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Grafton council approves first reading of 2025 budget ordinance; mill rate unchanged
Summary
The Grafton City Council held a special meeting Aug. 5 to consider the 2025 Preliminary Budget of $14,347,560 and approved first reading of the Annual Appropriation Ordinance. Councilmembers voted unanimously; a public hearing and second reading are scheduled for Sept. 9, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
Administrator Nick Ziegelmann presented the City of Grafton’s 2025 Preliminary Budget totaling $14,347,560 during a special City Council meeting on Aug. 5, 2024. He told the council the proposed budget represents a 5.77% increase ($782,605) over 2024 and includes a 4% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and a projected 4.42% rise in health insurance premiums.
Ziegelmann outlined line-item shifts that contribute to the increases: Salaries and benefits rose 4.54% ($161,010), maintenance and operations grew 3.49% ($272,540) largely because depreciation expense and building official duties were reclassified from salaries into professional fees, and capital outlay and debt service jumped 15.86% ($349,055). He said part of the capital/debt increase reflects the establishment of a 2023 Definitive Warrant fund that financed the 2023 street projects (approximately $210,000) and that the General Fund includes a $100,000 reserve for a new street-department storage shed. The Water Department is also repaying AMI expenses, which is included in the accounting changes.
Ziegelmann reminded the council that under state budget process rules the total expenditures cannot be increased after the ordinance’s first reading. To advance the budget, Councilmember Brian Sieben moved and Councilmember Brad Burianek seconded first reading of an ordinance titled "AN ORDINANCE ENTITLED 'ANNUAL APPROPRIATION BILL' APPROPRIATING THE SUMS OF MONEY NECESSARY TO DEFRAY THE EXPENSES AND LIABILITIES OF THE CITY OF GRAFTON, NORTH DAKOTA, AND MAKING THE ANNUAL TAX LEVY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2025, AND ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2025."
On a roll call vote the eight councilmembers present—Brad Burianek, Kylen Kostrzewski, Donavon McMillian, Loree Osowski, Phil Ray, Brian Sieben, Darrin Wollitz and Greg Young—voted in favor; none opposed. Mayor Chris West declared the motion carried, advancing the appropriation ordinance to the required public hearing and second reading set for 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.
The proposed mill rate will remain at 116.01 under the preliminary proposal. The council’s approval of first reading locks in the total expenditure ceiling; changes to allocations within that ceiling or other technical adjustments are possible before final adoption at second reading, but total appropriations cannot be increased after first reading.
Mayor West thanked staff for preparing the budget. The special meeting then was adjourned following a motion by Councilmember Phil Ray and a second from Councilmember Greg Young.
