City Council - workshop

You need a passenger? Huh?

Sorry, I'm doing roll.

You ready? Yeah. Okay, here we go.

Budget workshop meeting, August 17th, 2026, 6 p.m. Fair? Here. Briggs? Here. Coulter? Here. Heydrich? Here. Holtmeyer? Here. Hackey? Here. Pepsil? Here. Selvinshaw?

Here.

Please rise for Pledge of Allegiance.

for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All the committee members answer if they have or have not read the minutes of the meeting dated July 6, 2026. Behr?

Yes.

Frakes? Yes. Coulter? Yes. Heidrich? Aye. Holtmeyer? Aye. Packy? Yes. Pepsil? Yes. Sollentrup?

Yes.

Motion to approve.

Second. Motion by Packy, second by Sollentrup. To approve, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Passes. Budget highlights.

All right. So I'm going to read through the budget highlights. And if we have specific questions as they come up, please stop me and we'll address those. So first, under general funds completed the McGrath salary study and implementation last year, salary increase would be the current CPI, which is 2.9. The budget will be reevaluated again in December or January to determine if a merit increase would possible would be possible at that time. An increase of 2.5% revenue from sales tax based on past year, an estimated 1.5% increase for the current year. However, the current year increase through August is 6.64%. The transfer of 75% local use tax to the general fund, annual payment to commission officers, to commission police officers anticipated at 5,500 from Prop P funding. requested one additional full-time police officer and one full-time park maintenance worker too for the street department and a part-time employee for the parks department. Transfer of $440,000 to library to cover expenses $350,000 last year. Transfer of $400,000 vehicle replacement fund. Health insurance estimate increase of 1.71%. Prior year included HRA. Starting February 2026, the city is fully self-insured. Property liability and casualty insurance estimated increase of 11%. An estimated fireworks cost of $600,000, $60,000, I missed my mistake.

The show is going to- Great show, yeah.

All right. Estimated firework cost of $60,000, partially offset by an estimated sponsorship revenue of $30,000. So, local use tax fund, a 5% increase in use tax based, same as last year's increase, current year increase through August, 2026 is 4.36%. Continuing the erosion control program for at-risk properties within the city by allocating $40,000 Utilize funds to slip line storm sewer mains for repairs $200,000 North Park stormwater improvements $100,000 and detention basin retrofit project $350,000 The water fund, an annual rate increase subject to CPI in August for St. Louis metro area, June CPI was 2.9%. Wastewater increase, an annual increase subject to CPI in August for St. Louis metro area, the June CPI was 2.9%. Solid Waste Fund, an increase in trash rates as scheduled. Capital Improvement Sales Tax Fund, Ronsick Field, $100,000, enclosed grandstand roof. Washington Junior Football League, $125,000 for scoreboard. Lions Lake, $1 million. 911 Communication Radios, $2.5 million. TRANSPORTATION SALES TAX FUND, FRONT STREET, JEFFERSON 2, STAFFORD STREET, $1,651,920. CITY SHARE, $330,388. HIGHWAY 47 WIDENING, $1,986,125. CITY SHARE, $48,804. WEST THIRD STREET, $2,327,190. City share $465,440. Local paving $500,000. Designed various projects $693,000. City share $138,600. Marijuana tax $100,000 to parks operating budget. $50,000 to be split for communications employees like Prop P funding. Any questions of any of the items comments or concerns?

Yeah, can I ask a question to Kevin real quick? Yes, yes How many feet of suture form did we put in a year?

Well we usually try to get a 6 to 7,000 feet. Depending on cost and what the size is because it varies on the price between the size of the pipe and conditions of the pipe if they have to bypass pump and conditions like that so we just try to we try to use the money that we have and use it all up as we can so now this year I had to pull the army on the average about 6,000 feet. Yeah, we try to yes. This year I did have to pull it because the contract that we had with the lining company found out that the Cooperative agreement pricing that we was working on that did not cover the storm Which we tie into it into the contract agreement So we pulled out of it and we're going to rebid it and get it started again first thing in October Thank you

I got a question for Charles. Do we have any money left in the erosion control program?

