Tonight: Plymouth Council Looks At Snowplowing Plan

Yesterday commuters and the like got a taste of winter. Though not much snow fell, streets were icy and conditions created a brutal commute in the morning.

So it's time to talk snowplowing. Approval of the 2012-2013 winter snowplowing plan is on the agenda for tonight's 7 p.m. regular Plymouth City Council meeting at City Hall.

According to the city of Plymouth: 

"Annually, the Parks and Recreation Department proposes a snowplowing program for city trails throughout the community. Funding for the plowing of trails is included in the Parks Maintenance operation budget.

In order to provide the highest level of service, the lots and routes are prioritized. The lot priority is Lifetime, Plymouth Creek Center and Plymouth Ice Center. The trail priority follows routes around schools, transit stations and high density housing.

The map (with this article) is essentially the same as the previous year, with the following two-year history on changes and/or additions:

For 2011-2012 

• Addition: Carlson Parkway between Xenium Lane and Cheshire Lane

• Addition: County Road 101 between County Road 6 and County Road 24

• Change: Elimination of some unnecessary internal park trails, but providing a direct thoroughfare (i.e. Bass Lake, Turtle Lake, Hilde Performance Center and St. Mary’s).

For 2012-2013:

• Addition: Vicksburg Lane between approximately 37th Ave. N. and County Road 9

• Addition: County Road 9 between Vicksburg and approximately Plymouth Blvd."

2013 budget and levy

According to the city of Plymouth: 

In September, the Council approved a preliminary property tax levy increase of 1.9 percent, but council members wanted to see that reduced prior to final adoption of the 2013 tax levy this December. In order to get to a no levy increase, the city must either reduce expenditures and/or increase revenuses by $557,500.

Three options exist to have no increase for 2013: 

• Eliminate expenditures, which could include eliminating the two new police positions approved in September (one police officer and one Community Service Officer) to provide a $134,000 reduction. The remaining amount of $423,500 would have to be cut in other departments.

• Reduce the levy by using one-time money from the projected positive general fund variance in 2012 to fund existing operations. City staff does not recommend this action because of the revenue hole it would create for the 2014 budget and beyond.

• Staff recommends the following option: reduce the annual capital levies (street reconstruction, park replacement and capital improvement) by $557,500. At the same time, each capital fund would receive one-time general fund money at the end of 2012 to replace the annual levy reductions.