By Nov. 13, council will need to decide on how much to fund human service grants

By Leah Shaffer

The new version of the ever-shifting budget most recently presented to City Council members during Tuesday's council workshop includes funding for two staff positions in the Housing and Community Services department along with funding for grants to nonprofits like PROP and Meals on Wheels.

For the last two months, community members have sounded off at council meetings, with letters and online against the original proposal of a 40 percent cut to grants and the elimination of two staff positions.

During Tuesday's discussion, the issue of how much to cut Housing and Community Services was still on the table, but not to the extent originally proposed.

A city’s role

Mayor Phil Young noted that his position on retaining a community services technician, often referred to as the immigrant liaison, “hasn't changed.”

In his view, it's still not a service that the city needs to provide.

Council Members Kathy Nelson and Sherry Butcher do not support cuts to that department.

The community services technician doesn't just fill out immigration forms, Nelson noted. It's an individual who works with those in the Somali community “but they also work with people in the greater Eden Prairie community,” she said.

The employee, Khadra Duale also provides services internally to the Police and Fire departments.

“It's the kind of a service that I think this community still needs to have,” said Nelson.

Council Member Brad Aho said he would like to see the city work as a catalyst to transition those services to some private sector or other organization, and Council Member Jon Duckstad had a similar stance. He said the city could act as a coordinator to transition the services to some other agency.

When the group started discussing the human services grants, which would total $134,800 if fully funded next year, that's when the council got into the nitty gritty.

Aho suggested they have a discussion about each program and if it was worth city funding.

The Human Services Review Committee oversees the distribution of grants and is made up of members from different department of the city. That committee recommends full funding of the requests received by nonprofits this year, which includes: Teens Alone, Meals on Wheels, Senior Outreach, PROP, YMCA, Storefront, Family and Children’s Services and Family Center Plus.

“There's a lot of monitoring that goes into this,” said Janet Jeremiah, Community Development Director.

All the agencies have done a great job in providing services to city residents, she noted.

Both Nelson and Butcher recommended full funding of the grants.

Butcher, who has served on that Human Services Review Committee, noted that they've always had a rigorous calculation process in looking at the groups.

“This model for the delivery of some funding to organizations that meet so many of our population's needs seems to be the best one.”

Young had a different approach. As far as the contracts, he said it's important that they be reasonably related to services that the city could provide.

Virtually all of them satisfy that, he added.

But, two he was not so sure about were Family Center and YMCA programs, since those could be programs that are more related to the school district.

“Other than that, I think they should be fully funded.”

To give the nonprofits time to plan, the council is set to decide how much to fund the grants by its next meeting Nov. 13.

CIP

Under Version 1.8 of the budget, the key to that lower tax increase would be the cut to the CIP levy. For the last few years, the levy was set at $1 million. Under the 1.8 budget, the CIP would be lowered to $750,000 for 2008, and then back up to $900,000 for 2009 and staff would recommend that it be fully restored. The funding for this levy typically goes to capital projects and other forms of infrastructure maintenance.

Council Member Butcher was opposed to lowering or eliminating the levy.

“It was clear to me that we need to invest more, not less in our city's infrastructure to protect our capital assets.”

Additionally, she said it's part of their policy “that we keep the steady road of paying as we go instead of facing these future much higher hikes in our tax levy.”

Council Member Duckstad was in favor of suspending the levy.

He noted that the Budget Advisory Commission submitted that recommendation as part of their report.

Butcher would beg to differ on the BAC recommendation.

“It was not unanimous,” she said.

She noted 2 voted against, 3 for it and Don Uram, the city’s former director of management and budget, has told them he would not have voted for it.

That wasn't a unanimous perspective from the BAC, said Butcher.

Aho did feel the council had an opportunity to lower the levy for a period of time. He could agree with lowering it to $500,000 the first year, “We can bring it back up if we need to.”

Nelson said she could go along with the Version 1.8 recommendations, “If I had to.”

She was concerned that the city would look long term at what must be done to keep maintenance up in parks and streets and have adequate public safety.

Nelson mentioned the most recent market report that shows Eden Prairie home prices going up, in contrast to the struggling housing market.

It's wonderful for anyone owning a home in EP that we are maintaining our home values, she said.

“And I want to make sure we continue maintaining our home values.”

Butcher pointed out that the difference between budget 1.8 which includes a CIP cut and version 1.5 (not including a cut) would be about $9 for the average single family home.

“The difference in the budget is $9 dollars annually for the median home owner,” she emphasized.

She also confirmed that about $2.5 million a year goes into the Capital Improvement fund while $3 million is used.

“So there's a draw down no matter what,” she said.

Aho said that there is enough funding so if the levy is reduced, it will not jeopardize the city’s ability to maintain facilities.

Butcher said she understood the philosophical perspective on that, but didn't agree with it.

“This year has been the year, and I think it's politically driven, to be the year that we have the lowest taxes.”

What she didn’t understand, she said, is that residents have given their approval through the referendum for a new Community Center, “which represents half of the budget increase.”

“Our residents have said that they are willing to have a change in their tax levy.”

Mayor Young was quick to respond to that when it comes to budget discussion, “I really hope we don't [have] the Community Center as a litmus test.” He noted the first referendum failed and the second time it won by 250 votes and came in over budget. They can do better than that, he said.

Butcher countered, “But it's the reality Phil, it's the reality.”

She said how the numbers play out for the median value home “is also a reality.”

“Whether it fits your reality or not,” she said, “It's a fact.”

Young answered, “It is a fact. It's a fact we're talking about a $40 million budget. We're spending a lot of the taxpayers’ dollars.”