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05/08/1990 BUDGET WORK SESSION May 8, 1990 The City Commission of the City of Clearwater met at City Hall, with the following members present: Rita Garvey Mayor/Commissioner Richard Fitzgerald Vice-Mayor/Commissioner Lee Regulski Commissioner William Nunamaker Commissioner Sue Berfield Commissioner Also present were: Ron H. Rabun City Manager Kathy Rice Assistant City Manager/Administration Michael Wright Assistant City Manager/Community Services Charles Hunsicker Assistant City Manager/Operations Elizabeth Deptula Director of Administrative Services Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk The meeting was called to order at 2:07 p.m. and the following items were discussed. Fire Department - Robert Davidson, Fire Chief There are no reductions or enhancements proposed for the Fire Department. Discussion ensued regarding a proposal to charge impact fees for fire services, and it was emphasized we must be careful not to double-load the citizens. In response to a question, it was indicated that commercial property is inspected annually and a public information program is needed for residential properties. In response to a question it was indicated the Fire Dept. needs to be invited to inspect schools as they are under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal. In response to questions, the Chief indicated he was comfortable with the number of firefighters as we have our mutual aid agreements with other communities and we maintain an acceptable response time. Marina Department - Bill Held, Harbormaster There are no reductions or enhancements proposed for the Marina Department. In response to a question, Mr. Held indicated he felt the fuel facility was operating well and that sales have been beyond expectations. Discussion ensued regarding custodial services for the beach restrooms, and it was indicated this will be handled by the Parks and Recreation Dept. In response to a question regarding the Marine Patrol, Mr. Held indicated the Marina Dept. pays for one and one half of the patrol officers. The parking fund pays for one half and the Marina pays for the other half of the boat. Mr. Held indicated the toll plaza at Clearwater Pass Bridge is doing well and the Police Dept. is doing a good job of enforcing the 15 mph speed limit. Personnel Department - Mike Laursen, Director Kathy Rice, Assistant City Manager, indicated there has been an increase in applications and associated paperwork and that an enhancement for additional personnel assistant was being requested. The Personnel Dept. is also proposing to cut back on the hours that applications will be received. A question was raised regarding whether or not the change in hours would result in a need for overtime, and it was indicated that staff will be flexing time so that there would be no overtime required. Discussion ensued regarding the need to have personnel available to assist in filling out their applications. It was stated the personnel is needed not only for handling applications but a lot of other paperwork that needs to be done. It was indicated the applications need to be reviewed to see if the person applying is qualified for the job. It was stated review in the initial stages saves time in the long run. It was indicated that clerical assistance is needed for three or four divisions in the department and one person handles all payroll changes with no back-up. The additional person is needed for this. Further discussion ensued regarding the need for the additional personnel assistant and the current staffing in the Personnel Dept. Commission expressed concerns that too much time was being spent with applicants and processing the applications. Consensus of the Commission was to not allow the addition of the personnel assistant and for the Personnel Dept. to reduce the hours that it accepts applications if it needs to in order to meet other departmental needs. Administrative Services - Betty Deptula, Director There are no enhancements or reductions proposed in the Budget Division of Administrative Services. An increase which shows on page 76 is actually an individual that had been moved from another department. The Finance Division proposed a reduction of one full-time data entry clerk to a part-time data entry operator. Discussion ensued regarding whether or not this would be false economy, and Commission consensus was to leave it as a full-time position. Kathy Rice, Assistant City Manager, indicated the reduction option to consider limiting outside consultant on self-insurance may cost the City more in the long run. Discussion ensued regarding the insurance coverage for the City, and an update on umbrella coverage was requested. Discussion ensued regarding an enhancement for the Data Information Services Division, and it was explained the City-wide network would hardwire computers to each other and would eliminate the difficulties caused when phone lines are disrupted. It was indicated this would probably take two years to accomplish, and it was suggested they look at phasing this project. It was indicated this needed to be looked at. A revenue enhancement proposed in the Purchasing Division is to charge a $10 annual fee for companies to be on the City's bid list. This is done in other areas and pays for the cost of this service. Consensus of the Commission was this was okay to pursue. The meeting recessed from 4:01-4:15 p.m. General Services - Floyd Carter, Director There are no reductions or enhancements proposed for the General Services Department. In response to questions regarding why there are 1,500 radio units to be maintained, Mr. Carter indicated that in the Police Dept. there are portable units which the officers take with them as well as ones mounted in the cars. In addition, there are some back-up units. In response to a question, he indicated that the 800 mHz system is working well but there are a couple of bad spots, one being Countryside Mall in that the police officers can not communicate within the building. A question was raised regarding the status of the sodium street light changeout, and Mr. Carter indicated