HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - City Council - 06/10/2009 southbur in ton
Charles E. Hefter, City Manager
AGENDA
South Burlington Steering Committee
Monday, September 21, 2009, 6:00 p.m.
City Hall, 575 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403
1. Review and approval of Minutes of June 10, 2009 .
2. Election of Officers for 2009-2010:
• Chair (School Board turn in rotation)
• Vice-Chair (City Council turn in rotation)
• Secretary (Superintendent Everitt)
3. Discussion of upcoming budget
• Review of zoning permits issued to date
• CPI expectations
• General discussion
• City and School budget preparation calendar
4. Initial school registration figures
5. Discussion of Legislative advocacy and effectiveness of Legislative
Breakfasts
6. Other items to come before the Steering Committee
7. Adjourn
575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4107 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER'S
MONTHLY REPORT
August 2009
PERMITS CONSTRUCTION COST
1 Single Family Dwelling (1 unit) $250,000
1 Multi-family Dwelling (3 units) $300,000
22 Residential Additions & Alterations $776,625
7 Non-Residential Additions & Alterations $103,166
1 Fence $1,477
4 _ Sheds 1 Tennis Court $29,000
Demolition
5 Non-Taxable $2,500
44 $400,435
2009 YTD $12,189,867 $1,869 303
Taxable $9,203,978
August 2008
PERJ! TS CONSTRUCTION COST
2 Single Family Dwellings (2 units) $450,000
1 Two-Family Dwelling (2 units) $530,000
16 Residential Additions & Alterations $161,073
1 Non-Residential $10,530,350
10 Non-Residential Additions & Alterations $919,700
2 Sheds $4,000
2 Fences $4,800
1 Garage $28,000
9 Demolition $100,000
44 $12,727,923
2008 YTD $41,566,098
Taxable $38,861,298
Re tf I ly S tte•
y n J. elair
' Administrative Officer
SBSD Enrollment by School
What is the actual and projected enrollment?
1000 .
900
U Central
800
S FHTMS
d 700 - SBHS
� _ ��Chamberlin
�,, 600
` ' Orchard
0 500
400 444,011
E 300 41MIG
Z 200 - _
Projections are based on a four year
average of the grade-to-grade changes
100 - in enrollment plus tuition students. -
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 > > > > > > >
00 0 > op ON0 -� 0 0 0 > (P rn
b b b b b b b b b b b '> '> `> '> `> '> `> '>
0 0 > 0 s rn cP 0 0 >
School Years
9/21/2009
SBSD Enrollment
What is the actual and projected enrollment?
2,800
2,600 �.�...�
2,400
2,200
2,000
CD 1,800
1600
tnj® 1,400
-�-Total Residents
L 1,200 -0-Total Enrollment
a� -
13
E 1,000
Z 800 -
-
600
400
200
9 O O O O O n n O >
d' �9 O 7 � csp Q S O _ CP O O � � u' S7
9i9 00 O> Oi-) 0c� Q Oi5` 06, OJ-I OcP O(9 5O tJ MCP 57 5 5 5
(5` 6 -‘
School Years
9/21/2009
STEERING COMMITTEE 10 JUNE 2009
The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, 10 June
2009, at 7:00 p.m., at the Frederick C. Tuttle Middle School.
Members Present: City Council: S. Dooley, Steering Committee Chair; M. Boucher, J.
Knapp; C. Hafter, City Manger; School District: R. Cassidy,A. Clift; J. Everitt,
Superintendent of Schools
Also Present: D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; D. Young, Assistant Superintendent;
S. Jeffrey, VLCT; community members
1. Minutes of 22 January 2009:
Mr. Cassidy moved to approve the Minutes of 22 January 2009 as written. Mr. Boucher
seconded. Motion passed 6-0 with Mr. Knapp abstaining.
2. Legislative Session Recap:
Mr. .Jeffrey directed attention to a chart of relevant figures including sources of revenues
and what is paid for from various sources. He also indicated what was eventually passed
by the Legislature by overriding the Governor's veto, including a column of what the
Legislature should have done if it followed the requirements of the State Statutes.
