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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-08-11 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321-2401 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 " If ------------------------------------------------------------ 1:30 p.m. Police Department Thursday August 11 9:00 a.m. Public Works If" 11:00 a.m. Community Development Ifit ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1988 TAPE 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this Budget Workshop meeting to Order on Thursday, August 11, 1988 at 9:00 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor ,Tack Stelzer Councilman Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Ken Burroughs, Finance Director Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary Public Works Department Butt City Manager Kelly said the staff who recently reviewed their Budget with the City Council complimented the City Council on their professionalism. Mike Couzzo, Public Works Director, said there would be a total increase in salaries of 6.17%. He said this increase included the 4% FPE and a part/time employee from 24 hours to 28 hours a week. Mr. Couzzo said there was 24% increase in operating expenses and a 300% increase in capital expenditures. C/M Rohr asked if more personnel had to be hired for the Municipal Complex and Mr. Couzzo said this Budget was for the Administrative Division only. Mayor Abramowitz said the Health Insurance may be changing and Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said until the change is made, the existing figures will be applied. V/M Stelzer asked if the automobile allowance would be eliminated and City Manager Kelly said it would be to the City's advantage to pay the Public Works and the Utilities/Engineering Directors to use their own vehicles. He said it would cost approximately $600.00 per month to maintain and operate a car for these departments. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this Budget could be cut and City Manager Kelly said after reviewing this Budget, he could not cut anymore than he already did. C/M Hoffman asked if there was anything cut from the Budget that City Manager Kelly may want to consider and City Manager Kelly replied, no. C/M Rohr asked what the Employment Agency Fees Account was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Account was for Temporary Services when certain personnel were on vacation or sick leave. Page 1 8/11/88 C/M Bender asked what Account 130, Temporary Account, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this account was for the temporary summer employees. C/M Hoffman asked if the overall Budget increase was 3.95% and Mr. Couzzo replied, yes. He said this increase was for all of the Divisions in his Department. C/M Rohr asked what the Purchasing Store Services Account was for and Mr. Burroughs said this Account was pro -rated by dividing each Department's use into the cost to operate the Purchasing Department. City Manager Kelly asked Mr. Couzzo to emphasize the office equipment needed and Mr. Couzzo said the increase in the office equipment was for a Gama Program. He said this program was an automated computer system which tracked calls placed in the Department regarding the disposition of resident concerns. Walter Rekuc, Resident, asked if the purchasing cost was an allocation and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. V/M Stelzer said Section G would inform Mr. Rekuc of the allocations within the Budget. Mr. Rekuc said the City's CPA suggested that the Public Works Director's position be eliminated and combined with the City Engineer. He said this has been done in other Cities and he recommended this be considered for this year's Budget. City Manager Kelly said Mr. Rekuc's observation pertained to Administration matters. He said he has reviewed the capabilities of each department and he has determined that each department should remain as it is. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Contractual Services were eliminated and presently being done In-house and Mr. Burroughs said the expenses for the Maintenance of the Municipal Complex were deducted from the Line 340 and placed in a separate Division. Mayor Abramowitz said he was pleased to see the janitorial services being done In-house because of security reasons as opposed to contracting the services out. City Manager Kelly said he was very comfortable with having the services In-house and with knowing that the employees would be responsible to the City rather than contracting the services out to people who were not as involved with the City. C/M Hoffman asked what the Beautification Special Projects Account was for and Mr. Couzzo said $50,000.00 was designated for landscape and irrigation improvements on Nob Hill Road. He said the City was obligated to the County for this project. Mayor Abramowitz said he was concerned with having these items together to avoid confusion and Mr. Burroughs said the City Manager and Mr. Couzzo informed him of this matter; however, the Budget was already printed. He said he would place these accounts under Special Account for the Budget Hearings. Mayor Abramowitz said he was very interested in the City's beautification; however, he would like the Beautification Account identified differently. Page 2 8/11/88 1 1 Mr. Burroughs said the backup material listed everything separately; however, it was difficult to list every project separately. V/M Stelzer asked how much money would be spent on irrigation and Mr. Couzzo said approximately 2/3 of the Account. V/M Stelzer said there was no need to separate these accounts because there would be little money in the Account. He suggested the Nob Hill Project be placed in a separate account and the remaining funds be placed in a Special Projects Account. Mayor