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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-08-16 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 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 1989/90: MONDAY. AUGUST 14, 1989, 9:30 A.M. Fire Department Building Department Code Enforcement Community Development Economic Development Office • TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 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 Ll l CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1989 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Wednesday, August 16, 1989 at 9:30 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer John P. Kelly, City Manager Bob Hoyt, Deputy Finance Director Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager Peter Mack, Personnel Director Susan Tillman, Consulting Insurance Advisor Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary The purpose of this meeting was to review the budgets for the following Departments for Fiscal Year 1989/90: Buildings and Grounds City Hall Operations Drainage Fleet Maintenance Insurance Operations Insurance Services Parks and Recreation Parks Facility Police Building Public Works Administration Insurance Operations - pa2e 60 Mayor Abramowitz said Susan Tillman, Consulting Insurance Advisor, was recently hired by the City and he asked Ms. Tillman to inform the City Council of her background regarding Insurance. Mrs. Tillman said she created a Self -Insurance Program for the City of Hallandale approximately 3-1/2 years ago. She said the Program allowed the City of Hallandale to pay its own claims. She said the Program was started with a $100,000.00 deductible on all lines of coverage, such as property, Liability and Workers' Compensation. She said $800,000.00 per year was placed into an Account for payment of claims. Ms. Tillman said after three years, the Excess Insurance was eliminated because the average payout was $15,000.00 per year in claims. She said she handled all of the claims In-house and the City Attorney assisted. She said most of the claims were denied; however, the claims due were paid. She said the majority of the claims were frivolous and she pursued the people who caused damage to the City. She said the property damage claims offset the Page 1 8/16/89 amounts paid out; therefore, after three years, there was a loss fund of approximately 2 million dollars. She said because of this, Insurance was no longer needed; however, a Workers' Compensation Fund was maintained, which she recommended be eliminated. Ms. Tillman said the City of Tamarac was more progressive because a Self -Insured Workers' Compensation Program already existed. She said the City of Hallandale had a large reserve in the amount of 5 million dollars because the Liability claims paid off. Ms. Tillman said she assisted Indian River County in setting up a Self -Insurance Program. She said the first year's savings was in the amount of $600,000.00 and she reduced the Workers' Compensation claims from $170,000.00 to $30,000.00 annually. She said she did this by handling every claim herself with the Insurance Company by making sure that the doctors were not controlling the files and people were being placed back to work on light duty if the injury allowed it. Ms. Tillman said the City of Tamarac had a very large exposure in Workers' Compensation, mainly because the doctors were running the Workers' Compensation claims. She said there was no feed back to the employer and the doctors were issuing time off without explaining why or asking permission. She said there should be more control over these things. Mayor Abramowitz asked Ms. Tillman if she had a Report regarding the City's recent position in Insurance and Ms. Tillman the City's Workers' Compensation has been high, which she felt was the lack of control. Ms. Tillman said there could not be control if a procedure was not available. She said the Insurance Companies had to be controlled and she has been telling the Insurance Companies what to do for the City of Tamarac in the last month. She said the Insurance Companies wanted the City's claims to be high; therefore, they would not assist the City in lowering the claims because a higher premium could be charged. Ms. Tillman said the Workers' Compensation claims for the City of Tamarac averaged approximately $200,000.00 over the past 5 years. She said this figure could be cut down by half or more. She said the City paid approximately $600,000.00 per year in premiums and, two years ago, a Self -Insurance Program was created; therefore, the premiums were approximately $24,000.00 per year. She said the City was placing money in a Reserve Account, which was generating interest. She said this was a very good procedure; therefore, the claims to date were $173,000.00. She said the City had their own funds and paid a claim when it was due as opposed to paying an Insurance Company $600,000.00. She said the City was presently paying the Insurance Company $24,000.00 in premiums, which was excellent. Ms. Tillman said the City's General Liability Insurance over the past 10 years has been excellent. She said the claims have only been $179,000.00; however, the City paid approximately $300,000.00 in premiums per year. She said the Insurance Company was making a very large profit. Page 2 8/16/89 C/M Hoffman asked if the City actually paid 3 million dollars in premiums but only $179,000.00 in claims for ten years and Ms. Tillman replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was paid out this year in claims and Ms. Tillman said $459.00 was paid out in claims and $324,00,0..00 in premiums. Ms. Tillman said the City did not have control over the losses and she wondered what the experience would be if someone did control them. She said the City could make money on the program without paying an Insurance policy. She said the City may want to buy an excess policy to feel secure; however, she estimated through th'e claims experience that the City was wasting money. She said the City of Tamarac had very few facilities compared to other Cities and, there was Sovereign Immunity in Florida, which meant that for tort Liability, the City was immune from suit over $100,000.00. She said this did not mean that a claim would not be over $100,000.00; however, a person would have to file in the Federal Courts or go to the Legislature for a Claims Bill. She said these processes took two to three years and, during that time, the City would be collecting interest on their funds as opposed to paying it to an Insurance Company. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to dwell on past experience; however, the City was criticized for considering Self -Insurance. He said several Insurance Company representatives indicated that the City would be endangered by doing so. He said the cost in premium compared to the experience each year proved that something had to be done. Ms. Tillman said the Self -Insured Program for Workers' Compensation seemed to be doing excellent. She said she contacted the Finance Director who informed her that there was presently $500,000.00 in the Fund after the payments in claims. Mr. Mack said the Self -Insurance referred to by Mayor Abramowitz was for Health -Insurance. He said the City was affected because of the Third Party Administrator and there was no one in the City monitoring the Program. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not care what Program was a disaster and he did want to fault anyone for past experience; however, when he hears these statistics, he did not have to be an Insurance Broker, Attorney or Accountant to understand it. