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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07122010Budget AGENDAHOME OF PELICAN ISLAND CITY OF SEBASTIAN CITIZENS BUDGET REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA MONDAY JULY 12, 2010, 2010 6:00 PM CITY HALL 1225 MAIN STREET CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call 4. Approval of Minutes June 14, 2010 5. City Manager Presentation 6. Review Recommended Fiscal Year 2011 Proposed Annual Budget 7. Public Input 8. Approvals and Recommendations 9. Adjournment 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Roll Call: Members Absent: Brad White (unexcused) 4. Approval of Minutes May 3, 2010 CITY OF HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND City of Sebastian Citizens Budget Review Advisory Board Minutes Monday, June 14, 2010 6:00 p.m. City Council Chambers, City Hall 1225 Main Street Sebastian, Florida 1. Chairman Herlihy called the Citizens Budget Review Advisory Board meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Members Present: Ed Herlihy (Chairman), Adrina Davis, Jerry Klenck, Edward Kroah, Harry Marshall, Christine Vicars Staff Present: City Manager, Al Minner; Administrative Services Director, Debra Krueger; Finance Director, Ken Killgore; City Clerk, Sally Maio; Police Chief, Michelle Morris Jerry Klenck requested correction to the bottom of page two to state that Melbourne and Eau Gallie were to merge into a "city" rather than a "county MOTION by Jerry Klenck and SECOND by Mr. Davis to approve the May 3, 2010 minutes as amended passed on a voice vote of 6 -0. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Two 5. Review Recommended Fiscal Year 2011 Proposed Annual Budget (proposed budget attached) The City Manager gave a power point presentation and elaborated on certain of the issues. The power point slides are attached as Exhibit A. In regard to the municipal garage issue, he said staff had looked at contracting services, and though there is not a final answer on this, he recommended, after explaining the differences between in -house and contract cost scenarios, retaining the current garage position for 2011. He said this was based on cost unknowns, union provisions which would allow bumping and eliminate a position elsewhere in the City, and questions of management of a contract system. He said he has frozen the purchasing ability of the garage personnel at this time, so that purchasing can be tracked to determine if there is an inventory issue. In closing he said we are currently $101,268 in the red, and listed the proposed balancing measures (see slides for list). Updated Assessed values numbers will probably go up in July when new estimates come in Reserve Spending can use reserves Tax Levels can adjust Personnel Benefits noted that certain of the options are items which would have to be negotiated with the two unions such as health care contribution of $25 per person per pay period, stopping longevity which would save $16,000 in 2011, restricting take home vehicles. He said he believes we can present to Council a 3.3456 millage rate, noted that residential sales are starting to move and as long as we have movement it will stabilize the assessed value numbers in future years and will eventually start to grow, and said we need to plan smaller increments of growth. He cited the weaknesses of the plan are that we are continuing to rob Peter to pay Paul, Peter being the special revenue funds (local option gas tax, stormwater fund) and Paul being the general fund. He cautioned that these transfer levels cannot continue into future years, but to fix that this year, millage would have to be increased to 3.6124 mills. The City Manager did not address special revenue funds or enterprise funds and suggested the Board may want to consider one meeting to discuss those funds. Chairman Herlihy asked for any questions from the Board. Mr. Davis asked how personnel took the information on the $25 per pay period health insurance contribution, and the City Manager said not well, noting that personnel has taken it on the chin the last couple of years with furloughs, no merit, no COLA and now we are asking them to do it again. He said, however, he would not be doing his job if he were not being competitive, stating the market is currently favoring the employer and the City needs to take advantage of that and has to make tough choices. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Three Jerry Klenck said he had submitted a handout prior to the meeting (see handout attached) and was trying to figure out why there was a $55,000 figure cited for one employee. The Administrative Services Director said we have dropped two positions at the garage. The City Manager referred back to his slide on the garage and explained how the figures were derived. Mr. Klenck said staff showed two and one half employees and then dropped one employee from last year and it went down $55,000. The City Manager said we are trying to keep a garage with two employees, one mechanic and one assistant and that is a reduction, that at one time was it was three and one half and is now two. He said we lost two full timers this year and thinks if we keep the garage, we need two full time employees and if we contract it out we still need to keep the