To:

Mayor and City Council

From:

Darin Nelson, Finance Director

cc:

Bill Reynolds, City Administrator

Date:

September 9, 2016

Re:

Preliminary Levy and Budget

Background
Each year the city must prepare a budget and property tax levy for the following year. Staff has been
analyzing revenue, expenditure information and initiatives in order to prepare a preliminary budget and
levy for your consideration.
Earlier this summer, staff kicked off the 2017 budget process by reviewing with Council a preliminary
Capital Improvement Plan for 2017-2021. An updated final version will be presented to Council later
this fall.
Just as Administrator Reynolds has been reiterating over the past year, the budget process will
experience significant changes over the course of the next couple years in order to provide complete
transparency and accountability for city-wide operations and to ensure future sustainability. Not all the
changes will happen this year, but there are some changes taking place this year to better position
ourselves for future changes.
For example, the budget calendar has been modified to condense the budget process and move it closer
to yearend. In the past, the detail budget document has been completed in the summer, which makes
forecasting difficult since the new year is six months away. Also this year, departments were tasked
with estimating their own revenues. In the past, revenue estimates were mainly derived from the
finance department. Finance did assist with the process this year, but each department took ownership
in estimating revenue projections. Individual departments have a better sense of future revenues,
compared to finance estimating revenues based off of historical information. This change will help
ensure revenue are more accurately estimated in the future.
To put this budget in context, we have lots to be thankful for. The city continues to grow with
construction permits strong. Our tax capacity is high in comparison to our tax levy. We have some
flexibility in our overall budget due to past variances (the differences between revenue and
expenditures). And we have had completed several bond initiatives.

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That does not mean that we do not have significant challenges this year. With the stalling of our
annexation discussions with Jackson Township, we can expect a future lull in growth. The effect of the
school district tax increase was more than many of our citizens anticipated leading to some distrust of
what we will bring to the table this year. The filling of many of our open positions and the tightening of
our budget will decrease future options as we decrease variances. We have a sizable bond for $29.5
million added to our balance sheet. And finally, we have significant operational expense increases
ahead for the community center (pool and employees).
Schedule for budget and property tax levy development
Date

Who

July 25, 2016

September 13, 2016

Council/ Staff
Council/ Staff

September 20, 2016

September 30, 2106

Council
Staff

November

County

November

Council/ Staff

December 6, 2016

Council

December 20, 2016

December 29, 2016

Council
Staff

What
Preliminary CIP Review
Review Maximum Levy, review
initiatives and requests
Adopt proposed maximum tax
Certify maximum tax levy to the
County which will be used for
proposed property tax notices
Proposed tax notices sent to
owners
Work session to review budget
document
Hold public meeting to discuss
levy and budget
Adopt final tax levy and budget
Certify final tax levy and budget
to County and State

Budget Impact Issues

Wages and benefits
Union contracts expire on December 31, 2016. The preliminary budget has been built with an
assumption of a 3 percent increase in wages. Comparable cities are indicating that cost of living
adjustments are averaging closer to 2.50 to 2.75 percent. Union negotiations are likely to begin later
this fall. The General Fund impact of a 3 percent COLA is approximately $387,000
Health insurance has been budgeted at a 10 percent increase. Actual renewal rates will be known later
this fall. The city did experience a reduction in health insurance last year. A ten percent increase in
health insurance is approximately $86,000.
No other benefit changes are anticipated or legislated for the upcoming year.
Four new staff positions have been requested for 2017, one by the Police Department and three by the
Parks and Recreation Department. The three new positions requested by Parks and Recreation are due
to the expansion of the community center and ice arena. Department directors will be available at the
budget work session to discuss in further detail. Below is breakdown of the budget impact for 2017.

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Dept

Title/ Description

Police

Investigative Aide/Crime Analyst

Rec

Facilities Manager

Rec Facilities

Arena Lead Worker

Rec Facilities

Arena Lead Worker

Total New Positions:

Estimated
Start Date

Total 2017
Wages and
Benefits

3/ 1/ 2017
6/ 1/ 2017
1/ 1/ 2017
1/ 1/ 2017

$ 55,925.66
29,255.38
49,317.35
49,317.35
$ 183,815.74

Internal Charges
As was discussed at the CIP work session in July, staff is proposing restoring building, park, and fleet
rents to full funding. Rents were decreased by 20 percent back in 2014. There is a need to restore the
rents to full funding in order to ensure long-term financial sustainability. The rent reduction doesnt
have an immediate impact on sustainability, but over the long-term financing becomes problematic.
Restoring rents to full funding and accounting for new equipment and buildings has a $663,000 budget
impact to the General Fund.
Other Services & Charges
Other than personnel, internal charges, and liability insurance departments within the General Fund will
be held to a zero percent increase on all other line items within their department/ division budgets.
Economic Development Authority
An appropriation of $500,000 for the downtown has been included in the budget. 2017 is the third year
of the originally anticipated transfer of $2 million over the course of four years.
The exterior grant program has a balance of $264,000 as of August 31, 2016. Rather than transfer an
additional $200,000 to this program from the General Fund, staff is allocating $130,000 from the
Revolving Loan Fund that has been inactive for the last several years. There is approximately $260,000
in this fund. This fund was created with a transfer of $100,000 from the EDA fund back in 2004. Interest
of $60,000 and the repayment of DEED loan accounts for the remaining $100,000. Its been determined
that half of the $260,000 in cash belongs to DEED and the other half belongsto the City/ EDA. Since the
exterior grant program has a substantial beginning balance, the $130,000 transfer should be sufficient
for funding needs over the next year.
A topic worth discussing between now and this time next year is the implementation of a dedicated EDA
levy. EDAs have the statutory authority to levy a small percentage (up to 0.01813%) of the citys
estimated market value, which for 2017 would have been a maximum of $697,000. The levy cap is a
maximum levy; EDAs/ City Council have the ability to set the levy at any amount up to this cap. We
cannot implement an EDA levy this year, but for next year this may be an opportunity for us to be more
transparent on where tax dollars are being dedicated.

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Debt Service
The issuance of community center/ ice arena tax abatement bonds in January of this year does have a
substantial impact on the levy. Debt service payments are approximately $2.1 million annually. Due to
available fund balances in existing debt service funds and the structuring of the tax abatement bonds,
the annual impact of all existing debt service funds will hold steady at about $2.1 million annually. Staff
will need the Council to approve debt service reduction resolutions on September 20th. A breakdown
and comparison of the individual debt levies can be viewed on the next page.
Levy Request & Impact
Staff is recommending an overall 7.47% levy increase or an increase of $1,316,146. The breakdown and
comparison to the 2016 levy is a follows:

City of Shakopee
Preliminary Levy Analysis
September 13, 2016
2016 Final
General Fund
Abatements
Emerson
Datacard
Shutterfly
Total Abatements

$ 16,825,900

2017 Proposed
$

Capital Improvement Fund

Less Franchise Fee Revenue
Total Capital Improvement Levy
Debt Service
2004 B
2006 B
2007 B Improve
2008 A Improve
2010 A Improve
2012 A Refunding
2016 Abatement
Total Debt Service
Total Levy

238,027
315,390
94,992
88,500
47,386
784,295
$ 17,610,195

16,175,900

Variance
(650,000)

-3.86%

52,400
35,900
86,615
174,915

174,915

100.00%

1,300,000
(915,000)
385,000

385,000

100.00%

92,471
148,800
107,145
1,842,110
2,190,526

1,406,231

179.30%

1,316,146

7.47%

18,926,341

% Variance

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Items to note with the 2017 preliminary levy include:

The Capital Improvement Fund now has a dedicated levy of $385,000. Franchise fee revenue is
estimated at $915,000, which is higher than anticipated after the September 6th council
meeting. Adjustments to the CIP will be made to account for the reduction in revenue. Staff is
anticipating no changes to the levy amount dedicated to the Capital Improvement Fund.
Abatement levies have been isolated. In prior years, private development abatements have
been included in the General Fund levy. Isolating these abatements provides for increased
transparency.
Scott County has provided staff with tax impact estimates for residential homestead properties.
Residential property values held virtually steady from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2016. The value of
an average market value home in Shakopee actually decreased slightly from $229,700 to $229,100. In
the meantime, the City experienced an eight percent increase in tax capacity for taxes payable in 2017.
This increased tax capacity will provide the average value home in Shakopee with a small reduction of
$9.49 or 1.2 percent in city taxes. The chart below provides a comparison of the 2016 levy and the
proposed preliminary 20176 levy for an average valued home.
Avg Market
Value
2016
Shakopee

Avg Market Taxable %

Value
Change
2017
16 vs 17

229,700 $ 229,100

Net
Payable
2016

-0.31% $ 821.71

Net
Payable
2017
$ 812.23 $

Net
Inc/Dec
16 vs 17

Net
Difference
% Change

(9.49)

-1.2%

Late this summer, staff did research to determine if the set of cities that Shakopee has considered
comparable in the past were still comparable today. Shakopee has experienced significant growth over
the past decade and has a large commercial and industrial base. A comparison of cities based on various
attributes such as population, fiscal disparity contributions and net fiscal disparities, employees, and
General Fund expenditures were analyzed to determine a set of comparable cities. Directors and key
leaders reviewed the analytical results and narrowed the list to ten based off of subject understanding
of comparable cities.
Below is a comparison of the preliminary levy increases for this new set of comparable cities. It should
be noted that Golden Valleys preliminary levy includes funding for a bond issuance for the building of a
$18.2 million community center. Although not in our list of comparable cities, I learned Chaska is
estimating a 9% increase.

