HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 16 2008_City Manager’s Recommended Budget Presentation
Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Chris Kukulski, City Manager
Anna Rosenberry, Finance Director
SUBJECT: FY2008-2009 City Manager’s Recommended Budget Presentation
**Reminder: Bring the Budget Document that you received on May 19,
2008.
MEETING DATE: June 16, 2008
RECOMMENDATION: Listen to presentation and provide comments/questions.
BACKGROUND: This presentation will outline the FY2008-2009 City Manager’s
Recommended Budget. This budget serves as the preliminary budget. It can and will be
modified through public hearings and workshops with the City Commission.
The Budget and Tax Levy Hearings are scheduled for July 21, 2008, and will be opened-and-
continued until taxable values are received in early August. Final Appropriation and Tax Levy
resolutions will be prepared for adoption on August 25, 2008.
Attached is a copy of the Budget Message, as included in the document itself.
If you have any questions related to the detailed, line-item budget report that you received with
the budget document, please forward them to Anna or Chris before the June 16th meeting. In
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order to speak to the specifics of account history or changing budget priorities in an individual
account, we will likely need time to investigate. We want to get you and the public accurate
information when discussing the item at the public hearing.
The entire “FY2008-2009 City Manager’s Recommended Budget” document and the “Budget
Details” report are available online at http://www.bozeman.net/finance/budget.aspx. Copies are
also available to the public at the Bozeman Library and City Clerk’s office.
FISCAL EFFECTS: None at this time. The adoption of the final budget in August will
have far-reaching fiscal effects.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Kukulski, City Manager Anna Rosenberry, Finance Director
Report compiled on: June 11, 2008
Attached Documents: Budget Message (excerpt from Budget Document)
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City Manager’s Recommended Budget FY09 9 City of Bozeman, Montana
CITY MANAGER’S BUDGET MESSAGE
___________________________________________________________
May 12, 2008
Bozeman City Commission:
I am pleased to present the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2008-
2009 (FY09). This budget is designed to further the City’s vision of “Bozeman, the most
livable place.”
Work Plan
For the past four months, the Commission has been developing it’s annual work plan for
the organization. Many of the items on the 2007-2008 Work Plan have been completed. A
new work plan is expected to be adopted in the coming June.
Important Items for FY09
Construction Trends: Local building activity has many impacts on the operations and
finances of the City; from the workload and revenues in the Planning and Building In-
spection Divisions to the amount of funding available for Impact Fee programs and in-
creases in Property Tax dollars.
Just a few months after the City adopted updated Water, Wastewater and Street Impact
fees, national credit and economic factors began effecting the amount of subdivision, build-
ing and construction activity we were seeing come through the doors of our Planning and
Building Divisions. By March and April 2008, building and planning revenues were
markedly lower than in 2007. It appears that Bozeman’s “record breaking years” have
slowed; to what extent, we aren’t able to easily determine at this point. As a result of this
recent change, we have estimated revenues for Planning, Building Inspection, and the Im-
pact Fee funds at an annualized FY08 level through the month of April. We will be closely
watching activity in the month of May and June to determine whether additional budget
cuts are necessary in these areas.
Because the property on the Property Tax roll lags nearly 8-20 months by the time we re-
ceive certified values, we don’t anticipate that the recent change in trends will effect the
certified value for August 2008. We have estimated the increase in property tax base at
5% for this budget. However, if construction significantly falls off in the coming months,
tax base increases in FY10 will be effected.
Police & Court Facility:
An issue that continues to be a concern for both the community and the Commission is the
current lack of work space for our Police and Municipal Court at the existing Law & Jus-
tice building. Constructing a new facility has been a top priority of the Commission for a
number of years. To that end, this budget recommends that a total of $700,000 in General
Fund cash reserve be spent to secure land ($450,000; via an earnest payment and pur-
chase agreement) and develop a schematic design ($250,000) for the facility. Going to the
voters with this work completed is critical to our success in getting the ballot measure ap-
proved and adequate funding for the facility secured.
