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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-04-30 Budget Committee Approved Minutes Ashland Ci?zens Budget Commi?ee Mee?ng Minutes Wednesday, April 30, 3:00 PM -5:30 PM Council Chambers, 1175 E Main Street I. Call to Order Chair Shane Hunter called the mee?ng to order at 3:00pm II. Roll Call Present: Mayor Tonya Graham, Councilor Eric Hansen, Councilor Gina DuQuenne, Councilor Dylan Bloom, Councilor Jeff Dahle, Commi?ee Members Shane Hunter, James Fredericks, Michael Murray, Ariana Spiegler, Meg Wade, and Linda Peterson Adams. Absent: Councilor Bob Kaplan and Commi?ee Member Kristen Roy III. Call for Nomina?ons for Chair and Vice Chair Linda Peterson Adams/ Eric Hansen Mo?on/Second. I move to nominate Shane Hunter as Chair of the 25-27 Ci?zens Budget Commi?ee Roll Call Vote: Wade, Bloom, Adams, DuQuenne, Fredericks, Graham, Hansen, Murray, Dahle, Spiegler YES. Mo?on Passes. Jeff Dahle/James Fredericks Mo?on/Second. I move to nominate Linda Peterson Adams as Vice Chair. Roll Call Vote: Spiegler, Dahle, Murray, Hansen, Hunter, Graham, Fredericks, DuQuenne, Bloom, Wade YES. Mo?on Passes. IV. Public Forum No speakers V. Budget Presenta?ons City Manager Sabrina Co?a shared the 2025/2027 Biennial Budget Message. She discussed the increase in cost of labor and a large list of deferred maintenance that will be addressed in the upcoming biennium. The City is not expec?ng to receive as much grant revenue and has trimmed personnel to ensure the budget is balanced. Due to the uncertainty around the economic climate, the City has developed a conserva?ve budget. Finance Director Mariane Berry highlighted changes in the budget book and summarized the Budget Commi?ee’s responsibili?es. Ashland Fiber Network Manager Chad Sobotka presented the Ashland Fiber Network’s (AFN) budget. The majority of revenue is generated by selling broadband services. Ashland is currently servicing 4,500 households with 6 FTEs. Changes for the biennium include an increased franchise fee, elimina?on of the IT Director posi?on a?er consolida?ng under the Finance Department, and sharing a posi?on with IT. AFN an?cipates an increase in revenue due to customer growth. The pilot project update will be presented to the Council on June 2, 2025. Electric Director Tom McBartle? presented the Electric Department’s budget. The purchase of substa?on reduced costs by around $150,000 per year during the previous biennium. As outlined in the Department’s masterplan, the Department hopes to meet capacity by 2033. The Department completed the Wildfire Mi?ga?on Plan last biennium but will con?nue to implement and update in the upcoming biennium. It will con?nue to look for grants for hardening or renewable installa?ons. The Electric Fund budget is $42.4 million for the biennium. Public Works Director Sco? Fleury and Deputy Public Works Director Mike Morrison presented the Public Works budget. Significant changes include increases in infrastructure and chemical costs. The Department is looking at resolving staffing issues in the Support Division and con?nues to look for grant opportuni?es. The Department hopes to complete its master plan and begin an implementa?on plan that will be presented to Council in the future. Infrastructure is the largest increase in the Street Fund. The biggest project moving forward for the Water Fund is the Water Treatment Plant. There are also a couple of big projects planned for the City’s reservoir including dam safety updates and construc?on and replacement of a bridge above the reservoir and another east of Ashland Creek. The Wastewater Treatment Plant will have some infrastructure expenditures for the replacement of aging components. There is a large capital expense at the City’s Airport mostly covered by grants. The City’s cemeteries have a trust fund to support capital and opera?ons. Public Works divisions in the General Fund include Support, Facili?es, Custodial, Cemetery and now GIS (previously included in IT’s budget). Support’s spending has been reduced on copiers and materials. Police Chief Tighe O’Meara presented the Police Department’s budget. The Department’s FTE has decreased from 39 to 38 FTEs a?er a records clerk posi?on was eliminated. The org chart is likely going to change due to a recent re?rement announcement. The budget is mostly unchanged other than personnel costs. The Department’s largest obliga?on is to Emergency Communica?ons of Southern Oregon. the Department pays about $550,000 per year for dispatch services. The Department has not fully budgeted for dispatch services in the past, covering the difference with other budgeted line items, so this upcoming budget includes catch-up costs. Interim Fire Chief Marshall Rasor presented the Fire Department budget. During the prior biennium the Department launched the Single-Role EMS program with 8 FTEs. The Department is introducing a public safety fee and increasing the exis?ng wildfire risk reduc?on fee in the upcoming biennium. Significant increases are due to the cost of personnel and increases in the cost of so?ware. VI. Q&A The City will con?nue to fully vet the single role EMS program in prepara?on for the 2027-2029 biennial budget, at which ?me the city will review the number of employees and how the program is opera?ng. Concerns were shared about losing federal funding. The City will con?nue to monitor and search for other funding opportuni?es. Many of the City’s essen?al services are not reliant on federal funds. VII. Mee?ng Adjourned Mee?ng Adjourned at 4:44 PM. Note: Commi?ee Member Adams requested items regarding Oregon Public Mee?ng Law, the WIFIA Loan, and the Police Department Fees discussion be added to the record and can be viewed by watching the mee?ng video.