Sun Valley council debates FY21 budget split, staff pay and $1,000 COVID relief idea

Mayor Peter Hendricks reviewed the draft FY21 budget and asked council members to decide on property-tax allocation; the proposal discussed was 90% to the general fund and 10% to a fixed asset fund. City Administrator Femling commented that "it is cleaner to not have fund transfers" and handed out a sheet showing cost estimates tied to compensation proposals.

On staff compensation, the Mayor proposed "a 1% salary increase and a 1% bonus." Council members debated additional COVID relief for employees: Femling suggested compensating each employee $1,000 for COVID relief; Council Member Jane Conard urged higher compensation and Council Member Keith Saks agreed that "the employees should come first." Council Member Brad DuFur recommended a new compensation amount of $78,670, and the council concurred with that figure as the working total under discussion.

No formal budget adoption vote or ordinance was recorded in this special meeting; the council made allocation and compensation directions for staff to fold into the draft FY21 budget. Staff will return with updated numbers and recommended motions for a future meeting when the council considers final adoption.