CITY OF RIVER FALLS: 9/11/12 Council Meeting Minutes

CITY OF RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN

COMMON COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS

September 11, 2012

Mayor Dan Toland called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located in City Hall.

City Council Members Present: David Cronk, Christopher Gagne, Randy Kusilek, Scott Morrissette, Jim Nordgren, David Reese

City Council Members Absent: Tom Caflisch

Staff Present: John Behling, City Attorney; Julie Bergstrom, Finance Director/Assistant City Administrator; Roger Leque, Police Chief; Lu Ann Hecht, City Clerk; Caitlin Stene, Management Analyst; Paul Fagin, Management Analyst, Sergeant Janis Bock; Jeff Rixmann, Ambulance Director; Reid Wronski, Director of Public Works/City Engineer

Others Present:

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

August 28, 2012, Regular Meeting and August 14, 2012, Workshop Minutes

MSC Cronk/Morrissette move to approve minutes as submitted. Unanimous.

APPROVAL OF BILLS:

City Bills - $2,186,039.30

MSC Cronk/Nordgren to approve bills subject to the comptroller. Unanimous.

PUBLIC COMMENT, PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND

COMMUNICATIONS:

Alderperson Kusilek commented on the party for the National Guard that he and Tim Jennings organized. He wanted to publicly thank the sponsors.

Communication of Mayoral Veto Regarding Operator’s License for Jennifer Campbell – Discussion and Possibility of Common Council Override of Veto

The Mayor noted that Council had received his letter. There was no further discussion.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Resolution No. 5627 - Regarding Sale of Surplus Equipment (Fire, Public Works)

Resolution No. 5628 - Approving 2013 Agreement for Ambulance Service

Resolution No. 5629 - Approving Lease Between the City of River Falls and Dan and Annette Johnson (Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park Property)

MSC Morrissette/Gagne moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Unanimous.

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS:

Ordinance 2012-10 – An Ordinance Amending the Official Parking Control Map – East and West Cascade Avenue, 100 Block N. 6th Street, 400 block of Fifth Street, 200 block E. Walnut Street, West Quarry Road – First Reading

Alderperson Kusilek asked about the number of parking spots that would be lost. Police Chief Leque said he would have to look into it. City Administrator Simpson said an answer would be provided at the next meeting.

Reid Wronski, Director of Public Works/City Engineer, talked about the different locations where parking was impacted.

REPORTS:

Report on Police Department Field Officer Training

Sergeant Janis Bock presented a report to Council on the Police Department’s field training. She talked about the three month program. It is done in phases and ends with a shadowing phase. Bock said it has worked well and develops well-trained officers. She reviewed the task lists in each phase. Each phase builds on the previous phase and gets progressively more complex.

Bock also talked about the department’s in-house training program and the yearly required training. She noted that each year all officers are required to have a minimum of 24 hours of specialized law enforcement training. Bock talked about EVOC training and specialized training. At the conclusion of her report, she took questions from Council. Questions were asked by Alderperson Morrissette asked about recruits making it through the program on time and Alderperson Gagne asked about officer survival. Gagne followed up with a question regarding emotional survival and if anything is provided in-house. He thanked the Police Department and previous Councils on funding emergency services. Police Chief Leque was appreciative of the City Council’s allocation of funds for training. He thanked Council for their support.

Administrator’s Summary of the 2013 Budget

City Administrator Simpson presented a report to Council. He gave a brief background of how the budget is developed. He noted the State Shared Revenues are expected to decrease. He said the property tax levy is expected to increase a minimal amount. Simpson talked about the State Levy Caps and the 2013 levy. He said the total budget is approximately $41 million. Simpson talked about the history of the General Fund which includes the basic services. He talked about the tax levy comparison and the history of tax levy limits. Simpson noted 2013 budget highlights including General Fund revenues and expenditures, Enterprise Funds expenditures, and Capital projects. Simpson ended his presentation by noting where the tax dollars go. For every $1, the River Falls School District receives 44 cents, the City receives 23 cents, Pierce and St. Croix Counties receive 20 cents, CVTC receives 7 cents, the Tax Increment District receives 5 cents and the State receives one cent.

Administrator’s Report

Simpson reminded Council of the upcoming budget workshop on September 25. Council will receive a full version of the budget at that time. Alderperson Morrissette asked Simpson to talk about the ISO rating. He said job well-done to the Chief.

Simpson said Fire Departments are rated by the Insurance Services Organization which determines the quality of fire protection services in communities. He said the last review was done about 15 years ago. He said River Falls retained a “3 rating” which is difficult especially with a volunteer on-call Fire Department. Simpson said the rating outside of the City was lowered to “6”. He said the rating was based on the response time and the water quality. Morrissette noted that has a direct effect on residents’ insurance premiums. Simpson said that was his understanding. He said kudos to everyone involved.

Motion by Cronk to adjourn meeting at 7:13 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristi McKahan, Deputy City Clerk

_______________________________ (Pub. 10/04/12) WNAXLP

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