Mayor Paul Larson expects the proposed budget changes he and the budget committee introduced at Monday night’s City Council meeting will provoke discussion among Minneota residents.
In fact, he thinks it will be good if there is that discussion.
“This will spark discussion and controversy in the community,” Larson said toward the end of the meeting. “And we really are looking for community input.”
The proposed budget changes include a range of small items such as a $500 cut in shade trees to shortening the swimming pool season to fully overhauling Minneota’s Police Department - cutting its size and changing its structure. Larson said that change alone will save the city nearly $70,000 a year.
With the city facing a cut of at least $170,000 over the next two years in state local government aid funds as the state fights a massive budget deficit, city leaders say they must cut Minneota’s budget and raise new revenue.
The plan Larson presented would add up to $188,653 in cuts and new revenue in 2009 and 2010 - enough, the mayor said, to meet the LGA hit.   
Larson stressed that “these are proposals the council will now look at and review. They might throw everything  out and say start over.”
But he and city administrator Dan Canton also said the council will have to act on some changes, because the LGA cuts will have an impact. The city already lost $35,000 of its 2009 LGA funds when the state reduced its December 2008 payment. The LGA picture could darken more if the state’s predicted $4.8 billion deficit rises, as some experts expect.
The budget committee has met recently with city department heads, getting input from city employees on ways the city could cut costs and generate new revenue. The city also has met with Lyon County Sheriff Mark Mather, and Larson has spoken with Cotton-wood city officials, to examine ways of changing law enforcement service.
Through employee meetings, $55,703 in cuts were identified for 2009, and a possible $13,170 in new fees were suggested, mainly in increases in summer recreation and pool fees. That’s a total of $68,873 from employee suggestions for 2009.
Some of the proposed cuts include $9,500 in city employee wage freezes, $5,000 in cuts in publication of newspaper legal notices, $4,862 in cuts in general street maintenance, $3,650 from delaying purchase of a pressure washer, $2,300 by eliminating the burn site monitor position, and $3,500 in reducing snow removal hours. There could also be $4,500 in cuts to summer parks help, $7,000 by opening the pool a week later and closing it two weeks earlier, and a 4-percent sewer rate increase ($4,800 a year).
But the bulk of the projected savings would come in changes to the police department, Larson said.
Larson presented several models for changing the police force, which currently, he said, has a net cost to the city of $137,058 a year. That’s the net figure after outside revenue and expenses are removed, and includes wages, equipment, expenses, benefits and other costs.
In the current model, Minneota gets 346 hours of montly coverage from its two-member force, Larson said, at a net monthly cost of $11,422.
He said the city could save about $5,700 a month if it switches to a Cottonwood or Balaton model.
Cottonwood has no police force of its own, and contracts with the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department for 200 hours of monthly coverage. The sheriff’s department covers all expenses and wages. For that, the city of Cottonwood pays $5,705 a month.
Balaton has one police officer and also contracts with the sheriff’s department for other coverage, getting 163 hours of monthly coverage. Under the Balaton model, Minneota would pay $5,872 a month if it paid a police chief’s wages, and less if it paid an officer’s wages, Larson said.        Larson said the numbers are not firm yet, and what Minneota pays would have to be negotiated with the county board. He said he would be upset if the county charged Minneota more than it did Cottonwood or Balaton.
“This will provoke a lot of community discussion,” Larson said, “but I keep thinking about that $5,700 a month.”
In a draft news release, Larson said “the time is right to make this transition,” and noted that larger cities in southwest Minnesota, including Luverne and Pipestone, have no city police departments and contract with counties for all their coverage.
Larson and Canton said because the impact of LGA cuts will be ongoing, the city wants to find as many “sustainable” ways of solving the budget as possible and not rely solely on one-time cuts. Larson said changing the police department would lead to long-term, sustainable savings.
The council doesn’t have a specific timeline for voting on budget changes, but Larson said every month without action is more money the city is losing.
In other business:
• The council listened to concerns raised by Jim Driemeyer about sewer smells in his house. Driemeyer wondered if the smell was related to a new housing addition hooked on to a line in 2003. Larson said the city would “jet” the line to clear it of sewage and see if the smell disappeared. He told Driemeyer the city would not unhook the houses from the line.
• The council approved hiring Connie Johnson as summer rec manager, with salary to be determined. The council also OK’d interviewing two candidates for pool manager.