08-14-1995 - Budget Workshop CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER
BUDGET WORKSHOP
AUGUST 14, 1995
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 Danny Hatfield Present
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
MEETING PURPOSE
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the FY1995/1996 budget.
Overview of General Fund Budget - City Manager
It was the consensus of Council to not allow public comment. Mayor
Hayman asked everyone if they had questions to make notes and get with
City Manager McMahon or members of staff or Council after the
workshop. They would entertain comments at the public hearing.
City Manager McMahon made a presentation regarding the General Fund
budget. The budget being proposed was $6, 385, 591 . He identified the
proposed millage rate was 7 . 40948, which could potentially be reduced.
The roll back rate was 5. 93095 mills, which would generate the same
amount of income as last year, which was determined by the effect of
the assessed value, which did go down this year. The proposed millage
increase was 24 . 48% above the roll back rate to provide the necessary
revenues to the General Fund. The General Fund Operating budget was
$59, 213 .
City Manager McMahon informed Council the budget amount proposed
included the known amounts for increased costs for fuel . It also
reflected the amount necessary to fund the annual pension fund costs .
The employee status remained the same. He pointed out the City
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Council Budget Workshop
August 14, 1995
operates with approximately 75 less employees than comparable cities
their size throughout the County.
City Manager McMahon recommended Council consider adding to the road
resurfacing fund out of the fund balance on a continuing basis, as
Council agreed to do last year. He also requested Council consider
establishing an equipment replacement fund in the future .
City Manager McMahon stated the overall budget increase was
approximately 1 . 01% without the road program.
City Manager McMahon informed Council $9, 500 had to be added between
the Community Development and Building Department budgets for the
megahertz system.
Questions by City Council on Overview
City Manager McMahon answered questions presented by Mayor Hayman with
regard to changes on Page 1 of the proposed budget.
City Manager McMahon referred to a memo he provided to Council in
response to their request for information that he had been able to
gather on trash and rubbish removal and disposal and also on Capital
Improvements, which was an update of the Comprehensive Development
Plan which listed the completion of all the projects, the ones that
remained to be completed, the amounts of money estimated in cost as
well as the target year.
Mayor Hayman complimented Community Development Director Mark Karet
for the Capital Improvement Project list. Council and subsequent
Councils' can look at the priorities of these projects and the
community can make the tough decision about funding on those projects .
Reviews of all General Fund City Departments
City Council
City Manager McMahon informed Council they had the detail of what
Council appropriated money for under Promotional Activities from last
year, which was the listing of organizations that had made requests
for donations .
There was a brief discussion regarding $8, 548 being budgeted for the
Chamber of Commerce which was identified under Promotional Activities
and $7, 000 being budgeted for the Volusia County Business Development
Corporation, which was listed under Economic Development in the budget
and not Promotional Activities .
Finance Director Fred Munoz identified the only change to Council' s
budget was in Promotional Activities, which had a slight increase.
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Council Budget Workshop
August 14, 1995
Mayor Hayman supported the Chamber and the VCBDC. He felt the VCBDC
should get the $ . 50 per capita they requested. If he were to make a
comparison between the Chamber and the VCBDC, he would give the $ . 50
per capita to the VCBDC and the lesser amount to the Chamber because
he felt they got a greater return on their investment. Mr. Munoz
explained last year the Council gave the Chamber of Commerce the $ . 50
per capita and VCBDC was limited to $7, 000 so they carried those
numbers over.
Mayor Hayman also didn' t have a problem with dividing the $15, 548
between the Chamber and VCBDC. He felt the VCBDC had done an awful
lot for the community and that they were deserving of more than the
$7, 000 .
Councilman Hatfield asked about the life and health insurance for the
Council . Mr. Munoz informed him it was for the Councilmembers that
were participating which Councilman Hatfield was not.
Councilman Hays felt they were asking the people in the City to bite
off a pretty large chunk this year finishing up their CIP program to
get the road improvement program going and the employees to conserve
over the next year. He felt the money being spent on the road
improvement program was economic development, which was what they were
doing it for so the City could grow. He didn' t feel comfortable
leaving everything status quo and bumping everybody else. He spoke of
the dollars being harder to come by. He wasn' t in favor of spending
$15, 548 and felt they should cut that this year. He believed the
organizations were doing an excellent job for the City but hoped the
organizations would understand his intent when they are asking
everybody else to cut back and hold back.
