Loading...
08-11-1997 - Budget Workshop CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER BUDGET WORKSHOP AUGUST 11, 1997 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 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 MEETING PURPOSE The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the FY1997/1998 budget. Overview of General Fund Budget - City Manager Mayor Hayman proposed they follow the agenda outlined on a memo from City Manager McMahon dated August 1, 1997 . There were no recommended changes, suggestions or objections . City Manager McMahon then presented an overview of the General Fund Budget, which reflected a $98, 581 decrease or 1 . 42% . The millage rate proposed to meet that requirement was 6. 440 mills, which was below the rolled back rate of 6. 44758 . He then explained what a rolled back rate was . City Manager McMahon identified the major impact on the General Fund this year was a downward trend and a decrease of about $98, 000 . He further identified if the proposed reorganization of the Public Works and City Engineering Department was approved that one position would be eliminated from the budget. City Manager McMahon informed Council included in the millage rate was 1 mill for the amount of debt service they had to pay for on the roads which represented about 15% of the budget. He spoke of the need to 1 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 put into the budget the amount of millage it would take to generate the amount of income to balance the budget. City Manager McMahon then identified all other positions other than the one to be eliminated remained the same. The Safety Technician had transferred to the Fire Department, which increased their budget but reduced the budget the position was included in last year. City Manager McMahon informed Council Finance Director Fred Munoz was going to show a few graphs that illustrated what percentage of the budget went to what and what had been done in terms of accomplishments with their budgeted goals over the last fiscal year. Mr. Munoz spoke of the workshops being held in preparation for the public meetings that would be held in September and would be advertised in the TRIM notice. This would tell the public what time the public hearings would be held, what the proposed millage rate was and other factors of their taxes . Mr. Munoz then commented on a fish fry being held by Halifax Paving to wrap up the RIP project. He felt the successful completion of that project wrapped up the major projects they have had such as the new Wastewater Treatment Plant, the new Water Treatment Plant, the well field expansions, and the 48 miles plus roads that were paved. Mr. Munoz identified that much had been accomplished with a relatively small staff and identified that Edgewater had 100 employees less than New Smyrna Beach. Mr. Munoz then listed the major capital improvement projects that had been accomplished since he started working for the City. He felt these accomplishments were indicative of some of the leadership that had been present. Mr. Munoz then commented on the various Community Development Block Grant projects that were funded. Mr. Munoz informed Council of other projects that had been completed or were currently being worked on and accomplishments that had been achieved throughout the City. They have been setting the stage for the future growth needs of the City by meeting the needs of the future today through the ambitious projects they have been doing. The City continued to develop goals and project to form a solid foundation upon which economic growth can be sustained and the quality of life for the citizens could continue to be improved. Mr. Munoz then commented on population projections . Mr. Munoz then explained the graph that illustrated what percentage of the budget went to what. 2 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 There was a brief discussion regarding Edgewater having the third lowest crime rate in the State for cities our size . Mr. Munoz then presented a breakdown of the taxes and explained some of the trends in the millage rate. Mr. Munoz expressed disappointment that only the elected officials, those running for election and staff being the only people who show an interest in the budget workshops . He was also disappointed that the newspapers were present either to be able to provide feedback to the public of what happened at the budget workshops . Mr. Munoz commented on the City' s taxable value increasing about $16 million, the proposed millage rate of 6. 44 mills and the revenue it would generate . He informed Council that almost 1 mill of the 6. 44 mills was for the debt service on the 48 ' miles plus of paved roads . He also mentioned the drainage improvements being paid through the stormwater fee that was increased from $3 to $6 and paid by the whole community. Mayor Hayman pointed out they completed the road improvement project significantly under the proposed budget and were able to save somewhere between $2 and $3 million. He asked if that was included in the almost 1 mill . Mr. Munoz identified they had a $500, 000 contingency and upfront costs that were paid by the Water & Sewer Fund, which was paid back to the fund. He spoke of some of that money being used to pave the additional streets that were previously not on the list to be paved. They were part of the initial assessment area but when they had to cut to keep the project cost down those were cut and wound up being brought back. Mayor Hayman spoke of people asking him what the Council' s decision was regarding the disposition of the dollars that were saved. He asked for that figure to be provided to the Council . City Manager McMahon informed him they hadn' t closed out the project yet and when they did a report would be given to Council at that time. Mr. Munoz identified they never assessed the assessment districts 2/3 of the cost because at some point they fixed that cost and the City ended up committing to a larger amount than the 1/3 . Any savings that happened would accrue to the City first and only after a certain threshold was passed did the savings accrue to the assessment district and the City. Mayor Hayman felt they were entitled to and what the community was asking for was a just accounting and a final report. Mr. Munoz identified when the final figures were finished they would have an accounting but they didn' t expect to have any reduction in the assessments . 