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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_08/16/2004• VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET PLANNING WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 16, 2004 I. Call to Order and Roll Call The Tequesta Village Council held a Budget Planning Workshop Meeting in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the Public Safety Facility, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Monday, August 16, 2004. The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, Acting Village Clerk. Council Members present were: Mayor Pat Watkins, Vice Mayor Geraldine Genco who arrived at 10:06 a.m. Council Member Edward D. Resnik, Council Member Russell J. von Frank, and Council Member Jim Humpage. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R. • Couzzo, Jr., Assistant Village Manager Robert Garlo, Acting Village Clerk Betty Laur, Department Heads, and staff. II. Approval of the Agenda MOTION: Councilmember von Frank made a motion to approve the agenda. Councilmember Humpage seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. Vice Mayor Genco arrived at this point in the meeting. III. Discussion of the Proposed Budget Mayor Watkins called for comments from the Council. Councilmember Resnik explained the budget was a financial plan that provided an estimate of the cost of operating, administering, and improving the village, done by the Village Manager in accordance with the charter. The major cost, approximately 70%, was for personnel, then operations, and then projects and improvements. Throughout the year the Village Council directed the Village Manager to do certain things, and he put together an estimate of cost for what the Village Council wanted done. Councilmember Resnik indicated he thought the 4+ months the staff worked on this budget had produced a very frne budget and the whole staff did a superb job. • Vice Mayor Genco commented the objective should be to establish policies which should address transfers and budget amendments. Transfers over a certain amount of money should be addressed, especially when appropriating from the General Fund, which was VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 2 taking money out of our savings account. This year $346, 000 was taken out of this account. Vice Mayor Genco commented she believed there should be a budget amendment at that time or before. April 8 through 18 this year there were an enormous amount of journal entries, which resulted in an amended budget which Village Council did not have input into, and she believed although this might be allowed under some circumstances, when it reached that magnitude she thought there should be a policy to address that, since the Village Council members were supposed to be knowledgeable of the reasons for these journals as well as why, and those were things the Village Council needed to address and come up with a policy. This had created tremendous concern for Vice Mayor Genco because this put the Village over their budget. There were more transfers from the fund balance which she would be happy to point out as the budget review proceeded, and she would be making a lot of comments throughout the review. Vice Mayor Genco stressed that the budgets must be done a minimum of a week before a Village Council meeting. By giving the Village Council members a budget on Tuesday night, it was not fair for her to have to call Thursday night from out of state to get additional information because it was not provided. This was making it very difficult for • someone who worked and sat on the Village Council. She received the additional information on Friday evening thanks to additional work from staff. This was not acceptable. The planning process for the new budget should begin immediately when the old budget was closed out, and should not happen 2-3 weeks before the Council had to review it in a public forum. Councilmember von Frank agreed, and commented he spent 22 hours on this, and the period of time was too small to do it justice. Vice Mayor Genco commented this should be done way ahead of time, and commented she had worked for Chemical Bank, which had amulti-billion dollar budget a lot more involved than this budget; she had also worked for corporations with professional staff of 80 which had their budgets done way ahead of when this one was done. The Vice Mayor commented this was a template established when she was Mayor, along with the Village Manager, and he knew what was needed, and the new information just had to be filled in, and there was no reason for it to come to the Village Council with such a short time frame. Review of the budget began with General Fund revenues on page 3. Councilmember Resnik commented he had wanted to know what was left in reserves to cover emergencies, and that had been provided to him on a piece of paper. Vice Mayor Genco stated she had a number of comments on revenues and was getting organized. She would start with the basic primer. There were a coupe of tools to utilize, one was what the original budget was-the original plan, and the amended budget. Whenever there was a budget amendment it was very important the Council approve it. The next thing to look • at was the year-to-date actual spending versus the proposed budget. The budget worksheet in this example was referred to-at the top of page 1 were several columns: Prior year actual (what was brought in); what the original budget was, what it was VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 3 amended to, the actual through September and what the estimated would be, based on what would come in. In this case the actual through September at the point this was done represented a point in time of 86%, with 14% still to be spent. Looking at that, you could tell if the estimated total was high or low. In prior years there were columns that helped to do that, but those were omitted this year, and that made it very difficult for the Council to go through and evaluate it. She had gone ahead and asked for all that information and it was sent to her; she did not know if the rest of the council got it or not. In the revenues she was also going to look at what would come in in the way of taxes, which might or might not be realistic. Utility tax for electricity, the projection showed prior actual was high, $372, 565; the actual through September was $253, 985. These were running approximately a month behind on collection, so looking at that and the adjustments, a budget of $349, 000, and she already spoke with Finance on that, the budget was not realistic. Amore realistic figure would be $325, 000; so she recommended the $349, 000 be lowered to $325, 000. Communication service taxes had been greatly affected because communication service taxes were affected by area codes and cell phones. In this case the Village might be lucky and get something close to $320, 000, but because the budget had to be based on the revenues actually coming in, she would favor being more conservative and lowering that number, to $310, 000. Another one was the state revenue sharing proceeds, which was a pretty standard amount of money received from the state. Every year they adjusted it, sometime in June, and it was unknown what the adjustment would be. It was hoped the projection would be $160, 000, but she favored being more conservative and using $145, 000. If it came in higher then it could be adjusted when the amended budget was done, which she recommended be done six months from today. Councilmember von Frank indicated he