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City Manager’s Recommended Budget FY09 10 City of Bozeman, Montana
Position Department FTE’s
Police Officers—Levy Approved Police Department 4.0
Firefighters—Levy Approved Fire Department 11.0
Prosecutor City Attorney 1.0
Library Aide II Library 1.0
Recreation Leader I Recreation Department 0.1
City Service Worker (CSW) Water Ops Department 1.0
City Service Worker Wastewater Ops Department 1.0
City Service Workers Streets 2.0
Decrease: Gate Attendant & CSW Solid Waste Disposal (2.0)
TOTAL NET 22.1
Parking Enforcement Officer—Citywide Police Department 1.0
Parking Districts Manager Parking Commission 1.0
City Service Worker Wastewater Plant 1.0
Staffing Levels and Changes
For over a decade, continued growth in our local population has strained the staffing levels
of various departments at the City. During budget preparations this year, departments
submitted personnel requests for a total of 31 new full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions.
Most significantly, in November 2007, local voters approved increasing our tax levy to add
staff to both the Police and Fire Departments. As a result of the levy, 4 Police Officers and
11 Firefighters have been added to the FY09 budget. A new city-wide parking enforce-
ment officer is being added to better handle abandoned vehicles around town and parking
enforcement outside of the existing parking districts.
A new Prosecutor in the City Attorney’s office is needed to keep up with increased tickets
from the expansion of the Police force and to handle increased prosecution demands from
the State’s assumption of Public Defense.
Since the City’s construction of the Library, use of the facility remains higher than in the
past. The additional Library Aide II will assist with increased patronage.
The Water and Wastewater Operations employees are being added according to recom-
mendations made in both of the corresponding Facility Plans. The Wastewater Treat-
ment Plant employee will not be hired until final bids on the Wastewater Treatment Plant
have been received, and final borrowing costs determined.
With the closure and capping of the Landfill, 2 staff positions are no longer needed. The
Gate Attendant and one City Service Worker positions will be eliminated.
The Parking Commission is planning to hire a Parking Districts Manager, paid for with
revenues from the Parking Garage and Parking Districts. This position will handle opera-
tions of the garage, act as the primary staff to the Parking Commission, and manage the
98
City Manager’s Recommended Budget FY09 11 City of Bozeman, Montana
parking issues in the City’s three parking districts (Downtown, MSU, and Bozeman High
Neighborhood.)
The budget includes funding for 24.1 new FTE’s, and the elimination of 2 FTE’s related to
our landfill operations. The net result is an increase of 22.1 FTE’s, with 15 paid for by the
new tax levies.
Long Term Planning Efforts
The City plans for the long-term needs of our community through a number of efforts and
studies. These documents are usually developed by consultants and staff, with numerous
public hearings and advisory board meetings prior to their formal adoption by the Com-
mission. Once adopted, we work diligently to implement the recommendations and
changes outlined in the plans. Here are the status of our primary long-range planning
documents:
1. 2020 Growth Policy—being updated this year.
2. Bozeman Area Transportation Plan—being updated this year.
3. Police Services Facility & Staffing Plan—adopted 2007, implementing.
4. Fire Services Master Plan— adopted 2006, implementing.
5. Wastewater Facility Plan—adopted 2006, implementing.
6. Water Facility Plan—adopted 2006, implementing.
7. Storm water Facility Plan—presented February 2008, adoption pending.
Over the decades, we have found these types of planning documents to be invaluable to the
orderly growth and maintenance of city facilities. We wholeheartedly intend to continue to
with the development and implementation of these types of long-term plans.
Additional Debt: This budget anticipates borrowing for the Wastewater Treatment Plant
construction from the State’s Revolving Loan Fund. Over the 3 year construction period,
the city will be borrowing approximately $20 million dollars.
