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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_12/14/2006. MINUTES VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA VII.LAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Village Council of the Village of Tequesta held a Council Workshop Meeting at the Tequesta Village Hall, 345 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Thursday, December 14, 2006. Mayor Humpage called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Recording Secretary Sharifa Tharpe. Council Members present were: Mayor Jim Humpage, Vice Mayor Tom Paterno, Council Member Geraldine A. Genco, and Council Member Pat Watkins. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., and Recording Secretary Shazifa Tharpe, and Department Heads. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Council Member Watkins moved to approve the agenda, as submitted; seconded by Council Member Genco; motion passed 4-0. 1) Discussion of the 2006-2007 Village of Tequesta Budget • Mayor Humpage stated the Council had already gone through all the budget hearings, the adoption of the budget, and set the millage rate. He stated one thing Council spoke about was revisiting the budget because there were some concerns about the revenues versus the expenditures, and Council wanted to look at some areas of the budget to see if they could make any adjustments. Mayor Humpage mentioned he sent Village Manager Couzzo an a-mail about three or four weeks ago, and as a result they were now at the Workshop Meeting. Mayor Humpage asked Council if anyone had anything in mind that they would like to do to the budget. He mentioned he had conversations with staff over the past month about some information and expressed appreciation for their diligence. He stated Council was there to address any area of interest in the budget. Council Member Genco stated she was curious because the sheet she received in October 2006, was well over $1 million less than what this sheet showed and she was wondering how that could be. Mayor Humpage asked if it was the initial sheet she received. Council Member Genco explained the Fund Balance originally came to $6 million and now it was showing $4,691,843. Mayor Humpage pointed out that was December 11, 2006 and asked which one she was referring to. Council Member Genco specified it was the one received on August 28, 2006. • Mayor Humpage asked Finance Director Jo-Ann Forsythe if she knew anything about this. Minutes -Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 Page 2 • Finance Director Forsythe stated she knew Assistant Finance Director Patrice Monaco worked on it, but that was not the final budget. She asked Council Member Genco if that was correct. Council Member Genco stated no, because that was and balance and the Fund Balance was as it is. Finance Director Forsythe explained it was the beginning Fund Balance and it was what they had on September 30, 2006 when they closed out the fiscal year. She stated she updated it a week and a half ago, and the beginning Fund Balance would be the ending Fund Balance at $932,600 since they closed the year on November 30, 2006. She pointed out that included the AP run in which a lot of invoices were processed in the two months fallowing. She pointed out those invoices would have impacted it. Finance Director Forsythe stated in addition, the others were projections and this was real. She explained the other one before September 30, 2006 was a projection, which they based on what staff estimated as the final amount. She pointed out this was the actual Fund Balance after they found out what the actual expenditures were. Council Member Genco pointed the Fund Balance was $3,901,647. Finance Director Forsythe stated no, the beginning Fund Balance began on October 1, 2006 and was going to be $4,691,843. Council Member Genco stated the Village had contractual commitments for $318,000. Council Member Genco referred to capital outlay. Finance Director Forsythe explained it was starting with what they had in the beginning Fund Balance beginning October 1, 2006; and then she added what they budgeted for the government funds. She stated they added those revenues, and then they took out the expenditures that were budgeted, and the debt service. Finance Director Forsythe pointed out rather than lump all the expenditures together, she took out some areas of the expenditures that Council might want to look at. She indicated down below was the Capital Outlay and in those different funds there were other expenditures, which came to what the ending Fund Balance would be. She specified this meant the beginning was real, the rest was planned, and if the Village stuck to the plan, that would be what the ending Fund Balance would be. Council Member Genco stated the ending Fund Balance would be the $3,901,647. She asked when she received the original cash Fund Balance on August 28, 2006, which stated $2.404 million, if it was actually $2.2 million. Finance Director Forsythe asked if it was the projected Fund Balance. Finance Director Forsythe stated all she knew was when she went to update the first one, that was how she got these numbers. • Mayor Humpage pointed out on August 28, 2006, they would not have known what the ending Fund Balance would be. Vice Mayor Paterno stated the ending Fund Balance would have been higher than lower. Finance Duector