mechanic and that will cost us $55,000. He reiterated if we keep a garage we will have two full- timers which will put us in the area of $107,000, if we contract it will be one full- timer. He said the argument is, if we go to contract, do we need to keep the existing position, and he would argue we don't, but because he has agreed to certain things in a contract he can't just eliminate the position, because that person would then be eligible to bump and then he would lose another position. The City Manager said the reason he didn't bid out the garage was because of uncertainty of how we manage repairs noting there are things he can control when it is in- house. He also said he didn't want to do it just to test the market place, bid it out, see the numbers and then not do anything. He said if there was a bigger gap in costs he would have done it. He invited Jerry Klenck to give him an appropriate number and they would look at it. Jerry Klenck said he put numbers in his submittal. The City Manager said he's been slapped in the face when people don't get the bid, and again invited Jerry Klenck to get with him and Ms. Krueger, saying he was not closing the door on it. Mr. Davis said we don't want to start bumping and asked about the freeze on inventory. The Finance Director said there has been a growth of inventory at the garage over the last several years and staff's belief is they were stocking up on things and staff wants to get another look at the operation in an effort to reduce costs if possible. The City Manager explained that as we have cut personnel, certain folks in management are rushed and hurried and don't have time to think about the next five minutes, and that as we've lost people in the garage the inventory has taken a beating, for example a couple of alternators go so he stocks up on them. He said we need to settle down, take it as it comes and just manage the inventory a little better. Jerry Klenck described how his company handled bumping issues. The City Manager said if we are looking for contract garage services it is to minimize our cost, and if he bids out and hears $30 for an oil change he wants to spread the wealth around. Jerry Klenck responded you contract out to one business, not the whole City. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Four The City Manager said we don't know until we go out to bid and seeing that we are not going to save that much we don't want to bid out this year. Chairman Herlihy said this situation occurred when he was in New Hampshire and the city kept the garage. The City Manager said after review it did not shape up to be worth the fight, but it doesn't mean we don't want to farm it out, we want to save costs, but you lose some leverage when you contract out and the non tangible thing we get into is what is the in -house benefit we are losing. Chairman Herlihy said in regard to inventory problems, auto supply businesses may have a program whereby they stock for you and the parts are there when you need them. The City Manager said procurement becomes a problem and has to be managed because all vendors want a piece of the City's money, and if he uses one he's got five others calling Council and has a lot of masters to please. Jerry Klenck said there should be a points system for hiring local people and the City Manager said that is in place now, there is a local option for purchasing, and cited as an example landscaping material. Ms. Vicars suggested furloughs be on the six paid Monday holidays so that the community loses Tess service than they are currently losing with the furlough system in place. The City Manager explained the creation of the furlough system to make it convenient for employees and Finance for payroll processing. He said using unpaid holidays had been considered, noting the Police Department gets double time for holiday pay and there could be some savings there and we could take that to the table. Christine Vicars reiterated there are six holiday Mondays. The City Manager said there is currently nothing in place that measures furlough service issues, that out in the field we are okay and he has not received one complaint from anyone, noting the Building Department is the only department that would need to be in service five days per week. Christine Vicars asked about the 50% dependent coverage, and Ms. Krueger said employees already pay that. Christine Vicars asked if anyone had considered trying to bring an Amtrak station to Sebastian and the City Manager said he has had conversations with the region and they advised we are not in the demographic circle and that we should not apply. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Five Ed Kroah inquired about the 185 retirement fund going up 40 and the City Manager responded that this is the Police Pension fund which is actuarial and prepares officers ready for retirement at age 55 after 20 years of service. He said the pension fund has three sources, the State funds about $150,000, the employee pays in 5 and the City picks up the rest. He said this is governed by FS 185 and the City has to fund them at "x" levels to be eligible for State money. Ed Kroah asked if this year we were underfunding, and the City Manager said the number went up $150,000, a sore spot for him in how we continue to fund it, and he wants to talk to the PD about this when we sit down to negotiate. Ed Kroah asked if this is the same as for health insurance which indicates different percentages. The City Manager said this is based on employees opting in or out and numbers vary but the City is still covering 50% of dependent coverage. Mr. Kroah said, as an example, the City Clerk's Office shows at 5% and Growth Management drops to 14 The City Manager said someone may or may not be in it, and that he has to double check figures. Chairman Herlihy asked if the numbers in the proposed budget are based on the new bid numbers for health insurance and the City Manager said that was correct and that health insurance was going to Council on June 23 Jerry Klenck asked whether anyone had checked with Florida League of Cities on the local option gas tax increase, and on mandatory solid waste. The City Manager said Council doesn't want to go to mandatory solid waste. Jerry Klenck asked if it was political or based on budget, and the City Manager said any time he had spoken to any member of Council they say they do not want to force people to pay a collection fee. Jerry Klenck said he'd never been anywhere that there was not mandatory solid waste disposal. Jerry Klenck asked if anyone checked on turning off some of the FPL street lights, and the Administrative Services Director said Dennis Pagano of FPL had advised staff that they do not have the capabilities of turning on and off the lights. Mr. Klenck asked for a copy of this in writing and Ms. Krueger said Mr. Pagano had stated this to Linda Kinchen in Public Works who then provided the information to her. Ms. Krueger said she was also told it would cost the City more to turn lights on and off. Jerry Klenck asked if the Chief was in attendance for a status report about police vehicles. He said he was looking at how many people there are in the different offices. He asked if the City had a policy that required personnel to live in the City, and the City Manager responded only the two Charter Officers were required to live in the City. Mr. Klenck said residency for police officers in Chicago is required and said maybe this is something the City may want to look at. The City Manager said he agreed on a certain level and thought on a management level it may be a good idea for its folks to live in the community, but from his experience in the past year, you can't always get people to live in limits, noting at one time Sebastian was unaffordable and you start reducing your qualification pools and people are harder to recruit, and he would not recommend this to Council. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Six Jerry Klenck noted seven volunteer vehicles and asked the number of Police volunteers and the Chief responded 23. Mr. Klenck asked how often they work, but the response was not audible. Jerry Klenck noted the Police Department takes their vehicles home and asked was staff looking to change that, and the City Manager said potentially. Harry Marshall said he appreciated that PD takes cars home, but this is the City of Sebastian and the sight of cars at home should be a benefit to people in the City of Sebastian who pay for them. The City Manager agreed with him, and said they may negotiate shrinking the area, which is currently a 20 mile radius, to perhaps 5 mile radius or some other number for taking vehicles home. Harry Marshall asked how many vehicles there are in the fleet, and the City Manager responded 60, and Mr. Marshall suggested contracting out services on six of the 60 and then the City will have data on 10% of the fleet and could then extrapolate that information out to the entire fleet. The City Manager said that was a point well taken, he thought we could look at preventative maintenance and look at that going forward. Mr. Marshall said he thought we were hurting ourselves by not at least testing a percentage to get a handle on whether there are any benefits. Jerry Klenck said he'd seen in the newspaper that Fellsmere has been doing Tots of annexations and asked why we are we not in front of those people. The City Manager discussed the ISBA situation in which the governments in Indian River County tried to map out territories for each, noting Fellsmere's annexation were political and residential based, and the City did not have a political base to pursue residential based annexation at this time. Jerry Klenck said he was talking about the commercial site near 1 -95, and the City Manager said they built their commercial annexations off of other residential type annexations and could get to that parcel when we couldn't. He said the City has gone out and talked to other folks to see if they are interested in annexations to Sebastian. Jerry Klenck discussed the idea of annexing Roseland, and the City Manager said he will not put out a feeler to Roseland unless he is directed by the Council. Chairman Herlihy stated in regard to police cars, we have an operations group with about 31 people, i.e., one captain, four sergeants and 26 officers and 27 vehicles, which means practically everyone in the department has a car, and asked if that was proper. The City Manager said that has to be reviewed during budget review and did not have specific details, said the Chief has requested seven cars for 2011 and he has not yet discussed this with her, said he sees the numbers and see cars collecting and although car purchases comes from DST fund, it does affect the general fund. He said this will be discussed during special revenues discussion. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Seven Chief Morris said she had submitted a memo about the three month arrest report. Mr. Klenck said he sees Tots of no's in the closed column of the report, and the Chief said that means they are still under investigation or there has been a lack of prosecution on the case. Mr. Klenck said they say "completed" and the Chief said this means the report is completed, not the investigation. The City Manager, in response to Chairman Herlihy, said we will have revised property value numbers in early July. The Finance Director noted the next meeting of the Budget Review Advisory Board is July 19. The City Manager listed the important dates from the budget calendar: 7/16/10 proposed budget is sent out to Council updated with revised numbers and the CIP 7/19/10 Budget Review Advisory Board meeting at which we can talk about DR 420 as an agenda item 6 pm 8/9/10 Budget meeting 3rd quarterly report 6 pm 8/23/10 Council budget workshop at which time the Board's recommendation will be made 5:30 pm 9/13/10 first Council budget hearing 9/22/10 would be the second budget hearing but it did not show on the calendar, therefore the calendar will be revised and resent. Chairman Herlihy requested the 7/19/10 Budget meeting be at the dais and broadcast. Mr. Killgore said the Board will make its recommendation to Council on 8/23/10. The City Manager said he did not want anyone thinking if we differ on an issue he is being adversarial, that he and Mr. Killgore and Ms. Krueger are three people doing what they think is in the best interest of City of Sebastian, that they implement policy that they don't always create. He said to Mr. Klenck that he brought up issues that are not administrative in nature but are policy decisions, and if the Board agrees with his ideas such as solid waste and annexations, they could make a motion collectively to Council, and that they should not stop just because he didn't agree with an idea. He said he takes his marching orders from his bosses and apologized if anyone thought his responses were short. Mr. Herlihy asked Mr. Klenck asked if he watched the last Council meeting, and if so, he might have gotten the flavor that Roseland doesn't at all want to do what he is proposing Chairman Herlihy said on July 19` the Board will be making a recommendation on the millage rate, we'll see the numbers and make a decision and we'll discuss it in detail. He advised that anyone can present thoughts and ideas they want to communicate to other members, they should be put in a memo sent to the Finance Director ahead of time to give everyone time for review, and made a part of the public record, copied to the City Manager and ultimately to the Clerks office for the record. Jerry Klenck asked if we can vote by proxy because he would be away, and it was deemed not to be appropriate. Citizens Budget Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2010 Page Eight Chairman Herlihy said we don't know the situation with Brad White, and then Adrina Davis said he would be away on the 19 as well. 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O Iri t Co IC) 07 N N I 47 47 10 44 44 IC) m:; O m; 0 m m, CO In' (o N 0) N 0 N mss'. 44' 44 h N N ti M1 N 07 O i0 47 M 0. ICS i0 N M CC m 2 v CC w Ii a s to (4 's y` a m c D W 7 2 La tO 51. c L of CL o. 1-. N; Dc W W j 7 a `o' a, W vs 2 0' a O 3 c a w E 0 a o'' 0: 0 c 1 w o: m rn W a• c f a, ox m a m a p `a W m co 0 o A' a z a M. L7 W o d 0 0 d 3 I i 4 0 4, w 0 Ir. CC c 4 b.A CU O O A A A A A 00 Closing vehicle maintence and subletting city vehicles maintence out to the public sector central garage division code 010054 Looking at the proposed budget. it looks like we are laying off one employee,taking about $55,000.00 out of the budget ,which is way out of line for one employee.Taking out the beneifits paid this employee, comes to almost another $12,000.00,which also seems out of Iine.Should we add just these two items in the proposed budget for yr. 10/11 we are back to the 200,000.00 figure, which is still lower than our average actual budgets since for yr, 06/07. Should we close the entire garage operation and sublet the maintence out on a bid system, open to businesses in sebastian we should cut about $200.000.00from the budget. The city could put into the bid, if legal that whomever wins the bid needs to hire the one mehanic that they were going to keep under certain conditions. I did not fine the cost of oil,filters and other maintance parts in the budget, so this also can be more savings we can put in the bid what and how much of these items are usually used each year. One big item is tires. The bid would have to include the things necessary for the bidders to be eligible like proper insurance, eguipment licenses EPA certificates, ect. Points could be used for businesses that employes people that live in sebastian, local owership ect. The bid would need labor rates and parts discounts. Actual budget for yr. 06/07 $283,884.00 for yr. 08/09 $218,740.00 for yr 07/08 $158,370.00 for yr. 09/10 $211.868.00 Amended bidget for