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Reserve Fund for Self --Insured Workers' Compensation Program was a result of taking the premiums that would have been paid to an Insurance Company and placing it in a Reserve Fund and Mr. Hoyt replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz said he was sorry the City Attorney was not present because regarding Sovereign he needed Immunity. further information He understood Sovereign Immunity to be that the City could be liable for a $100,000.00 claim; however, the claimant could take the matter to the Federal Courts or the Legislators for more money. Page 3 8/16/89 Mr. Mack said Ms. Tillman had a law degree and could answer any legal questions. Ms. Tillman said she recently took the Bar Exam. C/M Hoffman asked if the Reserve Fund for the Self -Insured Workers' Compensation Program could be used for another type of Insurance and Ms. Tillman said if the City would have paid the total funds from the Reserve to an Insurance Company as opposed to retaining it, the Insurance Company would have earmarked the funds for certain claims. She said if the insurance Company closed the claims, the City would not have seen the remainder of the funds not used for the claims. She said a Workers' Compensation claim could be active for 10 years before a settlement was made. C/M Hoffman asked if the City could use any of the Reserve Funds for the Workers' Compensation Program to begin a Reserve Fund for a Self -Insured Liability Program. Ms. Tillman said the Reserve Fund for the Self -Insured Workers' Compensation Program should be earmarked for that Program until the Reserve created for the amount was closed. C/M Hoffman asked how much this was and Ms. Tillman said each Workers' Compensation claim presently existing had a reserve set. She said the reserves should coordinate with the money in the Reserve Fund. C/M Hoffman asked how much money was needed for all of the pending claims and Ms. Tillman replied, approximately $200,000.00 per year. C/M Hoffman said approximately $300,000.00 was available for other Insurance purposes and Ms. Tillman agreed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the reserves created for a specific Self -Insured Program had to be used for that Program only and Ms. Tillman said the only time the funds would have to be specifically earmarked was with the Self -Insured Workers' Compensation Program. She said the City's claim experience indicated that within the last four years approximately $200,000.00 was paid out. She said the Reserve Fund should not be reduced any lower than $200,000.00. Ms. Tillman said the City paid out approximately $19,000.00 per year in claims for General Liability and these claims included the Police. She said without the Police, the City only paid $6,500.00 per year. She said the City could do what they wanted with the Reserve Fund. She said the amount of payment for a claim was unknown; however, she did not like to pay claims and would only pay what was due. She said if the claims were paid, the money should be paid up front to avoid any delays. She said if the payment of claims was continued for three years, the City could be making interest on the funds and the claim may settle for much lower. C/M Stelzer asked if Ms. Tillman knew what the Workers' Compensation claims were and Ms. Tillman said 2 million dollars, which was calculated by multiplying $200,000.00 by 10. E 1 1 Page 4 8/16/89 Ms. Tillman said next year's claims would be much lower because she would be reviewing and reducing the claims by at least $100,000.00 per year. Mayor Abramowitz said based on case history, the payouts may take 10 years. He said the Lottery paid the prizes with interest generated from the money collected. Ms. Tillman agreed and she said the Insurance Companies were actually doing the same thing. She said the clients should start doing this for themselves. She said the Cities could be as rich if they would generate the interest from their funds. C/M Stelzer said the value of the claims could increase over ten years and Ms. Tillman agreed. She said the experience was determined by the Actuarial Tables and this was why the City presently had an Excess Insurance Policy with Workers' Compensation. She said the City was presently protected from large claims. Mayor Abramowitz asked how long the City has been Self -Insured for Workers' Compensation and Ms. Tillman said the City was Self -Insured for two years. C/M Hoffman said the City was paying high dollars for 25 years until the Self -Insured Program was implemented. C/M Stelzer said the Insurance rates have escalated from 25 years ago and Ms. Tillman said in the last 7 years the increases started with the Cities and the increases were approximately 100%. Mayor Abramowitz said the City was presently paying $24,000.00 per year which was a lot different than $600,000.00 per year. He said the City's Insurance Policies and coverage would have to be reviewed very carefully. C/M Hoffman said there were several objections in the City going Self -Insured and Mayor Abramowitz said there were several Insurance Advisors that objected strenuously to doing this. Mayor Abramowitz said he never received this information in the past and C/M Hoffman said the City did not have a history to review. Mayor Abramowitz said last year he reviewed the Budget and he did not hear anything like this. C/M Stelzer asked what type of monitoring was being done for the Self -Insured Workers' Compensation Program and Ms. Tillman said since she was hired by the City she has been changing the system regarding authorizations of doctors. She said she has been contacting every doctor to find out what the condition of the person was and why the person was not able to work. She said if she found a person on Workers' Compensation for one year, she was sending them to a Third Party Physician, which was against the doctors recommendations. She said a Third Party opinion was needed and she was investigating the actual need for a person being on Workers' Compensation. Mr. Mack said people have been taking advantage of the system too long and now the City had a person who could professionally monitor the claims and get tough with the doctors. He said the doctors have been running the system. Page 5 8/16/89 Mayor Abramowitz said when this matter came to his attention, he was informed that someone's toes may be stepped on if this matter came out publicly. He said there have been problems that needed to be corrected. He said he did not expect most people in the City to be aware of Insurance; however, he was aware that there was a problem which needed to be corrected. Mayor Abramowitz said he was interested in hearing a lot more about the City's Insurance; however, the purpose of this meeting was to review the Budget for the Insurance Operations. ** There were no reductions from the Insurance Operation Budget. Insurance Services - Page 61 City Manager Kelly said $60,000.00, which was requested for the continuation of Item 233, Disability Insurance, was increased by $120,000.00. He said he and Mr. Mack requested that this Policy be eliminated this year. He said the Fire Department wanted this Insurance and they concurred that the Insurance was being abused. C/M Hoffman asked if this had anything to do with Workers' Compensation claims and City Manager Kelly said this Policy was for Long Term Disability claims. Mr. Mack said the coverage could include service -connected injuries; however, the Policy covered long term disabilities. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much was paid out and Mr. Mack said there have been 8 claims in the past year. He said the Insurance Company was being asked to pay approximately $770,000.00 over the life of the claims. He said 5 of the claims involved Police. Mayor Abramowitz said the City actually paid out very little for the claims and Mr. Mack said the Insurance Company's exposure far exceeded the premiums paid by the City; however, the Company received $60,000.00 from the City each year. C/M Hoffman asked how many years the exposure of $770,000.00 was for and Mr. Mack said the exposure was over a period of time. C/M Hoffman asked how much the exposure was per year and Mr. Mack replied, $60,000.00. C/M Hoffman asked what the exposure would be if the Policy was eliminated and City Manager Kelly said there would be no Insurance offered. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the history of exposure has been and Ms. Tillman replied, $35,000.00 per year. Mr. Mack said if the City did not offer Long Term Disability coverage, the City would not be exposed. C/M Hoffman asked if the City was responsible for a Workers' Compensation claim and Mr. Mack said this was a different matter. Mayor Abramowitz said he was informed that the claims would be small for the amount of premiums paid once the Police merged with the Broward Sheriff's Office. Page 6 8/16/89 Mr. Mack said the Insurance Company informed him that the claims experience was 300% above the normal experience because of 8 claims last year with 5 of the 8 claims being Police. C/M Stelzer asked if the Insurance Policy was purchased to eliminate the Long Term Disability risk from the Pension Plan and Mr. Mack said this may have been the intent; however, this was not being done. C/M Stelzer asked if the City was the primary insurer on disability and Mr. Mack said the Policy was provided as an additional benefit to the employees. He said the City was contractually obligated to the Federation of Public Employees only. C/M Stelzer said the Pension Plan was paying approximately $116,000.00 per year to cover the Police disability. He said the disability Insurance was purchased to eliminate a threat to the Pension Plan; however, the experience was the opposite of what was intended. C/M Stelzer asked how many Police came off disability when the Broward Sheriff's Office merger took place and Mr. Mack said there were several people on Workers' Compensation that had a miraculous recovery; however, there were several people who had relapses as well. C/M Stelzer said there were several people receiving disability payments and this started the rumor that the Pension Plan was going bankrupt. He said the people who started the rumor did not take into consideration the 175/185 funds being received