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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/18/2008CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP 18 DECEMBER 2008 The South Burlington City Council held a budget workshop on Thursday, 18 December 2008, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, Audette Public Works Building, Landfill Road. Members Present: C. Smith, Chair; M. Boucher, S. Dooley, S. Magowan, M. Emery Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; Chief T. Whipple, T. Shepard, Police Department; B. Hoar, Public Works Department; T. Hubbard, Recreation Department; D. Kinville, City Clerk; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; T. Shea, Chamber of Commerce; S. Marick 1. Budget Totals: Mr. Hafter indicated that the budget being presented for consideration now results in a 5.26% increase. To get to a 4% increase, $248,744 must be removed. The operating budget being presented now results in a 5.52% increase. $190,436 would have to be removed to get to 4%. 2. Public Works Budget: Recommended cuts in the Public Works budget include: Mr. Hoar noted that his proposed budget for 2009-10 is $2,372,000. This represents a 10.3% increase. The driving factors are paving costs and insurances (liability and health). Mr. Hoar said that with an average winter they would be OK for salt; however, an average winter is not expected. The Department now has a liquid which will allow them to use less salt. Mr. Hafter raised the possibility of not plowing the recreation path. Mr. Hoar did not recommend this as he gets many requests to keep the paths open. One alternative possibility is not to plow sidewalks, or just plow the sidewalks where children walk to school. With regard to park maintenance, there is a possibility of reducing summer help, but they do a tremendous job that would have to be done by regular personnel. Mr. Hoar cited the importance of keeping a viable paving program going as it will save money in the long term. Other possible savings include: laying personnel off in winter (Mr. Hoar did not recommend this), investigating an early retirement option for senior employees (which might be a good option for some). Mr. Hafter said this is only a savings if you don't fill those positions. Mr. Hoar noted the increase in paving costs from $53/ton last year to an estimated $79/ton for this year. This results in an increase of $168,000. Mr. Magowan felt this would have to come from the rooms & meals tax. The capital budget includes replacement of a salt truck. Mr. Hoar said the current truck is 11 years old, and newer trucks are automatic. He said it ultimately saves money to have good equipment. The one item he would consider not replacing is the bucket truck ($30,000). They could rent one, if needed, at a cost of about $5000. However, it would mean not as good care for trees. A critical capital need is for traffic controllers. 75-80% of the traffic controllers is obsolete and cannot be repaired. There is only 1 spare controller on hand. Also in the capital budget is doubling the size of the salt shed as suppliers are recommending storing a year's supply of salt. Currently, there are 300 tons on hand. Mr. Hoar felt this was a lower priority. Mr. Hafter suggested using more money from the rooms & meals tax and reducing some of the road work money. 3. City Council: The proposed budget shows a reduction from $405,000 to $398,000. There is no change in Council salaries. VLCT dues are up a bit. Mr. Hafter recommended dropping the dues to the National League of Cities & Towns as the city would still have representation through VLCT. ($1400). Suggested reductions include: a. GBIC donation $ 5000. b. Chamber of Commerce 4000. c. City Services funding 46,000. d. Land acquisition 5000.(predates the Open Space reserve fund) Mr. Shea of the Chamber of Commerce Convention Bureau noted that they have 3 people who spend time encouraging people to come to the area and fill South Burlington hotel rooms. The average meeting attendee spends about $295/day on rooms, meals, etc. He encouraged continued funding to keep that money coming in. It was noted that the rooms/meals tax brought in about $800,000 and the sales tax over $2,000,000. Members agreed to drop the NLCT funding and the Land acquisition reserve. Mr. Boucher felt City Services funding was not the City's responsibility. Ms. Emery suggested reducing the level of support, given the hard times. Mr. Smith said he had no problem phasing it out over a 2-3 year period. Mr. Magowan said he has come full circle on this. He said the measure of a society is how well it treats the least advantaged. He suggested only a $5000 cut because of the difficult times. 4. Administrative Insurances: Mr. Hafter said he was proposing a 1% vacancy in jobs. This would save $55,000. He did not recommend cutting the pension contribution which has gone up $246,000. It is possible to save 3% in health premiums by going to a higher co-pay by self-insuring. This will save $40,000. Employees would end up paying less as well. 5. City Manager: Mr. Hafter suggested that 10% of street lights be turned off. He will present a list of recommended lights. He did not believe this would be a traffic or pedestrian issue. 6. Police Department: Mr. Hafter said the Police budget goes from $4,600,000 to $5,000,000. The increase in liability insurance is almost $100,000 of this. Potential reductions include: a. Canine expenses b. Summer Recreation Path patrol c. Fuel savings d. Legal e. Recruitment These would total $27,500. Chief Whipple said a major problem is that in difficult economic times, the Police Department becomes busier. If the State cuts out funds for prisoner transfer, it would add $48,000 to the Police budget. The incident level is up to over 10,000 this year. Arrests are also up. This year they averaged 91 tickets per total number of officers and 22 arrests per total number of officers. Chief Whipple did not recommend cutting any Crime Prevention/Youth Services personnel. Mr. Boucher questioned the value of the DARE program. Chief Whipple said the Department pays nothing for it and there are some benefits. They can go into the classrooms, and officers receive 80 hours of training on how to interact with kids. They also work on on-line bullying and "partying" issues. Ms. Marick, a