yr. 09/10 $211,761.00 Proposed budget for yr. 10/11 $131,534.00 much lower than the previous years Submitted by Jerry Klenck 772 388 -2555 QTYOF HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND CITY OF SEBASTIAN BUDGET REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD WORKSHOP MONDAY, May 17, 2010 6:05 P.M CITY MANAGER'S CONFERENCE ROOM 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Chairman Ed Herlihy called the Citizens Budget Review Advisory Committee meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Present: Ed Herlihy, Jerry Klenck, Edward Kroah, Harry Marshall, Adrina Davis Absent were Christine Vicars and Brad White. Staff Members Present: Debra Krueger- Administrative Services Director; Kenneth Killgore- Finance Director. Chairman Herlihy advised that what he was hoping to do tonight was discuss the upcoming budget, set the scene and allow the board to talk about it. Some information has come up since he wrote the memo dated April 21, 2010. With Sebastian Property Tax, he looked at cities the same size as Sebastian. Cities such as New Smyrna Beach, Casselberry, Rockledge, they have about $7- 8 mil range in Ad Valorem, and we are in the $4 mil range. This is the reason that Ken Small told us back in March that our Police Department cost us more than our Ad Valorem tax. Our Police Depaitnient cost us 4.6+ and our Ad Valorem is 3.9, this is 110 Mr Small advised that typically in the State of Florida, it is 65 -75 Mr. Herlihy stated that the question is, Is our Police Dept. too expensive or are we not raising enough taxes? The City of Sebastian is not taxing anywhere near the level that cities of our size are doing. The City Council has been reluctant in raising taxes in the 5 years that he has been here. Property Taxes and Assessed Valuation last year it went down 12 The City Manager last year projected that it would be down 12 The Advisory Committee last year projected it would be on the low side of 15 Palm Bay was 18% last year, this year they are 17% which is a guesstimate. They are going in the right direction, but we will know our numbers by June 1. If we fall another 15 we can be short 300,000 to 400,000 this year. Another problem to look at is we have a terrible low employee head count. It is the number of employees per 1000 population. Vero Beach is somewhere around 18 -19 and we are at 5 -6. Mr. Kroah advised that that number is distorted. They have other things in their head count, so this is not apples to apples. Mr. Herlihy advised that one of the reasons for the distortion is Vero's Police Department and Public Works Dept. is in excellent condition and they have a lot of employees working in those depatinients but nevertheless, this city has a very low head count in terms of employees. Another topic for discussion is our General Fund Reserve. For those on the board who did not hear the story about the City of Lakeland. This winter they had a reasonable reserve, but they had a catastrophe. The City pulled so much water out to water their strawberries and vegetables, they created sinkholes. If we were hit with a major hurricane, it could wipe out our General Fund which is about $5 mil. We have a healthy fund. Chairman Herlihy distributed a Police Department Budget Summary for fiscal year 2010 of several cities that he had pulled off the internet. Cities such as the City of Sebastian, City of New Smyrna Beach, City of Rockledge, and the City of Casselberry. He advised that different cities do them in different ways. He thinks that we (City of Sebastian) have about 20 Police Officers. Ms. Krueger advised him that we have about 38 Sworn Officers, but in Road Patrol we have about 30 Officers. We have 39.5 Law Enforcement Sworn positions. Mr. Herlihy stated that the City of New Smyrna Beach has a total of 21 Officers, a city which is much more of a resort city than we are. He was not able to pull information on City of Rockledge, but he noted that the City of Casselberry had 38 Police Officers. We are a little under, but not too bad. Mr. Killgore reiterated that some of the positions such as Detectives are also sworn officers. Ms. Krueger stated that the total sworn officers also included the Chief, Deputy Chief and Captains. Mr. Kroah advised the Chairman that the 39.5 was only sworn officers, but did not include the civilian employees such as Code Enforcement Officers. Ms. Krueger also advised that the total number of employees in the Police Department was about 59 which included Dispatch employees and Administrative employees, but that total she believes will be reduced for the coming year. Ms. Krueger also advised that she believes per capita, there should be 2 Police Officer per 1000 residents. We should be about 44 45 sworn officers if we went by the per capita. Chairman Herlihy stated that when he did it last year, per the FDLE numbers, we were just short of 6 officers. He advised that it is tough to make a gross generalization, but this gives us some idea. The Police Department is a large portion of our budget, we just spent $4.6 mil out of $10 mil for them. Chairman Herlihy brought up the subject of Fee structures. He stated that he had a discussion today the City Manager Al Minner about retirement. Mr. Minner informed him about the applicable Florida law that relates to the Police Retirement