April 23, 1996, 4:00 p.m.
Present:
Mayor Lou Colosimo
Councilmembers
Roy A. Nikas, Betty P. Wheeler, Steve Bringhurst, Stephen L. Denison,
Joe L. Piccolo
Vernon W. Jones (Adminis. Assistant), Joanne Lessar
(City Recorder), Pat Larsen (Finance Director)
Others Present: Bob Potts
1. BUDGET WORKSHOP - FY1996/97
Pat Larsen reviewed the following decisions of the special meeting held
April 15, 1996. Delete the requests for an Assistant Engineer, 2 additional Firemen, and 1
1/2 Library Aides. Temporary employees were given an additional $.25/hour for each they
have been with the City. Temporary employees who have been with the City more than 5 years
were given a cost of living adjustment, and Crossing Guards were increased to the minimum
amount. This amounted to $65,400 that were deleted in wages and benefits. An amount of
$20,000 was allowed for merit increases, $5,000 for supervisors. Pat stated that if the
$20,000 was divided by the number of employees requested for merits, each one would get
$714, 25% of which would go for benefits. The amount for each supervisor would be $625, of
which 25% would be for benefits. The amount currently out of budget is $477,175.
Pat stated that there are a few possibilities to increase revenues. One is
the Franchise tax, which can be increased from 2% to 6%. The UP&L Franchise tax would
be a new one. It would be charged on what UP&L is taking in on revenues in east Price.
Pat feels that there will be approximately $100,000 left from the fund balance that can be
transferred to the new budget year. The property tax for the Library would bring in
$150,000. However, an election would need to be held if the decision is made to increase
property taxes for the Library. In addition, there is the regular property tax that is not
designated specifically to go to the library. This amount can increase to .003 more than
what is currently collected. The City was also informed today that UP&L will be
charging less for electricity rates, which will go down 5.11% effective Jan 1, 1996. This
will save the electric fund approximately $107,000, which could be transferred to the
General Fund. Price City rates are now 6% higher than UP&L. The Council is considering
increasing electric rates an additional 3% for the new budget year, which will make that
figure 9% higher.
Included in the packets is a complete history of each City employee, and
what increases they have had. Taking into account the recommendation for salary increases,
the amount taken out of Capital expenditures, and the possibilities of new revenue, the
budget is still out of balance by $477,000. Mayor Colosimo discussed the possibility of
leasing the Central School building to Carbon County for a $1/month when Human Services
moves out. Carbon County would like to move the Travel Council, Chamber of Commerce,
tourist information center, etc., into this building. The Council agreed with this
concept. Pat informed the Council that after the lease money and all expenses are paid on
the Central School Building, the City comes out $20,000/year ahead. Pat indicated that if
the City turned over the operation of the Central School building to the County, it would
eliminate the need for janitors, which amounts to $40,000/year. Closing the wave pool
during winter months was also reviewed. Pat determined that the City would save
$18,000/year to heat the bubble and $9,700/year in wages, totaling $27,700. This closure
would be for approximately 8 1/2 months, but would mean a significant loss in revenue as
far as pool passes are concerned. The Council felt this was not a significant savings.
However, it will be reviewed at a later time when the bubble is no longer usable, and the
wave pool will have to be closed during winter months.
Bob Potts reviewed the need to upgrade computers within the City. The
Police Department machines are really old, and all need to be updated. Pat indicated that
the budget includes $24,000 for new equipment and $17,600 for software. This summarizes
what everybody has requested. The decision was made to delete some computers, printers,
network, internet, and transfer some computers between departments. The total amount
deleted for computers is $4,600.
Councilmember Nikas stated that per his discussion with Dick Perea, Street
Supv., they do not want to see the widening of Hospital Drive delayed until 1998.
Therefore, he would like to place the $12,000 for this project back in the budget, and
reduce Class "C" Road improvements by that amount. As there are requests for
three new $17,000 trucks; one for the cemetery, one for the Water Dept., and one for the
Meter Readers, it was recommended to delete the new one for the cemetery and transfer the
older one from the Water Treatment Plant to the cemetery. Since the Meter Readers deal
with water, it was suggested to purchase their truck out of the Water Dept. funds.
Councilmember Bringhurst relayed the message from Cobb Johnson to delete Voice Mail from
the PWC in the amount of $7,000. The funds to renovate the break room upstairs in City
Hall was deleted. If the Chamber moves out of their offices on the main floor, this space
could be used for a break room. It was recommended to try and do as much as possible to
improve the parking lot at the baseball complex instead of deleting it entirely. Perhaps
$50,000 could be left in the budget to design it and construct curb, gutter, and asphalt,
depending on how far the funds go. The conference chairs at the Public Works Complex were
deleted.
Pat indicated that at this point, the items deleted reduced the budget by
$70,600. The Council agreed to increase Franchise Taxes to 6%, which would add another
$119,000 to the budget. The Council was not agreeable to raise property taxes for the
Library, and at this point, did not want to increase electrical rates. With the above
changes, Pat indicated that the budget is still out of balance $196,000.
The Council discussed at length the requests for merit increases and
reclassifications. It was decided to delete the Weed Control/Ordinance Enforcer and merit
increases. Pat suggested that if the merit is deleted, that the Council consider
increasing the cost of living from 2.7% to 3.1%. The Council agreed to increase the cost
of living to 3.1%. The reclassifications were approved, but that the rate of pay for those
reclassified either remain at the present level or to the minimum of the grade they are
reclassified to, whichever is greater.
After cutting several items and salary increases, the budget still does
not balance. It was recommended that crack sealing the streets at $7,000 be deleted from
the budget. The Council again reviewed the increase in electrical rates. However, before
electric rates are increased, it was recommended to again try to find other ways to reduce
the $115,000 that is still out of balance.
Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.