Min10202025budgetwksp3

Submitted for approval 11/10/2025 Village of Fox Crossing Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees – Budget Workshop #3 Municipal Complex – Arden Tews Assembly Room Monday, October 20, 2025 – 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Minutes 1. Call to Order President Dale Youngquist called the workshop to order at 5:00 p.m. Clerk Darla Salinas noted those present including: President Youngquist, Trustee Michael Van Dyke, Trustee Kris Koeppe, Trustee Timothy Raddatz, Trustee Kate McQuillan , Trustee Deb Swiertz, Trustee Barbara Hanson, Village Manager Jeffrey Sturgell, Director of Community Development George Dearborn, Director of Finance Jeremy Searl, Director of Information Technology Tim Plagenz, Police Captain Tim Callan, Fire Chief Todd Sweeney, Director of Parks & Recreation Amanda Geiser, Director of Public Works Joe Hoescht, and Street Superintendent Brian Bauer. There were no attendees. 2. Presentation of Departmental Budgets Director Searl stated he followed up on the Village Board’s questions regarding the interest accrued in the special revenue funds that were discussed last week. He stated there are no requirements on using interest for their separate special revenue funds and the Board can choose to assign the interest proceeds as they see fit. He stated he will bring a proposal for use of the interest proceeds this coming year. The hotel/motel room tax account is already meeting the requirements laid out for it; therefore, we can choose to allocate the interest income from that account to any other fund, as long as they define the intended use for those funds. There is approximately $100,000.00 in earned interest in that special revenue fund so the Board can decide if they’d like to use some or all of these funds to defer borrowing in another area this year or save for another year or project. Information Technology Department Director Searl advised there is an update to the budget for a request from the Police Department to change the software used for scheduling, case management, dictation and a few other items from PowerDMS and Dragonspeak to Blueline Logic for an increase of $2,800.00 to better align with the department’s needs . The y are intending to keep PowerDMS for law changes and procedural changes, updates, and documentation. He noted this budget also includes a potential rollover of funds for the Assembly Room ’s AV project in case it is unable to be fully completed by the end of this year. In 2025, the IT Department was able to complete the transition for Microsoft Office 365 from an on-premises exchange server to the cloud and noted there are no large migrations planned for 2026. In revenues, there is u se of fund balance for $109,000.00 with the m ajority of this in the 0815 Capital Projects account. There is also a transfer from the debt service fund of $14,000.00 (5% increase) from the levy/undesignated revenue. In payroll expenses, there is a small increase simply for benefit related costs but there are no other requests in this department. The 0210 Professional Services account shows a small levy impact (decrease of $189.00) and includes the migration of a police evidence video software program to a new platform and continuation of Laserfiche Workflows ($8,000.00) moving towards more paperless processing and record keeping. The 0211 Licenses and Maintenance account has a 6% increase and includes the new P olice Department license discussed earlier and additional multi -factor authentication/security for approximately $2,200.00. There is a large change in the GIS licensing software due to how much more this is being utilized by multiple departments for an increase of $4,000.00 (25% increase). The 0224 Telephone account has an increase of approximately $4,000.00 Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 2 due to a request from the Police Department as they are requesting additional phones to have one per officer rather than one per squad vehicle. This will eliminate the need to remember who is in which vehicle, add in quick dials, provide for better tracking and security, etc. In the 0335 and 0330 Training and Miles/Meals/Lodging accounts are budget neutral and advised the 2025 budget included a rollover for COGNOS training as Director Plagenz is planning to attend the annual conference in Washington D.C. with Director Searl. The 0815 Computer Equipment and Software account is budget neutral and includes annual computer equipment replacements and server upgrades for $31,500.00, firewalls for east side locations as they are not receiving internet through the main fiber to the Municipal Complex, and a disaster recovery backup server at Fire Station #40, which is a network -wide backup . This account also includes a r ollover of funds for the Stormwater Technician’s surface and tablet for performing inspections as these items are proposed for the new technician and will not be purchased until that position is filled. The Equipment Replacement Fund (ERF) does not budget for any additional landline phones this year as there are enough on hand and the department has fallen a bit behind in the process of replacing these phones. This project will continue slowly for a few more years. The big project for 2026 is to replace the S torage Area Network (SAN) for the Municipal Complex at a replacement cost of $70,000.00, which provides centralized storage and is designed for high performance/responsiveness. This is the main SAN for the Village other than what was discussed for the east side earlier . T here is another option to go cloud-based with an annual service fee , however that is