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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-09-04 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes7525 Northwest 88 Avenue Tamarac, FL 33321-2401 L RECORD OF COUNCIL. ACTIONS/DISCUSSIONS August 26, 1991 NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1991 There will be a Special. Meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, September 4, 1991, at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida, to hold public hearings on the proposed millage and tentative budgets for Fiscal Year 1991/92. 1. ANNOUNCEMENT of the percentage increase in proposed millage rate over the rolled -back rate necessary to fund the General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92 and the specific purposes for which ad valorum tax revenues are being increased. FINAL ACTION: Announcement was made as follows: The tentative General Fund budget of $15,984,690 is $595,950 less than the current Budget of $16,580,640. Council has proposed to maintain the current millage rate of 4.5818 mils which is a .85% increase (less than 1%) over the rolled back rate of 4.5431 mils. 2. PUBLIC_REARING on the proposed millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL ACTION: Public Hearing was held. 3. PUBLIC HEARING on the tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL ACTION: Public Hearing was held. 4. XQTION TO ADOPT a proposed millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL ACTIQN* APPROVED a proposed millage rate of 4.4603 mils for Fiscal Year 1991/92 which is a 1.83% reduction below the current rolled -back rate of 4.5431 mils. 5. MOTION TO ADOPT a tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL ACTION: APPROVED the tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as $15,921,530.00. 6. AWOUNCEMENT of percentage by which the recomputed millage rate exceeds the rolled -back rate necessary to fund the General Fund budget for 1991/92. Announcement was made. The recomputed millage rate is 4.4603 mils which is 1.83% below the current rolled -back rate of 4.5431 mils. 7. ANNOUNCEMENT of the second public hearing on Thursday, September 19, 1991, at 7:00 P.M. in the City Hall Council Chambers during which a final millage and General Fund budget shall be adopted. FINAL ACTION* Announcement was made. 8. on all other fund budgets for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL _ ACTION Public Hearing was held. 9. MOTION TO ADOPT tentative budgets for all other funds for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL ACTION: APPROVED the recalculated tentative budgets for all other funds for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as follows: Special Revenue Fund $ 1,967,392 Debt Service Fund $ 874,650 Enterprise Fund $18,578,445 Internal Service Fund $ 1,601,11a Total $23,021,602 10. ANNOUNCEMENT of proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL ACTION: Announcement was made for the proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as being .5991 mils which is 3.6% below the current debt service millage rate of .6215 mils. 11. NQTION TO ADOPT proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. FINAL_ ACTION: APPROVED the proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as being .5991 mils. All meetings are open to the public. 61� Carol A. Evans City Clerk Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing,.he will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based 11 1 City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 1 CITY OF TAMARAC SPECIAL BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1991 GALL TO ORDZR: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to order on Wednesday, September 4, 1991 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. Mayor Abramowitz called for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by Moment of Silent Meditation. Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Irving Katz Councilman Henry Schumann Councilwoman Diane Glasser John P. Kelly, City Manager Alan F. Ruf, City Attorney Carol A. Evans, City Clerk Mary Blasi, Finance Director Karen Jackson, Secretary *********************************************************************** 1. ANNOUNCEMENT of the percentage increase in proposed millage rate over the rolled -back rate necessary to fund the General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991Z92 and the specific purposes for which ad valorum tax revenues are being increased. Announcement was made as follows: The tentative General Fund budget of $15,984,690 is $595,950 less than the current Budget of $16,580,640. Council has proposed to maintain the current millage rate of 4.5818 mils, which is a .85% increase (less than 1%) over the rolled back rate of 4.5431 mils. City Manager Kelly said over half of America's cities no longer can pay their current expenses out of current income. He said the City of Tamarac is in solid shape which was done by planning ahead. He said Staff was reduced by attrition without loss of morale. He said the Department Heads brought in tight budgets of which they had been directed to not exceed 3% of last year's operating costs. He said the Union a-nd non -Union employees cooperated tremendously to work harder and to work smarter to maintain the needed levels of service. City Manager Kelly said the City Council