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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/24/2000CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION 24 FEBRUARY 2000 The South Burlington City Council held a budget work session on Thursday, 24 February 2000, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: Jim Condos, Chair; Terry Sheahan, Joan Britt, Chris Smith, David Austin Also present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Peter Bestenbostel, Asst. City Manager; Bruce Hoar, Public Work Dept; Mike O'Neill, Fire Chief; Peter Lavallee, Police Dept; Ron Savitt 1. Announcements: Mr. Condos advised that the city has been awarded a $6,000. "Livable Communities" grant for the San Remo Drive project. Mr. Hafter advised that Bob Hest will be heading up the raffle for the Vt. Country Club membership. Mr. Hafter also noted that the Corrections Center bill was voted out today. It will now go to the House Institutions Committee. Mr. Condos said he had heard that in Newport there is a "telephone tree" to provide immediate notification of problems at their Corrections Facility. He felt the city should look into this. 2. Budget work session: Mr. Hafter reviewed the Charter limitations as they apply to the budget. The 1999 estimated grand list was $12,123,592. The estimated 2000 grand list is $12,548,000. This means there can be a maximum operating budget tax increase of 3.5% which would result in a maximum operating budget tax rate of .447. This is the proposed rate. The maximum operating budget can go up 10%. This year's increase is 6.7%. The total tax rate is up .9 cents, the first increase in 6 years. The total tax rate is proposed at .529. a. City Council: There is a $3,000. increase in Social Services. Nothing has been budgeted for the Coalition of Municipalities. Land acquisition has been budgeted at $10,000. b. Administrative Insurance: Mr. Bestenbostel noted an overall $12,000. increase in health insurance premiums for a total of $192,523. The insurance begins on 1 January, so if there is another increase, the city will fall short again. c. Community Library: Mr. Hafter noted that a full-time Librarian has been budgeted effective in March. Mr. Savitt explained that funding did not cover all the time that Claire puts in. He also noted that Library use is up tremendously, and that the full-time Librarian is part of the Library's 5-year plan. The Board is looking to expand the operations of the Library in order to serve more of the community. They are also looking for a Vermont Futures grant as part of this effort. The Blanchette gift has been marvelous for the Library. Non-fiction materials have been purchased from the grant allowing other book money to be spent on expanding the fiction listings. d. City Manager: Mr. Hafter said all salaries have been budgeted with a 2% increase. This is a negotiation year, and a reserve amount of $105,949 has been budgeted which would cover all departments. There is the standard 5% increase in ambulance service. Council members noted this is the best deal for the money anywhere. Legal services show a $5,000 increase. There is also an increase in street lights. Mr. Hafter said he would like to develop a street light policy with Public Works this year. Capital items include a new computer monitor for Ellen and a dot matrix printer for payroll checks. There is also a $25,000. item for City Hall repairs. Mr. Hafter recommended forming a committee of City Hall staff to prioritize needs. Mr. Lavallee spoke of the danger of falling ice. He noted that in the Police Dept. a ceiling fell through in a detective's office. There is heavy flooding during storms. There is also no hot water in the Police Department. This could cause a serious problem with OSHA if it is reported. e. General Ledger and Assessor Mr. Bestenbostel said there is no big increase in General Ledger. There is a $250. item for a modem. In the Assessing Office there is a 2.39% increase which includes $1650 for Travel & Training for accreditation courses for the Assessor. There is also a new computer and printer. Mr. Bestenbostel noted the city has 3 separate data bases which results in the same data being entered three times for a piece of property. He is going to try to come up with a piece of software that will address this. f. Public Works: Mr. Hoar noted a reduction in salaries due to Sonny's retirement. There is an increase in road painting costs. Capital items include three pieces of equipment: a service truck for mechanics, a truck used by the Parks Dept, and a flat bed truck for storm sewer maintenance. Mr. Hoar said it shouldn't be necessary to take a note on any of these. Mr. Hoar gave members a list of proposed projects for the year. These include a storm drain project for Laurel Hill because of flooding concerns every year. There is not much change in the 5-year paving program. The area of Dorset St. from Williston Rd. to Kennedy Drive will be sealed while a long-term solution to problems will be investigated. Ms. Britt asked if there is any money for East Woods traffic calming. Mr. Hafter said no because the residents didn't want that. The city may do "gateways" there, however. g. Parks: Park improvements include $15,000 for playground equipment for Farrell Park and 10,000 for upgrading the pavilion arch at Dorset Park. h. Fire Department: Chief O'Neill noted that July 1, 2000 will be the start of the Department's 30th year. The Department is planning a celebration for firefighters and their families. Station 2 is now open full time as of 1/1/00. The proposed budget shows a $4,000 increase in uniforms as there is now a minimum order for shirts. With this order, the Department won't have to buy shirts for 2 years. There is an increase in Recruiting and Testing in order to meet OSHA regulations. Capital items include a booster pump for Air Pack filling stations, the last of 4 payments for Engines 1 and 2, a hearing communications system for Engines 1 and 2 (allowing people in the trucks to talk to each other and to dispatch above the noise of sirens, etc.), the last of 3 payments on the bunker gear (these should last another 3 years), the second of 3 payments for the Air Packs, and the last of 3 payments on the lease for the Chief's car. Next year, the city will own the car (for payment of $1). i. Natural Resources: Mr. Hafter noted money in the budget for wetlands mapping. The next budget work session will be on 2 March. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.