Finance Committee - Inactive

Village of Weston, Wisconsin OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE JOINT BOARD OF TRUSTEES & FINANCE COMMITTEE held on Monday, September 21, 2020 at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room at the Municipal Center. AGENDA ITEMS. 1. Board of Trustees Call to Order & Welcome by President Maloney. Meeting called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Board of Trustees President Maloney. 2. Finance Committee Call to Order & Welcome by Chairperson Ermeling. Meeting called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Finance Committee Chairperson Ermeling. 3. Roll Call by Recording Secretary. Roll call of Board of Trustees indicated 5 members present, with 1 additional member arriving later in the meeting. Member Present Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Maloney, Mark, YES Meinel, Steve YES* White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee NO Ziegler, Jon YES * arrived at 5:09 p.m. Roll call of Finance Committee indicated 4 members present, with 1 additional member arriving later in the meeting. Member Present Bender, Robert YES Ermeling, Barb YES Meinel, Steve YES* Simmons, Ryan YES Sukup, Carrie YES * arrived at 5:09 p.m. 4. Approval of minutes from previous meetings: July 20, 2020 Finance Committee motion by Bender, second by Simmons, to approve previous meeting minutes from July 20, 2020. Yes Vote: 4 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 1 Result: PASS Member Voting Bender, Robert YES Ermeling, Barb YES Meinel, Steve --- Simmons, Ryan YES Sukup, Carrie YES Jenna Trittin updated @ 10/2/2020 1:52 PM Page 1 Mtg_BOT FC_200921_Minutes P:\GOVERN\COMMITTEES\Finance\2020\200921 Joint BOT\Mtg_BOT FIN_200921_Minutes.docx  5. Public Comments. None. ACKNOWLEDGE WORK PRODUCT TRANSMITTALS. 6. Acknowledge August 2020 budget status – all funds Finance Committee motion by Simmons, second by Sukup, to acknowledge the August 2020 budget status report. Yes Vote: 4 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 1 Result: PASS Member Voting Bender, Robert YES Ermeling, Barb YES Meinel, Steve --- Simmons, Ryan YES Sukup, Carrie YES Board of Trustees motion by White, second by Fiene, to acknowledge the August 2020 budget status report. Yes Vote: 5 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 2 Result: PASS Member Voting Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Maloney, Mark, YES Meinel, Steve --- White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee --- Ziegler, Jon YES EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS & REPORTS. 7. Review and discussion of 2021 Budget Trautman stated we have rough numbers but are looking to formulate a strategy. Trautman started with a budget timeline; stating we can either adopt the 2021 budget the week before Thanksgiving or the week of Thanksgiving. Trautman stated the big unknown is health insurance – our current provider came back with a 17% increase which we cannot afford so we are shopping for a new insurance provider. Fiene asked why the increase was so high; Trautman responded it was due to increased usage of the plan. Trautman stated our revenues are decreasing $62,302 for the 2021 budget. The max amount of our debt service levy is $1,250,000. Currently we do not levy the full amount for debt service because some of the general fund levy goes towards debt service payments. We have slowly been allocating those general levy funds back to the general fund but are soon going to lose that flexibility as the full general levy will be allocated to the general fund. Once no general levy funds are used for debt service and the debt service levy reaches $1.25 million, we will only be able to raise our tax levy by net new construction which does not amount to much. Decisions on level of service will need to be made in the future. Jenna Trittin updated @ 10/2/2020 1:52 PM Page 2 Mtg_BOT FC_200921_Minutes P:\GOVERN\COMMITTEES\Finance\2020\200921 Joint BOT\Mtg_BOT FIN_200921_Minutes.docx  Trautman stated we have $99,000 coming from the expenditure restraint program for 2021 and we will need to decide if we want to limit 2021 expenditures to try to stay within the program. Trautman also said we could use some of the expenditure restraint payment to offset our revenue decreases for 2021, but we need to use caution because the payment is not guaranteed every year. Trautman added that we will be seeing some tax rate increases