2018 Budget

As we head into 2018 the city has accomplished one of its annual goals.  The goal was establishing its budget and certifying its levy of taxes for the upcoming year.  The budget process starts in July with a look at how things have gone for the first half of the year.  Operating expenses are reviewed to make sure we’re within budgetary compliance and whether or not the budget line item will meet the needs that it was intended for.  Sometimes the budget more than meets the need which is a testament to frugal spending or “over” budgeting.  In any event judgements are made as to what might be acceptable looking at the next budget cycle. 

The preliminary budget is required to be accomplished by the end of September for the following year.  This requires a preliminary levy is adopted by the council.  This levy is certified to the county to be used for the notice of the public budget meeting to be held in December.  The final levy is typically adopted at that meeting and can’t exceed the preliminary levy amount but can be reduced.  This year the city held its preliminary levy amount to be certified as the final levy. 

For 2018 the final levy for the city of Breezy Point is $1,963,482.  Of this amount $190,000 is to pay debt service.  The remaining funds support the remaining city obligations of running and maintaining the city and its operations.  We have 15 dedicated employees that provide these functions.  They include 6 police officers, two of which are paramedics. We also have a police administrative support person who manages the office at the Public Safety Building.  There are 5 public works employees.  These people address needs for the parks, streets, and sewer system along with a host of miscellaneous tasks.  We have 3 administration employees that serve as point persons, doing accounting, utility bills, addressing various office duties and working with the city council.   Assisting in specific areas are contractors providing planning, zoning and building inspection support. 

The city continues to grow at a slow but steady rate of about 12-16 single family units per year.  Changes and improvements are being made on an ongoing basis.  We’re giving greater attention to street improvements with seal coating and paving.  The city has not incurred any new debt and anticipates that trend to continue for some time.  Attention to future expenditures has its benefits in saving interest expense.  We headed into the new year in good shape financially.  The budget and levy are set.  It is hoped 2018 will be good and productive year in Breezy Point. 

Plowing Gravel Roads in Breezy Point

Breezy Point has some challenges when it comes to some of our roads.  We have paved roadways that in general require routine maintenance and plowing activities.  They are a little more difficult to deal with when it comes to ice early in the season but with salt and sand these difficulties can be overcome.  Plowing of paved roads occurs when snow accumulation is about 2 inches.

Breezy Point has used brine to pretreat roads for a number of years.  This works very well when the temperatures are right and you don’t have rain to wash it away.  We use salt and sand-salt when the conditions call for those approaches.  When the temperatures become extreme sand seems to be the only approach for traction on paved roads. 

Gravel roads on the other hand require different approaches.  The gravel surface is not as durable as a paved road and every effort is made to get them graded to an acceptable surface in the fall.  As winter starts to set in we get snow and rain which can soften the surface considerably.  With these conditions, unless the road bed freezes the surface can become uneven and stay that way all winter long.  Snow on the roadways helps fill in these uneven spots.  A small snow pack on the roadway creates a crust of snow. This crust is important for traction and facilitates freezing making the road more durable for plowing. 

Gravel roads are not typically plowed in early winter.  They see some plowing if the snow depth is too deep to travel however.  Gravel roadways need to freeze in order to hold up.  Plowing a gravel road that hasn’t frozen creates problems.  The gravel itself can easily get plowed away into the ditch.  This leaves the roadway without rocks providing no traction making the road more difficult for travel.  This also creates maintenance issues and expense later.  Plowing the snow off the road increases solar gain.  Unless we get extreme temperatures to provide for a freeze this makes the freeze-up more difficult as it creates extended freeze thaw problems. 

Every winter the conditions are somewhat different.  The public works crew is skilled at doing their jobs and understands these limitations.  They use the right tools and methods for the conditions that are given them.  Roadways in the winter in northern Minnesota are not handled the same way as roads in a metro area.  This is particularly true for gravel roads.  Unless you have experienced these dynamics it is difficult to understand there are methods to what may appear to be inattention or madness.  Public works does a great job managing our 61 miles of roads in the city, winter is just another challenge.