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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-07-24 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting MinutesMAIL REPLY TO; P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE & TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 July 22, 1986 NOTICE OF BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL TAMARAC, FLORIDA There has been a City Council Workshop Meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 24, 1986, at 10:00 A.M. in the West Conference Room of City Hall, 5811 N. W. 88th Avenue, for review of Proposed Budgets for Fiscal Year 1986/87. . The public is invited to attend. Carol E. Barbuto Assistant City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING JULY 24, 1986 Tape CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hart called the meeting to 1 order at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, July 24, 1986, in the West Conference Room at City Hall. PRESENT: Mayor Bernard Hart Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer ALSO PRESENT: City Manager, John P. Kelly Asst. City Manager, Larry Perretti Finance Director, Frank Etheredge Secretary, Paula Helton Mr. Kelly stated the City of Tamarac is going into a lean year and felt the budget was going to be a little restrictive in terms of the services people would like to get. He further stated that in terms of the taxes Tamarac is facing and the revenues to be expected, we may be a little over budget. Vice Mayor Stelzer commented he feels the City Manager and Finance Director are in a better position to judge what a department head needs than any of the Council people. He felt time could be saved by not reviewing each budget line per line and only question items that showed large increases from last year or any major changes. Mr. Kelly stated that due to the fact he has been City Manager for a short time he had to rely heavily on Mr. Perretti and Mr. Etheredge for their input on the budget. He said he met with all the departments and reviewed the recommendation for each department and, for the most part the various departments have felt they could live with the budget. He said there are a few department heads who had some strong opposition and they were advised to contact the Council and state their case. He stated he expected the department heads to fight for their budgets as it is their responsibility to live with it for the rest of the year. Mr. Kelly informed Council that Mr. Applegate, in particular, has objections to his budget. He pointed out there is a difference in the approach to the City Attorney's budget as compared to some other departments. He said as City Manager he has a responsibility to the overall budget, but the City Attorney is appointed differently from the City Manager and there is a certain degree of autonomy accorded him. Mayor Hart said he did not have too many disagreements with the requested budget, but questionned why the estimated revenues were reduced by about two million dollars. He gave the example of Occupational Licenses. Vice Mayor Stelzer said he felt the revenue should be taken up later and go on with the individual department heads on expenditures first. Vice Mayor Stelzer had no disagreements with the City Attorney's budget, but requested comments from Mr. Applegate. CITY ATTORNEY (Pages 3 & 4): Mr. Applegate said he was not satisfied with the recommendations of the City Manager as he felt Mr. Kelly would have difficulty understanding some of the numbers. As an example he called attention to a Library Line Item of $14,500.00. He said this item had not been discussed with him, but had been cut to $5,000.00. He informed Council that $10,000.00 of this figure was for a new computer system called West Law, which is the legal research computer. He stated that in the long run this would save the City a substantial amount of money in updating current volumes. He said it would also save numerous trips to either the Federal or County Courthouse to do research on issues with volumes the City does not have due to space requirements. 7/24/86 / 1 prh He went on further to say this computer system will also save a substantial amount of time in doing the research. He informed Council the initial cost of the computer system is approximately $3,000 To $4,000,but may be lower if it could be adapted to one of his word processing screens. He said the the average use charge would be $500 to $600 per month. Mr. Applegate said he did not anticipate increasing any volumes or books he already has other than updating them. Moving to Professional Services, Mr. Applegate said his proposed budget was $95,000.00. He said the estimated actual for this year is $99,000.00 and he is going by what the City has paid in the past for outside professional services. Vice Mayor Stelzer said the reason for the increase this year was due to the fact there was no City Attorney. Mr. Applegate stated that previous City Attorneys had law clerks and if anticipated a cut in professional services, he would have