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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/01/2021 - Pre Town MeetingCITY COUNCIL PRE-TOWN MEETING 1 MARCH 2021 The South Burlington City Council and South Burlington School Board held a pre-Town Meeting joint meeting on Monday, 1 March 2021, at 7:30 p.m., via Zoom interactive technology. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, Sen. T. Chittenden, D. Kaufman SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: B. Burkhardt, Chair; E. Fitzgerald, M. Lalonde, A. Henry, B, Minier ALSO PRESENT: K. Dorn, City Manager; T. Hubbard, Deputy City Manager; C. Holm, HR Director; J. Rabidoux, Public Works Director; other city staff and members of the public 1. Welcome and Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of Agenda items: Ms. Emery asked to add a brief discussion of the upcoming Act 250 hearing regarding the Burton application. Ms. Riehle said this can be on the Thursday evening agenda. Ms. Emery said it may involve an executive session. Council members also agreed to address the Consent Agenda following Item #4. 2. Reading of the Warning Articles: Members agreed to forego the reading of the Warning Articles. 3. Presentation of FY22 Municipal Budget: Ms. Riehle noted that the presentation will be one that Deputy City Manager Tom Hubbard did in January so that there would be information available to the public before they received their ballots by mail. Ms. Riehle also thanked Department Heads for their work on preparing a budget that taxpayers can support under these difficult times. Mr. Hubbard said this is the most challenging budget the City Council has worked on. It includes sacrifices, some of which have resulted in not being able to maintain a level of service within every department. The budget does support the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), but does not provide full funding. CITY COUNCIL PRE-TOWN MEETING 1 MARCH 2021 PAGE 2 The total city budget is $50,700,000.00 of which $26,700,000 is in the general fund, $14,000,000 is in enterprise funds (water, sewer, stormwater), and $10,000,000 in special funds (e.g., Open Space). The amount to be raised from taxes to support the budget is $17,700,000. There is a .98% increase in taxes to support this budget. For the average single family home owner, this results in an increase of $18.76 for the year. For the average condo owner, the increase in k$13.01 for the year. Mr. Hubbard then showed a snapshot of the CIP and noted that the Council first looked here for reductions. Items that were reduced, removed or moved to a future year include trucks for Public Works, Police cruisers, a reduction in paving from $1,000,000 to $700,000, and a reduction in ash tree removal. Cuts were also made to reserve funds. Some staff positions were not filled (e.g., City Planner, Deputy Finance Officer), and 4 positions were combined into 2 positions. Other money-saving actions included switching medical insurance plans (a reduction from a 12% increase to a 5% increase), using proceeds from the solar installation to fund energy projects, and streamlining of operations such as payroll, digitizing of records, and services shared with other communities or organizations. Expense factors driving the budget include: health insurance, pension plan, agreements with bargaining units, reduced interest earnings, and most significantly reduced local option tax receipts. Revenue factors include: a 1% increase in the grand list, rentals at 19 Gregory Drive, retiring the debt on the Public Works building, local option taxes, and ambulance billing. The total yearly increase for enterprise funds will be $14.50. Mr. Hubbard noted that also on the ballot will be 2 City Councilor positions, the City Clerk position, and a bond for Garden Street. Mr. Dorn then explained the bond issue which will fund construction at both ends of Garden Street. He showed an overhead photo and indicated the sections where work will be done. Other sections of the road will be built by developers. Mr. Dorn noted that if construction costs can be reduced, there is the possibility of doing work at the White Street intersection. The total project cost is $4,000,000, and the project is eligible for 100% financing through tax incremental financing (TIF). Mr. Dorn explained that TIF allows the additional taxes from improved properties to remain in the city instead of being sent to the state. That money can be used to fund infrastructure in the TIF district. CITY COUNCIL PRE TOWN MEETING 1 MARCH 2021 PAGE 3 Mr. Dorn then showed a plan of city center and indicated the buildings which have already been constructed and the location of 2 new housing projects to be built, one of which is under construction. The incremental taxes from all of these buildings will pay for 100% of the road project. There is no additional cost to the taxpayer. Mr. McHenry asked about a possible connection from the property to the west of City Center Park. Mr. Dorn said that is unlikely because of wetlands issues. 4. Consent Agenda: a. Consider and Sign Disbursements Ms. Emery moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously via a rollcall vote. 8. Presentation of FY22 School District Budget Ms. Burkhardt thanked the City Manager and Deputy City Manager for their many years of service to the community. Ms. Burkhardt then noted the school district’s goals for students: a. A disposition for lifelong learning b. Academic proficiency c. Personal development d. Citizenship Students must show proficiency in all of these areas in order to be prepared for their future paths. The cost drivers for the proposed school budget include salaries (an additional 4.7 FTE), health insurance (a 10% increase, negotiated at the state level), and increasing enrollment. Ms. Burkhardt noted that the demographer is forecasting a continued increase in school enrollment due to new housing and turnover of existing housing to young families. The High School is over capacity, and both Marcotte and Orchard Schools are at capacity. An additional 21 students are anticipated at Marcotte, 13 at Orchard, and 13 at Chamberlin. An additional teacher has been CITY COUNCIL PRE-TOWN MEETING 1 MARCH 2021 PAGE 4 added at both Marcotte and Chamberlin Schools. Enrollment at the Middle School should be down by 17 students next year, but the High School will have 14 additional students. Ms. Burkhardt said it has been a challenge to find staff because of COVID, but they will be adding the 2 elementary teachers, .3 financial literacy person, .4 guidance (at Marcotte), 1 human resource person (to replace the position cut last year), and 1 transportation person. The total school budget is $55,623,080. The cost per equalized pupil is $16,852.44. Ms. Burkhardt then explained how the State calculates equalized pupils. They are trying to determine how the equalized pupil rate went down by 17 students. There will be a decrease in the tax rate of 5.95%; however, because of reappraisal, individual taxpayers could see an increase, decrease or no change in their taxes. Ms. Burkhardt noted the possibility of further changes at the State level which could decrease the tax rate. There is also a 20-year bond issue for $2,500,000 on the ballot to cover facilities stewardship. The major item is the replacement of the Middle School roof ($1,800,000). Ms. Burkhardt noted that research is being done regarding needs at all schools, and there will eventually be a proposal brought to voters to address facilities needs throughout the district. Article 4 on the ballot would allow the school district to assign any surplus from the FY21 budget to support unanticipated, non-reimbursable expenses in FY22 related to the COVID pandemic. Two School Board positions are also on the ballot. Ms. Burkhardt thanked retiring School Board members Fitzgerald and Lalonde for their years of service and cited their positive impact on the city’s schools. Ms. Fitzgerald acknowledged retiring City Manager Dorn and Deputy City Manager Hubbard. As there was no further business to come before the Council and School Board, the meeting was adjourned by common consent at 8:35 p.m.