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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/15/2005CITY COUNCIL BUDGET PRESENTATION 15 FEBRUARY 2005 The South Burlington City Council held a Budget Presentation on Tuesday, 15 February 2005, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, Albert "Sonny" Audette Building. Members Present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, T. Sheahan, S. Magowan, Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; D. Kinville, City Clerk; B. Hoar, Public Works Director; Chief D. Brent, Fire Department Mr. Hafter advised that there would be a 1.3-cent increase in the city tax rate. By City Charter limitations, the maximum operating budget could have been $10,580,000; it is actually $10,133,000. The total tax rate goes from 61.8 to 63.1. Mr. Hafter noted that there were 3 main forces driving the proposed budget: health insurance, liability insurance (specifically Worker's Compensation), and the pension plan. Both health and liability insurance are statewide issues affecting all municipal budgets. Mr. Hafter indicated that his main goal in this budget is to make sure the pension plan is fully funded. He felt that it would be possible to keep it fully funded in the future. The proposed budget includes a negotiated 4% salary increase, which is in line with other communities. Mr. Hafter stressed that the City Charter does what it was intended to do. Mr. Condos noted that in Williston, taxpayers are looking at a proposed 50% increase in their property tax. Public Works Budget: Mr. Hoar said noted changes in permanent salaries. He also explained how stormwater utility fees would be handled in the budget. The storm drain maintenance line has been zeroed out. There is less equipment replacement in this budget. There is a tree-planting program for city beautification. Mr. Condos noted that road striping needs addressing. Mr. Hoar said they are thinking of switching to a "block system" which will hold up better. Mr. Condos specifically cited problems at Williston Rd/Kennedy Drive/Airport Drive where lane marking has virtually disappeared. Mr. Hafter said the quality of paint has gotten very weak because of the removal of some toxins. Mr. Hoar said they are beginning to see problems on Dorset St. between Williston Road and Kennedy Drive. This part of the road is 12 years old. Mr. Hafter then briefly reviewed some proposed park improvements at Dorset Park, Farrell Park, etc. Mr. Condos noted there might be some State recreation funds available if these improvements are in the budget. Mr. Hoar then cited the extraordinary efforts of his department following an accident to a salt vehicle. City Council: Mr. Hafter said there would be a slight increase in general expenses. VLCT dues also go up a little. The land acquisition reserve will reimburse the general fund for the money to purchase the development rights on the Scott property. General Insurances: Health insurance goes from $160,000 to $206,000. Part of this increase results from adding health insurance costs from Library employees to this line. Mr. Sheahan asked who manages the pension plan. Mr. Hafter said Cigna. Mr. Sheahan noted that his business has had major issues with pension plan administrative costs. Mr. Hafter agreed this is a concern. City Manager's Budget: Mr. Hafter said most everything stays the same. There is an additional $5000 for maintenance and replacement of streetlights. There is funding for a new computer for Denis and a folding machine for bills. City Clerk: Ms. Kinville said that having only one election in the coming year makes a big difference in her budget. There are no significant payroll changes. Cat licensing is not going very well, but the office still gets calls for copies of the Cat Licensing Ordinance. Postage is up a bit, but printing is down. Ms. Kinville noted that some records are being put on microfilm now, especially as things become more and more computerized. General Ledger/Payroll: Mr. Gravelin said they are working closely with Gloria to get her office cleaned up. They are also trying to focus her time on General Ledger activities. This seems to be working. One significant change is the addition of $2500 for computer services. This will give the city a monthly maintenance contract to keep the network functioning. Assessing & Tax: Mr. Gravelin said Todd is training Martha to help him with some of the "leg work." Salaries reflect contract amounts. It was noted that reappraisal costs will be somewhat offset by State money via Act 60. Mr. Hafter also noted that the audit would have no management letter indicating any problems. Fire Department: Chief Brent noted that in the last 3 years the Department has received a significant amount of money via grants. The Chief said there are no major changes in the budget, only things over which they have no control (utilities, etc.). They are seeing a split now between fire and ambulance services. Salaries for the "fire side" are down while those for the "ambulance side" are up. Chief Brent said that responses were down a little; however, during the last week in January there were 84 calls. These were mostly due to cold weather conditions, ice, etc. Mr. Condos noted the Department had some runs that involved Interstate use. He said there is a bill in the House that would pay $50 for every run on an Interstate highway. Chief Brent said they are working to bring overtime costs into line. He is trying to shift some of the responsibility for this to the Captains to let them learn how to work with Resources. The Chief added that there are now some incidents for which they don't call everyone back. Maintenance and repair costs are up. The Chief noted the fleet is getting older and the cost of maintaining the equipment goes up with age. In December, the ambulance had over 220 responses (including the school bus incident). They transported over 100 of these. The Chief then reviewed revenue from the ambulance service including some accounts that are deemed not collectable. He said that Julie is doing an excellent job with collections, and they are right where projections said they would be. He also noted that part of the increase in the ambulance budget is due to a 12-month budget instead of 11-month last year. The biggest increase is in the pension area. Mr. Hafter noted the $55,000 increase in the ambulance budget is offset by a projected $60,000 in revenue. Chief Brent said that every day they receive calls, etc., from the public regarding the ambulance service. Members agreed this was an excellent move for the city to have made. Mr. Hafter then reminded members that the second budget workshop will be on 28 February at 7 p.m. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.