Memorandum
City of Lawrence
City Manager’s Office
|
DATE: |
6/13/2013 – Updated 07/09/13 |
|
TO: |
David L. Corliss, City Manager |
|
FROM: |
Casey Toomay, Budget Manager |
|
CC: |
Cynthia Wagner, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager / City Clerk |
|
RE: |
Commissioner Inquiries Regarding the 2014 Budget |
Below are questions and other requests for information from Commissioners related to the 2014 Budget. Additional Information will be added as available.
Q: How do our solid waste rate compare to other communities?
A: A table comparing the 2014 recommended rate for the City of Lawrence residential customer with rates of surrounding communities is attached.
Q: Do we have an inventory of the City fleet and recent history of trade-ins?
A: An inventory of the City fleet is attached. It contains the expected useful life for all vehicles as well as a recommended replacement year and estimated replacement cost. A summary of City vehicles sold since 2006 is also attached It shows the purchase price and sale price for each and calculates the percentage of the cost of each vehicle recovered by the sale.
In addition, several departments have vehicle and equipment replacement plans. Some examples are found below:
Q: How does our mill levy compare to other communities?
A: A comparison of the levies used to build the 2013 budgets for several cities in Kansas is provided below.
|
City |
Mill Rate for the 2013 Budget |
|
Leavenworth |
49.874 |
|
Ottawa |
45.652 |
|
Manhattan |
43.439 |
|
Emporia |
41.575 |
|
Topeka |
35.838 |
|
Baldwin |
33.542 |
|
Wichita |
32.471 |
|
Eudora |
31.125 |
|
Lawrence |
29.534 |
|
Salina |
26.190 |
|
Lecompton |
25.210 |
|
Overland Park |
12.769 |
There are many factors that should be considered when comparing mill levy rates. For instance, some cities reliance more on other revenue sources, such as sales tax, resulting in lower levies. Some communities have smaller assessed valuations, requiring higher levies to generate sufficient property tax dollars. Not all communities provide the same functions and as a result have different resource requirements.
Q: Can we see a ten year history of the city mill rate, assessed valuation, and the dollars generated by city property taxes?
A: The history is provided below.
|
Budget Year |
Mill Levy Year |
City Mill Rate |
Assessed Valuation |
Generated Dollars |
|
2004 |
2003 |
28.09 |
$674,806,375 |
$18,955,311 |
|
2005 |
2004 |
27.86 |
$719,175,675 |
$20,036,234 |
|
2006 |
2005 |
26.36 |
$776,860,997 |
$20,478,056 |
|
2007 |
2006 |
26.36 |
$824,365,924 |
$21,730,286 |
|
2008 |
2007 |
26.79 |
$853,590,988 |
$22,867,703 |
|
2009 |
2008 |
26.65 |
$862,037,586 |
$22,973,302 |
|
2010 |
2009 |
26.69 |
$853,676,870 |
$22,784,636 |
|
2011 |
2010 |
26.69 |
$852,586,917 |
$22,755,545 |
|
2012 |
2011 |
28.61 |
$856,611,007 |
$24,507,641 |
|
2013 |
2012 |
29.53 |
$852,323,227 |
$25,169,105 |
Q: What explains the significant increase in the street maintenance budget for 2014?
A: The street maintenance budget for 2014 is shown below.
