{"id":4290,"date":"2010-11-05T10:26:44","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T16:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=4290"},"modified":"2010-11-05T10:26:44","modified_gmt":"2010-11-05T16:26:44","slug":"variety-of-suggestions-at-budget-hearing-but-only-minor-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=4290","title":{"rendered":"Variety of suggestions at budget hearing, but only minor changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h1>\n

BY CAROL ARNETT<\/span><\/h1>\n

<\/span>The Florissant City council held their third budget workshop on Saturday morning, and made some final minor changes to the budget. The ordinance approving the budget will be voted on in November. The city\u2019s fiscal year runs from Dec. 1 through Nov. 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Saturday\u2019s meeting, the council authorized $17,000 for new paths at Koch Park. The new path will connect the parking lots, and existing paths will be widened to better accommodate the snack golf cart that drives from field to field in the summer. The council also approved $5,000 to display finds from the archeological dig at the shrine at the Eagan Center.<\/p>\n

The council rejected a request by the city court for a new court clerk. \u201cThey don\u2019t need it,\u201d said Mayor Robert Lowery. He said that every year, he asks department heads what they would like. \u201cIf you ask someone if they need more, they\u2019ll say yes,\u201d Lowery said.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Karen McKay said that she understood that the courts were busy. She said that with the hiring freeze the city has been in, \u201call departments are inundated.\u201d However, she said, the freeze was still in effect.<\/p>\n

The council also discussed dropping the residency incentive. This pays city employees who live in the city an additional $100 per month.<\/p>\n

Councilman Tim Lee proposed phasing out the program over a two-year period. He noted that Florissant is one of the only communities nearby that offers it.<\/p>\n

Councilman Tom Schneider suggested phasing the program out over a four-year period. Councilman Andrew Podleski called it \u201csmall potatoes.\u201d He added, \u201cpeople expect it,\u201d and suggested keeping the program.<\/p>\n

The council also discussed changing the retirement plan. Councilman Tim Lee proposed that the city contribute 2% less in the future. \u201cWe offer a good plan,\u201d he said, noting that it was better than most municipalities. \u201cWe would still be offering a good plan.\u201d The changes would affect only employees hired after December 1, 2010.<\/p>\n

Schneider agreed. \u201cThis is a very rich plan,\u201d he said, citing his experience as a financial planner.<\/p>\n

Lee proposed an incentive plan for employees. Under his plan, up to ten employees a year could receive $500 in gift certificates to local merchants for exemplary performance. Lee called it a win-win, saying it would boost employee morale and help local businesses. The council voted unanimously to put the plan in the budget.<\/p>\n

McKay proposed pay cuts for both council members and the mayor. She noted that the council members are more than any other municipality in the county, and receive a pension plan. She proposed a reduction of $150 a month. She noted that most council members have full-time jobs. \u201cThis is not a livelihood,\u201d she said, \u201cIt\u2019s a part-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council members are currently paid $850 per month, or $10,200 a year. They also are enrolled in the pension plan and receive an expense account.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider this a full-time job,\u201d said Councilman Keith Schildroth. \u201cSeven days a week, I get stopped, get phone calls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was brought up at the eleventh hour,\u201d Mayor Robert Lowery said. \u201cThis is not the time to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay said she thought this was a good time because no council members are up for election. The cut would take effect at the next election.<\/p>\n

The motion failed, with only Lee, McKay, and Councilman Keith English voting yes.<\/p>\n

McKay also proposed reducing the mayor\u2019s salary to $100,000. The current salary is over $130,000. Stressing that her proposal had nothing to do with Lowery, or any future mayor, McKay noted that the city of St. Charles recently went to a strong mayor form of government, like Florissant, and set the mayor\u2019s salary at $70,000, with it rising to $90,000 over a two year period. McKay noted that St. Charles has a budget over $100 million, while Florissant\u2019s budget is $30 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not here for the money,\u201d Lowery said. He noted that Florissant was the largest city in the county, and said the mayor\u2019s salary should be \u201cat least $130,000.\u201d He noted that he cut his expense account from $20,000 in half, to $10,000.<\/p>\n

The motion failed, with only Lee and McKay voting in favor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY CAROL ARNETT The Florissant City council held their third budget workshop on Saturday morning, and made some final minor changes to the budget. The ordinance approving the budget will be voted on in November. The city\u2019s fiscal year runs from Dec. 1 through Nov. 30. At Saturday\u2019s meeting, the council authorized $17,000 for new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florissant","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nVariety of suggestions at budget hearing, but only minor changes - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=4290\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Variety of suggestions at budget hearing, but only minor changes - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY CAROL ARNETT The Florissant City council held their third budget workshop on Saturday morning, and made some final minor changes to the budget. 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