That $40,000 new last year program we set up. Yeah, we've only had one person and that just reached out to me last week about getting the rock assistance program. So we haven't had anyone else.

I just was wondering where we were at on that.

Yep. Just finally had the first person ask about it.

Great. Thanks.

And, Chet, you led off by saying, correct me if I'm wrong, but currently our sales tax is generating at 6.64%, and we're budgeting conservatively at 2.5%. Is that right, Tammy?

That was just the increase is what I did. That was just the increase. So I took what I projected, what we have, of 6.64% increase, and then I projected us getting a 2.5% increase on that. Does that make sense, how I did that?

No, to me it doesn't, but I get it. I'm thinking we're projecting 2.5, and it's actually generating 6.6, right? Right.

But right now, what I did, I projected the amount at 6.6. So I said that's what we're getting, and I projected that out thinking, okay, that's what we're going to get this year. And then I took the amount that I think we're going to get this year and then multiplied that at 2.5%. Oh, okay. So it's not like I took the budget amount that we had at the lower amount and then multiplied that times 2.5%. So I actually took the higher amount and then multiplied that out. Because, I mean, you don't know. I don't know whether it's going to stay at 6%. That would be nice. But, I mean, it could drop back down to 1. It could drop.

go back up to three yeah i just don't know sure i'm just trying to be conservative with that right i was just kind of my question was how conservative are we but that yet makes answer my question yeah and then on the capital improvement sales tax i know we roughly generate about two and a half million dollars a year is kind of the norm so the radios were agreed to be first so that basically takes up the first year but we do have some funds left from the last 8 year period right is that we're getting the the start of the 100 and the other small fund projects is that right.

Well, I think that's what we're going to use if we're not going to use some of that. We're going to, I guess, kind of borrow from that until we use the rest of that money.

Okay. We kind of talked about where we stand on that. At the end of the last eight-year period, before 2026, April, that takes over in June, how much funds do we have left over? And then, obviously, that rolls into the next year. the next campaign, the next tax fund, but I don't know what that number is.

Do you have an idea what the number is that's left over from the last eight years?

It's kind of a moving target. It kind of depends on where our projects are.

I think we're close to 400,000, aren't we?

um well i mean we've got projects that we haven't even started that was in that original amount that we were supposed to do so i don't know if we want to keep doing those i mean that's a that's a question for the um i guess building committee selection we need to do well we should be on parks office is one thing that's on there for sure the parks office is on there right but I you know we budgeted also to take some of the utility burial out of there well I don't think we're gonna have to even use that for the utility burial I think I can get it all from the TIF the downtown TIF You know, but there's so many projects in there yet. So, I mean, that's 300,000 that could be left, excuse me.

I was thinking we still had to close Front Street and we had to close the firehouse, still had the punch items and we had stuff there. There's still things that are open from that previous eight year that has to be closed out before we actually probably have that number.

Yeah, it's closed, yeah, because we're still doing the runway.

Just catch us up to speed on an email with what's left over and what projects are out there yet.

Sure.

Yeah, that'd be great. I think we talked about that a month or so ago as far as trying to get that number. And I know it's not going to be an exact in concrete number. There's projects going on. I get that. But where are we close? Is it we're in the red or are we in?

Oh, no, we're not going to be in the red.

I'm just we don't know.

We're not going to be in the red. No, we're going to have some money left over in that project. It just depends on what we want to do with it. Are we going to do the, you know, the projects that were kind of canceled or put on hold, such as the city hall? the city hall project, you know, things like that. So those were projects that were actually put on hold that we haven't used the money for, which we still have it budgeted sort of out there. But yeah, I have that information and I can email that to you.

That'd be great.

Are these capital improvement sales tax on the fund like Arunzic and Warsh and Lions Lake, is that for this year or just the first things that are gonna come out of this fund?

That's what The sales tax committee decided was going to be the first things that we're going to be used out of this just whenever Those four items are the ones that the sales tax me Decided yes, but the radios were the number one thing and then with the Lions Lake with their dredging of Lions Lake They wanted that done by end of year next year.

Okay. All right, just getting perspective on this gonna start

Debt money's not coming from the half cent sales tax. What?