|
Street Maintenance Funding (excludes personnel, equipment costs, etc.) |
|
|
||
|
General Operating Fund |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
street maintenance (mill & overlay, chip & seal, curb repair) |
2,040,919 |
1,740,919 |
1,740,919 |
1,725,904 |
|
Asphalt |
133,172 |
119,172 |
125,000 |
125,000 |
|
Concrete |
58,673 |
50,673 |
50,673 |
50,673 |
|
Contingency |
- |
|
|
|
|
Sub-total |
2,232,764 |
1,910,764 |
1,916,592 |
1,901,577 |
|
Gas Tax Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
street maintenance (mill & overlay, chip & seal, curb repair) |
715,000 |
725,205 |
200,000 |
200,000 |
|
Sidewalk |
25,000 |
25,000 |
25,000 |
20,000 |
|
Asphalt |
75,000 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
60,000 |
|
Concrete |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
|
Sub-total |
880,000 |
890,205 |
365,000 |
345,000 |
|
Stormwater Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
Curb repair |
140,000 |
140,000 |
140,000 |
140,000 |
|
Transfer to General Fund for curb/gutter |
400,000 |
400,000 |
400,000 |
400,000 |
|
Sub-total |
540,000 |
540,000 |
540,000 |
540,000 |
|
Debt |
|
|
|
|
|
Street Maintenance(includes 23rd & Iowa and 31st, Haskell to O'Connell) |
|
|
1,300,000 |
2,500,000 |
|
KLINK (City's share) |
1,000,000 |
1,000,000 |
|
|
|
KLINK (KDOT share) |
200,000 |
200,000 |
- |
700,000 |
|
Sub-total |
1,200,000 |
1,200,000 |
1,300,000 |
3,200,000 |
|
Reserve Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
Sales Tax Reserve - County-wide |
550,000 |
350,000 |
|
|
|
Capital Improvement Reserve |
150,000 |
|
|
|
|
Capital Improvement Reserve - Infrastructure Sales Tax |
500,000 |
800,000 |
800,000 |
800,000 |
|
Sub-total |
1,200,000 |
1,150,000 |
800,000 |
800,000 |
|
TOTAL |
6,052,764 |
5,690,969 |
4,921,592 |
6,786,577 |
The increase over 2013 is largely due to the amount of debt planned for 2014. The City has a multi-year plan for debt for capital projects. The amount of debt for street projects varies depending on other capital needs. The plan calls for $1,900,000 of additional debt for street projects in 2014 than in 2013.
Q: Can you provide more information of the funding for the Lawrence Children’s Choir?
A: The Lawrence Children’s Choir submitted an application for $14,000 for the 2013 budget year. The Social Service Funding Advisory Board did not recommend funding the Choir because they did not see it as a social service. The City Manager did not include funding for the Choir in his recommended budget for 2013. The City Commission decided to award the Choir a one-time payment of $10,000 from the City’s Special Recreation Fund, which is used to provide recreational and cultural activities.
The Choir submitted an application for 2014 funding for $14,000. The Social Service Funding Advisory Board did not consider the 2014 application, however, because they do not make recommendations for funding from that funding source.
Q: What level of funding is the City planning for sidewalks in 2014?
A: The table below shows the sidewalk, shared use path and bike lanes planned for 2014.
|
Project |
Sidewalk |
Shared Use Path |
Bike Lane |
Cost |
|
Bob Billings Parkway (Wakarusa, west to Legends Drive |
2,000 |
2,000 |
$ 130,000.00 |
|
|
Burroughs Creek rail trail (AKA Haskell rail trail) |
4,000 |
$ 219,000.00 |
||
|
SLT - Louisiana to Iowa* |
3,000 |
$ 150,000.00 |
||
|
31st St. (Haskell to O'Connell) |
5,280 |
$ 275,000.00 |
||
|
Wakarusa (Oread to Legends) |
1,500 |
1,500 |
$ 95,000.00 |
|
|
CDBG (locations to be determined) |
670 |
$ 25,000.00 |
||
|
Bob Billings Parkway & K-10 interchange |
1,600 |
1,600 |
$ 90,000.00 |
|
|
In-House (Street Division) |
$ 50,000.00 |
|||
|
Contracted Street Maintenance |
$ 100,000.00 |
|||
|
Sub Total |
$ 1,134,000.00 |
|||
|
In Progress |
||||
|
Bob Billings Parkway (Kasold to Iowa) |
5,280 |
$ 275,000.00 |
||
|
Farmland |
10,560 |
10,560 |
$ 250,000.00 |
|
|
Rock Chalk Park Trail |
approx 15,000(5k) |
$ 350,000.00 |
||
|
Rock Chalk Drive and GWW extension |
9,000 |
$ 400,000.00 |
||
|
Wakarusa |
1,400 |
1,400 |
$ 108,000.00 |
|
|
17,730 |
41,560 |
17,060 |
$ 2,517,000.00 |
|
|
Miles |
3.357954545 |
7.871212121 |
3.231060606 |
|
|
*10' shared use path along the SLT not included above |
||||
Q: Can you provide some background information on the Library Fund?
