Legislative Budget

PURPOSE: The City Council is the duly elected legislative and policy-making body of the City of Lake Mills. The fundamental job of the City Council is to make policy decisions for the city based on full, relevant and accurate information from the City Manager and his staff. The boards, commissions and committees of the City Council render recommendations to the Council regarding municipal projects, facilities, services, finance and personnel as well as issues of health, safety, and welfare of the community at large. The Council solicits and receives the support of many volunteer citizen committees to ensure a democratic, citizen-centered process.

RESPONSIBILITIES: This Budget includes direct expenditures of the City Council and its commissions and committees, including salaries, per diems and travel for members and dues paid to various organizations.

Balanced Budget

The money collected by the City from taxes, grants, fees, and other sources is called revenue. The money spent on salaries, materials, and equipment to provide services and facilities is called expenditures. By law, revenues and expenditures must be equal in the Annual Budget.

The City Manager must propose, and the City Council must adopt, a balanced budget. The City Manager sets the expenditures of the budget and establishes the revenue estimates to finance the budget. The City Manager initiates the budget process by submitting the proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the Council. The Council, as a body, evaluates and amends the proposed budget at its discretion. The Council then adopts a finalized, balanced budget, prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. A balanced budget requires that the proposed budget expenditures shall not exceed estimated revenues and applied fund balance, if any. The Council also adopts an ordinance to authorize the appropriation of the required funds for the annual budget.

The City’s budget may seem complex and written so that only a bureaucrat could understand it, but this is because the City is called upon to provide financial detail that is necessary for making budget decisions.

Work Orders

The staff in November of 2012 began the search for an on-demand work management tool that could streamline the entire work order process including request generation, completion status tracking and reporting.

The wanted the software to enable either internal or external requesters to submit work requests and check the status of requests online. The system should automatically notify internal requesters via email as work is assigned and completed. The system needed to feature enhanced routing with programmable logic for managing and automating approval and assignment of work requests. There was a desire to have technicians receive and complete work orders online and be able to receive the work order assignments by email or text message. The system should enable technicians to record notes, set reminders and email supervisors regarding a work order. The system must associate budget codes, projects, and equipment with work orders. The system will track all email related to each work order, including system generated notifications and include interactive calendar for resource scheduling – displays corrective, PM and event-related work by all employees or individuals. The system needs to record transactions for labor and purchases and download the data into existing City systems.

Through subsequent review of the cost components of the proposals from FacilityDude, EworkOrders and PubWorks; we have determined that the price-related element determined the selection.

Lake Mills Market

The purpose of this item is to consider issuing a liquor license to Lake Market, LLC., Mitchell P. Eveland, agent. The sale of alcohol-containing beverages in Wisconsin is subject to different kinds of licensing. Class “A” (beer) licenses and “Class A” (liquor) licenses are issued for the sale of beverages for consumption off the premises, Class “B” (beer) and “Class B” (liquor) licenses are for sale for on-premises consumption. A “Class C” license allows restaurants to sell wine for on-premises consumption.

The city has adopted the provisions of chapter 125 and sections 66.053(2) and 66.054, Wis. Stats., relating to the sale of intoxicating liquor and fermented malt beverages, except sections 125.66(3), 125.04(5), 125.09(6), 125.69, 125.11(1), 125.12(2)(a) and 125.14(4), exclusive of any provisions thereof relating to the penalty to be imposed or the punishment for violation of said Statutes.  (1971 Code, sec. 8.01; amd. 1984 Code)

The code determines that no person shall sell, barter, exchange, offer for sale, or have in possession with intent to sell, deal or traffic in any fermented malt beverage or intoxicating liquor, unless licenses as provided by the City Council of the City, nor without complying with all the provisions of city code and all applicable regulations of the State of Wisconsin.  (1984 Code)

The license is being requested for use at Lake Mills Market, 375 W. Tyranena Park Road, west of the intersection of S. Main Street and Tyranena Park Road. The site is 18 acres and includes several retail opportunities. Lake Mills Market is the 48,000 square foot grocery store that is anchoring the development.

The applicant has submitted a license application and a site plan (included in packet) to be considered by the Council when issuing a license. The submitted application, site plan and narrative provide documentation of how access to the area where the Class “A” Liquor sales will be controlled. The sales will occur in an access controlled room in the southwest corner of the store immediately west of the transactions area. The room will be completely enclosed with by walls and a security. The alcohol overstock will be kept in secure in the liquor department at all times. There would be times that alcohol would be merchandised in other areas of the store.

The Lake Mills Comprehensive Plan designates the Lake Mills Market site for commercial development within the current growth period. The area has immediate access to sanitary sewer, water, electric and emergency services. The site is currently zoned PB Planned Business.

The City Council of the City is authorized and empowered to make reasonable and general rules for the sanitation of all places of business possessing licenses under Chapter 3. Such rules or regulations may be classified and made applicable according to the class of business conducted.

All sales of liquor, beer and wine shall take place in premises for which provisions have been designed, reviewed and approved by the Council, which minimize the ability of underage persons to handle, sell or purchase alcoholic beverages, unless those underage persons have an operator’s license and are employed by the licensee and are on duty at the licensed premises, and unless those persons so licensed are acting within the scope of their licenses.

Special conditions upon a license may be imposed by a majority vote of the City Council if those special conditions are not in conflict with the provisions of Chapter 125, Wisconsin Statutes. These special conditions shall be as determined by the Council on a case-by-case basis, given the unique aspects or characteristics of the premises or other business activities conducted on the premises. These special conditions may be imposed at the time the license is initially granted by the Council or upon application for renewal when the principal use of the premises is modified by the applicant.

Legal issues related to the new license control policy on quotas will need to be referred to the City Attorney.