this is a little ahead of schedule. In response to a question, he indicated that the new garage facility is working well and Ream Wilson has moved into the old site. It was reported that we have inventoried unused City properties for possible sale. Internal Audit - Margie Simmons, Internal Auditor There are no reductions or enhancements proposed for this Division. In response to a question, Ms. Simmons indicated that she audits departments upon request and is doing revenue audits at this time. Affirmative Action - E. J. Robinson, Affirmative Action Officer There are no reductions or enhancements proposed for this Division. In response to questions, Mr. Robinson indicated that in the time he has been here, he has had some 52 to 75 charges filed, and all but 12 or 14 have been acted upon. He stated the City pays out less than $2,000 a year for unfair labor practices. He stated he has basically done preventive work. He stated there have been eight charges within the last month, mainly as a result of testing for Police Department. He stated that the physical requirements are now an agility test and that there are some females who feel adversely impacted. In response to a question, he indicated that this is a nationwide phenomena. It was indicated that Mr. Robinson is good at identifying potential problem areas and addressing them. City Clerk Department - Cyndie Goudeau, City Clerk The City Clerk's Department is proposing an enhancement for a City-wide micro-graphics program. City Commission Discussion ensued regarding the projects the City Commission funds throughout their budget, including the Holiday Festival (Christmas Parade), the Legislative Delegation luncheon, and Florida Orchestra. Discussion ensued regarding the contribution to the Florida Orchestra with concerns being expressed that they are not able to provide the concerts the City desires. In response to a question, it was indicated that the City does pick up the entire tab for the Advisory Board Appreciation Dinner. A question was raised regarding the "This is Clearwater" entry. It was indicated that this was an ad that the Clearwater Sun had done in what they termed their Mail Away edition. The Clearwater Sun has ceased production and Mike Wright indicated that the Times now has a proposal that would be half the cost of what the Sun had produced. It was also indicated that the City of Clearwater pays for the Phillies Appreciation Dinner, as well as Mr. Clearwater Coffee. In response to questions regarding the Sister City program, it was indicated that the Budget entries cover Nagano City, Japan visits to the City for in-kind Staff time. It was indicated that the City has adopted two more Sister Cities, which will need to be addressed. Discussion returned to the Florida Orchestra contribution and it was requested that they be contacted to see what concerts could be given for the $10,000 contribution. It was indicated that the City has an obligation to provide cultural events in the park and should the Orchestra not be available, other programs need to be found. Discussion ensued regarding the proposal to increase the Commission's travel budget by $4,000. It was indicated that discussion had taken place previously regarding additional travel. Consensus of the Commission was not to increase their travel budget at this time. City Manager Department - Ron Rabun, City Manager The City Manager indicated he is maintaining the status quo in his department, however, there was an increase of $880 in membership and subscriptions, which includes training and reference. The City Manager indicated that the Commission needed to provide direction in order for him to present a proposed budget to the Commission in July. Consensus of the Commission was to add the Officers for the Police Department. In Parks and Recreation, everything was approved with a cap of $5 on the card fee, and that the cards will be three years, with the assumption that the Center Foundation is to be paid as the facilities are used. Concerning the Library, a trial period for the reduction in reference services was directed. Two reduction options were eliminated. Concern was expressed regarding the addition of a Staff Assistant I in the Planning and Development Department and it was reported that this is replacing a position that had been eliminated a year ago in an effort to reduce staffing. It was found that the clerical support is needed, particularly for Code Enforcement. Consensus of the Commission was to tentatively okay this position. A request was made that a report be provided regarding Public Information, as there was some concern regarding the efforts in this area. There were no problems with the enhancements requested in the Public Works Division and it was indicated that we will be careful and fully investigate going to providing commercial roll-off services. It was indicated this would be studied as a project and brought back to the Commission at a later date. It was indicated that the Fire and Marina Departments would be allowed to look at their proposed fees. In the Personnel Department, they approved the time change for acceptance of applications, but not the addition of the Personnel Assistant. In Administrative Services, they added back a half of a person to the Finance Department. The City Commission did not approve increase in their travel budget. Discussion ensued regarding the assumption of a 7% salary increase. It was stated this was a combination of a 2% cost of living adjustment, as well as a merit award. Discussion ensued regarding whether or not the City had a merit system and it was indicated that individuals in the SAMP plan do get increases based on their evaluation, whereas people covered by unions get a step increase. In response to a question, it was indicated that labor negotiations will be beginning in June. A question was raised regarding whether or not the budget is balanced. It was indicated it is balanced this time with a .7 mill increase in the tax assessment. This assumes a stormwater utility being adopted. It was indicated that .3 mill is because of rebuilding the City's reserve. The meeting adjourned at 5:44 p.m.