Forsythe Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 Page 3 • stated not if it was projected; and explained if staff estimated that they were going to totally spend out the budget, then they would have had $1 million. She stated she knew the Municipal Center was not completed and they were actually going to roll the funds forward and that could have been $1 million right there. She stated she would have to look to see. Council Member Genco asked if the Municipal Center was reflecting on the Capital Outlay. Finance Director Forsythe stated that was correct. Council Member Genco asked if that was $1,085, 210, which was fund 303. Mayor Humpage stated no that was Parks. Council Member Genco stated if she was looking at the beginning Fund Balance, she had accounted for everything else except one item, which was the real difference between the beginning Fund Balance and the Fund Balance. Finance Director Forsythe stated she did not know where those numbers came from; and she would have to go back and look at it. She informed Council she knew the numbers now were real. She stated she was thinking it could have been a projection but she did not know. Council Member Genco commented she thought they were fairly accurate but she guessed not. Finance Director Forsythe stated no because what they had now was real; and she did not do it until they actually closed the fiscal year. Council Member Genco stated she definitely • understood that the numbers changed after the closed fiscal year. Finance Director Forsythe stated she suspected it was a projection of the Fund Balance at the end of the fiscal year. She explained when they went through their budget, they sent out to all the departments asking them if they expected to finish the projects by the end of the fiscal year. She explained if for some reason those projects were not completed, they moved to the next fiscal year. Council Member Genco stated anything that was rolled over from the beginning Fund Balance would be rolled over into the expenditures which was higher. She stated it was still in the check book but they would not have written the check yet, so it would show in the Fund Balance and show in the expenditures and lower the bottom number. Finance Director Forsythe stated that was correct. Council Member Genco referred to the Capital Outlay. Finance Director Forsythe stated it was what the Village had in the budget for this year. Council Member Genco listed it was Cypress Drive, Street lights, Municipal Center, the park, and the embankment. She stated the total was roughly $1,318,570. Finance Director Forsythe stated that should be calculated exactly like the total 301 and the total 303. She pointed out all that was in those, were Capital. She explained the total expenditure in 301 for this year should be $36,000, and for 303 it should be $1,085,210. Council Member Genco stated these numbers they were • seeing for 2007 have netted out the cost of the Village Hall. She specified she was referring to the bottom number which was $ 3,901,647. Finance Director Forsythe stated yes, and commented as far as she was seeing they planned to complete the Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 Page 4 • building in 2007. She stated in the next January Regular Council Meeting, there would be some Capital projects rolled forward, which they would be asking Council to appropriate. She pointed out that would be a larger number. Council Member Genco verified they would be appropriating more capital expenditures. She stated the reason for the budget forecast was based on the Capital Outlay. She mentioned Palm Beach County and explained, they had a life expectancy of different hard line items such as buildings, improvements other than buildings, and infrastructure. She explained infrastructure would include roads and streets. She pointed out all those things should be on a schedule of years to be maintained. She explained these years were based on ROS depreciation schedules; so they were solid and it was required to use that schedule for that particular item. She suggested the Village do that for 2007 and specified they would project what each item was so they knew what the cost was and prorate it. Council Member Genco explained if it was prorated, then if they were using 1/30' of the road, the Village would pay for 1/30' of the road; and if they were using equipment that had a life expectancy of 10 years then it would become user designated. She stated she would like to see that, and it would be under Capital Outlay. She pointed out they wanted to have a projection so they knew what to put aside. She commented if they wanted to call the account a reserve, they could. . Mayor Humpage suggested they call it 304, Maintenance Reserve. Council Member Genco stated the bottom line was that was what they had to do because they would know what they had left of their Fund Balance to spend. She pointed out the difference between what they were accruing, which was the replacement of infrastructure, and the difference between what the Village had in the Fund Balance, was what they had to write checks on to do special projects. Mayor Humpage stated he understood, and indicated it could be a 304 called a Maintenance Reserve for painting, roads and other projects. Finance Director Forsythe stated the Village was set up to do those. She explained the 301 was the Capital Improvement