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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06172013BUD MinutesCITY OF HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND CITIZENS BUDGET REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES 6:00 P.M. MONDAY —JUNE 17, 2013 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER, 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN Chairman Herlihy called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. ROLL CALL: Present- Ed Herlihy Gary O'Hara Tim Slaven Bruce Hoffman Absent: Christine Vicars (excused) Dionna Farmer (excused) Harry Marshall (unexcused) Also Present: Al Minner, City Manager Debra Krueger, Administrative Services Director Ken Killgore, Finance Director Michelle Morris, Police Chief Greg Witt, Deputy Police Chief Greg Schmidt, Fleet Supervisor Jeanette Williams, Recording Secretary 4. Approval of Minutes: a. Meeting of March 18, 2013 MOTION by Mr. O'Hara and SECOND by Mr. Slaven to approve the March 18, 2013 minutes passed with a voice vote of 4 -0. 5. Review Second Quarter Financial Report — As of March 31, 2013 The Finance Director said the report's new format provided for ease of understanding and distribution; some changes were instituted by the City Council and City Manager, but overall the Airport, Golf Course, and departments look good. Citizens Budget Advisory Review Committee June 17, 2013 Page Two He noted he would move the encumbrance of the capital project status report to the far right so large projects won't look completed (see page 8 of the agenda packet); and in future reports he will report the cash amounts as well as the SBA amounts. Mr. Hoffman asked on why the Airport trend is negative for the last three years. The Finance Director explained the earlier years included grant funds. Mr. Hoffman also asked why the miscellaneous revenue for the Golf Course was over $103,000 but the prior three years never went over $30,000. The Finance Director explained that this year the item included a $58,000 bank note to buy equipment. Chairman Herlihy asked if there was a one time expense in the non - departmental operating expense. The Finance Director said that is where they transfer to the CRA from the general fund and pay insurance premiums. Discussion followed on the Golf Course's good winter but staff expects revenue to fall off with the summer. Chairman Herlihy complimented staff on the new "Exhibit A" format that really spells out where everything moved around during the quarter. 6. Discussion of Police Car Usage /Numbers Greg Schmidt, Fleet Supervisor, distributed literature stating every hour of operation equals 33 miles driven (see attached); each police car is looked at for replacement at the 95,000- 100,000 mile mark which comes up at 5 -7 years old; the best of those cars are then put back into service as volunteer cars so the cars are used for about 13 -15 years. He said most of the 2000 -2003 fleet are Crown Vics but the style has changed and they are evaluating other fleet purchases before replacing the older cars. He said the patrol cars are serviced in shop, by dealer warranty or local vendors every 4,000 miles. In response to Mr. O'Hara, he said the two technicians in the shop and local vendors service all of the City's vehicles. The Police Chief explained the Department has 60 vehicles that encumber road patrol, the detectives, administrative, code enforcement, crime scene, 22 volunteers, with seven spares. She said the PBA contract entitles officers to a take -home car as long as they live within 20 miles of the City. The officers respond to calls to and from work (at shift change); they receive positive feedback from community visibility; and it is easier to respond to emergency issues. She also said if a car is shared, the officer must commute in with their equipment and change cars which reduces response time. Citizens Budget Advisory Review Committee June 17, 2013 Page Three 6:20 pm 6:29 pm 6:38 pm In response to Mr. O'Hara, the Police Chief said there are 11 officers in the City, 20 that live within five miles of the City, nine that live outside the County, eight in Vero Beach area with one officer in Port St. Lucie but he does not take his car home. 7. Discussion of Member Interest or Concerns with New Budget Mr. Hoffman said discussion regarding raises for City employee seems to be interchanged with the elimination of furlough days but the two have differential impacts on the budget. The City Manager explained the furlough days are a reduction in pay and work; there is talk on how to remunerate employees for their service with talk about bonuses, COLAS, and ending furlough days but each needs to be handled separately based on how much revenue is available for 2014. The bonus would be a one -time payment; a COLA would be X% based on available Y dollars; the furlough day would be a regeneration of work hours. He said through an executive session, staff has been given clear direction from Council on how to proceed with negotiations