BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council looked at the 2018 budget Tuesday and debated how best to support organizations that support businesses.

The study session focused on the general fund, which is the city’s primary fund, according to City Manager Jeff Weldon.

He advised the council the budget was “a work in progress.”

The general fund is balanced at $22,967,051. That total is $474,694, or a 2.05 percent increase over last year’s balance of $22,279,265, Weldon said.

To get to that balanced number in the general fund, Weldon suggested using $540,000 of existing cash to pay for the pay loader and side dump for the Street Department, Larson Ice Arena condenser towers, resurfacing of the Indian Hills tennis/basketball courts, resurfacing the Hillcrest tennis courts, refurbishing the Hillcrest handball court, and economic incentive payments to 3M and Bel Brands.

Weldon informed the council that information technology will be an increasing expense in the future. City hall is about 5 years old; at that point the technology starts to wear out and the city needs to keep up with it, Weldon said. Larson Ice Arena will also face expenses due to its age.

A personnel change that will affect the budget will be adding a full-time police officer position around mid-year, he added.

The budget does not reflect a cost-of-living salary adjustment for next year, Weldon said. Employees are typically on three-year contracts, and 2018 will be the third year. Negotiations with the unions are in progress.

Growing city, more expenses

Weldon wanted the council to start thinking ahead. With Brookings adding more trails and parks, it means more work for Parks, Recreation & Forestry.

“We simply have to put more resources up against that,” he said, adding the council should plan to hire another full-time Parks person.

Brookings’ continued housing growth means more work for other departments, such as the Street Department and Landfill with maintaining the streets and picking up garbage.

Weldon ran down the list of the different funds in the general fund and what each was for and how much money was budgeted, which is included in an attachment to the agenda available on the city’s website.

He said the deal with Brookings County involving the Outdoor Adventure Center and the County Resource Center will have an impact on the special fund. The city has maintained the land underneath the OAC, and rooms at the County Resource Center will need work. When the budget was figured out, Weldon didn’t know how the OAC deal would progress, so he didn’t factor it into the budget. He expects the city will consider action on the deal in August.

Weldon noted the third-penny sales tax fund has seen a bit of an uptick in revenue.

Weldon mentioned that the Research and Technology Center was losing tenants by design. In the future, there will be opportunities to sell the property for possible commercial or retail use.

He said city staff was working on some grants to be used for Bicycle Master Plan projects with the hope some work could still be done this year.

Several department heads were in attendance.

Councilor Patty Bacon asked Police Chief Jeff Miller if he had enough resources or would need more to battle the increase in illegal drugs.

The additional officer will help free up personnel to focus on drugs, Miller said. His long-range plan is to add officers because if there’s more on patrol, there’s more eyes and ears out there.

Sales tax up

Councilor Mary Kidwiler pointed out Brookings’ sales tax revenue increased when other towns’ had decreased.

“(I’m) amazed at that,” she said.

The city had even better numbers in the first few months of the year, but it dropped off a bit, Weldon said, adding it still speaks well to the city’s economy and diversity, but no one is sure how long it will continue.

One theory for the increase is the student population shops on Amazon, which started collecting sales tax this year, said Councilor Ope Niemeyer. But there’s no way to track it, Weldon added.

Councilor Nick Wendell asked about the decrease in subsidies to organizations over last year.

A $1,000 subsidy may not be a huge amount to the city, but to some of these entities, it’s a lot, Wendell said, mentioning the Brookings County Humane Society and Farmers Market.

“Us cutting them by 25 percent of their request has a tremendous impact,” Wendell said.

DBI subsidy

Councilor Holly Tilton Byrne questioned why the request from Downtown Brookings Inc. went to zero.

Weldon said there’s no staff person to report on the financial activities and he wants more accountability before setting up future funding. DBI is in transition and is trying to work with the Chamber of Commerce, he added.

Mayor Keith Corbett said he had met with the organization’s board and asked for information on how the money is spent because some reports were never turned in.

Wendell said the council should give a nod to DBI for what they have done to enhance the vibrancy of the downtown area.

“DBI is an important part of why this landscape is the way it is,” Wendell said. “We all benefit from having a downtown neighborhood. Folks have certainly worked overtime to keep that area vibrant.”

Bacon saw two problems: not all the downtown businesses were willing to invest in the overall plan, and DBI’s staffing. She’s hoping DBI’s partnership with the Chamber helps increase staffing.

The biggest part of the downtown’s vibrancy is due to businesses that have taken a risk, Weldon said. He would prefer to focus on specific initiatives, such as Downtown at Sundown, which draw people in and make a difference.

The downtown is great, Kidwiler said, but what about other businesses in town?

“Are we forgetting them? Do we do anything for them?” she asked. “The downtown draws people, but we have different pockets in town that we’re kind of forgetting.”

“I disagree,” Bacon said, adding there’s something very special about downtown. She wants to invest in DBI and the Chamber, which work to bring more people to town.

Something’s drawing folks to town. Corbett said the Chamber reported 1,556 people attended the first Downtown at Sundown show of the season on July 13.

“Highest weekly attendance since starting the concert series,” reported Jennifer Johnson, executive director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau in an e-mail to the Register. The average attendance last year was 848 people with a one-week high count of 1,005.

The council will meet again on Tuesday.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.