08-13-1996 - Budget Workshop CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER
BUDGET WORKSHOP
AUGUST 13, 1996
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 continue discussion regarding the
FY1996/1997 budget.
Fire/Rescue Department
City Manager McMahon had provided Council with the goals and
objectives of the Fire Department that were prepared by Fire Chief
Bill Vola that dealt with services, training, education and fire
prevention. They also had a memo regarding Repair & Maintenance and
Machinery & Equipment .
Fire Chief Vola then presented the Fire/Rescue Department budget.
Fire Chief Vola answered questions presented by Mayor Hayman with
regard to acquiring property for a second fire station and the need
for additional personnel and apparatus . Fire Chief Vola mentioned the
$9, 000 request that was in the budget was for the preliminary
engineering work. He anticipated the structure would be built and
ready to be occupied by this time next year through January of 1998 .
As far as staffing, since the building wouldn' t be open for at least
another budget year, he didn' t anticipate the hiring of any new
personnel . If it was done ahead of schedule, it would be staffed
primarily as a location for volunteers .
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There was a brief discussion regarding the basic operating costs
related to volunteers being pulled out and gave it a separate line
item.
Fire Chief Vola identified the fire apparatus in the budget this year
was their support unit, which would be used to back up the
firefighters on any significant rescue or structure fire.
Mayor Hayman wanted Fire Chief Vola and City Manager McMahon to look
at, between now and next budget year, worst case scenario that they
would be able to accommodate and meet the concerns regarding response
times and serious conditions with just the volunteer personnel. Fire
Chief Vola identified there was a need for additional career personnel
to be hired at that point in time to give them a base line response as
they have now. They didn' t have a career fire force, emergency
medical force or hazardous materials force. They had a baseline
response to guarantee a first response which was backed up by
volunteers .
Mayor Hayman spoke of goals that were established and making a
commitment to public safety. Because of the luck of the draw with
federal grant money they had really been able to work on law
enforcement but they didn' t have that grant opportunity with the
firefighters and paramedics .
City Manager McMahon informed Council they would have a work session
and he would have a complete plan laid out long before they spent the
first dollar on construction with regards to people and equipment.
Councilman Hays commented on the self contained breathing apparatus
and the cost of repairs and upgrades on that. Before they spent
$4, 800 to upgrade units he wanted to be sure it wouldn' t be smarter
for them to buy newer technology. He felt they either had very few
sources or they had some serious price fixing problems . He felt this
was an issue they may want to present to the Florida League of Cities
for them to look at statewide to see if they are getting a fair deal
from the vendors as he felt the price was way out of line. Fire Chief
Vola informed him there were two vendors in the area.
City Manager McMahon agreed to get with Fire Chief Vola and follow up
on that.
Councilman Hatfield asked about Promotional Activities, which Fire
Chief Vola identified was for public education.
Civil Defense Department
Mayor Hayman referred to Page 25.
City Manager McMahon felt the City' s Emergency Preparedness Plan was
much further advanced and much more effective than the County' s plan.
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Councilman Hays asked if there was a requirement that separated this
from the Fire/Rescue budget. City Manager McMahon explained he did
this because it was a specific program related to a very dedicated
purpose.
Parks & Recreation Department
City Manager McMahon informed Council they had a request for
consideration of an item that was not put in as a line item because of
it involving separate discussion and involved the impact fee money
they had built up in recreation. It moved them in the direction of
beginning the first development on the 26 acres .
City Manager McMahon informed Council there was a line item
expenditure that would increase by $4, 600 a year for the maintenance
building used to store equipment, which appeared under Rentals &
Leases . By using the impact fee money it would have no direct impact
on the budget. They had an additional request if they did this for
$60, 000 to be transferred from the impact fee money they had reserved
for this purpose. He highly recommended Council consider this.
There was a discussion regarding there being $95, 000 left in
recreation impact fees . In the late 1980' s they were averaging
collections of about $100, 000 a year which had dropped to about
$25, 000 a year now.
Parks & Recreation Director Jack Corder identified it was time for
them to seriously consider a maintenance building as they had outgrown
where they were at and were throwing money away by renting. He
further commented on the building being centrally located in the City
which would entice them to start the development of the rest of the 26
acre park.
Mr. Corder further commented on outgrowing their current location and
having equipment scattered throughout the City wherever he could put
it.
There was further discussion regarding a lot of the maintenance being
done by Public Works, other than sharpening, changing blades and
greasing which was done by Parks & Recreation.
City Attorney Storey wanted Council to be aware of the language in
terms of the usage of impact fee money which the ordinance identified
as being used exclusively for the purpose of park and open space
capital improvements to meet the demands that new residential
development created.