parent in the community, spoke against cutting youth services. She cited the excellent work of officers Dave Solomon, Tanya Lawyer, Kevin Grealis and Tom Fraga. She said that students respect these officers. She also said the risks kids face today are terrifying, and the relationships that kids have with these officers makes a difference. Chief Whipple said it would be possible to cut a Traffic Safety officer, but the city would lose money by that. The "Canine Officer" has already caught a burglar, and the Department paid nothing for the animal. Council members asked about the importance of accreditation. Chief Whipple recommended retaining it as it holds the department to a national standard. He felt it would be easier to "cut corners" without that standard. The Chief felt they could survive without the motorcycle, but he suggested buying one instead of leasing one every year. With 3-year financing, the Department would own it after that, and it would last 10 years and cost only $500 a year for the 3 years. Members felt this was a "no brainer." Chief Whipple then cited the need for 2 additional officers due to the demand for their services. He indicated that most of the time they are going with three officers with no supervisor. The estimated cost for the 2 additional officers is $140,000. The summer hire patrol officer works 10 weeks in the summer and patrols the rec path. They are also "front runners" for National Night Out, and the Chief felt this event would be lost without them. He felt you can't rely on donations to do National Night Out. A member of the audience said that is the one city event they go to every year. It was suggested that the patrol people be paid less and work fewer hours, but still produce the event. Mr. Hafter suggested making the position a "National Night Out Coordinator." The budget includes $6500 for that position. Mr. Magowan did not favor this. Mr. Smith saw this as a "want" not a "need." Chief Whipple noted that in Barre this was produced by a citizens' committee. Mr. Smith asked Chief Whipple if he could eliminate $75,000 elsewhere if the Council funded the 2 new officers. Mr. Hafter said they could put off buying new vehicles or hire people mid-year. 7. Recreation Department: Mr. Hafter said there are no increases in the Recreation Dept. budget. Mr. Hubbard noted that with regard to Red Rocks Park, they take in about $5000 at the gate. He suggested cutting back on the hours when lifeguards are present which could save $15,000. Lifeguards would be present only on camp weekends, from the last week in June to mid-August. Members were OK with this. Mr. Hubbard recommended keeping the 2 summer play sites at Orchard and Chamberlin Schools. He suggested adding a $25 fee for the program. Scholarships would still be available to those who cannot afford to pay. Members were OK with this feel. Youth programs are no self-supporting. Mr. Hubbard suggested increasing fees by $5.00. The South Burlington Youth Baseball program is not run by the Rec Department; however, they donate $5000/year for equipment. Mr. Hubbard proposed taking the $5000 out of an income source (field rental) and putting it into upkeep of the fields. Members were OK with this. 8. City Clerk: The budget is reduced from $217,000 to $209,000 as there is only one election this year. It was recommended to discontinue the 5:30 closing on Tuesday which will save $1200. 9. Planning Department: The Planning budget shows an increase of $3000. Mr. Conner recommended increasing the fee for a permanent sign from $5.00 to $45.00. The temporary sign fee of $5.00 would remain. It might be possible to charge a higher fee for an "after the fact" building permit. Mr. Conner will check on the legality of this with the City Attorney. Legal fees are getting closer to the budget target. Mr. Conner suggested the possibility of building codes, but this could be postponed for a year. Education and training could be reduced from $7,000 to $5,000. Mr. Conner noted the department is 4 years behind in mapping. There is the potential to do this through Planning or Stormwater Departments. The mapping increase of $1300 could be reduced by about $600. Mr. Hafter noted that the second budget workshop would be held on Monday, 22 December, 6:30 p.m. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works. CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP 18 DECEMBER 2008 The South Burlington City Council held a budget workshop on Thursday, 18 December 2008, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, Audette Public Works Building, Landfill Road. Members Present: C. Smith, Chair; M. Boucher, S. Dooley, S. Magowan, M. Emery Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; Chief T. Whipple, T. Shepard, Police Department; B. Hoar, Public Works Department; T. Hubbard, Recreation Department; D. Kinville, City Clerk; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; T. Shea, Chamber of Commerce ; S. Marick 1. Budget Totals: Mr. Hafter indicated that the budget being presented for consideration now results in a 5.26% increase. To get to a 4% increase, $248,744 must be removed. The operating budget being presented now results in a 5.52% increase. $190,436 would have to be removed to get to 4%. 2. Public Works Budget: Recommended cuts in the Public Works budget include: a. Trees $2800 b. Flower planting 5800 c. traffic calming 7000 (Mr. Hoar felt that most of the cut-thru traffic has been addressed) d. summer college student $14,000 (this will require using full time employees to cut median grass, etc., which means it will not get done as quickly. Roadside mowing will still be done on schedule. e. advertising 500 f. travel/training g. mailbox repair 4000 (Mr. Hoar suggested the money could be put back in and people given a stipend when mailboxes are damaged by snowplowing) h. replacement of Dorset St. banners 4 times a year Mr. Hoar noted that his proposed budget for 2009-10 is $2,372,000. This represents a 10.3% increase. The driving factors are paving costs and insurances (liability and health). Mr. Hoar said that with an average winter they would be OK for salt; however, an average winter is not expected. The Department now has a liquid which will allow them to use less salt. Mr. Hafter raised the possibility of not plowing the recreation path. Mr. Hoar did not