requested an increase in regular salaries to cover the expense of a law clerk. He felt a law clerk would be very beneficial to him at a later time on a full time basis. Mayor Hart said that while the estimated actual figure for life and health insurance for the City Attorney's budget this year is $2,000.00, it has jumped to $8,600.00 for next year. Mr. Perretti informed Council that there was no City Attorney for half of this year and there is an additional employee in that department this year and it will be $8,600.00. Mr. Applegate said another reason for the increase in professional services would be the code enforcement prosecutions, any special projects such as annexation and any revisions in the code or charter he might be able to do. To sum up, Mr. Applegate said he would hope for a little more money under Professional Services than what was recommended. He said for Meetings, Seminars and Travel, it is vitally important he attend the basic seminars such as the Florida Municipal Attorney's Seminar, the National Institute For Legal Officers Seminar, the Florida Bar Convention, the Local Government Law Seminar and perhaps the American Bar Association which is currently addressing some local government issues. This is the reason he proposed an increase for these items. He further said the National Institute for Municipal Legal Officers Seminar, which is the finest offered, will be held in October in San Diego. He felt the travel for that would be more than in previous years. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked Mr. Applegate if the $2,000.00 he shows for Meetings, Travel and Seminars would cover his needs for the year. Mr. Kelly stated the City Attorney has requested $2,000.00 for travel and $1,500.00 for Seminars and Meetings, but he is recommending $2,000.00 for both items. Mr. Applegate felt the trip to San Diego would use a considerable amount of the $2,000.00. Mr. Applegate reminded the Council that during his interview he commented that if the City of Tamarac wanted a good City Attorney he would need a budget to work with. He said it is vital to have the resources necessary to do the work. Mayor Hart said in his opinion the City Attorney is going to be one of the most important departmentsin the City for the coming year and the figure proposed by the Attorney has been substantially reduced by the City Manager. He asked Mr. Applegate if he felt he could live with the proposed budget. Mr. Applegate replied if he has to he will, but it will be impossible for one man to do all the work and part of it will have to go out to be done. I 1 7/24/86 2 prh Vice Mayor Stelzer stated that last year there was a six month review of the budget and suggested the same thing could be done this year to look at possible increases in various items. Mr. Kelly replied he did not want anyone to look at this as a six month budget. Mr. Applegate pointed out the only real difference between himself and the City Manager was on the library and he felt West Law was a vital element to have for legal research. Mr. Kelly said the subject of West Law was not discussed until the $5,000.00 for library had been recommended. The City Manager felt this item was going to have to be given serious consideration and of all the items discussed, this was of utmost importance. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked Mr. Kelly if the subject of West Law had been discussed prior to setting the figure of $5,000.00, how much of the $14,500.00 requested he would have given him. Mr. Kelly replied he would need all of it. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked if the City Manager was recommending the City Attorney be given the full $14,500.00. Mr. Kelly replied the $10,000.00 should be added tentatively to the budget and see if they could make a trade off elsewhere in the budget. Mayor Hart asked Mr. Applegate if he could take $5,000.00 off Professional Services reducing it to $60,000.00 and adding the $5,000.00 to the Library. Mr. Applegate agreed to try working with this. Vice Mayor Stelzer commented there was still $4,500.00 to be taken from another part of the budget. POLICE (Pages 35 -- 38): Vice Mayor Stelzer voiced his concern for the efficiency of the Police Department and their capability of providing adequate police protection. He said according to the budget it includes nine months for seven people and he does not feel the City has enough polide officers on the force. He questioned why adding the people to the budget is being delayed. He also felt additional personnel should be recruited now and not wait until January_or February. Police Chief McIntosh replied obtaining new officers is a very time consuming procedure and if he were to start looking now, it is questionable that he could have them on board by January lst. He stated that if an officer is certified and in this area, they are usually cast offs from another department and he doesn't want them. He felt the best way to go is looking out of state for people desiring to relocate to Florida. He said recruits have to pass all the required tests and then be placed in the Police Academy which takes three and one-half months. He further commented it takes anywhere from six months to a year before they are really worth anything to the department as certified police officers. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked if the money were available in the budget for October 1st, could he start looking now for officers for October employment. In reply, the Police Chief said he could start looking now, but could not promise to have them on the force by October 1. Mr. Kelly inquired if the contingency money for the nine months would be needed if the City approved the Referendum for BSO. Mr. Etheredge replied it would be $91,000.00 if BSO was approved and $140,000.00 if it stayed with the City. Vice Mayor Stelzer said the people of Tamarac want protection and he feels the money should be available for October 1 instead of January 1. Chief McIntosh stated with the 51% increase in crime for the first quarter of this year, the City could be in serious trouble and have to move for additional manpower. 7/24/86 3 prh Vice Mayor Stelzer recommended increasing the Police budget by $45,000.00. Mr. Kelly said this would increase the tax by six cents. Mayor Hart stated he would also like to see the extra money added for October. Tape 2 Vice Mayor Stelzer asked how much the salary is for crossing guards as this figure will have to be added in to the figures for BSO since they will not be including that. Mr. Perretti said it is roughly $20,000.00. Mayor Hart said the Police budget will have to be revised. PUBLIC WORKS (Pages 12-20 & 52--54): Mike Couzzo said he has discussed the budget with the Mayor and the Vice Mayor and reviewed it with the City Manager. He said the basic shortcoming of the budget is with Capital Machinery and Equipment. Vice Mayor Stelzer noted Mr. Couzzo has requested vehicles and asked what type of vehicles this involves. Mr. Couzzo replied he is in need of two vehicles to replace outdated one-half to three-quarter ton pickup trucks. It is his recommendation the City go to small mini vans to allow for the storage of equipment on them. Mr. Couzzo further said that due to the age of the pickup trucks and number of miles on them they are very expensive to maintain. Mayor Hart asked about the request for Capital Machinery and Equipment. Mr. Couzzo said he is in need of a tractor for road clearing and grass cutting equipment. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked if he could get along without this equipment. Mr. Etheredge said with the increased work Public Works is now taking over, they could probably do without it, but thinks the City is overlooking the amount of time it is taking to do the work with existing equipment versus how quickly it could be done with new equipment. Mr. Etheredge went on further to say the equipment is constantly down for repairs. Mayor Hart commented he has no doubt the equipment is needed, but the question is can the City afford it this year. Mr. Couzzo said revenue would be generated in the area of $30,000.00 with the lot clearing. Mr. Kelly suggested they look at the revenue generated in April and make the assessment for the new equipment at that time. Mr. Couzzo reminded the Council that if his present equipment does go down he does not have backup equipment to do the lot clearing. Council recommended no changes to the Public Works budget. CITY CLERK (Pages 7-9): Vice Mayor Stelzer asked the City Clerk the reason for the large increase in Contractural Services. Ms. Bertholf replied it was for recodification. She stated the code is approximately 12 to 13 years old and has never been recodified. Mayor Hart questioned the increase in Regular Salaries. Ms. Bertholf replied that all union employees get a 10% raise this year. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked about the $8,000.00 for Capital Equipment. Ms. Bertholf said that was for the new car for the License Inspector as the car was totalled when it caught fire. Mr. Kelly requested that in the future all requests for vehicles be processed through the Public Works Department. Mayor Hart asked if there was going to be a cost for the November election coming up. Ms. Bertholf replied yes there would be. Mayor Hart asked if there was enough in the budget to defray the cost. Ms. Bertholf said she thought so unless there were more items added to the ballot. r] 11 7/24/86 4 prh The City Clerk informed the Council the charge by Jane Carroll should not exceed $17,000.00 for the March election which would leave $7,000.00 for the November election. She further said the City Clerk pays all publication costs, printing costs, one- half the payroll for poll workers which is about $9,000.00 per election, one-half of the polling place costs which is usually $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 and the costs billed by Jane Carrol. Ms. Bertholf told Council one item may need to be adjusted in the mid -year amendment and that is Professional Services. She stated that is for