MINUTES –MORRIS CITY
COUNCIL -REGULAR MEETING– SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
The regular meeting of the
Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m. this 8TH day
of September, 2009, by Mayor Giese in the Council Chambers of the Morris Senior
Citizens/Community Center.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ROLL CALL: Roll
call was taken with the following members present: Council member Webster,
Miller, Storck and Mayor Giese. Council member Carrington arrived right after
roll call. Also present was City Manager Hill, Finance Director Krosschell,
Fleet Manager Searle, Public Works Director Dittbenner, City
Engineer/Surveyor/Inspector Fier, Police Chief Beauregard and City Attorney
Glasrud.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS:
None
PUBLIC HEARINGS: None
READING AND APPROVAL OF
MINUTES: 8/25/09 Regular Meeting Minutes: Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Storck to approve the 8/25/09 regular meeting minutes.
Motion carried.
8/25/09 Condensed
Version Minutes: Council member Miller moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to
approve the 8/25/09 condensed version minutes. Motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council member Carrington, to approve the
consent agenda, which included the following items:
A.
Approval of the city bills
dated September 8, 2009
B. August
Transit Report
C. Gambling
Reports
PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND
COMMUNICATIONS: Gambling Report from American Legion: Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Storck, to accept the gambling report from the
American Legion. Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting in favor and Mayor
Giese abstaining as an officer of the Legion, motion carried.
ORDINANCES AND
RESOLUTIONS: 2009 Budget for the City of Morris: City Manager Hill
stated the budget needs to focus on the operations of the city. This 2009
budget amendment balances the budget, but is not the final amount. Hill
explained there are things happening that won’t be finalized until the end of
the budget year.
Hill pointed out the 2009
budget amendment includes some cuts, some additional income from interest and a
one time transfer from the refuse fund for the purchase of a sander truck.
Hill pointed out, based upon the timing of the purchase of the sander truck, it
may not come out until next year’s budget. Hill indicated a key part of the
budget has to be keeping the capital outlay fund at a level where the city can
continue to do things.
Hill noted the state has
talked about using city reserves in the funding formula so the city wants to
make sure that money goes towards something that is needed, instead of
offsetting future local government aid. Mayor Giese stated, in other words,
the state would penalize cities for being fiscally responsible.
2010 Budget: Hill
strongly indicated this is a preliminary budget and levy. The city is forced by
the state to present it on a timeline but there are still three months left to
make decisions on the budget for the future. Hill pointed out citizens should
not be concerned that the city is passing this high of a levy. The one thing this
does do is gives citizens an idea of how the effects of the state are felt.
Hill explained the
preliminary levy includes two special levies for unallotment. They are one
time shots and would not be available to pay for the same types of things next
year, if they are used this year.
The 2010 budget also includes
the levy for Highland Homes. While the tax levy is increasing, part of that
levy is an additional $102,025 in debt service funding for the costs of the
Highland Homes Improvement Project. This means the city will more than likely
have a tax levy increase less than the cost increase of the levy for Highland
Homes because the city is making cuts in other places. Hill stated these types
of improvements are one of the best ways to spend taxpayer’s money. It
increases the value of the area and anyone driving into that neighborhood can
see the difference.
Hill acknowledged that the
future of LGA is not secure and recommended our local legislators be contacted
to let them know how important LGA is to the city. The LGA is the city’s #1
funding source and it is going backwards, not forward. Hill stated the city is
a very small part of the state’s budget but the city is taking a very big hit.
Hill indicated he is trying
to maintain staffing levels in the budget. Hill noted he has shifted some
public works labor money from a full time employee to 4,000 hours of part-time
labor. This saves the costs of benefits that would have been paid to a
full-time employee. Hill pointed out the city also needs to continue to take
care of equipment because in the long run it ends up costing more if equipment
is not maintained. Hill noted the city has a very good mechanic that takes
care of the city’s stuff.
The total amount needed to
balance the 2009 budget is $107,806. Hill reviewed the adjustments and the other
changes made to the capital outlay fund.
