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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/06/2008CITY COUNCIL 6 FEBRUARY 2008 The South Burlington City Council held a budget work session on Wednesday, 6 February 2008, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: C. Smith, Chair; S. Dooley, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; T. Whipple, Police Chief; L. Murphy, Community Library; D. Kinville, City Clerk; T. Hubbard, Recreation Department 1. Overview of Operating Budgets/Estimated Tax Rate: Mr. Hafter thanked Mr. Gravelin and Department heads for a great job in preparing the budget. He noted that the goal was to get close to the cost of living increase, and this was difficult because of the increased cost of energy. The total City operating budget is up 3.49%, which is just below the cost of living increase. The gross City budget is up 4.01%. 2. Line Item Review: a. City Council: Mr. Hafter said there will be no increase in City Councilors' salaries. There is a small increase for advertising & communication. VLCT is up $600. The City will fund the recent request from CCTV for the new broadcast/computer format ($5100). b. City Manager: The apparent decrease of $70,000 is due to reallocation of expenses. One new position is proposed, a City Engineer. This will be funding through 3 departments: Stormwater, WPC, and City Manager. Total of salary plus benefits is budgeted at $76,000. Mr. Hafter noted that although his contract calls for a new car, he will not have the city purchase this but will buy a car for himself. $15,000 has been budgeted for a "wage classification study" which is done every few years. $10,000 is budgeted for streetlights, including new lights for Shelburne Road. A minimal amount has been budgeted for City Hall improvements (paint, fixing leaks, etc.). c. City Clerk: Ms. Kinville noted the additional election expenses due to the number of elections this year. There are no new capital expenditures. Mr. Hafter expressed concern with "early voting" and noted that in New Jersey the court ruled that voters could vote again if a candidate they voted for in an early vote dropped out of the race. Ms. Kinville noted that credit card use is going well. d. Recreation: Mr. Hubbard said they are not filling one position at this time, so salaries will appear to be done. He also noted that the main reason they can increase the number of programs offered is that many of them are self-supporting. They are doing more for younger children on Saturdays, which requires paying extra for the use of the schools. e. Police Department: Mr. Hafter noted than an apparent large salary increase is due to a correction concerning holiday pay. Chief Whipple said the Department handled over 20,000 calls last year, 9,000 of which were actual incidents. 642 arrests were made (down from the previous year). There was a 2/5% increase in traffic tickets. The Department had a goal of reducing the number of traffic accidents, which was achieved. There were 935 accidents during the year. The number of accidents with damage was up 5%. Both burglaries and drug arrests were slightly down (these 2 usually go together), but DUI arrests were up, and there is a huge jump in DUI arrests from 2005. Mr. O'Rourke suggested giving this information to The Other Paper to let citizens know what is going one. Chief Whipple noted that the Police Dept. is authorized for 41 officers, but they are budgeting for 40. They will, however, add a ½­time dispatcher as there has been concern with keeping this 24-hour spot staffed. The Chief noted a rebate received through the CUSI program because of the low number of incidents in South Burlington. The City contributes one officer to CUSI. There is minimal equipment and supply increases, but a substantial increase in gasoline for Police vehicles. There is a small increase in building maintenance. Accreditation expense includes a fee for one officer to go to a conference to keep up on new information. Chief Whipple noted he is very impressed with the 2 new people hired from a college outside of Boston. The Department will provide a small bonus to "pre-trained" hires, as it saves the cost of training. Capital expenses for the coming year include the replacement of 2 vehicles. Chief Whipple said the Department is struggling with an aging fleet (cars with over 100,000 miles). An expense of $17,000 will cover vehicle equipment (what goes into the cars) replacement. They have been using "hand-me-down" equipment for several years. One additional radio will be purchased. A copier and one cruiser will be paid off in this budget year. The Chief said he would "lobby" for a Canine program. He noted that the city has been using canines from neighboring communities when needed, but he felt they have been abusing this privilege. He said the canines are a good prevention and safety precaution and can help with drug efforts and tracking of perpetrators and lost persons. The "worst case" cost would be $28,990. The city already has a grant of $5000 (which would have to be returned if not used). The Chief said he felt he could find a way to get started with $11,990. He asked the Council to consider this addition to his budget. Mr. Hafter said he used to be against canine use, but has come to believe it is a valuable program. His concern is with overtime, because the dog is assigned to one officer, and if he is off duty, it is overtime to call him back in. f. Library: Ms. Murphy said the total budget increase is under 4%. She reviewed the department's personnel and volunteer hours. There is a slight increase in the book budget and a decrease in the travel budget. Ms. Murphy gave members information on increased library use in recent years. There has been a very significant 50% increase in circulation and a significant increase in computer use. She stressed that they are stretched quite thin at this time and asked the Council to consider adding an additional 23 hours a week at a cost of $16,524, in her budget. Ms. Murphy noted that the School had taken several hours away from their allotment to the Library. She prevailed upon Supt. Everitt to put it back, but she didn't know if it would remain in the School budget. As an alternative to additional personnel, Ms. Murphy said she would consider closing the Library on Saturday mornings in the summer and possibly one night a week. Mr. O'Rourke noted that because of the system of funding, it costs more to have a school employee in the Library. Mr. Hafter suggested that the City could hire someone and reduce what the City pays to the Library/School each year. g. Administrative Insurances: Mr. Gravelin noted that the city changed some deductibles and saved a little money in premiums toward Liability Insurance. They have added Short Term Disability Insurance for City Hall employees ($6038). Pensions reflect increased salaries and salaries realigned between departments. Mr. Hafter noted that the Pension Fund is fully funded including administrative costs. Two retirements are anticipated this year. There will be an 8% increase in liability insurance in the second half of this year. h. Accounting: Mr. Gravelin noted that the General Ledger/Payroll Department has one full time and 2 half-time employees. Money has been budgeted to maintain the server. i. Assessing Department: This will be the second year of the reappraisal amortization. Mr. Hafter commented that the additional part time person has been working out well, and there have been no complaints from citizens about unanswered calls. j. Executive Session: On motion by Councilor Magowan, seconded by Councilor O'Rourke, the council voted to enter executive session to discuss personnel, and to return to open session only for the purpose of adjournment. k. Regular Session: 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.