Fund and all they had to do was transfer into that fund because it was only for capital improvements. Council Member Genco stated they had to break it down, and the Village had to base it on the depreciation. Finance Director Forsythe stated it was its own set of books and they could designate it for specific items so the money would not be in the General Fund to be spent. She specified it would only be in the Capital Improvement. Council Member Genco stated every year they would know what their load would be to keep the Village looking the way it does. She stated if they had extra, they could use it for projects. Council Member Watkins stated she understood Council Member Genco wanted • to identify a certain amount for the roads and other things. She pointed out it would be difficult to have a projection that would show how much the Village expected to spend for the year 2016. Council Member Genco stated once they 4 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 . Page 5 knew the cost of the equipment, using the depreciation schedule would not make it difficult. She pointed out they could also add a 3% interest a yeaz which would be done on a spread sheet. Council Member Watkins stated she guessed Council Member Genco was saying it would not be a hard number. Council Member Genco stated it would never be perfect, but it would be a reasonable projection. She explained they would be aiming to put aside money every year that they needed to take care of those things. Council Member Genco painted out by doing that, the Village would be sharing in what they were using. She stated this was the proper way of accounting. She commented how nicely Palm Beach County had it done; and when she looked at the other municipalities they had something very similar to what she was suggesting. She stated the Village would come from mayhem to organization and financial accountability. She pointed out the Village did not have the stability to do it yeass ago, but they had the ability to do it now. Council Member Genco stated it would also help the Village avoid trouble by helping to avoid thinking they had enough money to spend, when they did not. She stated the faster they did it, the better financial situation the Village would be in, and that was her purpose for the budget meeting. • Council Member Watkins stated they had some of what Council Member Genco was proposing and referred to the Village's 5 yeaz Capital Plan. Village Manager Couzzo stated the Village had a Capital Plan but it could be much more specific. He asked if he was correct. Council Member Genco stated 10 yeass would be the minimum goal. She pointed out the Water Plant may need a 30 yeaz because the Water Plant may have membranes that needed to be replaced every 20 years at $I.5 million each. She specified the Village might need 20 yeass because of the large infrastructure cost. She specified the majority of items could be captured in a I O year schedule. She pointed out there might be roads on a 10 year schedule and others would be on a ZO year schedule; and that depended on the class of the road. She referred to Public Services Director Russell White and mentioned he could explain that. Mr. White stated that was currently being evaluated. Council Member Genco stated every year they would put away a little that would go into the piggy bank, which covered those uses for the yeaz. Mayor Humpage stated that would be like creating another reserve which could be called 304, the maintenance reserve for future repairs. Council Member Genco stated yes. She stated they could allow the Finance Department to name it what ever they wanted, as long as the schedule was easy to understand for future Council Members and for the public. She explained the public could then look at it and understand it would be a 10 yeaz item and what the cost was based on. • Mayor Humpage asked if they would do it according to Departments or do it as a percentage of the reserve to be transferred at the end of the year. Council Member Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 Page 6 • Genco explained it was broken down by line item, even though the general ledger code that it was transferred to would be different, the accruing of the money would be a cash Fund Balance. Finance Director Forsythe specified it would be a designation of funds. She explained it would not have to be done by department because when they actually paid for it, it would come out of a specific Capital. Mayor Humpage pointed out it would have to come out of someone's budget. Finance Director Forsythe stated they would designate for road service. Vice Mayor Paterno suggested it be separated in some way so that everyone understood it was for certain items and would not be mistaken for extra funds to be used for something else. Finance Director Forsythe stated it would not be by departments, and they would say "designate for road resurfacing, or designate for roof repairs." Vice Mayor Paterno stated as long as anyone could see that it was for specific uses. Council Member Genco pointed out it would be designated for Storm Water 403. Mayor Humpage asked if they could do that. Council Member Watkins asked how it would be coordinated. Finance Director Forsythe referred to when she made a recommendation regarding the expansion of the Water Plant and the wells. She stated it was $900,000 for one and $300,000 for the other. She