Mayor Hayman didn' t agree and commented on looking for a return on
their investment and the importance of economic development. He felt
it was a tough call to make .
Councilman Hays felt once Florida Shores was paved they would see
every lot sold and built on in a very short period of time, which he
felt was economic development.
Councilwoman Martin commented on not getting a decent percentage back
from the County for taxes collected.
It was the consensus of Council to see where they save money in other
places and then come back to this .
There was a brief discussion regarding there being no money in the
budget for fireworks .
Councilman Hays had a problem with blowing up $10, 000 for fireworks
when there are other things that money could be used on within the
Parks & Recreation Department that could be used all year.
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Council Budget Workshop
August 14, 1995
It was the consensus of Council to leave the Lump Sum Assistance,
which covered requests for donations throughout the year, at $3, 175
and not increase it to $4, 175.
City Manager Department
City Manager McMahon then presented the City Manager Department budget
and answered questions presented by Mayor Hayman with regard to
reducing his Operating Supplies by 33% .
Councilman Mitchum asked about looking at Travel and Per Diem within
all the Departments and making some adjustments . Mr. Munoz agreed to
get the detail for him and update him on the figures tomorrow night.
Mayor Hayman spoke of Travel and Per Diem as it related to him and the
meetings he attends for VCOG, Water Cooperative, and MPO and the other
things such as luncheons and dinners the Council attends that are also
included in Travel and Per Diem.
City Manager McMahon commented on some of the conferences being
attended by the different departments being closer to the end of the
fiscal year and this being part of the reason why some of the funds
were still available.
Finance Department
Mr. Munoz then presented the Finance Department budget by describing
that retirement was one of the biggest increases as a result of a 20%
increase to pension contributions . Mayor Hayman questioned this being
mandated by the State. Mr. Munoz informed him they were actuarial
calculations that were made up every year. He then commented on the
increases to the pension contributions back to FY1992 .
City Manager McMahon informed Council they met with the pension
consultant and discussed possible options . They were going to compare
defined benefit costs to defined contribution costs, which was a major
difference.
Mr. Munoz identified what was included under Travel and Per Diem
within the Finance Department.
Mr. Munoz addressed Mayor Hayman' s concerns with regard to the 300%
increase in Operating Supplies .
Legal Counsel
City Attorney Storey identified the only changes to the Legal Counsel
Department budget were reflective of some increased personnel costs .
All other items had remained the same.
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Council Budget Workshop
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City Attorney Storey further commented on the conferences she had
attended that came out of Travel and Per Diem.
Community Development & Building
Community Development Director Mark Karet presented the Community
Development Department budget. He informed Council originally they
had items relating to the 800 megahertz system included in the Civil
Defense budget. When those were removed and deposited into the
various departments his had been omitted.
There was further discussion regarding the figures as a result of this
omission.
Mr. Karet then commented on the increase in his budget was a result of
the retirement contributions . Mr. Munoz pointed out absent the
retirement contributions, this budget would have gone down.
Mr. Karet then identified the increase in the Building Department
budget with regard to Machinery & Equipment as a result of the 800
megahertz that came out of Civil Defense.
Mayor Hayman asked about the $200 under Miscellaneous . Mr. Munoz
identified they were unanticipated, unclassifiable items . Mayor
Hayman also asked what they were leasing or renting. Mr. Karet
informed him copier equipment.
Councilman Hatfield asked about the increase to Utilities Services,
which Mr. Karet explained for him.
There was further discussion regarding the increases to Community
Development and Building for the 800 megahertz system.
Economic Development
City Manager McMahon informed Council of the additional money
requested by the Economic Development Board and the $7, 000 for the
VCBDC being included in this budget.
Phillip Fong, Economic Development Board Chairman, identified for
Council what the Economic Development Board was planning on doing with
the additional money they were requesting by referring to a memo dated
July 7, 1995 that was sent to City Manager McMahon and Mr. Karet.