quite expensive, and we simply can’t afford it. The transfer to the ERF drops a bit because of how we are saving for the Police Department’s MDC’s and docking stations for in-squad computers. Trustee Raddatz asked if have we looked at leasing computer equipment rather than purchasing it so we would always have the most current equipment. Di rector Plagenz advised we do not lease because we get great rates with government contracts. He stated the only items we lease are the copiers/printers. President Young quist asked if there are any other local municipalities using cloud-based storage and if we could partner with them. Director Plagenz advised that the C ity of Neenah has been discussing going to the cloud, however when they looked at going in on a contract together the pricing increased significantly as it is based on population size, and both municipalities would be better off contracting on their own. Street Department Director Searl started with the revenue accounts in this department and stated the Street Lighting Assessment is for charges received through the tax roll for developments that have more than the required street lighting and noted this account ’s revenues are decreasing due to costs dropping. The Elderly and Bus Transit Aids (federal and state revenues) are estimates as we have not received the budget from Valley Transit yet . The General Transportation Aid forecast is very favorable with nearly a 5% increase. He advised this aid is tied to the state’s economy and will fluctuate annually by the percentage change in state sales tax. There is a transfer from the garbage fund which is a reimbursement from the special revenue fund for use of personnel and vehicles in garbage and recycling efforts (primarily c hipping and leaf program s). There is a t ransfer from capital projects which includes a dramatic increase to pay for street resurfacing and concrete paneling programs due to such low Net New Construction and available levy funds. In p ayroll there are no new personnel requests (prior year included a new stormwater technician/laborer that was approved but has not yet been filled). The budgeted split for laborers remains 80% Streets and 20% Stormwater. There are requested increases for heavy equipment premium pay, overtime hours, double -time hours , and call -time hours . The heavy equipment operator pay will increase from an additional $1.00/hour to $2.00/hour when operating any heavy equipment ( $1,378.00 increase). There was a request for an additional 233 hours of overtime, Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 3 however this was cut by Manager Sturgell to an additional 100 hours for an increase of $4,939.00. There was a request for an additional 194 hours of double-time hours which was cut by Manager Sturgell due to being unsure of how many hours to expect with this being a new program. Th ere was a request for an additional 60 hours of call-time however this was cut to an additional 40 hours ($1,317.00). The 0210 Professional Services account includes a $500.00 increase in addition to $10,000.00 of ash tree removal funded by the EAB special revenue fund. The 0371 Chip Sealing account includes a request to bring this program back with a budget of $40 ,000.00 however this was cut by Manager Sturgell as there are no funds available to restart this program. The 0372 Crack Sealing Program account has a requested increase of $20,000.00, however Manager Sturgell cut this to an increase of $10,000.00 to balance the budget. Director Hoechst advised they are looking to bring back the Chip Sealing program mainly for the large collector roads, not for local streets. In previous years they received complaints from residents regarding tire marks being left on the local roads when using this program, however on the larger collector roads, this type of sealing would add another 5-10 years of life to those roads and will be beneficial cost wise. He explained the difference between crack sealing and chip sealing, and noted the annual amount budgeted for these accounts is getting close to not being enough anymore and will need to increase in the future as they are falling farther and farther behind. The 0373 Road Resurfacing account remains at $750,000.00; however, all these funds will come from borrowing. The 0374 Road Repairs account remains at $25,000.00 for general repairs and the concrete panel program remains at $125,000.00 (all from borrowing). The 0375 Salt account remains at $175 ,000.00 (increase of $3.72/ton to $91.42/ton or a 4.2% increase), with 1,900 tons being purchased as compared to 600 tons last year due to being fully stocked. The 0853 Capital Vehicles and 0854 Capital Equipment Other accounts do not include any requests this year. The Electricity/Street Lighting account is for street light expenses on municipal streets and includes a request of $4,600.00 to convert 23 streetlamps to LED which was requested by Trustee Koeppe and shows a 3-year full reimbursement of expenses (offset with fund balance). The Village is part of the Valley Transit program which provides that they manage the day-to-day operations as well as grant funding and responsibilities for the bus and elderly transportation programs. The Village pays an estimated local amount based on the budget and after the annual audit, Valley Transit will either send us a bill or a refund once everything is netted out. The net cost is budgeted at $107,800.00 which is an increase of $12,000.00. At this time, we do not yet have proposed rider rates for 2026, however 2025 rates were $3.50/resident rider (no change for several years) and $14.71/resident rider which is charged to