Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.25.21 Special council minutes March 25, 2021 The Council of the City of Waterloo, Iowa, met in Special Session in the Schoitz Room at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo, Iowa, at 5:30 p.m., on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Mayor Quentin Hart in the Chair. Roll Call: Boesen, Amos, Morrissey, Klein, Feuss, Grieder, and Juon. 159701 - Juon/Klein that the Agenda, as proposed, for the Special Session on Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 5:30 p.m.,be accepted and approved. Voice vote-Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. Presentation by Michelle Weidner, Chief Financial Officer on the FYE2022 budget. PUBLIC HEARING 159702 - Juon/Grieder that proof of publication of notice of public hearing on the FYE2022 budget as published in the Waterloo Courier on March 12,2021,be received and placed on file. Voice vote-Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. This being the time and place of public hearing, the Mayor called for written and oral comments. Kelley Felchle, City Clerk, read written comments from a number of citizens; Bill Kammeyer who is stated he is opposed to the enormous expense being requested by the Mayor for a chief of staff;Dorothy Wright,who said she is concerned about the hiring of an Executive Assistant for the Mayor;Don Miller, who supports the director position and the adoption of a council/manager form of city government;Jim Rice sent a petition entitled"Save the Griffin"which has 2,028 signatures. Shelia Beal, 315 Gayle Street, commented that she has done some research and through several years, there has been a decrease of residents and Cedar Falls had an increase. She does not understand the tax abatement to give homeowners a break in paying property taxes. She feels that this needs to stop or people need to be required to stay in their home or be prevented from moving and doing it again. She commented that the city should have undercover vehicles to help catch fireworks users. She added that the chief of staff position is not needed and more funding and priority needs to be put on street, water, and waste water line repair. Dave Dryer, 3145 W. 4th Street, commented that the city is now picking winners and losers. The city allowed a theme park to be built but turned down a dollar general. The city needs to start on next year's budget on April 1St and not wait to the last minute. Nobody has ever asked his opinion about the budget so he assumes that they are not talking to any other member of the public. A chief of staff position is going to be another stress on the taxpayers and social security is not keeping up. Todd Obadal, 124 Amity Drive, commented that he has been coming to council meetings since he moved back to the area in 2017. He stated that one of the goals of the city is to decrease property taxes but each year they go up. Property values are not appreciating and the city is experiencing a death spiral. Fees are not counted as taxes but they continue to go up. He added that a majority of the public does not want to see the griffin go but people in the community, including the council want it gone. Officers died wearing the griffin emblem and they need to be respected. Taxes should not be raised to eliminate the emblem. Becky De Kruif, 2616 Gloria, commented that the city has enough problems and that the taxpayers do not need to pay to remove the griffin, especially when a majority does not want to remove it. She added that the chief of staff position should not be added. Carol Griffin Gustafson, 209 Forest Avenue, she explained that the city should not change the griffin. Whatever emblem is put on the police car, it is a scary thing when you are pulled over or they come to your home, but you would be happy to see them helping you in crisis. She commented that a job description is not available to view and could potentially be more supportive if that was available. She has heard that the pay would be $167,000 and questioned what the city would actually be getting for that amount. Being a social worker, she questioned why no support for met transit. She questioned why ambulance rates are increasing and where the revenue is coming from. Forest Dillavou, 1725 Huntington Road, commented that he has gone to budget meetings for twenty years and this is the least amount he knows about the budget. He stated that regardless of what he says March 25, 2020 Page 2 council members have their minds made up. He stated that the city needs to find smarter ways to do business. He said he cannot afford what the city is doing. He said that the city wants to add a new position to the Mayor's office but that office keeps costing the citizens more each year with a salary increase and a part time person. Dawn Henry, 2121 W. 7th Street, commented that the city has not given the citizens an opportunity to view and understand the budget. She stated that the city should not hire a chief of staff and it proposing to make more money than the mayor. She questioned if money is in the budget to remove the griffin and added that she does not want to see the emblem removed. Jim Maas, 113 Lichty Blvd., questioned if the chief of staff will have a job description and if the Mayor will get a new job descriptions. He stated that the Mayor should be promoting the city. He understands that the money has to be added to the budget and would hope that the person in that position would promote the city. Jim Draude, 843 W. Airline Highway, commented that it is a waste of money to change the griffin. He served as a police officer and never had someone say that the griffin offended them. He does not support the chief of staff position and added that the mayor should take a pay cut if the position is added. He suggested adding more traffic cameras to help with the budget. Josh Wilson, 100 E. 2nd Street, Cedar Falls, commented that he is 32 years old, moved away, and decided to move to Cedar Falls and joined his family who also fled Waterloo because the taxes are high. He offered the Mayor that he would serve as the chief of staff for $85,000-$90,000 but that he does not believe the position is necessary. He encouraged the council to go back to meeting in person. 159703 - Juon/Grieder That the hearing be closed and oral comments be received and placed on file. Voice vote-Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. 159704 - Juon/Grieder Resolution approving the FYE 2022 budget with a total tax levy rate of$18.63188 and property tax askings in the amount of$44,640,549. Roll call vote-Ayes: Five. Nays: Two (Morrissey and Klein). Motion carried. 