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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/17/1994STEERING COMMITTEE 17 MARCH 1994 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Thursday, 17 March 1994, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present City Council: Michael Flaherty, John Dinklage, James Condos, Charles Hafter, City Manager School Board: Dennis Snyder, Frank Murray, Theodore Manazir, Bruce Chattman, Superintendent Also Present Lawrence Lecours, Marilyn Frederick, School District; Brian Searles, Police Chief; Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Sid Poger, The Other Paper; Leo Brown, Bob Hest; Channel 17 1. Review Minutes of meeting of 18 November 1993: Mr. Flaherty moved the Minutes of 18 November 1993 be approved as written. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Review Proposed City and School District Budgets: a) City Budget: Mr. Hafter noted the tax rate for the city in the 1994-5 budget is proposed at .797 and for the school at 2.045. This results in a total of 2.842, a decrease of .6% from last year. Mr. Hafter then reviewed tax rate changes for the past 8 years. He noted that beginning in 1990-91 growth slowed down and the increase last year was due to voter approved items. In 1994-5, the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $18. less in taxes than for 1993-4. The estimated Grand List is the same as last year which means there can be no increase in taxes for the operating budget. Mr. Hafter said he is very proud that the general operating budget is still $35,000 less than in 1992. The total city budget for 1994-5 is proposed at $7,767,000. Mr. Hafter noted that since 1990-91, the total increase in the operating tax rate has been 3.4%, less than 1% per year. Mr. Hafter then reviewed the highlights of the proposed budget, noting that although there could be no increase, many important things were included in the budget. There will be a new playground at JC Park. Phase I of Dorset Park will be completed and it is hoped the soccer fields can be used this fall. There will be a "tot lot" at Dorset Park thanks to Chittenden Kiwanis who donated $14,000. The Vermont Youth Corps project will build walking paths on the Calkins property. The Fire Department will replace all of their air packs. They will also increase the emphasis on fire prevention. Mr. Hafter noted that the Fire Department open house continues to draw about 2,500 people. Two Police cruisers will be replaced, and the Police Dept. will continue their very successful community programs including DARE, Kids and Kops CUSI, and the traffic safety officer. The Department is now completing the accreditation process and will be the only accredited Police Dept. in the state. The Street Department will replace some of its equipment. Work will be done on a number of roads including: Laurel Hill Drive, Brookwood Drive, Central Ave, East Terrace, Hinesburg Rd/Kennedy Dr. intersection, Williston Rd/Kennedy Dr. intersection, and Airport Parkway/Shamrock Rd. intersection. There are also plans for a neighborhood street improvement program which the City Council will soon be discussing. Mr. Hafter noted there will be a sewer rate increase of 6.5%, but, he added, South Burlington still has the lowest rate in the County. Mr. Hafter then showed a chart of where the tax dollar from a $75,000 appraised home is distributed: Police $167, Fire $60, Highway $109, City Administration $99, Recreation/Library $31, Other Agencies $26, and debt service $103. ($595 total). Mr. Condos said that city staff under Mr. Hafter's leadership have done an excellent job of modernizing the entire workplace and said South Burlington is coming into the '90's as a city. Mr. Hafter gave credit for this to the Department Heads. Mr. Murray offered a special thanks to Chief Searles for the caring attitude the Police Dept. has shown. b) School Budget: Supt. Chattman noted that revenues are down and showed a chart of where revenues come from. Since there has been no growth in the Grand List, the Board had to make many hard decisions. They began with a direction to fund a level budget, but this resulted in expenditures that were over budget. Rather than go to the voters for approval to exceed limitations, they decided to reduce the budget. Some of the reductions included: 1 bus, a special educator at the Middle School, 5.5 teachers, a central office secretary, A-V secretary. In addition an Assistant Superintendent won't be replaced this coming year. In addition, there will be no classes with fewer than 15 students. Mr. Chattman then showed a graph of where expenditures go: 62.8% to teacher salaries & benefits, 6.9% to administrative salaries, 16.2% to support staff, 12.8% to supplies, .7% to equipment, and .7% to bonded debt. He noted that administrators get no benefits as part of their compensation. Supt. Chattman said he hoped the non-funding of the Asst. Superintendent position is only a one year occurrence as this is a very important position. Supt. Chattman noted there will be a reduction in Blue Cross/Blue Shield of 4%. Although the city has gotten no regular state aid for a number of years, Supt. Chattman said there is a possibility it will get about $100,000 in the coming year. The district also anticipates more tuition students. Funds from these students go to providing services for them (bus service, supplies, etc.). The question of leasing as opposed to providing school bus service was raised. This has been checked into. Service is an issue, and Mr. Murray noted that when Chamberlin School was honored recently, one of the items mentioned was the excellent bus service which allows students to participate in many non-school hours activities. Supt. Chattman said there will be three ballot items. First will be the election of 2 School Board members. The second will be the community use of school facilities which requires voter approval. The third will be the authorization for the schools to borrow money at no cost to citizens for energy-saving measures. The schools are also looking at a bond in the fall to retrofit its buildings. This will include space for community activities, additional students space, and compliance with regulations. Mr. Hess complimented the Supt. and the Board for its efforts to maintain a high quality education for the city's students. As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.