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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05202009BUDt11Y OF fil~~'ASTL -~ . ~ =. HOME OF FELiC~N IStAND CITY OF SEBASTIAN CITIZENS BUDGET REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES May 20, 2009 @ 6:00 p.m. 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FL 32958 The Citizens Budget Advisory Review Committee Meeting convened at 6:00 p.m. 2. Ed Herlihy led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Adrina Davis -Notice Received of Expected Absence Ed Herlihy -Present Jerry Klenck -Absent Charles Cardinale -Present Brad White -Absent Joan Rivard -Present Chris Vicars -Present Staff Members present: Al Minner, City Manager Ken Killgore, Finance Director Debbie Kruger, Human Resources Director Joe Griffin, Airport Director Selection of Chairperson: Charles Cardinale nominated Ed Herlihy as Chairperson. Approved 4-0. Selection of Vice-Chair: Ed Herlihy nominated Charles Cardinale. Approved 4-0. 6. Approval of Minutes of July 21, 2008 Meeting: Motion to approve by Ed Herlihy, second by Charles Cardinale. Approved 4-0. 7. Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Introduction - Ci Manager: Al Minner described the changes we have experienced over the past few years to the City's major revenue and expenditure categories; the City's desire to maintain around $5 million in cash reserves for disaster recovery purposes and the need to avoid large withdrawals. Each of the ten recommended budget relief measures that were outlined in his March 3, 2009 memo to the City Council were explained and then he went on to cover the organizational modifications that he had just shared with the City Council via his May 19, 2009 memo. These modifications had been instituted to strengthen the City's organizational structure and to provide budgetary savings but this was also necessary because the previously recommended budget relief measure of suspending the Riverfront Community Redevelopment Agency had been reconsidered. Page 1 of 3 Member Discussion: Charles Cardinale asked about the savings from furlough days and Al Minner replied that the savings for each day would be approximately $25,000. He then questioned whether a four day work week was considered and Al Minner said this was still being looked at but study thus far had indicated there would be very little saved. Documentation will be brought to the next meeting to show the calculations. Regarding what activity there has been with the Riverfront Community Redevelopment Agency other than the signage grants, the City Manager mentioned the Main Street parking lot/boat ramp project is almost complete and stated that we would like to make improvements to the Cavcor Parking Lot and also consider undergrounding utilities for the purpose of improving the aesthetics of the area. As to how we were doing on the number of permits being issued, the City Manager replied that we are only issuing about one residential permit per month on average. When asked about the City's policy on foreclosures, the City Manager replied that we have been attempting to enforce the nuisance abatement code and that Staff's workload has increased due to being very active on this. It was believed that about 400 homes were in the process of foreclosure. As to whether we were going to be getting stimulus funds, the City Manager said we were expecting three years of funding for two police officers under the COPs program and that we also expect to receive funds to rebuild the road base and resurface a portion of Barber Street. Joan Rivard noted that she observed that property values were stabilizing and questioned why ad valorem taxes are being projected to decline in future years. The City Manager explained that we were intentionally conservative and that there was a lag, since taxable values are set as of the previous January 1St. She questioned the cost of health insurance for employees and whether we have looked at self-insurance or the possibility of opening a clinic like what was planned for Vero Beach. The City Manager explained the City's costs and stated that the essential problem is that our City is not large enough to institute such a program without an undue amount of risk. We are watching what other entities are doing in this regard but we don't think it would be prudent at this time. She asked about the $849,000 shown in the memo as Interfund Transfers and whether they would change. These include the $500,000 transfer from the Stormwater Fund to offset General Fund's costs of swale maintenance, plus some other transfers that are also for the purpose of reimbursing the General Fund. These transfers are not anticipated to increase from year to year. Chris Vicars indicated she was also interested in considering a reduced work week and looked forward to reviewing the documentation the City Manager will bring to the next meeting. She asked about the possibility of partnering with another agency, like Palm Bay for employee health insurance and the City Manager affirmed that we will continue to look at that type of option. She noted that she had questions about the Administrative Services Department but they had already been addressed. Ed Herlihy noted that expecting a 15% reduction in taxable values may be too optimistic and the City Manager agreed that it could very possibly be a higher percentage. Rhetorically, the question was asked that should we experience another bad year, what will we do then? He questioned whether we are paying too much by covering 100% of the employee health insurance. The City Manager replied that he is not comfortable in addressing that this year due to the pay freezes and furlough days but this could be an area we look at in the future. We will do some surveys to compare ourselves with other agencies. It was suggested that such changes could be phased in. He commended the City Manager on the reorganization. He questioned whether a hiatus was a possibility on the Police bargaining agreement's pay increases due next year but the City Manager cautioned that such a proposal was a card that would need to be played very carefully. He believes we should also look at things we could contract out and the City Manager replied that we had done that with some things, such as ditch maintenance and Golf Course maintenance but cautioned that you may lose control and flexibility. We recently received bids on ditch and right-of--way maintenance work that will Page 2 of 3 result in lowing that cost. He commented that he does not support using cash reserves and doesn't want them touched. With the number of foreclosures, he is very concerned about how they will affect us in future years. Charles Cardinale questioned whether the lower cost for ditch and right-of--way maintenance also meant that we will have less service and the City Manager said we expect to keep the same level of service. As to the number of furlough days, the City Manager replied that he was planning on having one day per month. Ed Herlihy proposed that the Committee schedule a workshop in mid-June with the purpose of having the Committee Members throw out ideas and have further discussion. The City Manager can provide any material that he feels is important but a presentation is not expected. Joan Rivard asked what percent of the budget we were keeping as reserves and the City Manager replied that they were currently about 42%. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Ed Herlihy, Chairinan Citizens Budget Review Committee Approved at the June 18, 2009 Citizens Budget Review Committee Meeting Page 3 of 3