3 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 Mr. Munoz informed Council they weren' t looking at any rate increases in the Water and Sewer Fund or the Refuse Fund and that the ad valorem taxes would bring in $2 . 4 million and only paid 36% of the operating budget, which didn' t even cover public safety, Police & Fire. City Manager McMahon informed Council the only new program in the budget was a proposal for a CRA study to look into the blighted areas, which Mr. Karet would provide more information under his department' s budget. City Manager McMahon then identified Edgewater had 170 employees, Deland had 278 employees, and New Smyrna Beach had 247 employees not including the Utilities Commission which had 143 employees and was operating with approximately 100 employees less than other cities in Volusia County that were comparable in size to Edgewater. City Manager McMahon then informed Council of some of the things not included in the budget that were things they were going to have to face in the near future such as developing a road resurfacing program, continuing replacement of equipment, and the CRA study. Mayor Hayman called a five-minute recess at this time. Reviews of all General Fund City Departments City Council Mayor Hayman referred to Page 21 of the proposed budget. There was a brief discussion regarding the health insurance going up 3. 56% but overall the City Council budget was down by 2 . 17% . City Manager and Personnel Mayor Hayman referred to Page 22 of the proposed budget. Councilman Hays pointed out the City Manager' s budget was down . 42% . Mayor Hayman referred to Page 27 of the proposed budget. Mayor Hayman pointed out the Personnel Department was down overall 11 . 13% . Mr. Munoz identified that was a result of moving the Safety Director out of this budget into the Fire Department budget. Finance Mayor Hayman referred to Page 23 of the budget. Mr. Munoz identified the Finance Department also had a slight reduction. 4 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 Legal Counsel Mayor Hayman referred to Page 24 of the proposed budget. Mayor Hayman pointed out they had a 1 . 62% increase which Mr. Munoz identified was the impact when the Council approved the comparability equitability and the contributions of the retirement plan. Community Development and Building City Manager McMahon asked Mr. Karet to describe the CRA study for Council, which he agreed to do. Mr. Karet commented on the 82 . 16% increase to his budget which was the result of the collapsing of the Building Division, which was now included in the Community Development Department. Mr. Karet then described for Council a new project that was being proposed to begin the process of establishing a Community Redevelopment Area, which was reflected under Professional Services with a cost of $20, 000 to begin the first step of the process which was funding of a blight study, which had to be done before a CRA could be established. He explained the study would identify whether an area meets the characteristics of a CRA as set forth in Florida Statutes . Mr. Karet then described for Councilman Hays what the study would be looking at to make a blight determination such as decreased property values, inadequate infrastructure, or inadequate lot layouts . He also described in South Daytona, which was the most recent city in Volusia County to establish a CRA, they found the value of vacant commercial property in their U. S . #1 corridor was decreasing in value. Mr. Karet further identified for Council what would happen after the blight study was done. He estimated the total cost to establish a CRA could run as high as $60, 000 . Once a trust fund was created, those moneys could be reimbursed by the CRA. He then explained CRA' s were primarily funded by tax increment financing and spoke of New Smyrna Beach and all of the improvements that were put in by the CRA that were being maintained by their CRA. Councilwoman Martin asked about Machinery & Equipment for $10, 160 and if that was a long term commitment, which Mr. Karet explained for her. There was a brief discussion identifying the computer system would not be tied in with CET. Councilman Hays wasn' t sure if that was a service that CET could or would provide. Mr. Karet informed him he was certain they could provide that service but essentially they would be paying them to recreate existing software . Economic Development 5 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 Mayor Hayman referred to Page 26 of the proposed budget. Mr. Karet pointed out that Richard Jones, Chairman of the Economic Development Board was primarily responsible for developing the budget and was available to answer specific questions the Council may have. They budgeted the same amount as the Chamber of Commerce and the Volusia County Business Development Corporation. Mr. Munoz identified he and City Manager McMahon had cut some from the original proposed budget as well as this budget. Councilman Hays wanted to be sure they were getting $29, 850 worth of payback for their investment before they approved this . City Manager McMahon commented on two grants the City received from the VCBDC and pointed out he felt they got their money' s worth. Mr. Karet further commented on the two grants being for Edgewater Machine & Manufacturing and Porta Products, which brought in new industry and established jobs in the community. Mayor Hayman further commented on there not being an Edgewater Marine in Edgewater if they weren' t able to run the water line for fire purposes . Councilman Hays questioned projects were being worked on for next fiscal year. Mayor Hayman identified in Mr. Porta' s area there were two other boat manufacturers that were being negotiated with. Mr. Karet had heard mention of another potential company going into a particular location but he wasn' t familiar with the details . There was some concern expressed with regard to Travel & Per Diem increasing from $2, 000 to $5, 000 . Mayor Hayman confirmed the Council wanted more information with regard to travel projections for next year and information from the VCBDC regarding past contributions and achievements . He further commented on the City receiving over $1 . 