Missoula City Council Budget Committee of the Whole Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:	Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Time:	1:50 P.m. - 4:00 P.m.
Location:	City Council Chambers 140 W. Pine Street, Missoula , MT

Members present:

• Stacie Anderson,
• Mirtha Becerra,
• Michelle Cares,
• Heather Harp,
• Jordan Hess,
• Gwen Jones,
• Julie Merritt,
• Bryan von Lossberg,
• and Heidi West

Members absent:

• Julie Armstrong,
• John DiBari,
• and Jesse Ramos

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1.

ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS

1.1

Roll Call

1.2

Approval of the Minutes

​​​​​​​​The minutes were approved as submitted.

2.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA

No public comment.

3.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS

3.1

Fiscal Year 2020 Executive Budget

Leigh Griffing

Mayor John Engen read a letter to Council that conveys the City of Missoula's final executive budget for Fiscal Year 2020. Mayor Engen stated that total non-voted mill levies will be reduced by 5.05% and he highlighted funded personnel and CIP requests. 

Ms. Anderson asked about putting away money "for rainy days" and Ms. Griffing explained that those numbers would be discussed in more detail during the Budget Committee of the Whole meeting on Wednesday, August 14.

3.1.1

Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID)

Barb Neilan, director of Destination Missoula, presented the Tourism Business Improvement District budget and detailed how the budget is being allocated and spent. 

Stacie Anderson asked Mrs. Neilan to clarify how the monies from the TBID are spent state-wide versus in Missoula specifically.

Julie Merritt asked Mrs. Neilan to clarify how much of the percentage that goes to the state comes from Missoula. 

Mrs. Neilan answered both questions. 

Mrs. Anderson asked Mrs. Neilan to follow-up with an email and provide the details around the way the TBID funding is allocated.

Mrs. Merritt suggested a topic related to service industry jobs to be considered in the master plan research, to which Mrs. Neilan clarified and said she would be eager to provide.

Mrs. Harp asked how could local jobs related to the music industry be promoted in addition to tourism; Mrs. Neilan commented how they could look into that. 

Ms. Cares followed up on Mrs. Merritt's comment and is interested in the data related to service industry jobs.

3.1.2

Missoula Parking Commission (MPC)

Tiffany Brander, interim director of the Missoula Parking Commission presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget. 

Julie Merritt asked how things have been going related to the community response related to parking garages; Mrs. Brander responded.

Jordan Hess asked how Mrs. Brander predicts revenue may change related to License Plate Recognition; Mrs. Brander responded. Mr. Hess also asked if the master plan recommends a change to the ticket freebie every six months to a longer period of time. Mrs. Brander responded. 

Ms. Cares asked about privacy rights related to operational cameras; Mrs. Brander responded.

No public comment.

3.1.3

Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA)

Ellen Buchanan, Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) executive director, presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs). 

Mr. von Lossberg asked Mrs. Buchanan to come back to council after Certified Taxable Values are determined and how those will relate to the MRA budget. 

Ms. Merritt asked if there is a map of the sidewalks specified; Mrs. Buchanan said she could email it to council. 

No public comment.

3.1.4

Central Services Department

Leigh Griffing, Finance Director, presented the Central Services proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget. 

City Clerk Marty Rehbein provided details about the request related to the recommended audio/visual upgrades to the council chambers. 

Mrs. Harp asked if there is consideration for when there is overflow from public attending meetings into the Jack Reidy Room; Mrs. Rehbein answered.

Central Services - Mayor's Office

Dale Bickell, Chief Administration Officer with the Mayor's Office, presented the Mayor's Office and Facilities Maintenance proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget items. 

Mrs. Merritt asked if Brownfield monies can be used for assessment on the Federal building; Mr. Bickell responded.  

Break at 3:03pm

Meeting called back to order 3:08pm.

Central Services - City Clerk

Mrs. Griffing mentioned the two Clerk's Office requests have already been discussed and approved by council.

Central Services - Information Technologies

Mrs. Griffing presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget and stated that two members of the IT Department were present in the event of any questions.

Mr. von Lossberg asked to talk to the CIP request related to the GIS Analyst. Lee Macholz, IT Department, explained the position request. 

Ms. West stated that before information is presented publicly, the social implications should be considered. 

Ms. Merritt asked what the primary focus would be for the proposed position; Ms. Macholz explained. 

Mr. von Lossberg asked if the proposed positions are currently funded; Scott Paasch with Finance responded. 

Mr. von Lossberg asked Ms. Macholz to explain the GPS Unit proposed request, which she did.

Mrs. Merritt clarified that both positions are in deed funded.

Mrs. Anderson asked what is the need to have GPS in city vehicles; Mrs. Macholz detailed the various reasons.

Mr. von Lossberg underscored the protection of data and the opportunity to map using GIS functionality. 

No public comment.

Central Services - Finance

Mrs. Griffing discussed the Finance Department proposed Fiscal Year 2020 proposed budget. 

Central Services - Facilities Maintenance

Mrs. Griffing introduced the Facilities Maintenance proposed Fiscal Year 2020 proposed budget and Matt Lawson, Facilities Manager, discussed the budget items. 

Mrs. Anderson asked for more details about the roof on the 140 W Pine Street building. Jill Dunn with Missoula Redevelopment Agency from the audience responded. 

Mr. Lawson detailed the proposed CIP related to the HVAC system for the Missoula Art Museum. 

No public comment.

Central Services - Fleet Maintenance

Scott Paasch with Finance Department explained the proposed request for a Fleet Maintenance Technician. 

Mr. von Lossberg confirmed that this would not be funded via a tax increase would be increased using fees from the various departments. Mr. von Lossberg asked Mr. Paasch to explain the Assistant Technician. 

3.1.5

City of Missoula Health Plan

Health Plan

Ms. Griffing introduced the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 Health Plan budget and Mr. Bickell presented it along with Ms. Jill Dunn with the Employee Benefit Committee (EBC), and presented a PowerPoint. 

Mr. von Lossberg stated that the health plan details have been changing literally day-to-day, and to that he clarified that the current health care documentation on the website shows the EBC-recommended premium increase of 11% and that the budget now is for less than 3%, and asks that the most current documentation be uploaded as soon as possible. Mrs. Griffing affirmed.

Ms. Anderson asked if the proposed increase would be enough for future changes; Mr. Bickell stated the future claims are impossible to predict and the committee would rely on the recommendations from consultants when making proposals.

Ms. Harp asked Ms. Dunn to speak to the city has a "Cadillac version" of a health care plan. Ms. Dunn explained why the city's benefits are good for the city employees and that it's tailored to employees' needs and that the city does the best to keep costs down and encourage healthy employees. 

3.1.6

Review of Wdesk budget software

Mr. Paasch with the Finance Department demonstrated Wdesk, the budget software, and gave an overview of the budget data for Council members. Ms. Griffing mentioned that Wdesk has been updated since last year so it may look different to members who have seen it in previous years. 

Mr. Bickell explained that during next week's BCOW meeting, Wednesday, August 14, further explanation would occur related to the mill levy numbers.

4.

ADJOURNMENT

Adjourned 4:07pm