stated they also restricted cash so that they would not spend it. She explained just having Fund Balance • designation did not prevent the Village from using the cash because they were two separate things. She specified one was equity and the other was the cash asset. She stated they could restrict cash for a certain amount each year to be used for specific purposes. Council Member Genco thought a good way of demonstrating it on the chart would be to have the Fund Balance at the beginning of the year at the top, and then what the Village accrued in debits for the particular items, and what that Fund Balance would be if they spent that at the bottom. She explained every year it would be an accumulative accrual. Finance Director Forsythe stated they had a Repair Maintenance plan or a Capital Improvement Plan that they set out for 10 years then they would say estimated cost at the top of every schedule and that could be annually adjusted. She explained the estimated cost would be $100,000 over 10 years, so the first year they would say "designate $10,000" so they knew they had that. She stated the second year they would expect the balance to be $20,000 unless the next year Council revisited it and saw that it was now $200,000 to replace it. She stated in this case the second year balance should be changed to match that increase. Council Member Genco asked if they were to ask what the available Fund Balance was, if the balance would be net or gross. Finance Director Forsythe pointed out all they would have to say was unreserved, undesignated • Fund Balance which would mean the free Fund Balance. Council Member Genco asked if Council was to ask her at the Council meeting what the designated Fund Balance was, if Ms. Forsythe would give them the net number. Finance Director 6 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 Page 7 • Forsythe stated no, when they ask something specifically that was how it was stated on their financial statements. She stated she kept track of it by designated Fund Balance, Reserve Fund Balance, and Undesignated Unreserved. Council Member Genco verified it would be Undesignated Unreserved Balance. Village Manager Couzzo stated that would be the net. Council Member Genco stated that was what she was asking. Village Manager Couzzo stated he knew that was where she was headed. He stated what Council would have to do was designate those funds from what would normally be the Undesignated Unreserved to specific designated projects; and then they could know what the true net was. Council Member Genco pointed out yes, and commented it had flexibility. She explained if a designated item at a cost of $150,000 ended up being $100,000 they could adjust the schedule. She stated they would lay out a road map and lay out the user costs on an annual basis from the taxes and revenues to maintain the Village. She suggested what ever monies left could be used for special improvement projects. Council Member Genco asked if they were supposed to have a 10% escalation in Hurricane Reserves every year. Vice Mayor Paterno stated no, it was 1%. Council Member Genco thought it was 5%. Finance Director Forsythe stated Michelle Gload brought the roll forward, which was $999,000 and would raise the . expenses. She pointed out this was not shown on the sheet. Ms. Forsythe stated there was also $152,804 for expenditures, which were budgeted, but they did not spend it. She explained they were starting out with Fund Balance, and they would come with a certain number at the bottom based on what the Village had in the budget right now. Council Member Genco asked if the net number after the roll over would be roughly $2,900,000. Finance Director Forsythe pointed out the Village was at $3.9 million and if they rolled over into the budget it would be $2.9 million. Council Member Genco stated they were actually at $2.9 million and when one looked at approximately $1 million dollars for a hurricane that was not a lot. She pointed out if they lowered each projected year, by the year 2010 they would be down $2.6 million, which was $600,000 more than the Village had. Mayor Humpage stated that was assuming they were spending $1 million. Council Member Genco commented it was math, and that was the way it would come out. Mayor Humpage pointed out Council Member Genco was also saying in 303 they were spending $1 million in every instance. He commented it was a wash unless they spent the $1 million. Vice Mayor Paterno pointed out they would end up spending that and then some. He commented that was a lot of money. Mayor Humpage stated he did not see how they would spend $1 million dollars. Vice Mayor Paterno specified they • would reserve it. Mayor Humpage asked if it would be annually. Council Member Genco stated if they looked at the $1 million dollars in reserve, it would be $2.6 million; and if they took $1 million dollars that would leave $1.6 million. Mayor 7 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 Page 8 • Humpage asked if it was $2 million dollars with the hurricane. Council Member Genco pointed out when they looked at the Village's cost of operation just for salaries, electricity, and gas, they were looking at roughly $1.8 million dollars in three months. Mayor Humpage stated 25% of the budget was $2.5 million. Vice Mayor Paterno summarized that would be minimum and the $11 million on top would be $3 million