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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/28/2011TOWN MEETING 28 FEBRUARY 2011 The City Council of the City of South Burlington held a Town Meeting on Monday, 28 February 2011, at 7:00 p.m., in the Tuttle Middle School, Dorset Street. City Council Members Present: M. Boucher, Chair; S. Dooley, M. Emery, J. Knapp Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Assistant City Manager; J. Everitt, Superintendent of Schools; D. Kinville, City Clerk; K. Murphy, J. Ladd, other City Hall Staff; R. Cassidy, J. Allo, A. Clift, School Board; Rep. A. Pugh; S. Dopp, R. Greco, F. Geier, P. Engel, R. Lebrecque, E. Diner, G. & F. Johnston, R. White, R. Nowak. W. & D. Wessel, N. & A. Carpenter, A. Rovner, L. Banach, S. Berkett, B & C. Munger, M. Machia, R. M. Jacobs, K. O’Neill, M. Reed, B. Waters, C. Forde, D. Connolly, D. Bedard, J. Zeitz, M. & D. Engel, J. Kearns, B. & J. Smyle, E. Ciemniewski, M. Boyer, C. Limanek, M. Kay, B. Rowe, D. Joabs, D. Posner, D. Wilber, R. Leberge, T. Hyatt, L. Yankowski, other community members 1. Presentation of City of South Burlington FY12 Municipal Budget: Mr. Miller reviewed the key cost indicators. He noted that 9.7 FTE’s were reduced, and total wages were down $69,000 from the current year. There is also a 22% reduction in health insurance costs which Mr. Miller attributed to bargaining groups being willing to change health insurance plans. This results in a savings of $301,000. Pension costs are up because the city is funding to the actuarially recommended amount. A number of employees have switched to a VMERS plan (including one of the bargaining groups). All new employees will be placed in this new plan as well. Health insurance will be bid out again next year. All labor agreements are one-year agreements. There is a new Employee Benefits Committee. A number of municipal purchases which have not previously been bid out will be bid out in the future. This include such things as diesel fuel. Mr. Miller noted that the city is still looking for additional cost savings. He specifically noted the Firefighters who saved the city money by opening their contract again. It was necessary to restructure the Airport Parkway Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion project, and there is a budget item for $2,500,000 that is owed to the contractor. Mr. Miller noted that the Town of Colchester is paying more than half the cost of the plant. He stressed that the ballot item represents the cheapest way (2% financing from the State Revolving Fund) to deal with the shortfall. Mr. Miller noted that the City is about to hire a Deputy Finance Manager to help with the restructuring of internal financial operations and management. Mr. Miller noted that the City Council has authorized additional fees for planning, highway, ambulance service, etc. This will help to lower the tax burden. Mr. Miller also said that it is anticipated that going forward budgets will be balanced or with a surplus. The tax rate resulting from the proposed budget reflects a 2.25 cent increase. For a $200,000 condo, this means an increase of $45.82 for the year. A home valued at $316,000 would see a $71.10 increase for the year. A member of the audience asked whether all money has been accounted for and did all the money that was put out go to South Burlington residents. Mr. Miller said they believe that all money collected went into the city coffers. The problems arose because there was more spending than there was income. There is no evidence that any money disappeared. Mr. Miller stressed that the new auditors are very thorough. The audit will be available by 31 March. In future years, audits will be available by the end of the calendar year. Another audience member asked how the City Council would have known of the pension shortfall under the old system. Mr. Miller said the Council had not been receiving the actuarial reports, and the auditor and pension fund investors had never met with the City Council. This situation has been corrected, and the auditors will be required to attend at least one City Council meeting. All reports will be posted on the city’s website. Mr. Rusten stressed that Mr. Miller told him that if he was ever displeased with what he was doing, to go to the City Council with his concerns. He noted that in the past, people were discouraged from going above the City Manager. This will no longer by the case. Mr. Miller stressed that the loyalties of employees must be to the taxpayers first. An audience member asked if there is a rational explanation as to why the previous auditor did not uncover the irregularities and whether any action is possibly against them. Mr. Miller said that when he took over an independent auditor was hired to examine the genesis of the pension problems and whether audits were appropriately done. They noted that the last audit (2009) did not highlight problems although previous audits had done so. Mr. Miller added that pension problems were exacerbated because benefits increases occurred that were not funded. He stressed that the standard used when negotiations occur is one of “comparability,” and the increases occurred on that basis. Proper contributions weren’t being made because to do so would greatly increase the budget. Mr. Miller summed up the response by saying that the audit did not meet all standards you would require in an audit. He added that any