temporary people and if she has the same problem keeping secretaries as in the past year, the $2,500.00 allocated may not be enough. Council recommended no changes to the City Clerk's budget. FIRE (Pages 39-42): The Assistant Fire Chief, Ray Briant, informed Council he has not had the opportunity as yet to sit down and discuss the budget with the City Manager and would like the opportunity to do so. Mr. Briant said his main concern is with manpower. He has requested 14 additional people as the equipment is not being properly manned. Vice Mayor Stelzer said Chief Simon's salary is still included in Regular Salaries in the budget and when that salary is cut out, it will cut the budget approximately $50,000.00. Mr. Kelly agreed there will be a savings in the budget. Mayor Hart questioned what the request for Outside Services in the amount of $20r500.00. Mr. Briant said that was to implement a health and fitness program for the fire fighters. Mr. Kelly said he does feel this is an important item to be considered at a later time. Mr. Briant said the Fire Department definitely needs another Pumper Truck and the Council should look into potential bidding for a new fire truck. Council felt that Mr. Briant should have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the budget with the City Manager and recommended no changes at this time. Tape 3 FINANCE DEPARTMENT (Pages 10 & 11): Vice Mayor Stelzer asked Mr. Etheredge why he proposed an increase in Regular Salaries. Mr. Etheredge replied he needed an Assistant Director because�iis time was being taken up with Council, City Manager Projects, Budgets and Audits that have to be done. He further commented that his staff is busy making sure everything is entered and no one has time to check and make sure everything is correct. Mayor Hart asked Mr. Etheredge if Rentals and Leases was for equipment. In reply Mr. Etheredge said it was on a copier that is being leased. Council recommended no changes to the Finance Department budget. Mr. Kelly suggested to the Council they explore the possibility of a Towing Franchise such as has been instituted in other municipalities to help generate revenue for the City. BUILDING/PLANNING (Pages 43-45): Vice Mayor Stelzer asked Mr. Jahn about the additional amount proposed for Regular Salaries. Mr. Jahn said they are in need of a secretary in the Planning Department to work with Thelma Brown. Ms. Brown told the Council the volume of work in Planning requires the assistance of a secretary. Mayor Hart stated the additional request was for $86,000.00 and that is more than the salary of a secretary. Mr. Jahn replied the additional amount was to allow for the hiring of two more code enforcement people. Mr. Kelly said he had discussed this with the City Attorney and he did not feel they would be well enough established for the Code Enforcement Board to be fully operational next year. Mr. Kelly also told Council that will not be the case the following year. 7/24/86 5 prh Vice Mayor Stelzer noted Mr. Jahn had requested $40,000.00 for vehicles and asked if the present vehicles were unsatisfactory. Mr. Jahn replied that both the Monzas and Datsuns were becoming expensive to keep in running condition. Mr. Kelly said the City will review all requests for vehicles in six months. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked Mr. Jahn if he could live with the budget recommendations of the City Manager. Mr. Jahn replied he was concerned that in Rentals and Leases he had requested $14,100.00 and it was cut to $13,000.00 which is within $100.00 of his actual at this date. He was concerned this leaves him no leeway. Council recommended no changes to the Building/Planning Budget. CITY MANAGER (Pages 5 & 6): Council recommended no changes to the City Manager's budget. UTILITIES/ENGINEERING: (Pages 97-144): Mr. Etheredge informed Council the figure of $246,000 for Plant Repairs would have to be reduced to $200,000.00 since the referendum only calls for the $200,000.00. Mr. Etheredge requested the minutes reflect that on Page 97, Plant Repairs, Item 659 was being cut from $246,000.00 to $200,000.00. Mr. Greenwood said that because of the shortage of money for these projects, they were facing a substantial increase in utility rates for Tamarac East. He further stated it might be possible to make the repairs in two phases and spend $100,000 for each of the next two years. Mr. Perretti said the Plant Repair portion of the budget would then show Plant Repair Phase 1 and the figure would be cut to $100,000.00. Council was in agreement with this recommendation. Mr. Greenwood also stated the sewers in Utilities East are in a deplorable condition. Mr. Perretti asked if the City of Ft. Lauderdale had made any overtures with regard to taking over this system. Mr. Greenwood said they are not interested at all. Tape Council recommended no further changes to the budget for 4 Utilities East. Mayor Hart asked why the City Manager recommended a higher budget than was proposed by Mr. Greenwood. Mr. Kelly said that was for insurance that was not included in the proposed budget. Mr. Greenwood said he was going to sit down with the City Manager and Finance Director because there were some areas of the budget in which he felt there might be possible savings. Council recommended no changes to the budget for Utilities West. CITY ENGINEER (Pages 21 & 22): Mr. Greenwood said this department is self-sustaining and requested he be able to discuss with the City Manager and Finance Director the items that were cut. Council recommended no changes to the City Engineer's budget. PENSION FUND (Page 176): Mr. Etheredge informed reason for the increase in expenses for the Pension 1% they were budgeted last year was not enough. He it be doubled to 2% for next year due to the costs counseling. Council recommended no changes to Budget. Council the Fund was the is proposing for investment Pension Fund 7/24/86 6 prh 1 PERSONNEL (Pages 31 & 32): Mr. Perretti said that since Judy Deutsch was not able to be present he was going to present the Personnel budget. He asked Mr. Etheredge why there was no figure shown for Self --Insurance health. He further stated that Ms. Deutsch had figured out that, including the employee's contributions, the total cost would be $349,519.00. Mr. Kelly replied nothing is budgeted for this and only actual figures are ever shown. Mr. Perretti asked if the costs for printing such as the employee's insurance cards was included. Mr. Etheredge replied it probably came out of personnel. Mr. Perretti stated that in the regular Council meeting of January loth there was an item called Self -Insurance Fund and it said Approved consideration of the recommendation of the Insurance Advisory Committee to have a reserve fund at a rate of $200,000.00 for the first year and $100,000.00 for the next three years to realize a total of $500,000.00. Mr. Etheredge replied that would cost the City quite a bit of money. Mr. Ferretti asked if that meant no reserve fund had been allocated. Mr. Etheredge replied no reserve fund had been allocated. Mr. Perretti said the Personnel Director feels this should be included in the budget. Mr. Perretti said the other area he wanted to comment on was the $5,000.00 allocated in the First Aid claims. He said Ms. Deutsch felt that should be $12,000.00 because it would be a cost saving factor to keep the claims away from workers' Compensation. Council recommended no changes to the Personnel budget. Mayor Hart adjourned the workshop to reconvene at 3:00 P.M. --------------------------------------------------- Mayor Hart reconvened the Budget Workshop at 3:15 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Bernard Hart Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer ALSO PRESENT: City Manager,. John P. Kelly Assistant City Manager, Larry Ferretti Finance Director, Frank Etheredge COMMITTEES AND BOARDS: Tape PLANNING COMMITTEE: Mr. Kelly said he feels the 5 $2,000.00 requested for reimbursement for lunches is excessive. Vice Mayor Stelzer recommended it be cut to $900.00. Mayor Hart agreed with this recommendation. On Page 24 of the Planning Board budget, Item 402 Travel and Other is being cut from $2,000.00 to $900.00. Council recommended no other changes to the Planning Board budget. CHARTER BOARD: Vice Mayor Stelzer stated Mr. Hoffman has informed him the Charter Board is in need of a full time secretary. Mr. Kelly said he had initially appropriated zero monies for that position but Mr. Hoffman came to him and appealed and they agreed that Roslyn Brauner will remain with a full time salary, but she will be part time for the Charter Board and the rest of the time will work for Mr. Kelly and the Planning Board or for the City Planner. Vice Mayor Stelzer recommended no changes for the Charter Board. 7/24/86 7 prh PUBLIC INFORMATION COMMITTEE: Mr. Kelly questioned the increase in Office Supplies to $800.00 and recommended it be cut back to the $100.00 they previously were budgeted. Council agreed Office Supplies, Item #510, be cut from $800.00 to $100.00. No further changes were recommended for the Public Information Board. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE: No changes were recommended to the General Administrative budget. CONSUMER AFFAIRS: No changes were recommended to the Consumer Affairs budget. SANITATION SERVICES: No changes were recommended to the Sanitation Services budget. SOCIAL SERVICES BOARD: This budget was reviewed and it was agreed to leave the contribution to the Area Agency On Aging at $5,000.00. Vice Mayor Stelzer asked what the millage will be based on this budget. Mr. Kelly replied it will be $3.48. Tape Mr. Etheredge suggested the City look into the possibility of 6 raising the Occupational License Tax. It was agreed this proposal would be explored. Mayor Hart closed the Workshop Meeting at 4:30 P.M. Maril,ofn Be tholf City Clerk This public document was promulgated at a cost of $ 167.35 or $ 5.58 per copy, to inform the general public and public officers and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the City Council of the City of Tamarac. I 7/24/86 8 prh