Councilman Hays felt if they were going to have growth and development
and increase the parks and recreation areas and would have to build
and maintain structures . Mayor Hayman mentioned the possibility of
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converting that facility at a later date. Mr. Corder spoke of having
to have support facilities for the main complex.
Councilman Hatfield spoke of earmarking the $4, 600 that they would be
saving by not renting a building. Mr. Corder identified that money
was General Fund money. Councilman Hatfield felt they would be
borrowing the money and paying it back at no interest to themselves .
City Manager McMahon identified they could earmark the $4, 600 as part
of the budget process which could go back into the recreation trust
fund annually.
There was a brief discussion amongst the Council with regard to seeing
more impact fees once the roads in Florida Shores were completed. Mr.
Corder identified it had increased somewhat this past year over
previous years .
Mr. Munoz identified the impact fees for FY1994 were $42, 264 and
$23, 905 for FY1995 . So far this year it was $28, 850 .
Mayor Hayman confirmed when they approved the budget, they would see
some arrangement where they borrow from something and pay debt service
on it. City Manager McMahon explained they would see an increase on
the revenue side in order to balance out the expenditure of $60, 000 to
come from the recreation trust fund. They would see an increase in
the line item budget of $30, 000 to $90, 000 in order to pay for the
building. They would also see a line item number for $4, 600 dedicated
to recreation trust.
Councilman Hays wanted to start putting a plan together for
development of the pond on Mango Tree Drive. Mr. Corder mentioned
permitting was being done to use the pond for reuse discharge and that
they needed to find out what their limitations would be.
Library
Mayor Hayman referred to Page 37 .
City Manager McMahon identified the reduction in the budget was due to
having replaced the air conditioners last year and not needing to do
that this year.
Councilwoman Martin asked if the leak in the Library roof had been
repaired. City Manager McMahon informed her more than once. Mr.
Williams identified it was a rubber roof and periodically got holes in
it.
Overview of City Enterprise Funds Budget - Utilities Director and
Public Works Director
Utilities Director Terry Wadsworth spoke of hiring one additional
person for the duration of the RIP program that would be put in the
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field. One of the qualified existing personnel that did backflow
prevention would inspect all the commercial establishments that have
backflows as well as test and inspect the 1,200 reuse connections and
devices, which was to be done annually and was required by law. He
felt once the RIP program was completed they would be able to
eliminate the field position. He further commented on the commitment
of personnel to the RIP program and it being an impacting problem for
his department.
Councilman Hatfield expressed concern with hiring someone for a year
and then letting them go. City Manager McMahon identified they make
sure going in that they understand what the job was for and how long
it was for. They were trying to avoid adding a lot of personnel costs
by adding permanent jobs if they didn' t have to. Councilman Hatfield
felt that after a year they get to know how the City operates and
functions and if it was a good employee they may be able to place him
somewhere else.
Mr. Wadsworth highlighted the items relating to revenue. He spoke of
the water sales and taking on more money due to the wholesale sales to
the south and the addition of Cory Estates and Edgewater Landing Phase
3. He then commented on Miscellaneous Income as it related to
recovering some of the money the RIP was costing the City in terms of
overtime and repair materials .
Mr. Wadsworth then commented on Wastewater.
Mr. Wadsworth identified the amount of money they had budgeted
originally for the special assessments was based on having a lot less
upfront payments than they had. They had so many initial and upfront
payments that what they were taking in on an annual basis was
considerably lower than they budgeted. Having additional money in the
bank they were able to draw interest on it but the interest didn' t
offset it. All in all they lost about $94, 000 a year which was the
projection on what would have been the revenue stream.
Councilman Hays asked what they were getting on the interest at the
bank. Mr. Munoz informed him 5. 35 SBA, the last reporting period.
City Manager McMahon spoke of being prudent and conservative and
keeping their money invested at the top rate . Mr. Munoz explained the
State Board of Administration offered them the liquidity, safety and
rate of return they needed. They looked at the debt service reserve,
which was money they could put in for 5 years . They bought a treasury
for $5 million with a shorter maturity. He further commented on the
problems of going with a longer maturity. He agreed to see how they
could goose up the interest rate without taking any additional risk.
Mr. Wadsworth then commented on the budget appearing to be bigger
because of the transfer from the Renewal & Replacement Fund.
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Mr. Wadsworth then identified the Water Plant expenditures as being a
drum scale to weigh polymer; a Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition
System, which was the computer system the Water Plant ran on.
