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03-13-1986 - Special/Workshop .. (.) u CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER SPECIAL MEETING AND WORKSHOP MARCH 13, 1986 MINUTES Mayor Baugh called the meeting to order at 2:00 P.M. in the Community Center. He stated the items on the agenda. ROLL CALL Mayor Earl Baugh Councilman Louis Rotundo Councilman Russell Prater Councilman Neil Asting Present Present Present Present Councilman James Inman Present City Attorney Jose'Alvarez Excused City Clerk Connie Martinez Present Chief Lawrence Schumaker Arrived Later Also present were Mr. Brent Millikan and Mr. Alex Kish of the City's auditing firm. Mayor Baugh stated that he didn't feel they need to go into a Workshop and no Council member expressed an objection. Public Works Department recommendation on bids for refuse transfer trailer - City Clerk Martinez read the March 5th memo from Mr. Earl Copeland, Public Works Superintendent, in which he recommended the low bid of $38,322. from American Carrier Equipment Inc. be accepted. Councilman Asting moved to award the bid to American Carrier Equipment Incorporated. Councilman Prater seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED 5-0. Utilities Department recommendation on bids for 15 fire hydrants and appurtenances - City Clerk Martinez read the March 4th memo from Mr. Terry Wadsworth, Utilities Superintendent, in which he recommended Davis Meter and Supply be awarded the bid of $10,657.40. Councilman Inman made a motion to award the bid to Davis Meter and Supply as the lowest bidder. Councilman Asting seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED 5-0. FY-1985 Audit presentation by Brent Millikan & Co. - Mr. Brent Millikan thanked the Council for letting them work with the City again. He reviewed how a certifi- cate of conformance is awarded. He noted that the hold up this year was in getting information from other agencies and Council might want to consider holding off next year on some of the reports. He said they'll submit the financial statements for certification again if the Council agrees. He noted that Alex Kish is a grader again. Councilman Asting pointed out that this is the second year in a row they won the Certificate of Conformance and Mr. Millikan agreed. Mr. Kish noted that the name of the certificate has changed and the guidelines are getting very strict and difficult to comply with because of disclosure requirements. He added that he feels they meet the requirements again this year and will continue to get the certificate. He stated the various fund accounts. Mr. Kish pointed out the City has combined total assets of 12.7 million and combined revenues of $3,496,000. He stated that the transmittal letter is on page vi and it's a narrative explanation. He said that page 1 is the Auditor's Report and they had no qualifications or opinions of the statements. He referred to the assets, equities and liabilities for this year compared to last year. He explained the graphs that were presented in addition to the audit book. He said they have $8,916,000 in equity in all funds and they have 3.7 million dollars in investments with a lot of that in cash equity. He noted the revenue was $2,323,000 compared to $2,218,000 last year, and expenditures were $2,243,000 compared to $1,524,000 last year. He pointed out the expenditure increase was due to the decision to purchase a lot of capital equipment. He said the recreation was increased this year with the grant which was planned to be spent from the surplus of last year. Mr. Kish stated that the general fund is a service fund and can take the balance down to nothing and then on October 1st they'll be back in business again. He said they could run 4! months with no money. Mr. Kish reviewed the enterprise funds and pension trust funds. He pointed out additional information on the water and sewer fund and garbage fund would be on page 50. He stated that they have a substantial investment in the utility plant and lot of equity invested in plant assets. u u FY-1985 Audit presentation by Brent Millikan & Co. (Continued) - Mr. Kish stated that on the pie chart they plotted the total revenues, showing what percent is obtained from the specific sources. Mr. Kish pointed out the City doesn't have much debt outstanding, and the City is less dependent on the ad valorem levy as the primary source of funding. Mr. Kish stated that page 16 starts the Notes to the Financial Statements. He said there is now a Governmental Accounting Standards Board and they have to make sure the reader understands what is being done. Mr. Millikan reviewed the incident when New York City went broke. Mr. Kish reviewed the different bases of accounting which are unique to government. He pointed out the City takes the money and puts it in interest bearing accounts and it does not sit idle. Mayor Baugh asked the totals in reserve and Mr. Kish replied there's $544,900 which can be used for anything. Mr. Kish noted they also have a lot of reserves set aside for decisions made by Council. Councilman Asting pointed out the Council does want to leave $300,000 for