Loading...
08-16-1994 - Budget Workshop CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER WORKSHOP AUGUST 16, 1994 7 :00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES Call To Order Mayor Hayman called the Budget Workshop to order at 7 : 00 p.m. in the Community Center. Roll Call Mayor Jack Hayman Present Councilman Kirk Jones Excused Councilwoman Louise Martin Present Councilman Michael Hays Present Councilman David Mitchum Present City Attorney Krista Storey Present City Manager George McMahon Present City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Present Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Present Overview of General Fund Budget - City Manager City Manager McMahon presented the highlights of the General Fund Budget with regard to any increases and decreases within each department. He also identified items he wanted Council to consider and commented on the reductions that had to be made to balance the budget. Questions by City Council on Overview Mayor Hayman commented on the affect of the inflation to the Consumer Price Index. He also commented on additional increases to the taxpayers and felt they needed to look at increases holistically, not independently. They have to decide whether they can afford to raise taxes . He was going to be looking at accountability as he had to answer to his constituents. Review of all General Fund City Departments City Manager McMahon then presented the City Council' s budget. Mayor Hayman asked about the increase to Books, Publications and Subscriptions, which included conferences attended by the Council . City Manager McMahon and Finance Director Fred Munoz elaborated. Mayor Hayman was willing to tighten his belt if the other 1 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Councilmembers were too in order to have a no growth budget and go back to last year' s budget to save some money. There was then a brief discussion regarding what they had actually spent within this fiscal year. It was determined they would go over as they still had to finish out this fiscal year. Mayor Hayman was willing to not attend the Florida League of Cities conference in order to save money. He felt one or two people could represent the entire Council . Dan Hatfield, 231 N. Old County Road, stated he was going to be on the Council next year so he would have to live with the budget. He wanted to know if it would be proper for him to ask questions . There was no objection from Council. Mr. Hatfield asked if he had to take the City' s health and life insurance as he and his wife already had insurance. City Manager McMahon informed him he did not and that it was an option. Mayor Hayman identified he took the insurance but was going to withdraw from it. Mr. Hatfield felt that would be a small savings . It was the consensus of Council to retain $6, 774 in Books, Publications and Subscriptions . Mayor Hayman asked Mr. Munoz what the affect would be in the reduction with regard to him withdrawing from the insurance. Mr. Munoz wasn' t sure but identified he could back out Mayor Hayman' s total when they do the next configuration of this . Councilman Hays felt they would see a substantial increase in insurance rates over the next year overall. Mr. Munoz answered questions presented by Councilman Hays with regard to Other Contractual Services . Councilman Hays asked if they wanted to discuss the Promotional Activities . Councilman Mitchum then commented on the Chamber of Commerce being taken out of Promotional Activities in the City Council' s budget. He felt they needed to work that back into the budget. Councilman Hays commented on a proposal to generate funds for parks and recreational programs . He believed the Chamber of Commerce would be helpful to them with those programs . He also felt they needed to work the Chamber back into the budget. Councilwoman Martin and Councilman Mitchum were both for putting the Chamber of Commerce back into the budget. 2 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Mayor Hayman commented on having a problem last year with regard to putting money in the budget for the Chamber and Volusia County Business Development Corporation as he felt this was a gift with no strings attached for accountability. He was hoping for this budget year they would have them identify what they did for Edgewater with the money the City gave them. Since then in public meetings on two separate occasions he has asked folks to tell them what they did with their dollars this year and what they were planning on doing with the dollars next year. Privately and in other meetings he has had with the Chamber and VCBDC he has informed them he had a personal problem endorsing any request for money unless they could tell him what they did with the other money. Mayor Hayman asked if the Council was agreeable to the Chamber of Commerce telling them what they did with the FY 1993-1994 dollars, which they were. Steve Dennis, Chamber of Commerce, identified for Council what the dollars given to them by the City were used for. Mr. Dennis also answered questions presented by Mayor Hayman, Councilwoman Martin and Councilman Hays. Mr. Dennis informed Council about the job fair they were putting on as well as a mini expo. There was a discussion regarding a mammoth layoff at the Cape and the Chamber of Commerce and