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Lastly, it is always interesting to see the breakdown of a property tax statement and how tax dollars are
distributed. Below is chart, based on an average valued home for taxes payable in 2016 within the
Shakopee School District. A good rule of thumb is that the city, county and school typically account for
about a third of the total tax bill. For average valued homes within the Shakopee School District that
rule doesnt necessarily hold true for 2016. Taxing districts included in the Other section include Scott
County CDA, Mosquito Control, Metro Transit, Met Council, Watersheds, etc.

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Summary
Attached is a preliminary General Fund Summary Budget that includes all the items discussed above,
including a tax levy of 7.47 percent. This preliminary budget has a deficit of $399,320. The 2016 budget
utilizes $449,000 of fund balance in balancing the budget. Utilizing fund balance for the 2017 budget is
not recommended due to the intentions of tightening the budget. In prior years, surpluses were able to
cover any potential deficit, that will not be the case for 2017.

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2017 Annual Budget

GENERAL FUND SUMMARY
Actual
2014
REVENUES:
TAXES
TAX INCREMENTS
SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS
LICENSES AND PERMITS
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
CHARGES FOR SERVICES
FINES AND FORFEITURES
MISCELLANEOUS
TOTAL REVENUES
EXPENDITURES:
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC SAFETY
PUBLIC WORKS
PARK AND RECREATION
UNALLOCATED
DEBT SERVICE
CAPITAL OUTLAY
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
OTHER FINANCING:
TRANSFERS IN
PROCEEDS FROM SALE OF ASSETS
BOND PROCEEDS
TRANSFERS OUT
TOTAL OTHER FINANCING
NET

Actual
2015

Original
Budget
2016

Budget
2016

Requested
Budget 2017

16,022,164.22
18,838.98
8,579.99
1,534,165.38
1,191,126.88
4,294,637.57
391,499.65
333,175.22
23,794,187.89

16,137,181.59
22,892.77
12,042.90
2,023,436.27
1,356,733.68
4,452,414.39
7,093.46
318,924.55
24,330,719.61

17,150,900.00
0.00
11,500.00
1,504,100.00
1,108,500.00
4,226,275.00
1,500.00
225,248.00
24,228,023.00

17,150,900.00
0.00
11,500.00
1,504,100.00
1,108,500.00
4,226,275.00
1,500.00
225,248.00
24,228,023.00

16,568,400.00
0.00
12,000.00
1,683,400.00
1,255,100.00
4,927,600.00
1,500.00
234,600.00
24,682,600.00

(3,409,258.94)
(10,139,832.61)
(2,829,846.28)
(3,977,599.91)
(105,238.88)
0.00
(44,971.58)
(20,506,748.20)

(3,709,865.64)
(10,150,416.35)
(3,036,283.60)
(3,889,077.91)
(151,446.40)
0.00
(126,666.89)
(21,063,756.79)

(4,467,551.00)
(10,374,766.00)
(3,393,889.00)
(4,370,867.00)
(218,450.00)
0.00
(1,500.00)
(22,827,023.00)

(4,467,551.00)
(10,374,766.00)
(3,393,889.00)
(4,370,867.00)
(218,450.00)
0.00
(1,500.00)
(22,827,023.00)

(4,554,280.00)
(10,931,270.00)
(3,482,380.00)
(5,053,990.00)
(610,000.00)
0.00
0.00
(24,631,920.00)

180,000.00
314.49
0.00
(2,722,697.00)
(2,542,382.51)

250,000.00
566.00
0.00
(3,515,466.00)
(3,264,900.00)

250,000.00
0.00
0.00
(2,100,000.00)
(1,850,000.00)

250,000.00
0.00
0.00
(2,100,000.00)
(1,850,000.00)

250,000.00
0.00
0.00
(700,000.00)
(450,000.00)

745,057.18

2,062.82

(449,000.00)

(449,000.00)

(399,320.00)

City of Shakopee
Additional Personnel Request
2017 Budget

Department: Police

Prepared by: Chief Tate

Request for: One full-time, non-sworn staff

(Police Investigative Assistant)
Pay Grade Estimate: Grade 5
Date of Change: January 1, 2017
Description Details:
The Police Investigative Assistant position request is made after careful consideration
and an internal staffing needs assessment. This request ties directly to the City Councils
over-riding focus: Provide a quality of life for Shakopee residents by enhancing
livability and provide no less than the highest levels of customer service.
This position would perform administrative, clerical and analytical support services for
the investigative division. In doing so, the position will work with investigators and other
police and support staff members to ensure an accurate, consistent and collaborative
workflow process.
The current investigations unit has four full-time investigators. They presently average 30
cases each. Traditionally, higher caseloads negatively impact case clearance rates and
quality of service. Additionally, because the caseload is so high, other duties in the
department are either not completed timely or go unfinished.
Cases are not being dealt with as quickly as they should be. To address our shortfall, the
police department is requesting a full-time, non-sworn staff position to serve as an
Investigative Assistant in 2017. Our initial assessment is that this position would be
Grade 5 of the Citys current pay plan. This would result in a starting salary of
approximately $52,322, plus benefits, and already assumes a 3% COLA for 2017.
This position, if filled, will greatly enhance our services to the community in the
following areas:
-