emergencies. Councilman Rotundo agreed. Mr. Kish agreed that's ample reserve, and noted that the reserve has accumulated over the last 3 to 5 years. Mr. Kish commented on the amount accumulated in the water and sewer development fund, pointing out this accumulation will reduce the cost to the citizens of the City. Mr. Kish reviewed the process of impact fees paying for additional needed services due to new residents. Mr. Kish stated the statistical section would be interesting for when City representatives speak at various functions. He noted that the tax levy did not grow as much as the assessed valuation. Mr. Millikan said that there is very little bad debt on property taxes. Mr. Kish stated that the largest taxpayers show only 5.7% of the total assessed valuation. He added that building construction was not as strong as 1984, but there was a lot of growth in the past 10 years. He pointed out there is approximately $65,000,000 on deposits in the banks and savings and loans in the corporate limits of Edgewater. Councilman Prater asked the auditors to review their recommendations. Mr. Kish stated that the biggest thing is the competition in banking services and they can negotiate compensating balances. Mr. Millikan added that some cities have the services listed and the compensating balance is the only thing that goes out on bid. Mr. Kish said he talked to the City management regarding the other items in the letter and they have been appropriately adjusted. He expressed his appreciation to Connie, Karen, and Sue and to everyone who worked with them so cooperatively and thanked them for their assistance. He asked if Council had any other questions. Councilman Asting complimented the auditors on the preparation of the graphs because they'd never had them before and he feels they're a great visual aid. He strongly recommended it be a part of the presentation. Mr. Kish said they can make it a part of the report but he's never seen one put in a report that he has graded. He suggested they could be innovative and put it there. Mayor Baugh commented on the excellent audit. Councilman Prater agreed it was a very good job. Councilman Rotundo asked if they can sign a new contract. Mayor Baugh recommended to Council that they go under contract with Brent Millikan again for another year because of the fine job they've done. Councilman Asting so moved. Councilman Rotundo seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED 5-0. Councilman Asting moved that the Mayor be authorized to sign this. Councilman Inman seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED 5-0. There was a general discussion of whether the graphs should be included in the report. Mr. Kish said he knows the people at GFOA and he could see if they'd encourage it. Mayor Baugh agreed he should contact them, but he thinks it's great. Mayor Baugh again thanked them for the presentation, stating that he looks forward to working with them for another year. -2- Council Special Meeting & Workshop Minutes March 13, 1986 . o 0 Mayor Baugh called a short recess at 3:10 P.M. He called the meeting back in session at 3:18 P.M. Police Department needs per February 3, 1986, memo from Chief L. Schumaker - Councilman Rotundo asked if they want to take the recommendation of the Chief. Councilman Inman congratulated the Chief on his report, saying it was excellent, and shows a true picture of what is going to happen. He stated that he feels the City has a dedicated Police Department and they've held the crime rate down below average. He noted the cost of recruitment to the Police force is $2,000 which includes uniforms. He referred to an incident regarding a son of a friend who was in Police work and left due to money, the paperwork required after the regular work day was put in, and the fact that he was three calls behind all the time. He then referred to an incident at the Center regarding traffic tickets. He said they are lucky to get the actions they do with the number of calls at the Police Department, and they don't want to advertise to people they can come in and flim flam, cheat or steal from the people in Edgewater. He pointed out they only have 15 men on the force with a 2~ hour a day, 7 day a week job. He said he doesn't hear complaints about rubbish since they bought another truck, and the complaints about the Police are about excessive speeding. He recommended the Council consider the authorization of two employees, hiring one officer and promoting one to Sergeant at this time, and during budget time consider four more officers. He pointed out that 'it takes some time for the hiring process to be completed. Councilman Asting asked the Chief if his needs to bring the force up to the requirements would be one Sergeant, one Detective, and four patrolmen, as listed on page 3 of the report. Chief Schumaker replied yes. Councilman Asting asked about equipment for the six new personnel. Chief Schumaker pointed out that the older cars are wearing out, and for each two officers they hire they will need another patrol car, so if the entire request is implemented, they would need three patrol cars. Councilman Asting