Did you miss the special City Council meeting on Monday where they discussed the proposed 2008 budget? Here is the meat of the official minutes from that meeting, which were released today (they’re long, so click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to see the whole thing):

City Manager Randy Oliver provided the City Council with an overview of the 2008 Preliminary Budget. He discussed 2008 projected revenues and property tax base (EAV) growth from 2000 through what was estimated for 2007. He pointed out that out of every tax dollar, the City’s share was only 11%, with 9% going to the Park District, 10% going to the County, 59% going to the School Districts, and 11% going to other. He further discussed sales tax revenues from 2003 to 2008, which included local revenues and from the State revenues. He also discussed projected 2008 operating expenditures with 30% for the Police Department, 22% for the Fire Department, 21% for Public Works, and the remaining split between the other smaller departments. He explained the Operating Budget and the amount of increases over the last four years. He closed by discussing the General Fund – Fund Balance and the amounts of increases from 2000 to 2006.

City Manager Oliver distributed a copy of potential revenues for 2008 and a list of exceptions from the City Departments, totaling $2,552,313, to all members of the City Council to be considered along with other budget issues.

Mayor Ardis referred to the Capital Budget and he pointed out there was approximately $66 million in requests, but only approximately $22 million available for projects. He said he felt it was important for the Council to keep this in mind as they moved toward their final budget decisions. He said, if a Council Member wanted a certain project funded that was not already on the CIP list, then they would need to decide what project would not be funded or they would need to designate a revenue stream for the project. He requested that Council address their concerns or recommendations for the Capital budget.

Council Member Van Auken referred to the Sheridan Triangle project and pointed out this project was voted as a priority last year and was funded with $200,000. She expressed concern that she was unable to use that money for engineering and a study necessary to determine how much the entire project would cost. She explained the project was just two and one-half blocks long and she was concerned that the entire amount for the project would need to be put aside prior to beginning the project, but the amount needed was unknown due to the inability to perform a study. She expressed concern regarding this procedure. She said there was $285,000 projected for 2008 for the Sheridan Triangle project instead of $850,000 that was needed. She said the engineering firm could provide cost estimates for $183,000 and she proposed that as the City moved forward with the Heart of Peoria Plan and the four Form Based Districts, she would like a small project to be chosen and funded on a realistic basis, and make it a pilot program to determine if the design, etc., would work in other areas of the City. She said she had met with potential business owners that were interested in locations in her District, but it was difficult to attract investors to areas that were in disrepair and traffic was traveling too fast. She said it was difficult to sell a plan that would be developed in the future. She said these projects should take a maximum of three years to complete. She requested that the Administration’s priorities be the same as the Council’s on these projects.

In discussion with Council Member Turner, City Manager Oliver said any project could be escalated depending on how the Council decided to proceed. He explained a decision to move a project forward would impact the timing of the completion of other projects and could impact the community.

Council Member Turner said there were citizens who had been waiting for a long period of time for their project to be funded and he wanted to find a mechanism to move projects forward.

Council Member Manning referred to fleet recapitalization and he requested a detailed list of fleet that would be replaced. He also requested a current drainage project list. He further discussed funds designated for the Warehouse District and Water Street. He referred to the Prospect Road Corridor project and he questioned how the proposed total amount of the project for $23.7 million was determined.

Council Member Manning requested that $100,000 be taken from the Prospect Road project to be moved to the Wisconsin corridor to begin that activity. He explained the project for $344,000, which was new to the Budget, to create a park-like setting around an East Bluff school. He urged the Council to support his request.

Council Member Sandberg indicated in discussion that he felt the City should invest more to rebuild infrastructure than was currently being projected in the 2008 budget.

Council Member Jacob referred to the 2005 Capital Budget and he said he did not see the Sheridan Triangle project on the list. He expressed concern that there were businesses who may be depending on the City’s investment in their area to assist in enhancing their surroundings. He urged the Administration to ensure that projects on the Capital Budget be moved forward so there was continuity. He requested a report back from the Administration regarding the continuity of projects on the Capital Budget list going back two or three years.

Council Member Gulley expressed concern regarding the lack of sidewalks around schools. He said the City Council allocated funds to deal with this problem, but the project was tied into Griswold Street and elevation problems. He said the sidewalk project was funded but never installed because the Public Works Department was not ready, and now the money was moved out of the budget. He said the School District was funding sidewalks for several schools, but these sidewalk projects were still not completed, but were still badly needed. He urged Council to support putting this money back into the budget.

City Manager Oliver said Council Member Gulley’s priorities and District #150’s priorities were somewhat different and he suggested that District #150 be requested to provide a list of their priorities so the Council could determine which projects aligned with their priorities.

Council Member Gulley said District #150 was concerned about the sidewalks around their schools, but the original requests were made about sidewalks in the neighborhoods so students could safely walk to and from school. He said, for this reason, he felt the sidewalk projects were more of a City problem.

Council Member Gulley referred to the Martin Luther King Drive project and he said most of the acquisition had been completed. He suggested funding the piece around Roosevelt School, which was a District #150 priority, but he said if the Council also made this project a priority, the project could move forward. He said the engineering study changing the elevation of Aiken Street had been completed. He stated he felt it would be a better use of tax dollars to complete this phase so Aiken Street could meet with Martin Luther King Drive so busses could use it also. He said, since Roosevelt Magnet School was a successful school, the City should invest in the surrounding area to create a bigger impact for the City.

Mayor Ardis suggested that Council Member Gulley could, between this meeting and the next budget session, meet with the City Manager to develop this project further.

Council Member Van Auken said she agreed with Council Member Gulley’s comments, and she pointed out a westerly exit from downtown was being developed to keep the traffic out of the neighborhoods. She said, until a comprehensive study of the traffic was completed, there was no point in funding changes to West Main Street until the impact was known. She said a connection between R. B. Garrett Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive was critical for the plan. She requested that she be included in the meeting with Council Member Gulley to review the overall project further.

City Manager Randy Oliver recapped the information he would provide the City Council. He stated he would provide a list of fleet replacements, the drainage project list, CIP projects for the last three years, District #150 sidewalk priorities, and schedule a meeting with Council Member Gulley and Council Member Van Auken, as well as appropriate Department Heads, to discuss a segmental approach to completing Martin Luther King Drive.

Mayor Ardis referred to the list of Budget exceptions that was distributed to the Council. He urged the Council to review the list and if they had any questions, they should contact the City Manager or the individual Department Head.

Mayor Ardis said budget issues would not be discussed at the October 23, 2007, Regular City Council Meeting. He added the next Budget Sessions would be held on October 30, 2007, at 5:30 P.M. and November 6, 2007, at 5:30 P.M.