believed the monopole income had not been included. Vice Mayor Genco indicated she also had questions about that, which would be addressed later, and now she was addressing the revenues as presented to the Council. Mayor Watkins asked if there was a percentage that could be used in extrapolating out to the next year to anticipate revenues. Vice Mayor Genco responded that was what was being done-that the staff used their expertise based on their conversations with experts they might be talking to. The Vice Mayor commented Jody and her staff were doing a phenomenal job, using similar techniques for anticipating revenues that the Vice Mayor had used when she was in New York; however, it was Council 's job to look at this best case scenario and it was their job to adjust down if that best case scenario didn't come through. That was her opinion of how the budget should be done. It would be very appropriate in a 6-months period to come back and say they were right on the money, and adjust it then. In this case Vice Mayor Genco stated she did not think a budget should be based on a best case scenario, expressed her opinion the budget should be lowered, and questioned if there was a way to get a larger percentage of the local gas tax. VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 4 Councilmember Resnik stated he appreciated the Vice Mayor's expertise and he believed the budget was an estimate and she was welcome to give her opinion, and if the Council had to take a vote on adjusting the budget, so be it. Mayor Watkins asked if this was an across-the-board thing that the budget should be lowered. Vice Mayor Genco responded that she was going through the items she thought they might need to consider re- evaluating. If the Village Council wanted to re-evaluate these items, she would be glad to go back and tell them where she thought they should be changed, and then the Council could vote on an adjustment. Vice Mayor Genco indicated this might be a bit premature since the revenues were in some cases based on what was going to be spent and appropriated, and those line items also needed to be looked at before coming back to the revenues to see how the Council wanted to adjust them. She indicated that she was trying to do an introduction now on the revenues and when they got into expenditures the Council could go back through to see where they wanted to adjust things and if they needed to then could come back to the budget and adjust that. At Councilmember Humpage's request, Vice Mayor Genco clarified she was recommending the utility tax 314.100 to be $325,000; communication services tax 315.000 to be $315,000 and State Revenue Sharing 335.120 to be $145,000. If the percentage of gas tax revenue could be . increased, that might be added to the amended budget in May of next year. Finance Director Forsythe answered questions regarding Sprint and T-Mobile. Cash had been received up front and there was a 5-year lease on these, so 1/5 could be recognized each of the five years. Vice Mayor Genco commented there were some new line items she could not follow because there was nothing to compare them to from last year, and it appeared there had been a change in the Community Development Department that she did not know that the Village Council had addressed, and she would like to address that after they finished looking at revenues, because that was going to affect other things. In regard to site plan and zoning fees, the Vice Mayor asked how many sites were left for development. The Village Manager indicated revenues had been very conservative. The Vice Mayor suggested it would have been more useful to have included Community Development as a comparison for the changes to Community Development. Vice Mayor Genco noted 351.000 court fines year-to-date were not up to the amount in prior years, and recommended dropping that down to $35,000 or $40,000. There had been nothing to compare home occupational licenses and there was no indication where almost $250,000 came from for building permits. Vice Mayor Genco requested that be addressed. Village Manager Couzzo explained the intent was to have Community Development, which was an enterprise fund, to come under the General Fund, and last year's figures could be provided. Mr. Couzzo indicated it was not included because it was not a part of what was being accounted for this year. The Vice Mayor responded he was showing the Council what he would like in a budget for something he was saying they had a history for, and there should have been something that showed the Village Council that history. Vice Mayor Genco reported she had gone through the general ledger to come up with that VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 5 information, which was not the way it should have been presented to the Village Council. The Vice Mayor commented this was a significant amount of revenue and the dialogue she had with the Village Manager had been taking the revenue stream in the general fund instead of accruing it, and not putting the department in the general fund. By putting the department in the general fund it did not allow them to evaluate what happened in prior years, and he was treating this like anew profit center for the general fund. Councilmember Resnik asked if the estimate used here for building permits was derived from last year's enterprise fund figures shown elsewhere in this budget. The Vice Mayor responded they were not shown in the budget, that she had to go through the general ledger to get the figures, and she was not pleased it was being presented this way. Vice Mayor Genco commented the trend was for EMS transport fees to go down, and asked if something was happening that might increase them. Chief Weinand indicated these figures were a quarter behind and they had always met their projections. Vice Mayor Genco commented $8,000 might be more realistic for parks and recreation impact fees. Director of Parks and Recreation Corbitt advised that those figures were provided by Community Development. Discussion ensued. It was noted those figures came from the Community Development Director, who was the only one that would know anticipated impact fees. Vice Mayor Genco commented if more fees came on line they could be included in the amended budget. Vice Mayor Genco indicated a policy needed to be established since the budget had been exceeded last year. Mr. Couzzo indicated revenues were up 2% even with the sale of the property taken out. Ms. Forsythe explained the number was without the sale. A memo dated August 11, 2004 was discussed. Vice Mayor Genco commented the change of $346,771 was taken out of savings. Ms. Forsythe explained that estimated total revenues would exceed what the amended budget was even without the property sale. Councilmember Resnik commented it was his understanding that the Village Council had been approving additional money throughout the year as necessary, which totaled the $346,771. Vice Chair Genco explained that money was approved by resolution but the Village Council never amended the budget, and she never realized it was not being appropriated from the general fund but was being taken out of the savings account and moved to the general fund and then it was spent, which made a big difference, because it put you over your budget and you did not really know what had changed in your budget. Vice Mayor Genco commented that transferring from one department to another was more of an issue than transferring from one account to another within the same department, but those were the types of things the Village