Budget Fiasco/No Road Maintenance

Having attended the "work session" meeting this evening, we can tell you that NOTHING is being seriously considered regarding a road maintenance fund! To her credit, Broussard Vickers did indicate that she would NOT sign a budget without the dedicated fund. She again suggested $100,000 annually. Council discussed the fact that the City is "already in the hole" $60,000 for seal coating projections alone next year. This evening the Mayor suggested dedicating $50,000 as a starting point, which will still leave us lacking. There were excuses offered for lack of action, such as

"Who knows what the next council will do? It could overturn any fund we start
now."

Everyone in Minnesota knows that road maintenance is a fact of life and absolutely should be budgeted for! Why are we paying 45% of the budget on Fire and Police while 0% is dedicated to our streets? Minnetonka, an affluent city which ranks 39th in taxes spends 40% of its budget on Fire, Police AND ROAD MAINTENENCE!! Centerville hardly compares to Minnetonka when you actually do compare property value, income, business and responsible council members... But by golly, we are going have those new sidewalks and trails! This behavior would be laughable if not so irresponsible and repulsive.

Initial Centerville 2009 Budget Set To Increase 3 Percent
City Wants To Make Roads A Priority
By Louise Edwards of The Citizen

CENTERVILLE - Budget discussions are underway in the city, and much of the talk is centering around roads. The preliminary Centerville City Council draft budget, which was presented at the city’s July 10 meeting, proposes an increase in the general tax levy of $58,720, or 2.96 percent. For a $200,000 property in Centerville, that would equate to an annual increase of about $60, according to City Administrator Dallas Larson. “We wanted to keep this budget as tight as we could, without it being unrealistic,” added Larson. “It’s very much status quo.
There’s nothing new in here, no new equipment, keeping the same staff and keep doing what we have been doing.” But debate among city council members is already focusing on what, if any, cuts should be made from certain areas so that money can be set aside in a dedicated road fund.
The discussion follows criticism from some residents made during a number of public meetings and hearings on Centerville’s 2009 Street Improvement Project. Some citizens had said the council should have budgeted for street reconstruction and repairs, lessening the burden of special assessments on households. “I don’t necessarily want to change the numbers, but one of the things we have heard very loudly is that we should be planning better for road maintenance,” said Council Member Linda Broussard Vickers. “Any place we can squeeze something and move it [into a dedicated road maintenance fund], I would like to see that happen …” Broussard Vickers mentioned a few examples of areas she would look at cutting back, including funding for the Fête des Lacs festival, the Economic Development Authority, and increasing staff salaries by two percent, rather than the recent standard of three percent.

“I don’t think there’s any way we could ever budget enough to not assess
people for improvements,” added Council Member Jeff Paar."

But instead of mill and overlay [road repairs] costing the average homeowner $1,500 $2,000, maybe it would be $500.”
Mayor Mary Capra suggested putting $30,000 aside every year into a road fund, although Broussard Vickers said she did not believe it was worth having a dedicated fund without setting aside a minimum of $100,000 annually. Finance Director John Meyer will look over suggestions on line items in the budget made by council members ahead of the city’s next budget work session, due to be held tonight (Wednesday, July 23).
A preliminary tax levy must be set at the first city council meeting in September, after which time it cannot be increased, only lowered.