159705 - Morrissey/Klein To amend by proposing the following: Resolution approving the FYE 2022 budget with a total tax levy rate of 18.65409 and property tax askings in the amount of$44,693,610. Roll call vote-Ayes: One. Nays: Six (Boesen, Amos, Klein, Feuss, Grieder, and Juon.) Motion failed. Mr. Morrissey provided an overview of the amendment. He said the biggest take way is that the budget keeps the staffing levels as they are and eliminates the chief of staff position. We should not be delaying staff that provide services to hire a chief of staff. Mrs. Klein commented that she does not support the amendment but does applaud him for putting together the proposal. She stated that the chief of staff position should not be filled and funds used to tear down dilapidated housing. Boesen identify where the cuts would come from for the police and fire departments. Mr. Morrissey commented that he would leave the police and fire departments to work within the budget they are given and find ways to absorb the cuts. Resolution adopted and upon approval by Mayor assigned No. 2021-177. Mr. Boesen commented that other cities use local option sales tax for tax relief. Citizens continue to come back and say they want roads fixed. He questioned the votes required to approve the budget. Michelle Weidner, Chief Financial Officer, explained the votes required to adopt the budget is a simple majority. March 25, 2020 Page 3 Mr. Boesen commented that we continue to get compared to Cedar Falls and other communities. Those communities started TIF districts prior to Waterloo and have part of their local option sales tax dedicated to property tax relief. He questioned when the city would have more discussion on the CIP, as he has concerns on the proposed$13 AM and how the debt levy will affect homeowners 2-3 years from now. Mrs. Klein commented that the council has not had a single work session on the chief of staff position or seen a job description. She stated that the position is budgeted for$176,616 and is a shift in the way Waterloo has always conducted business. The public should have been allowed the opportunity to hear council discussions on the matter. Part of the cost of the griffin is going to be paid for in taxes and the other part will be borrowed. Mrs. Juon commented that she is a big proponent of a city administrator. It will be something the city will talk about and has not been fully decided. The position would oversee the administrative departments. There will be future discussions on a job description but that the funding has to be included in the budget. Mayor Hart provided an explanation of the need for the chief of staff position. He noted that consolidation of departments has taken place throughout the city and that the position would oversee the administrative departments within the city. Mr. Grieder commented that as the youngest person on council he thinks a lot about what the future of the city will work. He stated that he does not support the chief of staff position. He explained that the reason that young people he talks to give about why they choose to not come back to the city, is because in the past, the city has not invested in a future for the community, and that there are not things for them to do. The plan puts forth a vision of Waterloo that is more inclusive and what the community should mean to everyone. He will be supporting the budget because it builds a better Waterloo. Mr. Morrissey stated that council needs to know what the $211,000 requested by the mayor's office needs to be explained. He stated that the budget has been a closed process and that he has not had the opportunity as in years past to talk to departments about their needs. He has not had comments from anyone favorable of the chief of staff without first understanding the position. He commented that the rental registration fees would be used to pay for a rental inspector. There is only one inspector. Iowa City has five and is similar in size to Waterloo. Des Moines has sixteen. Ames has three. Waterloo needs more inspectors. That one inspector in Waterloo has over 9,000 properties to inspect. He asked the council to eliminate the $211,000 from the Mayor's budget and reinvest it to the Mechanic and Property and Safety Inspector position. 159706 - Morrissey/Klein To amend by deleting the Mayor's budget additions of$211,000 for the chief of staff position and the additional $35,000, for a drop in the levy rate of.9 cents and a levy rate of$18.54. Roll call vote-Ayes: Two. Nays: Five (Boesen, Amos, Feuss, Grieder, and Juon). Motion failed. Mrs. Klein commented that she supports the amendment and that the chief of staff position should be delayed for one year for further research. Mayor Hart stated that a city administrator costs $75,000 more than a chief of staff. The $211,000 will help pay for community planning sessions for a 2030 Vision Plan. The $50,000 placed in the budget last year was for vision planning, which has been reduced to $35,000 in this budget. Nearly 900 citizens have completed the 2030 Vision Survey. The .08 is to increase the Communication Director's time, who has been working 50 hours per work on a part-time position. This increase doesn't even meet a full time amount. The chief of staff is going to help with the overall efficiencies that we have been working toward. We are not reducing the authority of the Mayor, which is what a city administrator would do. He addressed the Met Transit, mechanic position and rental housing inspector concerns. Mr. Morrissey commented that he talked to the workers to get his information. The city council in the City of Waterloo has been completely diminished in their legislative duties and responsibilities under the Mayor's leadership, and that is not okay. The addition of a chief of staff adds just one more layer of decision makers under the Mayor. Council has lost its legislative abilities through the measures Mayor has taken like the elimination of standing committees, taking meetings from four March 25, 2020 Page 4 per month to two are all examples of adding more managers and less hands on people. The people of Waterloo need more hands on people and fewer managers. Mayor Hart clarified why standing committees consisting of three council members was replaced with meetings comprised of the full council. ADJOURNMENT 159707 - Grieder/Feuss that the Council adjourn at 8:09 p.m. Voice vote-Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. Kelley �elchle Kelley Felchle City Clerk