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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-08-08 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting MinutesOF Tq y 9� 7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321-2401 v n, I TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 August 5, 1988 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETINGS There will be City Council Budget Workshop Meetings with the following Department Heads in Conference Room #1 at City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida on the following days: Date Time Department Monday August 8 10:30 a.m. City Manager " 10:45 a.m. City Attorney " 11:00 a.m. City Clerk • 1:30 p.m. Engineering " ------------------------------------------------------------ 2:00 p.m. Fire Department Tuesday August 9 1:00 P.M. Finance " ------------------------------------------------------------ " 1:30 p.m. Police Department Thursday August 11 9:00 a.m. Public Works " it 11:00 a.m. Community Development " ------------------------------------------------------------ if 1.:30 p.m. Building Department Carol E. Barbuto City Clerk CEB/nr cc: Mayor & Council AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 1988 TAPE 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this Budget Workshop meeting to Order on Monday, August 8, 1988, at 10:30 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Hen Rohr Councilman Dr. I3. Larry Bender ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Ken Burroughs, Finance Director Pauline Walaszek, Special services Secretary City manager's Department City Manager Kelly said the Personnel Department, Boards and Committees and Revenues Budget would be discussed at a later date. V/M Stelzer said a list of the personnel in each department have been submitted to the City Council in the past and he asked if a list could be submitted. City Manager Kelly said he would see that a list is submitted. City Manager Kelly said he had proposed that his department obtain an Assistant to the City Manager and a receptionist. He said during the review of the budget, the receptionist position was eliminated. He said the Budget was increased to approximately $30,000.00 which included the Assistant to the City Manager and salary increases. He said his salary would be increased $7,500.00. City Manager Kelly said there would be no change in the Deferred Compensation Plan; however, he suggested that another program regarding the Deferred Compensation Plan be established because he could not contribute to the Deferred Compensation Plan for tax purposes while the City was contributing to it. City Manager Kelly said there was minimal change except for the change in salaries. He said Meetings and Seminars have been decreased by approximately $800.00, Travel and Other will only maintain a balance of $1,000.00 and Rentals and Leases would be increased. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Rentals and Leases budget was for and City Manager Kelly said this budget would include a more advanced copy machine the cost of which would be split by the City Manager and City Attorney Departments. City Manager Kelly said the Office Supplies and Books and Subscriptions have decreased. He said Dues and Memberships has increased to approximately $400.00 and Data Processing has been pro -rated. Page 1 j Mayor Abramowitz asked where the Health and Self Insurance Budget was located and Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said the Health and Life Insurance had been combined in one Account in the past; however, this year, the Life Insurance was separated from the Health Insurance. Mr. Burroughs said the Health Insurance involved an HMO program and a Self -Insured program. He said the City Manager's Department did not have any HMO participants; therefore the costs for the Self -Insured Insurance was located under 59-R. V/M Stelzer suggested that the Health Insurance and Life Insurance be located in the first portion of each Budget and Mr. Burroughs said the Self Insurance Fund was supported by charges from the other funds. V/M Stelzer said the earnings of all employees should be located together at the first section so the total increase could be determined. Mr. Burroughs said these figures could be located at the top of each budget if the City Council preferred it. Mayor Abramowitz asked how the Self -Insurance was figured and Mr. Burroughs said the City's portion with a 20% increase was multiplied by the number of employees per department by the single or family plan. He said total annual cost was 7% for HMO and 20% for Self -Insured. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the figures were determined by what the employees would be offered or what was presently being offered and Mr. Burroughs said the figures were determined by what the employees were being offered at this time. At 10.50 A.M., C/M Bender ENTERED the meeting. C/M Hoffman said last year, the monies for the Assistant to the City Manager were used to purchase a Computer System for the City Clerk's Office which would eliminate some of the workload for the City Manager. He asked if this matter was completed. City Manager Kelly said the Computer System would not be completed for 3 months and he has gone too long without having an Assistant to the City Manager which would provide some back up to the Department. C/M Hoffman asked the salary for the Assistant to the City Manager and City Manager Kelly said the salary for the position would be $35,000.00 per year. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the position would create a morale problem within the City and City Manager Kelly replied, no. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the position be offered to the existing employees before a new employee is hired. City Manager Kelly said the salary level would not threaten any of the Department Heads because the salary would be lower than what the Department Heads are presently receiving. Page 2 �_ V/M Stelzer said the position of Assistant City Manager could be changed to Deputy City Manager to avoid confusion with the Assistant to the City Manager. C/M Hoffman asked what the Assistant to the City Manager would do and City Manager Kelly said the position would coordinate and follow through on projects. Mayor Abramowitz,asked if the City Manager had anyone in mind for the position and City Manager Kelly replied, no. C/M Bender suggested that the City Manager survey within the City for an employee before offering the position to the public. C/M Rohr had concerns with the difference in the increase for the new salary being listed in the budget and Mr. Burroughs said the increase was listed in the Salaries Account. He said the total Budget for the City -Manager indicated an increase of $44,000.00. C/M Rohr asked if the Assistant to the City Manager could be detained and City Manager Kelly said his Department has been overdue for this type of position and he was asking for an Assistant to rather than an Assistant position. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to digest this matter further and C/M Rohr asked if the salary for the position at $35,000.00 included the costs for benefits. City Manager Kelly re plied, no. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to see the position reviewed to see if the Budget and Personnel could be satisfied. City Manager.Kelly said there was no employee in the City that was not assigned to a specific job and C/M Rohr said there may be an employee in the City that would want the position. He said it may be easier to replace the existing position rather than the Assistant to the City Manager position. V/M Stelzer said there was no one available within the City at the present time to replace City Manager Kelly if he were to leave because of the salary. He said the employees qualified would not take the position at a lesser pay than they are presently receiving. C/M Bender asked City Manager Kelly if he looked into the possibility of taxing cable services with the Utilities Tax and City Manager Kelly said no Cable Company in Florida is taxed. Mayor Abramowitz said he was not objecting to the Utilities Tax; however, the only tax that would be confusing to the residents is the garbage tax. He said if the matter could be negotiated with Waste Management, Inc., regarding the increased cost and billing monthly rather than quarterly, the change may be welcomed by the residents. City Manager Kelly said this matter would be discussed during the Revenue Budget review. Page 3 City Clerk's Department City Manager Kelly said the City Clerk's Department had a decrease of $15,000.00. Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said the Switchboard/Receptionist position was being transferred into an Account named Telecommunications. He said in the coming years, each Department would be charged for this service; however, this would not occur during this year's budget. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Manager was positive that this department could not be decreased. V/M Stelzer asked what the Extra Election Account was for and Carol E. Barbuto, City Clerk, said this was budgeted for the Charter Board Amendments and the Account was for the November and March elections. V/M Stelzer asked what the $18,000.00 was for the Equipment Account and Ms. Barbuto said the money was for a new micro -filming camera. She said the existing camera was ten years old and Kodak was not serving that type of camera. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Data Processing Services and Leasing Account was for and Mr. Burroughs said this was a pro -rated charge and each department would have this Account. C/M Rohr asked if there would be any additional personnel and Ms. Barbuto said the budget proposed one additional person. C/M Rohr had concerns with the additional equipment being purchased to provide less work but maintaining the existing personnel. He asked where the benefit of the new equipment was and Ms. Barbuto said the benefit would be felt within the departments. Mayor Abramowitz said the equipment would be providing more accuracy and efficiency within the Departments and C/M Bender said the equipment allowed the Departments to obtain and maintain information more efficiently. C/M Rohr said he was concerned with the new equipment needing new employees to operate and Ms. Barbuto said her department eliminated a Secretarial position and the work for that position is presently being done through privatization. TAPE 2 City Attorney's Department City Attorney Doody said the overall budget for the City Attorney's Office would be $203,000.00. He said Self -Insurance, Data Processing, Office Equipment and Rentals and Leases would be increasing. He said he budgeted $2,000.00 for Prosecution Fees and $5,000.00 for Legal Services. City Attorney Doody said there would be an increase in salaries for his personnel of 4% automatically; however, he would like an additional 3% for his personnel. Page 4, City Attorney Doody said there would be a decrease in Meetings, Seminars and travel and a $4,000.00 decrease in Publications. He said he would be reviewing the Library to see if there are additional Publications that could be eliminated. City Attorney Doody said the Code Enforcement Board was becoming more active and 2 more Code Enforcement Officers were being budgeted. He said the increase in the activity would increase the legal services. He said at this time, there was one large lawsuit pending within the City and several smaller law suits. He said it was hard to determine the fees for the lawsuits until the cases began. City Attorney Doody said he has been handling several matters In --house which had not been done in the past, such as Utility matters. He said this has decreased the legal fees and he would continue doing as much In-house as possible; however, the City has had a very good year regarding litigation. City Attorney Doody said he surveyed the surrounding cities to see what their In --house Attorney salaries were and Tamarac was paying the lowest salary in Broward County. V/M Stelzer had concerns with the Legal Services Account and City Attorney Doody said last year was not a typical year for the City; however, there are several personal suits pending. C/M Bender had concerns with the ESM matter and City Attorney Doody said Morgan, Lewis and Bockius are presently monitoring the proceedings for the City. He said he would recommend this money be left in the Legal Services Account in case he had to act quickly on a matter. He said this money may not be used; however, to avoid delays on matters in the future, this money should be available when needed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the money could be deducted from the Budget and placed into the Contingency Account until it was needed and City Attorney Doody said this may be a problem because if the money was needed immediately, he would have to go before the City Council for approval of this money. C/M Hoffman asked if the Professional and Legal Accounts could be placed together and Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said the reason these Accounts were separated was to avoid difficulty in Accounting procedures. Mayor Abramowitz had concerns with the residents being confused with the Budget and the residents would not be reviewing all of the rows in the proposed budget. He said they would only be reviewing last year's Budget to this year's Budget. City Attorney Doody said he would like to have the increase of 3% for his personnel and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council had to look for cuts in the Budget; therefore, he could not promise the increase. City Attorney Doody said he was responsible for his personnel's best interest and he could not tell them that an increase was not going to be permitted. He said he Page 5 �J would be willing to have his increase decreased to provide his personnel with the 3% increase. At 11:45 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and RECONVENED at 1:45 P.M. with ALL PRESENT. Engineering Department TAPE 3 City Manager Kelly said the Engineering Department's Budget was down $25,000.00 from last year. C/M Hoffman asked if the salary decrease of William Greenwood was reflected and Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering said Mr. Greenwood's salary was accounted for in the Utilities Department. Mr. Foy said 20% of his salary would be charged to Engineering and 80% would be charged to Utilities. He said this would be done to reflect the time he spent at each department. C/M Rohr asked if there would be.any positions eliminated and Mr. Foy replied, no. He.said 1/2 of a position was eliminated; however 2/10 of a position was added after Mr. Greenwood resigned. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Legal Services Account was for and Mr. 'Foy said there were times when outside Attorneys were needed. C/M Hoffman asked if there was anything that could be cut from -the Budget and Mr. Foy said the City Manager cut a lot out of the Budget and, if any more was cut, the Engineering Department would be hurting. C/M Rohr asked if the money allocated for Capital Improvements was enough and City Manager replied, yes. V/M Stelzer said the City Council should keep in mind that approximately $500,000.00 from the sale of the old City Hall and Public Works Buildings is being applied against the ad valorem tax. He said this matter should be discussed during the Revenue Workshop. Fire Department Mayor Abramowitz asked if Page 58 could be adjusted and City Manager Kelly said there will be three additional Fire Fighters beginning April 1, 1989. V/M Stelzer asked what the Special Services Account was for and Ray Briant, Fire Chief, said this Account was for the Hazardous Material Response Team. He said the League of Cities has agreed to purchase a computer for all the Cities in Broward County for Hazard Material Teams. He said the Cities agreed to budget monies for this team and the monies would be used for damage to the equipment. He said he hopes that this Account would not be used. V/M Stelzer asked what the Contractual Fee Account was for and Chief Briant said the Fire Academy was used for training and there were fees required for the use. He said there is a Wellness Program being considered and would be part of negotiations. 1 1 1 Page 6 Mayor Abramowitz asked how many men were in the Department and Chief Briant said there was a total of 42 employees. C/M Rohr had concerns with the cut in travel expenses and City Manager Kelly said all Departments requesting out -of -State travel were denied. V/M Stelzer said last year, a list regarding each departments request was submitted to the City Council and City Manager Kelly said he would submit a list to the City Council. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Account for Rentals and Leases was for and Chief Briant said this account was for emergency generator rentals and the rental of two trailers for extra space at Fire Station #1. He said the trailers were used by the Building Department at the old City Hall. Mayor Abramowitz asked if both trailers were needed and Chief Briant replied, yes. He said the trailers came together and Mayor Abramowitz suggested there be discussion regarding the trailers being bought. V/M Stelzer suggested that the monies obtained from the Utilities Tax be used for Capital Improvements. Chief Briant said there were several pieces of equipment that needed to be replaced such as, a pumper and a truck. He said the truck needed a new aluminum body. V/M Stelzer said he would like to come back to the Fire Department's needs if there are extra monies available in the Budget. Chief Briant said Broward County was going to replace their communication system to a 470 range which meant that the Fire Department would need new radios. He said the Communication System provided for by Broward County was free of charge; therefore, it would be worth purchasing the radios. V/M Stelzer asked what the Special Fund was for and Chief Briant said this fund was for special equipment. He said the following items were denied, deluge gun, safety nets, Peaduct gauges, camera, video recorder, foam reductors, cascade system, washer and dryer, portable hose racks, skill saw, high pressure cleaner, glass replacement, copier, black top resurfacing and a satellite dish. V/M Stelzer asked if there was anything considered emergency that was denied and Chief Briant replied, no. V/M Stelzer said he would like to see the Fire Department receive the equipment they need if there are any extra monies available. City Manager Kelly said he would like to hire an architect for Fire Station #2. He said that station needed to be refurbished to blend with the Municipal Complex and Police Department. V/M Stelzer asked if the ambulance service was budgeted and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Ambulance Company improved and Chief Briant said the service has improved because Page 7 J 8/8/88 the response time has been raised to 18 minutes and there are bonuses and penalties involved. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the cost for the service was recorded and Chief Briant said the Ambulance Service kept records of the services; however, all the Cities were listed and it was hard to determine which address was for what City. C/M Bender suggested that the contract contain a clause stating that a report is to be submitted each month regarding the responses for Tamarac only. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 2:45 P.M. CAROL E. BARBUTO, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $141.30 or $3.91 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." 1 1 Page 8 -w-