Background:
City Council adopted a budget on November 4. The Mayor presented council with a budget that included a 6.9% tax increase, Council amended the budget in a 5-2 vote, eliminating a number of positions and upgrades and making across the boards cuts to eliminate any tax increase. The amendment and Bill 95 are in the file. The Mayor vetoed council's general fund bill - Bill 95 as amended. Council failed to override the veto at the November 15th Council meeting; but reconsidered Bill 95 as amended. What is in front of city council at this moment in time is Bill 95 with the amendment that was adopted - reconsideration means they have the bill before them just before the final vote was taken.
At the November 15th Council Meeting, Mayor Tuerk responded to City Council's adopted budget and offered an amendment with a 2% tax increase. This was not acted on at that meeting.
This evening, there are two proposed Council amendments that if passed would replace and supersede Council's initial amendment passed at the November 4 meeting that reduced the tax increase to zero with the Mayor's 2% proposal as the basis; taking additional funds from the unappropriated balance to take the tax rate increase to zero. :
1. No tax increase: Suggested changes in Administrations 2% proposal - no new positions, retaining increases to Police Captains and EMS and reducing the unappropriated balance by an amount to have a budget with no tax increase - @ $762,054. Mota, Hendricks, Affa
2. Add the Sustainability Position back into the budget - 11N at 66,976 in Parks and Recreation, funded from the unappropriated balance (evaluate end of 2024). Hendricks, Santo