Resolution Approving
the Amended 2009 Budget for the City of Morris: Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2880-9-09, A Resolution
Approving the Amended 2009 Budget for the City of Morris. Upon a roll call
vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution Authorizing
Fund Transfers: Council member Carrington moved, seconded by Webster, to
adopt Resolution #2881-9-09, Resolution Authorizing Fund Transfers. Upon a
roll call vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution Approving
Proposed 2009 Tax Levy, Collectible in 2010: Hill indicated the next step
is to hold a workession sometime in October with the council and department
heads to discuss the 2010 budget. The council would then look at finalized
numbers in November. Hill explained one thing that has changed this year is
that the city is no longer required to hold a truth in taxation meeting but a
budget meeting would be held within the context of a regular city council
meeting.
Hill stated the total levy
is $1,355,014, which is an increase of 23.4%. Hill indicated the final levy
should be around 8½% when the council comes back in December. While
moving forward Hill stated staff and council need to keep in mind that the city
has to do business at a lower level. The city cannot just keep spending money
and trying to figure out where the money will come from to pay for things.
Hill stated he seems to say this every year, but next year will be very
interesting, especially with a new governor coming in at the end of the year.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Webster, to adopt Resolution #2882-9-09,
Resolution Approving Proposed 2009 Tax Levy, Collectible in 2010. Upon a roll
call vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution Approving
the Preliminary 2010 Budget for the City of Morris: The proposed budget includes
an increase of 20% for health insurance and a 3% increase in wages. It also includes
a $200,000 transfer to the capital outlay fund for improvements and equipment.
Hill stated he does plan to meet with each of the bargaining units to discuss a
possible wage freeze for next year.
Council member Carrington
moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to adopt Resolution #2883-9-09, Resolution
Approving the Preliminary 2010 Budget for the City of Morris. Upon a roll call
vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORTS
& RECOMMENDATIONS: 2010 Budget Meeting (Old Truth in Taxation
Meeting): Hill indicated the numbers in the agreement were not correct and
have been refigured to what they should have been. This amounts in a reduction
in the amount the city pays to UMM.
Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2884-9-09, Resolution Approving
an Agreement with UMM for Lift Station, with thanks to Ryan Mogard in the water
department for catching the overpayment. Upon a roll call vote taken and all present
voting in favor, motion carried.
2010 Budget Meeting:
Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council member Webster, to set a meeting for
6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8th for the purpose of discussing the
city’s budget. Motion carried.
City Manager Report:
Hill pointed out the Highland Homes area is starting to look very good. The
seeding of the boulevards should take place the end of this week and blacktop
should be done within the month. The final assessment hearing should take
place at the first council meeting in November.
Hill stated the placement
of signs in the neighborhood was discussed at a staff meeting. Some additional
stop sign and yield signs have been placed in the area. Also, a request was
made by a resident on West View Drive that Children at Play signs be put up.
Hill stated this is not a sign that is put up because they could be put at any
house that has young children. Storck asked if by putting the signs up if the
city opens themselves up to liability. Glasrud noted it doesn’t subject the
city to additional liability, it is more of a policy thing. The history has
been to put them in places where there are large groups of children such as
parks or schools, otherwise people tend to ignore them.
Hill indicated the courthouse
project would affect the city’s budget because the city will be doing
inspections, not the state. This will save the county $40,000 to $60,000 in
fees and bring in $30,000 in additional revenue for the city.
The council will be
setting a couple of hearings at the next meeting to be held within the next
couple of months with regard to East 2nd Street.
Appointment of Tourism
Board: Hill explained the tourism dollars will be held by the city and the
council has the final decision on how the monies are spent. Mayor Giese
appointed the members of the tourism board and himself as the council’s liason
for the board.
NEW BUSINESS:
Storck asked if there was a policy in place for follow up of complaints received
by the city. Hill indicated there is no set policy and it really depends on
the issue. Storck stated he feels people get the impression that city
employees don’t care if no one shows up or doesn’t get back to them about their
requests. Storck asked that a call be given if the problem can’t be addressed
for a few days.
Giese asked about the
rains and how it affected the project area. Fier stated there hasn’t been
enough rain this summer to really know but people’s sump pumps have definitely
been running a lot less. Storck stated he has never seen a nicer project.
Fier stated it’s definitely been an unusual project. Fier pointed out there
are two projects they would like to get done yet this year and that is the city
hall parking lot and the area by Ronnie Cline’s. Storck asked if there was any
plan to do Idaho Avenue. Fier stated it has been talked about.
OLD BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
None
ADJOURNMENT: There
being no further business, Mayor Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:26 p.m.
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