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MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE November 15, 2021 AUDITORIUM Present: Councilmembers Bullock, Litten & Neff Also: Councilmembers O'Malley, Kepple, Rader, & Shachner, Mayor George, Director Rancatore, Assistant Director Swallow, Assistant Director Schuster, Assistant Director Eddy, Chief of Staff Storey, Commissioner Parmelee, Director Leininger, Director Gelsomino, Clerk Bach, Deputy Clerk Lascu taking minutes Call to Order: 5:52 p.m. Approval of the minutes of the Finance Committee held November 1, 2021 Overview of the Budget Document Chairman Bullock reviewed a tentative schedule of budget hearings to take place over the next month. He encouraged all councilmembers to attend and contribute during them. Mayor George gave an overview of the budget, noting boosts in funding that the city stands to receive from increased property values would largely be eaten up by negotiated increases in salary per the city's collective bargaining contracts. She stated her administration had made efforts to make room in the budget for some of Council's budget priorities, highlighting investments in electric vehicles, stump grinding, urban forestry, baseball field upgrades, skate park improvement, etc. Lastly, she spoke about the development of a lakefront pier, which was initially discussed in the early 2000s, and could now fit in with the county lakefront access plan. This project's construction could potentially leverage county and state dollars. Budget 101 Director Rancatore began a presentation that reviewed the structurally balanced budget for 2022. He gave credit to his staff and the senior leadership of the mayor's staff for their hard work on the document and for their past efforts. Director Rancatore provided perspective on the city budget, citing the emphasis often placed on the general fund by councilmembers and the administration. He noted that the general fund only makes up $47.3 million of the city's $164.1 million total budget. The Finance Department has historically created other funds separate from the general fund, which could be used to support it in an emergency. With the 2022 budget, Finance staff attempted to upgrade the funds that are experiencing inflationary pressure to meet today's needs. He stated that the biggest part of the budget increase is related to wages/benefits. The city also plans to purchase turnout gear for firefighters, create an urban forester position per a Council budget priority, and complete hazardous tree removal/stump grinding, all adding up to $2 million in general fund expenditures.