A: The table below shows the recent history regarding the mill levy rate for the library as well as the expenditure budget for the Library Fund.
|
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Library Mill Levy Rate |
3.259 |
3.259 |
3.258 |
3.460 |
3.463 |
|
Expenditure Budget |
$3,051,000 |
$3,060,000 |
$3,070,000 |
$3,136,000 |
$3,243,260 |
Voters approved a 2 mill increase for the renovation and reconstruction of the Lawrence Public Library in 2010. The mill levy in the City’s bond and interest fund would be raised 1.5 mills for the annual debt payments for the $18 million dollar facility and the mill levy in the Library Fund would be increased .5 mill to support the increased cost of operations of the larger facility.
As shown on the table above, the Mill Levy for the Library was increased 0.2 mill in 2012. The remaining increase of 0.3 mills would be recommended when the new facility was open. The facility is currently expected to open in the summer of 2014.
The Library requested $3,416,888 for 2014 which would be an increase of 5.3% over their 2013 budget. In order to preserve fund balance in the Library Fund, the City Manager is likely to recommend a smaller increase of $100,000, or 3.1%, for 2014 for the Library.
Q: Can I see some data on what it would take to hire 1-4 more WRAP workers for our local schools? I'd like to see how much that would be with the potential cost on mill levy.
A: The WRAP program clinicians provide specific mental health services including: crisis intervention, individual and small-group counseling, skill building, mediation, parent support, teacher support/education/consultation, resource acquisition, consultation to educational teams, and transition support. WRAP is offered in Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, South Middle School, both high schools in the USD 497 District, and all Eudora Public schools.
The WRAP Program receives approximately $225,000 from Douglas County, between $12,000 and $21,000 from the Juvenile Justice Administration, and $4,000 from a local trust. A federal grant funds the positions in the Eudora School District. No financial support is provided by USD 497, the City of Lawrence, or the City of Eudora.
The cost of adding an additional WRAP worker would be approximately $54,000 annually (four workers would be $216,000.) In order to support this ongoing expense, a mill levy increase of 0.065 would be recommended (four workers would require an increase of 0.260 mill.)
Q: What is the mill levy impact of issuing debt for construction of a new police facility?
A: Based on current interest rates and assuming an annual increase in assessed valuation of one percent, annual debt service payments for a $30 million dollar facility would be approximately $2.2 million for 20 years. This would require a mill levy increase of 2.5 mills. Annual payments for a $15 million dollar facility would be approximately $1.1 million and would require a mill levy increase of 1.25 mills. Annual debt payments for a $20 million dollar facility would be approximately $1.5 million and would require an increase of 1.67 mills.
Q: What will the proposed water and sewer rate increases mean to a typical residential customer?
A: The attached table shows a comparison of existing water, wastewater, and combined rates for 2013 and those proposed for 2014. A typical resident customer will see an average total increase of $2.44 per month, or about 5%.
Information on how the existing 2013 rates and 2014 proposed rates compare to rates in surrounding communities is also attached.
Finally, a table showing projected rates for 2015 through 2017 is attached.
Q: What is the recent City funding history of the Lawrence Humane Society?
A: The table below shows the requests and allocation for the Humane Society since 2009.
|
Humane Society Funding |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Requested Amount |
$256,320 |
$256,320 |
$256,320 |
$332,000 |
$332,000 |
$359,693 |
|
Allocated Amount |
$256,320 |
$256,320 |
$256,320 |
$280,000 |
$280,000 |
$300,000 |