the Village. The Equipment Replacement Fund (ERF) includes replacement of dump trucks #20 and #27 which were budgeted to be replaced this year. Each of these trucks were ordered a few years ago and the chassis’ have b een delivered. Direct or Hoechst advised Monroe is not available to install the additional equipment on these vehicles until this Spring, so it is unlikely the trucks will be usable until Summer 2026. Truck #27 has a cost of $312,053.00 which is a larger truck with an underbody scraper. Truck #20 has a cost of $229,090.00. They are also looking to replace the 4-ton asphalt patcher to be split 50/50 with stormwater and replacement of a ¾ -ton trailer with ramps . This department is requesting permission to order a replacement for Unit #29 slated to be replaced in 2029 however they will start working with the dealer to time the order, so it is received in 2029 . Similar to previous accounts, we are short funding the ERF by $21,742.00 to balance the budget. Trustee McQuillan stated she not iced one of the department ’s goals is to make improvements to the chipping program and asked for more detail on this. Director Hoechst stated the summer program was by request only and early in the summer they received many calls from residents Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 4 stating they didn’t know about this change even though it was advertised in The Bridge calendar, on social media, on the Village website, and in utility inserts. They are working to educate the residents, so they receive enough notice on this program. Moving to a “by request only program” for those months increased efficiency immensely which was main goal. Municipal Complex Director Searl advised revenues for this department were already discussed at a previous meeting, but expenditures were not . There are no requests in payroll for this department. The 0210 Professional Services account includes a variety of repairs and improvements to the exterior of the Municipal Complex (prior year included research and planning for a possible Police Department expansion) and is offset with fund balance. The 0241 Building Repair and Maintenance account includes an increase for required monitoring/testing systems. The 0358 Grounds Maintenance account includes a requested increase to allow for updates and maintenance around the building/property. The 0819 Capital Improvements account includes $20,000.00 for replacement of the rooftop air conditioning unit that covers the IT server room (offset with Fund Balance), and $40,000.00 for updates to five bathrooms throughout the Municipal Complex (replacement of wall tiles, stall walls, fixtures, and other items as needed) offset with F und Balance. The Equipment Replacement Fund (ERF) includes a transfer for the fuel pumps (this does not include underground tanks which are getting older and incurring increasing insurance costs). Director Hoechst advised the carpeting/floo ring project has already begun as the flooring by the Street and Park and Recreation departments is nearly complete and they will be start ing on the bathrooms shortly. The carpeting will start again throughout the Municipal Complex in early to mid-November and be completed by early December. He noted that we are considerably under budget for this project so he will be looking to order new chairs for the Assembly Room to replace the aged chairs still being used per the directive from the Village Board during last year ’s budget session. Stormwater Utility Director Searl advised there is a small increase in revenue due to growth (mini storage business, expanded parking lot in Kimberly Clark, and temporary lot for Michels and TC Energy) therefore there is no proposed rate increase for 2026. This rate was last increased in 2025 by $10 .00/ERU and again in 2024 by $10.00/ERU. Interest income was budgeted very conservatively and came in well above budget which builds equi ty/savings and offsets the use of fund balance. Municipal contributions include a purchase of land from Secura for a future stormwater pond in the TID which may or may not happen but needs to be budgeted for. In 2025 these funds were used for the culvert at Clayton Avenue Pond by TID #5. There was a transfer of settlement funds for capital projects in 2025 including the Church Pond project and a portion of the Margeo Pond, but there is nothing planned for 2026. There is a t ransfer from fund balance in the depreciation fund which is being used to replace capital assets similar to the Equipment Replacement Fund (ERF). Operating Revenue was approximately 0.8% over budgeted amount last year and is similar to 2025 projected actuals. Trustee Raddatz asked the general life expectancy of stormwater ponds. Director Hoechst advised a stormwater pond will last nearly 50 years and some can last longer than that, depending on the sediment depth which is what is used to measure their life cycle. There are no changes in payroll, however the pr ior year included a stormwater technician funded 80% from stormwater that has yet to be hired and there was a 2.6% raise approved for the Community Development intern which is partially funded by this utility. Trustee Koeppe asked for an update on th e stormwater technician position and anticipated savings on McMahon costs after the hiring of this position. Director Hoechst advised they are currently putting this hiring on hold and stated they are looking to get someone on board early next year, so they can be trained by Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 5 construction season. He stated services provided by this position compared to McMahon’s services will vary year to