Mr. Wadsworth then presented the Field Operations budget by commenting
on a slight increase in Repair & Maintenance because of the RIP
program and meter change out program.
Mayor Hayman spoke of Council being excited about the automatic
readout for the water meters .
There was further discussion regarding the intention to expand the
program.
Mayor Hayman spoke of the end result being with the use of technology
they would have automatic reading and automatic billing for utilities .
Mr. Wadsworth then commented on the need to replace two 1985 Dodge
pickups, which were identified under Machinery & Equipment. He was
also looking to purchase some pneumatic tools for out in the field, a
three inch mud hog to use for dewatering, cutoff saw, and a new drive
up depository.
Mr. Munoz further commented on having a drive up depository as opposed
to people having to get out of their vehicles to put their bills in
the depository on City Hall building.
City Manager McMahon informed Mr. Wadsworth he wanted him to look at
diesel trucks for replacement trucks . Mr. Wadsworth agreed to see
what was available through the State bid.
Mr. Wadsworth then commented on the Wastewater Department.
Mr. Wadsworth spoke of having $20, 000 in Repair & Maintenance due to a
deteriorating system and collection system. He further spoke of
manholes that would also be replaced in the old part of town.
Mr. Wadsworth then commented on Machinery & Equipment which included a
deposit sampler, which was a new requirement they needed to comply
with; a flatbed trailer, which would be shared between Field
Operations and Sewer; side utility boxes for some of the trucks to
secure items in; four lift station pump replacements; a welder; a van
to mount their camera in as well as their emergency excavation
equipment, safety equipment and electrical equipment, which would
allow them to camera a lot more sewer lines; and a computer
replacement.
Mr. Wadsworth identified he had some items that were budgeted
specifically out of impact fees that would be coming up within the
next couple of weeks .
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Councilman Hays was glad to see staff looking at more devices to enter
the manholes and sewers . He felt they may experience more equipment
needs and some changes to the policies and procedures over the next
couple of years .
Mr. Wadsworth identified he had three people that were certified in
confined spaces . He further commented on purchasing most of the
equipment over the last couple of years .
Councilwoman Martin asked if anything was going to be done about the
stormwater buildup of water on Riverside Drive. Mr. Wadsworth
informed her she could ask City Engineer Fegley when he spoke as he
was the stormwater expert.
Councilman Mitchum asked about Cory Estates and what would suffice as
an impact fee and how that was being recovered. Mr. Wadsworth
informed him they charged them an impact fee and a per lot front foot
type assessment. They would recover the entire cost of the
improvements plus the impact fees .
Councilman Mitchum asked if it was hooked up. Mr. Wadsworth informed
him it was at HRS waiting for clearance.
There was a five-minute recess at this time.
Mayor Hayman referred to Page 55.
City Manager McMahon wanted to talk about putting a spider in the
budget, which would be used to clean out the canals . He mentioned the
financial payment of this would not have an impact on the budget.
City Engineer Fegley commented on the piece of equipment Port Orange
had, which was being brought to the City on August 26th through
September 6th
Mr. Fegley then commented on the standard model Menzi Muck 6000 he was
looking at. They were looking at a cost of $155, 000, which they had
budgeted $170, 000 for.
Councilman Hays mentioned needing a dump truck to transport it from
site to site. Mr. Fegley informed him the standard model had to be
transported as opposed to the mobile model which was wheel-driven.
There was a discussion regarding leaving the Menzi Muck in the canal
unless it needed to be brought in for maintenance . The City already
had the dump truck but had to purchase the hitch, which was $300 .
City Manager McMahon asked Mr. Fegley which item in the budget he
would be able to eliminate if he was able to put the Munzi Muck in his
budget. Mr. Fegley identified if need be he could eliminate Machinery
& Equipment, which would help offset the cost.
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Mr. Fegley informed Council as part of the package, since it was a
costly investment, the manufacturer provided onsite technical training
the very first day. Within 50 to 100 hours they come back and provide
the labor force to change the filters . The mechanics who would go
through hands on training on how to change the filters and operate the
piece of machinery.
Mr. Fegley then commented on the financing for this piece of equipment
and identified the cost savings to the Road Improvement Program budget
to date would pay for this piece of equipment.
City Manager McMahon explained they had invested total funds for the
beginning of the project and for draw downs . The prepayments that had
been made gathered interest but the money to pay for the whole project
would come from many sources .
Mayor Hayman asked how much the Menzi Muck cost. Mr. Fegley informed
him it was $155, 000 and that $170, 000 had been budgeted.
There was further discussion regarding the finance options that were
looked at with regard to leasing or purchasing the equipment.