The Lion's Lake? The Lion's Lake is, yes. Huh?

The Lion's Lake is, yes.

Lion's Lake is, yes.

Thought it was a donation.

No, no. That provides the extras.

Hm?

That provides the extras.

There's a million dollars from the capital improvement sales tax earmarked for Lyons Lake dredging. Correct. Correct. We're hopeful that there'll be other grant opportunities and things like that as we go along and can add, you know, whether it be Fountain or Piers or whatever at that time, but there's $1,000 set aside from capital improvement sales tax to go towards that initial project first.

A million.

A million, I'm sorry. Sorry. Just a little.

Other questions, guys, or discussion?

Need a motion. Sorry, I know you said it, Chad. I just want to reiterate again. So we're doing 2.9% CPI raise for employees across the board, right?

That is the plan, yes.

And then we asked, and Doug, I think I asked you this question in the phone call, but we can revisit this in December in six months, or I guess it's only three months is what that is, and decide if we have an opportunity, if our general fund or our sales tax numbers are high enough, then we can look at a merit raise for our employees. That's what we're looking at.

Yes.

Okay. I just want to make it clear that we're not saying no for the year, but we're looking at what our funds come in at in four to six months to know where we can do better.

A piece of this is because we self-insured this year and being a little conservative there. Right. Because that's a whole new... line item if you will it's different than here's what your insurance is going to be now that we're self-insuring it's kind of let's get through a year right and we'll have a little better idea but and hopefully we see a savings and therefore but you just don't know right claims will make a difference right we're seeing a lot of uncertainty not just in washington you guys but in our world tariffs with the situation in the middle east

I think taking this conservative approach is the wise thing to do, and we're doing that. The overall picture, anyway. No further questions, guys, for discussion? Okay. Do we need a motion? No, just discussion.

Great.

If I may, I just wanted to say thank you to Tammy and to Michelle for their hard work in working on the budget along with department heads. I know it was a struggle at the beginning to try to figure out what we could keep and what we could scratch. So thank you very much for your guys' support.

I also wanted to thank all the department heads they were really willing to work with me and try to get these numbers down and I do appreciate that and I appreciate all Michelle's help I know I make her do a lot but she she doesn't without too much too much yelling at me so it's okay she's tough she is she's good thank you thank you real quick

I didn't go through this budget line by line, but do you have any money in the budget for resurfacing out at the landfill.

We do have money in our budget to repave the entire road from Bluff Road all the way up and around the landfill. We actually budgeted for it last year. We just couldn't coordinate getting the paver operator between his surgeries and vacations. We couldn't get it, so we rolled the money over this year and plan to get it repaved this year.

Well, I've had several discussions with everybody here almost, and I don't feel the need if we're going to be doing something with the landfill in the near future, why would we spend that money resurfacing the driveway to get to something we might not even use anymore?

Well, I guess because we planned on it three years ago, and we keep moving forward and forward. And our neighbor is pretty vocal about it also because he lives out there, and he's tired of the road looking like, you know.

So that was our intent.

And I believe in the process is that they're going to build a new scale and everything, possibly if they're going to do a transfer station, but all that's kind of up in the air right now. I mean, you drive the landfill enough. You know how rough that road is. Mm-hmm.

I just didn't know what number you had in there for that. But like I said, if we were going to be getting rid of the landfill or whatever we're going to do with it, I don't know if we need to spend that money putting it.

I think we had $40-something thousand for asphalt and probably $8,000 or $9,000 to rent Dale. Then we drive the trucks and use our labor, something like that.

How's the land to hold note Tony. I was a land to holding up you got any speculation on how long it's going to be for we need all that probably an Andrea question, but I believe she mentioned the other day still maybe a couple years.

If nothing else, we will go into executive session.

So move.

Nope. I have to do a roll call. Executive session, public vote on whether or not to hold a closed meeting to discuss personnel, legal, or real estate matters pursuant to section 610.021 RSMO 2000. Behr? Yes. Briggs? Yes. Coulter? Yes. Heydrich? Aye. Holtmeyer? Aye. Hackey? Yes. Pepsil? Yes. Seltzer?

Yes.

By your vote, we're in executive session, folks.