consideration of “recourse” was not an appropriate discussion at this meeting. The new auditor will have to meet all standards. This will cost a bit more, but the end product will be worth the cost. A member of the audience asked if the city is looking at things other than pensions. Mr. Miller said yes, but when things involve negotiations, the bargaining units must agree to make changes. If they don’t, and if it goes to arbitration, the city would lose. He stressed that they have to be realistic since they can’t change state regulations unilaterally. What the city has done instead is to work cooperatively with the bargaining units and have gotten excellent cooperation. He added that with an adversarial relationship, this wouldn’t have happened. Ms. Hyatt asked where in the budget City Center costs are reflected. Mr. Miller said all of the City Center funding to date has been through grants. The city is reviewing all consulting arrangements. There is no funding in the budget for City Center for FY12. There is also no indication from the City Council to turn away from the City Center, but it will be looked at through a different set of lenses. Mr. Boucher added that City Center land is privately owned, and the city has worked with the landowner to develop the concept. There is a potential need for a parking garage, which would go to the voters. The city is also looking at a TIF (tax incremental financing) district. City Center will be a partnership between the city and the developer, with most of the funding being private. Mr. Bedard said from his way of calculating there is actually a 12% increase in the City budget. Mr. Miller explained that the previous budget did not include some money that was spend. Mr. Bedard felt that if the budget failed twice, it would have to go back to the budget that the voters approved, not what was spent. Mr. Miller explained that the City Attorney has said that is not the case. Mr. Leberge asked if the Airport pays their fair share. Mr. Miller explained that the Airport pays money in lieu of taxes, which is a negotiated figure with the City of Burlington. The Airport also pays taxes for all of the houses which they take down. Mr. Boucher said the figure for money in lieu of taxes is $780,000.00 a year. Mr. Leberge said he has heard that when things are sold at the Airport the taxes go to Burlington and not to South Burlington. Mr. Miller said he would check on that. Ms. Yankowski raised the question of CWD using Red Rocks Park while high fees are being charged to city residents. Mr. Miller noted that South Burlington pays the lowest water rates compared to other CWD communities. Ms. Dooley noted that City Councilors Boucher and Murray are at the end of their terms and will not be running for re-election. She thanked them on behalf of the Council and said it has been a privilege to work with them. 2. School District Budget for FY2012: Superintendent Everitt said it has been an honor for him to have served South Burlington children and schools. He then outlined the guiding principles under which the district operates: Schools: to make students ready for their next step Budget: disposition for learning Academic proficiency Personal development Citizenship The Superintendent cited the importance of student involvement and showed slides of student “engagement” activities. He noted that the District is working on tactics to reduce student stress. They are also working on pre-Kindergarten education to be sure children are ready to learn when they get to school. The District is changing its thinking about technology and moving from labs and teacher­centered technology to devices in students’ hands. In the upcoming year, there will be focus on facility maintenance instead of new building. Supt. Everitt cited the importance of the schools “partners,” those communities which have no high school and choose where to send their students. To accommodate those students even more, there will be a late bus in the coming year. There will also be technology added to buses so students can make good use of their travel time. The student teacher ratio this year is 10 to 1. Next year it will be 10.2 to 1. This is the result of a net reduction of 3.7 FTE teachers. There are 3 main sources of savings in the proposed budget: energy/gas prices, retirements/staff reductions, and level funded supplies. Revenues in the FY12 budget will be $40,587,607. This includes $1,400,000 from out-of-town tuitions and $1,200,000 carry-over from the previous year. 77% of the budget is funded from the Vermont Education Fund. South Burlington has been holding its own regarding enrollment. The per pupil cost for FY11 was $13,143. For FY12 it will be $12,978. A member of the audience asked if the School District keeps statistics on the number of students who graduate from South Burlington High School and from a 4-year college. Supt. Everitt said there are some figures and South Burlington does very will. He stressed that South Burlington is a community that values education very highly. Mr. Cassidy noted that Superintendent Everitt will be leaving at the end of the school year. He thanked him for his service. He also thanked 2 School Board members, Ms. Allo and Ms. Clift, whose terms are ending. Ms. Emery moved to close the public meeting. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. ______________________________ Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.