plus the reserve. Council Member Genco stated the Village's cost of operation was $600,000 a month. Village Manager Couzzo stated it was more than that. Council Member Genco stated she was just looking at salaries, and making sure the insurance was paid for, and that staff had electricity. She pointed out, if they had a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Andrew they would need that at a minimum. She commented that was what she was trying so hard to make everyone understand. Village Manager Couzzo asked if it would take $lmillion dollars annually to do an R&R account. Vice Mayor Paterno stated he did not know, and he was going to ask Finance Director Forsythe. He asked her the estimate the value of the Village's assets. Finance Director Forsythe stated she would have to pull the financial statements. Mayor Humpage pointed out some parts of infrastructure and roads were still budgeted by departments every year. He asked how long was • the plan on the road. Council Member Genco stated they did not do the projection yet. She commented that was the problem. Council Member Watkins expressed concern about it. Council Member Genco stated they would address that and they had someone who was supremely experienced to know what class the roads were and what the replacement schedules were. She stated the class of the roads determined what the schedule should be. She pointed out this was something Palm Beach County and the State have been using for the 40 years she knew of. Council Member Watkins stated they had to be careful how it affected the entire budget. She stated she understood they needed to pay attention to what was coming, but she did not want to bind the Village. Council Member Genco stated the Village was not bound, and most people knew the amount of money they had for their car, for their mortgage, and insurance. She stated the Village would be doing the same type of thing. She stated the example of a pool, which needed to be done every 10 years; that would be put on a 10 year schedule. Council Member Genco pointed out when they added on top of that, there were things that were not flexible. She stated those items were the pay roll, insurance, light fixtures, and certain other items. She stated it was the things that were tangible that needed to put on the schedule. • Council Member Genco stated additionally the Village was very generous in using a 6% increase in personnel expenses, because the Village was also adding a 3% increase to Public Safety Pension. Council Member Genco stated they were 8 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 • Page 9 actually at 10.5%. Council Member Genco explained she was trying to point out the projections of 6% should be closer to 10% because they had increased pension contributions and actual employee salaries. at Vice Mayor Paterno pointed out when they gave that percent, they were paying the percent averaged over three years. Council Member Genco stated yes. Vice Mayor Paterno stated that estimate would show it would be up for 3 years .Council Member Genco stated that took advantage of the time when the stock market was up. She explained when they averaged it in, it was during the down market; and in 2 years, if they had another down market that 3.5% could be 6% or 7%. Vice Mayor Paterno pointed out the General Fund was making more than enough and was doing better than 8%. Council Member Genco stated they based the performance on how well the investment advisor was doing at 12%. She explained they decided to use a thee year period with the amount of money the Village puts in, to smooth it so when they had peaks in the stock market, it would even it out. She pointed out when they had one good year and one bad year, the bad year averaged with the very good year was still causing a 3.5%. Council Member Genco stated the expenditures were much more conservative than she thought they were because personnel expenses would be closer to 10%. • Mayor Humpage asked Vice Mayor Paterno if he wanted to speak on anything. Vice Mayor Paterno stated one thing he wanted to talk about was the five year plan the Village had. He commented in his opinion, the five year plan was not really a plan. He commented it was a wish list, and it had not really been thought about. Council Member Genco asked Village Manager Couzzo when they could have a drafted projection. Village Manager Couzzo indicated in January. He stated that would become the vehicle to develop the five year or the ten year plan or what ever plan Council wanted. He pointed out it would give them more specifics than they had in the past; and they could get to a position where they could do more effective planning. He mentioned it was possible that was a plan they could adopt that future Council Members may not adhere to. Mayor Humpage commented that did not mean Council could not do it. Village Manager Couzzo stated he would give Council a 10 year plan and push utilities and roads to a 20 year schedule, because most roads had a 20 year or a 30 year life cycle. He stated Council could look at the drafted projection. He indicated they would have a work sheet and could work out the numbers. Vice Mayor Paterno asked if they could go through each of the departments to see if there were any assets that could go on that list. Village Manager Couzzo stated • they would do that. Vice Mayor Paterno stated the 5 year plan was very important at this point. 