2011-02-14 Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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the City’s reserves are good but not good enough. He is waiting to see how many cities have as much money as University City has put into their cash reserves over the last two years. Mr. Crow stated that the City’s cash reserve is at 10 million dollars which is thirty- four percent of the City’s budget. He said that the Council keeps hearing about the dire financial condition the City has but at the last Council study session we were told that the City may have a 400,000 deficit or it may be 250,000 surplus but we keep hearing about our dire financial condition. Mr. Crow acknowledge his expertise in the financial service industry. He said it should be how to maintain the City’s services and not try to restructure the entire City government. He said it strikes him as odd when the freeze language is used when Council has a disagreement on whether or not the they will use funds to help people on Wilson Ave. Mr. Crow said the previous Council and this Council has said they were setting aside a million dollars for flood relief along Wilson Avenue He said if the money from the CDBG grant comes in that is great but from what he is hearing that million dollars that was set aside is frozen. He said that this resolution is highly likely to be boot-strapped either by the administration or by Council to be used in a number of ways to provide greater latitude and freedom to structural changes to the City government. Mr. Crow said it does concern him a great deal. Mr. Kraft said in clarification, the Council is authorizing the City Manager to take certain actions and this Council voted a million dollars out of the reserves into the budget for the Wilson buyout. He said that money is there and there will be no change as suggested. Mr. Kraft said we have had State Audits, Citizen Advisory Report, Public Works/Park merger report and it is time for action. Whatever the reserves are, we are to provide the citizens with a more efficient, responsive City government. He said the City has a budget situation that is out of balance, the City is spending more money than what it is taking in; expenses are increasing at a faster rate than the revenue. Mr. Kraft noted the City does have a comfortable surplus but if the budget balance is not corrected, the only argument is how long will the City’s reserve last, two years, three maybe five years. Mr. Kraft said he knows one Councilmember is on record that he does not care what will happen ten years from now, he won’t be here. He said actually he plans on being here ten years from now and expects most of his constituents feel this way also. Mr. Kraft said it is the Council; their responsibility to set the course with goals and plans for the future. He said we as Council want to see City government organized into a more efficient structure. Mr. Kraft said the Council wants to see a balanced budget with one million dollars in savings for the Wilson buyout, with no service cuts. He said putting this in perspective, before he was on the Council everyone was saying the only way we can survive is to cut services or raise taxes. The talk now is no service cuts and one million dollars for a buyout, which is better than the discussion one year ago. Now is the time to direct the City Manager to exercise his full authority toward those goals. Mr. Sharpe said he did not have problems with the words efficient and responsive and felt everyone wanted that but he did have problems with no service cuts but at what price. He stated he does not like to see the budget balanced on the backs of the City’s service people and hoped the Council would have some type of discussion about it. Mr. Sharpe said to outsource something for a savings may not always be a savings as they can raise their prices just as what the City has to do. Mr. Sharpe noted he realized the City Manager has the authority to hire and fire but hoped he would get the advice and consent of the Council first. 10