he would like to make sure that when funds are used that were to be allocated for a project that came in under budget, that the city is accurately using that money and not inadvertently spending too much. Washburn asked about what the projected increases for employee salaries would be for 2023. He mentioned the recent wage study that was done and expressed desire to keep on track with that.  funds are used that were to be allocated for a project that came in under budget, that the city is accurately using that money and not inadvertently spending too much. Washburn asked about what the projected increases for employee salaries would be for 2023. He mentioned the recent wage study that was done and expressed desire to keep on track with that. Foster informed that staff will be using the adopted wage study information with the desire to stay competitive with other cities. He mentioned looking at scale increases for those that are able to do the step increase and a potential 3% COLA increase. Washburn stated that he usually likes to see the preliminary budget and final budget between 2-3% apart and not more. He expressed support for keeping the tax rate on a downward trend. He suggested that the City Council discuss the future goals for the lobbyist. He expressed concern about rising inflation. Schuette said that the city will need to plan for inflation. Foster said that he expected contract prices to increase between 3% - 5% in rates. Washburn asked staff to look into inviting an external economic consultant to come to an upcoming meeting to discuss the changing economy. He also asked staff to incorporate ARPA funds into the budget planning process as well. 3. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 6:24 pm. 309 Lewis Avenue South; P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388 __________________________________________________________ Mike Walters, Acting Mayor ATTEST:__________________________________________ Margaret Reisdorf, Admin. Services Director