5 million from the VCBDC during his tenure as Mayor. City Clerk Mayor Hayman referred to Page 28 of the proposed budget. Mr. Munoz pointed out the City Clerk Department budget at a 4 . 14% decrease over the current year' s budget. Other Government Services Mayor Hayman referred to Page 29 of the proposed budget. Mr. Munoz commented on the 92 . 85% increase to the Other Government Services budget as a result of the pay for performance which was 6 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 reflected here until those moneys are put into the appropriate departments . Mayor Hayman asked to be provided with a copy of the results for the pay for performance for the employees . He further expressed concern with the disproportionate increase in the upper echelon and lower echelon. City Manager McMahon identified he had been working on this and agreed to provide a report. City Manager McMahon identified the 5. 65% increase had to do with their contractual services they had for janitorial services . City Manager McMahon then commented on the increase to the Operating Contingency. Maintenance (City buildings and grounds) There was a brief discussion regarding whether to hold off on this until tomorrow when Public Works Director Hugh Williams was present. There was then a discussion regarding this being the personnel they use to do the maintenance work and improvements to City buildings . Further discussion ensued with regard to this budget being lower this year as a result of worker' s compensation being lower. Mayor Hayman expressed the need to inspect their roofing on City buildings on a routine basis . There was a brief discussion regarding leaking issues that had occurred in City Hall that had been corrected. Engineer Mayor Hayman referred to Page 31 of the proposed budget. Mr. Munoz commented on the increase to the City Engineer Department budget within the Retirement Contributions . Police City Manager McMahon identified the overall budget was down but did include four new vehicles . He informed Council next year they would have to anticipate the grant money would not be forthcoming again. Mr. Munoz identified the Police Department was where a bulk of the tax dollars went. Councilman Hays commented on the Community Policing Program and the two officers that patrol on bicycles which he had received a great community response to. He asked Police Chief Schumaker if he had in the budget plans to increase the program. Police Chief Schumaker informed him he was not and explained two officers for this size City 7 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 had worked out reasonably well . The Community Policing could not respond to an emergency situation as quickly and had been exempted from calls for service. He pointed there may be more grant money coming out to expand these programs and if that was the case they would apply for it. Councilman Hays felt that type of policing really projected a positive image and did a lot for good public relations . Mayor Hayman expressed concern about the 800 megahertz and questioned how many positions were in jeopardy this budget year that were being funded by grant dollars due to lack of funding. Police Chief Schumaker commented on the Evidence Technician being solid for next year and the 2 officers for Community Policing still having a couple more years to run. They had a block grant for an Assistant Telecommunicator and Records Personnel which had three more years . The grant that had expired was the DARE Officer. Mayor Hayman asked Police Chief Schumaker how the 800 megahertz was working. Police Chief Schumaker explained it was working excellent. Mayor Hayman spoke of Council directing City Manager McMahon not to remit any more of the City' s share to the County regarding the 800 megahertz system. City Manager McMahon identified they were still withholding payment until the system was certified. Mayor Hayman was pleased to hear the system was beginning to function. Police Chief Schumaker further commented on the grant the City received for laptop computers to be put in the patrol cars . Parks and Recreation Mayor Hayman referred to Page 37 of the proposed budget. Mr. Munoz identified there was a 12% decrease to this budget. Parks and Recreation Director Jack Corder identified a large portion of that was for the maintenance building, which came out of impact fees and not the General Fund. Councilman Hatfield pointed out he would like to have kept a contingency fund going to keep this at the level it was and requested they put $100, 000 or whatever they could back into the budget. Mr. Munoz informed Council it would be difficult to find $100, 000 to cut from this budget but when they finished the year and saw what the situation was on their fund balance they may be able to put additional money in the Self Insurance Fund. Mr. Corder commented on the Fire Department clearing the 26 acres by burning it during a training session. Public Works (Includes road paving) Mayor Hayman referred to Page 35 of the proposed budget. 8 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 Councilman Hays spoke of the reorganization in Public Works and wanted the dollar amount for the salary moved into Contingency to cover any anticipated or possible costs for unemployment insurance . Mayor Hayman wanted to see the salary moved to the Fire Department to help fund one of the fulltime firefighters they had a need for. City Manager McMahon pointed out if they moved it into Contingency only the portion necessary to take care of final expenses would be used and the balance could be transferred to the Fire Department later. Councilman Hays pointed out the Public Works Department budget was down 14 .25% over last year. He expressed concern with the aging vehicles and decreasing what they put in that budget. He wasn' t sure they had adequate dollars in that budget and felt they may need to be prepared to replace vehicles . City Manager McMahon and Mr. Munoz addressed Councilman Hays' concern. Mayor Hayman pointed out Council agreed to take