City approves 2005 budget

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The New Ulm City Council approved a $13,673,066 budget for 2005 which will be partially funded by a $4,313,700 property tax levy at its last meeting of 2004 Tuesday night.

The council also gave its approval to a host of change orders and supplemental agreements in finalizing construction of Phase I of the New Ulm Recreational Trail.

The net result is a contract reduction of $1,182.59 as a result of the 44 change orders, and a contract increase totaling $63,549.70 as a result of the seven supplemental agreements. Final contract cost is $711,623.77 which is $15,176 below estimate.

The net property tax for the city amounts to $4,188,505. Special taxing district levies including the Economic Development Authority and Downtown Parking District provide the additional $125,195 in taxes. The total tax levy is $121,500 less than the preliminary tax levy which was the maximum the city could levy for 2005.

Local government aid, which in the 2002 budget represented the single largest source of revenue, continues to fall farther into second place even though the amount projected -- $3,683,598 -- is the largest since the $4,165,314 that flowed from state coffers in 2002.

The $652,509 increase in property tax revenues, representing a 17.89 percent jump over 2004, outstrips the $223,064 (6.45 percent) increase in LGA for 2005.

Property tax revenue represents 31.55 percent of the budget while LGA amounts to 26.94 percent. Revenue from other sources ($2,649,150) represents 19.37 percent of the budget, and Public Utilities transfers total $1,655,000 or 12.10 percent. Charges for services/licenses, at $972,638, represent 7.11 percent, and use of fund balance, totaling $388,980, accounts for the remaining 2.93 percent, City Manager Brian Gramentz said in a letter to the City Council.

In other action, the council:

* Approved the final assessments for 2004 utility, street and alley improvements -- Group I at eight different locations and sidewalk improvements at two locations.

* Authorized salary and benefit adjustments amounting to about 3.5 percent in 2005 for non-unionized full-time employees which raises the minimum for a clerk-typist to $26,832 and the maximum for the city manager, the city's highest paid employee, to $99,403.20. The city attorney's office received a 4 percent increase in its hourly rates.

* Approved the preliminary plat for Lakeside Village Addition and waived the per-lot park development fee in return for addition owners, Sue and Peter Rothmeier, dedicating lots totaling 1.4 acres as a neighborhood playground or mini park.

* Authorized city staff to execute a redevelopment agreement for the Marktplaz Mall in which developer Bob Petroff will turn the south portion of the mall into a four-story residential building. That portion of the mall will be renamed German Street City Homes and will have eight units of either one-bedroom plus den or two-bedroom and two baths on each floor, Petroff said.

* Accepted Cold Spring Granite Company's bid of $42,829 to provide four, 56-niche columbarium cremation units for the city cemetery. Street Commissioner Tom Patterson said the columbarium units were needed because "about one-third of all burials in the cemetery now are cremations." Niche prices range from $675 to $750 depending upon location in the columbarium. The last burial plots for urns sold for $125.

* Created more free parking in city lots at the south end of the downtown business district and in at least one instance, the parking lot behind Retzlaff Ace Hardware, reduced the parking duration from two hours to one hour

* Received notice from Brown County Administrator Charles Enter that, to date, project expenses for re-roofing the Law Enforcement Center stands at $23,465 which is 95 percent of the project's contracted cost. The city's share amounts to $5,681.29 so far.