FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING BUDGET HEARING 5:00 P.M., FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Transcription

1 FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING BUDGET HEARING 5:00 P.M., FEBRUARY 7, 2011 The met at City Hall on the above date. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. Present: Councilwoman Meany, Councilman Mooney, Councilman Russo, and Finance Director Weber Also Present: Service Director Bandiera, Councilman Bell, City Engineer Busch, Construction Project Administrator Driscoll, Mayor Drucker, Councilman Kraus, Councilman Pelunis, Councilwoman Richmond, Fire Chief Shaw, Water Reclamation Director Solanics, Public Works Commissioner Stanek, Police Chief Viland, and Assistant Finance Director Wendel Councilman Mooney presided. The meeting started with an adjournment into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing compensation for public employees at 5:01p.m. The meeting reconvened at 5:25 p.m. Councilman Mooney reviewed the process of the meeting. Councilman Mooney wants each Department Head to briefly describe the 2011 requested budget, compare it to the 2010 budget, discuss changes happening in the department, review line items and the capital item requests. Mr. Weber stated in 2010 the City was under budget in the General Fund across the board. The General Fund began with $18 million and ended the year with $14.5. The reason the year ended with $14.5 is because 4.5 million of debt was paid off ten years ahead of schedule. The General Fund s total estimated receipts and estimated expenditures are both $31,497,029 for the 2011 budget. City income tax receipts are estimated at $38,200,000. The estimated income tax receipts are 2.4% more than the actual 2010 collections. January, 2011 receipts are ahead of the 2010 receipts. After administrative expenses and refunds, it is distributed to the General Fund; 75% for a wide range of uses and 25% to the Infrastructure Fund due to a voter approved levy for infrastructure projects. The amount expected to be distributed to the General Fund is $27,153,225 and $9,051,285 to the Infrastructure Fund. Mr. Weber reviewed noteworthy items from his memo of February 4, Mr. Weber stated that the City is in good shape now but could be in bad shape at this time next year if the expenses are not monitored closely.

2 Page 2 Police Chief Viland stated the most significant changes at the Police Department are personnel issues. There are 46 law enforcement officers, 14 dispatchers, four civilian records employees, two civilian clerks of court, two custodial employees, an animal warden, 13 correction officers, five part time school crossing guards and 19 auxiliary police officers. In 2010 the Police Department lost several employees to retirement and resignations. During the transition period some of those positions were not replaced. Four positions were eliminated and those areas are operating at a bare minimum standard. In the retirement area there was a patrolman, chief, assistant chief of police and a detective. The significance of those losses on the budget is that employees that were at the full 10% longevity rate at top pay scale are being replaced with new patrolmen at significantly less pay and the ability to earn significantly less in longevity as the years progress. There is an unexpected disability retirement for At this point the department is three employees below minimum staffing. The police officers will be replaced. There are no plans to replace the eliminated positions. The Dare officer will retire in 2011 and there are plans to replace that position. The Administration is currently discussing what the composition of the upper level command staff of the police department should be. The jail is currently running at bare minimum staffing. The budget reflects this through There exists the possibility that jail operations may be negatively impacted by decisions made by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff as the year progresses. If this occurs, there may be additional reductions in manpower in the jail. If the workhouse closes, those prisoners would be assigned to suburban jails. If that happens it would increase the revenue source. There are two capital expenditures for equipment. The first is approximately $50,000. It is mandated to become compliant with the FCC narrow-banding of radio hardware and software. The second is approximately $130,000 to purchase police cruisers or officer body mount video equipment. The City of Solon is in the minority by not having cruiser video available at time of arrest. The total budget request for the Police Department for 2011 is 2% under the 2010 budget. Most of that is due to personnel costs and the deletion of four positions. The Police Department is planning a full study of minimum staffing requirements and geographical distribution of workload during the 2011 calendar year. These areas have not been addressed since the mid 1980 s. It is hoped that the review of these areas will allow more effective and efficient utilization of police resources. Each group of line items was reviewed. Chief Viland will recalculate prisoner food costs and anything else that would relate to the jail costs that may need

3 Page 3 adjustment. The changes will be submitted for the Finance Meeting of February 16, Chief Viland stated out of the 421 Fund he would like to purchase two 4WD command vehicles and one detective vehicle including changeover/graphics. The intent is to auction the two old 4WD vehicles. The old detective vehicle will be utilized in another department of the City. Chief Viland also requested a utility gator with a snow plow upgrade, four dispatch work stations, four report writing stations, three administration work stations, CVSA system, training laptop and projector, eleven chairs for dispatch and records, and repair or replace fitness equipment. Chief Viland explained the need for each one of the requests. Fire Chief Shaw stated he did not see a lot of changes from 2010 to There was one retirement in 2010 and two retirements are planned for Those positions will be replaced during the first quarter of 2011 but no new positions will be added. There now is a balancing point between the overtime costs and the number of personnel on duty as minimum staffing. Overtime has been brought down to levels that haven t been seen in many years. Each group of line items was reviewed. Ambulance billing will decrease due to the lost contract with the Village of Glenwillow. The revenue will be approximately $50,000 less. There is a request for a replacement of an ambulance. The old ambulance will be sold on GovDeals. The purchase will be paid from the 217 fund. The anticipation is to receive delivery of the new ambulance in the Fall of There are five capital requests. Five SCBA cylinders need replacement. This is to meet DOT requirements. Two jaws of life hydraulic tools need replacement. The units that are being used at this point cannot cut through the metal boron. The insulation renovations at Fire Station 1 is a continuing project. The work has been done by fire personnel. There are some gapping holes in the building and cold air is a problem. De-Icing cables are requested for Fire Station 2 and 3 and replacement of five computer workstations that are over eight years old is needed. The replacement of the computers will only be requested if they are not included in the city wide purchase. The Mayor asked that the insulation renovations be placed on hold because the City has applied for an energy audit. A grant is involved. Service Mr. Bandiera reported there was one retirement in He is not aware of any employee ready to retire for In the overall Service Budget the 2010 expenditures were less than the 2009 expenditures. The 2011 budget is up 5.8%.