over the next few years due to borrowings for capital needs. Trautman asked members to think about what kind of tax rate increase is acceptable. Ermeling stated the taxpayers are always a consideration, but the Village must also be taken care of. Trautman showed a worksheet with the Village tax rate change over time. Maloney asked for the breakdown of taxes by entity. Trautman responded in 2019 taxes were: DC Everest 41.63%, Village 29.79%, Marathon County 22.48%, and NTC 6.10%. Bender asked if we had an indication on what DC Everest is doing. Trautman said she thinks there will be an increase because our assessment ratio dropped again this year due to the equalized value being higher than the assessed value. POLICY ISSUES – DISCUSSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS. 8. Review and discussion of 2020/2021 borrowing Trautman presented this as an FYI to let everyone know this is what is being borrowed for based on the previously approved plan. These are new numbers that include 2020 and 2021 borrowing costs. Since we did not borrow for 2020 yet, it was decided to combine the 2020 and 2021 borrowing to save on borrowing costs. There are 3 issuances – G.O. notes, G.O. bonds, and water revenue bonds. White asked if the borrowing was netted with utility contributions. Trautman stated it was. 9. Review and discussion of utility extension policy Donner and Wodalski gave an overview of the previous utility extension policy discussions. Staff is looking for guidance on how to handle the Ryan Street river crossing project and future projects. It was asked if there should be incentives for those who early connect to the system. The committee and board discussed the policy. White stated he liked the plan layout and thought interest reduction incentives were a good idea. Fiene stated he would like to see the wording of “considered” changed to “required” if the property is being bought or sold. Donner asked if the committee and board are okay with exploring the presented options with legal counsel and a financial consultant. The committee and board agreed with exploring the presented options. Ermeling and White stated we need to make sure we don’t lose the ability to collect and that nobody falls through the cracks. 10. Use of TIF Funds for street reconstruction projects Trautman and Wodalski gave an overview of the request to use TIF funds for road maintenance. Trautman added that using funds for road maintenance would not impact the ability to take on economic development projects. Trautman confirmed funds were not being borrowed for these projects; funds would come from available TIF cash. Donner stated this is permissible expense under the TIF project plans. White asked if TIF funds could also be used to assist a business in demolishing a property within the TIF. Donner responded that the intent of TIF 2 was to redevelop some of the property within TIF 2 or to make it suitable for development. Meinel asked if there were Jenna Trittin updated @ 10/2/2020 1:52 PM Page 3 Mtg_BOT FC_200921_Minutes P:\GOVERN\COMMITTEES\Finance\2020\200921 Joint BOT\Mtg_BOT FIN_200921_Minutes.docx  improvements that could be made to benefit businesses. Ermeling stated TIF 2 was created to retain retail in that area and we need to keep that area up. Ermeling said now is the time to make TIF repairs. White asked if we could make repairs to some of the streets that feed into Schofield Avenue as those are falling apart too. Donner responded if it is within the TIF boundary that is possible. Meinel asked if the CDA has had any meetings to discuss bigger projects. Donner responded there have not been recent meetings. Donner also stated there is currently a Weston Ave Corridor study for TIF 1. White said he could see TIF 1 funds being used to make infrastructure improvements to roads and utilities to try to spur development. Meinel stated he would like to see TIF dollars used to acquire more property in the industrial park. White stated if we have property that we are not going to use we should sell it to get it back on the tax roll. Donner stated he is beginning to see what the board’s priorities are and these things can be explored. Finance Committee motion by Bender, second by Sukup, to recommend the Village Board allow staff to use increment to fund major maintenance on the roads within and within a half-mile radius of the TIF districts. Yes Vote: 5 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member