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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/06/2010CITY COUNCIL 6 DECEMBER 2010 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 6 December 2010, at 6:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Councilors Present: M. Boucher, Chair; S. Dooley, M. Emery, F. Murray, J. Knapp Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Assistant City Manager; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; D. Kinville, City Clerk; J. Rabidoux, Director of Public Works; J. Ladd, K. Murphy, City Hall staff; M. Young, B. Stuono, G. Maille, R. Bliss, S. Homestead, E. Morgan, J. Villemaire, R. Smith 1. Executive Session: Ms. Dooley moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel and contract negotiations. Mr. Murray seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Regular Session: 1. Comments and questions from the audience not related to Agenda items: a. Mr. Young noted that a sound barrier wall has been erected across from the Airport. He asked if baseline noise testing was done. Mr. Miller said it was. Mr. Maille said he had issues with the way the noise measurements were conducted. There was a plan, he said, that specified how testing was to be done. He indicated that he took notes and observed that testing was not random. There were tests on days when the F-16s were not flying. Mr. Maille read a list of the specifications that should have been followed. He indicated that they were not done concurrently in the northern neighborhoods, so they were done 12 different times a month apart. Mr. Maille said he would like the City Council to make a formal request to the Airport and to the company that did the measurements to secure the raw data so that an independent analysis can be made. He said he would also like to know the procedure to give a half-hour presentation to the Council regarding sleep deprivation and its effect on people. He then outlined some of the disturbances that occurred this past summer. Ms. Emery suggested asking the Airport for an update on the noise testing. Mr. Murray suggested that Mr. Maille bring his concerns to staff so staff can bring them to the Council. Mr. Maille said the city should also be asking for the field notes. Mr. Knapp recused himself during the next item due to a potential conflict of interest. b. Officer Bliss of the Police Department spoke regarding the decision regarding the pension able portion of Department overtime. He said they had been told the city wanted to collect this going back to January 2010. He then reviewed the history of this issue and read from the agreement. Officer Bliss noted that they had asked the previous City Manager how the deduction would look on their pay stubs, and it appeared to them that the City Manager didn’t seem able to respond. They were told the city would get back to them. This did not happen until Mr. Miller came to them a few weeks ago. Officer Bliss said they are asking the Council to reconsider going back to January 2010 as it could mean up to $200 deductions from paychecks. Officer Bliss noted that the Association did ratify the contract including the change in health care. Mr. Miller said the agreement had been not to go back to previous years but to go back to the beginning of 2010; however, since the contract has been ratified, and since the Association did go to management and ask for those deductions which never happened, he recommended that the City Council not go back to the beginning of 2010 but only to go forward from here on. Mr. Boucher noted they can’t vote on it tonight because it hasn‘t been warned, but Councilors informally feel they would concur with the City Manager’s recommendation. Mr. Knapp rejoined the Council. 2. Announcements & City Manager’s Report: Ms. Dooley: met with the publisher of The Other Paper. A monthly column for the Council and City Manager was part of the discussion as was the use of The Other Paper as the “paper of record.” Ms. Emery: presented a petition from citizens opposing the deployment of F­35’s at Burlington International Airport. She asked the City Manager to copy it for other Councilors. Mr. Miller: noted that the Planning Commission has initiated the process for updating the land regulations. Advised that the Auditor has resumed work on the city and school audits. 3. Presentation on History of Mayfair Park: Emily Morgan reported on an internship project which she did in recent months on the history of the Mayfair Park area of the city. The project included a “windshield survey” of the area including front porches, setbacks, garages, and different architectural styles and materials. Ms. Morgan noted there is no written history of South Burlington though some oral histories were done by High School students. The homes in Mayfair Park were originally designed as single family homes and were originally populated by soldiers returning from World War II. The developer drew on garden city designs from England and the use of English names. By 1948, 100 homes were being built. Ms. Morgan showed photos of different styles of homes, noting that all have only one-car garages because at that time families had only one car. Ms. Morgan said she hopes to add more to the project as she will be staying in the area after receiving her degree. She thanked Paul Conner and city staff for their help during her research. 