networking those people into the job fair. Mayor Hayman wanted to know what the Chamber was going to do for them next year. Mr. Dennis spoke of having a stronger relationship with the VCBDC and developing a better system of helping their economic development prospects with expediting the process . Mayor Hayman commented on asking Mr. Clark to give them a proposal on developing an economic development program for the City. They want this program to be able to grow to include New Smyrna and Oak Hill and they can all capitalize on the process. If the Chamber wasn' t a part of that, he felt they were in deep trouble. He expressed concern with the Chamber doing something by itself and the City funding it and the City also hiring Mr. Clark to come in and do something for them. He felt they needed to do it as a team and he hoped the Chamber would pay some of the expenses to be a part of that team. He didn' t want to spend the dollars twice to do the same thing. Mr. Dennis identified some of the things they heard at the economic development symposium were some of the same things the Chamber intended to carry forward. The Chamber had already offered their services to Mr. Clark. City Manager McMahon spoke of receiving the economic development proposal from Mr. Clark. He felt if they do it right, the City could 3 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 become the model for Volusia County. Councilman Hays and Mayor Hayman agreed. There was a discussion regarding the literacy program the Chamber helped institute into this area, the Multi-Cultural Task Force. Mayor Hayman asked Mr. Dennis what the amount was that the Chamber was asking for for FY 1994-1995. Mr. Dennis informed him $ . 50 per capita. Mr. Munoz identified the amount as being $8, 373 . It was the consensus of Council to fund the Chamber of Commerce for FY 1994-1995 in the amount of $8, 373 . Mayor Hayman then wanted to hear from Jerry Fox who was the Director of the Volusia County Business Development Corporation. Jerry Fox, Director, Volusia County Business Development Corporation, identified it wasn' t possible for them to identify what they did with the City' s $7, 500 specifically. He identified they do job creation and commented on some of the successes they have had such as the Kayat operation which was more than 35 jobs and was attracting attention. He was also working with another company who was looking to buy two or three acres to build another plant with about 20 jobs . He spoke of the 163 new jobs at Boston Whaler as a result of the consolidation of their plant here rather than in Massachusetts. He also mentioned a significant expansion that involved Coronado Paint. They also helped arrange a road fund improvement project on Air Park Road. They manage the Volusia County Opportunity Fund which helps existing industries to expand as well as bring new ones in. He had five pending Opportunity Fund applications from this area, all but one were in the City of Edgewater. He also identified some of the smaller things they helped with. Mr. Fox goes around the County talking about Edgewater as a leader. He commented on what Edgewater was doing with the Capital Improvement Program and the Street Paving Program, which he felt were economic development improvements that would greatly improve the attractiveness of Edgewater to prospects that they bring here. Mr. Fox further commented on some of the publications and brochures they have done. He also mentioned a special video that was done just of Edgewater, which turned out to be very useful with prospects . They supported everything Mr. Dennis said about economic development and working as a team 100% . Mr. Fox then commented on the different committees they have and what they do. Mr. Fox identified they were trying to get $1 per person total out of the County and City governments . They wanted to see the $ . 50 per 4 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 capita come from the City of Edgewater to match the $ . 50 that was coming from the County budget. Mr. Fox then answered questions presented by Mayor Hayman with regard to the total dollar request of the five Opportunity Fund applications the VCBDC had. There was a brief discussion regarding how much the VCBDC' s overall budget was and how much of that was salaries and benefits . Mayor Hayman asked Mr. Fox to make a comparison between VCBDC and comparable organizations in other counties in the State, which he did by identifying they have the lowest per capita support for economic development in any county in Central Florida. Mr. Fox further commented on not taking full credit for any job that comes into the County because they don' t do it by themselves . It is a cooperative effort and credit goes to everyone. Mr. Fox also commented on the need to do more advertising and more marketing which is where they get the good prospects . There was then a brief discussion regarding the costs associated with sending Mr. Todd Cotis down to the North Miami area for a yacht manufacturer. Mayor Hayman commented on the property adjacent to Boston Whaler that was probably the last area left in the State of Florida that was available for a manufacturer to come in and build anything he wants without going through a lot of hoops . They have a resource that one day will blossom into something beautiful. Mayor Hayman spoke of the help the VCBDC had provided to Edgewater with regard to trying to convince a business to relocate here from North Miami, which was not a dead deal yet. The VCBDC was asking for $. 