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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2009-07-16 Special 07/16/2009 3169 STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( JULY 16, 2009 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2009 AT 6:00 PM AT FRIENDSWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONFERENCE ROOM, 1100A S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: MAYOR DAVID SMITH MAYOR PRO-TEM ANDY RIVERA(ARRIVED AT 6:34) COUNCILMEMBER JIM HILL COUNCILMEMBER BILL HOLBERT INTERIM CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER DEPUTY CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH Councilmembers Barker, Reid, and Barr were absent from the meeting. Mayor Smith cailed the meeting to order. SPECIAL SESSION A discussion was held regarding the proposed Fiscal Year(FY) 2009-2010 General Operating Budget for ,�. the City of Friendswood. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker presented budget information to Council and where the City is expecting to be this year, more work has been done projecting revenues and expenditures. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge has worked on this and is juggling many balls trying to determine figures, the budget has to be adopted by September 15, 2009. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge presented information on values, stated there are still a lot of estimates to make and does not have all the figures, assumptions were made on what the rates would be. The General Fund Revenue figures for FY 2008-2009 adopted tax rate, FY2009-2010 estimated effective tax rate and FY09-10 estimated effective tax rate +3%, revenue and expenditures are down, the proposed numbers do not include merit raises, Municipal Cost Index (MCI) or Forces at Work (FAW)/Decision Packages (DP), expenditures start with a base budget and then work from there, took out one time costs from Fiscal Year(FY) 2008-09 budget and lost about$20 million in values, made up some of the loss in new construction which was $50 million, sales tax is flat but other cities have had a significant drop so it is not too bad, had a loss on permits but have had no MCI so postage increases and other things have not been accounted. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated Staff does not "spend down" at the end of the Fiscal Year (FY) and it has helped with the Fund Balance. Councilmember Hill stated after being on Council for three years and knows other agencies that have the motto of"use it or lose iY', he appreciates that Staff does not do that. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated FAW are the things that the City does not have control over or have limited control over, electricity costs and fuel are usually in there but those have stabilized. �-- Mayor Smith asked about health care costs and Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated there is no increase this year and stated the City is fortunate to be involved in the FWD Interlocal agreement for employees insurance. 07/16/2009 3170 ...,F Human Resources Director Bill Bender stated insurance companies are trying to control costs and one of the big costs is medical and the minor cost is dental where there has been a very slight increase of approximately$3,000. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated this helps employees because they participate in cost sharing with three other agencies for insurance costs. A Merit Options Impact presentation was shown to Council and stated the City does not do across-the- board raises. The City has not done a cost of living adjustment (COLA) since 1995, has only done merit raises and one year employees opted not to do merit raises and instead increased the amount to the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS). Police Chief Bob Wieners stated his turnover went to mostly zero with salary adjustments that were done a while back. Human Resources Director Bill Bender stated the turnover rate of employees went down. A Forces at Work and Decision Packages presentation was given and a handout was also given to Council on Departmental Decision Packages. Mayor Smith stated these are unfunded items at this time. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker described some of the items on the sheet, FAW General Fund $194,400 and Water/Sewer Fund $0, total Decision Packages General Fund $1,913,299 and Water/Sewer Fund $85,000. ...,� Police Chief Bob Wieners stated the City might want to lease vehicles instead of buying vehicles, last year the City funded a police officer but not a new car for that officer. Councilmember Hill stated that this is important. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated the City leased vehicles a few years ago but over time was able to develop a funding mechanism where the City internally leased, charge departments a percentage each year, there is a Vehicle Replacement Program. Police Chief Bob Wieners stated they have extended years of vehicles to 4 plus years or 100,000 miles, keeping cost of heavy maintenance down. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated the Vehicle Replacement Plan does not include heavy equipment and fire trucks. Councilmember Holbert stated with the Multi-Year Financial Plan (MYFP) that was given at the last meeting would like to know how the numbers were arrived at for 2011. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker explained that Staff was charged to come up with a plan for proposed needs in years to come, Staff reviews it every year and updates it and this develops a baseline for next year's proposed budget. Councilmember Holbert stated the math is easy, took all excess out and it still comes up short. Police Chief Bob Wieners stated the MYFP needs updating again but at least Council knows what is needed. --� ���.�.�.. 