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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-27 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Study Session Minutes—October 27, 2014 At approximately 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the Anacortes City Council study session of October 27, 2014 to order. Roll call found present City Councilmembers Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett, John Archibald and Matt Miller. Council Review of 2015 Budget—Non-Public Works Finance Director Steve Hoglund reviewed the schedule for the remainder of the budget season. He then reviewed a series of handouts he had provided to Council at the beginning of the meeting including a comparison of pavement management funding called for in Resolution 1895 vs. in the preliminary 2015 budget; a summary of major savings and added expenditures in the general fund compared to 2014; pie charts showing general revenues by type and general expenditures by department in the proposed budget; a list of Capital Facilities Plan projects for 2015 indicating which were included in the proposed budget; and a list of pending changes and corrections to the budget that would be made after Council discussion of the budget. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed General Fund revenues beginning on page 10 of the proposed budget and explained the historical data and trends driving the revenue projections. Museum Director Steve Oakley reviewed the proposed budget for the museum on page 29. He opened with a summary of the museum's mission, services provided and goals for 2015. He advised that the proposed budget was very similar to the current year with the exception of one part time staff member moving to full time which would be partially offset by a decrease in professional services costs. He noted that the Museum does generate approximately$6K per year in admission fees and photo sales. Mr. Johnson inquired about the extent of deferred maintenance on the W.T. Preston. Mr. Oakley advised that quite a bit of painting had been accomplished in the prior year and that the vessel was being maintained up to national standards. Mr. Walters requested a count of employees at the museum, their salaries, and metrics such as visitor counts. Planning, Community and Economic Development Director Don Measamer reviewed the proposed budget for his department on page 21. He shared an organization chart for his department as well as a summary of goals, objectives and performance measures. Turning to Community Development Fund 180, Mr. Hoglund described that fund's revenue streams reflected on page 55. Mr. Measamer reviewed proposed expenditures in that fund shown on page 56. Mr. Measamer advised that staff had just learned that DNR lease expense shown on Line 1356 would be increasing approximately 40% since the proposed budget was prepared. Administrative Services Director Emily Schuh reviewed the proposed expenditures for the Judicial Department shown on page 16. She noted that a half-time court clerk would be increasing to full time to accommodate additional court days and explained the addition of an in house public defender and legal assistant. Ms. Schuh announced that the public defender expense would be partially offset by a $16,900 grant from the Office of Public Defense and also by removal of the current public defender contract from the professional services line item. Ms. Schuh next reviewed the proposed expenditures for the Human Resources Department beginning on page 19 which were similar to current year but would not include every-other-year civil service assessment centers in 2015. Mr. Walters requested the amount of the AWC membership included in Line 362. Ms. Schuh then reviewed the proposed expenditures for the Legal Department on page 22. She noted the inclusion of a full time in house City Attorney and a corresponding reduction in professional services expense. Mr. Johnson endorsed accepting the proposal by contract City Attorney Brad Furlong to continue his services with more time on site at City Hall. Mr. Walters argued in favor of hiring a full time City Attorney like neighboring cities. Mr. Johnson reported his research on how other similarly sized cities with strong mayors provide for their legal representation and said he didn't see the value of adding an in Anacortes City Council Study Session Minutes October 27, 2014 1 house attorney. Mr. Miller agreed and asked to know the value of adding an in house attorney. Mr. Walters noted that significant expense for outside legal counsel is reflected in the budgets of other departments and argued that an in house attorney could replace some of those services and could manage the expense of others. Mr. Miller requested a cost benefit analysis of the proposed attorney position. Mr. Archibald agreed with that request. Mayor Gere said staff would prepare that. Ms. Schuh explained why the City had contracted for City Attorney services since 2008. Ms. Lovelett supported having legal counsel more available at City Hall. Mr. Johnson asked what the procedure would be if Council wanted to opt for a contract rather than an in house attorney in 2015. Mr. Hoglund suggested that Council could move during the November 3 budget discussion to alter the proposed budget in that way. Ms. Pickett described the value of outside counsel on some matters and observed that such services would not likely be replaced by an in house attorney. Councilmembers agreed to continue the discussion at the November 3 meeting with more information before them. Police Chief Bonnie Bowers reviewed the proposed expenditures for the Police Department beginning on page 23. She presented the department's organizational chart and explained the new School Resource Officer position which would begin mid-year and be partially funded by Anacortes School District No. 103 in future years. Chief Bowers reviewed the department's 2014 accomplishments and goals for 2015. She explained the increase in 911 costs reflected on Line 514. Fire Chief Richard Curtis reviewed the proposed expenditures for the Fire Department beginning on page 25. Chief Curtis shared the department's organizational chart and outlined the primary responsibilities of the two assistant chiefs, the department's current service levels, its 2014 accomplishments and 2015 projects. In response to questions from Mr. Walters about apparent salary changes, Mr. Hoglund and Chief Curtis explained the allocation of staff time between the Fire and EMS departments. Mr. Walters