Frauds and financial crimes continue to increase and dominate officers time.
Frauds in Shakopee are up over 350 % in the last three years. Frauds are
extremely time consuming and require extensive work to complete. Frauds also

represent approximately half of all active cases assigned to patrol officers and
over half of the active cases assigned to investigations. This position would assist
in gathering evidence such as bank statements and draft subpoenas. Much of the
paperwork collection and follow-up can be completed by non-sworn personnel.
-

Due to the large number of subpoenas our department generates, tracking

becomes very important. It is our intent that this position will draft and track
subpoenas to Facebook, Twitter, phone companies and banks, among others. We
are finding that more and more of these cases are taking us out of state to track
suspects and recover financial losses. Financial crimes are becoming increasingly
more technology driven and complex. Many of these cases require an investigator
to leave the city limits.

This position will also handle all evidence preservation letters, which are different
than subpoenas. This person can go directly to locations to pick up evidence, such
as surveillance videos, which is currently done by our CSO. This will free up our
CSO to conduct more code enforcement related activity within the city.
Furthermore, this position will handle all follow-up on non-discoverable work
products from the county attorney affecting the investigations unit. Often times
this entails weighing narcotics or taking additional photos.

Our intent is to have this position go with investigators to search warrants and
assist as a scribe, log in evidence, as well as take photos and help process crime
scenes. Doing so will allow a patrol officer or CSO to attend to calls for service or
other duties. The current Evidence Technician is part-time and cannot take on
these duties.

State laws have changed when it comes to what child protection issues get
reported to police. This has caused a significant spike in calls for service and
caseloads. We anticipate handling almost 450 more child protection notices this
year alone. This position would conduct all initial screening of these notices and
forward to the appropriate unit, such as a school resource officer or drug task
force agent.

All forfeitures are currently handled by the patrol captain. This is very time
consuming and a task that we would like to delegate to this position if filled. The
Investigative Assistant would take over intake, inventory, notifications via
certified mail, take pictures of contents and condition of the vehicle, handle
follow-up with the county attorneys office, as well as manage all records for
audits. Last year the department took in approximately 65 vehicles and
successfully forfeited 56 of them. The amount of time the patrol captain spends on
this is extensive and is better suited for a different position, freeing him up for
other supervisory duties.

It is the intent that this position would take over and coordinate the Automated
Pawn System (APS) and pawn shop activity. We have not conducted an audit of
our Citys pawn shops in at least 12 years. The Victim Services Coordinator was
designated to take this on but the workload the position maintains left this task
incomplete. In 2015, there were 15,268 pawn transactions in Shakopee. It is
essential that we have better coordination and audits of those entities.

Another task that would shift from the Victim Services Coordinator to an
Investigative Assistant would be the coordination of the Citys 77 registered
predatory offenders. This task is not only a better fit with this position but will
free up time for the Victim Services Coordinator to work more directly with our
crime victims. There is no requirement to have a licensed police officer
coordinate this task. The actual checks, which we do quarterly, will still be
conducted by patrol staff.

The city continues to grow both in retail and population. Additional retail will
increase our call load. The department already saw an increase of over 1,500 calls
for service last year. We would use this position as a liaison with area loss
prevention personnel and set up a city-wide group, coordinated by the
Investigative Assistant. This person would also become our single point of contact
for alarm notices.

Demands on our department continue to grow both by Statute and by the Citys growth.
The department has undergone several restructures over the last few years. Weve gone
from three full-time CSOs to one CSO and one part-time Evidence Technician. The
department added a civilian Crime Prevention Specialist, which put an officer back on the
road. The department also hired a Victim Services Coordinator.
The school district pays a portion of the three SROs salary and all costs associated with
the fourth SRO, which was added a little over a year ago. That addition was the first
sworn officer increase since 2007. The department did cut two vacant sworn positions as
part of the 2008 budget process. A current staffing analysis based on workload, not
population, recommends the department have six additional sworn officers. Despite the
staffing analysis showing the need for another sworn officer, we feel this service void can
be filled better with a civilian staff member.
No area of the police department has been more impacted by growth and technology than
our investigations unit. An Investigative Assistant would provide necessary help to the
overall operations of the department, while not costing as much as a sworn officer. We
believe this position, if filled, will greatly impact our fraud and financial crime
investigations. The position follows best practices approaches and will greatly enhance
our overall investigations unit.