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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/14/1994CITY COUNCIL 14 FEBRUARY 1994 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday 14 February 1993, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: Michael Flaherty, Chairman; James Condos, John Dinklage, William Cimonetti Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Brian Searles, Police Chief; Bruce O'Neill, Recreation Dept; Sonny Audette, Street Dept; Joe Weith, City Planner; James Goddette, Fire Chief; Sid Poger, The Other Paper; Tom Chittenden, Dave MacLaughlin 1. Budget Work Session: Mr. Hafter said there had been no growth in the Grand List, so no tax increase would be allowed. The operating budget is proposed to be $5,339,000 with a tax rate for city operations of .756. Last year's rate was .761. The total tax rate, including "other entities" (County Courthouse, etc.) would be .797. Last year's total rate was .799. a) City Council Budget: There will be no increase in salaries. There is an increase in VLCT dues of 4.3%. Mr. Hafter noted the city gets a tremendous savings in health insurance because of its membership in VLCT. The Social Services budget will remain the same at $37,000. b) City Manager's Budget: The compensatory time adjustment plan will be maintained. There is an increase in City Hall maintenance as the building needs a lot of work. Ambulance service will remain the same, but after this year, the service people would like an increase in their fee. Mr. Cimonetti suggested they come in and talk with the Council during the year. Two computers will be purchased, one to replace the City Manager's secretary's and one for the Assistant City Manager. c) Police Department: Chief Searles said the drug forfeiture fund is now at $5,000. The Chief said the Department has been recommended for accreditation. The presentation would be in late April/early May. The Chief thanked the Council for its support during the accreditation process. Mr. Cimonetti said a celebration should be planned for this. With regard to the Budget, Chief Searles noted they will be getting back the officer from the drug task force which will solve some overtime problems. Mr. Dinklage asked what this will do to drug enforcement in the area. Chief Searles replied that they will go from 15 to 9 officers in the state; however, the President's crime bill has a lot of money in it. Mr. Dinklage asked whether child abuse will still be a priority. Chief Searles said it will. He added that if certain positions stay in the crime bill, some positions in this area will be funded at 90%. The Chief said they will reduce the unmarked fleet by one vehicle this year and one next year. The Chief asked that if $4500 can be found they would like to put one laser back in. Mr. Cimonetti asked if there will be any personnel turnover. The Chief said they have put $3,000 into recruiting, but they are not expecting any turnover. The bike path patrol will remain the same as last year and the traffic safety unit will continue. d) Fire Department: Chief Goddette thanked the Council for its support over the past years. He noted that permanent salaries are down due to two retirements, but overtime is up because of trying to meet certification requirements. The Chief said fire calls totalled 1544 this year. Calls on accidents are way up due to severe weather conditions. Station maintenance allocations have been increased due to the need to replace overhead doors. This will, however, save about $3,000 in heat loss costs. Mr. Dinklage asked about the turnover situation. Chief Goddette said they haven't lost more than 2 people in the past few years but that it is very hard to get new people, especially people from the south end of the city. Chief Goddette noted that the Fire Chief's organization is trying to do some group purchasing in order to save money. Mr. Hafter said they Fire Dept. will be back to the Council for capital purchasing and it will be the intent to increase the capital purchasing account next year. Mr. Flaherty praised Chief Goddette for his service and said that he is leaving a very professional department. e) Street Department Budget: Mr. Audette noted a big increase in salaries. He said they have been working on landfill closure for 2 years and have charged payroll to that account. Landfill closure is now complete and that personnel is back on the Street Dept. budget. Equipment replacement is up to where it should be. This year they will replace a maintenance truck, dump truck and two pickups. These are the backbone of the snow plowing fleet. Mr. Hafter noted an increase in the salt/sand fund. He also noted that two roads will be done from funds in the budget: Central Avenue and Laurel Hill Drive. The five year construction plan is tied into the plan given to the Council last week on neighborhood roads. Mr. Audette said frost is now 7 ft. deep and roads in the spring will not be in good condition. Mr. Cimonetti said he believed the city will get "Class A" paving of Williston Rd. this summer. e) Park Maintenance Budget: Mr. Audette said they will work on the new park to get a couple of fields ready for this year's Peanut League action. They can then shut down some of the school fields and do some work on them. Some of this work may be done by Youth Conservation Corps people. Mr. Cimonetti asked about rest room facilities at Farrell Park area. Mr. O'Neill said the concern is vandalism. Mr. Hafter will look into this. f) Recreation Dept. Budget: Mr. O'Neill said there are virtually no changes in the budget from last year. There will be a new ink drum for the copy machine to allow them to work in different colors for their brochures. Mr. O'Neill noted the department had gotten a computer through donations to the department. They will purchase a maintenance contract for this computer. g) Planning Department: Mr. Weith said there is a 2% reduction in the budget, but it is going to be very tight. He didn't foresee any consulting fees. Mr. Cimonetti raised the question of getting GIS based tax maps. Mr. Hafter said the cost would be about $30,000. Mr. Cimonetti said they should begin accruing funds for this as it would have a very strong community benefit. h) Debt Service: Mr. Hafter said there is a reduction of $30,000 in bonds. Principal and interest will be paid on the Brand Farm this year. The city will probably need only $200,000 of the $400,000 in landfill bonds. Personnel has done a good job in holding down expenses. Mr. Hafter said he would feel comfortable taking 1¢ out of the debt service rate. i) Revenues: Mr. Hafter noted that the City Clerk's Office revenues almost equal expenditures. There is a slight increase in building permit fees. The lease for the pelletizing plant should double next year as it would be for a full instead of half year. A 6.5% increase in water pollution/sewer fees is proposed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.