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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-08-10 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321.2401 TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900 August 9, 1989 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING for FISCAL YEAR 1989/90 There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Thursday, August 10, 1989 at 9:30 A.M. in Conference Room #1, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is to review the budgets for the following Departments for Fiscal Year 1989/90: City Attorney City Clerk City Manager Police Department Social Services • All meetings are open to the public. CAE/pm Carol. A. Evans City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 1989 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Thursday, August 10, 1989 at 9:30 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor ,fir. H. Larry Bender Councilman Jack Stelzer Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Ken Burroughs, Finance Director Carol A. Evans, City Clerk Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary The purpose of this meeting was to review the budgets for the following Departments for Fiscal Year 1989/90: City Attorney City Clerk City Council City Manager Police Department Social Services C/M Stelzer said he was not present at the City Council meeting where the tentative millage rate was approved; however, he informed Mayor Abramowitz that if the City Council approved the proposed tentative millage rate of 6.70, he would not object. He said he listened to the tapes of that meeting and Mayor Abramowitz indicated that the tentative millage rate should be 4.8910 and a Motion was made to accept this millage. C/M Stelzer asked how Mayor Abramowitz arrived at a reduction of 4.983 mills. He said the City Manager did an excellent job on the Budget; however, he informed City Manager Kelly that Mayor Abramowitz would be deciding the net millage rate. Mayor Abramowitz said he recommended less than 4.8910 and C/M Hoffman said it was necessary for C/M Stelzer to discuss this matter at this time. Mayor Abramowitz said when he reviewed the proposed Budget he found several items that were questionable. C/M Hoffman said the discussion was out of order because the meeting was called to review the Budget and the City Council should stick to the Agenda. C/M Stelzer said the City Council locked themselves into a figure, which was done last year and Mayor Abramowitz said there may be things that the City Council knew and Page 1 8/10/89 C/M Stelzer did not know. Mayor Abramowitz said if this was so, he would be very upset. Mayor Abramowitz said he arrived at his tentative millage rate by reviewing certain items in the Budget. He said his recommendation was approved by the City Council. . C/M Stelzer asked what items were considered when Mayor Abramowitz recommended the decrease in the millage rate and Mayor Abramowitz said these items would be discussed during the review of the Budget. C/M Rohr suggested that the items be pointed out while the City Council was reviewing Budget. C/M Stelzer said he would agree with the approved tentative millage rate if the figures were pointed out during the review. He said the Debt Service was set at the same meeting. C/M Stelzer said C/M Hoffman indicated that the Debt Service should be .7240 and Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, stated that the actual Debt Service rate should be .7187. He said when the Broward Sheriff's Office was being proposed, the residents were concerned about the Debt Service for the new Police Facility. He said the City arranged with the Broward Sheriff's Office to pay the City $20,000.00 per month for rent, which was $240,000.00 per year. He said these funds were to pay for the Debt Service for the new Police Facility. He said the City was to receive $70,000.00 from the Broward Sheriff's Office for maintenance of the new Police Facility. He said these costs would total the entire Debt Service for the new Police Facility. C/M Stelzer said the rent figures were not in the General Fund but in the Debt Service; therefore, $.24 was eliminated from the Debt Service. He asked why $.24 was placed back into the Debt Service causing the residents to pay twice. Mayor Abramowitz said if $.24 was decreased from the taxes, the residents would be receiving it back. C/M Stelzer disagreed. He said if $240,000.00 was placed into the General Fund as income, it would have to be transferred into the Police Facility Budget; however, this was not done. He said $240,000.00 was immediately applied to the Debt Service and he asked why this figure was added to the Debt Service making it .7187. Mayor Abramowitz said C/M Stelzer's concern was on the record and C/M Stelzer said Mayor Abramowitz stated that the rent from the Broward Sheriff's Office for the new Police Facility would pay for the Debt Service. Mayor Abramowitz said he stated that it would not cost the City one penny, which was true because the same dollars would be applied to lowering the taxes. He said this procedure would submit the funds back to the residents. C/M Stelzer said the City Manager's proposal for handling this matter was correct and Mayor Abramowitz disagreed. Mayor Abramowitz said the figures were only moved from one area to the other. LI 1 L Page 2 8/10/89 C/M Stelzer said Mayor Abramowitz was not an accountant; therefore, the accounting professionals should make this determination. Mayor Abramowitz said he was tired of looking at the accounting procedures and finding things that he did not agree with. He said when he stated his concerns, he was informed that the procedure was general accounting methods. He said he did not agree with this. He said there was nothing taken away from the residents; however, there was a difference of opinion as to where the funds should be placed. Mayor Abramowitz said there was nothing wrong with where the City Manager placed these funds; however, the City Council did not agree with the City Manager's procedure. C/M Stelzer said the City Council was presently charging the people $.24 for Debt Service as well as .4757. He said $240,000.00 was not being applied to the proposed Debt Service of .7187. Mayor Abramowitz said the residents were receiving every penny of the funds and C/M Hoffman said the funds were being applied to the cost of the Broward Sheriff's Office protection. Mayor Abramowitz said the funds were being applied to something that would cause the taxes to be raised. C/M Stelzer disagreed and Mayor Abramowitz said C/M Stelzer's concerns were on record. