City council prepares to approve funding for FY ‘19
The Monticello City Council held a budget work session on Monday, Jan. 29 in preparation for Fiscal Year 2019.
The council heard presentations from two city department heads (Parks and Rec. and Library), as well as from representatives from Jones County Economic Development (JCED).
Patty Manuel and Doug Wortman, both on the JCED board, addressed the council, seeking a $10,000 appropriation from the City of Monticello. (Last fiscal year, Monticello appropriated $7,600 toward JCED.)
In their process to hire a new economic development director, Manuel said they would like to offer the new hire a salary and benefit package near $70,000.
“The potential for benefits mean a lot,” she said in attracting a qualified candidate for the job. Manuel said the county and ECICOG plant to work with JCED on offering IPERS.
“We really think this jump (in funding) will help make a difference for us,” added Manuel in terms of the salary.
Wortman said it comes to down to the value of the job.
“Dusty (Embree, former JCED director) did a lot of work for us with Orbis,” he said of their recent expansion project. “You need the right person involved.”
When asked whether the community towns in Jones County would be asked to contribute, Manuel said over time, many of those towns dropped their financial support as their individual budgets grew tight.
“Those communities are getting hit so hard,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t ask, but the bulk of our work is here and in Anamosa.”
She said it’s a split with the JCED office located in Anamosa, yet most of the county’s industry is in Monticello.
“You’re not always sitting behind a desk,” Manuel said.
City Administrator Doug Herman asked if JCED would be open to office space in Monticello with phone and Internet provided. Manuel said with JCED currently in a lease agreement in their current building with Jones County Tourism and Anamosa Chamber, they don’t plan to leave for a while.
“Our hands are tied with the lease agreement,” she said.
The Monticello Public Library Board of Directors is asking the city for $122,250. Last fiscal year, the city approved $120,000. The increase is largely tied to staff pay increases.
Library Director Michelle Turnis explained that 66 percent of what the city appropriates is tied to salaries. Operating expenses make up 18 percent, with the remaining for books and materials, employee insurance, and utilities.
In 2017, the library made one of its part-time employees full-time. They currently have three full-time employees and two part-time employees.
Herman asked how library usage is tracked in comparing City of Monticello usage to county usage. Turnis said all of the items that are checked out of the library tell where the patron resides. Other than that, physical count of the patrons is done as they walk through the door.
Turnis said a size library like Monticello (the state basis library size classification on city population), Monticello’s appropriation is quite low. She said the library board wishes to offer the employees decent wages, too.
“We’re gaining, but we’re still behind,” she said in comparison to what other similar sized libraries pay their staff.
The council urged the library to use money from several special funds that are set aside for the library. Turnis said the board has been diligent in doing that the past couple of years.
“But there are restrictions on some of the money in those funds,” she said, meaning some funds can only be used on books, not wages or operating expenses.
Turnis thanked the Friends of the Library for also being generous with funding requests for programming and Summer Reading.
Jacob Oswald, Parks and Rec director, presented information regarding a new floor for the gym inside the Berndes Center.
The material, which consists of a rubber mat glued to the concrete floor base with a urethane topcoat, would replace the 15-year sport court flooring that has some wear and tear.
The cost is estimated at $109,000 with concrete work to grind and smooth out the base. The company Oswald is working with is Anderson Ladd, Inc.
Herman told the council there is $145,000 earmarked for the project, which would also include additional funds to cover any incidentals.
Oswald said the new material has to be something that could withstand vehicle traffic for the February car show, as well as wear and tear during wedding receptions/community dinners, and sporting events. He said the plan would be to replace the floor throughout the month of August.
“It’s a four-week process,” warned Oswald
“From a public standpoint,” said Herman, “there’s been a lot of input over the years and the flooring looks worn and has a bit of a smell to it.”
City Budget
For FY 2019, the city is looking at a proposed tax rate almost identical to last year’s at $13.86894 per $1,000 of taxable value.
General Fund Revenues:
• Property taxes – $1,028,583
• Franchise fees – $221,000
• LOST (local option sales tax) – $330,000
• Tower rental – $64,5000
• Licenses/permits – $16,725
• Interest – $8,500
• Cemetery income – $32,785
• Aquatic Center revenue – $58,000
• Police income – $8,200
• Road Use – $14,486
• Misc. income – $6,000
• Refunds/reimbursements – $1,900
• Community Building rent – $4,700
The proposed General Fund revenue comes to about $1.8 million. This is slightly up from FY 2018.
General Fund Expenses:
• Police – $512,629
• Street lights – $74,00
• General Fund/streets – $165,000
• Animal Control – $300
• Aquatic Center – $112,290
• Cemetery – $61,294
• Soldiers Memorial – $11,750
• Administration – $354,772
• Mayor, city council – $13,360
• Engineering – $8,000
• Attorney – $5,000
• Transfers, appropriations – $746,936
The proposed General Fund expenses come to about $2.1 million. This is an increase of about $700,000 from FY 2018.
Herman noted the revenue figure is a conservative approach for the next fiscal year. The city’s expenses over revenues would be at $270,000.
The total FY ’19 proposed revenues are at $7.9 million. The total FY ’19 proposed expenses are at $8.3 million.