that we can do absolutely nothing about. This amounts to over 20 It is an unfunded mandate. Ms. Krueger advised that she read this morning in the Florida Today that the Palm Bay Firefighters are in negotiations, and the pension was one of the topics discussed. They are trying to make changes for the new officers coming in. What some organizations are trying to do now is making it a Defined Contribution Plan versus a Defined Benefit Plan. Defined Contributions are the 401 and the 457 Plans instead of a full -blown Pension Plan. Mr. Klenck inquired as to whether the Union will allow them to do that. Ms. Krueger stated that that part is not in the contract. She also stated that the other Union Contract (PEA) does stipulate how much we can contribute. The Actuarial assumption is that we will be getting 8% on our money, but because of the economy, you might not see that return for 20 -30 years and we might have to end up picking that up. Mr Klenck inquired as to how many Volunteers the Police Department had. Ms. Krueger replied that they had approximately 20. Some of which are School Crossing Guards. They do not come in for 8 hours a day, they alternate days. Mr. Klenck also inquired of how many vehicles are utilized by them. Ms. Krueger replied that they use about 7 or 8. She also advised the Board that the City is now focusing on the situation with City Garage, and evaluating the whole process. Breaking it down to how many vehicles, how many we sent to auction, as well as the preventive maintenance. We are also focusing on the Street lights. Chairman Herlihy reminded the Board members that our Police Retirement is costing the City over $410,000 while others are costing $311,000. This is within our control and not controlled by the State. Both the PBA and the PEA contracts expire September 30 this year, so this is the time to fix what we can. The retirement in the PEA contract is up for discussion. Ms. Krueger advised that we cannot touch the contribution rate at this time per Chapter 185 for the PBA or the PEA. We just received a memo that the pension the PEA is in is at a critical state right now. To keep that investment whole, we cannot alter our contribution rates for the 2010 year. We contribute 9% to their pension, and we were looking to reduce that rate to 8 but we received the information that it was in a critical state per pension act. Actually, they took away benefits from the pensioners; there is no more early retirement- you must be 62 to retire. Mr. Klenck inquired of the status of the 10 new cars. Mr. Killgore advised that there were 7 new cars, and Ms. Krueger advised that we are watching what cars are going to auction, and the new vehicles are replacement vehicles. Mr. Klenck informed them that he spoke with the Palm Bay Police Department, and they informed him that the average mileage on a vehicle is 100,000. Mr. Herlihy thought that 100,000 miles on a car was very low, some car are averaging 175,000 to 200,000. Mr. Klenck advised that some cars do have a tire problem, and he found out that there is a State mandate that you cannot plug tires on a Police car, they go into inventory. Mr. Killgore said it is probably based on case law and judgment. Mr. Klenck also wanted to know if the tires are not used on Police cars, are they plugged and used on other vehicles and not thrown away. Mr. Killgore advised that they are used on the vehicles utilized by the Volunteers. Ms. Krueger assured the Board that the tires are not being thrown out. Chairman Herlihy advised that the City is going out for bids on the Health cost. Ms. Krueger informed the Board that today she received information that the total premium of approximately $68,000 which will be brought down to the employee level. Currently we pay 100% of the employees' health, dental and vision, and 50% of the dependant care and that is for both contracts. Chairman Herlihy inquired about the Building Dept and the Growth Management Dept, because of the recession, where are we with the headcount for both departments? These are areas that might require a microscope or magnifying glass. Mr. Klenck asked about a discussion in the past to have the County take some of it. Mr. Herlihy responded that if we want to be a city, we have to control our destiny as much as we can within financial reason. It is good business because of the high capital cost to pay the County for Fire and EMS. It is not a good deal to have them do the Police Dept. You don't have a feeling of City if you have others doing the policing. Mr. Klenck inquired as to whether they would have to follow the laws of the City or County. Ms. Krueger replied that the Building Dept follow State law while the Growth Management Dept follows our Comprehensive plan. Mr. Klenck advised that the City of Merritt Island is totally run by the County. They have no Police, and no Fire Dept. Mr. Herlihy questioned whether we have too many people and not enough work. We hope it is going to grow. He stated that he does not want the General Fund attacked to reduce taxes. He thinks it is short term. 1 1 Mr. Klenck inquired of the mandatory solid waste disposal. According to Ken Small, that would be $100,000 per year revenue that we can take in. He said Mr. Small also advised that this could be added to our tax bill. Mr. Klenck said he was