year and noted that he has already taken on completing elicit discharge inspections to eliminate them from McMahon’s workload. He stated these inspections usually carry a cost of $5,000.00-$7,000.00 per inspection. Director Hoec hst advised he requested some software to be able to complete stormwater modeling in an effort to move some of those services in-house, but he is unsure if that got included into the budget. Director Searl advised it was not included in the IT budget as it was submitted late. The 0210 Professional Services account includes a minimal addition of $3,000.00 and a rollover of $12,000.00 to monitor the birds at Sand Point Pond, which is necessary as this pond is in the flight overlay district and may eventually require installation of netting or bird mitigation at some point. There is also an increase for annual maintenance costs due to the Village having more active ponds. The 0211 Licenses and Maintenances account shows the flow through of increases from the general fund as discussed during the IT budget. The 0234 Site Maintenance account includes a rollover of $18,000.00 for known leaks at C ommunity First Credit Union , Independence, and Shady Lane ponds. This account includes $75,000.00 for repairs at Rocket Pond (offset with fund balance), and they are currently working with the Bond Company to get these fixes covered as the contractor who developed the pond is now out of business. The 0309 Credit Card Fees account is the same as water and sewer, but we are seeing an increase in the number of people using the website to make payments which costs the Village a net fee of under 1.5% and is cheaper than processing costs for mailed in payments. The 0530 Rent account is shown as an expenditure here and a revenue to the Street Department for use of equipment. The 0540 and 0541 Depreciation accounts show a healthy amount used to balance this budget . The 0610 and 0620 Debt Service accounts show a small increase for next year as 2025 borrowing was structured to be interest only to delay some of the impact of the borrowing, but we can expect 2027 principal and interest to be an increase of approximately $27,000.00. The Equipment Replacement Fund ( ERF) shows replacement of the two dump trucks and 4-ton asphalt patcher discussed in the Street Department budget which are paid 15% by storm water. The 0815 Computer Equipment/Software account is for the allocations from the IT Department in the general fund along with stormwater’s share of the AV Assembly Room project. If all amounts were budgeted perfectly in this proposed budget, this would result in a $19 ,000.00 profit to th is utility, therefore there is no proposed rate increase for 2026. Director Hoechst mentioned the stormwater modeling software he requested which would cost $8,000.00, however some of these McMahon studies can cost $15,000.00-$20,000.00 per study so the software could pay for itself very quickly. He stated he is willing to do things to help reduce the Village’s reliance on McMahon, but stated we need to be utilizing them on bigger projects. He stated he is also requesting some AutoCAD software for an annual cost of $ 3,700.00, to be split across all four of his departments. Manager Sturgell stated he is in favor of adding both pieces of software into this year’s budget. The Village Board agreed to both pieces of software. Garbage and Recycling (Continued) Director Searl stated he has no new information but wanted to discuss the questions that were still out there now that we have Director Hoechst and Superintendent Bauer present. Currently, there is $50,000.00 set aside for the cart replacement fund, however there was a discussion on using those funds towards the new leaf vacuum truck. Director Hoechst advised they are looking to trade-in a truck and pull behind leaf trailer to purchase a one-man leaf vacuum that helps their department with efficiency, assuming we’re not going to increase staff numbers. Superintendent Bauer advised the truck that was purchased to pull this leaf vacuum is simply too large and can’t get into many of the Village’s subdivisions and so it is only used on the large collector roads. Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 6 Superintendent Bauer provided an update on cart inventory and stated he is comfortable going into 2026 with the carts already available on hand as they are trading in approximately 10-12 carts per week for residents . He stated the amount put into the cart replacement fund for 2026 could be reduced or eliminated to fund the new leaf vacuum and he will check on lead time to receive the new leaf vacuum if approved at tonight ’s meeting. He stated the third truck likely won ’t be in service until next Fall. Miscellaneous / Bubble List Items Director Searl advised the only item currently on the “bubble” is the $1,500.00 expense in the Police Department to purchase retirement gifts for three retiring employees to be more comparable to what is done by other local municipalities. Manager Sturgell cut this expense as this is not a gift that we provide for other employees, and he was looking to be fair across the board. Currently, the personnel handbook provides a $75.00 value gift to any retirees in the Village. Trustee Hanson expressed concerns of providing this extra retirement benefit for the Police Depar tment and not others, and the mounting costs of providing this to all employees. Trustee McQuillan stated she feels it is important to recognize retirees. Director Searl noted we didn’t do anything extravagant for the prev ious retiring F ire Chief or Superintendent Gallow and Captain Callan stated the Department has run into