Abramowitz asked City Manager Kelly to inform him when the Commercial Boulevard Project was completed. C/M Bender asked if supplemental Grants were being explored for the Beautification projects and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. C/M Hoffman asked if the impact fees could be used for the Nab Hill Road Project and Mr. Burroughs said impact fees may not address this matter. City Manager Kelly said there were no impact fees designated for this project and C/M Hoffman asked if this project could be identified as a necessity because of the development of Nob Hill Road. Mr. Burroughs said the current trafficway impact fees language did not make this project eligible for the money, V/M Stelzer said this project could be classified as a new development and C/M Hoffman suggested that this matter be investigated to see if it was feasible to use the money for this project. He said if the impact fees could be used, the Budget would be lowered. Mr. Rekuc asked if there were any new vehicles and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Mr. Rekuc had concerns with the employees being allowed to take their vehicles home. Mr. Couzzo said the Divisional Supervisors no longer take vehicles home. Mayor Abramowitz said he received a complaint regarding City vehicle being taken home and the City Manager informed him that there were employees on call 24 hours day; therefore, a vehicle was needed to get to the designated area. TAPE 2 C/M Hoffman asked what the Contractual Services Account was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Account was for Aquatic Weed Control. City Manager Kelly asked if there were monies received to offset this Account and Mr. Couzzo replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz said this Service should be increased because of the many complaints received regarding the canals and lakes. a M City Manager Kelly said most of the complaints have been honored; however, the complaints are repetitious because when the water is treated it takes time for the water to clear up. He said the annexed areas only wanted the City Page 3 R/ 8/11/88 to take over the service of Aquatic Control because of the good canal maintenance in Tamarac. He said the services for the annexed areas would not be budgeted for until next year. V/M Stelzer said when the water levels are lower, more dirt will be present creating algae. C/M Rohr had concerns with the Street Resurfacing Account being cut from $99,000.00 to -0-. He asked if the City decided not to repair the streets and Mr. Couzzo said this Account was for resurfacing only. City Manager Kelly said the City's streets were in good shape and really did not need resurfacing and Mr. Burroughs said $99,000.00 was the cost for resurfacing all of the streets over a 12 year period. C/M Rohr had concerns with the reconstruction of sidewalks and City Manager Kelly said the Budget contained no money for sidewalks. C/M Hoffman asked why sidewalks were not Budgeted and City Manager Kelly said there was a Comprehensive Plan for sidewalks; therefore, he did not want to place money in an account for sidewalk projects. C/M Rohr asked if the City would be getting Grants for sidewalks and Mayor Abramowitz said this matter was being negotiated. C/M Hoffman asked if the City would be receiving money from the County since the widening of Nob Hill Road was not being done. He said this money could be used for sidewalks, turning lanes, etc. City Manager Kelly said this matter should be discussed during the Community Development Budget review. Mr. Rekuc said the State of Florida provides a Gasoline Tax Fund and he asked what the balance was in the Fund. He asked if this money would charged against the Fund. Mr. Burroughs said the State of Florida had a gasoline tax through Broward County and all street charges against the Fund were justified with more expenditures than what was received. He said there was no Fund available with a balance. Mayor Abramowitz asked what vehicles were being purchased and Mr. Couzzo said there would be a replacement of 1 dump truck, 1 service truck and 1 cement mixer. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the City shop around for a second hand street sweeper as opposed to spending the extra money on leasing a machine. He said the City would save a lot of money if they had their own street sweeper. Parks and Recreation Budget C/M Hoffman asked if Lighting should be listed under Engineering and Mr. Burroughs said Street Lighting was a Public Works Project. Mayor Abramowitz said projects should not be listed if there is not enough money to complete them. He asked if the City was able to spend $83,750.00 for lighting projects and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Page 4 8/11/88 C/M Hoffman asked if the money would be used for placement of lights rather than new poles and City Manager said in many instances, the replacement of lights require the changing of the poles. Mr. Burroughs said the City bought the energy and the energy included the cost of the lamp and pole. C/M Hoffman asked if the poles were free and Mr. Burroughs said the cost of the poles and lighting were paid on a monthly ba.Si.`s,, C/M Hoffman suggested that the City Attorney investigate the use of the impact fees for the lighting projects because these projects were very important to the residents and City Manager Kelly said he would discuss this matter with the City Attorney. Referring to the Garbage Account, City Manager Kelly said the garbage billing was Budgeted; however, this Account may change depending if the garbage billing is transferred to Waste Management, Inc., for direct billing. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council was in favor of direct billing until they realized that there may be a $2.25 increase and a 3 month billing cycle. He said the City Council directed the City Manager to negotiate with Waste Management, Inc., for monthly billing and increase the bills $.25 per month. He said he would like to see this matter eliminated from the Utility operations because of the extra manpower it takes causing the City to lose money. Mr. Rekuc said the garbage tax should be added to the ad valorem to cut the tax increase. He said this would reduce the cost for billing and the cost to the taxpayers. C/M Rohr said it would not be fair to do this because there would resident's paying for other residents garbage service because of their assessed valuation. V/M Stelzer said business people pay for their own garbage service; therefore, if the garbage tax was placed in the ad valorem, the business people would be charged twice for the garbage service. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council has reviewed this matter several times and whatever way the garbage tax is handled, it would be in the best interest of the City and the residents. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the salaries for the Recreation Budget increased and Mr. Couzzo said this increase was due to the expansion of the Summer and After School Programs. Mayor Abramowitz said the Recreation Program recently had 60 people more than anticipated. He said there were problems with the Programs in the past because of the lack in staff and space. He said he, the City Manager and Mr. Couzzo discussed this matter and there would be action taken to find more space to accommodate the Program. Page 5 8/11/88 Mayor Abramowitz said he would leave the revenue matter for this Department for the City Manager and Mr. Couzzo to handle. Vickie Beech, Resident, asked how many children were added to the City with the annexation and Mayor Abramowitz replied, very few. Mr. Rekuc said in the prior years, it had been discussed that Parks, Recreation, Streets and Landscaping should be placed under a different Director. He suggested this be done because the Departments were a different concept than the Public Works Department. He said 10 years ago, Parks and Recreation Department did not exist and he was the first one to approach the City with a request for $10,000.00 to start the Department. He said Parks and Recreation Department needed its own Director. Ms. Beech said there had been an analysis and a consultant hired to set a system regarding how the City should be broken down. She said there had been recommendations made regarding the break down of several Departments and she asked if these studies have been reviewed and if City Manager Kelly implemented any of these recommendations since there was approximately $18,000.00 spent on the study. City Manager Kelly said the study was made and recommendations were made to the City. He said he reviewed this study before he.started working for the City. He said he made assessments to the recommendations to determine if they were in the City's best interest and he felt strongly that the Parks and Recreation Department should be a strong separate Department with a Department Director; however, this was only for the Parks and Recreation Department's programmatic aspect. He said the maintenance of the Parks facilities should continue being the Public Works Department's responsibility. He said after the Multi -Purpose Complex was completed, the decision regarding the separation of the Public Works and Parks and Recreation Departments would be considered. He said the separation of the Departments would not be considered for this Budget year. C/M Hoffman said the City was very fortunate in having an employee like Mr. Couzzo. He said Mr. Couzzo was directing two departments and saving the City money. He said Mr. Couzzo has done an outstanding job and helped the City keep costs down. Mayor Abramowitz and C/M Rohr agreed. City Manager Kelly said the Parks and Recreation Department has expanded a lot; however, until recently, the Parks and Recreation Department has been an embarrassment to the City. C/M Hoffman said the State recently passed Legislation stating it was mandatory for the Cities to have proper recreational facilities or they would not be able to issue Certificates of Occupancy and all Development would be stopped. C/M Hoffman asked what the Rentals and Leases Account was for and Mr. Couzzo said the rental was for the bus to provide transportation for the programs. C/M Hoffman asked if the programs paid for themselves and Mr. Couzzo replied, yes. Mr. Couzzo said the Summary indicated the revenue projections for the upcoming year. Page 6 8/11/88 City Manager Kelly said the Liaison from the State called and asked how the City would want the State money for Parks and Recreation allocated. He said he would like to have the money up front so a better negotiation with the Architect could be made for the Multi -Purpose Complex. He said the City Planner has been assigned as the City`s Liaison on the matter and it would be brought to the City Council for authorization. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the Part/Time Account was increased and Mr. Couzzo said this increase would.provide more personnel for night maintenance at the Tamarac Sports Complex (Tract 27) . Mr. Rekuc suggested a summary be made of the Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments for the Public at the Budget Hearings. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Manager and Mr. Burroughs would consider the feasibility of this decision. At 10:55 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and RECONVENED at 11:05 A.M. with ALL PRESENT. Community Development Department Budget City Manager Kelly said this Department may be reorganized which would result in a slight decrease in the proposed Budget. C/M Rohr asked if there was an increase or decrease in employees and Thelma Brown --Porter, City Planner, said the only increase was the 4% FPE raises. City Manager Kelly asked Mrs. Brown -Porter to address the Engineering and Planning Services Account. Mrs. Brown --Porter said there was a necessity to recreate the boundary lines to comply with the new Comprehensive Plan. She said there would be approximately $3,500.00 expended for outside consultants. She said the Planning Service fees were for expenses to comply with the Growth Management requirements and the 9 Elements. She said this compliance would be approximately $5,000.00. C/M Hoffman asked if the voting districts have been determined for the annexed areas and City Manager Kelly said the City Clerk informed him that the annexed areas would be voting in District 1; however, after the elections, this matter would be reviewed. C/M Rohr asked when the monies for the Nob Hill Road expansion would be refunded to the City from Broward County and Mrs. Brown -Porter the monies collected from the County for the road work on Nob Hill Road resulted in the City saving 1.2 million dollars; however, there were monies deposited by the developers surrounding the area and is being used for Nob Hill Road. Mrs. Brown -Porter said the developer along Land Section 7 wanted some money credited back for his portion expended for Nob Hill Road. She said this money would be refunded to the developer with the traffic impact fee monies; however, the developer requested that the City join him in getting the money from the County. Page 7 8/11/88 TAPE 4 C/M Hoffman said the question was in regard to getting the money returned to the City for the Nob Hill Road widening and Mrs. Brown -Porter said Lennar Homes, Inc., placed all of the money for Nob Hill Road; therefore, Lennar Homes, Inc., would be receiving the money. She said the money would be taken from Lennar Homes, Inc., account and placed into the City's Trafficway Account. Mayor Abramowitz said no one was taking anything away from the City and this matter was being negotiated at this time. C/M Hoffman asked when Nob Hill Road would be open and Mrs. Brown --Porter said the County indicated the opening to be September 5, 1988. She said there would be a contribution of approximately $42,000.00 for the landscaping of the road. Vickie Beech, Resident, asked what the City would be doing to improve the beautification throughout the City and Mayor Abramowitz said the City would be hiring two more Code Enforcement Officers. He said the conflicts with Code Enforcement will be reviewed to correct the problems. Walter Rekuc, Resident, said he understood that there was a law against manufacturing within the City; however, Green Thumb was making items behind their building and Mrs. Brown -Porter said she would see that this matter was investigated. Mr. Rekuc said there were several places that had foundations and he asked if the City would look into this and enforce the City Code. Mayor Abramowitz said the Code Enforcement was being reviewed and updated to provide more service to the City. At 11:35 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and RECONVENED at 1:45 P.M. with all present, except C/M Rohr. __-----__--_______________-____------_----_______----___------_-+_ Building Department Budget Bob Jahn, Chief Building Official, said there would only be one increase in personnel and this would be for a Code Enforcement Officer. C/M Rohr ENTERED the meeting at 1:48 P.M. C/M Hoffman said the City should have the Code Enforcement Department in the Police Department because of Code Enforcement's ability to write citations. Mr. Jahn said this Department was in the Police Department; however, the Police Chief and the previous City Manager felt that Enforcement was not being administered properly. He said at that time, a new State Law was implemented for the Code Enforcement Board to Fine and have Hearings. He said the Code Enforcement Officers presently have Police powers. C/M Hoffman had concerns with the Code Enforcement Officers being on duty during the day and not at night or weekends. Page 8 v' 8/11/88 1 Mayor Abramowitz agreed with C/M Hoffman.; however, he did not agree with the Code Enforcement Officers being assigned to the Police Department. He said there seems to be problems which are arising because of the Ordinance. Mayor Abramowitz suggested a Workshop be scheduled to review and discuss the Code Enforcement Ordinance. He said most complaints pertain to Code Enforcement matters. V/M Stelzer said the Code Enforcement Officers are responsible for violators during the day and Police Department was responsible for violations during the night. Mayor Abramowitz said the Police Department was not monitoring during the night. He said the Police Department tells the residents who call during the evening hours with a Code Enforcement complaint to call the Code Enforcement Department during the day. Mr. Jahn said he was anticipating for the future to place one Code Enforcement Officer in the morning, one in the late afternoon and one on Saturdays; however, because of the liability, he refused to place a Code Enforcement Officer on duty at night without having communication with someone other than the Police Department. Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Manager to schedule a Workshop meeting on this matter after the Budget process was finished. After discussing the salary increases, Mr. Jahn said his calculations for lastyear's salaries were wrong; however, the costs for the Budget were lower. He said he did not fill positions until they were completely necessary and before the Board of Appeals began questioning the positions. V/M Stelzer said he would like to have a reconciliation of the salaries for the Budget year before the Budget Hearings. V/M Stelzer asked what vehicles were in the budget and City Manager Kelly said the repairs and maintenance cost for the Building Department vehicles would be decreasing with the vehicles being provided. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much mileage was placed on the Building Departments vehicles per year and Bob Kegan, Deputy Building Official, said there was approximately 5,000 miles per year placed on the cars; however, the cars were stopped and started a lot. Mayor Abramowitz said it may be better to lease the Building Departments cars and City Manager Kelly said the City of Davie was sending him information regarding leasing. C/M Hoffman asked what type of vehicles were needed and City Manager Kelly said he was looking to use compact cars for the Building Inspectors. V/M Stelzer asked if the Building Department was getting a new frequency for their radios and Mr. Jahn said the radios being purchased would allow for the frequency. Page 9 '✓ 8/11/88 At 2:20 P.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and RECONVENED at 2:30 P.M. with ALL PRESENT. TAPE 5 AGENDIZED BY CONSENT Boards and Committees Budget City Council There was no discussion on this Budget. Charter Board C/M Rohr suggested that the Charter Board's Budget be decreased from $10,000.00 to $5,000.00 to reflect last year's expenses and City Manager Kelly said the Charter Board did not have legal Counsel during most of last year's budget; therefore, their budget did not reflect the expense. City Manager Kelly suggested a Workshop be held with the Charter Board to determine what was to be done with the Charter Amendments. He said the deadline for the Amendments being submitted to the County for Referendum was September 6, 1988. The City Council AGREED to have a Workshop meeting with the Charter Board on Tuesday, August 16, 1988 at 9:00 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the Charter Board's Budget be discussed during the Workshop and the City Council AGREED. Public Information Board Buffet There was no discussion on this Budget. Economic Development Office Bu, dget City Manager Kelly said in the Economic Development Office Budget he proposed a brochure for the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to review the brochure before spending the money for it. City Manager Kelly said the brochure was very informative and Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to review the brochure; therefore, he would hold this Budget in abeyance. Consumer Affairs Board Budget C/M Hoffman suggested that this Budget be increased to $350.00 and the City Council AGREED. Safety Advisory Board Budget There was mQ discussion regarding this Budget. City Hall Operations Bid et Mr. Burroughs said there would be 4 new Janitors included in this Account. Page 10 8/11/88 Police Building Budget Mr. Burroughs said as of October 1, 1988 the Police Department monies would be transferred into this Account. City Manager Kelly said the Detectives, who were located in the trailer at the old City Hall, were relocated to the second floor of the old building. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the trailer could be used for Fire Station #2 and City Manager Kelly said the trailer was in very bad shape. Mayor Abramowitz suggested City Manager Kelly investigate this matter. Social Services Budget Mayor Abramowitz asked how many vehicles were involved in the Fleet Maintenance Service Account and C/M Rohr replied, 3. V/M Stelzer suggested the Childhood Development Account be allowed $1,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the Area Council of Aging was increased to $10,000.00 and City Manager Kelly said Tamarac uses the services of the Area Council of Aging as much as any other City. He said the City's fair share has never been contributed; therefore, he increased this Account to $10,000.00. C/M Bender said the County wrote to him because he was Liaison for the Board. He said the County has asked that the City attempt to contribute most of its fair share. He said $10,000.00 was not close to the City's fair share. V/M Stelzer said the Early Childhood Development should be increased to $1,000.00 and City Manager Kelly said he was investigating the eligibility of this Account and, if it was eligible, he would add $1,000.00. The City Council AGREED. General Services Mr. Burroughs said this account was for postage and copies expended in the City Clerk's. Office. He said the postage was going to be monitored and pro -rated to each Department for next year's Budget; however, these Accounts were created to isolate these funds for accounting purposes. V/M Stelzer had concerns regarding the public being charged for copies and Mayor Abramowitz said there was a new Law stating that this was illegal. V/M Stelzer asked the City Manager to discuss the legality of the charges for copies with the City Attorney. C/M Hoffman asked if the City knew how much money was being collected from the Insurance Company for the Ambulance Service and City Manager Kelly said the Fire Chief was meeting with the Ambulance Company regarding a break down of the costs. Page 11 __j 8/11/88 TAPE 6 C/M Hoffman said he read the old contract and the proposed contract stated that it was a continuation of the old contract. He said there was nothing deleted in the contract. C/M Hoffman exhibited a copy of the old and new contract with the Ambulance Service and, after reviewing them, the City Council AGREED that they would like this matter to be investigated. C/M Hoffman said he would like to know, 1) what was required by the City for costs and, 2) where the costs were being applied. He said the City was entitled to receive this information. With no further discussions, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 3:15 P.M. CAROL E. BARBUTO, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $237.50 or $6.50 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." El I Page 12