asked why undergrounding the power lines at Station 1 (Line 649)was not funded in the proposed budget. Chief Curtis and Mr. Hoglund explained the pending consultant report and added that the revised estimated cost for the work was closer to $30K than the$100K originally estimated. Mr. Walters encouraged finding funding to complete that important project. Turning to Ambulance Service Fund 110, Mr. Hoglund reviewed the projected revenue for that fund on page 48. Chief Curtis then reviewed proposed expenditures for the fund beginning on page 49. Mr. Hoglund next reviewed the revenue projections for Public Library Fund 103 on page 37. Ms. Lovelett reported that Guemes Island residents have complained about having to pay for non- resident library cards and asked if something could be worked out. Mr. Hoglund said he would share his analysis of the costs a city resident pays in taxes for library privileges and said the $100 non-resident card is a very good deal. Ms. Lovelett asked if a waiver might be possible for low income families. Library Director Sheri Miklaski suggested that there may be a way to partner with an organization that would help underwrite those costs. Ms. Miklaski shared the mission, recent accomplishments and budget goals of the library. She then reviewed the proposed expenditures for the library on page 38 which include an additional half time position in the Children's Library and some savings in other areas. Council next considered the Parks and Recreation budget in Funds 101, 102, 107 and 113. Mr. Hoglund reviewed the projected revenue for Parks and Recreation Fund 101 on page 32. Parks and Recreation Director Gary Robinson presented an organization chart for his department and described the roles of the Park staff. Mr. Robinson reviewed the proposed expenditures for Fund 101 with the assistance of Recreation Manager Dustin South and Parks and Forestlands Manger Jonn Lunsford. He responded to councilmember questions about expenditures that had moved between lines in the budget and noted that the overall budget was very similar to prior years with no new staff. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed the projected revenue for Grandview Cemetery Fund 102 on page 35. Mr. Robinson reviewed the proposed expenditures for Fund 102, observing that the budget was essentially unchanged from current year. Mr. Walters inquired about potential funding sources for capital improvements at the cemetery. Mr. Robinson discussed potential leases and cemetery Anacortes City Council Study Session Minutes October 27, 2014 2 capital reserves. Mr. Walters asked about staffing levels at the cemetery and if Grandview cemetery fees were comparable to surrounding facilities. Mr. Adams asked what portion of the cemetery fees were plot sales. Mr. Robinson said he would provide that information. Mr. Hoglund next presented the projected revenues for Washington Park Fund 107 on page 44. Washington Park Manager Bob Vaux reviewed the proposed expenses, noting no significant changes from the current year. Mr. Hoglund reviewed the projected revenues, largely REET transfers, into Parks Capital Improvement Fund 108 on page 46. Mr. Robinson discussed the amounts budgeted for various projects with councilmembers, noting that some projects were likely to be buildable for less than had been envisioned in the CFP. He agreed with Mr. Walters that parks impact fees may be able to be used for the planned spray pad. Mr. Johnson inquired if REET could be used to improve the parking lot at Washington Park and Mr. Hoglund said yes but said that REET cannot be used for cemetery improvements. Concluding the Parks and Recreation section, Mr. Hoglund reviewed projected revenues in ACFL Fund 113 on page 51. Mr. Lunsford reviewed the proposed expenditures. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed proposed non-departmental expenditures on page 13, proposed expenditures for the Legislative Department on page 14, and proposed expenditures for the Executive Department on page 15. Mr. Walters suggested that the training budget in the legislative budget should be increased. Mayor Gere and Mr. Hoglund welcomed a specific proposal for that. Mr. Hoglund reviewed proposed expenditures for the Finance Department on page 17 and noted that an additional $30K would be added to professional services for the annual audit and credit card fees. He reviewed the proposed expenditures for the Department of Information Services on page 18. He pointed out line 298 for computer servers and line 311 for VOIP phones and said no budget was included for those items in the hope that grant funding would be obtained but that had not been successful so budget amounts would have to be added. Mr. Walters noted the short payback on replacing the existing phone system with VOIP and supported funding the installation of a VOIP system out of cash reserves. Regarding line 280, Mr. Johnson inquired how much the City pays annually in credit card fees. Mr. Hoglund said he would provide that information. Mr. Johnson suggested a surcharge for paying with a credit card. Mr. Hoglund reviewed the projected revenues and expenditures for Growth Management Capital Improvement Fund 335 on pages 60-61. He explained that Fund 335 receives and distributes Real Estate Excise Tax (REET)to other funds for allowed projects. Mr. Walters asked if the current budget would leave any REET on the table. Mr. Hoglund said there would still be approximately$500K in REET cash reserves. Mr. Walters suggested that could be used to fund pavement management. Mr. Hoglund agreed. Mr. Hoglund concluded by reviewing projected revenues and expenditures for Firemen's Pension Fund 611 on pages 83-84. Ms. Lovelett pointed out that$350,000 was budgeted for fuel for the fleet vehicles (Line 2162)and suggested considering transitioning the fleet to an alternative fuel source both to lower ongoing costs and to lessen environmental impact. Mr. Hoglund reminded that the public hearing on the proposed budget was scheduled for November 3, 2014. Mr. Adams asked if that meeting needed to start earlier than 7:00 p.m. Council, staff and Mayor Gere looked at the November 3 agenda and determined that the meeting could begin at 7:00 p.m. as scheduled and that the Council discussion of the budget could continue to the November 10, 2014 study session if necessary. There being no further business, at approximately 10:00 p.m. the Anacortes City Council study session of October 27, 2014 adjourned. Anacortes City Council Study Session Minutes October 27, 2014 3