Lower Taxes
We need structural change to reduce taxes and fees.
- We need to be relentless in finding new funding sources that aren't connected to residential property taxes and utility fees.
- We need to stop putting homeowners in a pinch by allowing unbudgeted items to repeatedly get approval.
Spending needs to be curtailed to fund only the absolute necessities. We need to begin by reevaluating our priorities for a City that is dramatically different than it was in 2000 -- and we need to re-shape it for what it will look like in 2030 and beyond.
A new fiscal approach
Re-thinking the budget planning
We need strong leadership to re-think the way we look at the City's budget and the budgeting process. Virtually all of are large expenses and bonds for the next decade start with the assumption that our population will remain the same. History has showed that to be a false and dangerous assumption. Our 2022 population is 1,685 residents which is down from 1,928 in 1990. That's a 13% decline in the past 30+ years. With an estimated 34% of our population at 60 years old or older, we can expect that decline to continue unless we are able to attract younger generations to make Gilbert their home.
When we start the annual budget process each year, we need to begin with a fundamental understanding that our available tax revenue and population-based income sources will be less than the year before. This impacts literally every aspect of the budget. One of the reasons we continue to have discussions about raising the levy is because we make the incorrect assumption that our other revenue sources will remain flat when, in fact, many of them continue to be reduced. We need to stop creating structural budget shortfalls.
We also need to look at all of our budgeted expenses and get into the practice of having every department provide cost savings through greater efficiencies or reduced spending in each planning cycle. We simply cannot afford everything we want. Gilbert has changed dramatically with the loss of our schools - we are at a pivotal moment in time. We need to be creative with how we manage expenses knowing we will continue to have less revenue available to spend.
Full review of core city functions for cost effectiveness
Recoup losses and minimize future expenses on the Waste Water Treatment Plant
One of the biggest ongoing budget fiascos that we continue to deal with are the ongoing 'fixes' needed to maintain often improperly working technology that was pitched to us when we updated our waste water treatment plant (WWTP) several years ago. The City continues to spend money with the vendor on items to 'fix' technology that has never worked as promised. These fixes are now closing in on a million dollars of unbudgeted expenses which continue to deeply impact the City budget. Our public works staff have been doing an outstanding job keeping the system running, but we need a long-term solution that will reduce our ongoing maintenance and repairs of the facility.
We to escalate and accelerate City legal action to recoup our losses and make the City of Gilbert whole. There is no reason why we need to continue having 'WWTP' listed as a perpetual agenda item for City Council meetings. We need this fixed and working properly as promised when we bought the system. We don't need anymore excuses - we need action so we can reduce or remove the WWT UPGRADE line item on our monthly utility bills.
New Water Treatment Plant
One of the most critical city services - drinking water - is in desperate need of attention. We have been making plans for a new water treatment plant (WTP) for several years. A portion of the funding has been secured, but we have a long way to go in the process.
We need to learn from the WWTP fiasco and make sure we don't suffer from the same mistakes. We need to carefully oversee the construction of a new WTP that will serve the City of Gilbert for decades to come and hold our City Engineers to the highest standards possible throughout the process. And we need to be prepared to lobby the lawmakers from both parties in St. Paul for funding so citizens of Gilbert don't need to shoulder as much of the cost to replace our crumbling infrastructure.
City Utility Billing Improvements
I've heard from many billing customers about how confusing our utility billing is. Consumers should know what a "base fee" is used for versus "2022A Debt" versus general usage. Additionally, every bill the City produces should indicate if the reading of the meter was an estimate or an actual reading.
If the City is sending out a bill to taxpayers/utility users, there needs to be an explanation of what the charges are for in plainspoken language.
Additionally, the City needs to perform an audit on billing accuracy to help identify issues with the billing system and get recurring issues fixed with the vendor so they don't create issues utility users.
Privatization and Improvement of Garbage Services
We are currently operating an annual deficit of over $46,000 for commercial garbage services provided by our Public Works department.
Our private residential garbage service which uses orange bags, is disliked by many residents.
We need to look at methods of improving services while reducing or eliminating costs to the City. This should include considering full privatization of garbage services via a single provider or forming a partnership with a neighboring community to deliver garbage services.
I am advocate of getting the City of Gilbert out of the business of local garbage service. We simply do not have the population to properly scale this service and make it efficient within our annual budget.
Electric Utility Review
We need to have honest discussions about the efficiency and cost effectiveness of continuing to maintain our own electric utility. This doesn't necessarily mean 'selling the system' but we owe it to taxpayers to review the full scope and cost/benefit of continuing to maintain a costly system on our own.
The City Council needs to begin a community review process to see if there are sufficient structural benefits to transition to Minnesota Power for our electric utility or if the businesses and residents will continue to be better served by the City retaining it's own electric utility.
If the City chooses to maintain our own electric utility, we need to create a plan to allow for residential and business use of solar power and green energy as well as provide for rebates to power users who implement energy saving strategies for their property/homes. We need to help energy users learn how they can reduce their bills by making their homes and businesses more energy efficient.
Public Safety
Adjusted for third party revenue, Gilbert's Police budget is second only to Public Works in terms of size. We have arguably one of the best police departments on the Iron Range thanks in large part to the department's leadership -- and there is no question we want to maintain that status!
However, we need to improve in some areas - particularly in terms of how the department is funded. We need to look for increased revenue opportunities by reviewing our funding formula to one that more equally distributes the expenses of service calls we receive from the Biwabik-Giant's Ridge service areas and DNR-controlled property. We have not yet optimized this as fully as we should. Doing so can help take pressure off our general fund.
Parks and Recreation
Our city parks and recreation areas are some of the best on the Iron Range. Sadly, our current City Council took a step backward when they dissolved the Campground Board this past spring. They effectively handed over free reign to an understaffed and overworked Public Works department to maintain the campground, beach, ball fields, arena and parks with little or no community input on how these community assets are used and prioritized.
We need to establish a Parks and Recreation Board in Gilbert to recommend cost effective strategies for managing all of our public spaces as well as how to use them to our best long-term advantage. Thousands of visitors come to Gilbert each year and spend money in our business community because of these assets. Our Parks and Recreation are vital to our tourism industry. We need community input and oversight to ensure we properly monetize our public spaces so we can continue to maintain them for future generations to come. Building and improving an ecosystem of trails, parks, camping, recreation, attractions and public facilities keeps Gilbert on the map as a destination for tourists.
The Sherwood Forest Campground is an important source of revenue for our annual budget. I dedicated the past 4 years serving on the campground board to make sure we maximized revenue to off-set other city budget pressures. Campground revenue has routinely paid for things we normally can’t afford like public works equipment to cut grass and clear snow, equipment for the police department to be able to patrol off-road areas and it is even paying much of the expense for our new firetruck. We need to protect this city revenue source by engaging the public in planning and oversight. It doesn't make sense that the community isn’t included in managing these public facilities.
We also need to spend time marketing the community resources we have like the community center, recreation center, hockey arena, ball fields, and parks as opportunities for the City to add revenue to the general fund and provide opportunities for people to come to Gilbert and use the community assets we have at our disposal.