Mayor Hayman then expressed concern with getting a certain distance
from the street and having to get the debris that is removed from the
canal to the street so it could be hauled off. He wasn' t sure this
was the most expedient way to do it but felt it was a good way to get
into the canals . Mr. Fegley spoke of stabilizing the canal by placing
the materials that are removed on the side of the bank, which was what
a lot of cities and counties did.
City Manager McMahon spoke of keeping the money they have invested and
borrow the money at a lower interest rate.
Mayor Hayman was wondering what the breakeven point was and commented
on not using this piece of equipment 365 days a year.
Councilman Hays identified they had a lot of canals and the only weak
link were the old mosquito canals that they couldn' t get into and work
properly.
Mayor Hayman spoke of allowing people to put their fences to the water
line of the canal and this being one of the reasons they haven' t been
able to maintain them. Councilman Hays felt in some instances the
canal may have eroded to where the fence was put.
Mayor Hayman also mentioned having to construct roads next to canals
which made the erosion even worse. Councilman Hays commented on the
power line easements being a big problem also.
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Council Workshop
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City Manager McMahon felt they could improve the drainage
substantially if they go back in and realign the areas by cutting back
where they have eroded and get rid of the blockages .
Councilman Hatfield questioned if this would work in Wildwood. Mr.
Fegley informed him it would.
Councilman Hatfield identified of a lot of the work to the canals was
mowing the banks and not so much about excavating. He asked if they
would have to eventually buy another piece of equipment to mow the
banks . Mr. Fegley informed him Public Works had a flail mower but
that a flail attachment could be purchased for the Menzi Muck.
Councilman Hatfield questioned if it would be advantageous either now
or down the road to get the flail attachment. He felt once they
excavated, with proper maintenance they wouldn' t be doing a lot of
excavation and more of the maintenance would be mowing. Councilman
Hays commented on erosion being an ongoing process .
Mayor Hayman wanted to see the flail attachment included. Mr. Fegley
agreed to check on the cost as he felt it would be pretty expensive.
City Manager McMahon estimated it to be around $5, 000 . He suggested
they leave the $170, 000 in the budget.
Councilman Hays spoke of having a problem with the concept of loaning
out a $150, 000 piece of equipment. Mayor Hayman suggested only the
City' s operators would be able to use the equipment. Mr. Fegley
confirmed Port Orange was going to be sending its operator with their
piece of equipment.
Mr. Fegley agreed to look into the cost of the flail mower attachment .
Mr. Fegley agreed to look at the stormwater buildup of water on
Riverside Drive for Councilwoman Martin.
Refuse & Sanitation
Mayor Hayman referred to Page 51 .
Public Works Director Hugh Williams identified they had maintained the
same equipment and staffing. He then commented on the response they
received to the customer attitude surveys that were sent out. With
the exception of the County increasing the tipping fee they probably
wouldn' t have had to come back this year for anything. It was pretty
much the same budget they had last year. He also informed Council he
would be coming back sometime during the year for one additional
replacement truck.
Mayor Hayman spoke of showing a great deal of interest in the garbage
collection. He believed it was time for them to take a look at
sending out RFP' s to see if there was a way to do it more efficiently.
He spoke of having satisfied customers in the way they were doing it
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which he felt was effective. Efficiency had to do with dollars . He
wanted to see them this year put out RFP' s and have the City also bid
for continued service for residential collection. He was a satisfied
customer with the effectiveness of the service but felt they needed to
look at efficiency.
Mayor Hayman then disclosed he had spoken with the Mayors and City
Managers in all the cities that now use the private sector.
Mayor Hayman spoke of being concerned about the employees . He felt
the City had good people and would make it a requirement that anybody
who might be successful in a bid to do the job would also have to
purchase our equipment and hire our employees . One of the performance
standards would be to make sure the employment package was equal to or
exceeded what the City had.
City Manager McMahon then commented on how some of the other cities
had done this and identified some of the specifications that should be
included in the bid.
Mayor Hayman suggested they give City Manager McMahon the green light
to make the comparison as he felt they would never know unless they
did it.
Councilwoman Martin identified when she first moved here they had
privatized garbage collection which was very poor which was why the
City took it back.
There was a brief discussion regarding how much it would cost to put
this together, advertise it and put out the RFP for bids .
Councilman Hays stated he had no notion whatsoever to change what they
were doing because it worked and worked very well . He was very
pleased with the quality of service they receive from the City
employees . He felt they had a certain amount of loyalty factor to the
City employees just as he believed the employees were loyal to them.
