HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2011-05-26 Special 05/26/11 3591
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STATE OF TEXAS )(
CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )(
COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )(
MAY 26, 2011 )(
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011, AT 6:30 PM AT FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 910
S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT
CONSTITUTING A QUORUM:
MAYOR DAVID SMITH
MAYOR PRO-TEM JIM HILL
COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BARKER
COUNCILMEMBER BILLY ENOCHS
COUNCILMEMBER PAT MCGINNIS
COUNCILMEMBER JOHN SCOTT
CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER
CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH
Councilmember Brown was absent from the meeting.
SPECIAL MEETING
Mayor Smith called the meeting to order.
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Mayor Smith introduced Joe Gonzalez with The Management Connection and advised that Mr. Gonzalez
will be the meeting facilitator.
Joe Gonzalez stated that one of the important things when new Councilmembers come in is for there to
be an opportunity to have open discussion and to hear the things that are important to each other and this
is where the meeting will begin. It can be topics of discussion, projects or anything as it relates to the
City. He stated the second thing to look at is that there are people who have been on Council for a while
and there are new Councilmembers so it is a transfer of knowledge as well. The goal of today is to come
out with an outline of what is important. Issues may not be resolved here but at least come to an
agreement here. He gave the guidelines for the meeting such as allow him to be the facilitator, do not
interrupt and remember that everyone brings something to the table no matter how new, this is an open
discussion with no particular order but tell what is important to each for 2010-2011 and explain why it is
important, the freer the dialogue the better.
Councilmember Enochs asked what some of the past priorities have been and Councilmember Hill stated
drainage has been the top priority for the past five years.
Councilmember Scott stated one thing that is important to him is the budget, is concerned about property
values, will have significant challenges with the uncertainty of how quickly West Ranch gets built out and
occupied and what will happen with NASA. Budget issues are important and the most pressing for him.
Councilmember McGinnis agreed with Councilmember Scott and stated the last Council Retreat was in
February and they got a late start on the budget because of the runoff election, budget is a lot to
understand. There are budget packages that are like a wish list and it is a hard process to rank order
them. They talked at the last retreat about some of the budget items but it may take another meeting to
� refine it. They discussed doing a bond election and not much has been done since then, and need to
schedule some time in the future to discuss.
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Councilmember Hill stated the Decision Packages are wish lists, and almost wishes some of them were
not in there. They are needs that will eventually be dealt with but likes to focus on the current needs and
the current revenues. The City is financially sound thanks to City Manager Roger Roecker because he is
tight with the taxpayer's dollars. If Friendswood is not careful they could be in the other cities' financial
boat eventually.
Joe Gonzalez asked the Councilmembers with a longer tenure what would be helpful for a new person to
know.
Councilmember Barker stated there are no shortcuts with the budget, just have to open up and start
receiving all of the data, takes a good year to understand the process and is always a challenge. Council
needs to look at the five year Capital Improvement Plan, gets more done in this type of work session than
in a Council meeting and his opinion is that they need to do more of these work sessions.
Councilmember McGinnis suggested smaller budget work sessions that are closer together, read through
the entire budget book before the meetings started and his head was spinning, suggested a special
meeting just for the Staff to make presentations and not for Council to make decisions.
Councilmember Barker stated it takes about three meetings to get arms around the budget process as
well as taking it home and studying it. He stated there is no magic solution on how to do it, and takes a
good year to understand.
Joe Gonzalez asked about common mistakes that are made in approaching the budget.
Councilmember Barker stated one mistake is assuming there is more fat in the budget than there really is,
thought there were many places to cut when first elected and there was not. The City is run pretty lean, """
Decision Packages can be looked at differently than the budget, and there can be decisions between
needs and wants.
Councilmember Hill stated that Staff will usually over-budget so that they do not need to ask for more
money and would rather them over-budget, and is unique to Friendswood that unused funds go back into
the General Fund and reserves. He stated one of his pet peeves is that he believes the City spends too
much money on Staff travel but knows they need it for education. He stated this is his sixth budget
process and hopes this budget will be a wash rather than a loss, sympathizes with the new
Councilmembers because it is almost like reading the Bible in a couple of months in order to know
everything in it.
Joe Gonzalez asked Councilmember McGinnis to share his input and suggested the new
Councilmembers come up with questions to ask the Councilmembers with more tenure.
Councilmember McGinnis stated there is no getting around that they will have to sit down and go through
the budget book, likes the idea of three or four dedicated budget workshops would help to digest and
understand it while not feeling rushed to make decisions.
Joe Gonzalez asked if the goal is to have three or four workshops on the budget and everyone agreed
that it is the goal.