07/16/2009 3171 .._ Mayor Smith stated improvements in the panhandle area of the City should make a difference in dollar amounts maybe two or three years from now, there is $100 million in improvements this year that are anticipated with West Ranch, the new vet clinic on FM 528 and others. Councilmember Holbert stated that is about$550,000 worth of revenue out of that. Interim Director of Community Development Morad Kabiri stated most of the items in the Community Development Department (CDD) for MYFP are based on current development trends, if it changes they will reevaluate. Councilmember Hill stated he thinks the Streets budget should be in the Public Works base budget. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated Staff needs to know what Council thinks of Departmental Decision Packages. Mayor Smith stated there are no sacred cows, needs to know does the City fund it all or what items does the City want to cut. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated one variable they cannot control is effective tax rate. Councilmember Hill feels the school and county will have a tax increase this year, the county because of Hurricane Ike and also because of the bond issue, the City gets blamed when taxes go up while the City has had a stable tax rate for years. ._.. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated $300 million in value is in protest with taxes right now. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated numbers Staff came up with are conservative and are projections and directed Council back to the General Fund Revenue sheet on the screen. Councilmember Holbert stated Staff has to cut$1.6 million off this sheet without dipping into the reserves. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker asked if Council could give a percent amount for merit, and also knows not everything on the list will be funded. Police Chief Bob Wieners stated if the police department (PD) does not get grant money the PD only needs the one vehicle he did not get last year. Mayor Smith stated if Council makes a decision to do streets on Certificate of Obligations (CO's) then it will make a difference to the budget, or do General Obligations (GO's) if needed. Councilmember Holbert asked about street maintenance funding already in the Public Works budget. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated repairs done listed in the budget are sidewalks, driveways, manholes and portion of streets, there is only $50,000 in the operating budget and has $100,000- $200,000 to contract for other street repairs. Public Works was given $1 million last year for repairs on Laura Leigh. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated repairs were also done to Wilderness Trails, Blackhawk and others with that money, this fluctuates every year with needs and available revenue. � Councilmember Hill asked Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian how much he needs in his budget for streets. 07/16/2009 3172 ,�., Mayor Smith asked if the City should spend on short term repairs or spend a larger amount for more longer lasting repairs, the City should put aside $200,000 every year in that budget for repairs or replacement of streets. Counciimember Rivera stated $50,000 could be spent on one project, voted on the pavement plan and does not want a plan to sit on the shelf, $12 million is needed, it is do it now or spend $20 million later, has pushed hard that there be sufficient money for streets. Councilmember Hill stated Council has to decide whether to raise taxes to do this or not. Councilmember Rivera stated he would not mind a minor increase in taxes even with the way the economy is now and would not mind dipping into reserves to fund some of these. Councilmember Hill stated he would like to spend a minimum of$1 million a year on street repair. Streets are very important, can do without other things but this is not an easy thing to figure out. Mayor Smith stated there are items on the Decision Packages (DP) list that need to be done now so more money is not spent on them later. Councilmember Holbert asked about items not budgeted such as overtime for Hurricane Ike, cleanup and more that Staff cannot budget ahead of time. Mayor Smith asked Interim City Manager Roger Roecker if Staff cut could they go with middle ground, and is in agreement with Councilmember Holbert that if Council keeps holding the line they are pushing ,,,,,,� problems to the future, what can the City lease instead of purchasing and what can be shifted to cut costs so they can do capital projects. Councilmember Rivera asked how much was in the reserve. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated there was $4 million in the reserve with some commitments already made for some of that money. Mayor Smith asked if there are any reimbursements coming and Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated $4.3 million. Fire Marshal Terry Byrd confirmed the amount Cindy Edge stated the City should be receiving from FEMA. Mayor Smith stated the merit should be 1.5% or 2%for this year. Councilmember Rivera asked about the impact of the cost of living adjustment(COLA) instead and asked if salary increases were finalized. Police Chief Bob Wieners stated yes and salary ranges were set, collective bargaining is probably coming this year and Human Resources Director Bill Bender agreed. Police Chief Wieners stated he stepped out his pay plan and showed it to Council, the federal law is probably changing. Councilmember Rivera stated step planning should be part of Chief's usual and Chief Wieners stated does merit only, does not want to lose ground with competing agencies and is less concerned about adding bodies and sated staffing levels are okay. If the City does not get grant money then will have to readjust what goes where. —* Mayor Smith stated Staff needs to get the street budget increased with $200,000. 