9 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 . Page 10 Council Member Genco commented she understood that Vice Mayor Paterno was saying, knowing short term was important at this point. She emphasized that the 10 year plan was more functional. Vice Mayor Paterno stated they needed to have the five year plan down. Council Member Genco pointed out if the Village had a five year depreciation right now, and they did not know it, and they were accruing for it, that would not be good. She stated the more details they had, and the easier the charts were to understand, the better for future Council Members. Vice Mayor Paterno stated they could adjust it as times change. Vice Mayor Paterno stated the other thing he wanted was a percentage of the budget put aside for Capital Improvements to improve things. He pointed out right now they put very little amount of money to improving the Community and they needed to provide more to the residents. He stated that was another thing to consider. He stated this was some of the things they were trying to shoot for. Mayor Humpage stated like street lights. Vice Mayor Humpage mentioned street lights and suggested if they wanted to keep expanding street lights in the neighborhood, that would be something a portion of the budget would go into. He stated other examples included the park and whatever was best for the residents. He commented they needed to serve the residents and that was what it was about. Council Member Genco stated she agreed. Mayor Humpage stated he thought they had been doing that, but they needed to plug in a continuation of that. Council Member Genco stated they had a huge reserve of $7.5 million reserve years ago. She specified part of it was for Village Hall, and the rest of it was spent on Capital Projects. Vice Mayor Paterno commented it would be good to budget so the Village did not go over the top with capital projects. Council Member Genco stated she agreed. Mayor Humpage pointed out they had not touched on the existing budget so that would remain as it was. He specified the direction from the workshop meeting was to have staffwork on the 10 year plan. Council Member Genco stated she agreed whole heartedly and suggested the Village use more staffthan outside consultants when ever possible because she felt the Village had well educated, well qualified staff. Vice Mayor Paterno asked if there was a time frame for this. Village Manager Couzzo stated he would have a 10 year draft on the Capital Improvement plan by the end of January 2007 and for certain segments of Public Works it would probably be about 20 years. Mayor Humpage asked if they could have it before the next meeting. Village Manager Couzzo asked if that would be by January 7, 2007. Vice Mayor stated it was a month away. Village Manager Couzzo stated it was possible. Vice Mayor Paterno pointed out, otherwise it would be another two months before they could talk about it. Mayor Humpage mentioned they could have a workshop on it. • Council Member Genco suggested it be closer to the middle of the month which would be January 15, 2007. Village Manager Couzzo stated alright. 10 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 • Page 11 Consensus of Council was to have Village Manager Couzzo and staff draft a 10 year Capital Improvement Plan, and a 20 year plan for utilities and other sections of Public Works, which should be ready for Council by January 15, 2007. Vice Mayor Paterno asked if they could back it up and see how they could put that plan in this year, and if there was a way they could start, he stated Mr. Couzzo could also look at that too. He pointed out what ever they found, it could possibly be applied this year. Village Manager Couzzo stated they could apply existing appropriations in the 2006/2007 budget to the Capital Draft. He verified Vice Mayor Paterno was not speaking of reserve. He stated he thought he should look at the existing budget to see if there were any monies that could be appropriated from personnel operating capital to the capital improvement draft for five years. Council Member Genco stated they had roughly $2.9 million. Mayor Humpage stated if they wanted to skinny $100,000 out of the 2006 budget, they would be asking staff to go back and go through all those hurdles again and amend the budget. He suggested they take the money from the reserve and put it in the account. Council Member Genco stated she thought that was how it would be because staff • has already worked some into the existing 2007 budget so they already had it as an expenditure. She pointed out they could take out some of these appropriations of the accumulated designated reserves and there would br 2.9 million left. She emphasized that they should not forget the Villag was committed to maintaining a cash reserve of 15% of the budget. Mayor Humpage asked if that included the hurricane reserve. Council Member Genco indicated it included the hurricane reserve, which they agreed to. Mayor Humpage asked if they had about 25% now. Council Member Genco stated they would be ahead by about $400,000. Vice Mayor Paterno stated he heard there was money on the table that they could tighten up on. Mayor Humpage asked where. Vice Mayor Paterno stated he was not prepared today because that was not the topic. He stated once they had the drafted plan, and Council got ideas, they would