Councilmember Hill stated this is a great atmosphere for good honest discussions, when Staff is in the
meetings they are pitching for the things they genuinely want and need and wonders if some meetings
can be done with Staff in attendance and others without Staff in attendance.
Councilmember Barker suggested having separate meetings, the first one with Staff and the next one �"
with Council, and Councilmember Hill agreed.
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Joe Gonzalez asked Councilmembers Scott and Enochs what they heard so far and what questions do
they need to ask and Councilmember Scott stated one thing he heard was that he would like to see each
department present the priorities rather than for Council to prioritize for them, then if cuts need to be
made they can be made across the board and everyone can absorb the pain. Councilmember Hill stated
the budget will be given to Council with Staff's priorities listed and Councilmember Scott stated he would
like a 1-10 list so if there is not enough money, number 10 will be removed and so forth through the list.
Councilmember Hill stated those are called Decision Packages. Councilmember McGinnis stated he
thought that was done between Staff and City Manager before it gets to Council.
Councilmember Barker stated Council is given a list of projects Staff has to have and a separate list of
projects Staff would like to have, last year he focused on how much electricity the City uses but after
research and discussions with Staff he discovered there is not much that can be done about it.
City Manager Roger Roecker explained the multi-year financial plan for the next five years. The first year
of the plan is the basis for the next years' budget and then Staff will continue to develop their Decision
Packages which are extra items that are needed and are presented along with a justification for them. He
stated rather than the departments filing their budget needs and bringing it to him, Staff gets together as a
team and those needs get vetted and defended to each other and then there is a prioritization after that
together as a team, and that list gets fed into the budget. Staff also projects revenue to see what the
revenue will be, seventy percent of the General Fund budget is personnel because the City is a service
oriented business. Staff then delivers a budget on or before August 1 as a proposed, balanced budget.
Council may not see all of the items that "fell to the ground" unless they request that list. Many Staff
meetings occur before Council sees the balanced budget.
,,,_, Councilmember Hill stated the biggest piece of the pie is given to Public Safety as it should be.
Joe Gonzalez asked what the learning moments the tenured Councilmembers had that would help the
new Councilmembers.
Councilmember McGinnis stated he eventually came around to how Councilmember Hill feels about the
budget and sees that it is already lean. He stated he asks a lot of questions and has learned to trust Staff
more than he did a year ago.
Joe Gonzalez asked the new Councilmembers what they have learned and asked if they had any
questions.
Councilmember Scott stated he looks forward to having the workshops and understanding the budget, is
looking forward to breaking it down, knows they are required to have a balanced budget but is concerned
about forecasting revenues in a bad economy.
Councilmember Enochs asked how soon does Council get a proposed budget in hand so that they can
start digging in and would there be any value in getting a copy of the current budget to get a grasp of
understanding.
Councilmember McGinnis stated he looked at last year's budget to review and it correlate the trends and
Councilmember Hill agreed that he does the same thing.
Councilmember Enochs asked how soon the proposed budget will be available and Roger Roecker
stated on or before August 1, 2011, and a copy of the current budget is available immediately online and
in their mail cubbies.
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Joe Gonzalez stated the budget is stressful and has noticed the dynamics between Council and Staff, the
expectations from constituents and the conflict. He stated he wants to create some expectations on how
the process and the meetings should be conducted and what the expectation should be when conflict
arises.
Councilmember Barker stated that when one Councilmember states something during the meetings Staff
tends to assign it to all of the Council so Councilmembers should be aware of that perception when they
make a statement because it can create misunderstandings and misconceptions galore.
Councilmember Hill stated everyone should express their opinions and try to get their questions
answered but always be civil because Council reflects Friendswood by their actions. If a battle is lost
then take the vote and move on. He stated he does not think the budget is that contentious but the
Decision Packages can be. Everyone is here to deliver the best service at the best price.
Councilmember McGinnis stated he woufd sum it up by saying not to take it personally, has learned to
walk away and say goodnight to everyone and tomorrow is a new day. He stated he hopes the Staff does
not take it personally either. Roger Roecker stated Staff strives not to take it personally and understands
that it is a business exchange, civility goes a long way, is not Staff's budget, it is the City's budget and
Staff is here to serve. Staff brings to Council what their needs are and when Council makes their decision
Staff provides the best service possible. If Staff is treated civilly along the way, Staff has no issues.