50 per capita which was what the Council had previously budgeted for the Chamber. Mr. Fox then spoke of having supplier/buyer relationships inside the County. Mayor Hayman asked the Council' s feelings on contributing a $ .50 per capita contribution for FY 1994-1995 to the VCBDC. Mr. Munoz identified last year they had $7, 000 for VCBDC and $10, 000 for general economic development. This year they had $7, 000 for general economic development and no money for VCBDC. 5 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Councilman Hays expressed concern with duplicating services and identified the VCBDC was already receiving $ . 50 per person from the City through the County. He had a responsibility to look at the dollars and cents and hold that down to a minimum. He felt they needed to decide on a total dollar amount and how they were going to apportion the money. Mayor Hayman felt they needed to support the VCBDC and isolate internal and external contributions . He felt they should ask the VCBDC and the City' s Economic Development Board to create a partnership. Councilman Hays felt they could better coordinate efforts that way. Mayor Hayman suggested they take the money they had allocated for Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce and put the Economic Development Board, the Volusia County Business Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce together to come up with a program that met the proposed budgets. If they went beyond that amount they would have to justify that for the Council. Councilman Hays felt the Chamber of Commerce had been addressed and settled but they had two economic development line items which were asking to do the same thing. Mayor Hayman felt economic development included the Chamber as well. Councilman Hays felt the Chamber was their local dollar. The VCBDC had a budget through the County that everyone in the County pays into. He didn' t think they could afford to do an extra $ . 50 and then go into economic development here in the City and do another budget line item. They needed to draw the line somewhere. There was a brief discussion regarding revisiting the ad valorem tax issue. Mayor Hayman spoke of the purpose of the Chamber of Commerce being economic development and striving for a partnership and collaborative effort of all the people involved with economic development. He felt they would be remiss if they didn' t totally address economic development line items in the budget. Councilman Hays further commented on requesting the Chamber of Commerce assist with the parks and recreational programs over the next year. Mr. Fox spoke of trying to get into all aspects of economic development. They are now promoting tourism as well. There was further discussion regarding the $7, 000 that was put in the budget for economic development. 6 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Councilman Hays wanted to revisit the ad valorem tax issue again. He expressed concern with reaching a point in the budget where there wouldn' t be any money once they got towards the end. Councilman Mitchum agreed with Councilman Hays' philosophy. He felt in all fairness the VCBDC had put an investment back into Edgewater. He proposed they fund the VCBDC in the same capacity they did last year and that they also address something for the Economic Development Board. It was the consensus of Council to roll over again for 1994-1995 what they did in 1993-1994, which was less than the $ . 50 per capita for the VCBDC. Philip Fong, referenced a memo submitted to Council dated August 12th and commented on the VCBDC, the Economic Development budget, a redevelopment and future development study and a tourism coalition with regard to industrial development. He further commented on there being a number of environmental analyses they were ready to do. He felt the question was what the priority was in terms of economic development and how critical it was. He questioned what percentage of the budget was being directed towards economic development. Mayor Hayman commented on just finishing a capital improvement project in excess of $40 million. They have everybody working on another $15 million project. He felt the City had really committed itself so severely that they were constrained now looking at what Mr. Fong wanted for economic development. Mr. Fong identified the items outlined in the memo were items they felt in the next fiscal year that they would make a priority of working on. He expressed his appreciation of Council' s consideration. Councilwoman Martin asked if the reports and surveys they were talking about were available from other agencies without compiling an extensive list as opposed to make their own report. Mr. Fong identified the studies they were looking at being studies for specific areas . Councilwoman Martin referred to the Chamber and VCBDC and felt they were piling up on each other. Mr. Fong felt they were working on different things due to economic development having many aspects to it. He identified the redevelopment study as being very localized and very specific to the specific needs they have, which were identified by Council in the overall economic development plan. There was a brief discussion regarding the need for a consultant to do things beyond their scope and expertise with regard to what was being done by Mr. Clark. 