There was a one cent difference between what the Legislature approved and what the
Governor wanted for the base education payment. Mr. Jeffrey said that both figures are
higher than what should have been.
Mr. Jeffrey also noted that the Governor had proposed to cap income sensitivity at an
income of$75,000 instead of$90,000, but the Legislature overrode that.
In preparing school budgets this year, schools did a better job of keeping spending down.
The average increase was 2.2% instead of the projected 4.6%.
Mr. Jeffrey also directed attention to information on stimulus money that is being
funneled through the State to the communities. This amount totals$279,000,000. Mr.
•
Jeffrey noted that if the Statute was followed this figure should be $279,800,000.
Mr. Jeffrey said that the sum total of what the Legislature passed is that taxpayers will
see $26,000,000 more in property taxes than VLCT thinks it should have seen. The
Governor's proposal would have resulted in $22,300,000 more. Mr. Jeffrey also noted
that South Burlington has been the largest contributor in the State to the education fund.
Mr. Boucher asked how communities can deal with what is going on in Montpelier,
especially since people in the communities believe property taxes are all controlled
STEERING COMMITTEE
10 JUNE 2009
PAGE 2
Locally. He noted that taxpayers will see a 5% increase even though school budgets went
up only 2.2%.
Mr. Hafter said he was concerned with the use of stimulus money which won't be
available in future years. He also stressed how little of that money is actually going to
the local municipalities.
Mr. Boucher asked VLCT to provide press releases so the city can inform taxpayers what
actually happened in Montpelier to make their taxes go up.
Mr. Jeffrey noted there will be a tax holiday again this year, and again cities will be held
harmless. The dates are 22 August and 6 March.
Supt. Everitt commented that there is a lot of talk about city/school collaboration and
merging of operations. He asked whether anybody in the state is doing this. Mr. Jeffrey
said there is such an effort being made in Milton. Mr. Boucher noted that Tom Salmon is
planning to do a study on where economies can be gained.
Mr. Cassidy observed that when you have a tax based on the ability of people to pay
(e.g., the income tax) and a tax which is not based on the ability of people to pay (e.g.,
the property tax), the tendency is to add costs to the latter.
3. Enrollment Projections for 2009-10 School Year:
Superintendent Everitt said both the High School and Middle School are making efforts
to attract students from other communities and are continuing to maintain population
levels. The elementary population is increasing a little bit now, and there is a possibility
that with the difficult economy some students will be removed from private schools and
put into the public school system. There is an effort underway to look at how the needs
of 5th graders in all 3 schools might be met in one program.
Supt. Everitt also noted that school administrative offices will be moving from the High
School to the Middle School due to a lack of space Mr. Hafter said that this is one
situation that the City Hall building may eventually be able to help solve.
4. Update on Police Station Upcoming Ballot Issue:
Mr. Knapp said there has been one meeting to begin to look at specs for converting the
building at 19 Gregory Drive into a Police Station. After looking at figures for rebuilding
at 575 Dorset St. ($9-10,000,000) or purchasing and retrofitting 19 Gregory Drive
($7,100,000), the Council made the decision to go to the voters in a special vote on 15
STEERING COMMITTEE
10 DUNE 2009
PAGE 3
September.
One advantage of 19 Gregory Drive is that it will take a relatively short time before the
building can become functional for the Police to occupy as there is no construction
needed, only retrofitting, and all permits for the building are already in place.
Mr. Knapp added that in 20 years time, the city will gain more square footage in the
Gregory Drive building at virtually no cost.
A member of the audience asked what will then happen to the City Hall building. Mr.
Knapp said the Council is looking at about $1,500,000-2,000,000 to rehab that facility.
Mr. Boucher said it would be a"cheaper fix" for a 5-10 year stay or more money for a
longer stay. Integration with the School Department will be a large part of that
discussion. Mr. Hafter stressed that the City Hall building will not be abandoned.
As there was no further business•to come before the Steering Committee, the meeting
was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Clerk