WILLMAR -- The Willmar City Council's Finance Committee has begun the process of discussing Mayor Les Heitke's proposed $22.6 million budget for 2008.
The mayor annually presents the budget during the committee's first meeting in September, and the committee begins discussing the budget's revenue sources and expenditures at its second meeting in September.
The discussion began Monday afternoon with a presentation by Finance Director Steve Okins of eight special revenue sources. The revenues from these sources, such as the community investment fund, the WRAC-8 fund, wastewater treatment plant fund and local option sales tax, are all part of the overall budget, but the uses of the revenues are either restricted by state law or by past council actions, Okins said.
The committee generally has a discussion about various revenue sources and how the revenues are used, said Denis Anderson, committee chairman. The council will be looking for funding sources to pay for major projects, such as railroad quiet zones and flood control measures.
Anderson thinks the proposed natural gas franchise fee will be a topic of discussion because some council members are opposed to the fee. Heitke had proposed the fee be implemented to replace lost local government aid from the state. However, the council has proposed the fee be used pay for flood control.
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Also, committee members will be discussing possible changes they wish to make with the budget.
"It will take us the next two months to get that done,'' he said.
In other business, the committee discussed the Willmar Library's 2008 funding request with Laurie Ortega, Willmar head librarian, and John Houlahan, director of the Pioneerland Library System.
They asked the committee to approve the library's request of $352,773 for 2008, up 3 percent from 2007. Of that amount, $25,034 would be allocated to Pioneerland to provide essential services to the Willmar Library.
The mayor's budget, however, proposes $345,773, of which $18,000 would be allocated to Pioneerland.
Anderson said the committee would take the request for information.
In other business, the committee voted to support an application to the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority for a loan for the wastewater treatment plant project. The interest rate on the loans is below the rate charged for conventional loans, said Okins.
Also, the committee voted to contract with Westberg and Eischens of Willmar to perform the 2007 audit for a cost not to exceed $16,860.
