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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-07-08 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Schreiber called the Budget Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order on Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at 9:00 a.m. in Room 105 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Joe Schreiber, Vice Mayor Karen L. Roberts, Commissioner Edward C. Portner, Commissioner Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, and Commissioner Marc L. Sultanof. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, City Attorney Mitchell S. Kraft, Assistant City Manager Michael C. Cernech, and City Clerk Marion Swenson. Mayor Schreiber led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Partner apologized for the events at Monday's workshop. City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller gave an overview of the budget and said the four purposes of the budget are policy, financial plan, operational guide and action plan. City Manager Miller discussed the strategic goals, financial highlights, necessity to increase the budget, and reviewed highlights of the general fund, fire rescue fund, and utility fund. City Manager Miller reviewed the next steps in the budget process. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino gave an overview of the general fund revenues and appropriations. Commissioner Portner asked where the $1 million from gas tax goes and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino responded that it is required by statute that the money is spent for transportation and related services. Finance Director Newman made financing recommendations for capital projects, explained that some projects are better suited for financing than pay as you go, and recommended that the Commission consider a bond issue for those projects that must be accomplished within the next year or two, have a long and useful life, have significant cost per project, and have an existing related revenue stream. Finance Director Newman suggested 20 year revenue bonds for stormwater and utility projects that fall into the above -stated categories. Mayor Schreiber asked about the interest and Finance Director Newman responded she has no estimate of the total cost over 20 years. Mayor Schreiber spoke about the possibility of securing state funding for the C- 14 pumps, and discussed FMIT funds. Finance Director Newman said the pumps need to be done soon and there are many stormwater projects that may be eligible for bond funding. Commissioner Portner said he spoke to Lobbyist Ron Book about possible funds from Tallahassee, and whether there is money available. Commissioner Sultanof said he heard there was money available specifically for stormwater pump programs. Mayor Schreiber asked about our debt ratio, and Finance Director Newman said we have a low debt ratio. Vice Mayor Roberts asked if the $6.00 monthly stormwater fee for July 8, 2003 City Commission Budget Workshop 1 new families moving in was included and Finance Director Newman said it is not a significant amount. Commissioner Sultanof said a 20 year projection is better at this time because of the minimum interest rate. The infrastructure is 40 years old and has not been touched in all these years, and he is in favor of Finance Director Newman's recommendations. Commissioner Portner disagreed and said he does not want future generations to pay for what is being done now. Finance Director Newman said all customers would derive the benefit of the projects over the next 20 years and would participate in repayment. IT Director Sucuoglu introduced Glenda Christian and Gary Feinstein and gave a presentation. IT Director Sucuoglu said the IT Department participates with all other departments in the overall wellbeing of the City. Vice Mayor Roberts asked if there is a fee that the City pays when customers pay for services via credit card and IT Director Sucuoglu said there is based on the type of transaction, and it ranges from 1 % - 2.1 %. Mayor Schreiber questioned salary and benefit increases. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino responded that the increase in benefits is consistent throughout the budget; there have been significant pension increases due to the return on investments and the actuarial study. Mayor Schreiber asked if this is legal and Finance Director Newman said the pension plan is a defined plan for employees and there are laws that must be followed. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino added that other insurance plans have also increased and spoke of the workers' compensation line item allocated to each user department which better quantifies the cost of doing business. Commissioner Sultanof clarified that benefits are those items not related to salaries. Mayor Schreiber asked that the section of the law regarding pension funding be provided to him. Commissioner Portner questioned depreciation and Finance Director Newman said depreciation is shown in the statement received from the auditors in conjunction with GASBE 34. Mayor Schreiber questioned page 10-4, Wireless Access, and asked how many years are being considered. IT Director Sucuoglu said the total cost for the first year is $19,500 plus the $7,500 for the wireless access service. Mayor Schreiber questioned page 10-5, and the increase in item 46-02. IT Director Sucuoglu said since many services were introduced in support of the City's growth, maintenance contracts are now coming up. Mayor Schreiber questioned the automobile allowance increase for directors from $300 to $500. Vice Mayor Roberts said this puts directors on the same level as the Commission. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech introduced City Engineer/Assistant Public Works Director John Doherty, Project Manager (Solid Waste/Recycling) Amber D'Amato, Operations Manager Doug Ritchie, and Fleet Supervisor Vince Sciacca. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech gave an overview of the Public Works Department and said the department has been providing services at the highest level ever in spite of the fact that the new public works director will be the fourth director of the department in FY03. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech thanked Operations Manager July 8, 2003 City Commission Budget Workshop 2 Ritchie, Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato, Assistant Public Works Director Doherty, Project Manager Rowbotham, supervisors, crew leaders and employees of the Public Works Department for a tremendous job. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech spoke of additional responsibilities of the Public Works Department: stormwater division maintenance of canals, landscaping division additional medians and municipal facilities, fleet division maintenance of fire trucks, and capital improvement projects. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech thanked Finance Director Newman, Management and Budget Officer Sammartino, Management and Budget Analyst II, Gresek, and Management and Budget Analyst 1, Wadsworth for their help. Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato reviewed program modifications. Commissioner Sultanof asked if FPL was obligated to trim trees that hit the power lines and Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato said FPL hires a contractor to do that work. Commissioner Sultanof asked about the bulbs on the poles and Operations Manager Ritchie said the new poles are higher than the old ones and the bulbs have increased lumens. Mayor Schreiber asked who pays for the light poles and Operations Manager Ritchie said Broward County and the State pay for respective lights they install. Mayor Schreiber asked why recycling is diminishing and Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato said more education is needed. Mayor Schreiber spoke about giving back to the residents in the way of a reduced recycling fee. Commissioner Sultanof suggested educating residents through the Tam -A -Gram. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned page 12-15 and asked where the difference between the amount collected and that paid to the contractor went. Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato said it goes into the general fund, and the $10,000 for printing is merely asking for the authority to spend the appropriation in this manner. Vice Mayor Roberts said she felt part of the drop in recycling was due to more families eating out. Commissioner Sultanof suggested calling John Ferguson of All Service, as the CRC is being reestablished. Mayor Schreiber asked what other cities do with regard to cleaning canals, and whether we are obligated to do this work. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech said it is Tamarac's responsibility to maintain the canals, and we have already established a high service level in this area. Commissioner Sultanof asked if there is money available from the federal government or the EPA to try to strike a balance between what growth the fish eat and the new growth that they will not eat. Assistant to the City Manager Phillips said she would look into this. Commissioner Sultanof asked how many miles of canals Tamarac has and Operations Manager Ritchie said 635 acres of canals. Commissioner Partner commended the Public Works Department for keeping the canals clean and said the residents are happy. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned page 12-18, Development Services Building Janitorial Services and Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato clarified it is just for cleaning services. Commissioner Sultanof asked what the savings to the Fire Department would be by incorporating fire vehicles into the fleet program and Operations Manager Ritchie said it will cut down on the down -time. Vice Mayor Roberts asked if the new position is just for fire apparatus and Operations Manager Ritchie said it would be the main function of this position, but if the person has time available they would work on other things and be used as needed. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned July 8, 2003 City Commission Budget Workshop 3 page 12-23, Item 34-05 and Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato said currently a portion of the cleaning services is funded in Parks and Recreation and a portion in Public Works. For FY04 all will be funded in Public Works. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned page 12-24, items 52-01, 52-02 and 52-03. Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato said fleet was moved from separate funds to a general fund. Commissioner Portner questioned page 12-24, item 52-10 and Project Manager (Solid Waste Recycling) D'Amato said it is related to fleet. Mayor Schreiber questioned page 14-9, the turn lane, and asked why Tamarac is doing this, not the County or State. Assistant Public Works Director Doherty said this section of Commercial Boulevard's right of way is owned by Tamarac. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned the $40,000 and why the City had to do this work, and Assistant Public Works Director Doherty said the new bank will give a $40,000 contribution as well as additional land, plus it is a safety issue. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech said it is the cost of doing business. Vice Mayor Roberts asked about page 14-12, vehicle replacement, and said she thought this was covered in the jump-start at mid -year. Finance Director Newman said it has to be budgeted in order to be spent. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned page 14-13, Item #8, the cost of the Dodge fire vehicle and Operations Manager Ritchie said this is gotten from the County contract and Fleet Supervisor Sciacca said it has an upgraded engine and is considered a pursuit vehicle. Mayor Schreiber asked if it is less expensive to lease vehicles and Finance Director Newman said under our replacement plan there are no finance charges so it is less expensive to purchase. Vice Mayor Roberts asked about page 14-15, and when the BSO fuel tank was last replaced. Operations Manager Ritchie said it was the above -ground tank for emergency generator to which Vice Mayor Roberts referred. Assistant Public Works Director Doherty reviewed page 14-17 the Stormwater Master Plan, and Mayor Schreiber asked where the $400,000 was derived from; Assistant Public Works Director Doherty said it is an estimate. Assistant City Manager/Interim Public Works Director Cernech spoke about stormwater projects and said changes in design are being made to accommodate the Southgate Linear Park. The City wants to go out to bid so work can begin after the new year (January 2004). Things that must get done are the stormwater master plan, Boulevards drainage improvements, and Woodlands subdivision internal road drainage study, which is in this year's budget. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said an item which did not get into the budget book, but has no fiscal impact, is movement of two positions from Utilities to Public Works. Mayor Schreiber called for a recess at 11 Budget Workshop meeting at 11:35 a.m. Portner. 15 a.m. Mayor Schreiber reconvened the with all present except for Commissioner Community Development Director King gave an overview of Community Development and said Code Enforcement has been relocated to the Building Department and because of that there have been some organizational changes in Community Development; Occupational Licenses is now its own division. The Department will continue to hold its performance at a high level. This has been a productive year with July 8, 2003 City Commission Budget Workshop 4 1 the Consultant's Feasibility Study for the 57ffi Street Project and finishing land use elements, and the department looks forward to another productive year with more Economic Development activities and a focus on the Main Street Project; Planning and Zoning Manager Thies reviewed the program modifications. Mayor Schreiber questioned page 14-4 and asked why the GIS project needed equipment and furnishing. Community Development Director King said this is computer hardware and software. Commissioner Sultanof asked about the consultants, and Community Development Director King said after the consultants finished their work a marketing company will be engaged to promote Main Street and enhance development. Vice Mayor Roberts questioned pages 5-8 through 5-10 and salary changes. Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said this represents inter -departmental movement of the Code Enforcement Division. Mayor Schreiber asked about input from the Commission toward the Main Street Project and Planning and Zoning Manager Thies said guidelines would be designed for businesses with input from the Commission. Commissioner Flansbaum-Talabisco asked how many years we are looking at and Planning and Zoning Manager Thies said we expect build out in a couple years. Human Resources Director Swanson gave an overview of the Human Resources budget. Mayor Schreiber asked for an explanation of Human Resources and Human Resources Director Swanson said it is recruitment and selection, administration of benefits, classification and pay, labor relations, training and risk management. Mayor Schreiber asked about expanding union contracts to four years and Human Resources Director Swanson said it is dictated by state law. Vice Mayor Roberts said if the classification study is being done in the spring why not put it in the mid -year budget, and Human Resources Director Swanson said the mid -year budget does not come to the Commission until the end of April and she would like the RFP issued prior to that. Risk/Safety Manager Tomaszewski reviewed program modifications regarding insurance premiums and the Safety Coordinator position. Mayor Schreiber questioned page 9-9 item 40-02. Risk/Safety Manager Tomaszewski said money was taken from item 52-21 and moved to 40-02 for safety training. Human Resources Director Swanson discussed the city's contribution to the pension plans. There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Mayor Schreiber adjourned the budget workshop meeting at 12:10 p.m. ,I -A 4Y� ti Marion Swenson, CMC City Clerk July 8, 2003 City Commission Budget Workshop 5