from the State. He said the funds were approximately $300,000.00 per year which was more than the disability claims. C/M Stelzer asked how much in claims the Pension Plan was liable for and Mr. Mack said approximately 2 million dollars. Mr. Mack said when the General employees reached the eligibility for normal retirement, they were eliminated from the disability policy; however, this was not the case with the Police and Firefighters. C/M Stelzer said several people took advantage of the City because of this Policy and Mr. Mack agreed. C/M Stelzer said the Pension Board hired an Administrative Monitor for the claims and Mr. Mack said the procedures were tightened because of an Administrator. V/M Bender recommended that the Long Term Disability Policy be eliminated and Mayor Abramowitz agreed. Mr. Mack said he was presently negotiating with the Federation of Public Employees. He said the City was contractually obligated to provide Long Term Disability Insurance to this Union only. He said he informed them that it was the City's intention to eliminate this benefit. Mayor Abramowitz said Mr. Mack just heard that the City Council expressed their approval in eliminating this benefit. Page 7 8/16/89 City Manager Kelly said the City should provide some type of protection to the employees; therefore, this matter should be considered. Mayor Abramowitz said once the City Council received all of the information regarding what the Departments had and needed and once the Insurance matter was reviewed the City Council could make a decision. Mayor Abramowitz said he understood the City Manager's concern in providing a benefit to the employees; however, he would make a decision after the Insurance policies were reviewed. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 45E, Public Officials Liability Insurance, was for and Mr. Mack said this Item was a Statutory requirement. Mayor Abramowitz asked if $49,000.00 covered the Public officials and Ms. Tillman said these numbers should be reviewed because a policy for the City Council should be under the General Liability policy. Ms. Tillman said this policy covered the City Council and anyone in a Managerial position. Mayor Abramowitz said the only Public officials in the City were the City Council and Charter Board and C/M Hoffman said the City Manager was considered a Public official. Mayor Abramowitz said he thought Public officials meant Elected officials and Ms. Tillman said she did not know who was specifically on this policy; however, the City Clerk, City Manager, Department Heads and City Council were considered as Public officials. V/M Bender suggested that Items 45E and 45H be investigated to see what the policies covered. He said both of the policies were Liability Insurance and he would like to know why one differed from the other. Ms. Tillman said under the General Liability policy specific people were excluded, such as the City Council because they were in a higher exposure level than normal employees of the City. V/M Bender asked that both policies be reviewed to determine the difference. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like more information on the policies before he approved this Budget. Ms. Tillman said she could answer all of the questions regarding the Insurance Budget except for Item 45E. She said she knew who was typically covered in Item 45E; however, she would submit the specific information to the City Council. C/M Hoffman said he tried to purchase an Umbrella policy and he could not because he was a Public official. He said the companies felt that an Elected Public official had a higher chance of lawsuit than the average citizen. C/M Rohr asked why Item 45F, Employees & Officials Bonds, had yo-yo amounts. Page 8 8/16/89 TAPE 2 Ms. Tillman said the Insurance Companies were requesting tremendous increases for every type of policy. She said the policies were not necessary if the City became Self -Insured. She said the only policy necessary would be the Finance Director's Bond because the Finance Director handled the City's money. She said if the City had a Self -Insured program with $100,000.00 deductible, the City would pay the first $100,000.00 and there would be an Excess policy for the remainder. C/M Hoffman asked what the cost would be for the policy for the Finance Director and Ms. Tillman said this policy may cost approximately $3,000.00; however, she was not sure without reviewing the policy. Mayor Abramowitz asked if everyone, except the Finance Director, would be covered under the Self -Insured Program if it was implemented and Ms. Tillman replied, yes. Ms. Tillman said every City had Ordinances that required certain officials to have Bonds. She said she did not see an Ordinance in Tamarac indicating that Bonds had to be purchased for certain people. She said the State Law required a Bond for the Finance Director. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the Finance Director covered and C/M Hoffman asked Ms. Tillman to submit a Report on who was covered by Item 45F. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 45G, Fire & Extended Coverage, was for and Ms. Tillman said this was coverage for the City's property. Ms. Tillman said this coverage could also be covered under a Blanket policy if the City had a Self -Insured Program. She said the City should have a deductible of $50,000.00 as opposed to $2,500.00 deductible. C/M Hoffman asked if this Item could be reduced and Ms. Tillman said she was presently requesting high deductible quotes from the Insurance Companies; therefore, she was not sure what the estimates would be. She assumed that the figures could be reduced by half of the amounts. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to close the review on the Insurance Services Budget until a Report was received from Ms. Tillman regarding the policies. V/M Bender suggested that Ms. Tillman Report to the City Council on the policies she felt were unnecessary and the amount of money involved. Ms. Tillman said three companies were interested in her concept and she sent underwriting packages to these companies. She said she should receive information from these companies within the next week. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 45H, General Liability Insurance, was for and Ms. Tillman said this Item covered the City for negligence claims. She said there was a $10,000.00 deductible and the premium was $149,750.00; however, the premium could be much lower if there was a $100,000.00 deductible. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 451, Automobile Liability Insurance was for and C/M Stelzer suggested Page 9 8/16/89 that Ms. Tillman be asked to propose a Self -Insured Program as opposed to reviewing all of these policies at this time. Mayor Abramowitz said he agreed; however, he would like to have the Items reviewed so he understood them thoroughly. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Automobile Insurance was for and Ms. Tillman said the City had Items 45H, General Liability, 451, Automobile Liability and 45J, Excess Liability, been combined the cost would be approximately $300,000.00. She said the three policies were for liability coverage of negligent acts by the City against a Third Party. She said the City was paying approximately $300,000.00 with a $10,000.00 deductible and a 1.5 million dollar Umbrella policy. She said a higher deductible should be implemented to reduce the premium costs. C/M Hoffman had concerns with the need for this type of coverage if the City was covered by Sovereign Immunity and Ms. Tillman said the City did not need the coverage; however, she was speaking conservatively for the City's benefit because she never saw anyone jump into the change that she was recommending. C/M Rohr asked for a Report regarding the cost for the Excess Insurance and Ms. Tillman said she requested these quotes. She said informing the Insurance Companies that the City was considering a Self -Insured Program was a plus for negotiating. C/M Hoffman asked what coverage the City had with the Broward League of Cities and Ms. Tillman said the City was covered for Liabilities through the Florida League of Cities. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not care about this Carrier and C/M Hoffman agreed. V/M Bender asked if the reduction in Insurance coverage reduced the probability of claims and Ms. Tillman replied, yes. She said many people did not sue Broward County for more than $100,000.00 because the Risk Manager for Broward County would not pay any more than that. She said Broward County was Self -Insured with no Excess or Liability Insurance. She said Broward County placed money into a Loss Fund every year to pay its own claims. She said most Attorneys were not Trial Attorneys; therefore, when a claim was filed with Broward County, it was more than $100,000.00. Mr. Mack said the City Council would be receiving Lobbying from the Florida League of Cities and Mayor Abramowitz said he recently received telephone calls. Mr. Mack said because of the concept being discussed, the Florida League of Cities was upset and not talking to the Personnel Department. Mayor Abramowitz said the Florida League of Cities brought out some heavy guns and Mr. Mack said he wanted the City Council to be prepared for this. Mr. Mack said he felt that the City should do what would benefit the City without concern for outside interests. Ms. Tillman said the Florida League of Cities was a Pool and the City of Tamarac's premiums were not based on it's Page 10 8/16/89 claims but on the total Pool. She said the Pool could go out of business at any time. She said there was one company based in the United States that could be sued if they went out of business; however, Gallagher Bassett was based out of London and it was not easy to sue London if the company went out of business. Mayor Abramowitz asked for a Report as soon as possible and he thanked Ms. Tillman and Mr. Mack for their presentation. Ms. Tillman and Mr. Mack WITHDREW from the meeting. At 10:30 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and RECONVENED at 10:40 A.M. with ALL PRESENT including Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Works/Parks and Recreation. Public Works Administration - Page 45 C/M Hoffman asked why Item 120, Regular Salaries, was increased more than what was requested and Mr. Couzzo said there was a redistribution of salaries because 6/10 of the Salaries was transferred from the Fleet Maintenance Department for the Fleet Maintenance Storekeeper. Mayor Abramowitz said there were charges to the Departments from the Fleet Maintenance Department. He asked if the percentage of the costs was reflected in the Public Works Budget or in the Revenue Budget. Mr. Couzzo said the Fleet Maintenance Budget was considered an accounting wash situation because revenues were generated by all of the other Departments to pay for the entire expenditure of the Fleet Maintenance Department. He said to review the Budgets separately and then the Fleet Maintenance Budget was not appropriate. He said the Budgets should be reviewed as one or the other. C/M Stelzer said the Fleet Maintenance Budget had nothing to do with the Public Works Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said everything in the Departmental Budgets was expenses. He said there were certain things that other Departments paid a share of and he asked whether all of the expenses were calculated and then distributed to each Department or went into the revenue account. Mr. Hoyt said there was no revenue involved in the Fleet Maintenance operations and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the costs were being paid twice. Mr. Hoyt replied, no. At 10:45 A.M., Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, ENTERED the meeting. Mr. Hoyt said the expenses in the Public Works Budget for auto repairs and tires were direct purchase orders chargeable to this specific Department. He said all of the expenditures for the Fleet Maintenance Budget, Page 113, were allocated to each Department using the Fleet Maintenance service. He said if Items 59E, Fleet Maintenance, were added together, they would equal the total Departmental operation of the Fleet Maintenance Budget as reflected on Page 114. Page 11 8/16/89 C/M Rohr asked if the format of the allocations would be changed and Mr. Burroughs said it was discussed that all auto related expenses would be placed into the Fleet Maintenance Budget and allocated back to the Departments. Mr. Burroughs said this would allow more control from one Department. Mr. Couzzo said some of this was done in the Budget; however, the automobile expenses should be placed in the Fleet Maintenance Budget. C/M Hoffman asked if the personnel could be reduced in the Fleet Maintenance Department because Police vehicles were no longer involved and Mr. Couzzo said there were 3.4 positions eliminated. Mayor Abramowitz said he felt that the Public Works Department needed equipment and funding. He said the Public Works Department was a very important Department in the City. He said he requested the City Manager submit a 6 month review of the Budget to determine if there was funding available for needed equipment. Mr. Couzzo said the Public Works Budget had no additional personnel; however, there was a reduction in personnel and Mayor Abramowitz said contrary to opinion, the consolidation of the Budgets was very good. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Department had a part-time employee and Mr. Couzzo said there was a part-time Secretary who has been with the Department for 5 years. V/M Bender said the Budget seemed to be realistic and Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Council to review the Budget carefully to make sure there were no• changes. C/M Hoffman asked what Department retained Mr. Couzzo's salary and Mr. Couzzo said his salary was in the Public Works Department. ** There were no deductions from the Public Works Administration Budget. Grounds Maintenance - Page 47 Mr. Burroughs said this Budget reflected building costs last year; however, this year the building costs would be placed into a separate Department as reflected on Page 215. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many employees were in the Buildings Budget and Mr. Couzzo said 12.5 people. Mr. Burroughs said this Budget included half of the Division Superintendent and Mr. Couzzo said the other half was allocated to the Grounds Maintenance Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said the City has done without Item 4RB, Commercial Boulevard Irrigation, for several years. He said there were several Grants being sought from the State and he was informed by the Legislators that the funding may be available. He said based on the emergency nature of the funding in the City, Items 4RB and 4RX, Beautification Miscellaneous, could be eliminated because funding may be available. Mr. Couzzo said the City was obligated through a joint Agreement with the City of Lauderhill to do the work on Page 12 1 1 0 8/16/89 the section between 64 Avenue and University Drive. He suggested that some funding be left in the Budget for repairs to the system. Mayor Abramowitz said if repairs were needed, he was sure the funding would be available. He suggested that Items 4RB and 4RX be eliminated and the City Council agreed. Referring to Page 48, C/M Stelzer asked what the requested funds for Items 640, Vehicles,and, 643, Machinery and Equipment, were for and Mr. Couzzo said these Items were requested for the purchase of a 65--foot bucket truck for the trees and lighting repairs, 1 four door crew cab to combine maintenance crews into one to eliminate the need for two vehicles, 1 riding mower, 1 utility van, 2 weed eaters, 1 radio and an ice machine. Mayor Abramowitz suggested Mr. Couzzo submit a list of the needed equipment, excluding the ice machine. He said the State was asking what was needed and he would like to have the information available to prioritize the items. C/M Stelzer asked what was being done regarding the trimming of the trees at the Utility Plant and Mr. Couzzo said it would be a very difficult project for the Public Works Department to do. Mr. Couzzo said the project required more skills than tree cutting even with a bucket truck. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Florida Power & Light would be doing this project and City Manager Kelly said Florida Power & Light cut the trees in half that affected their lines; however, there were trees at the Utility Plant which did not affect the power lines. C/M Hoffman said the City was asked to cut the trees because they were a danger to power lines and C/M Stelzer said there were several trees at the Plant that needed to be cut. Mr. Couzzo said he received a request from the Director Of Utilities/Engineering regarding the Public Works Department's assistance in reviewing the entire project. He said an in -•depth study would be done to see what services the Public Works Department could provide. Mayor Abramowitz said the City of Tamarac was held responsible for the tree trimming on University Drive from Southgate Boulevard to Commercial Boulevard. He said he asked the surrounding Cities to submit copies of their contracts to see if the other Cities had the same responsibilities. He said the Director of Utilities/Engineering indicated that the trees at the Utility Plant were very shallow rooted and he did not want them to fall on the Utility Plant. He said the trees interfering with the power lines were the responsibility of Florida Power & Light. C/M Stelzer said there were several other trees that were dangerous which were not Florida Power & Light's responsibility and Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager, said the Australian Pine trees were known to become brittle the older they got; therefore, the branches fell off and the liability to the City was great because equipment and property could be damaged. Page 13 8/16/89 