consistency problems over the years with giving a retirement gift to some but not all. He stated neighboring departments have come up with some nice gifts, and unfortunately this year the department has more retirees than normal, so the amount requested is higher. President Youngquist stated he feels this meeting is the wrong time to make policy changes and noted the Village Board typically goes in on their own to provide supplemental retirement gifts. Manager Sturgell advised he is in favor of changing the policy but understands both sides of the argument. Trustee McQuillan suggested discussing changing the policy to provide a standard employee recognition for retirement at a future meeting . The Board agreed to not include this additional amount in this budget for the Police Department retirees in 2026 and for Manager Sturgell to discuss this with Human Resources for a future shift to retirement gifts. Capital Projects Manager Sturgell went through Village capital projects including: Irish Road Railroad Crossing (design and soil borings) from Brookfield Drive to Elk Trail Drive for $10,000.00 (offset with cash on hand). He advised this project has been in budgets before and this is a continuation of design and soil borings as this area is planned to be a future quiet zone. Irish Road Reconstruction (design and soil borings) from County Highway II to Jacobsen Road for $25,000.00 from Village funds (offset with cash on hand) and $25,000.00 from stormwater funds for a total of $50,000.00. There will potentially be an extension of this project in 2027/2028 as we need to get O’Hauser Park attached to the Village trail system. He stated they will be applying for an STP Urban Grant for grant funds that would not come through until 2030 but needs to be applied for and approved at the next Village Board Meeting. We will need Board approval to pay 20% of the project before applying for this Grant. Director Dearborn stated he has tried to apply for this Grant multiple times and continues to be denied. Earl Street Urbanization ( design and wetland delineation urbanization) from M idway Road to Airport Road. He advised this is a joint project with the City of Menasha, so we are waiting for the City to have the funds available to push forward with this project. This project is set to cost $72,000.00 (split with City of Menasha and offset with prior borrowing) and $25,000.00 from stormwater (offset with prior borrowing) for total of $97,000.00. Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 7 East Shady Lane Urbanization with a 10’ Trail from C ounty Highway CB to Cold Spring Road (design, easements, and soil borings). This project was originally scheduled for 2025, then pushed to 2026, and now is scheduled for 2028. He advised the Village receive d an STP Grant for this project which is set to cost $100,000.00 from Streets (offset with prior borrowing) and $40,000.00 from stormwater ($20,000.00 being offset with prior borrowing) for a total of $140,000.00. Jacobsen Road Railroad Overpass Deck Repair (design) for $15,000.00 (offset with prior borrowing). Valley Road Reconstruction Project from Olde Midway Road to State Highway 47 which is a joint project with Winnebago County and the City of Menasha. This project is set to cost $387,000.00 from the V illage and $257,000.00 from stormwater for a total of $644 ,000.00. The water and sanitary sewer were replaced in 2024/2025. The total project cost between all three entities is over $10 Million. Road Resurfacing Program for a total of $750,000.00 from borrowing: Part 1 includes Richard Drive, Lilly Street, and Sandlewood Street. Part 2 includes Forkin Street (from Tayco Road to Lake Breeze Court) and Lake Breeze Court. Part 3 includes Mill Pond Lane ( from Copperhead Drive to West American Drive) and Blackmoor Circle. Part 4 includes Wick Court and Gas Road. Trustee Koeppe asked if these small streets should be a priority. Director Hoechst stated this is a lightly trafficked area, however they are trying to get this area fully completed. He stated there has been some recent construction in this area and these roads are nearly gravel at this point. Part 5 includes Northern Road (from Stroebe Road to the cul-de-sac). Part 6 includes Jacobsen Road (from the I-41 Overpass to the Railroad Overpass). Other 2026 Capital Projects include: Concrete Panel Repairs for $125,000.00 (from borrowing). Demolition of the street garage used for storage across the road for $50,000.00 (offset with cash on hand). The Board asked what was currently being stored in this building. Superintendent Bauer advised the old fire truck and extra garbage/recycling carts are being stored in the building right now as the new Gallow Storage Building is completely full. The old storage building used to be full of salt, but the salt has been removed and used up. They are also using this building to store the two dump truck chassis’ that are waiting to be picked up to get fitted with their additional equipment. He stated this old building is helping as temporary dry storage until the Woodland Prairie Park project is ready to move forward. 3. Motion to reconvene to the October 27, 2025 Budget Workshop which will begin at 5;00 p.m. At 9:07 p.m., MOTION: Trustee Van Dyke, seconded by Trustee McQuillan to reconvene to the October 27, 2025 Budget Workshop at approximately 5:00 p.m. Motion carried via voice vote. Special Village Board Budget Workshop – October 20, 2025 8 Respectfully submitted, Darla M. Salinas, CMC, WCMC Village Clerk Note: These minutes are not to be considered official until acted upon at an upcoming regular meeting, therefore, are subject to revision.