Mayor Hayman informed Mr. Fong that the Economic Development Board
budget was zero. Mr. Fong explained there was a communication mix up
so they did not submit a budget and it was not included by the time
the budget was prepared, which was why he thought City Manager McMahon
had provided the memo to explain this to Council .
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Council Budget Workshop
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Councilman Hays asked Mr. Fong why he felt it was the proper time to
look at another $39, 000 worth of economic development in conjunction
with the citizens getting through the CIP and with everything else
they had to do, which Mr. Fong explained for him.
Councilman Hays questioned how the people that were living on a fixed
income would be positively affected by the $39, 000 versus the positive
effect of the paving of the road and the things people can see. He
was having a problem convincing himself, which he had to do before he
could convince the people that elected him. He felt it had to be the
right thing for the citizens .
Mr. Fong spoke of the breakeven point for a residential home to carry
the cost of services provided and meeting those levels of service. He
felt the benefit of the $39, 000 far outweighed the amount. Mr. Munoz
determined the $39, 000 would equate to $2 .28 per capita or . 11 mills .
Mayor Hayman felt economic development, the Chamber and VCBDC was an
issue they had to address cumulatively because of the affect and focus
on this later. Councilman Hatfield liked the concept.
Mayor Hayman felt it would be most helpful if they had representatives
from the Chamber and VCBDC available tomorrow night to answer the
tough questions they have.
Mayor Hayman called a five-minute recess at this time .
It was determined they would discuss this item first at the budget
workshop tomorrow night.
City Manager McMahon informed Council the Self Insurance Fund really
needed to be looked at and requested it be added to the agenda for
tomorrow night. He felt the policy and process for the fund itself
needed to be revisited.
City Clerk & Personnel Department
City Clerk Wadsworth presented the City Clerk Department budget with
regard to Travel and Per Diem. She further spoke of the increase to
Communication Services and Repair & Maintenance. Everything else was
either the same or lower.
City Clerk Wadsworth then presented the Personnel Department budget.
City Manager McMahon commented on continuing new regulations coming
out on ADA and a number of other things they really needed to stay up
to speed on.
Other Government Services
Mr. Munoz presented the Other Government Services budget at this time.
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Council Budget Workshop
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Mayor Hayman asked about the electric consumption going down because
of a retrofit they had just done on light fixtures and whether this
was factored in the budget. Mr. Munoz informed him it was not.
Public Works Director Hugh Williams identified they had to leave those
costs level because that was payback to the Insurance Fund they
borrowed from that fronted the cost. He felt they would see
considerably less next year.
Mr. Munoz continued his presentation of the Other Government Services
budget.
There was a brief discussion regarding Operating Contingency funds,
which are reported to the Council when the money is spent for an
emergency situation.
Mayor Hayman questioned why they needed the 800 megahertz in the City
Administrative Sedan, which Fire Chief Bill Vola addressed for him.
City Manager McMahon commented on having a cellular phone and
identified he didn' t need both. Fire Chief Vola informed him it was
for the City' s benefit and not just City Manager McMahon' s benefit.
City Manager McMahon wanted this money to be used to pay for a portion
of the money that was not put in for Mr. Karet. There was further
discussion regarding the $2, 793 quoted including the base station for
the Utilities people at City Hall and this being included within Other
Government Services . City Manager McMahon felt the cost should be
directly related to the Fund that it was doing business with.
City Clerk Wadsworth identified there was no 800 megahertz radio in
the City Administrative Sedan. City Manager McMahon identified there
was a cellular phone in the Sedan.
Mr. Munoz identified the cost of $2, 793 was for the base station at
City Hall and that Utilities supports the General Fund by way of a
transfer and also absorbs the cost for some of the personnel .
Maintenance (City buildings and grounds)
City Manager McMahon commented on the preliminary estimate to do the
renovations to the Community Center, which was included in the
Maintenance Department budget. Mr. Karet identified the City Manager
gave him a figure of $10, 000 to work from and that they were currently
working on the design. City Manager McMahon informed Council they
would come back to Council before they started the project to give
them the cost.
