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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Steering Committee - 09/19/2012 AGENDA SOUTH BURLINGTON STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 5:00 P.M. FREDERICK H TUTTLE MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY 1 . Election of Officers • Chair from the City Council • Vice Chair from the School Board • Secretary — City Manager 2. Approval of minutes of January 25, 2012 Steering Committee Meeting 3. Overview of the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) application, application status and discussion 4. Update of Interim Zoning — Form Based Codes, Affordable Housing, Sustainable Agriculture/Food Security and Open Space 5. Chamberlin School — F-35s Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Meeting with FAA, Airport, Congressional staff 6. Other items to come before the Committee 7. Adjournment If you are interested in having an item placed on a future agenda, please contact the superintendent, Any person requiring special accommodations to attend this meeting should contact the superintendent's office at 652-7252 at least 72 hours before the meeting. STEERING COMMITTEE 25 JANUARY 2012 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Wednesday,25 January 2012, at 7:00 p.m., in the Library of the Frederick Tuttle Middle School, Dorset Street. Members Present: City Council: M. Emery,J.Knapp,P. Engels, R. Greco; S. Miller, City Manager; School Board: M. Lalonde, Steering Committee Chair; R. Cassidy, E. Fitzgerald,J. Beatty, D. Bugbee; D. Young, Superintendent of Schools Also Present: R. Rusten, Deputy City Manager; J. Stewart, School District; D. Fleming, M. Young, A. Cliff, T. Barritt, J. Dinklage, F. Geier 1. Minutes of 5 December 2011: The Minutes of 5 December 2011 were accepted by common consent. 2. Public Hearing on Proposed City Program Budget for 2012-13: Mr. Miller said that with changes made by the City Council,there is a proposed 2.1 cent increase on the tax rate, 2.8% increase in Water use and a 1.5% increase in Water Pollution Control. There is no proposed increase in storm water. Mr. Young said he felt the budget had a lot of money for reserves/contingencies, more than $500,000. He would like to have that shared with citizens instead of having a 5% increase. He understood this is being directed to planning ahead, but he felt it was sending a message that"we're flush with cash." He was concerned with sticker shock and said this makes the school budget increase look palatable. Mr. Fleming asked if there is an expectation of a need for future "buffering." Mr. Miller said there are several reserve funds being proposed. The idea is to do building maintenance and replace"rolling stock" with cash payments instead of borrowing and incurring interest costs. This will allow for"flatter"budgets so there are no spikes. There is also a sick leave accrual fund, which is contractual. The city has initiated efforts to decrease such benefits, and they are already$1,000,000.00 less than a year ago. Bargaining units will be asked to make additional concessions. However, there are employees with up to $500,000 in accrual. An actuarial study is being done to see what the future liability might be and how to fund it. In the meantime,the city is putting aside money to address this. Mr. Miller added that they don't know how many people may be retiring in a given year. There is already $2,500,000 on the books, and the value of that goes up over time. What this means in terms of future payments isn't known, so the prudent thing to do is to put money aside to address the future need. This year, there were 5 unanticipated retirements. Mr. Rusten added that if the money is not spent, it can roll over to the next year. STEERING COMMITTEE 25 JANUARY 2012 PAGE 2 Mr. Miller noted that the auditor recommends an "undesignated"reserve to address a potential emergency. $50,000 has been set aside for that. It represents .29%of the budget. The auditors recommendation is 2.%. • Mr. Miller also noted that this budget largely addresses all of the major financial issues the city has been facing. The pension fund is a little over 100% funded. Taking out a loan to do this reduced the budget by about 1 cent. The city has identified about $2,000,000 in bills that had not been invoiced correctly. These bills have now been sent out, and some of the money has been collected. More is anticipated. The city is asking to write off what is deemed uncollectible. Mr. Rusten noted that the contingency/reserve is not atypical. What is atypical is that they are still not sure of all the liabilities. For example, the City Hall building has not been looked at, and the computer system is "early 20th century." He felt they will continue to find issues that need revenue to address. 3. Public Hearing on Proposed School District Program Budget for 2012-13: Superintendent Young cited recent accomplishments in the District including: I. Pre-Kindergarten education 2. Added technology for students 3. Elementary mentoring 4. Building maintenance (includes High School front entrance, wheelchair and playground accessibility in all schools, Orchard School gym) 5. Added technology to buses transporting students from the Champlain Islands and have also provided a late bus so these students can participate in after-school programs. The School District is proposing a total budget of$42,106,183., which represents a 3.74%increase. Highlights of the proposed budget include: 1. Expanding the 1 to 1 laptop program to 4 grade levels 2. Making custodial services more efficient 3. Increase in number of special ed students from 241 to 265 4. School bus route consolidation(bus pickup from .6 to .9 miles radius around the school) STEERING COMMITTEE 25 JANUARY 2012 PAGE 3 The Facilities plan includes the following: 1. A new roof at Central School ($65,000) 2. Replacement of sidewalk and curbs and paving roadway at the entrance to the Middle School ($60,000) 3. Flooring at High School, elementary schools and bus garage ($38,150) 4. Heating unit burner upgrade at Chamberlin ($15,000) 5. Lawn Mower($13,000) 6. Two new buses ($21,000) 7. Safety/security upgrades ($34,000) 8. Bathroom upgrade at High School ($30,000) 9. Windows at High School ($15,000) There is an anticipated 2.71% increase in revenue from the State Education Fund for a total of$32,145,228. The tuition rate will go up 3.19%. Federal aid will decrease by 29.62% as the jobs incentive has been discontinued. State aid is up 12.82%. Rentals are anticipated to be down 34.6%. Supt. Young noted that salaries are 60% of the total budget with benefits an additional 20%. The health insurance increase is 3.5% this year. The retirement plan contribution will increase by $150,000. All other costs will decrease about 3%. The number of equalized pupils will decrease from 2412 in FY12 to 2397 in FY13. The actual anticipated total number of students in all schools is 2405. Supt. Young said that for the average home in South Burlington($322,000 value),the school tax would increase by $122. Mr. Miller noted that he and Sandra Dooley testified at the State Legislature regarding the two proposed Charter changes. They have been passed by both houses and are ready for the Governor to sign. It is anticipated that this will meet the timeframe for the new regulations to be in effect for the March vote. Supt. Young said this means voters will vote until there is a budget passed. Mr. Barritt asked where the bus garage is. Supt. Young said it is the small building to the left of the Audette building. Floor tiling needs to be addressed there. Mr. Barritt noted dismay that there is no money budgeted for students to take the AP exams. Supt. Young said this is true. At present, all students who take AP classes are required to take the tests. They can earn college level credit if they score well enough. In the future, the tests will not be mandatory, and students can opt not to take them. Supt.