4. Discussion of National Guard Road Realignment: Mr. Homestead said the relocation of the road will get it away from some sensitive tanks, which is a security concern. An EIS study was done which located a wetland and other sensitive areas which will determine the location and configuration of the road. Mr. Homestead showed a plan with the proposed road locations. He indicated that the right-of-way will be dedicated to the city, and the proposed road will be built to city standards and to current storm water regulations. No development north of the road is proposed at this time. Mr. Rabidoux said he has met with developers on two occasions. Mr. Young asked if there will be a sidewalk and/or fencing. Mr. Homestead said there will be 5-foot pedestrian lanes on either side and a security fence all the way. There will be extensive landscaping. Mr. Conner said there will be a full review at the DRB. Mr. Homestead noted there is one architecturally sensitive area which will be excavated of artifacts before road construction. 5. Ratification of the tentative agreement with the Water Pollution Control Employees Association: Mr. Knapp recused himself during this discussion due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Miller said the Association was asked to reopen it contract regarding health and retirement. There is now an agreement which the Association has ratified which mirrors the plan that management previously agreed to. Members of the Association hired after 1 January 2011 will be enrolled in VMERS; other members can choose to do this if they wish. There are 5 employees involved in this agreement. Mr. Boucher noted this will save the city sizeable amounts of money and that the Association was under no obligation to approve the agreement. He asked Mr. Miller to provide more detailed information on the savings to the city for the next meeting. Mr. Miller said that with the health insurance agreement with the police, the savings will be in the six figure range. Mr. Murray moved to approve the agreement ratified by the Water Pollution Control Employees Association as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Mr. Knapp rejoined the Council. 6. Discussion of Stormwater Topics: This item was postponed to a later meeting. 7. Authorizing the submission of a letter of intent to establish a tax increment finance district (TIF): Mr. Miller said the letter of intent would not bind the city in the future; it just starts the ball rolling. Ms. Murphy showed a map of the new town center district and noted that a TIF would be a financing mechanism to provide infrastructure for that district. The spending would need to happen in the first 5 years of the district. The letter of intent must precede an application by at least 60 days. Mr. Miller noted that this was a topic of discussion with Legislators last week. The Legislature will be asked to modify TIF language regarding timing in order to provide more latitude. Mr. Conner noted that the TIF could provide the city’s match for the Market Street reconstruction. He said the Planning Commission gave it unanimous approval. Mr. Miller added that it could also be used as a match for any other grants the city might receive. Ms. Dooley moved to approve the submission of the letter of intent to establish a tax increment finance district (TIF) as presented. Ms Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Discussion of City Charter Requirements Regarding the Budget; overview of the FY12 budget format and discussion of municipal finances: Mr. Miller said that after pension plan problems had been identified, other problems and potential problems with budgets were discovered. Auditors were hired for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2010 followed by the hiring of Mr. Rusten as Assistant City Manager. Mr. Miller said it appears that checks and balances have been lacking. He noted that Department Heads have indicated that they objected to the practices that were in place, so they should not be blamed for the current situation. The City Council also asked questions and had problems verifying the answers they were given. Mr. Rusten then provided an overview of what he found has been happening. He noted that the City Charter requires the creation of a separate fund for fire truck replacement and the keeping of separate accounts for various funds in the city budget. It also requires an itemized statement of appropriations and revenues. Budgets for all departments should include all expenditures. There is also a specific process for the transfer of funds from one account to another which requires City Council action. Mr. Rusten said he believes none of these criteria are reflected in the current city budget. Mr. Rusten then diagrammed what he feels has been happening. Various sources of revenue have not been segregated, and money from one source went to a different project or fund or department which lacked funding at the time. He said many funds have been in deficit for a number of years, and the general fund has been in deficit for 3 of the last 5 years. Mr. Rusten reiterated that only the City Council should have the right to rechannel money from one department to another. The city now has to consider: how to deal with structural problems, how to deal with existing debts, how to provide more accurate budgeting, and how to cut expenses. Mr. Smith, the Auditor, said not only has the general fund paid for other things, but other funds have paid for expenditures that weren’t for their purpose. Mr. Miller then asked Mr. Rusten to address the Airport Parkway Treatment Center project. Mr. Rusten said the overall cost was supposed to be $25,000,000. It