MONROE - After three hours of deliberating on possible department and subsidy cuts and small increases in revenue, the Finance and Taxation Committee hit a wall, coming to no agreement after finalizing proposed changes.
The vote, and the room, was split 2-2. Aldermen Michael Boyce and Brooke Bauman were in favor of some changes, while Charles Koch and Ron Marsh said no. The sticking point for Koch was the continued vacancy of a Monroe Police Department patrol officer, which Marsh was also against.
"You come up with the $80,000 in revenue and we can do it," Boyce said after the vote to recommend the budget to the city council failed.
As the result of a meeting on Saturday between Boyce, who is the committee chairperson, Mayor Louis Armstrong and City Administrator Phil Rath, the committee was given a list of suggestions. Some came from department supervisors' suggestions. Committee members agreed on most of the ideas.
All felt subsidies to certain organizations were necessary. The group came to a consensus that a $30,000 subsidy to Main Street Monroe should be reduced by $5,000. The group also felt the Green County Humane Society contract needed to be re-evaluated.
"We're paying for services we aren't getting," Bauman said.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said the $35,000 contract signed with the society does not pay for the use of the facility for holding animals in criminal cases. That costs $10 per day. Instead, the contract allows for residents to take a stray to the society. Without it, he said he was unsure if that service would be impacted. Committee members instructed Rath to contact the humane society to discuss changes, and proposed a $10,000 cut from the amount they pay to the group annually.
The city also pays roughly $28,000 each year to the Green County Development Corporation, which charges each municipality throughout the county per capita. Bauman said she did not feel comfortable paying less than the rest of the county, but the other three were in favor of the cut of $5,000. They also agreed to cut funding to the Monroe Chamber of Commerce by $5,000.
Committee members also deliberated whether to increase the pilot, which is a payment from the water utility to the city, to just over $140,000. There was also talk of reducing the amount saved to the capital account, which is essentially a savings account set aside for larger items to avoid borrowing for repairs or replacements, such as city trucks or facility maintenance issues.
Instead, the decision was made to take $75,000 from the general city fund to decrease the pilot amount. That way, the capital fund expenditure could remain at $500,000 and on-track for setting aside funds for future needs. The capital saved over the last two years came in handy during discussion as well, when it was decided that part of those funds could be used to replace a 30-year-old furnace used in the Streets Department.
They eliminated proposed merit-based pay increases for city employees but maintained a 1.84 percent cost-of-living increase. An increase of $10 per month for each student enrolled in the after-school program helped increase revenue by $3,000. In total, the group identified $85,000 in funds. Rath said the city levy would be 13 cents per $1,000 of value, or $26.68 on a $200,000 home.
The committee adjourned after Bauman, who first asked what needed to be compromised, called for an adjournment, which Boyce seconded. The city plans to hold a public hearing with the full Monroe Common Council on Nov. 21, which means a draft would need to be approved by Nov. 3.
The vote, and the room, was split 2-2. Aldermen Michael Boyce and Brooke Bauman were in favor of some changes, while Charles Koch and Ron Marsh said no. The sticking point for Koch was the continued vacancy of a Monroe Police Department patrol officer, which Marsh was also against.
"You come up with the $80,000 in revenue and we can do it," Boyce said after the vote to recommend the budget to the city council failed.
As the result of a meeting on Saturday between Boyce, who is the committee chairperson, Mayor Louis Armstrong and City Administrator Phil Rath, the committee was given a list of suggestions. Some came from department supervisors' suggestions. Committee members agreed on most of the ideas.
All felt subsidies to certain organizations were necessary. The group came to a consensus that a $30,000 subsidy to Main Street Monroe should be reduced by $5,000. The group also felt the Green County Humane Society contract needed to be re-evaluated.
"We're paying for services we aren't getting," Bauman said.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said the $35,000 contract signed with the society does not pay for the use of the facility for holding animals in criminal cases. That costs $10 per day. Instead, the contract allows for residents to take a stray to the society. Without it, he said he was unsure if that service would be impacted. Committee members instructed Rath to contact the humane society to discuss changes, and proposed a $10,000 cut from the amount they pay to the group annually.
The city also pays roughly $28,000 each year to the Green County Development Corporation, which charges each municipality throughout the county per capita. Bauman said she did not feel comfortable paying less than the rest of the county, but the other three were in favor of the cut of $5,000. They also agreed to cut funding to the Monroe Chamber of Commerce by $5,000.
Committee members also deliberated whether to increase the pilot, which is a payment from the water utility to the city, to just over $140,000. There was also talk of reducing the amount saved to the capital account, which is essentially a savings account set aside for larger items to avoid borrowing for repairs or replacements, such as city trucks or facility maintenance issues.
Instead, the decision was made to take $75,000 from the general city fund to decrease the pilot amount. That way, the capital fund expenditure could remain at $500,000 and on-track for setting aside funds for future needs. The capital saved over the last two years came in handy during discussion as well, when it was decided that part of those funds could be used to replace a 30-year-old furnace used in the Streets Department.
They eliminated proposed merit-based pay increases for city employees but maintained a 1.84 percent cost-of-living increase. An increase of $10 per month for each student enrolled in the after-school program helped increase revenue by $3,000. In total, the group identified $85,000 in funds. Rath said the city levy would be 13 cents per $1,000 of value, or $26.68 on a $200,000 home.
The committee adjourned after Bauman, who first asked what needed to be compromised, called for an adjournment, which Boyce seconded. The city plans to hold a public hearing with the full Monroe Common Council on Nov. 21, which means a draft would need to be approved by Nov. 3.