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New Ulm City Council adopts 2019 budget, senior dining lease

NEW ULM — The New Ulm City Council adopted the final 2019 budget of $23,771,216 with a property tax levy of $7,693,527

Three changes were made to the draft discussed Dec. 4. The changes were a $10,000 reduction in police department salaries, $56,000 reduction in the contribution to the fire truck/equipment sinking fund, and removing a $30,000 general update.

With the changes in place, New Ulm is looking at $469,855 or 6.5 percent increase on the property tax levy.

The city’s tax capacity increased by 7.78 percent last year. Due to this increase the actual impact to the levy is a 0.85 percent reduction. This means city taxes will see a slight decrease.

However, the average taxable market value of a home increases by an average of 9 percent. The average citizen is likely to see an increase in taxes.

Senior Dining Lease

The council voted once again to keep the Lutheran Social Services (LSS) daily fee at $51. LSS has leased the Community Center’s kitchen and cafetorium for several years for senior dining. In 2015, the council reduced the daily fee from $86.50 to $50. In 2016, it was increased to $51 per day.

A new proposed agreement was presented to the council to increase the daily fee to $53. Park and Recreation Director Tom Schmitz said the city’s philosophy was to make fee adjustments annually to match inflation. In addition to increasing the pay the agreement would change some language to the contract concerning dining during the weekday and limiting the maximum meals delivered out of New Ulm city limits from 75 to 60 percent.

Schmitz said some of the meals are provided to other municipalities, meaning the city is subsidizing senior meals in other communities.

City Manager Chris Dalton said he suggested the maximum meals be limited to 60 percent to be fair, because LSS currently serves 56 percent of meals outside of New Ulm.

Councilor Les Schultz said he was always concerned about increasing this fee because Senior Dining was important to the community and it would be devastating if the program left New Ulm.

Statewide Director for LSS Andrea Lingel addressed the council. She said LSS provides senior dining at the Community Center, but also supports the Meals on Wheels program in the area. The meals are prepared at the Community Center.

She requested the rent remain at $51 and keeping the meals going outside the community at 75 percent. Lingel admitted LSS had limited funding because funding has stagnated. At times, they have had to reduce or cut services. The continued increase in the cost of food has also hurt the budget.

“We’ve been asked to do more with less,” she said.

Councilor Charlie Schmitz thanked LSS for the work they have done. Schmitz has been a longtime proponent of keeping the cost for Senior Dining down.

“The senior center was built for the seniors,” he said. “It’s a drop in the bucket for what you really do for the community.”

Schultz said for many seniors this meal helped keep them living in their homes. He believes the costs saved by keeping seniors out of the nursing home greatly benefits the city and county.

Schultz offered a motion to maintain the daily rate at $51 and keep the maximum off-site delivery to 75 percent.

The council unanimously supported keeping the $51 and the off-site delivery as is for 2019. The council did approve the minor changes to the contract language.

Councilor Lisa Fischer was concerned about not adjusting fees for inflation. She asked if LSS received donations from the other communities benefiting from this service.

Lingel said no other communities provide cash support, but they do allow LSS to use space in their communities without charge.

Lingel said they are willing to seek support from Brown County.

Safe Route Grant

Applications

The council passed a resolution to consider sponsoring a project to construct a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) on Broadway at 4th South Street.

In October, the council authorized a Safe Routes to School application to fund the cost of installing the RRFB. The cost to install a RRFB at this location is $125,000. If a state grant is offered it could fund up to 100 percent of the cost. The city will have to fund the preliminary and construction engineering estimated to be $20,000, which is considered a non-eligible project cost.

The council passed a resolution to act as the sponsoring agency for a project to construct a roundabout at North Highland Ave and Oak Street. The estimated contract cost is $300,000. The grant would fund 100 percent of this project. The city will have to fund preliminary construction estimated at $40,000.

Body-Warn Camera Policy Approved

The council approved and established a Body-Worn Camera Policy for the New Ulm Police Department following a public hearing. Police Chief David Borchert and other members of the police department spoke on the decision-making process in developing the body camera policy. The purpose of the body-worn cameras (BWCs) is to capture evidence arising from police-citizen encounters and help accurately document those encounters.

The Police Department has already begun preliminary testing of the BWCs, but has not conducted in-field tests at this point. Borchert said the plan is to have the BWCs in place by nest spring or summer. The cost of each camera is $995. The department is looking to purchase 21 of the cameras.

Schultz said he supported the policy and it was long overdue.

Fischer asked for an estimate of how often the cameras will be activated by officers in the field.

Borchert expected the cameras to be used daily.

“Anytime we have contact with the public, if we’re doing a citation or an arrest, we’re going to want to activate the camera for everyone’s protection,” Borchert said.

Schultz made the motion approve the policy, which was unanimously approved.

2019 Capital

Improvements

A report from the City Engineer Steve Koehler on the proposed 2019 Capital Improvement Program was received. The program includes recommended reconstruction of roads and utilities. The largest reconstruction project is the reconstruction of Front Street from 7th South to 13th South Street, which is estimated to cost $2.4 million.

Fifth North Street from Garden Street to North Highland Avenue is also scheduled for complete reconstruction. The total cost of this project is estimated at $2.07 million. Most of this project should occur during the summer to avoid conflict with school.

The estimated cost is $7,295,594 with an estimated total bonding need of $3,044,029.94 and an estimated amount to be assessed at $1,055,556.

Since 2008, the city has reconstructed 28.9 miles of roads at an average 2.6 miles per year. In 2019, the city will improve 2.1 miles of failing roads.

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