wisely invested in the future of the City by committing to the purchase of new vehicles and equipment that is long overdue. He said the Council approved significant Staff reorganizations that have already produced cost savings and more effective service. He said the City has maintained tight budgetary controls throughout this year and have been consistantly accurate with revenue estimates. City Manager Kelly said the projections for the coming year continue to be on the conservative side. He said the City uses generally accepted accounting principles, has an annual audit and has earned a Government Finance Office Association Certificate of Excellence. He said the City Council has expressed its willingness to conduct specialized audits and has authorized an overview audit of the City's major franchises and service contracts to focus on possible problem areas or greater revenue potential. City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 2 City Manager Kelly said the City's bond rating for projects such as the City Hall, the Police Station and well and sewer projects, range from triple B to triple A. He said the City's debt burden is moderate but the City is well positioned for the future. He said he feels the City's major weak spot is in infrastructure maintenance. He said the City has not resurfaced any streets for at least eight years. He said he is hopeful that with this budget, the City can address this problem. City Manager Kelly said another concern of Council is the service delivery for the City's aging population. He said this budget includes money for a new van for the Social Services Department and a four -fold increase in the City's contributions to the Area Agency on Aging for services rendered to the residents of Tamarac. City Manager Kelly said the General Fund budget has been reduced by approximately $600,000.00 from last year. He said there will be no increase in the millage rate on the property tax and no reduction in services. He said there will be no increase in water and sewer rates and the debt service will be slightly reduced. He said the City Council did a fine job and can be proud of the budget to be presented. City Manager Kelly said the announcement of the percentage increase in proposed millage rate over the rolled back rate necessary to fund the General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/1992 is as follows: The tentative General Fund budget of $15,984,690.00 is $595,950.00 less than the current budget of $16,580,640.00. City Manager Kelly said the City Council has proposed to maintain the current millage rate of 4.5818 mils, which is a .85% increase, which is less than a 1% increase over the rolled back rate of 4.5431. He said the rolled back rate is a difficult concept, basically the rate is not increasing over the current rate, but the rolled back rate is required by the Trim Bill from the State of Florida and the rolled back rate is the rate of property tax required to raise the same tax revenues in the budget year as in the current year. City Manager Kelly said if there is no increase in revenue requirements in the budget year, the millage rate will be generally lower because of increased property assessments in the value of new construction being added to the tax rolls. He said there is no increase in the current rate and there is less than 1% over the rolled back rate. 2. POLIC HEARINOi on the proposed millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOPSIS Or ACTION Public Hearing was held. City Manager Kelly said it is very difficult for anyone to discuss this without discussing Item 3 regarding the General Fund budget. Walter Rekuc, resident, expressed his concerns regarding the budget. City Manager Kelly said these comments would be more appropriately made toward the General Fund budget of Item 3. Mayor Abramowitz asked if it is possible to reverse these items and City Attorney Ruf said the State Statutes require the millage rate to be set before the budget. 71 City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 3 3. PUBLIC HEAR,IkIG on the tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOPSIS_- OF46r.TION Public Hearing was held. Walter Rekuc, resident, continued with his concerns regarding the budget. City Manager Kelly said the City had hired an Internal Auditor this past year who worked for two weeks and resigned to a better job offer. He said the City Council is anxious to do auditing on the specialized contracts and franchises and the City is in the process of doing these audits. City Manager Kelly said an erroneous article was published regarding the BSO contract. He said there is a battle between the Broward County Commission, the BSO and their respective Auditors and Finance Directors. He said he feels Tamarac came out as a casualty in this newspaper article, which stated that Tamarac had an overcharge of $758,000.00 by the BSO. City Manager Kelly said the City is required to pay the BSO the money to cover them for the upcoming month at the beginning of each month as per the contract. He said the audit had been done prior to the money being expended by the BSO. He said a partial audit cannot be done in the middle of the year and have accurate figures. He said there are a lot of costs that are not charged to the City by the BSO until the end of the year such as communications, pensions, insurance, retirement, gas