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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/19/2004CITY COUNCIL 19 FEBRUARY 2004 The South Burlington City Council held a budget presentation meeting on Thursday, 19 February 2004, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, T. Sheahan, D. O'Rourke Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; C. Jones, L. Murphy, Community Library; B. Hoar, Public Works Department; Chief L. Graham, Police Department Mr. Hafter said the city's operating tax rate is up 1.5 cents, which is the Charter limit. Three main factors contribute to this increase: health insurance, pension funding, and salary (the coming budget year has an extra week). Bonded debt is up .8 cents. The County Courthouse budget is down; they will be going for a bond issue for Courthouse repairs instead of adding this amount to the operating budget. The special highway tax is gone, and all funding for street repairs is now in the operating budget as was promised. Mr. Hafter noted that over the last 6 years, the total budget increase is 14.8%, less than the cost of living increase. Mr. Hafter then reviewed the City Charter limitations and explained how the proposed budget is in conformity with the Charter. City Council Budget: The amount for the Council secretary shows a raise in salary. Mr. Condos explained that this fall South Burlington will host the national meeting of Cities and Towns. The appropriation for VLCT has been increased a bit to cover this event. Social Services appropriation is up $1,000 to $46,000. $5,000 is in the budget for land acquisition. Administrative Insurance: Medical insurance rates are up 14%. Pension funds are up due to actuarial issues. Mr. Hafter noted that VLCT has done a great job controlling liability insurance costs. The line items for "retirement health benefits" establish a fund for investment to pay off benefits with investment earnings. Mr. Hafter said this represents good advance planning. City Manager: The budget includes an additional $5,000 for street lights. The fund for City Hall improvements allows emergency repairs, etc., to take place. General Ledger/Payroll: Mr. Gravelin said this area is pretty level-funded. Office supplies were reduced and a bit more was added for computer services. Assessing/Taxes: A more up-to-date printer is included in the planning and reappraisal costs have been increased a bit. Community Library: Ms. Murphy said the goal is to find more grants to fund Library needs. This will be the final year of the Freeman grant. The funds this year will be used for a full-time Circulation Supervisor. This will help provide continuity. Mr. Jones said they also want to do a facility study to estimate future space needs. They will use an outside consultant to do this. Line items addressed included: a small increase in children's audio-vision and in materials for programs. Capital improvements are down, but they do want a new carpet in the adult reading room and also a new computer. Mr. Jones felt the library's story is a good one overall. Mr. O'Rourke asked if the Freeman grant can be renewed. Ms. Murphy said no, the Freeman people have moved out of state. Police Department: The capital budget includes funding to replace 3 marked cars. The replaced vehicles will be used to replace surveillance vehicles that will be eliminated from service. Members discussed establishing a system to track payment from the state for traffic tickets written by the Police Dept. Chief Graham expressed concern that the Courts are reducing fines for overweight trucks. Members felt this should be addressed as trucks do a lot of damage to city roads. Chief Graham noted that the budget includes funding for 7 "tasers" (non-lethal use of force weapons). Public Works Department: Mr. Hoar said most changes involve personnel. Others include reducing funding for vehicle repair parts and for utilities in the garage (which are running less than predicted when the building was built). Mr. Condos said people are asking about the light between the Clarion and the Windjammer. Mr. Hoar said that needs to be interconnected. He felt the whole corridor should be looked at. Members discussed the success of traffic calming installations especially the "watch out for our kids" signs. Mr. Condos commented on the beautification work done this year. With regard to tree planting, Mr. Hoar said they will start identifying different areas in the city for more planting. Parks: Park improvements include basketball courts at Szymanski Park and J.C. Park. Mr. Hafter reviewed some planned rec path improvements. Mr. O'Rourke noted he had a request from a citizen for a bigger playground at Dorset Park. Mr. Hafter reminded members that the second budget presentation will be on Monday, 23 February, at 7:00 p.m. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.