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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-06-27 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COMMISSION BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2006 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco called the Budget Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. in Room 105 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88t" Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, Vice Mayor Edward C. Partner, Commissioner Patte Atkins -Grad, Commissioner Marc L. Sultanof, and Commissioner Harry Dressler. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, Deputy City Manager Michael C. Cernech, Assistant City Attorney D.J. Doody, and City Clerk Marion Swenson. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco led the pledge of allegiance. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco thanked everyone who worked on the budget; Commissioner Sultanof said Tamarac's staff is the best in Broward County. Commissioner Atkins -Grad said we are 'Team Tamarac' and she is proud to be a commissioner. City Manager Miller introduced Financial Services Director Chapman and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino, and gave a brief overview of the budget. Financial Services Director Chapman touched on the highlights of the general fund. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the occupational license increases and asked if these were incorporated into the budget. Financial Services Director Chapman said they were not as the ordinance has not passed first and second readings. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino reviewed the department highlights for Building and Code Compliance. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 4-3 increase in salaries and page 4-9 line 2205 pension. Financial Services Director Chapman replied this is due to the change in the pension plan and the classification and pay plan. Commissioner Dressler asked that in the future financial summaries track the average variance over a 3-5 year period, which would put the current numbers more into perspective. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned page 4-4 increase in other consultant services and other agencies for inspection services and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said this is due to the expected increase in activity for 2007. Financial Services Director Chapman added a building permit fee study has been added as the fees have not changed in eight years; a survey shows that compared to other cities Tamarac's fees are low. It was decided to bring in a consultant for FY07 to determine how our operation is working and set appropriate fee structures. Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 1 of 8 Management and Budget Officer Sammartino reviewed the highlights and program modifications of Community Development and said there has been a reorganization as Economic Development was moved out of the department. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino reviewed the highlights and program modifications of Financial Services. Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz discussed page 6-10 changes to the website to provide outside vendors the opportunity to register their firms online in order to do business with the City. Commissioner Sultanof asked if this is a one time cost and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz said it is. Vice Mayor Portner questioned the City's intention with regard to Satellite City Hall, and City Manager Miller said we have a three-year lease for the present location. Vice Mayor Portner questioned the increase to the lease and Financial Services Director Chapman said it is about $18,000 per year, and the price is competitive. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the future of the location and whether there is a window of opportunity to terminate the lease. City Manager Miller said this is a shorter term lease than the vendor originally wanted. If a public facility is built near the Turnpike, Satellite City Hall may be moved to that location. Commissioner Dressler questioned page 6-13 line 23- 02 decrease in health insurance. Financial Services Director Chapman explained as people change coverage or leave the department changes are made to the health insurance line item. Conversely, if people are added to the department, or current members add family members to the policy, this line item could increase. Commissioner Dressler questioned page 6-13 item 4405 and said there appears to be a significant increase in the percentage. Financial Services Director Chapman explained this is the difference going from the old three-year lease to the new three-year lease and property values are rising. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino discussed the Mayor and City Commission budget, in particular donations to non-profit groups, and noted FY07 includes the full year of appropriations for lobbyists. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 8-4 charities, and after discussion, asked for an increase of $250.00 for each non-profit organization. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco noted the Area Agency on Aging has changed its name to Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and asked that this change be made. Deputy City Manager Cemech said Commissioner Atkins -Grad received a request from "Neighbors Assisting Neighbors" to be included in the budget. No decision is needed from the Mayor and City Commission at today's meeting as there has been no opportunity to evaluate the request. Commissioner Dressler questioned whether the group falls under the 501(c)(3) designation, and if they do not, they do not meet the criteria. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco, Commissioners Sultanof and Atkins -Grad, and Vice Mayor Portner agreed with Commissioner Dressler's comment. Financial Services Director Chapman said there is money in contingency should the Mayor and City Commission decide at a future time to make a donation to this organization and suggested the Mayor and City Commission exclude the Chamber of Commerce, ADRC, Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 2 of 8 and Kids Voting Broward from the increase of $250.00 as these organizations are fully funded. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said she had suggested Neighbors Helping Neighbors seek grant funding and asked Commissioner Atkins -Grad to follow up on this. Commissioner Dressler asked that for future budgets a notation be made as to who is requesting the contributions, e.g., the Commission. City Manager Miller confirmed the expression of the Commission was to hold the Neighbors Helping Neighbors request indefinitely until it is determined whether they are a non-profit organization and they are acting as more than a homeowners association. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said more information is needed. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked for an expression of interest to increase all charities $250.00 except for ADRC, Kids Voting Broward and the Chamber of Commerce. All were in agreement. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino reviewed the highlights of the City Manager and Public Information budgets and said there are no program modifications. Commissioner Dressler questioned page 8-9 and asked why the number of mailings is 17% less. Public Information Officer Crockett explained the change from bi-monthly 12 page Tam -A -Grams to quarterly 20 page publications. Vice Mayor Portner questioned changing Public Information Officer Crockett's title to CIO. After discussion it was decided to leave the status quo. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino discussed Economic Development and said the housing division is funded by a grant. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the department's performance measures and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said they are new to this budget year. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned page 8- 13 and asked how the number 12 was arrived at for a performance measure. Economic Development Officer Berns replied he made one visit per month to the larger employers in the city. Commissioner Dressler spoke of methods of measuring and said the metric for measuring economic development is the gain in square footage contributable to industrial/commercial usage. Other significant metrics to consider are the number of jobs added to the employer base as this has a ripple effect on the economy of a city. City Manager Miller said this will be considered for future budgets; we are trying to match these measurements up with our Sterling Criteria and Tamarac has done well in job creation with approximately 1,000 jobs per year over the last decade. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino discussed Boards and Committees and said there is no change in the budget. Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 3 of 8 Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned the Consumer Affairs Office and said based on tomorrow's discussion to sunset the Committee that item would change. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the highlights of the City Attorney's budget. Vice Mayor Portner asked why there is a line item for outside counsel and questioned page 8-17 item 3110. Assistant City Attorney Doody said when the law firm was hired the city was already using outside counsel for various issues, and it was decided and agreed that the law firm would not interfere with existing relationships. Deputy City Manager Cernech explained the City of Tamarac historically used certain attorneys to handle certain items and the contract with the current city attorney specifies the use of outside counsel for some types of matters. City Manager Miller explained if the City of Tamarac and North Lauderdale were to have an issue we would need outside counsel because this attorney represents both cities and he would have a conflict of interest. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco concurred when the city attorney was interviewed it was agreed the City of Tamarac wished to continue relationships with certain outside counsel. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino discussed the City Clerk's budget and spoke of $100,000 reduction in election costs due to there being no 2007 election. Vice Mayor Portner asked what the savings would be if the city moves to November elections and City Clerk Swenson said no less than $80,000. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco called for a recess at 10:30 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 10:46 a.m. with all present as before. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino reviewed the highlights of the Human Resources budget and said there is one program modification for Employee Education Assistance. Vice Mayor Portner asked how many employees avail themselves of this program and the schools involved. Human Resources Director Swanson said currently 21 (not including fire employees) participate, up from 10 two years ago. A variety of schools are included, such as FAU, BCC, private universities, Phoenix, and FIU. Commissioner Sultanof asked about federal funding for education enhancement and whether the City could tap into this. Assistant City Manager Phillips said the federal money is earmarked for the schools themselves, but she would look into available programs. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the Risk Management budget. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the I.T. budget and Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 10-4 and asked for clarification of the equipment. I.T. Director Sucuoglu said this is the main storage center for the city and the program modification is for an upgrade from one to five units. Commissioner Sultanof asked about the savings with regard to the new phone system and I.T. Director Sucuoglu said it is estimated at $80,000 annually and is not all reflected in his budget. Next year we will see the actual billing which should go down to an average of $4,000 per month. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the city's involvement with HTE, and I.T. Director Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 4 of 8 Sucuoglu said this is our enterprise application provider and we have a long term relationship with them. Commissioner Dressler questioned the voice over internet protocol and I.T. Director Sucuoglu explained this is a term loosely used in the private sector. We are not using the internet for our phone service; we use our own fiber network. Additionally, we use BellSouth ISDN lines. Commissioner Dressler commended the city on its leading edge approach to communications. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned page 10-8 EOC and page 10-9 Tamarac Community Center improvements. I.T. Director Sucuoglu explained the new phone system was not installed at the EOC last year. Additionally, the new phone system is dependent on the city fiber system. Station 15, utilities, public works and the building department are all on the same campus area and their fiber is underground and protected. City Hall is also protected. Last year after Hurricane Wilma we realized the Tamarac Community Center played an important role in providing hurricane service and if we lose the fiber connection these modifications will allow for an independent operation of the system. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said these modifications affect the residents at crucial times. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned page 10-12 and I.T. Director Sucuoglu explained technical support dedicated to fire rescue is necessary. Commissioner Dressler asked if there is an equivalent need for BSO and I.T. Director Sucuoglu said there is a good relationship with the Chiefs office but their system is separate from Tamarac's. BSO Chief Dugger agreed if something is needed, I.T. is able to provide a patch in an emergency. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the highlights of the Parks and Recreation budget. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 11-4 the $5,000 for extended fireworks and Director of Parks and Recreation Warner explained the contract calls for 20-25 minutes of fireworks. In the past we have gotten the 25 minutes; however, last year we only got 20 minutes. He discussed this with the vendor and they assure us they will provide the full 25 minutes this year. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned whether this company would bid for a new contract and if there are other firms that might bid. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said there are other firms out there and it is possible the current vendor will bid. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 11-6 'dive in movie'. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner explained residents are able to watch a movie while they are in the water. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 11-9 and Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said the increase is for the aquatic center. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 11-13 and asked about the responsibilities of the Social Services Specialist; Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said this is a new position and we are adding a focus to the Social Service Division for families and youth. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked about the show mobile, page 2-1. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said this will be refurbished as it is 12 years old. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked about the hurricane preparedness festival and Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said the name would be changed to Hurricane Preparedness Expo. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the Public Works budget and spoke of program modifications. Vice Mayor Portner questioned the need for the curtain in the chambers and asked if an alternate window covering could be considered. Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 5 of 8 Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer Doherty said he would look into the matter. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned page 2-1 fleet garage ventilation and Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer Doherty explained the system is old and needs to be replaced. Vice Mayor Portner questioned page 2-3 sidewalk repair and maintenance and street pavement overlay. Financial Services Director Chapman explained a survey was done and sidewalk cracks were graded 1, 2, and 3. $400,000 will cover damage to the sidewalks most in need and this would be a one time fix for most of the sidewalks included. $160,000 was budgeted for FY06 based on commission action taken at the last meeting. $400,000 is the estimated cost to repair the most dangerous sidewalks; $140,000 budgeted in FY06, $260,000 budgeted for FY07, $50,000 the annual amount the commission approved to perform annual upkeep of the sidewalks. Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer Doherty explained $200,000 is being put aside each year so there will be money available in 10-15 years to redo the streets. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned the main street infrastructure and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said this has been divided among the departments involved and the general fund. Financial Services Director Chapman spoke of the improvements to the infrastructure from Pine Island Road to 94t" Avenue for the Main Street project and said this would be supported by taxes paid from all taxpayers in the city. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked for another way to finance this project and Financial Services Director Chapman spoke of a special assessment. After discussion, Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked for an expression of interest to have Financial Services Director Chapman look into a special assessment for this area and all were against the special assessment. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said page 8-24, school crossing guards, do not come under BSO but are included within their budget since this is a safety function. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said the BSO budget is in accordance with the contract entered into between the City of Tamarac and BSO. Commissioner Sultanof asked if the school crossing guards fall under the purview of the school districts and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said each city pays for its own guards. There was discussion regarding school crossing guards and police protection for students crossing a street from one city to another, e.g., Sunrise, Lauderhill and Tamarac. City Manager Miller said the school board's policy is that for major thoroughfares, such as Commercial Boulevard, parents are not to drop children off on the Sunrise side of the street; Tamarac provides crossing guards on the City's side of the street and BSO is there to assist traffic control. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino discussed the General Fund Non - Departmental Budget. Commissioner Dressler questioned page 8-25 item 8301 and City Manager Miller said if a company is interested in moving to the City of Tamarac, the Mayor and City Commission may provide incentives. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned item 9151 and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino explained this is used for grant matches. Vice Mayor Portner asked at whose discretion is contingency money used, item 9700 and Financial Services Director Chapman said the Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 6 of 8 Mayor and City Commission and City Manager. Commissioner Dressler asked that the draw columns for transfers be included in the next budget as an appendix. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the Fire Rescue budget and program modifications, and said the fire assessment will increase from $129.00 - $141.00 for residential property and increase according to footage for commercial/industrial. This will net $650,000 and provide a relief to the general fund. Commissioner Sultanof said this is not an easy sell and asked if there would be an increase every year. Financial Services Director Chapman said we will maintain the fund at 100% of allowable cost. Commissioner Dressler clarified the increase in the fire assessment is a function of increasing labor costs. Vice Mayor Portner left the meeting at 12:15 p.m. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino reviewed Stormwater and said there is the standard CPI rate increase. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco spoke of the Woodlands canal maintenance agreement and said any community may come forward and enter into an agreement with the city if they so choose. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino presented the highlights of the Utilities budget. Commissioner Sultanof questioned payment of the new building on the 10 acres. Financial Services Director Chapman said Tamarac is still negotiating with the contractors through the bidding process to construct the new utility building, using less than the 10 acres. We are also looking at bank financing and this will be brought to the Mayor and City Commission at the July 12 meeting, but it is not reflected in this budget. Commissioner Sultanof complimented the City Manager and staff for the purchase of the 10 acres. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned page 13-8 and Director of Utilities Gagnon explained the need for an operator trainee, as a portion of his staff will be ready to move on in the next 4 years and he does not want to find the department in a crisis situation. Commissioner Dressler asked if this could be done for code inspectors also and City Manager Miller explained technical positions in local government are under pressure from the private sector and our major goal over the next few years is succession planning. Building and Code Compliance Director Jones explained technical positions in code enforcement require licenses that are only obtainable through the private sector, but training positions are valuable no matter where they are placed. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino spoke of the next steps in the budget process and said at the July 12 meeting the Mayor and City Commission will set the proposed millage rate and dates for the public hearings. Tentative dates for the public hearings are September 13 and September 20. Additionally, the Mayor and City Commission will set the fire assessment rate. After the commission vacation, in August, the TRIM notices will go out. Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 7 of 8 City Manager Miller thanked the Mayor and City Commission for their due diligence and asked if they would give an expression of interest to move on to the next steps in the process. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked for clarification of fund balance and Financial Services Director Chapman explained the charter requires the city to maintain a fund balance of 10% or less of the current year's budget expenditures. The fund balance currently is $4.3 million. Commissioner Sultanof thanked Financial Services Director Chapman, the City Manager and staff for putting together the budget and added City Manager Miller is the best City Manager Tamarac has had. Commissioners Dressler and Atkins -Grad thanked everyone for their work on the budget. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco congratulated the staff on their work and said the commission is united. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked for an expression of interest to move on to the next steps in the budget process and all were in agreement. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and City Commission, Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco adjourned the workshop meeting at 12:40 p.m. MARION SWENSON, CMC CITY CLERK 1 Budget Workshop June 27, 2006 Page 8 of 8