7 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Mayor Hayman felt if they bought into what Mr. Clark may be suggesting to them that it would contain them. Councilman Hays felt they were financially supporting economic development in many ways, some not as visible as others . He felt the Economic Development Board needed to have a bit more tunnel vision as far as their priorities and move on that. He spoke of looking at U.S. #1 and a marina, which was not priority to the community based on a survey done by the City. The Council needed to make sure the Economic Development Board' s priorities was the same as the community' s priorities . Mr. Fong identified he was proposing a series of plans of things that were going to happen. Councilman Hays felt they needed to look at one thing and develop it and make sure it was growing and once it was working to move on to the next. He spoke of the beautification that was being done on U.S . #1 and this being done in stages because that was more financially feasible. He further commented on this not being a priority for the Economic Development Board as it was already being worked on by the Beautification Committee and Parks and Recreation Board. Councilwoman Martin explained they had immediate financial plans at the moment and as far as consultants and surveys, she didn' t feel they should considerably raise the taxes of the people for something in the future. There was a brief discussion regarding protecting the proposal being done by Mr. Clark. Councilman Mitchum spoke of rolling the balance of the funds that weren' t used this year into next year. City Manager McMahon identified they couldn' t because they had to account for it this fiscal year. If they committed the study before October 1st of this year, then it would be incurred this year. Any money left over goes into an unappropriated fund balance. He further identified the Council could review the fund balance and pull money for specific purposes . If there was a priority need in the community, Council had the authority to go back into the fund balance and appropriate the necessary amount back. Councilman Mitchum assured Mr. Fong they weren' t ignoring the Economic Development Board. He suggested they recognize the fact that Mr. Fong may have some requests over the coming year and that they prioritize those as they come in and look at them at that time. City Manager McMahon recommended Council keep the $7, 000 that was in the budget with regard to Mr. Clark having a second phase to his proposal . There was further discussion with regard to budgeting $14, 000 for Economic Development, with $7, 000 being specifically earmarked for VCBDC. 8 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 There was a five-minute recess at this time. City Manager McMahon made a presentation by identifying the items included in Promotional Activities in the City Council' s budget. There was further discussion regarding the $275 that was budgeted last year for the Indian River VFW Post 4532 to purchase flags for gravesites. Mayor Hayman had the flags in his garage because he picked them up due to the flags being left in the weather, which shouldn' t be done to a flag in the first place. He informed them they weren' t getting another $275 because he felt there was no reason to leave the flags out in the element. They recovered 99. 9% of the flags and felt they only needed to budget worse case $100 for next year for the replacement of flags they lost, which he felt was fair. Councilman Hays commented on the ICARE facility and the fact that they are receiving money from the United Way and many other organizations . There was further discussion regarding ICARE taking in abused children and abused women. Last year they had 39 cases in Edgewater. Councilman Hays asked Council if they wanted to consider taking the $2, 000 putting it into a fund and if something special comes up the money could be given out on a case by case basis and questioned if that would be a better way to do that. City Manager McMahon informed him that was up to Council. Councilman Hays spoke of supporting the schools with their taxes . He spoke of the schools being locked up and not being able to use them for parks and recreational facilities . He hoped as they went through the next year they could get some dialogue started there. City Clerk Wadsworth pointed out that Indian River Elementary was going to be one of the polling places . Mayor Hayman identified they opened up their classrooms for adult education at night and on the weekends . Councilman Hays wanted them to open up their fields for soccer and like activities . City Manager McMahon agreed to consolidate whatever they wished to do and come back to them with appropriations . He questioned if they wanted ICARE included in that or if they wanted it excluded. Mayor Hayman commented on what United Way does. He felt ICARE performed a necessary social function. He didn' t have a very high comfort level that United Way would make up the $2, 000 loss for them. Councilman Hays spoke of having another organization that has dealt with the same issues