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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-08-15 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321-2401 TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900 August 10, 1989 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING for FISCAL YEAR 1989/90 There will be Workshop Meetings of the City Council held in Conference Room #1, City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of these meetings is to review the budgets for the following Departments for Fiscal Year 1.989/90: MONDAY. AUGUST 14. 1989, 9:30 A.M. Fire Department Building Department Code Enforcement Community Development Economic Development Office • TUESDAY, AUGUST 1.5, 1989, 1:00 P.M. Data Processing Purchasing Engineering Street Lighting Personnel Insurance Operations Insurance Services WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1989, 9:30 A.M. Charter Board Public Works Administration Parks and Recreation Parks Facility Drainage Fleet Maintenance City Hall Operations Street and Road Buildings and Grounds Police Building All meetings are open to the public. 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 TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1989 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Tuesday, August 15, 1989 at 1:00 P.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Ken Burroughs, Finance Director Bob Hoyt, Deputy Finance Director Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/ Engineering Bill Land, Purchasing Director Glenda Christian, Director of Data Processing Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary The purpose of this meeting was to review the budgets for the following Departments for Fiscal Year 1989/90: Consumer Affairs Board Data Processing Engineering Engineering Street Lighting Purchasing Personnel Safety Advisory Board Sanitation Services Veteran Affairs Board Finance De artment - Page 18 Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said the proposed Budget was the City Manager's recommendation to continue the excellent financial record keeping of the City. Mayor Abramowitz said Item 122, Part -Time Employee Wages, reflected a -0- amount last year; however, this year $6,140.00 was allotted. Mr. Burroughs said he provided for this cost in Item 155, Temporary Employee Wages, in the amount of $2,020.00; however, during the Budget preparation it was not anticipated that the Senior Citizen Program would eliminate the person in this position. He said the Program was eliminated because the employee has been working for the City for several years. Mayor Abramowitz said the Senior Citizen Program was not eliminated and City Manager Kelly said the employee's eligibility in the Program was eliminated because of the length of time the employee was working for the City. He Page 1 8/15/89 said this employee had great skills and was familiar with the Finance Department; therefore, he felt that the employee should remain with the City as a Part -Time Employee. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to move the employee from the Finance Department; however, the employee may be able to work in another Department to avoid the elimination from the Senior Citizen's Program. C/M Rohr asked what the employee's functions were in the Finance Department and Mr. Burroughs said the employee handled the telephones, typing and filing. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not know the employee; however, he liked it better when the Senior Citizens Program was paying the wages. C/M Rohr asked if the employee would be receiving benefits and Mr. Burroughs said the employee would receive half of the benefits a full-time employee would receive. C/M Rohr said with the Benefits, the cost may be $8,000.00 and Mr. Burroughs said approximately $8,000.00. C/M Rohr asked if Mr. Burroughs could receive another employee from the Senior Citizens Program and Mr. Burroughs said the Program may give another Department an Aide; however, he did not know if they would give the Finance Department another employee. Mayor Abramowitz asked who determined where the Aides were placed and City Manager Kelly said the City made a request to the Program for an employee for a certain Department. City Manager Kelly said the City did not always receive the top of the line people for the position and there were several instances where the Aide sent was not appropriate for the job. He said the employee in the Finance Department was very qualified and an asset to the Department. Mayor Abramowitz said he understood that the employee was an asset; however, he was disturbed that the City was paying for a service that they once had for free. He suggested that the City Manager investigate the matter to see if other procedures were available. City Manager Kelly said the first cost was good; however, the City received what was paid for and the employee was very qualified; therefore, he and the Finance Department would like to retain her services. He said when a new person was provided, the services were not as good because they were learning. Mayor Abramowitz asked why Item 170, Paid. Vacation, was increased by approximately $6,900.00 and Mr. Burroughs said there were two employees, namely, the Finance Director and the Deputy Finance Director, that may be leaving within the next year. Mr. Burroughs said accumulated vacation had to be provided for. Mayor Abramowitz said when there was such a difference in costs, the question had to be asked and Mr. Burroughs said he would be remiss if he did not request the proper funding for the operation of the Department. Page 2 3/15/89 C/M Stelzer asked if paid vacation was accrued in the Budget in the past until the Department felt the employee was leaving and City Manager Kelly said last year the Department Heads did not anticipate the employees leaving; however, they did this year. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this was done in the past and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz said Item 402, Travel -Other, has allocated $1,150.00 and he asked if the Finance Director and Deputy Finance Director usually went to the seminars. City Manager Kelly said there was a seminar for the Finance Director and one for the Chief Accountant. He said the Chief Accountant would be attending the Florida Institute of Government Career Development. He said there were instances in other Departments where employees attended the seminars at their own cost. Mr. Burroughs said the Florida Institute of Government Career Development was at Florida State University and sponsored by the Florida League of Cities. He said the seminar was held for one week and the Finance Department was trying to develop the Junior staff into professionals. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to vote on a seminar for Mr. Burroughs to attend if Mr. Burroughs intended on leaving this year and City Manager Kelly said this was why he stated, "Finance Director". V/M Bender asked why Item 463, Office Equipment Repairs, was increased by approximately $730.00 and Mr. Burroughs said he anticipated using less than what was Budgeted last year because the Departments had a Budget restriction. Mr. Burroughs said there were several items in the Department that needed to be repaired. City Manager Kelly said if repairs were put off for one year, repairs would definitely be needed during the next year. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was equipment that was not working and needed to be repaired and V/M Bender asked if there were service agreements on the equipment. Mr. Burroughs said there were service agreements on the personal computers and typewriters. Mr. Burroughs said Item 463 included service on the check signer, pool typewriters, personal computers and cash registers. V/M Bender said most of the equipment was covered by service contracts and he suggested this Item be reduced by at least $500.00. C/M Rohr asked where the costs were itemized for the service contracts and Mr. Burroughs said it was listed in Item 463. C/M Rohr asked what the service contracts cost and Mr. Burroughs said the check signer was $480.00; however, the entire contractual cost was $1,430.00. C/M Rohr said this Item could not be reduced because it covered the entire cost of the service contracts. V/M Bender asked if the service contracts were for all of the typewriters in the City and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. V/M Bender asked how the cost allotment was determined and Bill Land, Purchasing Director, said by Page 3 8/15/89 the number of typewriters in each Department. V/M Bender asked if the service contracts were pro -rated into the different Departments and Mr. Burroughs said there was a set fee per unit. V/M Bender asked if there would be a problem if $500.00 was cut from $1,430.00 and Mr. Burroughs said there would be several service contracts that had to be cancelled. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 306, Special Supplies and Services, was for and Mr. Burroughs said this Item included $1,200.00 for Wells Fargo and $375.00 for GFOA Application Fee for Certificate of Achievement. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Certificate of Achievement was for and Mr. Burroughs said it was Excellence in Financial Reporting. Mr. Burroughs said the Item also included $300.00 for Express Delivering, $1,500.00 for Financial Audit Systems, $100.00 for a list of Taxpayers from Broward County and $1,000.00 for miscellaneous software for various Financial Management Applications. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this Item could be reduced and Mr. Burroughs said the City Manager reduced this Item sufficiently. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 320, Audit and Accounting Services was for and Mr. Burroughs said the City recently entered into a Contract with Grant Thornton, Auditors. Mr. Burroughs said this cost was 60% of the Contract and City Manager Kelly said the other 40% would be allocated in the Utility Budget. V/M Bender had concerns with the difference in cost for Item 59Q, Workers' Compensation Services and Mr. Burroughs said the Finance Department refined the indirect cost allocation system. Mr. Burroughs said some Departments were not being properly charged and some were over charged. He said Page 123 indicated the Workers' Compensation cost last year to be $334,500.00 and this year the cost was $226,120.00. He said the total decreased; however, the cost was redistributed among the Departments. He said this Item decreased because the City no longer had a Police Department. ** There were no deductions from the Finance Department Budget. Budget/Internal Audit - Pales 20 and 21 Mr. Burroughs said every year the Internal Audit was at a critical stage. He said the external Auditors consistently commented on the procedures needed by Internal Auditing. He said the City Manager eliminated the costs of $60,000.00 and $100,000.00. He said the City was becoming too large, too professional and too sophisticated for the Finance Department to continue the Budget process. Mayor Abramowitz said he understood Mr. Burroughs's concerns and, hopefully, these matters could be corrected when the financial concerns were not as large in the City. He said because of the financial problems of the City, he had confidence in the Finance Department handling this matter. Page 4 8/15/89 City Manager Kelly said he wanted to inform the City Council that these Items were requested and the matters would have to be considered in the near future. He said this recommendation has been ignored within the last few years; however, a decision had to made soon because it would cost the City money if the procedures were not implemented. C/M Stelzer asked what Item 306, Special Supplies/Services, was for and Mr. Burroughs said this Item, in the amount of $60,000.00, would include one staff person and related expenses. Mr. Burroughs said the Budget was a constant year round struggle because administrating the Budget was a lot of work. Management Information Service/Data Processing - Page 105 Mr. Burroughs said Page 106 indicated that the Data Processing Division was reduced from $310,045.00 to $282,990.00. Mr. Burroughs asked Glenda Christian, Data Processing Supervisor, to explain how the costs of Data Processing were allocated to each Department. Mrs. Christian said the total number of terminals, disk readings and log -on time was accumulated and averaged to determine the percentages to charge to each Department. Mr. Burroughs said once the percentages were determined, the costs were finalized and distributed to the Departments. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the percentages were based on usage and Mrs. Christian replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Data Processing was able to determine the time spent on the computer by each individual Department on a daily basis and Mrs. Christian said annual records were kept. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many employees there were in Data Processing and Mrs. Christian replied, four. Mayor Abramowitz asked if $145,430.00 was the total salaries of the four employees and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes, the only change was the FICA Taxes and Pension Contributions. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 440, Rentals and Leases, was for and Mrs. Christian said this included the uninterrupted power supply system. She said at the end of the 5 year lease contract, the City would own the system. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 463, Office Equipment Repairs, was for and Mr. Burroughs said the McDonnell Douglas Computer cost $37,000.00. Mrs. Christian said this was the maintenance contract. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the amount was actually spent in repairs and City Manager Kelly said $3,083.00 per month was spent for maintenance. Page 5 8/15/89 Mr. Burroughs said the equipment was approximately $50,000.00 and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the maintenance contract was a year to year contract. Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the contract could be increased each year and Mrs. Christian said the company may increase certain parts of the contract. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this was the only company available to maintain the equipment and Mr. Burroughs said there was various equipment available from different companies; however, the City bought equipment from McDonnell Douglas Company. Mayor Abramowitz asked if McDonnell Douglas hardware could only be used with the system and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. Mrs. Christian said McDonnell Douglas provided excellent maintenance service. Mayor Abramowitz said when he became Mayor, he found that the City was paying approximately $1,300.00 per month for maintenance in the City Clerk's Office and, after further investigation, the City found that the company would charge the City less if they continued the contract with them. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City was being as cautious and businesslike as possible and Mrs. Christian said there was one other company that offered maintenance to MicroData or McDonnell Douglas equipment; however, the company did not service the City's particular model. She said it was critical to have maintenance immediately on the equipment and McDonnell Douglas provided immediate service. Mayor Abramowitz said he would not buy equipment that only one company could service. He said this would be a consideration when he purchased the equipment. Mr. Burroughs said generally, most computer companies operated in this manner and City Manager Kelly said when a computer system was purchased a commitment was usually made with the company to operate with their services. V/M Bender asked if the City had a year to year contract with McDonnell Douglas and Mr. Burroughs said the contract was on -going. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that a 5 year contractual agreement be negotiated with the company in order to maintain a reasonable cost each year. V/M Bender agreed. He said because the City could not go out to Bid for another company to maintain the equipment, negotiations should take place with this company for a contractual agreement at a fixed cost over so many years. C/M Rohr asked if it would be feasible to change the computer system for a system that may be more compatible and City Manager Kelly said this would cost a lot of money. V/M Bender said most computer companies modify their systems each year and the clients were asked to buy the modifications. He said there came a point where the Page 6 8/15/89 systems could no longer be modified and the clients were asked to buy a new system. Mayor Abramowitz asked why Item 59Q , Workers' Compensation Services, was increased and Mr. Burroughs said this cost was reapportioned to each Department. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Item 641, Office Equipment, in the amount of $4,700.00, was needed this year and City Manager Kelly said the equipment being requested was a fire proof safe. Mrs. Christian said if the Building was to burn down, all of the computer records would be lost. She said this would cause the City to start from zero; therefore, the information had to be protected. V/M Bender suggested that this information be stored at another location, such as the fire station and C/M Hoffman said the fire station could burn down. City Manager Kelly said the City wanted to retain the security of the information and V/M Bender said large Corporations stored their information away from the Home Base. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there were surplus funds in the Furniture Fund for the Municipal/City Hall project and City Manager Kelly said he would review this matter; however, the funds were close to the bottom line costs. Mayor Abramowitz said if there were funds available, he would like them used for the fire safe. He suggested that Item 641 be deleted from this Budget if there were funds available in the Municipal/City Hall Furniture Account. C/M Stelzer asked what was included in Item 994, Depreciation Expense, and Mr. Burroughs said the Depreciation in the City decreased by $95,000.00 to $38,900.00. C/M Stelzer said the Departments were not charged during the prior Budgets and Mr. Burroughs said the Auditor criticized this matter; therefore, this was the reason for the deficit. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the Department requested $30,000.00 and the City Manager was recommending $38,890.00. Mr. Burroughs said $30,000.00 was a preliminary figure and, when a detailed calculation of the Depreciation was done, $38,890.00 was the factual amount. Mr. Burroughs said this was one of the strong criticisms from the external Auditors. He said the City was not charging the Departments sufficiently for Data Processing, Fleet Maintenance and Purchasing services. He said there was a negative equity position because of this. Referring to Page 106, Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 99A, Fund Equity Increase, was for and Mr. Burroughs said this Item was the amount of money necessary to bring the funds out of a negative equity position to a positive equity position. Mr. Burroughs said in prior years the Internal Service Funds, Data Processing, Fleet Maintenance and Purchasing Services, and now, Workers' Compensation, were not Page 7 8/15/89 TAPE 2 charging the Departments a sufficient fee for rendered to break even on the costs. He said created a negative fund equity and he has been phase the deficit into the Budget. He said if no changes made, the Budget for 1989/90 would fund equity in a positive position. services this trying to there were show the Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was needed to eliminate the negative position and Mr. Burroughs said approximately $125,000.00. C/M Rohr asked if the deficit was caused because the costs were not allocated properly to each Department and Mr. Burroughs said the costs were not allocated sufficiently. Mr. Burroughs said the previous Finance Directors were remiss in not providing adequate funding for the Internal Service Funds. He said he recognized this error and was phasing the costs in each year to avoid paying the deficit in one lump sum. He said, hopefully, this would be the last year for phasing these costs into the Budget. C/M Hoffman asked if this affected the Ad Valorem rate and Mr. Burroughs said, proportionately, yes, because it was an expense in the Internal Service Funds; however, the Utilities Fund was paying a portion of the deficit. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this matter was a normal accounting procedure that was not done and Mr. Burroughs said this was done as an accounting procedure but not a Budget procedure. Mr. Burroughs said the depreciation was charged; however, the depreciation was not allocated properly. C/M Hoffman asked how much was being Budgeted this year and Mr. Burroughs approximately $30,000.00. Mr. Burroughs said he has been phasing these costs into the Budget for two years. ** The City Council requested that a multi -year contract with McDonnell Douglas company be negotiated and the funds to purchase the fire safe be investigated. Purchasing - Page 109 C/M Rohr asked why Item 120, Regular Salaries, was reduced and City Manager Kelly said the previous Department Head retired; however, the remaining positions were consolidated. Mr. Burroughs said this Budget's bottom line decreased from $131,114.00 to $107,450.00. C/M Rohr asked why Items 543, Educational Expense, and 402, Travel -Other, were related and Mr. Burroughs replied, no. Mr. Burroughs said Item 402 was a reimbursement to one of the employees for use of their car to place property tags on new equipment. City Manager Kelly said Item 543 was allocated to upgrade the performance in the Department. He said he was insisting that the employees became certified purchasing agents. Page 8 1 I 1 8/15/89 Mayor Abramowitz said the existing system in the City for purchasing was not appropriate and seemed to be leaving the City open for over -charges. He said when items went out to Bid, the vendors were aware of the City's funding. He recommended that an investigation of the procedures be done to reduce the costs in purchasing. City Manager Kelly said Bill Land, Purchasing Director, was investigation this matter; however, there were certain liabilities in the public sector purchasing that were not unique to the City of Tamarac. He said any Municipality making purchases was stuck because it was competitive and the Budgets were known. Mayor Abramowitz said this did not prevent the matter from being corrected and C/M Hoffman said the Municipalities were limited by State Law. Mayor Abramowitz said there were reasons why the City could not beat the prices; however, there was room for improvement and there had to be improvement in the purchasing procedures of the City. He said his concerns had nothing to do with the personnel; however, the method of purchasing had to be changed. V/M Bender asked why Item 410, Telephone, was allocated this year and Mr. Burroughs said this Item was created by eliminating the costs from the Switchboard Account because the telephone lines were direct lines to the Depar tments. V/M Bender asked how the allocated costs were determined and Mr. Burroughs said the actual costs were accumulated and allocated to the Departments for usage. He said the question came up during the Broward Sheriff's Office merger. He said the City Manager asked how much the telephone charges would be reduced because of the Broward Sheriff's Office merger and he reviewed the Account and found that Utilities, Purchasing, Building and Police Departments were being charged to the Switchboard Account. He said he analyzed each Department and allocated the appropriate costs. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the Departments needed separate lines and Mr. Burroughs said the separate lines kept many telephone calls from the Switchboard. Bill Land, Purchasing Director, said the Department had several calls from the vendors; therefore, the separate lines were used for direct contact with the Purchasing Department to eliminate the calls going to the Switchboard. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the costs would be cheaper to have the Switchboard direct the calls and Mr. Burroughs said it would be cheaper; however, the costs would be a trade-off because the Switchboard would be handling the calls. Mr. Burroughs said the Building Department had separate lines because of the calls from the contractors and inspectors. He said if the private lines were not provided to the Departments, the Switchboard would be overloaded. Mr. Burroughs said Page 63, Item 410, Telephone, reflected a decrease from $66,000.00 to $25,000.00 because of the private lines being allocated to the appropriate Departments. Page 9 8/15/89 Mayor Abramowitz asked who was receiving Longevity Pay and Mr. Land said he and another employee. Mr. Burroughs asked how long the other employee was working for the City and Mr. Land replied, 7 years as of October, 1988. C/M Rohr asked if the Purchasing Department could purchase the office supplies from any vendor as opposed to going to bid. V/M Bender asked when the Purchasing Department had to go to bid for an item and Mr. Land said when the purchase was over $2,000.00. VIM Bender suggested that purchases under $2,000.00 be investigated as far as cost by soliciting costs from various suppliers, such as Office Depot. He said Office Depot was very cheap and they provided wholesale costs. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much volume of work was done in the Purchasing Department and Mr. Land said there were approximately 4,000 purchase orders per year. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Departments ordered items without the services of the Purchasing Department and City Manager Kelly replied, no. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Purchasing Department had people knowledgeable of items such as auto parts for the Public Works Department and Mr. Land said the Public Works Department created the purchase requisition and state the vendor source. He said the Public Works Department had their own Storekeeper for ordering parts, etc. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Purchasing Department only handled the processing and Mr. Land said the Purchasing Department did more than processing. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the experts needing the items to make the decisions as to the appropriate price for the items. Mr. Land said the Purchasing Department had the right to question anything over $200.00. Mr. Land said the Purchasing Department could investigate the purchase request to see if the cost was appropriate and the Departments were contacted regarding additional information. C/M Hoffman asked how much was spent on purchases each year and City Manager Kelly said this information would be submitted to the City Council. ** There were no reductions from the Purchasing Department. Street Lighting - Page 51 Mayor Abramowitz said he informed the City Manager about conversations he had with Representative Graber and Senator Weinstein. He said the discussion concerned what the City would need from the Legislators. He said the City was very fortunate to have received two requested Grants. He said he and the State Legislators felt there were several priority items that may receive funding from the State. Mayor Abramowitz said everyone was asking the City Council to approve Street Lighting and Sidewalks. He Page 10 aware that he would be a Referendum for said he received a 8/15/89 Report from the Engineering Department regarding the annual expenditure for street lighting being approximately $84,000.00. He said the Engineers informed the City that to complete the lighting problem would take approximately 25 years. He said he would like a Referendum to ask the voters to approve the funding by either Bond or Bank loan. He said a Survey on sidewalks was presently being done and he would like both projects done at one time as opposed to waiting 25 years. Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering, said a preliminary Sidewalk Survey was completed and Mayor Abramowitz said when he received the Report on the street lighting, he found that it would not be appropriate for the residents to have to wait 25 years to have the appropriate street lighting in the City. He said he would like the residents to vote at the next election on borrowing the funds to get the projects completed as soon as possible. C/M Rohr said he agreed with Mayor Abramowitz; however, it was not fair to have the projects done immediately without spreading the costs over several years. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to pay for the projects immediately for someone who would benefit from the project 15 years later without cost. C/M Hoffman asked if $50,000.00 could be eliminated from this Budget if the projects were approved and Mr. Burroughs said Item 435, Electricity -Streets, would have to remain in the Budget to pay for the energy costs. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that $100,000.00 be eliminated from the Budget and C/M Stelzer said the Building Code provided for Local Assessment Districts. C/M Stelzer suggested that the City Council consider this route. Mayor Abramowitz said approximately 28 special taxing districts would have to be included and C/M Stelzer said the assessment cost should be paid by those residents who wanted the lighting. C/M Hoffman said there were areas that had adequate lighting; therefore, those residents should be liable for paying for the adequate lighting. C/M Stelzer said the Developers paid for the adequate lighting and Mayor Abramowitz said he was making this suggestion because the lighting and sidewalk situations were the residents' largest complaints. C/M Stelzer suggested that the City Council discuss the street lighting concerns because it was different from sidewalks and Mayor Abramowitz said he was suggesting that the residents be asked to allow the City to borrow the money for the street lighting and sidewalk projects. C/M Hoffman said when he ran for the previous election he informed the residents that he would favor the street lighting and sidewalk projects. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that $100,000.00 be eliminated and Mr. Burroughs said this would not allow any renovations for street lighting after September 30, 1989. Mr. Foy agreed. Page 11 8/15/89 C/M Stelzer asked if there were any commitments for next year and Mr. Foy replied, no. C/M Hoffman suggested that $75,000.00 be deducted, which allowed $25,000.00 for emergency use. C/M Rohr asked if $100,000.00 was to install lighting and Mr. Foy said the funds were to renovate existing lighting. Mr. Foy said Florida Power & Light installed any new lighting. C/M Rohr asked if the renovation was to increase the illumination and Mr. Foy replied, yes. C/M Rohr had concerns with Florida Power & Light providing service to the City within an appropriate amount of time and Mr. Foy said he contacted Florida Power & Light regarding this concern. Mr. Foy said he was informed that it took nearly the same engineering to do one light as it would for a section of lighting. He said if the City requested the engineers to do an entire section, it would be done within a specific time. C/M Rohr asked if the project would be completed within two years and Mr. Foy replied, yes. ** There was $75,000.00 reduced from the Street Lighting Budget. At 2:30 P.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED this meeting and RECONVZ, NED at 2:35 P.M. with ALL PRESENT except Mrs. Christian and Mr. Land. Engineering - Page 24 Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering, said the personnel salaries were reduced by 15% by eliminating half of a Secretary position, transferring 25% of the two Draftsmen salaries to the Utilities Budget and eliminating' his salary and allocating 100% of his salary to the Utilities Budget. C/M Hoffman asked if there was elimination of personnel and Mr. Foy said there was half a Secretary position in both the Utilities and Engineering Budgets that was eliminated. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to bare bones the Engineering Budget by transferring it to the Utilities Budget and Mr. Foy said the allocations were honest. Mayor Abramowitz asked why Item 732, Paid Annual Leave, was increased and Mr. Foy said there was a Secretary with a lot of annual leave who could retire anytime she wanted. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there were restrictions on the amount of time that could be accumulated and Bob Hoyt, Deputy Finance Director, said 520 hours could be accumulated by this employee because she fell under the old employee contract. Mr. Hoyt said since 1988, the employees could only accumulate 210 hours and Mr. Foy said this employee has been working for the City for 9 years. 1 1 Page 12 8/15/89 C/M Rohr asked if there were indications that the employee would be retiring and Mr. Foy replied, no; however, the money had to be available. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many hours the employee accumulated last year and Mr. Foy said he believed the employee took the hours accumulated last year. Mayor Abramowitz said last year there was nothing Budgeted for this employee and Mr. Foy said the City had a recent contractual obligation to pay the money; therefore, the funds had to be available. C/M Stelzer suggested money be taken from all Budgets and placed in a Contingency Fund for the vacation and leave pay. Mayor Abramowitz said he saw several things in this Year's Budget that were not considered last year and C/M Stelzer said because there were things done incorrectly in the prior years it did not mean that these things could not be corrected this year. V/M Bender asked what Item 302, Tires, was for since there was -0- allocated last year and Mr. Foy said this was a new account for tires. V/M Bender asked why tires was not included in the Item 460, Auto Repairs. He said Item 461, Auto Parts, indicated a -0- amount and he asked if the Department would do without auto parts. Mayor Abramowitz said Item 461 was eliminated and transferred to Item 460 and V/M Bender asked if $1,000.00 was needed for tires. Mr. Foy replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many vehicles the Engineering Department had and Mr. Foy replied, 4. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there were tires purchased last year and Mr. Foy replied, yes; however, the purchase may have been included in the Item for auto parts. V/M Bender asked if Item 460, Auto Repairs, in the amount of $1,500.00, included the tires and Mr. Foy said he received this information from Public Works. Mr. Foy said one set of tires was being requested for each vehicle and City Manager Kelly said there were 5 cars in the Department. V/M Bender suggested that this matter be investigated because some of the cars may have received new tires last year. He said he was not comfortable in placing funds in different Items. V/M Bender suggested Public Works submit a Report regarding the actual need for Items 302 and 460. TAPE 3 Mr. Burroughs said the cost of operating the fleet in the City, excluding the Fire Department, was fractionalized. He said Fleet Maintenance covered all of the services and each Budget contained auto repairs, tires and auto parts. He said the total cost of the fleet operation was not known. Page 13 8/15/89 Mr. Burroughs said it would be more efficient for accounting and procedurally to take all repair costs for automobiles and place in the Fleet Maintenance Budget. He said this would consolidate all of the fleet costs into one Department and then, the costs could be allocated to the Departments. V/M Bender said this procedure would be more accurate and C/M Stelzer asked how tires could be allocated. Mr. Burroughs said the allocations would be based on each Department's usage. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the costs could be distinguished accurately. He had concerns with the Public Works Department agreement on this procedure and Mr. Burroughs said he discussed this matter with Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Works/Parks and Recreation. Mr. Burroughs said Mr. Couzzo agreed with this procedure. The City Council agreed with this procedure and Mr. Burroughs said he would eliminate auto repairs, parts and tires from each individual Budget and place it as one Item in the Fleet Maintenance Department. Mr. Burroughs said the total cost would be pro --rated into each Department's Budget. C/M Stelzer had concerns with who would keep the records on this procedure and V/M Bender said every Department was retaining records at this time; however, this procedure would consolidate the records into one Department. V/M Bender suggested the City Manager and Finance Director enact this procedure. Mayor Abramowitz asked why Item 517, Drafting, was increased and Mr. Foy said the Engineering Department had a blue print machine which was old and needed maintenance. Mr. Foy said there were several supplies needed in the Department; therefore, $1,500.00 was not unreasonable. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the machine operated on $353.00 last year and Mr. Foy said the Department was smelling of ammonia because there were repairs needed. Mayor Abramowitz asked why Item 647, Special Equipment, in the amount of $20,500.00 was requested and City Manager Kelly said this Item included a computer and a plotter. Mr. Foy said the equipment was a Geographic Information System which was needed and, the longer the City waited to purchase this system, the more it would cost. He said everyone was using this system and the City was making a mistake by not purchasing the system. ** There were no deductions from the Engineering Budget. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Personnel Department - Page 29 Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 220, Pension Contribution, was for and Mr. Burroughs said this was the City's share in funding the Pension for the Department. Page 14 8/15/89 City Manager Kelly said this Item was listed in every Department and Mr. Burroughs said this was the contract with the Union. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Personnel Department was receiving revenue from the Pension Board and City Manager Kelly said the revenue was very small. Mr. Burroughs said either way, the City would be paying the costs and Mayor Abramowitz said he was tired of the Pension Board not being charged for the services of the Departments. Mr. Burroughs said the City paid the remaining costs of actuarial and administration expenses when the employee expenses were deducted. I 1 Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City paid for the entire legal and administration expenses of the Pension Board and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes. Mr. Burroughs said the administration expenses could not exceed 2% of the Pension Plan Funds. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Plan had approximately 8 million dollars and Peter Mack, Personnel Director, said the Pension Plan had approximately 8.7 million. v/M Bender said the Pension Board presently approved and paid their expenses and Mr. Burroughs agreed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City reimbursed the Pension Fund and Mr. Burroughs said the City's share of the Pension Contribution was determined by the Actuary. Mr. Burroughs said the City contributed approximately 1 million dollars per year to the Pension Fund; however, the contribution may have changed since the City no longer had a Police Department. Mayor Abramowitz announced that Peter Mack, Personnel Director and Susan Tillman, Consulting Insurance Advisor were present. Mr. Mack said the Personnel/Insurance Department was dedicated to service the City and employees. He said the Department was interested in changing the perception of the Personnel Department. He said the Budgetary requirements of the Department were reviewed very carefully and the proposed Budget adequately meets the opportunity to accomplish the goals of the Department. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 306, Special Supplies/Services, was for and Mr. Mack said there were several Items reflecting a --0- amount because these Items were consolidated into Item 306. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was expected to be spent and Mr. Mack said the City Manager reduced this amount by $1,500.00. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that $1,000.00 be reduced from Item 306 and the City Council agreed. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Wages, was for and Mr. Mack employee in the Department. Mr. Mack felt this employee replied, absolutely. Item 122, Part -Time Employee said there was one part-time Mayor Abramowitz asked if was necessary and Mr. Mack Page 15 8/15/89 Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 309, Labor Relations, was for and Mr. Mack said this was for negotiations with the Unions. Mr. Mack said he was taking over a lot of the procedures; however, there was still a need for professional experience. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 31A, Medical Expenses, was for and Mr. Mack said this Item was for pre -employment physicals. C/M Hoffman asked how many employees were hired per year and Mr. Mack said the expenses varied for each Department. City Manager Kelly said there were people who resigned from their positions during the year and pre -employment physicals were needed for new employees. Mr. Mack said there were occasions during the year for special physical and medical examinations for the employees. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this included drug testing and Mr. Mack replied, yes. V/M Bender asked if the medical examinations could be covered by the employee's medical insurance and Mr. Mack agreed and he said if the City requested the physical, it was the City's responsibility. V/M Bender suggested that the insurance companies be asked to supplement these physicals and Mr. Mack said the insurance companies would not approve of this because the City was liable for the expense. C/M Hoffman suggested that $2,000.00 be reduced from Item 31A and Mr. Mack said because of previous experience in back injuries, etc., the Personnel Department was presently instituting an additional physical requirement which would preclude several of the back injury cases in the City. He said additional testing would be required at the pre -employment level which would require additional funding; however, the City would be saving money in the long run. V/M Bender suggested that $1,000.00 be reduced from 31A and C/M Hoffman had concerns with being able to tell in advance who would have a back injury after being hired. Mr. Mack said if a back analysis was done through x-rays and a back injury occurred before employment, this type of injury could be precluded from the City's coverage. The City Council agreed to eliminate $1,000.00 from Item 31A. At 3:15 P.M., V/M Bender WITHDREW from the meeting. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 440, Rentals and Leases, was for and Mr. Mack said the Personnel Department was the only Department in the City without a copy machine. Mr. Mack said the Personnel Department had several documents that had to be copied and productivity was constantly lost in that Department because staff had to leave the office to make the copies. He said Item 440 would be for the rent of a copy machine for the Department. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 490, Advertising, was for and Mr. Mack said this was for employment recruitment. He said the cost of advertising was very expensive. Page 16 WmAE U City Manager Kelly asked if the Insurance Budget could be reviewed and Mayor Abramowitz said V/M Bender asked that he be present to review this Budget; therefore, he would like to do this at another workshop meeting. City Manager Kelly said Ms. Tillman adjusted her schedule to attend this meeting; therefore, the City Council should suggest a time when Ms. Tillman should attend. Mayor Abramowitz said he would inform the City Manager of when the Insurance Budget could be heard because V/M Bender wanted to be present for the discussion. ** There was a deduction of $2,000.00 from the Personnel Department. Consumer Affairs Board - Page 31 ** There were no discussions on this Budget; therefore, no deductions were made. Safety Committee - Page 32 1 ** Mr. Mack suggested that this Budget be increased because the Committee was anticipating to strengthen the ability of the Committee. He said the members felt there was a need in the City for a safety conscious population. He said there were programs that the Safety Committee wanted to institute, such as educational programs for the employees, speakers and presentations regarding avoiding back injuries, safety signs, etc. He said he was not sure that $400.00 would not be enough; however, more money would assist the Committee if it was needed. Mayor Abramowitz said he hoped that the Committee would be eliminating the many employees going to have cigarettes. He said this was a safety hazard because the employees could fall while going to have a cigarette. The City Council approved an additional $100.00 for the Safety Committee Budget. C/M Rohr suggested that the Committee contact the National Safety Committee in the City. He said the Committee would assist the Safety Committee on several matters. Mr. Mack said he would inform the Committee of this matter. There was a $100.00 increase for the Safety Committee Budget. Veterans Committee - Page 33 Mayor Abramowitz said the Veterans Committee held approximately 4 picnics each year for the Veterans. He said the funds would be used only for the picnics and he was sure that the funds would not be abused. He said there were approximately 40 volunteers from the various Alliances. C/M Stelzer asked if the funds collected from dues and membership fees could be used for these functions and C/M Hoffman said this was the business of the Alliances. Page 17 8/15/89 Mayor Abramowitz suggested that everyone go to a picnic to see what a wonderful gift it was for the veterans to receive the events. ** There were no deductions made from the Veterans Committee Budget. Public Information Board - Page 27 Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 402, Travel -Other, was for and City Manager Kelly said "Travel" should be eliminated because this Item pertained to the Distributor's Luncheon. He said the Item should be referred to as "Other". Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Parks and Recreation Department was paying the Public Information Board for a section of the Tam -A -Gram and Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager, said the funds were eliminated from the Parks and Recreation Department and placed in the Public Information Budget. She said $6,000.00 was eliminated from the Parks and Recreation Department; however, only $3,800.00 would be required for the insert in the Tam -A -Gram. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that there be competitive bidding done on the costs for printing the Tam -A -Gram and Mrs. McDermott said the specifications were recently done regarding competitive bidding for printing. C/M Rohr said Mrs. McDermott was doing an excellent job as Staff Liaison for the Public Information Board. ** There were no deductions from the Public Information Board. --------------------------------------------------------------- TAPE 4 Sanitation Services - Page 54 City Manager Kelly said this proposal was based on the projected rate increases; however, $1,653,060.00 did not include the new rates. He said this cost did not make a difference because because it would be collected from the residents. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the increase would be and City Manager Kelly said he was informed by telephone that, based on the existing contract, there would a $.19 increase per $1.00 in tipping fees. He said the tipping fees were expected to increase by approximately $5.00 this year. He said there would also be a CPI increase; therefore, a single family unit paying $7.95 would pay $9.33 and a condominium paying $3.88 would pay $4.59. He said written confirmation would be submitted to the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the tipping fee costs were investigated and the costs being proposed were correct. C/M Stelzer asked who set the tipping fees and City Manager Kelly replied, Waste Management, Inc. Mayor Abramowitz asked how long the contract was for and City Manager Kelly said the Contract would expire in 1992. Page 18 8/15/89 C/M Stelzer asked if the City would receive credit if they set up trenches in Land Section 7 for the dumping and burning of newspapers. C/M Rohr said this could not be done because there was certification needed by a company. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 3:90 P.M. C ROL A. R ANS, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $171.00 or $21.38 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 19