We also anticipate borrowing for the completion of Fire Station #3. Because there cur-
rently is no specific statutory authority to borrow against impact fee revenues, the city will
utilize its general borrowing power under Montana Code Annotated (MCA 7-7-4104.) A
loan through the State’s Intercap program will be sought. The loan will be repaid with
Fire Impact Fees, over a maximum of 10 years. The effect of these borrowings is discussed
in the Debt Limit projections on page 45, and is within the City’s statutory authority.
Mill Levy Comparisons,
Bozeman’s mill levy remains in the “middle of the pack” for comparable communities in
our state. The table below shows the city tax levy for a number of communities in Mon-
Project Total Amount Debt Type
Fire Station #3 Construction $1.0 Million, 10 year term. General Obligation to be repaid
with Fire Impact Fees
Authority: MCA 7-7-4104
Wastewater Treatment Plant $3.925 Million, 20 year term,
1st of 3 planned draws.
Wastewater Revenue Bond,
State Revolving Loan Fund
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City Manager’s Recommended Budget FY09 12 City of Bozeman, Montana
Residential City Property Taxes for FY07, FY08 and ESTIMATED for FY09
For three of the past four years, the City’s property tax levy moved downward. The City’s
total tax levy was decreased by 3 mills in FY06, as a planned savings of taxing authority.
In FY07, the Fire Equipment levy expired, and a net 4.48 mill decrease was achieved. In
FY08, 9 mills came off the city’s general tax levy as a result of the 911 Dispatch vote.
In November 2007, the voters of the City approved increases in the City’s general taxing
authority for increases the following items:
For FY09, the total approved levy increase is 20 mills. The City does not plan to immedi-
ately utilize the full amount of the 12 Mill Fire Department Staffing Increase due to
award of a $948,825 SAFER Grant; that levy will increase to its maximum level in FY13,
upon full expiration of the 4-year grant.
The FY09 city tax levy is estimated at 171.45 Mills. This is an increase of 17.27 mills, or
11.2%, over the FY08 levy. Full details on the estimated levy can be found in Mill Levies
and Mill Value, page 43, of this document.
The median home “assessed market value” represents the value on the tax roll for a home
City 2006 Census Estimates FY2004 Mills FY2008 Mills Levy
Rank
Havre 9,451 178.74 213.88 1
Missoula 64,081 176.32 204.73 2
Livingston 7,279 163.20 191.43 3
Kalispell 19,432 149.74 166.90 4
Bozeman 35,061 163.31 163.42 5
Billings 100,148 110.23 141.58 6
Great Falls 58,536 124.33 140.94 7
Helena 27,885 114.71 134.45 8
Belgrade 7,323 99.34 102.21 9
Whitefish* 7,723 87.14 87.68 10
West Yellowstone* 1,232 43.00 48.32 11
Purpose FY09 FY10 FY11 & Beyond
Police Department:
Staffing Increase
4 Mills Total 9 Mills Total 14 Mills, each year
No sunset
Fire Department:
Staffing Increase
12 Mills, each year
No Sunset
12 Mills, each year
No Sunset
12 Mills, each year
No Sunset
Fire Department:
Equipment and Capital
Replacement Reserve
4 Mills, each year
No sunset
4 Mills, each year
No sunset
4 Mills, each year
No sunset
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City Manager’s Recommended Budget FY09 13 City of Bozeman, Montana
within the Bozeman city limits. This is the value of the property after the “homestead
exemption” is applied (approx 32%). Median simply means that half of the homes in the
city have a higher value and half have a lower value. The median value has not change
significantly on the tax roll due to the fact that statewide reappraisals are only done every
six years. Likewise, the median is not expected to change in a material amount for FY09.
City residents living in the median residential home will pay approx $2.80 for each mill
the city levies. In FY09, that is estimated to be a total of $480, or $40.00 per month.
