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08-09-1983 - Workshop " ,. I o (j CITY OF EDGEWATER FY83-84 BUDGET WORKSHOP August 9, 1983 CALL TO ORDER Vice Mayor Gigi Bennington called the workshop to order in Mayor Ledbetters absence. ROLL CALL Mayor David Ledbetter Councilman Melbourne Wargo Councilwoman Gigi Bennington Councilman Neil Asting Councilman Jack Spencer City Attorney Jose Alvarez City Clerk Connie Kinsey Police Chief Earl Baugh Excused (will attend later) Present Present Excused Present Excused Present Excused Legal Counsel Mrs. Kinsey explained that this budget was prepared by the City Attorney. Mrs. Rickelman explained the Professional Services category includes Attorney Alvarez's retainer at $1,000 per month and $12,000 for secretarial expenses. Also the following estimates have been made on various lawsuit charges:Caldwell $5,000, Montesano $3,000, Vacation Alvarez Lane $1,000, Possible lawsuits $4,000 and Special assignments $4,000. Councilman Spencer discussed the hopeful possibility that the City will win some of the lawsuits and not have to pay all the costs involved. It was explained to him, in that case the money would go into General Fund as miscellaneous income, however the expense has to be budgeted under Legal Counsel. The last years' expenses were discussed and compared with the proposals. Councilwoman Bennington reminded the Council that the way Mr. Mitchell had the expenses charged'it became very misleading because the legal fees came out of various departments. The Legal Counsel budget did not totally reflect all of the charges. City Clerk Kinsey explained that it was an untrue picture before and the way it will be next year you will be able to prove how much was actually spent for legal counsel. The suggestion by Councilman Spencer was to cut the $41,000 figure down to $35,000. Councilwoman Bennington suggested taking the secretarial figure at $10,000, the special assignments at $2,000 and the miscellaneous at $2,000 There was a discussion regarding the need to purchase the law books for the attorney. Councilman Spencer agreed with the figure, as long as it is understood that the books are City property and are not being purchased for an individual. Councilman Spencer voiced his opinion of lowering the figure for Court Reporter Services to $4,000. Also, it was agreed to add in $2,000 for Communication Services. " ~ 1 o o After totalling up the Legal Counsel budget,$44,850 was the final figure. Councilman Spencer commented that if the City Attorney was present at this workshop he may have some strong argument regarding the cuts the Council just made. Planning & Development City Clerk Kinsey explained this budget has been prepared among Joan Taylor, Susan Mista, Karen Rickelman and herself. Any questions should be able to be answered by Mrs. Rickelman and Mrs. Kinsey. Mrs. Kinsey explained the'arrangement with Mr. Tucker, as City Engineer is only good until October 1. The salary category reflects a full time working City Engineer. At this time there were several complimentary remarks made regarding Mr. Tucker. There was a discussion regarding the hiring of an engineer on a contract basis versus a city employee. It was agreed to go ahead with Mrs. Kinsey's appropriation as an employee on a full time basis. Councilwoman Bennington suggested the possibility of charging some of the engineer's salary to the Water & Sewer Fund, particularly in the event the $18,000 is not acceptable as a salary to the individual. Councilman Spencer remarked that we could consider setting up an entire department showing the expenses for the Engineering, like we have Legal Counsel and Planning, etc. Mrs. Rickelman stated you can budget all of your engineering services in General Fund and appropriate money from Water & Sewer to General Fund for that specific purpose. It is handled this way in other cities. It was agreed to presently leave this as appropriated, however in the future the suggestion Mrs. Rickelman made would be the best way to handle this. Mrs. Kinsey stated the record should show Mayor Ledbetter has arrived. Councilman Wargo questioned the Promotional Activities expenses. Mrs. Kinsey explained this is a request from the Industrial Board for the purchase of brochures involving industry. It was agreed that since less than $100 will be spent for this entire year, this $1,500 figure could be cut down to $500. Office Supplies was cut to $200. Operating Supplies to $600, due to the fact that a calculator needs to be purchased and all of the board meetings for which tapes have to be purchased. There was a discussion regarding the requests from the boards to attend various seminars. The registration and seminar fees would come out of this category, however the other travel expenses would come out of the Travel and Per Diem category. It was agreed to put $600 in this category. At this time Mrs. Taylor was asked to answer some questions regarding the Industrial Board's and the Board of Adjustment's requests about the seminars. It was agreed to leave $800 in Travel and Per Diem and $600 in Books, Publications and Subscriptions. NOTE: The tape marked Tape 2 did not record anything, however Tape 3 picked up immediately with the discussion of the Planning & Development budgeting of seminar expenses. Mrs. Taylor was still present. -2- ~~ o o Mrs. Taylor explained to the Council that the Industrial Board requested funds available for the showing of interested individuals around the City's industrial