07/16/2009 3173 ..-. Councilmember Holbert asked Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian about $800,000 in the Decision Packages (DP), are they emergency repairs or preventative maintenance. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian answered that they divide money befinreen asphalt overlay and concrete, not emergency type but preventative maintenance. Chief Wieners stated he agrees with Councilmember Hill with doing replacement instead of repair and stated AnnAlea Subdivision streets need to be completely replaced. Councilmember Holbert stated if $1 million is budgeted for streets and looking at the pavement plan it stays behind. Councilmember Rivera stated he would like to suggest 2.25% for merit. Human Resources Director Bill Bender stated most cities do cost of living adjustments, last year was 3% to 3.25% COLA for most cities. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated he knows that economic difficulties have changed some of that. Mayor Smith stated that the City of Friendswood is lean already. Councilmember Holbert stated it is a good thing and bad thing that sales tax is not the primary source of revenue. � Interim Director of Community Development Morad Kabiri stated commercial growth and school district work have increased. Councilmember Holbert stated what if Staff took street money out of the list and put merit back in and go back to look at again. Staff will have to figure out what to do with streets, may have to come out of reserve this year although the reserve will not handle all street needs, 10 years will flat line on revenues with the only increase being sales tax increases. It will all be CAD based and will be on a fixed income, will take 1-10 years to get there and cannot fund in that manner. Mayor Smith stated he is philosophically good with that and $200,000 is a good start for streets. Councilmember Rivera stated he is uncomfortable not having a base program for streets, it is a basic obligation, remove$600,000 off of the$800,000 requested. Police Chief Wieners stated should take off one patrol officer and possibly one vehicle if the Police Department does not get grant funding. Interim Director of Community Development Morad Kabiri stated traffic signals can be removed off Decision Packages. Councilmember Holbert stated should take off half for vehicle maintenance. Interim Director of Administrative Services Cindy Edge stated a decision is needed on the Riveron Law Firm. A-- Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated the City could rent a concrete sealing machine. 07/16/2009 3174 ..., Councilmember Hill stated should remove the facilitator for Council, is a waste of time, did good last year but his usefulness has ended. Councilmember Rivera stated the Council Coordinator position could be delayed one year. Mayor Smith stated he would like to get all Council's take on removing facilitator services. Councilmember Hill stated he was fine with that but said if citizens come to those meetings it does no good but knows they will. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated he would get input on that. Councilmember Rivera asked about replacing fire hoses and Fire Marshal Terry Byrd stated they are short on reserves. Councilmembers Holbert and Hill stated they would rather keep fire hoses since it was at the top of the list. Councilmember Holbert suggested removing the increase in retirement stipend for the Friendswood Volunteer Fire Department. Councilmember Rivera asked about playground equipment. Community Services Director James Toney stated will be able to phase in, is a replacement, can come out of the Park Dedication Fund. Mayor Smith asked about fire rescue equipment needed on fire trucks, stated most trucks have it and asked if it could be cut. Fire Marshal Terry Byrd stated it was a redundancy. Councilmember Rivera asked about the sports complex. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated that would be dependent on acquiring the park property. Community Services Director James Toney stated it depends on what time of year the City might get that property. Councilmember Hill stated should take out entryway signage. Mayor Smith stated he would hate to put off the Community Appearance Board since it has been 5 years, recommended not increasing Municipal Cost Index(MCI). Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated that he agreed. ..., Mayor Smith stated $211,000 is the average value on houses, effective rate + 3%, the cost difference between effective rate and effective rate plus 3%for average home would be approximately$36 annually. Councifinember Hill asked how much more this would generate compared to last year. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker answered $20 million in value. Mayor Smith stated it would increase revenue by $500,000 only and asked if Staff would want to go with the effective rate +3%. Councilmember Rivera stated it should be done since it has been done in the past. Councilmember Holbert stated he was okay with that. Councilmember Hill stated he did not want to raise taxes and is not comfortable with that. Mayor Smith stated Council can make that decision later, he is just trying to help the Administrative Services Office(ASO) get the budget started. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated he appreciates Council working hard on this, came in expecting nothing so anything else is gravy. Councilmember Rivera stated he appreciates Staff being frugal. Interim City Manager Roger Roecker stated getting this document to Council was not a painless process, and that Staff worked hard. ..., 07/16/2009 3175 ._.. This meeting was adjourned at 8:33 PM. 1 . Mayor Smith avid J. . Attest: , �oF FR�ENps`t el ris McKenzie, TRMC � � City Secretary v o � * �+�,�r� O� ���P� �. .....