2018-07-17 Finance Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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inanceCommittee Minutes........................................................................................................................................uly172018 dd, allocated budget by $506K and expenditures are below budget by $169K. here is strong d development ativity, bringing in permit revenue. Committee members asked clarifying d questions and made comments. Because a large percentageof the departmental savings is in labor costs due to retirements and transfers, the Council should be prepared to consider what savings areplanned and sustainable. FORWARD TO JULY 23, 2018 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Business & Occupation Tax Next Seps C. d Staff is seekingCommittee direction on next steps for consideration of a Business & Occupation (B&) Tax. The Cmmittee previously discussed this topic with regard to the Public Safety Plan dd financingand decided to set it aside to potentiallybe part of the biennial budget discussions . Because sales tax revenue is flattening and sales tax mitigation payments are ending, the City is facing revenue shortfalls with a potential budget gapof more than $2 million. Of options previously discussed, a B&O tax wouldprovide the greatest additionalrevenue. B&O tax rates are calculated on gross receipts anda city can provide an exemption threshold. 43 cities in Washington State have a B&O tax with varying approaches, and varying costs associated with staffing and implementation. aff estimates that a B&O tax could provide revenue of $3million dd or more. Councilmember Robertson asked if there could be more business sector categories than just retail, wholesale, manufacturing and service. He would also like more information about thelogic used by neighboring cities in setting their rates. He suggested that Finance and Police/Fire collaborate to determine service impacts from different sectors. Councilmember Seal stated that the City needs to be clear on why it is considering a B&O tax and how the money would fund City services. Chair Quinn stated that the Councilneeds to have enough information in order to make a sound, datadriven, policy decisionThe Committee agreed hat -.d staff should bring forward additional researchand afuture budget work session should include this item. DISCUSSION ONLY. Compensation Plicy Update D. d Staff is seeking Committee direction to finalize the scope of the review of the compensation policy as formalized in Resolution 1796. The City Council had previously requested that compression, above and below market adjustments, comparable cities, and recruitment incentives be discussed. Nonrepresented employees asked the Committee to focus on - comparable cities, the process for setting nonrepresented position compensation, - compression, incentives, and direct staff to do a full market survey of all nonreppositions. The - Committee requested that staff bring at least 23 of these topics forwardat a time at future - meetings. DISCUSSION ONLY.