just tired of seeing garbage on the side of the road. He said it was brought up for a vote, and this is an election year, someone has to say something about it. Mr. Herlihy asked if Mr. Klenck thought that we can increase our revenue by $100,000? Mr. Klenck replied that is what Mr. Smalls said. Mr. Killgore advised that he was always told that you can't make money from residential garbage pickup. It takes a commercial size pickup to generate enough revenue to subsidize for the residential pickup. The rate has to be high enough to cover the cost. Mr. Marshall stated that everyone has to do it. It cost the residents $36.00 per quarter for pick. Mr. Davis inquired if we really want to have compulsory garbage pick up. Mr. Killgore stated we currently have a franchise company who handles the billing and pays us a percentage of their revenues. We would have to set it up where we would pay them a contract price for picking up everyone's garbage. We could have the contractor do the billing like they do now and pay them out of the fees collected. Mr. Davis stated that if Council voted to have a mandatory pick there would be a revolution in the town. Mr. Klenck added that 52% voted against it. We could lay -off more employees, but that is what we are trying to avoid. We are just looking for ways to raise revenue. Mr. Herlihy advised that if this committee feels strongly about it by the end of July when we submit our final report to the City Council, and the majority of the board feels it is an issue, we can make our recommendation. Mr. Kroah stated that currently we are receiving $65,000 a year franchise fee from Solid Waste, and now we would be asking them to pick up garbage from everyone. This is a cost that we would be passing on to the taxpayer. If we pick up everyone, the cost would be doubled. Mr. Killgore stated that 40% of the residents are not being picked now. Mr. Klenck read from a report that stated... "Mandatory Solid Waste collection will bring in 6% which equals to $100,000 on non -users right now Mr. Herlihy asked the board if anyone had ever lived somewhere where there wasn't solid waste disposal. Mr. Marshall advised that about 25 years ago in Wisconsin they would go to the dump on Saturdays. Back then you would either burn it out back or take it to the dump. He advised that he likes the freedom. He does have Solid Waste pickup, but he enjoys having the choice. The purpose of having a proposal is strictly for revenue. We need to find out how do we enhance revenue? Mr. Herlihy advised that he is taking notes, and at the next meeting we will be looking at the budget, and we will bring this up again. At the last meeting before Council the board can do a yea or nay and he will talk to Mr. Minner about getting some real numbers from Ken Small. Mr. Kroah thought that Waste Management should have the information. They know how much it cost to do the pickup now. Mr. Davis stated that additional revenue would be good business for them. Mr. Klenck confessed that he was not a big pusher of Waste Management. Some board members agreed that their trucks are never on time, and sometimes nothing gets picked up. Mr. Herlihy was proud to admit that his family members are great recyclers. He advised that up North recycling brought in a lot of money. Down here it is a County run operation. Mr. Klenck wanted to discuss what Ken Small brought up about the Local Option Gas Tax we had with the County. He said that Mr. Small said that there were 5 cents left that we could add on. Mr. Killgore advised that he thinks what Mr Small was referring to was that the State Statute allows the County to collect those additional charges, and by inter -local agreement, some counties will share some of those funds, but it is not necessarily a given. Mr. Herlihy stated that the price of gas is lower in Indian River County than it is to the North and South of Indian River County. The lowest price is gas right now is the Hess Station at US 1 and CR 512. Mr. Marshall inquired if the City could regulate the tax on the gas. Mr. Killgore advised that it can be done only if permitted by the State. The State can outline a certain amount of tax that can be levied on the gallon. Mr. Killgore stated that he will get with Ken Small and get some clarification on the statement he made. Mr. Herlihy also wanted Mr. Killgore to speak with Mr. Small about the mandatory garbage pickup. Ms. Krueger advised the board that she will make a list of the items that were unanswered at this meeting and will get answers for them. Mr. Klenck wanted to discuss with Mr. Minner about annexation of parcels on CR 512. These are tax revenues out there that we are not getting any part of. He also inquired about a merger with Roseland. He would like to see a merger with Roseland. Mr. Herlihy commented that a lot of people in Roseland have a negative view of Sebastian because of the Airport. Ms. Krueger inquired of Mr. Klenck if he was the board member who had questioned all the "nos' on Chief Morris' report. She advised him that dates listed on the report were close to the end of the quarter, there were no arrests made hence the reason for the "nos She advised that she received an email from the Chief. Mr. Kroah inquired at what was the board looking at this year in terms of budget cuts, could it be 