City Council Minutes 2023 09 05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes September 5, 2023 Page 6 of 9 Councilmember Leh asked about the proposed mill levy reduction. Director Bailey stated this is to lower property taxes for residents in this year when large increases in property assessments are expected. This will keep the increase at 7.5%. Councilmember Leh noted that the bag tax revenue will ultimately go down as people use fewer bags, so using that for salaried for a new position may not be prudent. City Manager Jeff Durbin stated the projections show the continued use of paper bags, particularly at drive through restaurants, will continue as plastic bags are banned. This is projected to be enough to support the position. Councilmember Leh asked what percentage of total costs is personnel costs. Director Bailey stated it is roughly one-third. Councilmember Leh noted staff is critical. Councilmember Hoefner asked for the next meeting to have a "what if" analysis on the mill levy reduction and on the possibility of the open space tax not passing at the ballot. He also asked for staff suggestions on how to reduce the out year deficits. Councilmember Hamlington asked for more information on if any others entities are considering a mill levy reduction in 2024. She also asked for information on future wages and benefits and if the City is competitive with our surrounding cities. Mayor Maloney stated he is talking with BVSD and the County about what they may or may not do for mill levy reductions. Councilmember Dickinson stated council has clearly wanted to help residents with a mill levy reduction but he stated he would like to see it at the level it was two years ago, not lower. He would like more information on this next week and on how the Rec Center bond affects this. He is concerned this creates a massive jump in 2025 and he would like to see options. He would like to see various projections for sales tax revenue and what those impacts would be. Councilmember Dickinson and Mayor Maloney asked to see the Rec Center renewal and replacement schedule to see more details on how the fund is expected to be spent. Mayor Maloney noted there is a lot of work to do on this budget just as we do every year. He noted there will need to be a discussion on how funds will be allocated. He stated there will be a lot of work to be done on how the open space and parks funds will be handled if the ballot issue passes. Mayor Maloney stated he would like to see a reduction in the mill levy so residents are not seeing a massive increase. Councilmember Leh asked for additional information on how much sales tax is coming from outside sales.