Council needed to be advised of, and there were so many journal entries in April she gave up trying to add them. Mayor Watkins commented if something came to Village Council, she assumed it was for something not budgeted for, to which Mr. Couzzo responded it could be for something budgeted that cost more than the budgeted amount, a department might have made some money and now they could buy something they needed, etc. The Vice Mayor explained a VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 6 good example was when a fire truck was budgeted and the contract received-it went to Council for approval and the amount might not be exactly the budgeted amount, and the Council would not know if it was coming from a savings account or the budgeted item. Finance Director Forsythe advised the only people who had authority to appropriate anything was Council; they appropriated the budget amount each year and whenever they saw "to appropriate funds" that should tell them more money was needed in the budget to do a project. Councilmember Resnik asked if when Council approved the $25,000 for legal fees for Community Development by a resolution for appropriating funds if they had also been approving the increase to the budget. Mr. Couzzo explained it was coming from savings; there were several budgets totaling $6 million with very small appropriations. Tom Paterno confirmed that Mr. Couzzo was saying, as an example, that the proposed budget was $6 million, and the old budget had been exceeded by $300,000.00+ by appropriations from Council which they did not realize would exceed the budget by that amount. Mr. Couzzo explained it was proposed to bring the Community Development budget into the general fund instead of being an enterprise fund. Each budget had nothing in common, and by appropriating funds for items it was accurately portrayed. Village Manager Couzzo explained how appropriated fund balances were accurately portrayed. Mr. Couzzo explained that all the entries in April had been made because it was decided to do all them at mid-year, which he believed was in concert with what the Vice Mayor was saying-that mid-year, Department Heads would look at their budgets and note, for example, office supplies was under and building maintenance had a little more; so a decision could be made to transfer $400 from building maintenance into office supplies to buy a new chair. This would keep within their budget. The April entries were made all at once to benefit Finance. Discussion ensued regarding adjustments for such items as gasoline. Vice Mayor Genco advised she was not questioning entries for items needed for daily operations, just large amounts, of which there were several entries, which were cumulative, and these were why a budget adjustment needed to come back before Council. Mr. Couzzo suggested establishing a threshold of $5,000 and bringing the others back before Council, and that would be a policy decision by the Council. These were entries that were inter-departmental. Examples of different entry items were discussed. Mr. Couzzo indicated that when faced with a shortage in one area, staff tried to find the money internally, but that could be changed if Council wanted it brought before them to be taken from savings. Mr. Couzzo explained that not enough had been budgeted for the overtime buyback and staff had pulled funds from different parts of the budget to pay for it. Vice Mayor Genco responded that would have been the time to go to Council to tell them that overtime buyback was going to cost a lot more money than had been anticipated, and she wanted to know when something was going to cost ten times more than anticipated-that was her responsibility. Mr. Couzzo indicated that could be brought back to Council. Vice Mayor Genco commented a projection should be much more realistic and any significant deviation should come before Council. Vice Mayor Genco commented the results were fine-her issue was she felt a high degree of responsibility to account to the residents and VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 7 it upset her that the budget changed and she did not know about it. Councilmember Resnik asked how this would be handled. Mr. Couzzo advised he would be happy to place significant deviations on the consent agenda at a regular meeting, and they could be pulled for discussion if desired. Vice Mayor Genco recommended a dollar amount be set. Mr. Couzzo indicated he would provide quarterly to the Council complete analysis of all revenues and all expenditures in all funds and if it exceeded $5,000 or 5%, whichever was greater, 5% deviation over budgeted amounts could be looked at to see if it was cumulative, it would be on consent agenda. Ms. Forsythe indicated the system would not allow Finance to catch cumulative entries except quarterly. Vice Mayor Genco asked that Ms. Forsythe develop a way to do this. Councilmember Humpage asked if all the April entries had exceeded the budget; Vice Mayor Genco responded it was not exceeded because funds had been appropriated in from the fund balance. Ms. Forsythe explained one part of the picture was the $346,000+ which Council had appropriated for additional funds; the other was when separate line items within one budget were going to be exceeded and departments were asked to find funds within their budget to pay for those line items. Councilmember Humpage asked that when the money was going to come from reserves that the request be highlighted in some way to • notify Council. Ms. Forsythe responded that any time Council heard the word "appropriate" that meant more money was needed than had been budgeted and it was coming from reserves. Following a short break, the meeting reconvened at 12:01 p.m. It was announced that expenditures would be reviewed by departments. It was decided to keep the amount for contributions the same as last year. During review of the Village Manager's Department, Vice Mayor Genco questioned the staffing number, which Mr. Couzzo explained should be 2.5-one part-time position was proposed to handle special projects. Vice Mayor Genco asked if Wendy Harrison had been hired by contract before being approved by Village Council, which was confirmed, and the Vice Mayor noted Wendy had already been hired by written contract which gave her vacation benefits as well as an hourly salary, and it was projected to be 1,000 hours, and she understood Mr. Couzzo had discretion to hire people, but there were other EEOC related issues. Temporary jobs might not require publishing and posting of positions, but the Village's written personnel policy required that, and it was not done. Assistant Village Manager Garlo explained she had been hired on a part time temporary contract through this fiscal year, contingent on that contract being approved for this budget. Vice Chair Genco commented she got vacation, and the only thing she did not get was insurance, and this came back to policy that she believed the Council had the right to know about anyone hired on a contractual basis, and if it was going to be a position in the budget, posting • needed to be done to give other people the opportunity to apply for the position. It was not fair to other employees and created a lot of dissent and unhappiness with other employees and it was usurping the Village Council's authority. Mr. Couzzo commented VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 8 she had worked three weeks and it was not a position in the budget now that he would want anyone to apply for since it might only last until September 30. In going over this with