4 Page 4 There is a 3% expectation of an increase in the purchase of salt for There is a request of $7,000 for non-capital items and $15,000 for service safety equipment. In the non-capital request the items are office computer upgrades, cell phone replacements, and various tool replacements/ power and hand tools for trades. The service safety equipment requests are for safety vests, safety shirts, safety gloves, glasses and hearing protection, road cones and barrels, fall protection equipment upgrade and recertification, road signs and warning devices for flagging operations, and first aid supplies. The service building maintenance reflects a $103,000 increase. There are many overhead doors, garage doors, in ground lifts and cranes that must be inspected and kept in repair to OCEA standards. This is mandated and not a choice for repair. Mr. Bandiera listed the repair and improvement projects. He requests replacement of an asphalt roof on the pole barn, repairs to the asphalt roof on the existing salt barn, stand and seal pole buildings, repair front wall supports on existing salt barn, repair and replacement of various overhead doors in the Fleet Department, replacement of trench drain and concrete in the south parking garage, replace water damage ceiling tiles throughout the building, install ventilation fans in the welding shop, and replacement of the security surveillance system in the dispatch center. Mr. Bandiera was instructed to bring all costs on the pole barn to the Public Works Committee. Some employees have been reassigned to the night shift in the winter months to bring the overtime costs down in the Streets Division. The request for street equipment non-capital items are two back pack blowers, four hand blowers, various chain saw blade replacements, two landscape rakes, two weed eaters, one small Mantis tiller, one 20 lopper pole saw, two replacement chain saws, and various miscellaneous hand tools. The estimated cost for this request is $5, Mr. Bandiera requested to replace the Service Department roof at a cost of $870,000, to build a new Salt Storage Facility at a cost of $587,000 and purchase service equipment at a cost of $508,434. A prioritized list was submitted for the service equipment. Engineering Mr. Busch stated the Construction Project Administrator is included in the Engineering budget. The person assigned to the position may have changed but there are no staffing numbers that have changed from last year to this year. That is the reason there is not a significant change in full time staff pay. Mr. Busch explained some of the large line items. He felt he understated the cost on the vehicle fuel. This item needs to be adjusted. Mr. Mooney suggested the Infrastructure Fund (400) should be reviewed by the Public Works Committee first. A special meeting will be held before the

5 Page 5 February 15, 2011 Council Meeting and then return to on February 16, Mr. Weber stated the decision must be made if the City wants to spend more than the $9,000,000 that is in the budget on the infrastructure projects. If the decision is to spend more money, than a decision is to be made where the money should come from. If it is decided to borrow money then it has to be decided where the money will come from to pay back the borrowed money. Mr. Busch requested to replace a 2000 Jeep. The cost is estimated at $30,000. The money for this purchase would be allocated from the 491 Fund. Public Works Mr. Stanek stated the Public Works budget was cut by one full time employee. This position will not be replaced. Water Reclamation Department Mr. Solanics stated the Water Reclamation Department ended 2010 with a red balance of approximately $450,000. There have been many discussions on how to make up that revenue. Sewer rate increases were requested. Some other options are to contract out some of the services such as sludge hauling, lift station maintenance and the operation of the lab. If these items are done there could be a possible savings of $300,000 or $400,000. A recommendation on these services will be made next month at the Public Works Committee Meeting. The City must give the Union the option to respond to these proposals. The Union has 30 days to respond. Mr. Solanics explained the two revenue funds. An employee was added to full time wages. The position is for a Sewer Billing Clerk. A part time position was also added. A SCADA Analyst position was eliminated. The employee retired and the position was eliminated. A full time maintenance position has not been filled at this time. There is an increase in the SCADA Equipment expense. This equipment is 20 years old and needs to be upgraded. This system may be phased out within the next three or four years. Two lawn mowers need to be replaced. The cost for this purchase is approximately $10,000. This budget is approximately $500,000 in the red. Mr. Weber said at this time the digester is not on the debt schedule. It is a $5,000,000 project. Many of the loans for the Water Reclamation Department will mature in Mayor Mayor Drucker stated for the Mayor s Office Ordinance Expense is assigned by ordinance. Awards, appreciation, retirement plaques or anything to do with recognition is paid from this account. The Mayor explained the travel and conferences that she would like to attend this year. City Hall Maintenance

6 Mr. Weber stated the part-time pay is increased to help the full-time employee due to a medical issue. Page 6 Finance Mr. Weber explained the different departments that make up the finance area. The largest expenditure for the Finance Department is professional services. Most of this expense is bank fees. The number of employees for the Finance area will stay the same. Income Tax Mr. Weber stated the unknown expense amount is refunds. There is an estimate but last year the estimate was under what the actual refunds were. The next Budget Hearing will be February 14, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Janca Secretary