Joe Gonzalez asked Mayor Smith if there were any other suggestions or things to remember and Mayor
Smith stated they have touched on most of it but there are a few things he would add. To go through the
process well it must first be decided if the inherited philosophy will be embraced. He stated that the City
Manager described the practicality of it earlier and talked about the trust factor and the understanding
factor and how those things come together. He stated the financial philosophy is different here because '"'""`
nobody does it the way Friendswood does it and believes it is because the City has evolved past a lot of
the problems government has because of it. He stated it may not always work but it works now, is
ultimately derived from the City Charter that this is a Council-Manager form of government, and Council's
trust of Staff and the work they do to bring a balanced budget by fighting the battles in the boardroom with
Senior Staff before bringing it to Council. He stated that the earlier Council becomes involved and gives
direction to Staff the easier it is, sometimes the process gets in the way but if Staff knows there is trust
they will not spend every nickel because it might get cut next year if they do not. If Staff knows that
Council will not take the money away just because it did not get spent by the end of the year they will
have a higher level of trust. He encouraged Council to understand that process and why it is done that
way and stated the tough part is to decide how to pay for the Decision Packages. The real challenge is
knowing there are still needs in the community that may not be able to be fulfilled so Council must decide
collectively where they want to go. He stated not to put Staff in the middle of an argument between
Councilmembers because that is a tough spot for them, and be sure to clarify the goal if information is
needed from them.
Councilmember Barker stated the City Manager allows Councilmembers to talk to Staff, a lot of cities do
not allow it and it is a privilege, it can be taken away if it is abused.
Mayor Smith stated Council enjoys a relationship with senior Staff that most cities do not have, is a
privilege and not a right. If it is abused it will be taken away and progress will slow down.
Councilmember Hill stated he goes to Staff because it eliminates the middle man and Staff always gladly
provides the information and he gets answers quickly.
Mayor Smith stated another piece of advice is do not surprise people and do not wait until the last minute
to bring new ideas, do not maneuver to get wants because it is not a good process. If there are goals �
they should be brought up and they should go through the same process that Staff does. Councilmember
Barker stated he calls it being "c�ever" and when Council tries to be"clever"they get in trouble every time.
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Mayor Stated there is a difference between playing politics with one another and helping each other make
the best decisions they possibly can. He stated he cannot be all things to all people but if he is willing to
listen to what other people's ideas are and to explore the possibilities of them and they help make a good
decision for Friendswood then all win. He stated sometimes there is the eighth Councilmember in the
room which is the public and trying to "beaY' another Councilmember at an idea is not a good process and
is not healthy.
Facilitator Joe Gonzalez asked if there is anything else that anyone wants to say about the budget
process itself.
Mayor Smith stated one does not have to wait for a Council meeting to ask questions.
City Manager Roger Roecker stated he understands that Council would like to have more, shorter
meetings closer together to get further down the road quicker and Council concurred that was correct.
Roger Roecker stated Council Chambers is not designed for work sessions and they have met in other
places and asked if ineeting in places other than City Hall was acceptable.
Councilmember Barker stated he likes to be able to see eye to eye, and is much more comfortable doing
meetings this way because it gets more done.
Councilmember Hill stated he has no problem with meeting in the library, Council Chambers, or Amoco
Credit Union room, and does not believe the public will be interested in the budget meetings.
Mayor Smith stated one must acknowledge that it is not perfect because it is difficult for the public to see
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everything Council sees and have the opportunity to meet with Staff, and wonders if it would be a good
idea to set aside one meeting for the public so that they can come and ask questions.
Councilmember Scott stated it is a great idea, and they could have the meeting outside.
Councilmember Hill stated he does not think they would show up and would be confusing to them.
Mayor Smith stated it is frustrating when the process has been six to eight months in length and then the
public comes up and says Council is all wet, giving them an opportunity to speak may diminish that.
Councilmember Scott stated meeting on dates other than weekends is good and to make the effort on a
date that is convenient to the public, get it out there on the website, on emails, etcetera and if nobody
shows then nobody shows but at least the City made an effort to give an opportunity.
Councilmember McGinnis stated they have had workshops with City committees, and maybe Council can
meet where they met instead of the Council Chambers.
Councilmember Enochs stated he agrees with Mayor Smith that meeting in Council Chambers is the best
option because everyone knows Council meets in Council Chambers, thinks the simpler and more
predictable it can be kept, the less likely that it looks cloak and dagger.
Joe Gonzalez asked what has been taken away from this meeting.
Councilmember McGinnis stated this is a great way to start a new Council with this kind of ineeting.
Councilmember Scott stated they have to work together, and not on personal agendas.
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Councilmember Enochs stated they have to work as a team with no personal agendas and do not take
conflicts personally.
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Councilmember Hill stated he learned to listen to others because they sometimes have good ideas.
Councilmember Barker stated it is all about team building right now and this is a very good beginning.
Mayor Smith stated he agrees with everyone about the philosophy of helping each other as much as
possible is the key.
Councilmember Enochs stated City Secretary Melinda Welsh and City Manager Roger Roecker have
helped him get started, this is about team building and doing the City's business the best it can be done.