Finance, IRS conditions mandated it be done this way. Vice Mayor Genco responded no, the Village could have independent contracts like they did with Rob Ori. Finance Director Forsythe advised that Wendy's position was different-she met all the criteria of an employee. Vice Mayor Genco stated then the Village needed to go through the process before hiring, and that was the distinction between a contractual employee and a budgeted employee. Mayor Watkins commented she had only been hired for a limited time. Vice Mayor Genco requested and received clarification that this position was budgeted for the whole year and Wendy met the criteria of an employee, and she had already been hired to fill that position; the Vice Mayor reported she had received calls about this and they were right, because it was not fair. Discussion ensued. Councilmember Resnik asked if this position was filled only to September 30, if it would be advertised at that point. Assistant Manager Garlo described the hiring process and posting process, which he stated had been done for the Village Clerk position and the Finance Department position. That process was not done for this part-time position, which had been recruited, and he was not aware of any EEOC requirements. Vice Mayor Genco explained the real problem was this was intended to move into a half or full-time position and there was unfairness in that, as she had noted at the Council meeting two months ago. Vice Mayor Genco commented she knew the policy was followed now but before that the policy had not always been followed-people had been hired for temporary positions and moved into full-time positions, and there was no positing, and it created a lot of unhappiness with employees, and it was unfair, and it was the Council's responsibility to make sure this was done. The Vice Mayor expressed her opinion that now with Mr. Garlo handling this that it would be done correctly, but in Wendy's case it had not been handled correctly, and now she was wonderful, but the Council had to decide if they wanted to continue with special projects. Vice Mayor Genco asked what the special projects were and if staff really needed to be increased and what all these other people would be doing for a Village that was 99% built out, since there were other staff members that could pick up this work. Mayor Watkins noted the Village was now in a position of having someone qualified to do special projects such as Cypress Drive and Old Dixie, and who could get additional grants for the FEC right-of--way which would hopefully help with her salary. Vice Ma~~~~,,YYor Genco commented Wendy was a bright person, although her experience was an '~s Administrator, and she did not know her expertise with grants. Vice Mayor Genco asked what other projects she would be working on since Mr. Couzzo no longer had water projects, and why his staff could not work on them. Mr. Couzzo responded hopefully they could, and he would withdraw the part-time position request. Mayor Watkins asked if in the policy manual the advertising process was the same for part-time and full-time. Mr. Garlo responded EEOC required everyone to be treated fairly in the selection process; however, if you recruited an individual to come in part time he was not aware of an EEOC violation. He agreed with Vice Mayor Genco that the policy was good because it gave an opportunity to recruit the VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 9 best possible candidates. Vice Mayor Genco commented that policy was adopted by Council four months ago and it was designed to meet EEOC requirements; the policy the Village had did not even give leeway for seasonal employees to not do the posting process, and she would not have an issue on seasonal employees. The Vice Mayor stated the policy very clearly addressed that part-time and full-time positions had to be posted, and since Council had adopted that policy she thought it should be followed, and not find ways to get around the policy. Mayor Watkins commented we have a position and someone qualified, and it was her understanding it would be for special projects-the first of which would be Cypress Drive and Old Dixie. Vice Mayor Genco asked Mr. Couzzo since he no longer had the issues with water policies or annexation why he and his staff could not pursue these special projects. Mr. Couzzo indicated these things could certainly be done internally, and he would withdraw his request for the position. Mayor Watkins commented there had been previous conversation regarding using Wendy versus Jack Horniman since it would be cheaper, but if it could be done internally that was another issue, if an outside source was not needed. Vice Chair Genco commented this was the first she had heard of using Wendy instead of Jack Horniman, and commented Mr. Horniman's expertise was in comprehensive planning and zoning and it was much to • his credit that the Village had been able to protect Country Club Drive from being expanded; and although his hourly rate was more than Wendy's he could probably do something faster with his 35 years of experience working on those issues. Mayor Watkins explained there was no issue of using Wendy versus Jack. The Village Manager stated he would like to move on and he would delete the position. Councilmember Resnik confirmed with the Village Manager that he was not saying Wendy would serve out her contract until the end of September, only that he was removing the position from the proposed budget at this time, which would drop the proposed budget $25,000+. The Village Manager indicated all changes would be highlighted or in bold as requested by Vice Mayor Genco. Councilmember von Frank asked if Wendy was going to be working with Mr. Corbitt in Parks and Recreation. Mayor Watkins commented there were two separate issues-do we need the person at $25,000 and how was she hired. Vice Mayor Genco commented perhaps there would be more justification for putting her in Parks and Recreation, and it became an issue of who she was really working with and reporting to. Vice Mayor Genco commented when the Parks and Recreation budget was reviewed, if Mr. Corbitt felt there was something Wendy would be useful for, he was encouraged to speak up, and that might be the spot in the budget for this position if he could justify the need. In that case she and Greg would work together and report to the Village Manager. Vice Mayor Genco felt the position should be advertised, although Wendy might end up being the best qualified person to fill the position. Councilmember Humpage commented leaving EEOC issues out of this, how Wendy could work on Old Dixie and Cypress projects as well as for Mr. Corbitt if her position was in the recreation budget. The Village Manager stated he thought it was time to move on. • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 10 Human Resources was discussed next. Village Manager Couzzo explained in the past there had really not been an HR Department. This year Mr. Garlo transferred from the Police Department, Robbie Russo was in HR, and Dan Gallagher would be moved to HR this year. Vice Chair Genco asked about the 2-1/2 people proposed, and commented she thought Dan was going to retire, to which the response was Bob and Robbie were full- time and Dan was the half. Mr. Garlo explained Dan was handling risk management and overseeing fixed assets, and there was no other staff to do that. Discussion ensued. The Vice Mayor indicated she did not see what Mr. Gallagher was adding to the process. Mayor Watkins explained he had been extremely helpful in negotiating