with regard to dysfunctional facilities . He would rather make the decision as the people come for the request 9 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 verses having a line item budget. He hasn' t heard anything from ICARE in a while and wasn' t aware what their status was . City Manager McMahon identified they were now using forms explaining what they are doing and what they are providing for the request. It was the consensus of Council to pull the Chamber dollars out and group everything else together and just call it Promotional Activities and as people came in through the year after the budget is done, they can issue the dollars they have available and when it is gone it is gone. There was further discussion regarding earmarking the two $1, 500 expenditures, which were specific for City functions, the Employee and Board Appreciation dinners. Mr. Munoz for clarification identified the items that would be lumped together and left by themselves . City Manager McMahon then presented the City Manager' s budget. There was then a brief discussion regarding why Communication Services was being decreased and why Miscellaneous was being decreased by $50 . City Manager McMahon then presented the Personnel budget. There was further discussion regarding only $160 being budgeted for Overtime and the Personnel Director being an exempt employee who uses Comp time. Mr. Munoz and City Manager McMahon presented the Finance Department budget. There was then a discussion regarding the 6. 19% increase under Regular Salaries and Wages . Mr. Munoz further identified for Council the budget did not include all of the Finance Department personnel. Some of the costs were allocated to the Water, Sewer and Refuse Departments as a mechanism for the City to allocate some of those costs out to the benefitting enterprises. Mr. Munoz commented on the accounting and auditing increase and the $900 increase in Repair and Maintenance at the request of Mayor Hayman. Mr. Munoz commented on the reducing of the budget not being an easy process . 10 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Mr. Munoz, City Attorney Storey and City Manager McMahon then commented on the Legal Counsel Department budget. City Attorney Storey identified for Council that litigation costs for outside attorneys were covered under the Self Insurance budget. Mr. Munoz then explained the reduction in retirement contributions for Mayor Hayman. There was a brief discussion regarding the potential for excess funds with regard to Communication Services, which would go into the unappropriated fund reserve. Community Development Director Mark Karet presented the Community Development budget. Councilman Mitchum asked about the substantial increase in Repair and Maintenance, which Mr. Karet explained for him. Mr. Karet answered questions presented by Councilman Mitchum and Mayor Hayman with regard to Machinery and Equipment. There was further discussion with regard to the GIS system being eliminated from this budget. There was then a discussion with regard to postage, freight, and Federal Express as it related to Transportation. Mayor Hayman commented on Code Enforcement Officer Ms . Johnson working under some guidelines from the Council not to vigorously go out and do certain enforcement. He thought they were revisiting that. The Council had recently discussed an ordinance that would take care of derelict buildings . He was concerned if there was enough room in there should the Council want to get tougher on appearance and if the salary was covered. City Manager McMahon explained the salary was covered for the level of Code Enforcement the City currently had. City Attorney Storey identified the Building Abatement Code came under the jurisdiction of Building. Mayor Hayman felt the level of service would increase in Code Enforcement. Mr. Karet further elaborated on his concerns . Mayor Hayman commented on the Council decreasing the grass height from 24" to 12" and this creating more business, more appeals, more staff time and more postage. He expressed concern with the level of service increasing the cost to provide the service and he felt they were moving in that direction. City Manager McMahon commented on not knowing the level of activity until the ordinance was enacted. 11 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 There was further discussion regarding the $10, 000 that was budgeted for derelict buildings being taken out of the budget. City Manager McMahon identified it was taken out in order to balance the budget. Councilman Hays felt it was important to put that back in the budget due to the derelict buildings being a real issue. He felt if they were going to have the ordinances in place they needed to have the money in place to take care of the problem. He suggested the $10, 000 be put back into the budget. City Manager McMahon explained it wouldn' t prevent them from enforcing an ordinance but it would call for an appropriation from the fund balance. There was a brief discussion regarding how long it would be before the ordinance was enacted being around another two months . Mayor Hayman felt the purpose of doing this was to take care of the derelict buildings and the eyesores in the community. He agreed with Councilman Hays with regard to if they are going to put an ordinance on the books