There was no way they can require or force a company to hire the
City' s employees . He spoke of the money the City had invested in the
equipment and not being able to afford to buy it back if they sold it
if they decided the private sector wasn' t working. They have a long
term investment and a lot of capital equipment. He spoke of a lot of
people that jumped at this as an opportunity but he felt they needed
to watch and see what goes on with them for a few years and maybe they
won' t be as happy as they thought they would be . He then commented on
defining the quality of service they want in a contract with somebody
but that it was hard to enforce it. He then commented on guaranteeing
the rate. He spoke of a big corporation coming in and providing the
service cheap for a couple of years and then increasing the rates once
they own you.
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Councilwoman Martin felt if it wasn' t broke why fix it. She felt they
had a good department and good service.
Councilman Mitchum wasn' t at a point where he would support a change.
He didn' t have a problem. He wasn' t convinced privatization was the
way to go in every phase of City administration but there were areas
that had proven to be effective . He wasn' t opposed to looking at the
concept. He didn' t see it coming in at any drastic reduction in what
they already have. If it did, he couldn' t turn a deaf ear to that.
He felt Councilman Hays had brought up some very valid points that he
agreed with. He would support the Mayor and his request to at least
look at this . He spoke of having real good employees and stated the
expense of that department to have just a few thousand dollars he
simply would not support.
Councilman Mitchum then commented on an issue he had with his
recycling bins being put in the middle of his driveway. He made a
phone call and for two weeks they were put back where he put them. He
came home today and they were in the middle of his driveway again so
he was going to make another phone call .
Mr. Williams identified with some of the parameters they would put in
the request for specifications that there would be a franchise fee
involved. He then commented on the protection for the City employees
and the obligation to hire City employees . Most requests have a one
year minimum time frame in that the benefits must remain the same .
There was then a discussion regarding retirement and people staying
with the City because of the retirement package.
Mayor Hayman was also concerned about the employees but felt the
bottom line was saving the taxpayers money.
Councilman Mitchum questioned how the private sector could make money
by having to provide salaries and benefits .
Councilman Hays wasn' t insensitive to the 18, 000 people paying for
garbage but he hadn' t heard one person tell him that was the direction
they wanted to go. He also pointed out a lot of the City employees
were also taxpayers here too. He spoke of the City employees that
were taxpayers that cared about Edgewater.
Mayor Hayman summarized Councilman Hays' concerns which he felt were
interests . He wanted to add criteria to this that it be cost
effective and efficient.
Mayor Hayman asked for support from Council to go out for an RFP,
using these interests as the backbone of the RFP and the standards
they develop to see if the private sector could accommodate those.
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Councilman Hays wanted to know if any of the people that bid on this
had received any economic development or Volusia County Business
Development Corporation dollars to subsidize their business .
Mr. Williams spoke of protecting the employees and the City. His goal
was to make the RFP duplicate the exact services the City currently
provided.
City Manager McMahon asked Council to authorize him to have a company
come in and appraise the City' s equipment. He felt they should do
that anyway for their asset value.
Councilman Hatfield tended to agree more with Councilman Hays than
anybody else but owed it to the taxpayers to look at it. He wasn' t
saying he particularly liked it and was more than happy with the
service he was receiving from the City. He wasn' t in favor of taking
people' s jobs and playing games with them but at the same time as
someone who was elected to review these things, he felt it was
necessary for them to look at it.
There was a brief discussion regarding a private company providing
equal or better service for what they are paying.
Councilman Mitchum felt they would find they were already more
efficient than any city our size which he believed was a testament to
the employees . Councilman Hatfield agreed.
Mayor Hayman stated his attempt was not to play games with jobs . His
attempt was to give the taxpayers a guarantee that the 7 mill
assessment was the absolute best they could do to give them the
service they have asked for and they have given them. He resented the
fact that Councilman Hatfield felt he was playing games with jobs . He
wasn' t doing that.
Councilman Hatfield informed him he wasn' t accusing him of that and
apologized if that was what he thought but he didn' t want the
employees to perceive this.
It was the consensus of Council to look into an RFP for this service.
City Manager McMahon assured Council he had a good grasp on what he
thought their expectations were.
Councilman Hays wanted the opportunity to review the specifications
before they went out.
Councilman Mitchum spoke of having to make a formal motion at a
regular meeting before they went out for an RFP.
Councilwoman Martin felt they had to remember the employees were also
taxpayers in the City.
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Mayor Hayman thanked City Manager McMahon and staff for all the work
that went into this difficult budget.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Mitchum moved
to adjourn. The meeting adjourned around 9: 00 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Lisa Bloomer, CMC
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