CIGNA, and it was pointed out he was helpful in mitigation of labor disputes; but the Vice Mayor indicated she had been personally affected when her situation took three years to get a resolution from him. Tom Paterno advised Mr. Gallagher did a lot of work for the pension boards. Mr. Garlo commented he could justify 20 hours a week from Mr. Gallagher for his office. Councilmember Resnik commented Mr. Gallagher helped a lot and had a wealth of knowledge, and suggested giving him the benefit until he was ready to leave. The Vice Mayor commented that would be Bob's job to monitor. Vice Mayor Genco asked if the person that was supposed to be phased in to do the website had been addressed. Mr. Garlo explained that he had negotiated with a local vendor to provide that service and a purchase order was now in the Finance Department. This vendor would provide all maintenance to keep the website fresh and current for $300 per month. That would be under Mr. Garlo's supervision. Councilmember Humpage stated he would like to keep Mr. Gallagher, and he wanted Mr. Garlo to work on franchises, such as waste management. It was confirmed Other Contractual Services, number 534.300, included Randall Murray and Betty Laur. $18,000 for Mr. Murray for public relations promoting events and writing for the Village newsletter and the rest for Clerk's office to support HR. The Council confirmed that Mr. Murray's newsletter writing was desirable, and Mr. Corbitt indicated Mr. Murray's contacts were helpful to him. Anew Village Clerk, Gwen Carlisle, had been hired. The line item for Recording Secretary was for Betty's salary. Mr. Couzzo confirmed that the administrative staff would help the clerk with paperwork. The next question was on Legal-the Mayor wanted to be sure enough had been budgeted. Discussion of pending cases ensued. The Village Manager indicated if there was not enough budgeted that he would come to the Council during the course of the year to request additional funds. Councilmember Humpage asked about legal services needed for annexation. It was decided to cut this figure to $100,000. Mr. Couzzo explained it had been discussed for years and was now proposed to put Community Development in the General Fund and the Chief Building Official and his secretary had requested to function as a Chief Building Official and not as a planner, since Mr. Newell was not a planner. Vice Mayor Genco commented right now all the • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 11 codes were being changed, which the Village Manager confirmed, and she thought Mr. Newell was an integral part of that; this was breaking up the department with part of it reporting to the Village Manager and Mr. Newell reporting to himself. The Village Manager stated Mr. Newell and his secretary would be the Building Department and that he and Carol Lux and Jack Horniman would be the Planning Department. Vice Mayor Genco discussed recent issues of Atlantis and Publix and advised that she had no problem keeping the department and just having the revenues flow to the General Fund like everything else did. She did not want to break up the department and thought it was not a good idea to put zoning directly under the Village Manager. Vice Manager Couzzo agreed that could be done. Councilmember Humpage commented Mr. Newell's credentials were as a building inspector and he seemed to be comfortable with that; and it created two hurdles for a developer by having two departments. Vice Mayor Genco commented Mr. Newell was head of the Planning & Zoning Department in Clewiston for 15-16 years and since he had come on board, for the first time someone was showing the Council how a development conflicted with the code; and she had been very impressed with the way he had taken what used to be a very complicated situation and simplified it for the Council. He knew the codes better than anybody and Jack Horniman should work with him on updating the codes, and Mr. Newell was eminently qualified for continuing to manage and coordinate personnel in that department. Vice Mayor Genco commented having Planning & Zoning relate directly with the Village Manager allowed the manager to be involved too closely with proposed developers, and she believed personnel had been directed to indicate they wanted the change. Councilmember Resnik indicated Mr. Newell wanted the change, Ms. Lux had a wealth of experience in planning, and Mr. Horniman had worked for the Village in this capacity for years; and he saw nothing wrong with two departments directly under the Village Manager. Vice Mayor Genco commented it was working so well keeping all functions with one Department Head, why break it up. Discussion ensued. Assistant Manager Garlo felt Ms. Lux was underutilized and Mr. Newell could be more effective as a Building Official with time to attend governmental meetings. Vice Mayor Genco indicated it was just the situation of having the Village Manager handle planning and zoning because it gave him the opportunity to influence things versus having someone without any reason to influence the outcome of events, and she wanted it as neutral as possible when something came before the Council; and there was no reason this department had to be broken up in order to get the revenues into the General Fund. It was noted Mr. Newell was not in attendance because he had gone to his daughter's home which had been damaged by Hurricane Charley. Councilmember Resnik and Mayor Watkins indicated they had no problem splitting the department. Vice Mayor Genco stated she was opposed and was on the record for that and she had a lot of reasons. The next item, Other Governmental Dept. 160, had a number of items and the supporting material contained a lot of things that were personnel related and seemed to belong in other departments, which was required by the new reporting system. Ms. Forsythe • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 12 explained these were here because it was unknown where these went, and budget adjustments could be made later such as if someone was going to leave and how much sick time, etc., they might have. It could not be properly applied until events happened. Journal entries would be made later. The next item for review was the Police Department. The number of personnel was discussed. Vice Mayor Genco noted Bob Garlo's salary was still included for 2004 and without him there were 24 full-time employees. A lengthy discussion ensued; Chief Allison advised there would be 24 full-time, and 1 part-time next year, and this budget showed no increases at all in numbers of personnel. Councilmember Humpage asked what one holiday cost the police department. Chief Allison advised $5,000 for patrol; Councilmember von Frank commented it cost $8,000 for one last year. Chief Allison commented he had requested one policeman be transferred to a motorcycle in the coming year. A short break was taken. • There were no questions regarding Department 180, Building Department. Page 38, Fire Department was discussed. Personnel last year included transfer of Joanne Burnsed with half of her salary paid by Fire and half from Community Development; this year she was full-time Fire Department. One firefighter position had been cut since an intern could be used. Chief Weinand explained the primary cause of the budget increasing was due to COLA and merit and covering the intern program. Operating expenditures increased primarily due to utilities that came out of general government, a generator, and an EMS grant that had to be paid before the revenue to offset it was received. Page 