10 or 11%? Mr. Killgore advised that we might be looking at about 5 or 6% to keep our reserves, and that would be based on Ad Valorem going down 12 We should have those figures around June 1, although certified is not until July 1. Mr. Kroah inquired about forecasting of revenues this year. Mr. Killgore advised that this year's, revenue should be close since we were within 5% last year. Mr. Kroah inquired about the Parks personnel. He stated that in 2005 the City went from 17.5 personnel to 23.5. Ms. Krueger advised that we took the Community Center from the County which added more staff members. Mr. Kroah inquired about the Police Department having 63 cars with only 30 officers. Ms. Krueger advised that we are still analyzing this and will have the information ready for the next meeting. Mr. Marshall inquired if there has ever been a cost comparison or study done in contracting out the garage, Parks Recreation, or Police Department. Mr. Killgore stated that other cities who have done studies have noted that some Sheriff's offices are willing and able to consolidate their duties, while others are just not interested or may quote a higher price just to say they offered. It has to do with politics. Mr. Marshall stated that he just wanted an analysis. Ms. Krueger advised that we are currently focusing on the garage, trying to make it more efficient.. We are doing our calculations and have reduced staff. There has been some talks about contacting out the Parks Dept. We have been keeping our eyes on the three Enterprise Funds; Building Dept, the Airport, and the Golf Course. Mr. Herlihy stated that last year one of the things discussed was contracting out the Parks mowing, we just did not get to it, but it is something that needs to be looked at. Mr. Herlihy agreed with Ms. Krueger. The deal we received on the quarter round with Sunshine Landscaping was a good one, they are very hard workers. Ms. Krueger commented that the City employees used to do it before it was contracted out. Mr. Klenck inquired if the City had every advertised outside for contracting out the garage. Ms. Krueger stated that we are currently looking into it. Mr. Klenck advised that he was responsible for contracting out the body shops of the City of Palm Bay, Brevard County, City of Melbourne, and the Airforce Base. He had to prove to them that it was in their best interest. Mr. Herlihy was worried about taking the Police cars and farming out the work to outsiders. There is that possibility that you lose control. Ms. Krueger stated that the City of Ft. Lauderdale, a City of that size, actually contracts out their garage and have not encountered any problems. Mr. Herlihy concluded the meeting. He stated that the next meeting should be on June 14, 2010. Mr. Minner will be on vacation June 26, 2010, and we may have a meeting without him The last week in July we will make our presentation to the City Council. Mr. Herlihy stated the he will be out of town beginning the first week of August to about the 15` We have a meeting scheduled for July 19, 2010. Ms. Krueger wanted to recap: 1. Mileage we are trading in our Police vehicles 2. State mandate about plugging the tires 3. How many Police vehicles we have for the Police Dept. and how many Volunteers work each week. 4. How many Police vehicles in ratio to Police Officers 5. Speak with Ken Small about Solid Waste Disposal- how do we go about getting it just for informational purposes. 6. We will also look into the Recycle revenue side of it. 7. Local Option Gas Tax. 8. Look into the 5 cents Local Option Gas Tax- we will confirm that. 9. Get the Street Light numbers for Jerry Converse- we had the idea of rotating the lights. Ms. Krueger inquired of Mr. Minner if the Roseland merger was possible. Mr. Minner stated that we should find out what our expenses would be. We need to know what additional load will be on our Police Dept. Once we have done all that we will realize that financially we will be better off not merging. Roseland does not want to be annexed. With 50 houses in Roseland, they would want to have their roads paved. Mr. Minner thought there would be a benefit to having Roseland annexed, they would have a voice. Mr. Minner apologized for his lateness. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. r CITY OF HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND 1225 MAIN STREET SEBASTIAN, FL 32958 PH: 772 388 -8205 FAX: 772 388 -8249 PUBLIC NOTICE CITY OF SEBASTIAN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY FLORIDA CITIZENS BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 12, 2010 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN The Citizens Budget Review Committee will conduct a meeting at 6:00 pm on Monday, July 12, 2010, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 1225 Main Street, Sebastian, Florida. If any person decides to appeal a decision with any respect to any matter considered at the above hearing or meeting, said person will need a verbatim record of all proceedings including the testimony and evidence, which is not provided by the City. (286.0105 F.S.) In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), anyone who needs special accommodation for this meeting should contact the city's ADA coordinator at 589 -5330 at least 48 hours in advance of this meeting.