and don' t have the money to enforce it, they have really done nothing. There was further discussion with regard to the cost associated with knocking a building down. Some discussion occurred with regard to the theory in the County of maintaining the smaller number of accounts and funds as possible. There was a brief discussion regarding the Fire Department using the derelict buildings for training. It was the consensus of Council to use money in the Contingency Fund with additional money to be appropriated back into the Contingency Fund with regard to demolition, which resulted in no increase to this line item. Councilman Mitchum questioned there being $2000 worth of $500 increases and wanted to know what this was based on, which Mr. Karet elaborated on. There was then a discussion regarding the increase in personnel cost as it related to hiring an additional inspector in the Building Department and what that inspector would be responsible for. There was further discussion with regard to the increase in Travel and Per Diem as it related to changes in State laws and mandates . Mr. Karet then identified for Councilwoman Martin what the City would be renting that warranted a $1, 500 increase. She then asked about the $3, 300 increase in Repair and Maintenance which he explained for her. 12 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 Councilman Hays expressed concern with the department heads looking at the expenses and if some of the mandates weren' t an essential function of the department to hold back on those. Just because there is a certain amount doesn' t mean it all has to be spent. City Manager McMahon identified those items were scrutinized and that they came through him for approval . Councilman Hays expressed concern with the numbers getting higher each year and felt the State had to reach a point where the unfunded mandates had to stop. Mr. Karet further elaborated on having a significant increase this year. Councilman Hays commented on the City' s impact fees reflecting dollars that could pay for this part of the budget. Mr. Karet identified additional authority with the land development regulations for the City' s fees would be coming back to Council, where this could be discussed further. He further commented on increasing building fees being an extremely controversial topic. There was then a discussion regarding the $3, 600 increase in Operating Supplies. Mayor Hayman referred to the FAX machine and felt every person who wanted to obtain a permit quicker would be willing to pay the additional cost. He felt this cost should be passed on to the consumer in the permitting process . Mayor Hayman then commented on training costs with regard to Travel & Per Diem as it related to the building inspector and felt the person hired should already be totally qualified. Mr. Karet identified they would hire someone who met the qualifications of the position but there were also continuing education costs . Mayor Hayman spoke of being able to identify where people are in their needs for continuing education, he knew the class they were going to and what the available funds were. He felt the names and dates of people that would consume the increase in the Travel and Per Diem for this fiscal year could be provided to him. Mr. Karet confirmed he had the backup data. Mayor Hayman wasn' t satisfied with the explanation provided by Mr. Karet with regard to the increase in Operating Supplies . Mr. Karet further addressed his concerns by commenting on computer software upgrades and other items that were included in the increase. Mayor Hayman had no problem with the computer software but questioned the need for more than one desk, one chair and one file cabinet. Mr. Karet identified they were moving into new offices with additional filing space. Mayor Hayman then asked for an explanation with regard to the increase to Repair & Maintenance, which Mr. Karet provided at this time. 13 Council Workshop August 16, 1994 There was then a discussion with regard to the budget being $400, 000 over last year and the tax increase generating $100, 000, which was included in the budget. Councilman Mitchum was not opposed to a tax increase but would rather do small incremental increases than a large increase at one time. City Manager McMahon commented on the effort made to decrease the budget and avoid a tax increase. Mr. Munoz then identified the departments with the larger increases . Mayor Hayman presented comments on the effects a decrease in the budget has on the level of service the City provides . He suggested they go through a review and analysis of the level of service with regard to what they are doing now, what it is costing the City now and what they were proposing to change. After some discussion amongst Council, it was determined they would adjourn for the evening and reconvene tomorrow night at 7 : 00 p.m. with a time certain to adjourn of 10: 00 p.m. and if they didn' t finish they would schedule another meeting. There was further discussion identifying $213, 760 of the $411, 041 increase representing radios . Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Councilwoman Martin moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned around 11 : 05 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer, CMC Deputy City Clerk 14 Council Workshop August 16, 1994