and they plan to market an EMPLOYEES FIRST campaign. He noted employees have always come first, the employees were not asked to do more with less money with the furlough days, they have received good health care benefits, and a competitive retirement package. The campaign will try to create and identify new revenue and share that with employees. Mr. Hoffman said there has been discussion about the elimination of impact fees. The City Manager explained the following impact fees: - the County has a water and sewer connection impact fee - the County has a new construction impact fees collected by the City - the City has one recreation impact fee He noted the discussed moratorium would only affect the County's impact fees. In response to Chairman Herlihy's question on assessed valuation, the City Manager said the Committee will receive the draft budget next week, have a presentation on July 1, and continue to review the document at their July 15, August 5, and 12 meetings. He noted they did receive a preliminary number of $820M, which is about $2M lower of the assessable value and there will be a chart for them at the next meeting with a milage rate recommendation for FY14. 8. Discuss Next Meeting Date (Monday, July 1, 2013) Chairman Herlihy cautioned the next meeting will be long and interesting. Citizens Budget Advisory Review Committee June 17, 2013 Page Four 9. Being no further business, Chairman Herlihy adjourned the Citizens Budget Review Advisory meeting at 6:38 p.m. F. C airman Ed Herlihy Date Maintenance Monitoring Systems Help Eliminate Excessive Idling May 2007, Government Fleet - Feature Fleet managers have been conditioned to conduct preventive maintenance based on intervals set by miles driven or hours of operation. However, to maximize fuel efficiency, consider installing a maintenance monitoring system [MMS]. The Greece, N.Y. police department is one such fleet that has already done so. System Monitors Patrol Cars Since 1992, the Greece, N.Y., police department has used SenDEC Corp.'s maintenance monitoring system to monitor all marked patrol cars.Now that SenDEC offers a warning light model, Officer Tom Wallenhurst said Greece PD will switch to these monitors in all new models. The monitor's warning lights :are set to illuminate at 250 engine run hours. The monitor works similar to a "check- engine" light, alerting the driver that maintenance is needed. According to Wallenhurst, idle time increases vehicle wear and tear. SenDEC monitors are safety nets for officers who previously would surpass the typical 3,500 -mile limit for an oil change. The SenDEC 80x -215 digital hour /maintenance monitor features text and a warning light targeting vehicles with excessive idle time. The meter, and the entire line of SenDEC's electronic instrumentation, meets military specifications and performance standards. A self - contained lithium battery provides 12- to 14 -year operating life and continuous data display. One advantage in using the Series 80x -215 Hour Meter, according to Wallenhurst, is that idling patrol cars are serviced on an hourly, rather than mileage, basis. Many officers carry laptops in their cars, and they usually don't turn the engines off because they want to keep the computers running. The town of Greece also experiences cold winters and hot summers; therefore, officers keep the heat and A/C on at all times while the car is idling. Crack Down on Idling To establish proper maintenance intervals, compare hours to miles if vehicles are recording excessive idling time. According to research by Ford Motor Company, one hour of gasoline engine idle time equals 33 miles of driving. In other words, for vehicles with excessive engine idle time, such as a police or border - patrol unit, premature engine damage can occur without having driven many miles at all. Monitoring Equipment Run Time Elizabeth Laird, CEO of Laird Industries, U.S. distributor for federal and commercial defense contractors, believes maintenance monitors are a simple, cost - effective means of tracking actual equipment run -time. Since meters can be programmed for the service interval specified by the fleet manager and end user, vehicles are guaranteed proper, timely maintenance resulting in extended equipment life. Providing Maintenance Alerts The units function as an hour meter that accumulates and shows total run time or total engine idling time, depending on how the system is installed. For example, if connected to the oil pressure switch, the meter will display total engine run time. A text message display provides maintenance alerts at preprogrammed intervals to the driver /technician. When the meter is in flash alert mode, an amber LED lamp module illuminates. A service technician can manually reset the alert function when maintenance is finished. The service alert interval is custom programmed by SenDEC according to the customer's requirements. When service is due, the meter flashes the required maintenance task. The monitors record and display up to 99,999 hours.