Mr. Couzzo said this matter would be reviewed and Mayor Abramowitz said if the trees were on private property, the City needed permission to cut them. ** There was $20,000.00 reduced from the Grounds Maintenance Budget. Street/Roads - Page 49 Mr. Burroughs said this Budget reflected a separation as well. He said this Budget contained several Items for the drainage and canal systems in the City. He said the City received State revenue for streets and roads and he did not approve of the drainage and canal costs being included in this Budget because Reports were required by the State for streets and roads. He said the reconciliation of the costs was listed on Pages 219 and 220. TAPE 3 Mayor Abramowitz asked if the separation was beneficial to the City and Mr. Burroughs said the separation did not affect the Budget; however, the expenses were segregated into their functional categories. He said the City was jeopardizing its future funding from the State by including the drainage and canal costs in the street and road costs. Mayor Abramowitz said the Utilities Department dug holes in the road for repairs and the Public Works Department was responsible to fill and pave the damage. He said he would be recommending that the costs be paid by the Utilities Department as opposed to the Public Works Department. He said this would allow the Public Works Department to have more revenue to do other jobs. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the Public Works Department to have more funding; however, this was not possible at this time. He said the Public Works Department charged for projects that were instituted by the Utilities Department. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this would jeopardize the projected income and Mr. Burroughs said this procedure was traditional throughout the Municipal Industry who had a Utility Department making street cuts. He said the Public Works Department could identify the costs and charge the Utilities Department. He said the costs would be shown in the General Fund as a Miscellaneous Revenue. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this procedure would jeopardize the funds received from the State and Mr. Burroughs replied, no. C/M Stelzer said the Utilities Department was presently being charged $350,000.00 for Administrative Services and Mr. Burroughs said most Municipalities charged the Utilities Department for Administrative Services. Mr. Burroughs said an in-depth study was never made on this matter; however, certain percentages of the services required by the various Departments were charged to the Utilities Department which could equate to $350,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to see the Public Works Department charging the Utilities Department for the work done because of projects of the Utilities Department. Page 14 8/16/89 Mr. Couzzo said the Public Works Department had a system in place that could identify those costs and C/M Stelzer asked how much it cost the Public Works Department for work done for the Utilities Department. Mr. Couzzo said he would have to calculate the costs to get the figures; however, the majority of the asphalt work done in the City was for the Utilities Department. City Manager Kelly said Item 533, Asphalt Paving, in the amount of $9,000.00 was needed to do the projects in the City. He said the reason the request of $18,600.00 was reduced to $9,000.00 was because the Public Works Department would be charging the Utilities Department. Mr. Couzzo said Item 533 was reduced because the Public Works Department was not able to do the work needed in the City since a vast majority of the time was used in repairing Utilities project. He said it was more realistic figuring that only $9,000.00 would be used on Public Works Department projects. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the Utilities Department be charged legitimately for the work done for that Department by the Public Works Department. C/M Rohr asked why Item 340, Other Contractual Services, was reduced and Mr. Couzzo said this Item was separated from Drainage and Canals; therefore, the reduced costs in this Budget would be found in the Budget for Drainage and Canals. C/M Rohr asked if Item 436, Propane Gas, was placed in the Drainage and Canals Budget and Mr. Couzzo replied, yes, Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City was receiving a Franchise Tax for propane gas and Mr. Couzzo said propane gas was used for the canals. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several restaurants in the City that used propane gas. He said there were several other Cities that had a Franchise Tax on propane gas. C/M Hoffman said a Franchise Tax was directed against specific suppli4rs and he asked who would pay the tax. Mayor Abramowitz said the companies supplying the gas would be charged and C/M Hoffman asked if the vendors would need a license to do business in the City. Mayor Abramowitz replied, yes. City Manager Kelly said this matter would be investigated. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Item 464, Repairs Machinery & Equipment, in the amount of $14,000.00, could be reduced and Mr. Couzzo said the Budget for this Item should be $16,000.00; however, the City Manager reduced it by $2,000.00. Mr. Couzzo said the equipment was getting progressively older and required more repairs. He said it would be very difficult to repair the existing equipment with only $14,000.00, especially when the estimated cost of repair was $14,600.00. He said the equipment would be older this year than last year. C/M Stelzer had concerns with the City Council requiring additional reductions after the Department Heads and the City Manager already made reductions. He said he Page 15 s/16/89 objected to Steven Oxenhandler, Director of Development Services, suggesting cuts on Items for the Building and Code Enforcement Departments. Mayor Abramowitz said C/M Stelzer was incorrect if he felt the Mr. Oxenhandler's recommended reductions started the City Council asking the Department Heads what Items could be reduced. V/M Bender asked why the Public Works Department did not use contractual services to asphalt paving for the Utilities Department and charge the Utilities Department for those services. Mr. Couzzo said this was an option; however, the bottom line of the Public Works Budget would be increased because the costs would be reimbursed through a charge back. Mr. Burroughs said when the Utilities Department was back charged it would be done through Revenues, which could not be touched unless the Budget was increased to offset the Revenue. V/M Bender said he wanted to see that the projects were completed in the City and C/M Hoffman said the funds had to be included in the Budget in order to be used. C/M Stelzer suggested that the Utilities Department do the work themselves and Mr. Couzzo said this would cause a duplication in equipment, training and supplies. C/M Hoffman asked if funds could be used from the General Revenue Fund for the Public Works Department if needed and Mr. Burroughs said funds could be used from the General Contingency Fund. Mr. Burroughs said Revenues could not be used and C/M Hoffman asked if the Revenue funds were placed in the General Contingency Fund. Mr. Burroughs said assuming that the back charge to the Utilities Department was $50,000.00, the funds would be indicated in the Revenue Budget and the Expense Budget would be reduced by $50,000.00. He said if Public Works was given $50,000.00, a line Item would be increased to offset the Revenue. C/M Hoffman asked if the Public Works Department could receive the funds later in the Budget Year if the funds were collected from the Utilities Department and Mr. Burroughs said another Public Hearing would have to be held. C/M Hoffman said the City Council was constantly approving transfers from one fund to another and Mr. Burroughs said the only time transfers were recommended was when the funding was Budgeted. Mayor Abramowitz said there was nothing wrong with holding another Public Hearing and Mr. Couzzo said he would submit information to the City Council regarding the projected charge back so it could be projected as incoming Revenue. V/M Bender had concerns with the personnel not be available to do the work and he suggested that contractual services be obtained to do the work. He said he wanted the Public Works Department to have the Page 16 8/16/89 appropriate personnel and funding to do the work that had to be done as opposed to carrying over work loads each year. C/M Stelzer suggested that the Utilities Department hire the Public Works Department for projects and Mr. Couzzo said this would require Budget amendments because the funds would have to be transferred or the Public Works Budget would run into a deficit. Mayor Abramowitz asked that these matters be investigated. C/M Stelzer asked if street resurfacing would not be done this year and Mr. Couzzo said he would be presenting a Study to the City Council of all the roadways in the City. He said he would be recommending projects to the City Council on a long and short term basis. ** There were no reductions from the Streets/Roads Budget. Reports were requested regarding the Public Works Department charging the Utilities Department for road repairs and a Franchise Tax for propane gas. Canals/Draina a -- Page 52 Mr. Couzzo said this was the separation from the Streets/Roads Budget and Mayor Abramowitz asked how this separation was working. Mr. Couzzo said the operation was adequate; however, more time should be spent on the project. Mr. Couzzo said this Budget would have a surplus this year because the expenditures were directed in proportion to the amount of rain during the year. He said the rain was sufficient this year; therefore, the expenditure was not large. Mayor Abramowitz said funds could be eliminated from this Budget because the rain has been sufficient and Mr. Couzzo said the rain was sufficient during the 1988/89 Fiscal Year; however, the rain could not be predicted for Fiscal Year 1989/90. Mr. Couzzo said if next year was a rainy season, money had to be available to run the engines. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 340, Other Contractual Services, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this was for the Contractor who performed the maintenance on the aquatic weeds. C/M Rohr asked how many employees were in this Budget and Mr. Burroughs replied, three. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 643, Machinery and Equipment, was for and Mr. Couzzo said the City under took a 5 year Capital Improvement Program to replace the engines. He said there were 4 engines replaced, 1 repaired and 3 more to be repaired. He said the funding in this Budget would do 2 of the remaining 3 engines. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the engines had to be done this year and Mr. Couzzo said the replacements could be extended to next year; however, more maintenance would be required. Page 17 8/16/89 Mayor Abramowitz asked if Impact Fees could be used for this type of Program and Mr. Burroughs said there were no fees available; however, it may be illegal to use them for this project. C/M Stelzer said the City had a Storm Water Drainage District which was legal and nothing has been done in accumulating the funds. Mr. Burroughs said there was no revenue for the Program and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council reviewed the Budget to approve the expenses for the various Departments. He said the City Council had a responsibility to research, direct and implement additional income. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Council had the right to collect Impact Fees for specific Programs and Mr. Couzzo said there were two types of Impact Fees. Mr. Couzzo said Mr. Burroughs was referring to an initial Impact Fee from a Developer; however, C/M Stelzer was referring to on -going Drainage Service Impact Fees from everyone every year. C/M Hoffman said this was a Concrete Tax and Mr. Couzzo agreed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if a Developer had the responsibility to address this type of tax when beginning a project. Mr. Burroughs said the Developers were required to pay Impact Fees; however, there were no Impact Fees available in the City at this time. Mr. Couzzo said there was no development in the City; therefore, Impact Fees were not being collected. C/M Rohr said there were new State regulations on drainage and the Director of Utilities/Engineering stated that it would cost more to implement a Concrete Tax than what would be received if it was collected. Mr. Couzzo said there were enough Studies completed to provide preliminary information to create a program. He said the City of Oakland Park was presently implementing this type of program. He said there could be implications involved. The City Council agreed to reduce Item 643 by $25,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 647, Special Equipment, was for and Mr. Couzzo said the engines did not impact the entire City. Mr. Couzzo said there were other situations on the southeast side of the City that were manually controlled by the gate structures. He said it was like opening a dam to the C-13 canals and the gates needed to be repaired and replaced. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Public Works Department would have the opportunity to do the repairs and replacements and Mr. Couzzo said this project was contractual. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this was a necessary project and Mr. Couzzo said the project needed to be started this year. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that Item 647 be reduced by $10,000.00 and the City Council agreed. Page 18 ** There was a reduction of $35,000.00 from the Canals/Drainage Budget. Recreation Activities - Page 55 Mayor Abramowitz said there were several people pleased with the Summer Program by the Recreation Department. He said the Representatives of the School Board were very pleased with the Programs and he was pleased with the relationship established with William Bell, Principal of Tamarac Elementary School. He said the Summer Program was successful and he asked for a Report on the different charges for the Program next year. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 122, Part -Time Employee Wages, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Item included Counselors for After School Programs, Special Day Off Programs, etc. C/M Hoffman said Mr. Couzzo recommended that there be changes in the fees to make the Programs self-sufficient. He said he recommended that there be profit from the fees for use in other areas of the Program. Mayor Abramowitz said the City of Coral Springs had 100 children in their Summer Program at a higher fee than the City of Tamarac was charging. C/M Hoffman said there should not be a limit on the number of children in the Programs; however, the fees should generate enough funds to make the Programs better than self-sufficient providing the City Council approved the new rate schedule. Mr. Couzzo said the revenues that would be projected were based upon full participation in the Program. He said there was no way to determine if the new rates would discourage participation in the Program. C/M Hoffman said if there was less participation in the Program, the Department would not have to hire as many personnel and Mr. Couzzo agreed. C/M Hoffman said he did not feel that the rate increase would discourage participation. C/M Stelzer asked if the Recreation Department received the fees collected for the Adult Classes or were the fees given to the Instructors and Mr. Couzzo said the fees were collected by the Recreation Department; however, the Instructors were given 80% of what the Programs generated. Mayor Abramowitz asked why $1,800.00 was requested for Item 344, Instructors, Other Activities, and the City Manager allocated $14,760.00. Mr. Couzzo said the request of $1,800.00 should have been $14,760.00. He said this was a typographical error. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 440, Rentals and Leases, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Item included the charter bus. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City's bus operated appropriately and Mr. Couzzo said the bus was kept in the best shape possible. Mr. Couzzo said if there were Page 19 8/16/89 safety problems, the bus was not used. He said a school bus was rented if the City's bus could not be used. Mayor Abramowitz asked how much it cost to rent a school bus and Mr. Couzzo said $750.00 per week. Mayor Abramowitz said he needed to use a school bus and Mr. Couzzo said he would submit the hourly costs to the City Council. C/M Hoffman asked what was included in Item 481, Recreation Activities, and Mr. Couzzo said this Item included all of the Activities and Programs. Mr. Couzzo said most all of the Activities generated revenue to offset the costs. TAPE 4 ** There were no reductions from the Recreation Activities Budget. Park Facilities - Page 57 C/M Hoffman asked what Items 549, Parks Renovation, and, 643, Machinery and Equipment, included and Mr. Couzzo said Item 549 included the funds that were needed next year to match the Grant from the State for Veterans Park. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council recently approved funding in the amount of $60,000.00, which was the City's obligation to match the Grants. Mr. Burroughs said there was only $30,000.00 in each fund. He said the City's share for the Veterans Park Grant was $30,000.00. Mayor Abramowitz said these funds were allocated in a prior Budget Account and Mr. Burroughs said these funds were allocated in 1988/89. Mayor Abramowitz asked why $15,000.00 had to be allocated this year and Mr. Couzzo said the project would cost approximately $60,000.00. Mr. Couzzo said the City had to indicate the funds in their Budget. Mr. Burroughs said these funds would be allocated in the Special Revenue Fund; therefore, $15,000.00 was not needed for the Veterans Park project. Mr. Couzzo said this Item provided for a jogging trail, fitness trail and picnic areas and Mayor Abramowitz suggested that this Item be reduced. C/M Hoffman asked if the entire $15,000.00 could be eliminated and Mr. Couzzo said the shelter needed to be done. C/M Hoffman asked if $3,000.00 was sufficient and Mr. Couzzo said the picnic areas should be done. C/M Hoffman asked what could be done with $5,000.00 and Mr. Couzzo said the fitness trail could be enhanced, the stations could be redone and the picnic areas could be implemented. C/M Hoffman suggested that $10,000.00 be eliminated from Item 549 and the City Council agreed. Mr. Couzzo said Item 643 included 14 items. He said one of the items needed was the playground equipment. He Page 20 8/16/89 said the equipment has been Budgeted for 4 years and held in abeyance until the sale of the City property. He said the equipment would cost approximately $10,000.00. C/M Hoffman asked if this Item could be reduced by $21,900.00 and Mr. Couzzo said $20,000.00 would provide for the projects this year. Mayor Abramowitz asked if $20,000.00 would provide for the playground equipment ad Mr. Couzzo replied, yes, providing it was understood that the playground equipment was considered capital equipment. C/M Hoffman suggested that Item 643 be reduced from $57,400.00 to $20,000.00. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 539, Parks/Maintenance, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Item included several projects. Mr. Couzzo said this Item provided for all the maintenance needed at the Parks. He said the Item was increased because of the new responsibilities at the Tamarac Sports Complex. Mayor Abramowitz said the City has been more than fair to the younger population than the past. He said even though there were more things wanted, there was no funding available to provide more. ** There was a reduction of $31,900.00 from the Park Facilities Budget. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mayor Abramowitz said he would meeting and City Manager Kelly Items remaining for the Public Departments. like to Adjourn this said there were several Works/Parks and Recreation Mayor Abramowitz said he would be more comfortable when the Utilities Budget was available for review. C/M Hoffman asked what the Utilities Budget had to do with reviewing the remaining Items and Mayor Abramowitz said the staff that had to work on the Utilities Budget were present at these Workshop meetings. Mayor Abramowitz said the staff needed the opportunity to work on the Utilities Budget. C/M Hoffman asked if there were several Items remaining in the General Budget which needed to be reviewed and City Manager Kelly said there were several Items remaining. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not approve of continuing the Budget review until the Utilities Budget was available. V/M Bender suggested that the City Council break for lunch and return to continue the Budget review. At 12:15 P.M., RECONVENED at Manager Kelly Manager. Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and 1:25 P.M. with ALL PRESENT except C/M Stelzer, City and Dina Mc Dermott, Assistant to the City Page 21 8/16/89 Police Building - Page 38 Mr. Couzzo said this Budget was for the operational and personnel expenses to maintain the Police Facility. He said the Broward Sheriff's Office would be charged $70,000.00 annually for these services. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many personnel were Budgeted and Mr. Couzzo replied, 2 people. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 464, Repairs Machinery & Equipment, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Item provided for equipment that could have been placed in the Other Contractual Services Account. Mr. Couzzo said the Item included pest control, air conditioning and generator maintenance. At 1:27 P.M., C/M Stelzer ENTERED the meeting. C/M Hoffman asked what Item 503, Mtce. Land-Bldgs-Imprs, was for and Mr. Couzzo said this Item included landscaping, painting, interior/ exterior hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies. ** There were no reductions from the Police Building Budget. Fleet Services Fund - Page 111 Mayor Abramowitz asked if this Budget reflected the money allocated to the Departments and Mr. Burroughs replied, yes, plus the interest earned. ** There were no reductions from the Fleet Services Fund Budget. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fleet Services - Page 113 At 1:29 P.M., City Manager Kelly ENTERED the meeting. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many employees were in this Budget and Mr. Burroughs replied, 6.4 people. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Item 306, Special Supplies/Services, was and Mr. Couzzo said this Item included grease and lubricant supplies. C/M Hoffman said the City was considering moving the Public Works Department and he asked if this was Budgeted for and Mr. Couzzo replied, no. C/M Hoffman asked how much was anticipated for the move and City Manager Kelly said this matter would have to be discussed at a Special or Workshop City Council meeting. C/M Hoffman asked if the funds from the sale'of the Public Works property had to be in the Budget before using them and Mr. Mr. Couzzo said a Burroughs Special Public replied, yes. Hearing could be held on this matter once a decision was made and C/M Hoffman suggested that the estimated cost be placed in the Budget. C/M Hoffman said it would cost extra money to Page 22 8/16/89 hold Public Hearings and Mr. Burroughs said this matter could be considered before the first Budget Public Hearing. Mayor Abramowitz said he would not vote on anything until the money from the sale of the Public Works property belonged to the City. He said things may occur that would mandate the City return the funds to the buyer of the property. He said he did not want the City to rely on those funds until everything was finalized. C/M Hoffman said no matter what was done, the City was stymied until the Public Works Department was off the property. He said the Public Works Department must be off the property before a Release of Lease Notice was given to the buyer of the property. Mayor Abramowitz said Notice would be given shortly and City Manager Kelly said the Public Works Department had to be off the property in time. City Manager Kelly said a Workshop meeting would be scheduled in the near future regarding this matter. Mr. Burroughs said the rent for the property had to be placed into the Budget. He said in order to pay the rent, the money had to be available. Mayor Abramowitz said this matter was very complicated and projections had to be provided even though they may not be used. He said this matter would require time so that a decision could be made. C/M Stelzer said the City had a liability with a possible income. He said the funds could not be used until the sale was finalized; however, the liability for expenses was precise and had to be Budgeted. C/M Hoffman asked if the funds had to be available for Item 994, Depreciation Expense, and Mr. Burroughs said there had to be income to cover the expense. C/M Hoffman asked if the funds were included in the Ad Valorem Tax and Mr. Burroughs said $250,210.00, minus the interest earned of $3,000.00, was distributed to all of the Departments and TUW. C/M Hoffman said $6,000.00 was charged to the taxpayers and he asked if it was necessary to have this Item in the Budget other than for bookkeeping purposes. C/M Stelzer said this was the same situation that Data Processing and Purchasing had. He said each Department was never charged for their share of the equipment and, when new equipment was purchased, the funds would be taken out of the Depreciation. Account. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this was the procedure every year and Mr. Burroughs said this has been the procedure since he became the Finance Director. C/M Hoffman asked how much was in the Depreciation Account and Mr. Burroughs said the funds were not segregated. C/M Hoffman asked if the funds could be taken from this Account if equipment was needed and Mr. Burroughs said the Budget would be increased and the equity would be decreased. Page 23 Wm :. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there were any restrictions for the Departments to use the Depreciation Account for the purchase of equipment and Mr. Burroughs said funds could be used for capital equipment but not operating expenses. Mayor Abramowitz asked only be used to replace Department that it was agreed. if the Depreciation Fund could existing equipment in the Budgeted for and Mr. Burroughs Mayor Abramowitz asked how much money was in the Data Processing, Purchasing and Fleet Maintenance Departments. C/M Hoffman had concerns with the Ad Valorem containing a Depreciation amount as well as an amount for purchasing equipment. V/M Bender asked what happened to the funds if they were not used to purchase equipment and City Manager Belly said the funds were left in a reserve account. C/M Hoffman asked if the funds could be used to repair equipment and Mr. Burroughs said if the funds were used for operating expenses, the equity fund would be reduced to a deficit situation. Mr. Burroughs said this was what he was trying to overcome. V/M Bender had concerns with the funds constantly being in a reserve if they were not used to replace equipment. He asked what the funds could be used for. C/M Stelzer said if a lift was needed in the Fleet Maintenance Department, a transfer could be made from the Depreciation Account to an Account in the Fleet Maintenance Department. Mr. Burroughs said the problem was that depreciation has not been built up and V/M Bender asked what happened to the funds if they were not used to replace equipment. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Council could approve the purchase of equipment during the year for emergencies by allocating the funds from the Depreciation Account for that Department. Mr. Burroughs said yes, assuming that the Budget was amended during that year at a Public Hearing. Mayor Abramowitz said he has been very pleased with the things he has learned in the past few days and City Manager Kelly said he wished that more people would attend the meetings so that they could understand. ** There were no reductions from the Fleet Services Budget. The City Council requested a Report on the Depreciation Funds in the Data Processing, Purchasing and Fleet Maintenance Departments. City Hall Operations - Page 34 Mayor Abramowitz said he found that there were expenses for the maintenance of the building which were not reflected in this Budget Item, such as ground maintenance and carpentry work. Page 24 1 1 1 8/16/89 Mr. Burroughs said Page 35 reflected the employees which were taken out of the Grounds Maintenance Department and placed in a new Department called, "General Government Buildings". He said technically the Police, City Hall and General Government Buildings could be combined into one Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said he has been asked several times tc provide the maintenance cost of the City Hall building. He said Mr. Couzzo informed him that it would difficult to allocate the percentage of time spent by staff at the facility. He said he saw the staff at the facility several times and the ground maintenance costs were given; therefore, a percentage of time had to be provided. Mr. Couzzo said it was hard to take a percentage of the employees time and charge it to the appropriate Departments and Mr. Burroughs said any employee could be TAPE 5 distributed to two Departments. C/M Hoffman said the bottom line cost was the same amount regardless of where the personnel were distributed. Mayor Abramowitz said it was difficult to calculate the total amount of time spent by an employee at the facilities; however, an estimated figure should be included. Mr. Couzzo said the estimated costs from last year may be more. He said the costs varied on the time of the year, such as electricity. C/M Rohr asked if the City Manager investigated the information he submitted regarding a computerized system for electricity. Mr. Couzzo said the system was presently on a computer and City Manager Kelly said he would review this Report. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there were any other expenses that were not shown in the City Hall Operations Budget and Mr. Couzzo said the elevator expense, pest control, window cleaning, security locks, etc., were charged to this account; however, the buildings needed maintenance requiring several personnel, and the expenses were for this purpose. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Account the special maintenance costs were taken from and Mr. Couzzo said the costs came from the Budget that included the personnel who handled the project. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the bottom line cost was for personnel handling the City Hall Operations and Mr. Couzzo said he could submit an estimated cost to the City Council; however, the costs could not be reflected in the Account. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to answer questions as thoroughly as possible. C/M Rohr asked what Buildings were covered by the costs on Page 35 and Mr. Couzzo said these costs were for the existing Public Works Facility and the old City Hall Building. Page 25 8/16/89 C/M Hoffman asked what salaries were involved for the old City Hall Building and Mr. Burroughs said he suggested that the three Building Accounts be combined to reflect a lump sum Budget. Mayor Abramowitz asked that a Percentage Report be submitted to the City Council regarding the Personnel costs for the Municipal/City Hall Complex. C/M Hoffman asked what one dollar related to in Ad Valorem Tax and Mr. Burroughs replied, $120,000.00. C/M Hoffman asked how much the Ad Valorem would be reduced if there was a reduction in the Budget by $100,000.00 and Mr. Burroughs said, roughly. $.80. ** There was no reduction in the City Hall Operations Budget. The City Council requested a Percentage Report regarding the Personnel costs for the Municipal/City Hall Complex. General Government Buildings - Page 35 Mr. Couzzo said this Budget was for the existing Public Works Facility and the old City Hall Building. C/M Rohr asked what type of expenses could be incurred for a closed Building and Mr. Couzzo said the Building had to have power and air conditioning to avoid mildew. C/M Rohr asked if the Building had a thermostat and Mr. Couzzo replied, no. C/M Rohr asked what percentage in personnel was being used to maintain the old City Hall. Mr. Burroughs said Item 120, Regular Salaries, included the personnel eliminated from the 407 Account which were, two Senior Tradesmen and two Maintenance Workers. Mayor Abramowitz asked how the Senior Tradesmen were allocated to the old City Hall Building but not the Municipal/City Hall Complex. Mr. Couzzo said all of the salaries were allocated to this Budget. Mr, Burroughs said he extracted the salaries from the Ground Maintenance Department and placed it in this Department. He said if the City Council wanted the salaries allocated 50% in one Department and 50% in another Department, it could be done. C/M Stelzer said the bottom line would remain the same either way and Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to know what the total cost for personnel was for the old City Hall Building. ** There were no reductions from the General Government Buildings Budget. The City Council requested a Percentage Report on the cost of personnel for the old City Hall Building. City Manager Kelly asked when the City Council would like to schedule the meeting for the Charter Board, Community Development, Economic Development, General Services, Non -Departmental, Legal, Telecommunications and Revenues Budgets. 1 1 1 Page 26 8/16/89 1 Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to have the Utilities Budget completed before the Workshops continued. He said when the staff who prepared the Utilities Budget sat at the Workshop meetings, the Utilities Budget was not being completed. Mayor Abramowitz asked how long the Finance Department needed to get the Utilities Budget completed and Mr. Burroughs said he had to consult with the City Manager regarding some problems. C/M Stelzer asked if the Utilities Budget would be reviewed before the Millage Budget and Mayor Abramowitz said there were very important Departments remaining to review; therefore, he would like to have more facts before he reviewed those Budgets. Mayor Abramowitz asked Mr. Burroughs when the Utilities Budget would be ready for review and Mr. Burroughs said, possibly Monday Afternoon, (August 21, 1989). Bob Hoyt, Deputy Finance Director, said the Finance Director needed further information regarding the Insurance Budget. He said there was no way to complete the Utilities Budget until the Insurance Budget was determined because the Insurance figures were included in the Utilities Budget. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that Community Development Budget be held in abeyance until the Utilities Budget was available. He suggested that the small Budgets be reviewed at 9:30 A.M., tomorrow morning, (August 17, 1989) . ----------------------------------------------------------------- City Manager Belly said he received confirmation from the State Department of National Resources that the City was approved for the appropriation of $250,000.00 for the Multi -Purpose Center. He said the City was required to respond to them so that a Contract could be submitted. He said the response was presently being sent. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 2:20 P.M. CAROL A. EVANS, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $250.60 or $31.33 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 27