40, Dept 192 personnel actual through September and proposed was discussed. Chief Weinand explained the additional amount was for education for interns, and explained the intern program, indicating that it was cheaper in the long run to use interns. The interlocal agreement with Palm Beach County was saving many dollars. The county would be paying for the communication system, and everyone would be on the same system. Page 45, Public Works Department 210: Vice Mayor Genco commented a half person was being added and the budget was increasing. Mr. Preston commented the person worked part time for stormwater and was just being transferred to public works, which accounted for approximately $30,000; and additional streetlights and a riding lawnmower made up the difference. Landscaping irrigation and maintenance was up significantly, which Mr. Preston explained. Finance had moved funds to where they were actually spent; and the high cost of health insurance made it cheaper to hire contractual services than to make these workers Village employees. The one concrete street in the Village again needed to be repaired. The Village Manager suggested expediting the repairs in return for amending the developers' agreement. Vice Mayor Genco suggested deeding the roadway to the development. Pert Town commented since there were no private • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 13 roads in the Village, the law would have to be changed. Councilmember Humpage commented now that construction was done and concrete trucks and construction vehicles would no longer be using the road, that should cut down on the wear and tear. The work to be done was compaction around manholes, which should not have to be re- done in the future. Page 49, Dept. 230 and 231: Mr. Corbitt commented his budget had gone up; that during FY 03/04 approximately 20,000 people had come through the doors of the Recreation Center, over 17 programs and 5 special events had been held, homeowner association meetings had been accommodated, the building was rented out for birthday parties, teen parties, wedding receptions, etc. The parks were used more and more. More teams were using the improved ball fields at Tequesta Park. There were over 5,000 memberships for the Skate Park, with daily attendance averaging between 15-20 kids. A $200,000 grant had been received from the State of Florida for Constitution Park improvements. Summer Camp and other camps all had increased enrollments with over 300 participating. Events for the coming year were reviewed by Mr. Corbitt. Vice Mayor Genco noted she was impressed with this department's revenues generated for the • Village. Summer camp personnel was discussed. There were several comments regarding the residents' appreciation for the programs and events offered. Mayor Watkins expressed liability concerns regarding the proposed splash pad and potential busloads of kids coming in. Mr. Corbitt responded he was not concerned since there was no more liability than with the skate park because there was no standing water, and the Mayor was right regarding use, but use could be controlled. This was an item that would be included in the master plan. Councilmember Resnik asked what the improvements to the skate park were; Mr. Corbitt commented that was for a few new pieces of equipment. Pert Town commented the City of Palm Beach Gardens charged higher fees for non- residents; Tom Paterno suggested higher fees for non-residents might be an incentive for areas to annex into the Village. Another benefit to annex was a lower water rate. Mr. Corbitt commented he would pursue other grants that did not require matching funds. Mr. Corbitt clarified personnel and maintenance charges for Tequesta Park. Councilmember Humpage confirmed $160,000 was in the budget for Tequesta Park. Councilmember Resnik cautioned not to confuse the issue of state requirements for the $400,000 grant by adding future items to the master plan. Mr. Corbitt explained that the master plan would go to P&Z in September and to the Village Council for approval in October. Councilmember Resnik stated he did not understand why it was going to P&Z since they did not approve these types of projects. Village Manager Couzzo commented that a site plan would go to P&Z and then to Council of the items planned for the grant, which would go to the state; simultaneously work would proceed on a master plan for future years. Mr. Corbitt explained additional maintenance funds were requested for • increased costs of labor, equipment, gas, ball field lighting, and aeration of the ball fields. • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 14 Page 54 contained a new ambulance. Vice Mayor Genco asked the benefit of leasing versus purchasing, to which Finance Director Forsythe responded the agreements for vehicles were lease purchase. The new ambulance would be submitted to Council for approval in October, with delivery probably in March. Both present ambulances were 1997 vehicles, and the new ambulance would replace one. Page 56, General Fund Interfund Transfers, was explained by Village Manager Couzzo as the new Village Hall which would be paid from cash reserves and completion was anticipated by a year from October. Mayor Watkins indicated she was very proud it could be paid for this way. Page 59, Improvement Bond Fund Revenue & Expenditures, was explained by the Finance Director as bond payments and funds from occupational licenses and franchise fees, with whatever was left over put back in the funds the money had been taken from. Capital Improvement Fund, page 51: Tequesta Drive Bridge improvements would not affect traffic-this was erosion control for the banks. • Capital Projects Fund, page 52: The transfer out to the general fund was for the Village Hall. The appropriation amount was different than the transfer in by $106,000 which was for other projects such as landscaping, etc. Kiosks for bus stops were included. Landscaping along the FEC right-of--way with a wide asphalt sidewalk had been designed by Connie Fisher, who had also been working on agreements widening the Village easements in that location. Vice Mayor Genco asked if Karen Marcus had been consulted for funding, since she had promised the money, to which the Village Manager responded the Mayor was meeting with her on Wednesday. Village Manager Couzzo commented he would like to bring the Council's attention to two projects that had been requested by residents. One was intersection modifications of a roadway within the Country Club on the southern end which was not aligned properly, estimated to cost approximately $50,000. Also, there had been a request for consideration of a pilot traffic surveillance monitoring system on Country Club Drive whereby the Village would install fiber optic cameras to monitor traffic around the clock. Discussion ensued. Mayor Watkins commented she would welcome input from residents since some might feel this was Big Brother watching too much. Tom Paterno commented Tequesta Country Club Association as well as some of the residents were interested inane reason was that with the Western Corridor that would open the community via a direct link to Indiantown Road, and this would provide added security from unsavory characters as well as traffic. If a family member were affected this would • provide a source to be utilized to actually see the problem and apprehend someone right away. Vice Mayor Genco suggested Mr. Paterno obtain a copy of a traffic study from the Town of Jupiter and Chief Allison had advised he was already monitoring traffic; and she • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 15 had a concern everybody would either say this was Big Brother or everybody might want to do this at every intersection. Mr. Paterno advised it would only take two cameras to monitor over 800 homes, and he thought people would be very surprised by the amount of traffic that would come with opening the Western Corridor. Portability of the cameras was discussed. Vice Mayor Genco wanted more input before making this a budgeted item. Mr. Paterno advised he had 24-hour camera surveillance at his home for the protection of his children, so the streets there were already monitored. Village Manager commented the cameras could be relocated rather easily to be used in another area. Assistant Village Manager Garlo advised that Asset Security, which had provided security for the public safety building, had presented a proposal for either wireless and for fiber optic, which was already in the Country Club. The Village Manager indicated a staff report on this would be provided to the Village Council. Pert Town was in favor of the idea for security and safety, stating On Star in new cars was the same thing. The proposed intersection modification for realignment was discussed. Mayor Watkins described the area, which was a wide spot. Mr. Paterno described another wide spot with the same problem. El Portal and Golfview, and El Portal and at El Portal and River Drive. El Portal was proposed to be narrowed. Mayor Watkins was concerned with . residents who might accuse the Village of enhancing some properties at the expense of the Village because lawn would be added. Adding a stop sign at El Portal and Golfview was discussed, which would fix the problem at that intersection. At River and El Portal there was currently a yield sign. Stormwater, page 80 -Village Manager Couzzo there was one person dedicated to stormwater, and the south Cypress Drive project was included. The Village would be utilizing technology to do an infrastructure analysis to see the condition of the existing pipes by use of a small video surveillance camera. Vice Mayor Genco asked how the clean water with the first half-inch could be obtained on south Cypress to satisfy NPDES. Village Manager noted there were three stormwater outlets that had to be connected into the exfiltration trench, so the first half-inch would be handled by the exfiltration trench. Vice Mayor Genco was concerned that grates would be high and she requested to see the plans. Regarding refuse and recycling, Village Manager Couzzo reported there was a problem with yard waste, but if the Council was interested, Nichols could change the schedule so that it was picked up each time they had regular pickup, which might be negotiated. Vice Mayor Genco reported she called about yard waste and was told they had ten days to pick it up. It was clarified by Mr. Preston there was no exact time in the contract. Consensus was to pursue having yard waste picked up with regular pickups to see what it would cost. Councilmember Humpage reported his can was marked in English and had to be • marked "yard waste" in both English and Spanish. One of the problems was that things were being put out beside the road that should not be put there and work was in progress on a notification system to let them know why something was not picked up. Another VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 16 thing being looked at was a different type of receptacle that could be side loaded automatically. Mr. Preston clarified for Mr. Paterno that FPL replaced burned-out streetlights. Page 74, General Revenues -Manager Couzzo reported Water Department revenues coming from Tropic Vista and Jupiter Heights would provide an additional cushion. Councilmember Humpage reported some customers had been lost but the new ones created a solid base with no chance of loss, and the number of customers was almost back to where it was. In a year and a half when the bulk water purchased from Jupiter ended, it would be way to the upside with revenue up but a dramatic drop-off in expenses. The Village would be able to produce their own water to replace that purchased from Jupiter for less money. Vice Mayor Genco asked when the old water softener system would be started again; the Manager indicated he would check. Councilmember Resnik noted there was still $5-1/2 million in the water utility undesignated unreserved funds. Finance Director Forsythe explained that in an enterprise fund, that figure included hard property; and after removing that there was $2.7 million in available cash. Village Manager • Couzzo reported the Village expected to receive a grant from South Florida Water Management in October of $250,000, which would lessen transfer needs. For the new well, instead of using local well drillers, the Village Manager explained that the plan was to search for well diggers in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Northern Florida which would charge cheaper rates and would be available when needed. Even with the Village absorbing transportation, the savings could be hundreds of dollars. The amount budgeted for this well could be significantly reduced. Total utility personnel was down. Administration was one full-time--half Village Manager Couzzo, and half Patrice. Distribution was down one person, but even with one person out costs were up approximately $20,000, because water had absorbed 10% more of Mr. Couzzo's salary this year than last as well as benefits that went with that salary, which last year was shown in the General Fund. In Water Distribution there was one person less and the new program of electronic reading of meters was also reflected. Mr. Couzzo reported at the Martin County Commissioners meeting last week, the Commission was very receptive to Tequesta continuing to look for areas in south county where they could provide water service. Vice Mayor Genco commented that the Manager's method of communicating with the Council via memos or a-mail was excellent. Capital expansion of the RO plant was reviewed. Village Manager Couzzo explained he • had met with the engineers and discussed adding both a second and third train. Filter membranes had already been replaced, and the plant was in excellent shape. • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 17 The Manager explained Tropic Vista was showing as an expense, but now with it finalized $304,000 of capital connection fees would be added to the revenue side. The cost of Rolling Hills was shown as $120,000. The Village Manager requested direction from the Council regarding the labor agreement with the police officer, which included the dispatchers who were in Communications Workers of America. Instead of just coming up with a COLA number, it made sense to tie it to some type of index. The police negotiations came first and they did not want to do that, so left that open to be negotiated, as well as health care. With CWA workers, it was tied to Southeast Regional Urban CPI, currently projected at 3%. The police representatives requested the same health care package as the dispatchers and if they could have that they would take 1-1/2% COLA. Now there was the situation of a difference in COLA. $17,000 would bring the police up to 3% COLA also, and the only way to do that would be to have Mr. Couzzo re-open negotiations and tell them the Council wanted to keep their COLA level with the dispatchers. Councilmember von Frank favored keeping it at 1-1/2% since the police were happy with the negotiation. Vice Mayor Genco noted the other group was tied to the CPI, which