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the taxes would have been if the funds were applied as it was proposed and C/M Stelzer said the original tax rate would have been 5.865. C/M Stelzer said after the changes that tax rate decreased to 5.66, which was only $.20; however, a reduction of $.50 was not on the Ad Valorem tax because the Debt Service was being increased by $.24. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Manager submitted a proposed Budget; however, the City Council ran the City and they would make the final determination. He said half of the time C/M Stelzer wanted the City Council to listen to the City Manager and half of the time he did not. C/M Stelzer said he informed the City Manager that Mayor Abramowitz would be making the final decision on the Budget. He suggested that Mayor Abramowitz review the finance procedures. Mayor Abramowitz said the Pension Board Budget would be discussed at which time C/M Stelzer's finance figures would be noted. C/M Stelzer said he was only a member of the Pension Board not the financial advisor and Mayor Abramowitz said the Pension Board looked to C/M Stelzer for guidance and there was money wasted by doing this. City Attorney Budget - Page 14 City Manager Kelly said the overall estimated Budget for Fiscal Year 1988/89 was $203,156.00; however, the Budget Page 3 8/10/89 would, hopefully, be $175,208.00. He said the final actual Budget for Fiscal Year 1988/89 could not be determined until the final calculations were done. City Manager Kelly said the City Attorney requested $229,000.00 which included an Intern position; however, the recommended Budget was $202,880.00, which was less than last year's Budget. He said the Budget for Fiscal Year 1989/90 did not include salary increases; however, the health insurance was expected to be increased which was not known at this time. City Manager Kelly said the City Attorney requested $55,000.00 for legal services this year and he would be recommending $35,000.00 which was last year's legal fees. He said this figure would eliminate the Intern position. City Manager Kelly said the prosecution costs would be maintained at $20,000.00 and meetings and seminars, at $940.00, would allow the City Attorney's attendance at the Florida Attorney meetings. City Manager Kelly said the Budgets for data processing, purchasing, workers' compensation and health self -insured were figured by past experience and were fixed costs. He said these costs were allocated by the Finance Department to the various Departments based on the previous year's experience. City Manager Kelly said the City Attorney knew that a request for office equipment would not be approved because there was no capital outlay for the Department. C/M Hoffman asked where the Consulting Attorney funds were allocated and Ken Burroughs said it was itemized in Account 312, Legal Services. C/M Hoffman asked if this included the Intern position and City Manager Kelly said the Intern position was $20,000.00 and was cut. City Manager Kelly said the balance in Account 312 was to cover consulting and legal fees. Mayor Abramowitz said he was not interested in the requested Budgets versus how much the City Manager recommended. He said he publicly commended the City Manager and Finance Director for their job with the Budget. He said his outlook on the Budget was different from last year. He said he had a lot of questions on the Budget and everyone would have to bite the bullet. He said there were things that the City Council and staff would like to do and things that would be a benefit to the City if done; however, there was an emergency; therefore, certain cuts had to be made. Mayor Abramowitz said the amount requested for Account 540, Publications, was $12,400.00 and the recommended amount was $10,500.00. He said Publications seemed to concern updates on law books and court cases. He said the City Attorney's Office had a very good law library, Broward County had an excellent law library and Nova University had an up-to-date law library. He asked what could be cut from the proposed Publications Account. He said he was not interested in what everyone would like to have but what the City must have. Page 4 8/10/89 1 1 1 City Manager Kelly said the present problem in the City was that there were professionals that were not getting comparable rates on the salaries; therefore, because there would not be any salary increases, the City should at least allow the professionals to have the opportunity to interact with their peers by attending meetings and conferences to keep current on their professions. He said this was extremely important. Mayor Abramowitz said the professionalism that existed in the City versus one year ago was like night and day. He said it was his pleasure to work with staff and City Manager Kelly said an empty pat on the back was not going to make things right. Mayor Abramowitz said City Manager Kelly thought like a City Manager, C/M Stelzer thought like an Account and he thought like a business man. He said the staff, with a few exceptions, were new Department Heads. He said there was nothing in the world he would like better than to give the Department Heads an executive staff as well as a salary increase. He said the word "emergency" did not allow this. He said the existing executive payroll was less than it was one year ago contrary to the criticism the City was receiving. Mayor Abramowitz said he would be recommending, if it was legally feasible, that there be a 6 month review of the Budget to determine if there could be salary increases. He said he felt that the Budget would be different in 6 months; however, with the existing Budget, there were things that had to be eliminated. He said if the City Manager was indicating that travel or publication fees being reduced would make a difference in a Department Heads performance, he was not correct in his outlook of the professionalism in the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the City had an emergency situation and he wanted to do everything possible to handle the emergency. He said the existing problem was an accumulation of 15 years of neglect and political expediency. C/M Stelzer disagreed. He said there was a surplus of $600,000.00 when Mayor Abramowitz became Mayor. Mayor Abramowitz disagreed and said the money could not be used. C/M Stelzer said there was a surplus of $600,000.00 unappropriated funds and he asked Mr. Burroughs if this was correct. Mr. Burroughs said he did not have those figures with him; however, he could review this matter. Mayor Abramowitz said the previous actions such as ESM would be heard in the near future. C/M Stelzer said Page 11 indicated a surplus of $600,000.00; therefore, Mayor Abramowitz's statement regarding 15 years of neglect was incorrect. C/M Rohr said he was called to this meeting to review the Budget and, if the City Council continued to argue and bicker as opposed to reviewing the Budget, he would withdraw himself from this meeting. He said previous years should not be rehashed. Page 5 8/10/89 C/M Hoffman suggested that the City Council continue reviewing the Budget. He said the City Attorney Budget, Publications, was being reviewed and he suggested that $5,000.00 be cut from the recommended $10,500.00. City Manager Kelly said the Publications included updates with Callahan and Cohen at $500.00, West Publishing Company at $2,500.00, D&S Publishers at $500.00, Lawyer's Co -Op at $500.00, Sheppard's McGraw Hill at $500.00 and the remaining costs included several publications required for the City Attorney's continuing education, which was $7,500.00. He said these publications totalled $12,400.00; however, he reduced this request to $10,500.00. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney had an extremely excellent law library; however, there have been several occasions during the year where the City Attorney went to Broward County to research matters. Mayor Abramowitz said he approved of reducing the publication costs by $5,000.00 and City Manager Kelly said the City Attorney agreed to eliminate his West Law Computer in order to keep his publications. C/M Hoffman asked what the cost was for the West Law Computer and City Manager Kelly said this information was not available at this time. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was spent last year on publications and City Manager Kelly said approximately $5,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz said he approved of the $5,000.00 reduction because the City Attorney was presently operating on a $5,000.00 level. He said this cut would reduce the Publication Budget, Account 540, to $5,500.00. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney was very conservative and he asked if the travel expenses could be reduced. City Manager Kelly said the request included three conferences, the attendance at the Florida Municipal Attorney's Association, attendance at the Florida Bar Association/Local Government Seminar and attendance at the National Institute for Municipal Legal officers. *Mayor Abramowitz asked what the City Attorney expended last year and City Manager Kelly said approximately $928.00. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the Travel Account be reduced to $1,200.00. V/M Bender said in 1989/90 the projected prosecution services was $20,000.00; however, it was estimated that approximately $15,000.00 would be used. He asked if the prosecution fees for 1989/90 could be reduced by $5,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz said the Code Enforcement Department was being revamped and there may not be a need for as much prosecution services. He suggested that the prosecution fees be reduced to $1,500.00. Page 6 8/10/89 D L C/M Rohr asked if it would save the City money by having an outside Attorney as opposed to an In-house Attorney and C/M Hoffman said the Charter required the City to have an In-house Attorney. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney indicated that he would be willing to resign from the Attorney position if the City wanted to have an outside Attorney. C/M Hoffman said this could be reviewed providing the Charter was amended. ** The total reduction in the City Attorney's Budget was $11,000.00. City Manager Budget ! Page 15 TAPE 2 City Manager Kelly said the Budget for 1988/89 was $195,712.00 and the estimated Budget was $192,191.00. He said the requested Budget for 1989/90 was $168,460.00; however, he was recommending $167,200.00. He said there would be an increase for an employee after testing. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was a savings in the salaries and City Manager Kelly said a previous employee was replaced which lowered the salaries by approximately $9,000.00. City Manager Kelly said there would be an increase in the FICA taxes, Pension Contributions were reduced and the remaining personnel costs were calculated by experience. City Manager Kelly said the travel expenses were reduced by $1,500.00. He said he did not like to travel; however, there were obligations that he would have to attend. He said the office supplies increased from last year; however, they felt that $2,500.00 would be sufficient. He said he was requesting $410.00 for publications, which were approximately $696.00 last year. City Manager Kelly said the capital outlay, Item 641, Office Equipment, would be $1,630.00 and Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager, said this cost would be for a time stamper and transcriber. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the transcriber would be used by the City Attorney's Office as well and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz said there was an employee in the City Attorney's Office who would be having a baby shortly. He said there was discussions that the position may be vacated after the baby was born. City Manager Kelly said this decision was that of the employee because there were employees who did return after pregnancy; therefore, plans had to be made for this. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not see anything that could be deducted from the City Manager's Budget. He said the City Manager seemed to have covered the Department very well and City Manager Kelly said he may not have. Mayor Abramowitz said when funds were scarce, everyone had to pinch their Budgets. Page 7 8/10/89 ** There were no deductions from the City Manager's Budget. City Clerk Budget - Page 16 City Manager Kelly said the City Clerk's Budget,last year was $320,692.00 and it was estimated to be $287,743.00 at the year's end. He said the request was for $334,650.00 and he recommended that $300,970.00 be allotted. Carol Evans, City Clerk, said stem 140, Overtime Pay, was for the elections work. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 161, Longevity Pay, was for and City Manager Kelly said Longevity was in the Contractual Union obligation. Mayor Abramowitz asked who received Longevity Pay and Ms. Evans said Belle Vitrofsky, Pat Marcurio and herself. Mayor Abramowitz asked if these employees were in the Union and Ms. Evans said Belle Vitrofsky was in the Union. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Longevity Pay was by City Council action as opposed to Union negotiated and City Manager Kelly said for two employees. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this pertained to the various Departments and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the majority of the employees were covered by the Union and City Manager Kelly said there were several people under Management/Supervisory that were not covered by the Union. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the City Council was asked to mandate Longevity Pay after the Union negotiations and City Manager Kelly said this was done to provide the same type of benefits to the Management/Supervisory personnel who did not form their own Union. Mayor Abramowitz asked when Longevity Pay began and Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said after 7 years of employment and Mayor Abramowitz said he did not object to this. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Longevity Pay could be reduced and C/M Hoffman said Longevity Pay could be reduced by a Resolution. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Benefit Options were a Union obligation and City Manager Kelly said this was like the Longevity Pay. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 340, Other Contractual Services, was for and Ms. Evans said this Item included codifying Ordinances, storage fees for the City's records and the Special Services Secretary fees for the preparation of Minutes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Special Services Secretary fees were included in the salaries and Ms. Evans replied, no, this function was done on an outside contractual basis. 1 1 1 Page 8 8/10/89 1 1 Mayor Abramowitz said when he became Mayor there was a charge for services performed by the City Clerk, such as copies of documents, etc. He said he understood that the law only allowed a specific charge. He asked if there were any fees collected by those individuals who wanted copies of information. Ms. Evans said the City Clerk's Office was not a revenue producing Department and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Clerk charged time for their services. Ms. Evans said the Department could charge time if it was unusual time, such as retrieving files from Miami. City Manager Kelly said this charge applied in other Departments when information in storage was requested. Mayor Abramowitz asked what was considered normal time and City Manager Kelly said approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if unusual time was requested often and Ms. Evans said the storage charge was the only unusual time the City Clerk's Office experienced. C/M Hoffman asked if this pertained to individuals who came to the City 5 days per week asking for information. He asked if this was unusual or considered as accumulated time. He asked if a person should be required to place their requests in writing and submit it to the City Clerk's Office for accumulation when the Department had the time as opposed to a clerk standing at the counter for 15 or 20 minutes. City Manager Kelly said this matter would be reviewed and changed, if possible. C/M Stelzer said the City had to provide public documents if the public wanted them. He said Melanie Reynolds, resident, could come in as many times she wanted to review public records. C/M Hoffman said this matter should be reviewed because it took time for the clerks to get the information. He said it did cost the City money for this service and the laws should not be ignored; however, the privilege should not be abused. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 401, Meetings and Seminars, were and Ms. Evans said this Item included the State Conference, various Desktop Publishing Conferences and other job enhancement seminars for the employees. Ms. Evans said travel covered airlinefares, car and hotel expenses. She said she would be sending the Office Manager to the State Conference this year. She said it would benefit the Office Manager to attend this meeting. C/M Hoffman said the City Clerk's Budget seemed to be very lean and Mayor Abramowitz said he had questions regarding Items 463, Office Equipment Repairs and, 492, Elections. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Elections included and Ms. Evans said this included the pay to the poll workers, cost of the polling areas, printing of the Ballot, Supervisor of Election's Office costs, such as trucking, etc. Page 9 ,gym:• Mayor Abramowitz asked why $21,000.00 was expected for 1989/90 when only $13,075.00 was expended for elections in 1988/89. Ms. Evans said the Supervisor of Elections ran the Elections last year; therefore, the City had to pay their share of the election as opposed to the entire cost. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City would have to pay the entire cost for the March, 1990 Election and Ms. Evans replied, yes, providing the Supervisor of Election's Office did not have an Item on the Ballot. V/M Bender asked if it was unusual to have $19,000.00 last year and $19,000.00 this year for advertising and Ms. Evans said most of the high cost advertisements came at the end of the year because of the Budget. V/M Bender asked what the cost for the Budget advertisements were estimated at this year and Ms. Evans said she had approximately $6,000.00 remaining in the Account. Ms. Evans said the Comprehensive Plan was expected which required two quarter page advertisements and the Budget required approximately two quarter page advertisements. She said the Charter required another advertisement 14 days prior to the Public Hearing for the Budget. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the advertisements were mandated by the Federal, State or County Governments or the City Charter. Ms. Evans said the advertisements were mandated by the State and the City Charter. V/M Bender asked if Ms. Evans felt that the remaining $6,000.00 would be used before the end of the year and Ms. Evans said the Comprehensive Plan would cost approximately $1,600.00 to advertise. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the advertisement was mandated to be placed in a specific publication and Ms. Evans said the section of the paper was mandated because of the daily circulation. V/M Bender said it seemed that the Budgeted amount could be reduced and Ms. Evans said the amount of funds also depended on what type of land development advertisements were needed during the year. She said if anything amended Chapter 28, advertisements had to be submitted, which were usually two quarter page advertisements per amendment. C/M Hoffman asked if the Petitioner was charged for advertisements of a Public Hearing and Ms. Evans replied, yes, as much as possible was collected. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Item 59C, Purchasing/Stores Services, pertained to the proportionate share of the Purchasing Department and City Manager Belly replied, yes. C/M Rohr asked why the proportion was increased from $1,287.00 to $4,270.00 and Mr. Burroughs said the allocations were redefined for each Department. He said the bottom line was not different; however, the allocations were different in the Departments. 