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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/23/2006CITY COUNCIL BUDGET MEETING 23 FEBRUARY 2006 The City Council held a budget work session on Thursday, 23 February 2006, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: C. Smith, M. Boucher, S. Magowan Also Present: D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hinds, Director of Planning & Zoning; D. Kinville, City Clerk, J. Nadeau, Water Department; B. Hoar, T. Grover, C. Plum, Public Works Department; G. Dow, Water Pollution Control Department 1. Public Works/Stormwater Department: Mr. Hoar introduced Tim Grover, the new Stormwater Superintendent, and Craig Plum, Highway Superintendent. Mr. Hoar indicated there are no drastic changes in the proposed budget. The overtime number has been changed to be more in line with what is actually incurred. The salt budget remains the same (Mr. Hoar noted the shed is still ¾ full with salt because of low snowfall so far this year). There will be some new uniforms ordered because of new people in the department. Mr. Hoar indicated that the department would try to some of the traffic calming installations themselves instead of bidding them out. New equipment being requested includes 2 backhoes and replacement of a loader with a truck (this will result in some savings). There are funds allocated for paving sections of the rec. path. Projects proposed for the upcoming year include: 1. traffic calming on Laurel Hill Drive 2. a water line project on San Remo Drive 3. Farrell Street Park baseball field Mr. Hoar said there would have to be a consideration of numbers proposed for roadwork. He did not feel there was nearly enough given increased costs. Regarding stormwater, Mr. Hoar noted they are working very closely with Ms. Hinds to come up with numbers. They will know at the end of the year how close they came. Mr. Gravelin noted that the Parks budget includes $15,000 requested by the Rec. Path Committee. This will come from impact fees. 2. Planning & Zoning: Ms. Hinds said the budget is very similar to last year. A portion of her salary has been shifted to Stormwater Services and to the Market Street grant. Mr. Boucher asked about the proposed budget for legal services. Ms. Hinds said $50,000 to $70,000 a year is typical. 3. Water Department: Mr. Nadeau gave members information on water consumption and sales. He noted that if you don't count IBM usage, South Burlington is the largest water user in CWD. Mr. Nadeau noted that 80% of the revenue comes from water sales. The remainder is from maintenance of private hydrants, some backflow testing, fees, penalties, etc. System improvements planned for the coming year include replacing older hydrants and a valve program to replace leakage or breaks (specifically at Williston Road/Mill Street where there was trouble this year). The Water Department will be asking for a 5% rate increase (12 cents more for 1000 gallons of water usage). Mr. Nadeau attributed the need for this increase to increasing bonded debt, a CWD rate increase and flat-water sales. 4. Water Pollution Control Department: Mr. Dow said the budget is up about 1.5%. He noted that without the stormwater rate, South Burlington would be the lowest cost in the County. No rate increased is proposed for this year. They are requesting a dry prime pump. This is a portable pump station, which can replace a whole pump station that goes out. Mr. Gravelin noted that impact fees would be used to pay for capital items. Mr. Dow indicated they are doing more work themselves instead of hiring it out as in the past. They are still working on the Airport Parkway Plant upgrade. 5. City Clerk: Ms. Kinville said there is an $11,000 increase because of the elections this year. Other than that, the budget is down. No capital expenses are planned. They will be looking in the future for a computerized system for land records. 6. Bonded Debt: Mr. Gravelin briefly reviewed the city's bonded debt including Water Department debt. 7. Revenue and Tax Rate: Mr. Gravelin briefly reviewed city revenue and tax rate. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.