could have gone down. Councilmember Resnik felt everyone should get the same, regardless of what they agreed. Mr. Couzzo asked that the Council think about this and unless he heard to the contrary it would remain at 1-1/2% for the police and 3% for everyone else. Consensus was to keep the millage rate as proposed. Vice Mayor Genco commented there was very little play within this budget and next year she wanted to really look at expenditures by department versus the next year's proposed budget to start getting tolerances down to a reasonable rate increase. It should be easier next year to do this because most of the capital expenditure projects would be completed. Mr. Couzzo commented overall expenditures in next year's budget would go down by 40%. Mr. Couzzo advised the next budget report would be a draft. Councilmember Humpage noted roughly $123,000 had been pulled from the budget today, and he would like to keep Wendy on the payroll to finish some of these issues. Councilmember Humpage felt the Manager had cut her position because he did not want to create any issues, but he would rather see the Manager doing something else and spend the $25,000 or whatever amount was decided for Wendy. Vice Mayor Genco commented her whole point was the Village had gotten all of these grants, a lobbyist, and a newspaper reporter, and there was staff to do all these things and staff had prepared all the previous grants; the FEC project plans were already done and there was money already coming in for that project; and she liked Wendy and maybe there would be employment opportunities down the line, but there really was no employment opportunity . at the present time. She appreciated that Mr. Couzzo saw someone he thought was really talented and wanted to hire her, but there really was not an employment opportunity at this point in time. Councilmember Humpage commented the budget seemed to be within • VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 18 the parameters that it should be, that Mr. Couzzo was hired to be responsible to do his job and if he thought this would be an asset for the Village he did not think the Village was at much risk for the amount of money. Vice Mayor Genco commented the Village had more employees than ever before, Administration was double the size it was ever supposed to be, there was never going to be a full-time Human Resources person or an Assistant Village Manager or a Risk Manager, and if they weren't needed a year ago the Village must be a lot farther ahead than a year ago when Council was told they were not needed. Every time more people were hired it took more resources, more operations expense, computers, etc. Councilmember Humpage commented he held Mr. Couzzo ultimately responsible and he had no problem with it and was willing to do it 6 months or a year. Mayor Watkins commented she thought Wendy knew this position was temporary and the projects would run out. Right now there was the parks project, and beautification of Old Dixie and Tequesta Drive. The Vice Mayor stated that was all done. Mayor Watkins commented if Wendy was not here who would go meet with Commissioner Marcus on Wednesday, to which the Manager responded he and Mayor Watkins would go. Vice Mayor Genco commented that money had been spent previously on this project before Wendy was here. Mr. Couzzo commented everybody on staff was looking at grant opportunities. Discussion ensued. The Village Manager explained he looked at Wendy or Jack as investments and the return that could be realized for the Village. Councilmember Humpage stated he had no problem putting Wendy's position back into the budget. Vice Mayor Genco commented when the Village received the $200,000 grant she did not want the whole amount being used up with lobbyist, publicist, and other people-the Village was spending an amount almost equal to that received, and she would like to keep something and not spend it all on the people doing this. It would be appropriate for a larger city, but the Village was tiny and already had all of this, and was the first municipality Jack Koury took on as a lobbyist. Mr. Couzzo confirmed Mr. Koury used to do a lot of government jobs but now the Village was the only one. Vice Mayor Genco commented the Village was the only municipality she knew with a newspaper writer. Councilmember Humpage commented that gave the Village character different from other towns; the Vice Mayor stated she thought the Village character was defined by employees, parks and recreation department, police department, and by how residents were treated and not by somebody behind the lines. Mr. Paterno commented sometimes he had been cheap in his business when he should have had support to allow him to spend more time with his customers, since they were how he made his money. Vice Mayor Genco asked what had changed in a year and a half since she had been told a Human Resource person and Assistant Village Manager and others were not needed, but indicated an opportunity to have Mr. Garlo be Assistant Village Manager had come about and the Village had got someone with a lot of experience with the Village and she looked at him as a point person to fill in some of • these other duties. Mr. Couzzo commented the goal was to have the present situation change and he had left it to Mr. Garlo to decide if Dan should stay, and Mr. Garlo had reduced Dan's hours. Mr. Couzzo commented by next year when Mr. Garlo had a real VILLAGE COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES August 16, 2004 Page 19 handle on other aspects he could assume those responsibilities. Village Manager Couzzo commented there had been a change to the position of Executive Assistant to the Village Manager and it was now Administrative Assistant to the Office of the Village Manager and the pay for that had gone down. Mr. Garlo advised there was only one person more than five years ago. Councilmember Humpage advised that five years ago the Village was continually criticized in the CAFR report and this administration had spent a lot of time getting things straightened out and at the same time had made progress. Mayor Watkins commented a lot of time had been spent by the Manager during the past year on water projects, and she had no problem with keeping Wendy on especially if she could be useful for more than one item, but how she was hired was an issue. Vice Mayor Genco commented Wendy's contract had to be renegotiated, she should not be entitled to vacation, and it should be a straight hourly situation not to exceed so many hours per month, and a temporary position, which was a lot differently than it had been handled. Councilmember Humpage agreed. Councilmember Resnik felt it was up to the Manager if he wanted to do it. Village Manager Couzzo asked for clarification. Vice Mayor Genco stated if he wanted to hire a temporary person to help him to see how it worked out, if that temporary person were to be Wendy, it should be on a flat contract basis, a • temporary position, no benefits such as vacation, and a maximum number of hours per week that could be worked. It was clarified that present permanent-part time employees did receive vacation. The Vice Mayor commented if the Manager could show real value next year it could become apermanent-part time position; it was temporary for 2004- 2005. IRS rules were discussed. Mr. Couzzo commented Wendy needed to have other clients and be incorporated and then she would be like Mr. Horniman, and he would let Council know. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Betty Laur Acting Village Clerk •