be able to come up with potential changes and make it start working earlier. Council Member Watkins commented Council should be careful about bogging down staff. Council Member Genco commented every time Council Member Watkins pointed that out, she felt guilty. Council Member Watkins specified she was saying, whenever Council got together they should make a decision as to what exactly they were requesting. She stated staff needed a unified voice of what Council wanted so they knew what they were doing. • Council Member Genco asked Finance Director Forsythe if this was a major load on her staff. Finance Director Forsythe commented it was easier if they were sure 11 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12/14/06 • Page 12 what was wanted, because every staff member worked very hard and liked to be successful in everything they did. She pointed out they sometimes found that one person wanted one thing and another wanted something else. Ms. Forsythe explained it was sometimes confusing for staff, and they had a problem with knowing which request they should prioritize. She commented now she was seeing that Council was clear as to what they wanted and time frame given was helpful. Mayor Humpage asked if there was any money rolled from the 2005/2006 budget to the 2006/2007 budget. Finance Director Jo-Ann Forsythe stated that had not been done yet and would be done in January. Mayor Humpage pointed out there would be departments that did not use all the money or a or that had unfinished projects. Finance Director Forsythe stated she would go over it with the Village Manager tomorrow. Mayor Humpage commented the 2006/2007 budget kept being moving back and forth. He pointed out if Village Manager Couzzo found money in Public Works, which did not mean that the four Council members would take it out of Public Works. He suggested the 2006/2007 stand with out trying to skinny it out. He explained if there was any money left over from the 2006/2007 budget, then they could put it in R&R fund at the end of the fiscal year; and if they were uncomfortable with that, they could take 50,000 out of the reserves and put it into the fund. Council Member Genco pointed about a year ago, if there was a budgeted item for $80,000 which turned out to be $75,000, a the $5,000 was rolled over into the General Fund. Council Member Genco stated they were doing exactly what Mayor Humpage was saying. Mayor Humpage pointed out it was not designated it into a fund and was put in the General Fund. Council Member Genco stated it was never designated. Mayor Humpage stated they could do that. Council Member Genco stated they had been doing that all along and whenever there was money that was not spent they put it back in the balance. Vice Mayor Paterno explained, it comes out of particular departments' budgets, it lowers the budget, so they could not spend it, and it goes into the cash account. Mayor Humpage asked why they could not move it to the R&R account. Vice Mayor Paterno stated they could do that too. Council Member Genco stated if they do what they were talking about, that was where it would end up. She stated they have already set up the process but they had to take a look at the money the Village had, and accrue and designate it. She pointed out whenever the departments did not spend the money, they were not allowed to keep it. She explained it went back into the pot because they already bought what they needed. Vice Mayor Paterno stated they needed to pay attention to staff members who saved money in the budget, so that they knew they were appreciated for saving the Village money. Council Member Genco stated she agreed and pointed out • every year she has asked that they have the original versus the proposed budget. She explained they would use that comparison to see what the variance was. She pointed out they would look to see if someone came in with less than the original 12 Minutes- Village Council Workshop Meeting 12!14/06 Page 13 budget; that would indicate they had done a good job. She stated that was why she wanted the percentages. Mayor Humpage asked staff if they knew the direction they were going in. Village Manager Couzzo summarized by the 15 of January he would provide Council with a drafted capital improvement plan which would be on a 10 year schedule and a 20 year schedule for utilities and some sections of Public Works. Vice Mayor Paterno asked about the Fire Departmerrt. Village Manager Couzzo stated it would be for all departments and specified all funds. Village Manager Couzzo pointed out some of them would have to be looked at because it was not a science. He informed Council they may put in a projection to build a building in 2010 and that number would have to be looked at closely because that would have an effect on everything else they were looking at. Council Member Genco mentioned they needed to start thinking about the Tequesta Drive Bridge. Village Manager Couzzo pointed out it depended on whether Council wanted to repair the bridge or they wanted to replace it. He stated they would give some ideas on that. III. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Council Member Genco moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Council Member Watkins; motion passed 4-0. Therefore the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, r~, ,_ `.1 c=r., Sharifa Tharpe t ~. Office Assistant • 13