There was further discussion regarding the renovations that were going
to be done to the Community Center. Councilman Hatfield wanted to
wait another year. Councilman Hays spoke of renting out the Community
Center for different events and felt the renovations had waited too
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long. Councilman Mitchum felt the Community Center was a reflection
of what the City is and agreed it could be used for a number of
things . For a minimal cost they could brighten the Community Center
up. City Manager McMahon mentioned using City personnel for labor.
Mayor Hayman spoke of being torn between both points of view.
Councilwoman Martin spoke of this being an investment.
City Engineer Department
City Engineer Kyle Fegley then presented the City Engineer Department
budget.
Councilman Mitchum asked what was included in Machinery & Equipment
which City Engineer Fegley identified for him.
Police Department
Police Chief Schumaker then informed Council the Police Department
budget was $30, 826 less than last year. He offered to go through the
budget line by line or answer any questions Council had.
Councilwoman Martin had no questions .
There was a brief discussion regarding the 148 . 9% increase in Debt
Service Principle.
Councilman Hatfield asked what Machinery & Equipment they were going
to need, which Police Chief Schumaker identified for him.
Mayor Hayman asked when they were going to be putting laptops in the
patrol cars . Police Chief Schumaker spoke of requesting a grant for
$86, 000 which had met all the criteria up to this point. He got a
letter the other day asking for an explanation of City finances and
that they could ask for a waiver of any contributing funds . He sent
the numbers for the road paving, the Water, the Sewer Plant and the
infrastructure that had been built in the City over the last five
years, to the tune of $56 million but wasn' t sure if that would be
accepted.
City Manager McMahon disclosed Fire Chief Vola had applied for funds
to purchase or build a new fire station.
There was a brief discussion regarding the cost for copies . The fee
that could be charged was identified in Florida Statutes . The Police
Department used to charge $2 . 00 for a report.
Councilman Hays mentioned being charged $1 . 00 per page for copies
through the Clerk of Court. City Clerk Wadsworth commented on the
City charging $1 . 00 per page for copies that are certified.
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Council Budget Workshop
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Police Chief Schumaker further commented on the State setting
guidelines several years ago with regard to how much they could charge
per page for a report.
There was further discussion regarding the public being entitled to
have access to public records and the State establishing the fees .
Fire/Rescue and Civil Defense
Fire Chief Vola then answered questions presented by Councilman
Mitchum with regard to Miscellaneous under the Fire Department budget
as it related to the $25, 000 anticipated for site preparation for
replacement of Fire Station #2 . There was further discussion
regarding estimating between $200, 000 and $225, 000 for the current
Station #2 facility from the Utilities Department, which was also the
cost of the building.
City Manager McMahon asked Fire Chief Vola how much he applied for
with regards to the grant for a new fire station. Fire Chief Vola
disclosed they asked for $250, 000 from the State of Florida, with a
25% match by the City, 75% coming from the State of Florida.
There was then a discussion regarding the debt service principle being
the last payment on the two fire trucks and the 800 megahertz radio
equipment.
There was then a discussion regarding specific items listed under
Machinery & Equipment in the amount of $32, 150, such as replacing the
jaws of life and purchasing new fire hose.
Mayor Hayman commented on the grant applied for by Fire Chief Vola
with regard to the City' s 25% match. Fire Chief Vola identified the
City' s 25% match would not have to be paid until the project was
completed. In-kind services would not be accepted. The real estate
portion was included in the proposal .
Fire Chief Vola answered questions of Mayor Hayman with regard to the
Civil Defense budget. He asked if the power source problem had been
rectified. Fire Chief Vola identified FPL came out and did a complete
survey. The bottom line was that Edgewater Fire Rescue Station 55
received a power surge via FPL and they had done as much as they could
cost effectively do to make that building as surge resistant as
possible. Every one of the devices that was there did its job. The
damages were primarily to four surge suppressor models and the surge
suppressive equipment.
Mayor Hayman asked if FPL was accepting liability for the surge. Fire
Chief Vola disclosed they classified it unofficially as an act of God.
