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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-12 - City Commission Special Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP QUARTERLY FINANCIAL UPDATE Wednesday, October 12, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Bushnell called the City Commission Financial Update meeting to order at 9:08 a.m. on Wednesday, October 12 2011, in the second floor meeting room of the Tamarac Recreation Center, 7501 North University Drive. ROLL CALL: Mayor Pamela Bushnell, Commissioner Marion Swenson, Vice Mayor Michelle J. Gomez and Commissioner Diane Glasser were in attendance. Commissioner Harry Dressler was absent. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Michael C. Cernech, Assistant City Manager Diane Phillips, City Attorney Sam Goren, City Clerk Peter Richardson, Building Director Claudio Grande, Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley, Community and Economic Affairs Officer Andy Berns, Financial Services Director Mark Mason, Human Resources Director Maria Swanson, Interim Utilities Director/ Public Works Director Jack Strain, Interim Public Works Director/Assistant Director John Doherty, Information Technology Director Levent Sucuoglu, Fire Chief Mike Burton and BSO Chief Marc Duguay. Mayor Bushnell extended a warm welcome to all in attendance at today's meeting. Mr. Goren presented a brief overview of last night's Broward County Commission public hearing and the related adoption of ethics code requirements for local elected officials in Broward County. Mr. Goren said his office would provide an overview of summary points on this matter as soon as practical. Mr. Cernech made brief introductory comments about today's presentations by City staff, including the fact that the results of the recent community survey appeared to indicate that the majority of City of Tamarac residents were pleased with the City services they received on a daily basis. Financial Services Director Mark Mason provided a detailed overview of the City's revenues and expenditures to date in all City funds, noting that current balances were generally on -target through the third quarter of the City's fiscal year. Mr. Mason responded to questions from the Mayor and City Commissioners and noted that he would be updating the Mayor and City Commissioners on budget related matters at the budget quarterly update meeting in March 2012. Interim Public Works Director/Assistant Director John Doherty provided a comprehensive overview of recently completed and proposed capital improvement projects, including locations, funding sources and related project information, and responded to questions and comments from the Mayor and City Commissioners. Mr. Cernech said that City staff would continue to keep the Mayor and City Commissioners updated on project processes and timeframes on an ongoing basis. Mr. Strain noted that a fair number of projects were handled on a design build basis, adding somewhat to the overall complexity of project management and related timeframes. He noted that in spite of this complexity, timeframes for project completion were met with a high degree of frequency. There was a break in the meeting between 10:31 and 10:52 a.m. Financial Services Director Mark Mason said that City staff was requesting that the Mayor and City Commissioners consider the possibility of including solid waste charges (single-family residential only) and storm water fees on property tax bills of City residents. Mr. Mason reviewed potential benefits of this approach including reductions in the number of delinquent utility bills, a greater consistency of cash flow, an overall decrease in collection costs for the City's Storm Water Fund and Utility Billing. Mr. Mason noted that the City's annual fire service assessment was currently included on property tax bills. Mr. Mason responded to questions from the Mayor and City Commissioners regarding staffs proposals. Mr. Mason stated that City staff recommended including solid waste charges (for single- family residential only) and storm water fees on future property tax bills. He presented an overview of the required steps, including the need for the adoption of a notice of intent resolution prior to December 31, 2011 and related advertising and process requirements. Mr. Mason noted that eleven other cities in Broward County presently included solid waste billing on their property tax bills and five cities in Broward County presently collected storm water fees through property tax billing. There was a unanimous expression of interest from all four members of the City Commission in attendance to proceed with City staffs recommendation relative to proceeding with the process for the inclusion of both items (solid waste and storm water fees) on future City of Tamarac property tax bills. Assistant City Manager Diane Phillips provided a summary of results of the recent survey of residents, noting that 56% of survey respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied with the value received for City tax dollars and fees, above the average for both the State of Florida and the United States. She also stated that 78% of City of Tamarac survey respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied with the overall quality of services provided by the City, significantly greater than the satisfaction rates for the State of Florida (60%) and the United States (56%). Ms. Phillips also reviewed the results of the business survey, resulting in an overall satisfaction level of 81% and further indicating that 75% of business respondents felt that the City of Tamarac was "business- friendly". Ms. Phillips also provided a summary overview of the survey of City employees, noting that 90% of employees had responded that the City of Tamarac was a good employer. Ms. Phillips noted that the survey company's representative, Chris Tatum, would be making a detailed presentation about the survey's results at tomorrow afternoon's City of Tamarac employee appreciation luncheon. Director of Community Development Jennifer Bramley presented an overview of the proposed redevelopment study, noting that it would take the project consultant an estimated eight months to complete this very comprehensive project. Ms. Bra mley also noted that the proposed corridor study would place a significant emphasis on creating a unique sense of place and a heightened sense of detail relative to landscaping, lighting, signage and street furniture. There was a break in the proceedings between 1:56 and 2:11 p.m. Interim Director of Utilities/Director of Public Works Jack Strain made a presentation regarding red light camera equipment and related enforcement matters, noting that no cameras would be installed until a notice to proceed was issued. Mr. Strain said the purpose of the program was to protect the public by reducing serious accidents, with the potential future program being revenue -neutral, rather than serving as a revenue generator. He noted that the City of Pembroke Pines was presently engaged in negotiating their red light camera contract with American Traffic Solutions. Mr. Goren noted that the City of Pembroke Pines contract included a "favored nation" clause. City staff including Mr. Strain, Mr. Goren, BSO Chief Duguay and Fire Chief Burton responded to questions from the Mayor and City Commissioners regarding red light cameras. Following discussion by the Mayor and City Commissioners, there was agreement to wait and see the outcome of Pembroke Pines negotiations relative to its contract negotiations with American Traffic Solutions prior to making any decision relative to the City of Tamarac's red light camera program. The workshop meeting adjourned at 3:12 p.m. Peter M. J. 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