Joe Gonzalez asked what is important to each Councilmember and why is it important.
Councilmember Barker stated he would like to see the Wight lawsuit issue and the City Attorney issue
resolved before he leaves Council, is a 1,000 pound gorilla in the room all of the time but the City
Attorney issue needs to be addressed first.
Councilmember McGinnis stated other things that have caused some friction would be Council's Rules of
Procedure and the Committee Appointment Policy, have been disagreements in the past so there may
need to be a subcommittee to work on those issues. Councilmember Barker stated those issues go hand
in hand with the upcoming City Charter Review.
Councilmember Hill stated he is the Council Liaison for the Planning and Zoning Commission and it takes
two or three Saturdays to have a 20 minute interview with everyone who turned in an application to be on
the Planning and Zoning Commission and got a real good feel for applicants, was a great way to vett
people, was not a perfect process but it worked well for them.
Councilmember McGinnis stated establishing the Council Liaisons is important, has enjoyed his liaison '"°`
roles and is one of the best parts of his job as a Councilmember.
Councilmember Enochs stated he would like to look at the Friendswood Volunteer Fire Department
(FVFD) Retirement Fund that has been shot down three years in a row. Friendswood is behind other
neighboring cities. Councilmember Barker stated the last three years have been in the conservative
mode and Council has held back on raises because of the economy. Mayor Smith stated they did
increase the FVFD stipend last year.
Councilmember Enochs stated citizens need education on the $6 fund for the Emergency Medical
Services (EMS), would like to address the Master Parks Plan, future development and what is left to be
developed, what is going to happen when Friendswood is built out, and wants to reduce the City's debt
ratio.
Joe Gonzalez stated that the focus needs to be on team building and talking to each other so with that
thought is there more to discuss tonight or do they want to walk away with a sense of achievement.
Councilmember Enochs stated that there are finro new Councilmembers here tonight and thinks it would
be good from a team building aspect to ask what the guiding principals are for Council and are they still in
line with what Council wants to accomplish in the next year. He stated that City Manager and Staff does
a great job, has seen and heard that but is not so sure the citizens know that so there may need to be
education and increased visibility.
Joe Gonzalez stated that Council did good tonight, laid a groundwork and will lay it out and bring it back
to them. He asked how they felt about the work they did today.
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Councilmember Scott stated he has a good idea for what to do to go forward, to work as a team and have
open, civil dialogue while expressing ideas and doing the best to represent the public.
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Councilmember Enochs stated this is a great way to get started and to see where others are coming
from.
Councilmember McGinnis stated it is a great way to start with a new Council.
Councilmember Barker stated communication is the first thing in team building and thinks they have
established communication and the beginning of a rapport.
Councilmember Hill stated they have established that working together achieves goals but is disappointed
that they did not lay out any goals, would have liked to have each Councilmember state his top three
goals for the year. His goals are to get a new law firm, to find some solution to the Wight lawsuit, and for
Council to act respectable and represent citizens well.
Councilmember Barker stated his is to settle the Wight lawsuit, the City Attorney decision, the City
Charter review, and a new five year Capital Improvement Plan. They got 80 percent of the first five year
plan completed but citizens do not know what has been done.
Councilmember Scott stated he likes the five year plan idea, would like to get moving on the plans that
are in place such as the Parks Master Plan, would like to work on the budget, funding for capital
improvement projects and the ongoing litigation.
Councilmember Enochs stated goals are getting the litigation out of the way, would like to hear lessons
learned from that issue and to get the City Attorney issue resolved.
Councilmember Barker stated he believes in the team issue. When he became Councilmember he put a
"� sign on the wal�that states"T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More" and he really believes that.
Councilmember McGinnis stated he will still support public/private partnerships, alternate funding, and
recommended that the new Councilmembers attend the Texas Municipal League's (TML) session for
newly elected officials. TML is also hosting a statewide conference in Houston and believes all should
attend if it would not violate the Open Meetings Act.
Mayor Smith stated the biggest challenge before Council is long-range planning and the funding that
supports it, would like to see Council step up to the challenge and see how to meet it. He stated he feels
good about the work today, and sees the philosophy of luck. Luck happens when preparedness and
opportunity come together, and what he is hearing from all is that everyone is willing to be prepared, is
getting a feeling that this is a Council that is willing to self manage, ideas cannot be managed or fostered
by one person and is encouraged by the comments.
Councilmember Enochs stated he would like more information regarding the Open Meetings Act and the
Open Records Act, and City Manager Roger Roecker stated it will be covered in the upcoming New
Councilmember Orientation.
Mayor Smith thanked Facilitator Joe Gonzalez for his professionalism and for doing a good job.
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This meeting was adjourned at 8:08 PM.
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