$4.0 Million! Give Us A Break Already

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Council members, soon you will be reviewing the 2025 financial audit and before you know it, you’ll be working on the 2027 budget. I want to bring forth decisions you can be making now that have an impact this year and next. By thinking ahead now you can save taxpayers millions.

After 4 years of 21.3% inflation and 29.4% city tax & services increases, Shorewood residents need a break. You need to continue to implement tighter financial controls and show greater compassion for residents – especially long-term senior residents who have funded this city for decades.

After multiple meetings with the city’s finance director and years of reviewing the city’s budgets, we have recommendations for you to consider now and for the 2027 budget that should save taxpayers $1.0M the first year; and $4.0M over 5 years.

The first and easiest decision you can make right now is the Recycle Fund. As of December 31^st it had a RESERVE balance of $460k, more than 2 times higher than annual costs of $225k. Considering we pay the recycling company each month and we receive revenue each quarter, it’s reasonable to have some reserves – but not 2x revenue!

We’re asking you to set aside a reserve of $120,000—enough for six months—and put the remaining $340,000 toward strengthening funding for the parks, so we can speed up the new Parks Master Plan—just as Councilmember Gorham envisioned. We also suggest $50,000 be used to plant more trees and restore the wooded areas after the emerald ash borer blight and buckthorn removal. It’s upsetting that WITH ALL these reserve funds, you only approved $45,000 in park improvements this year when so much more needs to happen.

Next: Please Consider Normalizing The Reserve Funds From 60% to 40%.  Per state & county auditors and even Shorewood’s own Audit Firm ABDO, most Minnesota cities’ reserve funds are set at 35%-40%. Reducing these reserves by 20% would free up ~$1.2M for future infrastructure projects and avoid the next bond issuance. Taxpayers are counting on you to stop building an excessively bloated financial surplus at their expense.

Last: Our engineering costs with Bolton & Menk have stayed steady and averaged $1.3M per year for the last six years, and we expect that trend to continue. While staff is directing your attention to the $145K professional services budget, the real focus must be on the recurring annual expense of $1.3M. Bolton & Menk’s payments come from CIP funds, grants, and bonds, and as Director Schmuck confirmed with me in December, properly managed she can apply the same approach to staff engineers’ wages and expenses. Again, Bolton & Menk has been doing this very thing for the past 6 years.

The city’s own budgets – the ones you approved – along with long-range Capital Improvement Plans and Future Bond issuance all show that we will consistently require this level of engineering for the next 7 years – that’s $9.1M. It’s time to re-align our approach.

Shorewood could hire 4 staff engineers with benefits for $700k per year and still SAVE taxpayers $600k annually. Mr. Morriem’s just presented data that says the lowest number of hours over the past 3 years Bolton & Menk has billed is 7,000 hours per year – that’s 3.5 – 4 full time employees. Hypothetically you could hire:

– Supervisor that reports to Director Morreim for $180k

– Senior Engineer $150k

– 2 Engineers $125k each

This would free up valuable time for Director Morreim to focus on the strategic, long-range & complex planning that the city needs. Look, we support his efforts and improvements he has taken to maintain and improve our city and want to give him the room to grow as a Senior Leader. We look forward to continued discussions on this important matter.

In conclusion: We urge council members to thoroughly scrutinize these proposals now and during the 2027 budget. This is what true compassion for your neighbors coupled with “fiscal responsibility” calls for especially in light of 21.3% inflation and 29.4% city tax and services increase. The residents of Shorewood are asking you to make prudent decisions.

Additional Reading:
SCA Finance Articles