General Taxes Cost per Mill
For FY08, the value of one mill was $68,981—an increase of 9.1% over FY07. For FY09,
we estimate the value of one mill to increase 5% to $72,430. Certified taxable values will
be received in August 2008. Taxable values for the city have had an average annual in-
crease of 8.4% for the past 5 years. With near-record building permit numbers in calendar
year 2007, we estimate another strong increase in taxable value for FY09.
City-wide Street and Tree Assessments
City property owners pay annual street and tree assessments based on the square footage
of the lot they own. These assessments are the major funding for Street Maintenance and
Forestry Divisions. The approved budget is based on a 7% increase in the Street assess-
ment, resulting in an annual assessment of $82.83 for the average sized lot. The budget
does not increase the Tree assessment, keeping an annual assessment of $16.22 for the
average sized city lot. Combined, the increase over the previous year is $ 5.41 for owners
of an averaged sized lot in the city.
Lot Size FY 07 Assessment
For the Year
FY 08 Approved
5% Streets & 4% Trees
Small= 5,000 sq ft. Streets—$49.15
Trees—$10.40
Streets—$51.60
Trees—$10.81
Average = 7,500 sq ft. Streets—$73.73
Trees—$15.60
Streets—$77.42
Trees—$16.22
Large = 10,000 sq ft. Streets—$98.30
Trees—$20.80
Streets—$103.21
Trees—$21.63
FY09 Recommended
7% Streets & 0% Trees
Streets—$55.21
Trees—$10.81
Streets—$82.83
Trees—$16.22
Streets—$110.43
Trees—$21.63
Assessed Market
Value
(~32% exemp-
tion)
FY07
Taxable
Value
FY07 City Tax
(Levy=163.42)
FY08
Taxable
Value
FY08 City Tax
(Levy = 154.18)
Median Home =
$89,000
$2,794 $457 $2,794 $431
$150,000 $4,710 $770 $4,710 $726
$200,000 $6,280 $1,026 $6,280 $968
ESTIMATED
FY09 City Tax
(Levy = 171.45)
$480
$808
$1,077
FY09 EST*
Taxable
Value
$2,794
$4,710
$6,280
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City Manager’s Recommended Budget FY09 14 City of Bozeman, Montana
Water & Sewer Rates
City property owners are by-and-large required to utilize the city’s water and sewer treat-
ment systems. The adopted facility plans outline large capital projects will need to be
funded in the coming years. Rate studies have been completed for both utilities and rec-
ommend changes to our rate levels and structures in order to fund the utility improve-
ments needed in the next 5 years. Those recommendations were adopted August 2007,
and included changes to residential and commercial rate structures to better reflect their
relative costs of service. As a result, Average Residential Customers saw slight decreases
to their monthly bills in FY08.
Rate increases for FY09 were adopted as part of a two-year rate resolution in the August
2007. Water service rates will not increase in FY09; Sewer service rates will increase 9%,
beginning in September 2008.
In Conclusion
Local building activity and the impact of national economic factors on construction and
subdivision within the City are concerns that we continue to keep a close eye on. In the
weeks prior to final budget adoption, we expect to have refined estimates for areas of the
City’s budget that are dependant on building and subdivision activity.
As always, this spending plan could not have been developed without the input and advice
of dozens of people, from citizens to staff members to Commissioners. We greatly appre-
ciate their assistance in this process. As a recommended spending plan, we hope you will
feel free to contact the necessary staff members to answer any questions you may have.
Respectfully,
_______________________________________
Chris Kukulski, City Manager
_______________________________________
Anna Rosenberry, Finance Director
Average Residential
Customer
FY 07 Monthly Bill
FY 08 Monthly Bill
Water $32.34 per month $30.73 per month
Sewer $21.25 per month $20.87 per month
Total $53.59 per month $51.60 per month
FY09 Monthly Bill
9% Increase Sewer
$30.73 per month
$22.74 per month
$53.47 per month
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