appears that it will run $25,600,000 or so. Of the anticipated $2,000,000 in grant funds, only $1,300,000-1,400,000 has been collected, and no more is anticipated. It is not certain whether the $1,500,000 that was anticipated to be on hand to defray costs is there, and there is a significant cash flow problem. To address this, there has to be accurate budgeting and a means within Charter regulations of dealing with the debt. Mr. Rusten said they will be asking the prior City Manager and Assistant City Manager for information as to what was actually happening. Mr. Boucher said the Council heard about this for the first time in an executive session. Mr. Rusten said it appears that a number of department heads have tried to get answers to this in the past. Meetings are now taking place with Department heads to see what their budgets really should be. Even if they can’t end up there, at least the city will know what the expenditures should be. Mr. Rusten said they are also putting together a grant management system, a list of all projects, etc. Mr. Smith said the real problem is “old, archaic policies” in South Burlington, and clearly someone wasn’t paying attention. Mr. Rusten then showed a potential format for the 2012 city budget. There will be more lines in the budget than previously and a clear separation between general funds and enterprise funds. Revenues will look very different. There will also be a 5-year capital plan. Ms. Emery asked the Auditor if there are “best practices” and if what is being proposed is “best practice.” Mr. Smith said it is a better process and conceptually it is “spot on.” He added that there hasn’t been much transparency in the past, and the Council needs to see everything. Mr. Miller said they met last week with key staff and asked for recommendations for trimming and for significant service cuts. There will be “expenditure freeze” talk as well. Mr. Miller added that there will be no cuts in finance and general management or in general technology. Mr. Miller then outlined some steps already taken to address these issues including changes in health insurance programs for management and Water Pollution Department and Police Department. There is exploration for refunding of pension plans at lower interest rates and for other changes to management. Mr. Miller felt they will probably have to consider short-term borrowing and increased fees for water, sewer and storm water. He stressed that everything is on the table. Mr. Miller said the budget book that the Council receives will have all the information that staff understands to be the case, including a narrative explanation. The Auditor will be present in March to provide explanations. Mr. Stuono asked if other municipalities have found themselves in similar positions. Mr. Smith said many of them have. The issue would be if those problems are allowed to continue. He added that everything was in place in South Burlington to identify those problems, but the “markers” were ignored. He stressed that governments are asked to do a lot with a limited amount of resources. Mr. Young asked if sewer rates for Colchester will go up as well. Mr. Boucher said they will. Mr. Miller added that Colchester will pay their proportion of South Burlington’s base rate. Mr. Boucher stressed that the City Council asked many times if the sewer rates were sufficient to pay for the Airport Parkway expansion and were told “yes.” They also asked if the dollar amount for the project was right and were again told “yes.” 9. Discuss revision of signs in the Municipal Right-of-Way: Mr. Miller said the revision includes; no signs attached to municipal property or buildings and limitations on size of signs. No Council action was required. 10. Resolution Changing the Paper of Record from Seven Days to The Other Paper: Mr. Miller said that in researching the issue, it was discovered that there is no reason not to make this change. Seven Days and the Burlington Free Press would be alternates. Ms. Emery moved to authorize the changing of the paper of record to The Other Paper. Mr. Murray seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Resolution of Document Changes in Fringe Benefits for Management and Non-represented Employees: Mr. Miller said there would be a $24,000 savings as of 1 January 2011, and a $48,000 savings as of 1 July 2011. This is part of the effort to trim costs. Mr. Murray moved to approve the changes in fringe benefits for management and non-represented employees as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Consideration of Approval of Capital Equipment Notes for Public Works Department: A) trackless sidewalk plow B) 2008 dump truck with sidewalk plow C) highway loader Mr. Miller said all are at 2.4%. He added that in the future this practice will stop, and there will be a capital purchase reserve fund to pay for equipment in full. Mr. Knapp referred to page 2 of the Resolution and asked if it is correct that the city doesn’t expect to issue $5,000,000 in debt obligations this year. Mr. Miller said that as long as the Council has no other firm plan, that is true. Mr. Knapp then moved to approve the capital equipment notes for Public Works in the form written. Mr. Murray seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Review and Approve Minutes of 15 November 2010: Mr. Murray moved to approve the Minutes of 15 November 2010 as written. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m. ________________________________ Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.