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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/15/2007CITY COUNCIL 15 FEBRUARY 2007 The South Burlington City Council held a budget workshop on Thursday, 15 February 2007, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: C. Smith, Acting Chair; D. O'Rourke, S. Magowan, M. Boucher Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; D. Brent, Fire Chief; T. Whipple, Police Chief; T. Hubbard, Recreation Director; L. Murphy, Community Library 1. Budget Workshop to Review 2007-08 FY Budget: a. Review City Charter Requirements: Mr. Hafter said the total budget for City services is $18,314,000. This represents a 5.9% increase over last year's budget. The Grand List increase is 4% ($26,010,000). The maximum operating tax rate is .356. The actual operating tax rate proposed is .355 (a 3.8% increase). The maximum operating budget that can be raised from taxes is $11,706,160. The actual proposed operating budget is $11,348,798. Mr. Hafter noted that for a home valued at $100,000. this would mean a $12.00 a year increase in taxes for City services. b. City Council Budget: Mr. Hafter said the City Council budget is pretty much the same as last year. The appropriation for Vermont League of Cities and Towns is up to $920 (based on per capita). Social Services remain the same at $46,000. The amount being added to the Land Acquisition Reserve is $5,000, and the amount for the Open Space Reserve Fund (approved by the voters) is $260,100. c. City Manager's Budget: Mr. Hafter said a 3.5% salary increase has been shown. Negotiations are still pending, so there is a reserve shown. $5000 has been allotted for City Hall improvements. Mr. Hafter noted that the Public Works Dept. did a lot of work on City Hall this year. d. Recreation Department Budget: Mr. Hubbard said most increases are related to fixed costs (equipment contracts, etc.). They will finally this year get webtrack and a credit card option. Mr. Hubbard then reviewed some of the Department's activities for the past year. He noted that 285 different programs were offered, and there were over 130,000 participation hours. They have done 325 background checks (at no cost). The Department was also the beneficiary of 3390 volunteer hours. Mr. Hubbard noted that they can have as many as 27 fields in use at any one time. There is a committee working on a facility use policy. Mr. Hubbard said he hoped there would be something in place for this spring/summer. e. Fire Department Budget: Chief Brent said they have come in just under the 3% guideline given them by the City Manager. Money has been added for building space maintenance of 5000 sq. ft. Capital requests include repayment of bonds for the building and ambulances, the fire apparatus fund (a committee is looking into vehicle replacement and will bring recommendations to the City Council in late Fall). Mr. Gravelin noted this will be the last year of payment on the tower truck bond. f. Police Department: Chief Whipple noted that the Police Dept. has seen a 20% increase in regular calls for service this year (from 16,402 to 19, 758). Arrests are up 22% (from 692 to 850). Ticket volume is up 34.5%. On the positive side, there has been a 5.5% reduction in vehicle crashes. The Department is proposing to add one full-time equivalency position. They have flat-budgeted overtime due to this increase in staff. There is a budget item for "fitness rewards" (small monetary bonuses). Mr. Hafter noted that this program has resulted in lower medical insurance increases. Chief Whipple said they are asking for funding to maintain accreditation. He felt this is a very valuable tool. The Chief noted that one officer is concentrating on this area, and they are working on standards on a daily basis. Chief Whipple said accreditation holds the Police Department to certain benchmarks (vehicle maintenance checks, checking of the emergency generator, communication systems, "use of force" complaints, etc.). Under capital expenses, the Department will replace 3 vehicles (buying 2 and funding 1) and purchase vehicle attachments/emergency equipment. Chief Whipple said he would like to have a replacement plan for all of the Department's major equipment (radios, etc.). The Chief said they anticipate an additional $39,000 in revenue from the increase under the Alarm Ordinance. g. Library: Ms. Murphy said they will be reinstating the Community Assistant position. This is the person who does shelving. They tried to staff this position with volunteers, but it didn't work. This will be a 19 hour a week position beginning in January. They will also increase the "grade" level of the Office Manager position. Ms. Murphy said the Library Board wants to decrease dependence on the Blanchette funds, as they would like that money to be the basis for a fund- raising operation. When people donate money, it would go toward future growth. Mr. Hafter noted that the Blanchette fund is now more than when it was originally bequeathed. Ms. Murphy said the Library is paying more to the school than other libraries pay for comparable services. Mr. Boucher noted that this saves taxpayers money because of Act 60/68. Ms. Murphy indicated that they hope to get wireless access installed. Under capital expenses, they will be installing new shelving in one remaining small space. h. Administration Insurance: Mr. Hafter noted that health insurance is increasing but not as much as had originally been quoted. i. General Ledger and Payroll: Mr. Hafter said they will be taking a 20-hour position back from the Clerk's office and adding 20 more hours to staff a position in the Tax/Assessor's Office due to the volume of activity there. Mr. Boucher asked to see what the budget would look like without the personnel changes. Mr. Hafter said if he could find room in the budget, he would put it into street repair as the costs in that area have gone up so much. Mr. Smith asked what services would have to be cut to get a zero percent increase. Mr. Hafter suggested the sidewalk plow and Bike Path Patrol. The second budget workshop will be held on 22 February, 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.