Mayor Hayman got the impression from talking to the district FPL
representative that he was interested in working with City staff with
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Council Budget Workshop
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regard to the specs for the replacement suppressors . Fire Chief Vola
stated he had also promised to come, with his electrical engineer, to
the City Hall Complex because it had essentially the same protection
as the Fire Station did.
Mayor Hayman spoke of going to the County Emergency Operations Center
and having a lot more confidence in what was going on at the Edgewater
Emergency Operations Center. City Manager McMahon identified the
State Statutes require the County to have primary responsibility for
that type of activity.
Public Works (Includes road paving)
Public Works Director Hugh Williams then identified the Public Works
Department budget was almost 9% less than last year.
Councilman Mitchum asked about the $51, 000 in Machinery and Equipment,
which Mr. Williams identified for him.
There was some discussion regarding how long the City would be making
payments for the 800 megahertz system.
Mr. Williams then commented on the City' s electric bills by
identifying most of the buildings that had been redone were down a
little bit. City Manager McMahon commented on being notified by FPL
that the City was going to take an $11, 000 hit in the current year
budget because of the over charge FPL made.
Parks & Recreation
Parks & Recreation Director Jack Corder then presented the Parks &
Recreation Department budget by highlighting the increases to his
budget.
Councilman Hatfield asked what type of Machinery & Equipment he was
looking for, which Mr. Corder identified for him.
Councilman Hatfield expressed concern with Parks & Recreation getting
everything that nobody wants . He didn' t want to see anyone in an
unsafe vehicle. He also commented on an auction that is held at the
Space Center every month where they sell equipment, with low mileage
and felt this was something the City needed to look into in the
future.
Councilman Hays spoke of the road program being well on to completion
by this time next year. He identified he was going to ask for some
serious money in Mr. Corder' s department next year to do some of the
things they have neglected over the years .
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Council Budget Workshop
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Councilman Hatfield grew up in the City' s Recreation Department,
playing and umpiring. He didn' t think people realized what a
Recreation Department did in a city.
Mayor Hayman commented on increasing the revenue stream for Parks &
Recreation by looking for other forms of revenue.
Mayor Hayman spoke of it taking 16 years to pay for the paving program
and Council having to come up with the City' s share and the ad valorem
tax rate they establish paying for that. He also commented on the
City' s debt service and the Enterprise Funds and only making about
4 .2% on their investments, which he felt was low.
City Manager McMahon felt the difficulties in the community were not
with what they were spending, when they look proportionately at the
population and the cost to serve it. The difficulties were revenue
based. He felt they have very sound investments, thanks to Mr. Munoz
prudent ways of investing. They didn' t have anything at risk and were
extremely conservative in what they do.
Mayor Hayman stated if they were to have a national economic problem
that were to affect the rates of return on investment they would be
real close to the margin and they would be in danger of going to their
cash reserves .
Mayor Hayman asked Mr. Corder if he wanted to add anything with regard
to special recreation facilities, special road maintenance, rights of
way and medians . Mr. Corder identified last year that those items
were consolidated into the Parks and Recreation Department. He
identified 20% of his man hours were spent on the highway. City
Manager McMahon identified the City did get reimbursed from the State
for some of that.
There was then a discussion regarding the City not getting out of it
what they were putting into it and the City' s shortfall being
considerable. Mr. Corder further commented on receiving estimates on
outside service to the tune of $40, 000 to $50, 000 .
Mr. Corder presented an update of the City' s fundraiser, the Tour of
Homes by informing Council that Jodie Graham of Jodie' s Interior
Treasures volunteered her service to do the design for the interior of
the house.
Mr. Corder informed the Council it was official that they were going
to have the boat race on Labor Day weekend in Edgewater at the Mango
Tree Lake.
Library
Councilman Mitchum questioned the $10, 000 that was in the Library
budget for air conditioning repairs last year that was not spent. It
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Council Budget Workshop
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was confirmed that it was included again this year because the County
never came through.
There was a brief discussion regarding the roof repairs at the
Library.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, the Workshop adjourned
around 10 : 00 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Lisa Bloomer, CMC
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Council Budget Workshop
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