care of any unemployment needs and taxes and anything associated with that that would pay off or buy him out in his retirement and sick leave and didn' t say anything about transferring any money any place other than the Fire Department. If Mr. Fegley needed money for equipment it had to come from other places . City Manager McMahon pointed out that could come from a general Contingency. Mayor Hayman spoke of the importance of the City having a program in place for the maintenance of City vehicles which he had been assured was in place . Mayor Hayman pointed out the money would be used for another full-time firefighter and not any other expenditures in that department. It was a unanimous decision of the Council to do that. There was further discussion regarding the elimination of the Public Works Director position, which was about $50, 000 and was still included in the Public Works Department budget. City Manager McMahon confirmed October 1st the position would be eliminated and the balance of that money would be kept in reserve to be used for future funding for personnel in the Fire Department. If they needed to bring more money into a department to take care of equipment that didn' t have enough money they would get it from the General Fund Contingency. Mr. Munoz agreed to build a Contingency Fund line item, which would be restricted. 9 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 Councilman Mitchum questioned Other Contractual Services being $34, 000 next year and zero this year, which he was informed was for the micro- paving. Councilman Mitchum then commented on the decrease to Repair and Maintenance, which he felt seemed low. Mr. Munoz identified what was budgeted was a little short of what they spent in 1995. Mayor Hayman felt it looked like this line item was cycling as it went up and down through the years . There was then a discussion regarding the savings for the costs associated with the road grader and road materials being reflected in the budget as a result of the road paving program that was completed in Florida Shores . City Manager McMahon spoke of the need to address the resurfacing of roads and the significant amount of money that would be needed that had never been budgeted. He spoke of Mr. Fegley creating a system that looked at the roads in terms of priority. He mentioned requests they had received to look at some of the roads . There were nine to eleven roads that they were going to have to address . Mayor Hayman mentioned a comprehensive road program being talked about for years . He felt they had to devise fair standards that could be used to rank and establish priorities for addressing the roads. City Manager McMahon felt they would have to look at budgeting $100, 000 to $150, 000 a year for future resurfacing. Fire/Rescue Mayor Hayman referred to Page 33 of the proposed budget. Fire Chief Bill Vola informed Council the 13 . 5% increase to Salaries and Wages which represented the transfer of the Safety Officer into Fire/Rescue. There was a brief discussion regarding whether it was feasible to have a Fire person also serve as the Safety Officer as well . City Attorney Storey pointed out a portion of the Safety Officer was dedicated to serving the Self Insurance Committee as a Claims Investigator. Mayor Hayman spoke of there being other people in the City that had dual responsibilities and positions . He further identified he felt the Department Heads should be the responsible person in their respective departments for safety and should be held accountable as opposed to having a Safety Officer position. Mayor Hayman was looking at how they might be able to fully utilize a position and an employee to a little greater level than they were right now. Fire Chief Vola believed that could probably be done. 10 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 Mayor Hayman wanted Fire Chief Vola and City Manager McMahon to put their heads together and comment on this and provide him with a recommendation at the meeting tomorrow night or the first public hearing. His quest was to try and staff a firefighter. Councilman Hays spoke of the need to have a workshop to discuss the growth they have to deal with in the City as it related to the services provided by Fire/Rescue. He then spoke of providing ambulance service and suggested they apply with the County to be able to run their own ambulance service. Fire Chief Vola confirmed they would most assuredly say no. Councilman Hays felt they should take the first step and apply to Medicare for a provider number. Fire Chief Vola assured him that had already been done. Councilman Hays suggested they run that as an Enterprise Fund as a service to support future growth. Mayor Hayman felt if the County wouldn' t give them a license then they needed to enact legislation that would create a head tax to be paid by the County on the people who were being transported that were from Edgewater. Councilman Hays expressed concern with the costs associated with operating a fire truck when 90o of the calls they receive were medical. Fire Chief Vola agreed to bring back the answer to Mayor Hayman' s concerns tomorrow evening. Civil Defense Mayor Hayman referred to Page 34 of the proposed budget. Mayor Hayman asked Fire Chief Vola how he was on the Emergency Response manual . Fire Chief Vola informed him it was finalized and every department had a copy of it. It had also been filed with the County and was compliant with State laws . He further commented on the County receiving a grant to do a County-wide integrated disaster management plan. Mayor Hayman asked Fire Chief Vola if he was satisfied with the performance of the 800 megahertz system. Fire Chief Vola echoed Police Chief Schumaker' s comments . Library Mr. Munoz identified there was no increase in the Library budget. Mayor Hayman asked if they had done anything about the parking situation at the Library. City Engineer Fegley provided Council with an update. ADJOURNMENT 11 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997 There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Hays moved to adjourn. The Workshop adjourned around 9: 15 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer, CMC 12 Council Budget Workshop August 11, 1997