areas. There was a conversation re- garding this expense, Councilman Wargo questioned the legality of us promoting any private enterprise. It was the consensus of opinion that if the City had it's own industrial park or the like, this would be a different circumstance. Councilman Spencer suggested the Council members attend an Industrial Board meeting in the near future. There seems to be a lack of commu- nication regarding the views on industry coming into the City. The Council discussed the possibility of having the Comprehensive Plan updated and also the purchase of brochures promoting Edgewater. It was agreed to include $900 for the plan update under Printing and Binding. There was no specification made as to which board was being granted how much money in regard to attending seminars. There was mention of the new line item utility Services, which is to cover the expenses in the offices. Library Mayor Ledbetter read down the line items and the appropriated amounts. Councilman Wargo commented that he was thinking we could take the money from the Parks & Recreation building appropriation and put in in this budget anticipating expansion and possibly the purchase of the house behind the Library. Mrs. Kinsey spoke to the Council regarding the piece of property in question. She explained that,according to the tax roles,the total value of the house and the property is $18,465. She informally spoke to the owner of the house, who is asking $28,000 for the sale. It was basically agreed that $28,000 is too much to pay. Councilman Spencer spoke of the need for expansion due to the population growth in this area, not only the Library, but City Hall, Police and every department. It was agreed to leave an appropriation in the budget for this purpose. Mrs. Harmon attended the meeting and discussed her budgets with the Council. E.V.E.R. (Rescue) Note: Tape 4 began with discussion of a Rescue vehicle. It was agreed to include $5,000 with the understanding that if a vehicle is "not purchased this year, money will again be appropriated for this purpose next year. Councilwoman Bennington suggested that in the event a vehicle is not purchased and the Rescue budget is under budget at the end of the year, additional money be added to the $5,000 for the purchase of a vehicle in next year's budget. It was the consensus of the majority that this is a good idea, however, it is hard to practice because there will be departments over budget which will need the money to balance. The total of this budget was left at $14,880. -3- .r o o The Council reconvened after taking a lunch break. Civil Defense There was discussion regarding the salaried position. Mayor Ledbetter stated that he feels this should be a volunteer job, instead of the $1800. Councilman Spencer questioned whether other cities in this area have a paid Civil Defense Director. There was further discussion about this always being on a volunteer basis until Mr. Mitchell changed it. Councilman Spencer commented that Mr. Vandergrifft is doing his best to promote preparedness in the event of an emergency. He feels this should be a paid position, however he is willing to go back to the $100 monthly. Mrs. Kinsey pointed out to the Council that Mr. Vandergrifft is presently working with Lee Barnett and they are in the process of rewriting the master Civil Defense plan, which will corne back to Council for adoption. Councilwoman Bennington stated that she has noticed some progress in the last six months regarding this program. Councilman Wargo questioned the figures in the repair and main- tenance and machinery and equipment categories. Discussion continued as to whether a Civil Defense program is actually necessary. It was agreed that the program itself, mainly as an educating process is very worthwhile, however, the figures in the budget can be reduced. Mrs. Rickelman answered several questions regarding the expenses of last year. Communication Services was cut to -0-. utility Services was also cut to -0-, Rental and Leases was cut to -0- as well as Insurance. Repair and Maintenance was cut to $600. Promotional Activities was cut to -0-, Office Supplies to $30. Operating Supplies, $100. The Council questioned th~ request for sirens. It was agreed to leave the machinery and equipment figure at $800. There are still some questions the Council has asked Mrs. Rickelman to obtain the answers from Mr. Vandergrifft. The total presently is $4,385. At this time, Mrs. Kinsey introduced Mr. Baron from the New Smyrna Beach/Edgewater Humane Society. Mr. Baron gave a presentation to the Council regarding the needs and activities of the humane society. He is requesting the Council to increase their donation to $400. a month. Mayor Ledbetter brought up the point that the dispatchers have been told the only way to get an animal out to the Humane Society on the week ends is for the Police officer to take it out himself. The gentlemen assured the Council that someone is on call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. They intend to look into who would be telling people to transport the animals to them; this is not the policy. -4- .r o u Law Enforcement Chief Baugh attended at this time, he was informed the man from the Humane Society has requested in increase in the City's donation. He stated that within the last four or five months the service has been excellent, prior to that the service was nothing. At Councilman Spencer's suggestion it was agreed to allot $50. more a month for this donation. Under the same category (Contractual Services .34) there was discussion regarding the janitorial service for cleaning the Police Station and it was the over all consensus that some other arrangements might be made for this cleaning. The extermination expense also falls under this category. It was agreed to put $5,150 in category .34. Going back up to the top of the budget sheet, there was discus- sion of the salary figure. Mayor Ledbetter questioned the shifts and which officers and/or detectives, etc. work on the different shifts. He determined there are six men on the day shift and two men on the other shifts; he feels this is not quite right. Chief Baugh went over the record of the police calls with the Council, explaining his request for additional personnel. Councilwoman Bennington added that there are areas in the Police Department that are not functioning sufficiently. She mentioned that she phoned one night recently and there was not a sargeant on duty, and there were only two officers on duty. Chief Baugh explained that is all the officers he has on duty on any shift. At this time there was a conversation with the Chief regarding cases' recently where unmarked police cars have made arrests and the arrests were made by officers out of uniform. There was also discussion about the overtirne~ being necessary due to the fact that the department has to have two officers on the road at all times. Presently, whenever one officer is ill, in court or out for other reasons, someone has to be called in to work and that costs overtime. Councilwoman Bennington questioned the need for two detectives. Chief Baugh gave her a few examples and Mrs. Rickelman pointed out that she is aware because of her husband's work load there is a lot of follow up necessary and it is all time consuming. Chief Baugh went over his vehicle list with the Council. Chief Baugh explained that we have to get another control box for the traffic light at Park Avenue. He presently has one on loan, however something has to be done. The cost of this will be close to $4,000 and he does not know where it should be budgetted. Councilwoman Bennington stated she is appalled at the condition this City is in and that the previous people who have been running the City have not been farsided enough to make arrangements and we are being hit with this now. -5- , . .~ o o Mayor Ledbetter brought up the fact that the two men on patrol at night are both at the same end of town. Chief Baugh explained if he gets-the extra personnel, he plans to have a sargeant on duty to back up the officers, instead of the officers having to back each other up. Councilman Spencer spoke that he does not feel the City can afford four new officers however, he does feel two additional officers is called for. There were several other questions asked of the Chief regarding the activities of the patrol officers while they are on duty. There was discussion regarding the shift hours. It was the feeling that eight hour shifts would save on the over time, especially with two more men. The Unemployment Compensation figure was cut down to -0-. The Professional Services figure was cut down to -0-. Vehicle Repairs was left at $10,800. Gas, Oil & Diesel Expense was left at $24,000. Travel & Per Diem was left at $400. Communication Services - There was quite a bit of discussion regarding the items that are included in this category. The suggestion was made that a WATTS line be looked into. The amount put in this line item was $4,000. Transportation was left at $1,000. Utility Services, $2,800. Rentals & Leases, $100. Insurance, $9,400. Repair & Maintenance, $6,500. There was discussion regarding the Printing & Binding category. The figure of $1,142 was put in this line item. Other Current Charges & Obligations - Chief Baugh explained the film development is a large part of this figure. It was agreed to put $700 in this line item. Office Supplies was left at $1,500. Operating Supplies $7,500. Books, Publications and Subscriptions, $1,500. Miscellaneous,$lOO. Machinery & Equipment - There was discussion with the Police Chief about the number of police vehicles that he presently has and how many are needed. Councilman Spencer questioned purchasing motor cycles. Chief Baugh stated he could not justify the cycles for his officer's needs. Councilman Wargo agreed that the purchase of one car could be justified. This would leave one spare until the time it is no longer running. Chief Baugh spoke of the Florida Highway Patrol. vehicles which are sold to other departments after so many miles are put on them. He added that the prices are from $1,100. to $2,900, and he would rather buy three of them than one new one. Due to the late time, Mayor Ledbetter suggested that the discussion of the vehicles continue tomorrow. He asked the chief to explain the money appropriated for a new building. -6- ~ ,. .~ o \.I Chief Baugh explained his idea of a mobile home to put in the alley between the station and the Library. It would be a place for the police records. He presented some paperwork to the Council regarding grant funds; he requested permission to fill out the necessary paperwork. , 'lJ It was the consensus of the Council that the Chief could go ahead with this; Mayor Ledbetter suggested Councilman Spencer assist him. Councilman Spencer made a motion to recess this workshop until after the executive meeting tomorrow, being seconded by Council- woman Bennington. Motion CARRIED. Minutes submitted by: Debbie Sigler -7-