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<br />City Council <br />Study Session Summary <br />June 12, 2007 <br />Page 2 of 3 <br /> <br />Stokesbary noted that Louisville has a very high level of services, but he added that the <br />City has declining revenues that need to be addressed. He stated that with absolutely no <br />increases in services levels and assuming a minimum cost increase of 2.5%, the City will <br />have a $1 million revenue shortfall as early as 2009. <br /> <br />Stokesbary and Prothman presented a preliminary list of suggested items to help <br />address the financial issues. They included: <br />. Bi-annual budgeting process <br />. The creation of service districts <br />. Combining City departments or functions that offer duplicative services <br />. Limiting the financial and staff impact of Board and Commissions <br />. Service Reduction Considerations: <br />o Employee Health Benefit Costs <br />o Partnerships with other agencies <br />o Reducing frequency of street & sewer maintenance <br />o Closing or Adapting Memory Square Pool <br />o Buying hybrids vehicles for the fleet <br />o Reviewing maintenance and operations costs <br />. Revenue Enhancement Considerations: <br />o Mill levy increase <br />o Grants <br />o Bonding <br />o Cost recovery agreements such as the library with Superior <br />o Franchise agreements <br />o Lodging tax rate <br />o Economic development <br />o Business retention <br />o Passport processing center at City Hall <br />o Use tax <br /> <br />Prothman and Stokesbary noted it will likely require a combination of all of the above to <br />reach the budget reductions needed. They recommended a scientific community survey <br />through which the City can take input from residents about which services are important <br />to them and which are not. <br /> <br />Next steps for the process will include working with department directors to create <br />service matrix budgets that prioritizes services as well as note the cost and staff <br />requirements for the services. Prothman also plans to have a City Council discussion of <br />a 5-year strategic financial plan. <br /> <br />City Council discussed the need for a public meeting on budget issues in late August or <br />September. <br /> <br />4. Discussion - US 36 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Review of Topics - <br />Balser informed Council that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for US 36 <br />will be released in late June or early July. Once it is released, the City will have 45 days <br />to make comments on the 600-page document. She noted that staff is already working <br />