11-12-14 fdl city budget

After postponing action at their last meeting the Fond du Lac city council is scheduled to adopt the 2015 budget at their meeting Wednesday night.  The council postponed budget adoption after Republican state lawmakers and former councilmembers Jeremy Thiesfeldt and Rick Gudex suggested the council dip into its fund balance.  “Their fund balance is healthy.  When I was on city council at my initiative we established that 15 percent policy for the fund balance,”  Thiesfeldt told WFDL news.  “The city council, when I was on, we dealt with some difficult things and we had to do some things that we normally would not have done because of those difficult circumstances.  I understand they’re trying to get back away from those practices.” City Manager Joe moore said applying the projected $1.5 million fund balance would lower the property tax bill this year but result in significant cuts in future  years.   Council president Sam Meyer says the problem is that the city has incurred additonal debt to pay for needed assets and expenses.  “Now the chickens are coming home to roost and we have a debt ball that we need to swallow,”  Meyer said.  “I am not a fan of the 5.4 percent (tax rate) increase but I am going to support it because if we don’t do it now its going to snowball and have a much greater impact on city finances years in the future.”