The Albert Lea City Council tonight is slated to vote on its agreement with the city of Austin for shared finance director services.

The agreement proposes that from March 1 through Aug. 31, Austin Finance Director Tom Dankert would be shared between the two cities. This would allow time for both cities to test whether the agreement would be a potential long-term possibility.

Under the agreement, Albert Lea would pay Austin $65 an hour, which would cover all of the employer costs for Dankert’s full-time position with Austin.

Dankert will not receive any additional salary from either city.

The agreement also includes a compensation of $60 per trip for Dankert for travel between the two cities or to St. Paul if outside the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Austin will send an itemized monthly bill to Albert Lea for Dankert’s hours spent here.

Dankert will have the flexibility to work in each city based on his own determination of priorities.

Albert Lea has been without a finance director since October 2010 after former Finance Director Rhonda Moen accepted a job as finance director in Owatonna.

A search for someone to fill the position did not come back successful.

The Austin City Council approved the same agreement Feb. 22 with a unanimous vote.

In other action, the Albert Lea City Council tonight is expected to:

• Vote whether to approve an agreement with the city of Alden for building inspection services.

Under the proposed agreement, the city of Alden would contract with the Albert Lea Inspection Department to enforce their rental housing and minimum housing ordinances.

The city of Clarks Grove currently contracts with Albert Lea for similar inspections.

• Vote whether to approve labor agreements with the Teamsters Local 320 units, for police and dispatchers.

The proposed one-year agreements include a 1.25 percent cost of living wage increase, with eligible employees receiving a step increase midyear.

They also include the city picking up 100 percent of the increases toward health insurance, with the city making the same contribution toward health savings accounts.

• Vote whether to approve the Broadway Ridge Renewal Grant Fund.

This will change the program from being a loan fund to one that offers grants.

There is currently $193,000 in the fund, which seeks to promote renovations of the facades of buildings on Broadway Avenue in downtown Albert Lea.

• Have a public hearing regarding the 2011 neighborhood improvement project, which includes bituminous overlay of residential streets in the southeast part of the city.

Streets include the following:

— 11th Street from Margaretha Avenue to the east end

— 16th Street from Myers Road to the east end

— 14th Street from Myers Road to the east End

— 16th Street from Margaretha Avenue to Gene Avenue

— 17th Street from Margaretha Avenue to Gene Avenue

— 18th Street from Larson Avenue to Milo Avenue

— Larson Avenue from 19th Street to the north end

— Milo Avenue from 16th Street to 17th Street

— Gene Avenue from 16th Street south of 17th Street

— Botsford Avenue from Lakeview Boulevard to the end

The project also includes the reconstruction of the Bay Oaks Drive cul-de-sac.

• Have a public hearing regarding the 2011 state aid neighborhood improvement project, which includes the bituminous overlay of four state-aid streets:

— Eighth Avenue from Broadway Avenue to Margaretha Avenue

— Margaretha Avenue from 14th Street to 19th Street

— Garfield Avenue from the railroad to Fairlane Terrace

— Greenwood Drive from the bridge to Hammer Road

• Vote whether to approve an amendment between the state, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the city to extend the completion date of the North Edgewater Park project to July 6, 2011. This would allow the city to use the remaining about $59,000 left from 2009 bonding bill appropriations.

• Vote whether to authorize no parking on the west side of Margaretha Avenue from 14th Street to 19th Street in order to meet state aid fund requirements.

• Vote whether to divide the property at 2205 Meyers Road to allow a separate lot for the construction of a bus garage.

• Vote whether to waive the Blazing Star Trail Joint Powers Board annual audit.

The only activity in 2010 was 12 months of interest earnings and one check.

• Vote whether to approve a request from the Albert Lea Cloverleaf Lions Club to use the main hangar at the Albert Lea Airport on June 12 for the annual flight breakfast.