Watertown City Council set capital outlay budget priorities for next four years

City Manager Amanda Mack and Finance Officer Kristen Bobzien presented the Watertown City Council with a breakdown of the proposed long-term capital improvement plan for 2024 through 2028 during a Monday meeting.

Mack said there were a couple of challenging things about the budget this year.

"There are some things we knew were coming, like inflation, fuel costs and insurance,” said Mack. “In the 2022 budget, we had federal dollars to help supplement some of our payroll costs last year that is not available this year.”

One major project included in the plan is the new ice arena, which might have some unknowns during construction. The streets department facility and city hall projects are also in the plan, but they are still in the decision-making phase as the council considers the most affordable way to move forward.

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“We tried to be as conservative as possible while holding back what we think is our appropriate restricted cash balances. If we need additional dollars for any of these projects or equipment in the future, we have that available to us,” Mack said.

Personnel is biggest budget priority

One of the biggest budget priorities for the next four years is addressing earnings and inflation. Personnel expenses and wages make up 60% of the 2023 general fund budget.

There were requests for new personnel, she said, but the city will remain conservative while ensuring that departments and facilities are adequately staffed. Of those requests, it was recommended that new the positions include one street operator, one forestry position, an ice arena superintendent and an engineering tech or lake coordinator for Lake Kampeska.

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What was requested but not budgeted for included a second street operator, two parks maintenance positions, additional firefighter and EMT positions, an office specialist for the golf course and a fiscal specialist for the Bramble Park Zoo.

“We tried to balance our current needs and available budget,” said Mack. “If we factored in all the requested positions, it would have been a $700,000 hit to the general fund. This may not seem like a lot, but that’s an ongoing annual cost… It just wasn’t responsible to ask for all those positions to be filled.”

Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department sees revenue increase

The revenue fund for the Park and Rec Department saw a $600,000 increase this year. The department transferred $250,000 into the general fund. The city's extra penny sales tax charges on motel stays, restaurant meals and alcoholic beverages saw an increase of $200,000, and golf cart rentals and aquatic admissions each saw $10,000 jumps.

But the zoo saw a decrease of $44,000 partly due to fewer food donations.

“We used to receive a sizable donation in food and such from grocery stores, but that isn’t happening anymore,” said Mack.

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Inflation has also caused some increased spending in the parks and recreation budget. Horticulture supplies for the golf course saw an increase of $20,800.

There were several proposed purchases for the parks and recreation department in the capital outlay plan. They included $18,000 for control boxes at the golf course, $12,000 for an American with Disabilities Act pool lift chair for the aquatic center, $15,000 for new picnic tables for city parks, $35,000 for a new van for the zoo and $50,000 for a new pickup for the parks system.

Prairie Lakes Wellness Center providing funds

There were no significant changes in revenue for the Prairie Lakes Wellness Center, although the cost of pool chemicals increased by $5,000 and building maintenance increased by $7,800.

The facility has a healthy unrestricted fund balance, said Bobzien. And she is confident the wellness center will be able to continue to contribute to that balance in the next four year

“So when (the wellness center) needs to have some of those capital improvement items, they can support the use of those funds themselves,” she said. “I would say that the wellness center is doing excellent and that 2020 hit it hard. The center had to dip into unrestricted funds, and now we are just trying to bring that fund back up.”

Significant changes to the Capital Improvement Fund

There were significant changes to the capital improvement fund in 2023 regarding street work, which is 23.7% lower. Big budgeted projects include $2.4 million for street improvements, milling and overlay; $1.5 million for neighbor street improvements; and $200,000 for pavement rehabilitation and patchwork.

The cause of the decrease is due mainly because of the $1 million that was budgeted in 2022 for the Third Avenue bridge project.

Several recreational plans are also part of the capital improvement fund budget. Upgrades to the fieldhouse at the high school are expected to cost $32,000. And the bike trail expansion of $1.4 million, with $700,000 of those funds being covered with a state match, is also in the plan.

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A parks master plan is currently in the works and will have several thousand dollars dedicated for new park projects like pollinator gardens, a pickleball court or new equipment.

“We don’t know what is going to come of it,” said Mack. “We want to have dollars available instead of tying them up for specific projects. At least until we know where the priorities are.”

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It was also noted during the budget meeting that the event center’s general obligation bond is now paid in full.

Final adoption of the budget is at the Nov. 7 city council meeting.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: City prepares budget for the next four years of capital improvements