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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/19/1998CITY COUNCIL 19 FEBRUARY 1998 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Thursday, 19 February 1998, at 8:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: William Cimonetti, Chair; Joan Britt, Terrence Sheahan, James Condos, David Austin Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Peg Strait, Assistant City Manager, Lee Graham, Police Chief; Mike O'Neil, Fire Chief; Don Whitten, Water Pollution Control Dept. I - Budget Work Session: Mr. Hafter noted that for the 5th straight year there will be a slight decrease in the city's tax rate. There is a 1.7% growth in the Grand List resulting in a 67.3¢ maximum operating budget tax rate allowed by the Charter. The maximum operating budget is 6,079,000, representing a 4% increase which is well within Charter limitations. A. Department Budgets: 1. City Manager's Account: There is a $7,000 decrease in salaries due to combining the positions of payroll clerk and administrative assistant. City Hall maintenance is up $2,000 due to needed work on the elevator. Ambulance service is up 5% to $21,000, and is still a great bargain. This cost is also offset by contributions. There is an increase in costs for maintenance of street lights which cost the city about $9.50 a month per light. Mr. Cimonetti noted that energy costs to municipalities are a major percentage of budgets. He felt that was an argument for deregulations. Legal services will go to bid this spring. Capital expenses include $3,000 for a new file server, $400 for a new fax machine, $4,000 to replace audience chairs in the downstairs conference hall, and $1,000 for renovations to the office waiting area. 2. Police Department: Chief Graham said the department will add one new person after 1 January 1999. They will also pick up the salary of the officer coming off the COPS grant. This will give the department 33 sworn officers. Mr. Condos asked if there will be an increase in traffic concerns. Chief Graham said there will. They will have another officer qualify for motorcycle use this year. Mr. Austin asked if it is more economical to pay overtime than to hire more officers. Chief Graham said it is, but the disadvantage is that officers are more tired. Capital expenses include the motorcycle lease, 3 new vehicles (at least one of which will be leased) a fax machine, and replacement of 6 radios. Chief Graham noted that there does not appear to be any money planned from drug forfeitures. The decrease in liability insurance was noted since the department became certified. 3. Fire Department: The department will add one new person in January, 1999. Chief O'Neil gave members a comparison of staffing times for Station #2. The new person planned for the department will increase that coverage to over 80%. The department will be impacted by the new "2 in/2 out" rule which requires that for every 2 firefighters inside a building at a fire location there must be 2 outside. Mr. Hafter noted that $72,000 will go into the equipment replacement fund to be used to pay off the debt on the new fire trucks. This year will also see the last payment on the doors and airpacks. Chief O'Neil said he anticipates receiving a call on the old fire truck which is for sale. The department is keeping the truck maintained so it can continue to be certified. Mr. Hafter praised Scott Merchant for work he did on ISO certification. He also noted that Scott will be leaving the area to take a firefighting job in Connecticut next month. d. General Ledger/Assessing & Tax: Ms. Strait said that operating expenses are the same as in the past several years. A brief discussion on leave time "turn-in" followed. Ms. Strait said they are staying about even on this. Mr. Cimonetti noted there is an unfunded liability here which could create a problem down the line, particularly at the Department Head level. Ms. Strait noted there are 2 FTE's in this department, the assessor and deputy assessor. There is also cost for consulting fees for work being done in Mr. Underwood's absence due to illness. e. Water Pollution Control Department: Mr. Whitten said there is virtually no change in personnel. The total is down a little due to replacing a retiring employee with a person with less experience. There is a reduction in diesel fuel due to less hauling of sludge. Costs for sludge management are the same as last year ($350,000). There is now a long- term agreement with a company in Quebec to take the sludge. Mr. Condos explained the savings gotten by spreading the cost over the whole county. Mr. Cimonetti asked who gets the money for sludge removal. Mr. Whitten said it goes to transportation for dewatering and to the District for disposal. Mr. Condos noted there is a bill in the House which would not allow any sludge processing within 2 miles of a residential area. He felt the city should keep tabs on this. Capital expenses for the department include replacement of the sewer vac (about $125,000-130,000 budgeted over a 5-year period) Mr. Austin noted an increase in utility costs. Mr. Whitten said GMP is recommending they use a figure of 12-13% increase. Mr. Hafter explained the equipment reserve fund which, together with a rate increase, will allow for paying off the bonded debt. Rates will increase from 16.50 to 16.75 per 1000 cu ft. This will mean about a $10/year increase for a family of 4. Mr. Hafter felt this was still very inexpensive compared to other towns in the country. Mr. Cimonetti asked if there are any capital equipment needs in the near future. Mr. Whitten said there is nothing big coming up. f. City Council: Mr. Hafter noted that requests from non-profit groups are way ahead of what has been budgeted in past years. He said the aim was to stay at about $70,000. GBIC asked for a $11,000 increase but was given only $5,000. The Chamber of Commerce will get the same $4,000 as last year. Social Services will increase from $37,000 to $40,000. The Pines asked for $15,000 this year, but was given $10,000. Mr. Hafter said they would like to start building up the land acquisition fund again and have put in $8,000. There was a request for $100 from a group seeking to build a Veterans Chapel in Randolph. This was not funded. g. Other Agencies: Winooski Valley Park Association shows a $5,000 increase, $4,000 of which is for purchase of Colchester Pond. Regional Planning and the MPO are both up a slight amount. The major increase is from CCTA which is up about $20,000. This includes a increase in mileage for the loop into the Pines. The big increase is for SSTA. South Burlington's share of ridership increases from 17.4% to 24.5%; however, there is a 20% decrease shown in actual boardings. Mr. Hafter said he has encouraged CCTA to bid out the services. He also noted that most of the increase is due to the increased number of senior citizens in the city. Mr. Cimonetti noted there will be a CCTA budget hearing on 26 February at 5 p.m. Mr. Hafter will be attending. h. Debt Service: Mr. Hafter said debt service is down about $90,000 from last year. The Brand Farm land for the city park has been paid off. Mr. Cimonetti noted that he attended a Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday to hear the report on the City Center study. He said he told the Commission that the Council is interested in doing something to help get things going and urged them to listen to a good proposal that would include a parking structure. He also urged them to be more creative with the east side of the San Remo block. He suggested the city might also participate in things such as promenades, sidewalks, etc. One question is whether the city should pick a site for a garage and a park and get them on the official map. Mr. Cimonetti said he encouraged the Commission to do that. The question of design review was also discussed. It was felt that there needs to be a "time clock" for the sake of developers. Ms. Britt said she would like to see encouragement for the Post Office to locate in the City Center area. Other members agreed. Mr. Cimonetti suggested possibly putting together a citizens' committee to work on that. The budget presentation will continue on Monday, 23 February. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.