Voting Bender, Robert YES Ermeling, Barb YES Meinel, Steve YES Simmons, Ryan YES Sukup, Carrie YES Board of Trustees motion by White, second by Fiene, to allow staff to use increment to fund major maintenance on the roads within and within a half-mile radius of the TIF districts. Each project must be presented to Public Works Committee and also to the Board for approval prior to implementation. Yes Vote: 6 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 1 Result: PASS Member Voting Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Maloney, Mark, YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee --- Ziegler, Jon YES 11. Discussion and possible action on compensation of elected officials Maloney stated these wages were established a long time ago and should be reviewed. Maloney’s suggestion is: $8,400 for president; $7,200 for trustee positions. Raises would be effective with newly elected officials. Maloney stated the packet materials were based on old data and the Town of Weston chairperson is making more than what is shown. Jenna Trittin updated @ 10/2/2020 1:52 PM Page 4 Mtg_BOT FC_200921_Minutes P:\GOVERN\COMMITTEES\Finance\2020\200921 Joint BOT\Mtg_BOT FIN_200921_Minutes.docx  There was discussion on pay for elected officials at other municipalities and the history/rationale of Weston elected official pay. The Finance Committee was not opposed to increases. Simmons recommended correcting the pay to be in line with similar organizations and then review every few years. Trautman stated we could review it every budget year as well. Finance Committee motion by Bender, second by Simmons, to recommend the Village Board increase wages to $8,400 for president; $7,200 for trustee positions, effective with the next election. Yes Vote: 5 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member Voting Bender, Robert YES Ermeling, Barb YES Meinel, Steve YES Simmons, Ryan YES Sukup, Carrie YES Board of Trustees motion by Meinel, second by Ziegler, to increase wages to $8,400 for president; $7,200 for trustee positions, effective with the next election. Yes Vote: 5 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 1 Not Voting: 1 Result: PASS Member Voting Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate ABSTAIN Maloney, Mark, YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee --- Ziegler, Jon YES RESOLUTIONS/ORDINANCES. None. FUTURE ITEMS. 12. Next meeting date(s): − Mon, Oct 5, 2020 @ 4:30 p.m. Joint Board/Committee − Mon, Oct 19, 2020 @ 4:30 p.m.* Joint Board/Committee * immediately following Tourism Commission − Mon, Oct 19, 2020 @ 6:00 p.m. Board Meeting 13. Topics for future meetings. Budget Jenna Trittin updated @ 10/2/2020 1:52 PM Page 5 Mtg_BOT FC_200921_Minutes P:\GOVERN\COMMITTEES\Finance\2020\200921 Joint BOT\Mtg_BOT FIN_200921_Minutes.docx  14. Remarks from Staff. Staff is looking at doing a TIF audit with the current auditors. The last TIF audit was in 2008 so staff is looking to get everything reviewed through current. This will be brought to the next meeting. Trautman asked everyone to review the expenditure information in the packet. 90% of the Village budget is nondiscretionary/fixed costs unless a decision is made to change the level of service provided to residents. If the Village gets to the point where the only levy increase is net new construction hard decision will need to be made. 15. Remarks from Board Members None. 16. Remarks from Committee Members None. 17. Announcements. None. ADJOURNMENT OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES. Motion by Fiene, second by Meinel, to adjourn the Board of Trustees meeting at 6:17 p.m. Yes Vote: 6 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 1 Result: PASS Member Voting Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Maloney, Mark, YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee --- Ziegler, Jon YES ADJOURNMENT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE Motion by Bender, second by Simmons, to adjourn the Finance Committee meeting at 6:17 p.m. Yes Vote: 5 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member Voting Bender, Robert YES Ermeling, Barb YES Meinel, Steve YES Simmons, Ryan YES Sukup, Carrie YES Next joint meeting is scheduled for October 5 at 4:30 p.m. Jenna Trittin, Recording Secretary Jenna Trittin updated @ 10/2/2020 1:52 PM Page 6 Mtg_BOT FC_200921_Minutes P:\GOVERN\COMMITTEES\Finance\2020\200921 Joint BOT\Mtg_BOT FIN_200921_Minutes.docx