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Finance presents preliminary budget: levy steady near $14.96 and a one-time franchise-fee boost from crypto activity
Summary
Finance staff presented a draft budget with a preliminary levy projection shown at $14.96 and proposed modeling of a 7% water/sewer increase; committee noted a recent $30,000 franchise-fee increase tied to local crypto-mining activity and asked staff for further scenarios and follow-up.
Finance staff presented a preliminary general-fund budget and levy-rate estimate to the committee and outlined a timeline for finalizing numbers for the auditor’s mailing. The staff sheet shown to the committee listed a levy figure at about $14.96. Staff said the projection assumes current requests from department heads, includes a planned $200,000 principal payment on a loan, and built modest contingencies for benefits and police wages.
Staff also proposed modeling 7% increases for water and sewer rates for the council’s March 16 follow-up meeting and warned that a 7% water increase would not alone restore full enterprise fund balances. A council member asked staff to model multiple scenarios showing usage tiers and the long-term effect of different rate paths.
The finance briefing included an unexpected positive note: a recent spike in franchise fees tied to local crypto-mining operations yielded more than $30,000 in the prior month’s receipts. Staff said they were consulting counsel on whether and how to structure a partial rebate to the operator — the company’s sales-tax rebate was removed at the state level — and would return with legal guidance. Committee members also discussed pending state proposals that could limit cities’ ability to keep larger reserves or otherwise alter property-tax authority.
Staff said they will return with final fund-balance projections, water/sewer scenarios and an updated levy sheet at a future meeting.