and oil and other services. He said there is no overcharge and a report is being prepared by Mr. Thabit to clarify this issue. Mayor Abramowitz said most of the accounts mentioned in Mr. Rekuc's concerns are accounts that the Law requires to be used strictly for those accounts. He said he feels the money spent for the recreational facilities is spent wisely. He said the City is being inundated with children and the Recreation Center is being utilized by children and adults. He.said the City is inundated with complaints about the grass cutting and that the City looks shabby. He said this is the first time that Council approved the purchase of equipment needed to maintain the City. He said the City has six men cutting seven million square feet of grass every month. Melanie Reynolds, resident, expressed her concerns regarding the City's financial stability and the costs of the Community Development and Code Enforcement Departments. Bill George, resident and President of the Tamarac Athletic Federation, expressed his appreciation to the City for the support to the Recreation and Youth Programs. He expressed his concern regarding the Recreation Department needing more money budgeted, based on the increased participation in the recreational activities. He said there needs to be additional personnel budgeted for in order to have these functions work well. Mr. George said the City needs to have more Code Enforcement Officers followup on the homes as they continue to run down. Mayor Abramowitz said the Recreational Program is for adults as well as children. He said there have been approximately 200 charitable organizations requesting the City provide a meeting place. He said it takes personnel in order to provide the service necessary. Thomas Van Dote, resident and Secretary of the Tamarac Soccer Club, expressed his appreciation to the City for their continuous support. He said the City needs to look into the future for the Recreation Program with more maintenance and expansions. He said the Code Enforcement Department needs to have more support and City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 4 attention should be given to the maintenance of the streets and medians. Denise Unger, resident, expressed her concern regarding the BSO contract. She said the audit of the account should be approximately 75% accurate based on accruals. She expressed her concern regarding the money in the Traffic Impact Fee and Street Lighting Accounts. Mayor Abramowitz said the developers put the money in these accounts to be used strictly for building new roads. He said the residents of the City approved the City borrowing two million dollars to upgrade the street lighting. He said it was found that FP&L is obligated to change any light that is 15 years or older in the City; therefore, the City did not have to borrow any money. He said FP&L is doing this and the City is saving over a million dollars. Ms. Unger asked about the Non -Departmental Account for the General Fund and Ms. Blasi said some of the money is for grant -matching funds and other items that would not be in a specific department. TAPE 2 Ms. Blasi said there are copies of the budget in the City Clerk's Office for public review. V/M Bender said the Council held numerous workshop meetings reviewing every aspect of the proposed budget. He expressed his concerns regarding the budget. He said he has tried to obtain information on what the dollar amount of the budget carryover was for the past seven years. He said he had not been successful until this year. He said the amount carried over was approximately $1,390,000.00, which was achieved by utilizing a 4.5818 millage tax rate, which was established from the 1990/91 budget. V/M Bender said he is uncomfortable with this year's budget consisting of accounts holding reserve funds which appeared to be excessive. He said an account in the Treasury Fund with an amount of $402,609.62 was established by the City's former Finance Director under the title of Management Information Service Fund. He said this Fund was established without the knowledge or approval of Council. He said it was disturbing to find that over $400,000.00 was available for use at the time that Council was advised that there was a shortage of funds available to purchase office supplies. V/M Bender said there was $1,450,000.00 in the Insurance Loss Reserve Account. He said this account is intended to be utilized for insurance losses; however, the building up of this account should be spread over many years. He said the tax burden should be spread so that all future taxpayers pay their fair share. V/M Bender requested that $100,000.00 be taken from the Insurance Loss Reserve Account and an additional $100,000.00 be utilized from the $120,000.00 currently available as a balance of the $685,000.00 administrative charge to the Utilities operation. He said this would establish the availability of an additional $200,000.00, which he recommends be used to further reduce the property taxes. He said this proposed reduction will not affect the efficiency of operation or reduce the services provided by the City. He said he intends to make this Motion on Item #4. C/W Glasser said she feels there will not be another contract made with the City until there is an audit completed on the current contracts. Mayor Abramowitz said the