1 Page 10 8/ 10/ 89 Mayor Abramowitz said he was aware that the Finance Director was directed to inform the Departments that the Budget for 1988/89 would have to be decreased. He said the Finance Director did a good job in accomplishing the reductions. He said he did not see a detrimental affect in the operation of the City and City Manager Kelly said he saw the affect. Mayor Abramowitz asked what happened to the excess funds at the end of the Fiscal Year and Ken Burroughs said notices were recently sent to the Departments regarding the cut off date being August 21, 1989. He said the Departments could not process purchase orders after this date unless there was an emergency approved by the City Manager. Mr. Burroughs said if there were unexpended funds or over -collected revenue at the end of the year, the money was placed into the fund balance. He said he tried to project what these funds may be which was listed on the Budget as an estimated amount. Mayor Abramowitz said there was a big difference between need and desire; therefore, he would like to address the financial situation of the City at this time. He said he did not care what was cut from the Budget to avoid an excess of funds at the end of the year. City Manager Kelly said Items 641, Office Equipment and, 647, Special Equipment, indicated a -0- amount and this would be seen throughout the entire Budget because capital outlay was not allowed. He said unless the old City Hall was sold, etc., capital outlay would not be allocated. He said there was equipment needed in the City Clerk's Office to assist in the filing procedures; however, the equipment could not be purchased. He said the requests were listed in the Budget in case there were funds available within the year to purchase the equipment. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the equipment needed was calculated to figure the tax rate and City Manager Kelly replied, no. Ken Burroughs said the funds would be offset from the tax rate. V/M Bender asked when the City Council would be informed of the unexpended funds from last year and Mr. Burroughs said when the Audit was completed in December, 1989. He said there was $107,000.00 estimated to be available at the end of July, 1989; however, there may be changes during August and September, 1989. City Manager Kelly said the surplus of $107,000.00 was already calculated in the Budget. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Non -Departmental appropriation in the amount of $1,117,860.00 was offset from the operation of the City. Mr. Burroughs said approximately $700,000.00 was offset as indicated on Pages 64 and 65 of the Budget. He said these Pages broke down the operating expenses. He said the only two expenses offset were the capital outlay and the Grant matching funds. Page 11 8/10/89 Mayor Abramowitz asked if $417,860.00 was computed into the tax rate and Mr. Burroughs agreed. Mr. Burroughs said this figure included contingency, judgement claims and settlements and special Counsel fees for litigation. Ms. Evans suggested that Item 542, Dues and Memberships, be reduced to $150.00 as opposed to $1,460.00. City Manager Kelly asked if there was a need for something else in the City Clerk's Budget. Mayor Abramowitz asked where the Item was for the Copy Machine in the City Clerk's Office and Mr. Burroughs said this cost was listed under General Services, Page 62. Ms. Evans said the Personnel Department Budgeted for the costs of the City Sundial Newsletter; however, this Item was supposed to be transferred to the City Clerk's Office in the amount of $2,000.00 because this function would be performed in the City Clerk's Office. She said this Item was not included in the City Clerk or the Personnel Department Budgets. Mr. Burroughs said this cost should be placed in the Personnel Department Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said this matter would be discussed during the Personnel Department Budget review. ** There was a reduction of $1,310.00 in the City Clerk's Budget. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Police Department - Page 36 Mayor Abramowitz asked if the bottom line figure of $5,191,350.00 included the contractual obligation with the Broward Sheriff's Office. City Manager Kelly said this figure included Regular Salaries for an employee presently working in the Personnel Department handling fines, traffic violations, etc. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the employee worked with the Broward Sheriff's Office and City Manager Kelly said this employee worked for the City only. City Manager Kelly said this employee monitored the fines, etc., from the Broward Sheriff's Office for the City. City Manager Kelly said Item 155, Temporary Employees Wages, in the amount of $55,380.00 included the School Crossing Guards. C/M Hoffman had concerns regarding what Budget the employee should be allocated from and V/M Bender asked how long the City Manager felt that this position would be needed. City Manager Kelly said this employee would be holding a full-time position. C/M Hoffman had concerns with a column being provided for an employee in the Police Department Budget when there was no longer a Tamarac Police Department. Page 12 8/10/ 89 C/M Stelzer suggested that the Budget be referred to as "Police Functions" as opposed to "Police Department". V/M Bender asked if the payment to the Broward Sheriff's Office in the amount of $5,082.650.00 was expended throughout the year as opposed to one lump sum and Mr. Burroughs said the payments were given one month in advance. Mayor Abramowitz asked who determined where the School Crossing Guards were located and who would the Guards be. City Manager Kelly said the School Board informed the City of the intersections being crossed, etc. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City was obligated to provide the Guards and City Manager Kelly said the City disagreed with areas that only had two or three children; however, the areas with a high volume of children had Guards. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was a study to determine where the Guards were needed and the City Manager Kelly said the areas presently secured with Guards were very important. Mayor Abramowitz asked if crossing Guards were assigned to University Drive and the rental establishment. He said he hoped that there was not one in that area because there was only one child in the area. City Manager Kelly said there was a recent request for a crossing Guard in that area; however, the City did not honor that request. C/M Hoffman said there was only one School in the City and he asked why and where Guards were needed in the City. City Manager Kelly said a list of this information would be submitted to the City Council. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager, be directed to investigate if there was funding available to offset this expense. He said he would contact the City of Coral Springs regarding the amount expended each year for their Crossing Guards because they had 14 Schools. City Manager Kelly suggested that the cost compared between the City of Coral Springs and the City of Tamarac not be made public because it was a totally different instance. V/M Bender said the City of Tamarac had students that were bused to School's outside of the City. V/M Bender asked what Item 220, Pension Contribution, in the amount of $2,190.00 was for and Mr. Burroughs said this was for the employee discussed during Item 120, Regular Salaries. TAPE 3 C/M Hoffman asked what Item 440, Rental and Leases, in the amount of $1,450.00 was for and Mr. Burroughs said this amount was for Identification Cards, Communications, etc. Mr. Burroughs said he recently received the telephone charges for the Communication Repeater Lines which would increase this Budget by $14,000.00. Page 13 8/10/89 C/M Hoffman asked if these Communication Lines were to be placed in the Police Department.Budget and City Manager Kelly said the funds would be placed appropriately in the Budget; however, Mr. Burroughs was informing the City Council that the funds were not included in the Budget at this time. Mayor Abramowitz asked why Item 59A, Data Processing Services, was in the amount off $7,310.00 and Mr. Burroughs said the Word Processor was the only change since the Broward Sheriff's Officer merger. He said the Burglar Alarm and Violation Systems remained in the Data Processing System. C/M Hoffman asked if the City was receiving revenue from the Handicapped Parking Violations and Dina McDermott said the City received a percentage from those violations. Mayor Abramowitz asked where the revenue from Fines and Forfeitures was allocated in the Budget and Mr. Burroughs said approximately $200,000.00 from revenue for Fines and Forfeiture was placed in the General Fund. C/M Stelzer said during his review of the Budget, he accumulated all of the Data Processing charges for the Departments and the total was approximately the same amount spent for Data Processing. He said the allocation in the Departments did not affect the Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want one Department overloaded at the expense of another Department and Mr. Burroughs said the allocations were fairly distributed. Mr. Burroughs said C/M Hoffman asked what the revenue was for Fines and Forfeitures and the projected amount was $285,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 735, Repay Advance from Other FDS, in the amount of $76,200.00 was for and Mr. Burroughs said this was the repayment to TUW. Mayor Abramowitz asked when the payment would be made and Mr. Burroughs said on October 1, 1989. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the payment would be made in its entirety and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the entire payment be made within a 2 to 3 year period and Mr. Burroughs said this could be done providing the City Council directed him to do this by Resolution. Mr. Burroughs said when the Communication System was discussed, he was concerned with how the information would be recorded. He said after his calculations, these figures were the end results. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the repayment of the funds could be paid back within three years and City Manager Kelly said staff needed the appropriate direction from the City Council. Page 14 8/10/ 89 C/M Stelzer said the Accountants may want this figure shown in full because it was a liability and Mr. Burroughs said the cost would be shown as a liability. C/M Stelzer said the figure had to be shown in the Budget as a disbursement and a receipt if it was not paid in full. Mr. Burroughs said the receipt was shown in the TUW Account; however, the figures would have to be changed accordingly. He said the Financial Statements would indicate a liability in the General Fund and a Receivable in the TUW Fund. He said this matter would be handled like a Bond Fund if there were payments approved by the City Council. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that this issue be discussed at the next Budget Workshop after further information was received. Mayor Abramowitz said he scheduled meetings for the upcoming week. ** EDITOR'S NOTE: The City Council called for Budget Workshop meetings to be held in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office); August 14, 1989 -- 9:30 A.M. August 15, 1989 - 1:00 P.M. August 16, 1989 - 9:30 A.M. August 17, 1989 - 9:30 A.M. Mayor Abramowitz had concerns with Item 470, Printing and Binding. He said he did not want the City to be in a money making business; however, he was concerned with the funds being spent on procedures without receiving revenue. Mayor Abramowitz said when he attended a Code Enforcement meeting, he found several high paid professionals attending fhe meeting when the Petitioners did not show up for the meeting. He said when the Petitioners did attend and no action was taken, he found this to be a waste of funds. He said he was assured that this changed; however, he would like to know what was being spent for Fines, Notifications, etc. Mr. Burroughs said the Budget included the entire Police Department and the Budget was reduced accordingly. City Manager Kelly said the original request was for $12,100.00 and there were items that had to be maintained by the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the City did not have a Police Department and City Manager Kelly disagreed. City Manager Kelly said there were items that had to be maintained by the City. Mrs. McDermott said the City estimated that the revenue for Burglar Alarms would be $19,000.00 and Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was actually collected to date. Mr. Burroughs said he did not have this information available; however, he would submit it to the City Council. Mayor Abramowitz suggested this information be submitted to the City Council at the next Workshop meeting. Page 15 8/10/89 City Manager Kelly said information regarding Items 735 and 470, would be submitted to the City Council at the next Workshop meeting. Social Services Board - Page 59 V/M Bender said he requested there be a vehicle allotted for the Social Services Board, which was given. He said the Budget should reflect this increase. City Manager Kelly said Item 59E, Fleet Maintenance Services, was reduced to reflect the addition of the vehicle. V/M Bender said the vehicle was being transferred from the Police Department to the Social Services Board. C/M Stelzer said the funds for the vehicle were expended in last year's Budget; therefore, should not be expended again. Mayor Abramowitz said the vehicle•was being given to the Social Services Board for use and Mr. McDermott said the car was considered a City vehicle. C/M Stelzer asked if the Police Department Budget purchased the vehicle and was giving the vehicle to another Department, should it not be deducted from the Budget which was receiving the vehicle. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the vehicle to register as an asset and City Manager Kelly said this would not occur in the Social Services Budget. C/M Hoffman suggested that the Police Department Budget be credited for the cost of the vehicle with a debit to the Social'Service Board Budget. C/M Stelzer said the vehicle was purchased last year; therefore, it should not appear in this year's Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said it was strange that a Department receiving valued property from another Department did not reflect the value in their Budget. Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said all of the equipment in the General Fund was listed in the Fixed Asset Fund. C/M Stelzer asked if the City received revenue from a vehicle confiscated by the Police and City Manager Kelly said the Courts made a determination on this matter. C/M Stelzer asked if the Social Services Board would be charged for this type of vehicle if it was given to them and Mayor Abramowitz said the vehicle should be on their list of assets. C/M Stelzer said the vehicle could not be placed in the Budget as an expenditure. V/M Bender said the vehicle would be used by the Social Services Board which would be one car more than last year. He said the vehicle would require additional gasoline and maintenance. Page 16 8/10/89 C/M Stelzer said the additional costs were in the Budget and V/M Bender disagreed. City Manager Kelly said the total cost of $25,000.00 would cover all costs for the Social Services Board, which included the additional vehicle. V/M Bender asked if the Fleet Maintenance costs would be higher and Mrs. McDermott said the car was new and under warranty. V/M Bender asked Helen Sobel, Chairwoman of the Social Services Board, what the mileage was on the vehicle and Mrs. Sobel said she did not know. Mrs. Sobel said vehicle, #800, was a big expenditure because it consistently needed repairs. Mayor Abramowitz asked if vehicle #800 was needed and Mrs. Sobel replied, yes. She said many of her drivers would not drive their own cars because they were not insured by the City. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City had a vehicle similar to #800 that would eliminate some the Fleet Maintenance costs and City Manager Kelly replied, no. C/M Hoffman asked what was done with the four vehicles from the Police Department and City Manager Kelly said the vehicles were allocated to Departments that needed them. Mayor Abramowitz said if there was a vehicle costing the City money, it should be replaced. He asked how many vehicles the Social Service Board had. Mrs. Sobel said the Social Services Board had three vehicles, one van which held 14 people, one van which held 12 people and a new car which held 4 people. Mayor Abramowitz said the car was new; therefore, maintenance was not needed and he asked if the two vans required Fleet Maintenance in the amount of $8,650.00. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the vehicles in the City be reviewed to see if there was a vehicle available to replace #800 so that the repair costs could be reduced. He said $10,917.00 was spent last year in Fleet Maintenance costs and he suggested that this matter be reviewed. C/M Stelzer said there was nothing available in the City for 12 people and Mrs. Sobel said she could utilize a smaller vehicle because it was used primarily for doctor appointments. C/M Rohr asked if it would be cheaper to lease a vehicle and Mrs. Sobel replied, no. She said the expenditures for Fleet Maintenance last year was a combination of all of the vehicles; however, #800 was a big problem. C/M Stelzer asked if #800 could be eliminated without a replacement and Mrs. Sobel said this would be a handicap because the drivers did not want to use their own cars because of the insurance involved. C/M Hoffman asked Mrs. Sobel to explain the concerns regarding the insurance and Mrs. Sobel said the City Page 17 8/10/89 vehicles were covered by insurance; however, when the drivers were using their own vehicles, they were not covered by the City. C/M Hoffman said his wife used their car to transport residents; therefore, the transportation was not covered by the City's insurance and Mrs. Sobel agreed. Mrs. Sobel said Mrs. Hoffman would be covered if she drove the City's vehicles. C/M Hoffman said he would discuss this matter with Mrs. Sobel after the meeting. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many trips were made per month to doctor appointments and C/M Hoffman said his wife took approximately 4 people per week to doctor appointments. Mrs. Sobel said she would submit this information to the City Council if they desired. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City had a vehicle available to replace #800 and City Manager Kelly replied, no. City Manager Kelly said if there was a vehicle available to replace #800, it would have been replaced a long time ago. Mayor Abramowitz had concerns with the cost of $10,917.00 for Fleet Maintenance on two vehicles last year and Mr. Burroughs said Fleet Maintenance included the operations of the City garage. Mr. Burroughs said the costs were pro -rated to the Departments based on a percentage that each Department used the garage. He said he did not know the percentage off hand; however, the information was available. Mayor Abramowitz said the amount of $10,917.00 was not necessarily spent by the Social Services Board and Mr. Burroughs agreed. C/M Rohr asked if the Social Services Board investigated the use of the Broward County Transportation Service and Mrs. Sobel said she used this service because the residents paid the County for the services; however, the Service was not reliable and very inconvenient for the residents. City Manager Kelly said he discussed this matter with Mrs. Sobel and they tried to get the services corrected; however, nothing was done. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was received for the residents from the Area Council on Aging and City Manager Kelly said approximately $38,000.00 directly to the. residents from the Agency. City Manager Kelly said Tamarac as well as a few other Cities heavily relied on the services from the Area Council on Aging. He said the proposed share of $10,000.00 was far less than the City's fair share. Mayor Abramowitz asked if scheduling for appointments was made every day and Mrs. yes. Mayor Abramowitz said it may lessen requiring that notice be given a few days appointments and Mrs. Sobel said this was unless there was an emergency. doctor Sobel replied, the trips by before the the procedure I A Page 18 8/10/89 Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 402, Travel -Other, was and Mrs. Sobel said this was the cost for the driver's gasoline and mileage when they were using their cars. ** The City Manager was asked to investigate the possibility of replacing van #800 with a better vehicle. At 11:45 A.M., C/M Rohr WITHDREW from the meeting. City Council Budget - Page 13 Mayor Abramowitz asked if Item 120, Regular Salaries, was for the Secretaries in the City Clerk's Office and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Item 270, Benefit Options, was for the Secretaries and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. C/M Stelzer said there was discussion regarding the City Council being entitled to $1,000.00 in Benefit Options. He said if the City Council wanted to eliminate costs, they should reduce the $1,000.00. C/M Hoffman asked if the deal C/M Stelzer was working on was not accepted and C/M Stelzer said the City Council should cut the additional $5,000.00 for the Benefit Options this year. TAPE 4 C/M Stelzer said this was the first year that the Benefit Options were offered and Mayor Abramowitz said C/M Stelzer was in favor of the Benefit Options until he found that he could not receive what he wanted. C/M Hoffman asked if C/M Stelzer would be recommending $5,000.00 be cut if his deal was accepted and C/M Stelzer replied, yes. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 440, Rentals and Leases, was for and Mrs. McDermott said this included the copy machine and the water machine. C/M Hoffman said the City Council Office should have a better copier for this type of money and Mrs. McDermott said a new copier was supposed to be provided. She said she would investigate this matter. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much the lease was for the water machine and City Manager Kelly replied, $650.00 per year. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that Item 440, Rental and Leases, be reduced from $2,150.00 to $1,500.00. Mayor Abramowitz said last year he spent approximately $800.00 from his expense account and C/M Hoffman said the Expense Account for the City Council was provided in the City Charter. City Manager Kelly said there were several publications that could be eliminated from Item 540, Publications. He said the Account included the Fort Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel, Miami Herald and a Health and Safety Report. Mayor Abramowitz asked what this publication was for and V/M Bender said he paid for this publication in the amount of $170.00 from his Expense Account. Page 19 8/10/89 Mrs. McDermott said the publications Budgeted to the Expense Accounts were placed in the Publications Accounts and V/M Bender said this publication was to come from his Expense Account. Mayor Abramowitz said he cancelled the subscription to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and City Manager Kelly said this was not on the publications listing. C/M Hoffman said the previous Mayor subscribed to the magazines. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several requests submitted to the City Council for their attendance to certain meetings. He said attendance at the meetings was important because the City Council had to mingle with the Legislators. He said it was important for the people to understand the need for the Expense Account. City Manager Kelly said he felt that this provision in the Charter was not appropriate and Mayor Abramowitz said it was ridiculous to spend money to monitor an $11,000.00 expenditure for. the City Council. City Manager Kelly said the expenditure should be paid out on a monthly basis and Mayor Abramowitz agreed. Mayor Abramowitz said it cost the City more money to monitor the expenditures than having the expenditures. City Manager Kelly said $170.00 for the Heath and Safety Report would be deducted from the Publications Account. tie said the City Council received Florida Statute Books and Mrs. McDermott said the Library Account was eliminated and combined with the Publications. C/M Stelzer said the majority of the publications came from the Expenditure Accounts and Mrs. McDermott said technically, the publications should have been in the Publications Account. After reviewing the Publications Account, the City Council agreed to reduce Item 540, Publications, from $720.00 to $300.00. Mayor Abramowitz had concerns with Dues and Memberships for the Florida League of Cities being $2,375.00. He said the City Council was being forced to go to the Florida League of Cities meetings and he suggested that this review be suspended until he investigated what the costs were for. He said if the City needed the membership he would not object. C/M Stelzer said the charge from the Florida League of Cities was determined by the population of the City and the total Budget prepared by the Florida League of Cities. He said this was a membership without benefits. Mayor Abramowitz said if the membership was needed to benefit the City, he would not object to it; however, he wanted more information on this matter. He said he would like to discuss the City Council's Budget after this investigation. C/M Stelzer asked if the Florida League of Cities would insure the City if it was not a member and Mayor Abramowitz said he would like this matter investigated. Page 20 8/10/89 rl Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the Office Supplies in the Departments investigated because the costs were very high. He said the Office Supplies, Item 510, in the City Council Budget was very high. He said the business cards ordered cost $89.00 per 500. He said the cards resubmitted to the City Council were $36.00 per 500, which were different cards. He said there seemed to be something wrong with the purchasing procedures in the City. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that this matter be discussed thoroughly when the Purchasing Department Budget was being presented to the City Council. He said he would like new procedures for the purchasing of office supplies. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 490, Advertising, in the amount of $600.00 was for and Mrs. McDermott said it was for Journals, etc. ** The City Council's Budget was reduced by $1,070.00; however, further discussion will take place regarding the Membership Fees with the Florida League of Cities. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 12:05 P.M. CAROL A. EVANS, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $172.60 or $21.58 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." Page 21