noted that these were not budgeted and they'd have to go over the budget. Chief Schumaker agreed. Councilman Asting asked if they were to authorize the personnel, or part, at this time if they could get by with the vehicles on hand until next fiscal year. Chief Schumaker pointed out that if they purchase a car now, it would probably take five or six months to get it in. Chief Schumaker said this request was not expected to be resolved immediately but he is asking for consideration of the report to formulate a plan of going out and recruiting Police officers. He said he was invited to a graduation later this month and could pass out applications and recruit then. Chief Schumaker reviewed his background with the State Police. He said he knew they couldn't implement the entire plan in the next twelve months but he would like the plan to be implemented. He said he realizes the money wasn't in the budget but he'd like to see recognition that the problem exists. He stated that it's a slow process to get officers to patrol the City. He pointed out that in 1976 there were 10 officers for a population of 4,000 and now they have a population of 10,500 to 11,500 and they only have 15 officers. He said people tell him about speeding on the highway but he has to have the people capable of carrying out the responsibility. He stated they have 2, or sometimes 3, officers patrolling on one shift. He said they do the best they can. He referred to an incident in Silver Ridge which he attributed in part to lack of patrolmen. Chief Schumaker stated that he projected what is needed for tranquility, with no fear of homes being burglarized or children being assaulted. Chief Schumaker said he enjoys his position and will not leave here, and enjoys the people he works with. He added that he's not satisfied with the Police service he is delivering to the City. He said they investigated 56 accidents in the last two months and they could have prevented some if they had the patrol cars on U.S.l doing preventive patrol, but they were elsewhere working on other calls. Chief Schumaker said he knows money is critical and he wouldn't have to recruit if it were available. He added that six officers and equipment should be here and he should be asking for more. -3- Council Special Meeting & Workshop Minutes March 13, 1986 . . .f!li?" ", .. (.) CJ Police Department needs per February 3, 1986 memo from Chief L. Schumaker (Continued) - Chief Schumaker noted that 34% of the City's budget goes to public safety for Police and Fire, and most communities have 40% to 45% of the City's budget going to public safety.. He said for the last 10 years the Department did not grow with the community, and his report is based on the fact that the City will grow. He pointed out that people coming into a community look at two things, one is the school system and the other is the public safety program. He added that an active Police Department tends to set a standard of people who move here. He said he doesn't mean to get emotional, but to deliver a quality Police service, he needs, and the City and people need, 3 Police officers and one supervisor per shift. He said he doesn't need another Sergeant until he can get them just for supervision as now he's just a higher paid patrolman. Councilman Asting stated that the Chief has the support of the entire Council and they're trying to do what they can for the Police Department to build it up according to his recommendations. He said he agrees they should hire up to the total number of personnel in the needed column of the report, and even though they are not budgeted, they have to amend the budget. He said he'd go along with two officers and a vehicle now to help relieve the situation and then in the next budget they can probably go ahead and fulfill the request according to the report. Councilman Rotundo said he agreed with the Chief in expanding the Police Department and will support it any way he can. Councilman Asting moved that they authorize the Chief to recruit two new patrolmen, and obtain one Police cruiser under the State or County bid. Cpuncilman Inman seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED 5-0. Mayor Baugh asked for a breakdown of salaries in Volusia County as the report showed Eustis. Chief Schumaker said he used that because it's about the same size as Edgewater. Mayor Baugh said he'd like it for Volusia County with personnel versus population and salaries to add to the report so they'll be along the same line as others. Councilman Inman said during negotiations the City Clerk got a breakdown of salaries of the Police Departments. City Clerk Martinez said it's the one they used last year. Mayor Baugh said there's a new updated one and he'd like to see it. Councilman Asting moved to adjourn. Councilman Prater seconded the motion. Meeting was adjourned at 3:48 P.M. Minutes submitted by: Lura Sue Koser ;;:r~ 8,- MA OR I --r' ~ t ATTEST: h~/'~7;:;; COUNCILMAN ZONE tllREE - ~ -;?:J~~~_ ~OUNCILMAN - ZONE FOUR ~ Z:::---L.- ""~ CITY CLERK Approved this 7th day ~f : April ,198~ ~~r5L MAYOR -4- Council Special Meeting & Workshop Minutes March 13, 1986