City did an in depth study of the Utilities Department and it was found that the City was not overcharging but undercharging the Utilities Department. He said Council worked hard and long on the current proposed budget. He said the City was presented with the findings of this study on Tuesday morning and subsequently held a Special Budget Meeting. He said the indication was that the City had undercharged the City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 5 Utilities Department for their services and money was left over. He said there was $685,000.00 left over of which the City had originally charged $350,000.00 and put it into the General Fund, which left $335,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz said in order for there not to be any increase, the City would take the amount of money which was going into the General Fund and leave a balance of $122,000.00. He said this budget was a result of hard work, prudence, financial responsibility and good planning. He said it had been indicated that there was an additional $120,000.00 which could be utilized and it would mean that there would not be a tax increase but a tax reduction. He said the reduction would be as follows: For anyone who pays $25.00 per year in City taxes, the reduction is .04 per month; $50.00 per year, the reduction is .08 per month; $100.00 per year, the reduction is .1625 per month; and $150.00 per year, the reduction is .245 per month. Mayor Abramowitz said he has no problem with lowering the taxes; however, he is a prudent person and does not like to utilize all the money available. He -said the City should maintain a Reserve Fund. He said 1983 was the last time the taxes in Tamarac were not raised. C/M Katz said in the past couple years there was a shortage of money which resulted in no capital expenditures and increases in salaries were held to a minimum. He said the Union employees will be receiving a 5% contractual increase this year and the Department Heads will be receiving a 3% increase. He said there was a capital expenditure allowable for one half million dollars and money was found to be able to reduce the deficit. He said if there is to be a reduction in the rate, it had to come from the money that Council found. C/M Katz said the public should commend Council for searching the budget for money. V/M Bender said there is possibly enough money to cut the taxes even more. He said it is time to reduce the trend of increased taxes. C/M Schumann said he does not feel there would be a problem in removing $100,000.00 from the Insurance Reserve Fund. He said this should be payable down the line, instead of the current residents footing the entire bill. He said he agrees that the other $100,000.00 from Tamarac Utilities West should be utilized at present. C/W Glasser said this $350,000.00 came up at the last minute; however, everybody was at a comfort level as to what the City had in the various accounts to be secure for the year. She said this $120,000.00 became available to place into the Contingency Account. She asked why the attitude changed on Tuesday based on the comfort level on Friday. Mayor Abramowitz said he does not feel there was a change. He said the Law says the City cannot use certain money except for a specific reason. He said he had to call Council into an Executive Session in the midst of a Budget Workshop in order to discuss labor and Union negotiations. He said he feels the City should be a little prudent in the amount of money being utilized, but he has no problem with voting for this. City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 6 4. MOTION TO ,APQPT a proposed millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOPSIS OF__ ACTION_* APPROVED a proposed millage rate of 4.4603 mils for Fiscal Year 1991/92 which is a 1.83% reduction below the current rolled -back rate of 4.5431 mils. City Manager Kelly said a recalculation needs to be done using these two figures. Ms. Blasi said two items were discussed, one of which was to reduce the Insurance Internal Service Fund by $100,000.00. She said the General Fund contributes to the Insurance Fund in the amount of 63.16% and the Utilities West Fund contributes the remaining balance, which would be a reduction in the General Fund in the amount of $63,160.00 for that part. She said the other item was an additional $100,000.00 taken from the resources available due to the fact that the contribution from Utilities West was an administrative service charge. Ms. Blasi said the amount is $60,987.00 for the rolled back rate. She said she has a computation of 4.4603 mils, which is a 1.9% reduction below the rolled back rate. V/M Bender MOVED that the new proposed millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92 be reduced by the $200,000.00 that was previously stated. Ms. Blasi said this is a Motion to Adopt a proposed millage rate of 4.4603 mils for Fiscal Year 1991/92, which is a 1.83% decrease under the current rolled back rate of 4.5431 mils. C/W Glasser SECONDED the Motion. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE 5. MOTION TO ADOPT a tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOPSTS Or ACTION* APPROVED the tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as $15,921,530.00. Ms. Blasi said the tentative General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 1991/92 is $15,921,530.00. V/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE the tentative budget as $15,921,530.00, SECONDED by C/M Katz. C/W Glasser said at the onset of the budgeting process, Management condoned a possible 4% Utility Tax with a possible decrease in the taxes, or the alternative was an increase in taxes. She said these statements were made prior to researching whether the City was unnecessarily overspending in some areas and if the City was receiving proper cost allocations. She said both of these factors have surfaced and have justified that a Utility tax is not needed and there could be a reduction in taxes.. C/W Glasser said in preparing for the budget, the Council of 1990 came to the conclusion that hiring a part-time City Attorney would save the City a lot of money. She said through research, she found that the City has spent approximately one half million dollars since February, 1990 on a part-time City Attorney. She said in questioning the Risk Manager's budget, the Council has been told that the funds needed for Self -Insurance in her department would have to amount to 5 million dollars with a part-time Attorney as opposed to one million dollars with a full-time Attorney. C/W Glasser said she feels these are reasons enough for Council to consider hiring a full-time City Attorney. She said there have been times that questions have come up during meetings which needed the E City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 7 City Attorney's advice but he was not available due to his part-time status. Mayor Abramowitz requested the expense sheets of the City Attorney. City Attorney Ruf said he feels he is entitled to have an opportunity to discuss this at a workshop meeting and a Motion to look for a full-time Attorney is inappropriate at this time. He said he feels he is entitled to review the dollar figures that C/W Glasser presented. Mayor Abramowitz said he feels that if a full-time City Attorney serves the City best, that is what he wants. He asked if C/W Glasser had a City Attorney in mind and C/W Glasser said, no. C/W Glasser suggested an Interim City Attorney at present and said she has one in mind. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like a report as to why a part-time Attorney would cost the City 5 million dollars and a full-time Attorney would cost the City one million dollars. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE 6. ANNOUNCEMENT of percentage by which the recomputed millage rate exceeds the rolled -back rate necessary to fund the General Fund budget for 1991/92. SYNX I-S __ OF ACTION_ Announcement was made. The recomputed millage rate is 4.4603 mils which 1s 1..83% below the current rolled -back rate of 4.5431 mils. City Manager Kelly said the percentage by which the recomputed millage rite decreases under the rolled back rate is 1.83%. 7. NQIMCEMENT of the second public hearing on Thursday, September 19, 1991, at 7:00 P.M. in the City Hall Council Chambers during which a final millage and General Fund budget shall be adopted. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Announcement was made. Mayor Abramowitz announced the second public hearing to be held on September 19, 1991 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. 8. kLUU&M HEARING on all other fund budgets for Fiscal Year 1991/92. Public Hearing was held. Bernie Hart, resident, expressed his concern regarding previous tax reductions. He commended Council for their budget efforts. 9. MOTJQH TO ADOP11 tentative budgets for all other funds for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOPSIS OF ACTTQN, APPROVED the recalculated tentative budgets for all other funds for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as follows: Special Revenue Fund Debt Service Fund Enterprise Fund Internal Service Fund Total $ 1,967,392 $ 874,650 $18,578,445 115 $23,021,602 C/M Katz MOVED to APPROVE the tentative budgets for all other funds in the amount of $23,021,602 for Fiscal Year 1991/92, SECONDED by C/M Schumann. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE City Council Special Budget Public Hearing 9/4/91/KJ Page 8 10. ANNOUNCEMENT of proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Announcement was made for the proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as being .5991 mils which is 3.6% below the current debt service millage rate of .6215 mils. City Manager Kelly said the proposed debt service millage rate is .5991 mils, which is 3.6% below the current debt service millage rate of .6215 mils. 11. MOTION TO ADORT proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92. SYNOP S I S OF AQj 1 ON ,, APPROVED the proposed debt service millage rate for Fiscal Year 1991/92 as being .5991 mils. V/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE the proposed debt service millage rate of .5991 mils, SECONDED by C/M Schumann. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE Mayor Abramowitz wished everyone a happy and healthy New Year. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this.meeting at 8:20 p.m. ..J ORMAN ABRAMOWITZ MAYOR CAROL A. EVANS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY CLERK APPROVED AT MEETING OF "This public document was promulgated at a cost o per copy to inform the general public, public officers an employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac."