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September 16, 1999
Proposed city budget up $699,000 for next yearTotal budget is $9.9 millionBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- The New Ulm City Council, during an adjourned meeting Tuesday night, approved a preliminary city budget for the year 2000 of $9,877,055. The final budget indicates an increase of $699,395 over the 1999 budget of $9,177,660, which includes several significant line item increases. Four significant changes are evident in the administration section of the general fund budget, which totals $5,111,476. Because 2000 is an election year, there was an increase of $10,000 for costs associated with elections. There is also an independent allotment of $2,400 included in the budget to support activities of the Human Rights Commission, similar to those already in place for the Sister Cities and Heritage Preservation Commissions. An additional $6,000 was added to the travel allowance account to encourage city representation at the 125th anniversary celebration of the original Hermann Monument in Detmold, Germany. One significant budget item is an Armory appropriation of $14,125, which has been recommended as a city contribution toward a major upgrade of the Armory, which is an important asset to the community, City Manager Dick Salvati said. The budgeted amount will be used to replace the badly worn floor in the gymnasium of the Armory, with assistance from the Minnesota National Guard. The donation indicates the city's desire to assist in any way possible with the expensive project, since it is heavily used by the city for a variety of events. Appropriations included in the airport portion of the general fund show an increase of $15,558 to assist with initiation of work on the environmental impact study required as the city attempts to expand the runway by 5,000 feet to accommodate corporate aircraft, Salvati said. "Part of the study includes a need for relocation and realignment of the county road," he said. "We are also continuing to replace some of the deteriorated doors on the older hangars at the airport." The library portion of the general fund shows a slight increase to accommodate remedial work on the wood exterior overhang and upgrading of the planting areas around the building. Property tax revenues of $2,953,674 will provide 29.9 percent of the revenue needed to support the preliminary budget. Local Government Aid amounting to $2,819,433 has been allocated to the city for 2000, providing 28.55 percent of the total budget revenues. In conjunction with the budget, the city council adopted a resolution authorizing a levy certification tax rate increase that would set the proposed 2000 net tax levy at $2,007,645, an increase of $184,769 over the 1999 net levy. A series of public hearings has been scheduled as part of the budget process, as city officials prepare to finalize the budget prior to the end of December. The first public hearing, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 5, is designed to notify citizens that the tax levy proposed for 2000 is greater than the tax levy in the 1999 budget. Two other public hearings, scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 8 and 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 15, are designed to provide the public with information and specifics about items included in the budget and provide input.
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