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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_08/11/2012 MINUTES VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA WORKSHOP Saturday, August 11, 2012 8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Tom Patemo at 8:00 a.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Tom Patemo, Vice Mayor Vince Arena, Council Member Abby Brennan, Council Member Steve Okun, and Council Member Frank D'Ambra. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Clerk Lori McWilliams, and Department Heads. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Council agreed succession planning would be addressed first followed by the budget, annexation, mission statement and ending with Village initiatives. MOTION Council Member Brennan moved approval of the amended agenda; seconded by Council Member Okun; motion carried unanimously. 1. Succession Planning Mayor Paterno explained there were key positions that Council needed to consider for future personnel replacements due to retirements, such as the Manager, Fire Chief, and Public Works Manager. In house mentoring of current staff was discussed and the amount of time and resources necessary; it was noted succession planning also included training for emergency departures. Village Manager Couzzo noted departments would continue to function under emergencies, as internal staff was competent to temporarily fill the gap, however, none that could rise to the level of department head. Council discussed having a written plan in place, and the Mayor inquired on what Council would do if the Manager resigned; it was suggested a Council Member could step in temporarily to serve as the Manager if necessary. Discussion ensued in identifying high potential performers who might wish to step up and actively engage themselves in a mentoring project; review upcoming retirement dates and look within; move to "Plan B" if there was not current qualified staff. The Manager reminded Council there was a mentoring program in place when there was an Assistant Manager, Assistant Chief and Assistant Finance Director, however, these positions have been removed from the budget. Council suggested the Manager meet with the department heads a d determine how they want to proceed in their areas reference mentoring and to co a back to Council; the Manager noted he would create a report. Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 11, 2012 Page 2 Ms. Merlene Reid, Human Resources Director, commented on the size of the organization and strategies used and that the Village has staff to hold it together should the need arise. She commented on senior level staff being available 2417 and in constant contact and moving to a full succession plan would be expensive. Mr. Greg Corbitt, Parks and Recreation Director, agreed with Ms. Reid and stated senior staff had to constantly check iPad and voice mail when out -of -the office. Ms. JoAnn Forsythe, Finance Director, stated she has not taken a full week off; staff was at their limit; and there was not anyone else within the areas of specialization to complete the work. Fire Chief Weinand agreed; there was no one ready to lead and it was difficult to take more than a week off. Village Clerk McWilliams stated senior level staff each had specializations that took years to learn and were experts in their chosen fields. Village Manager Couzzo noted there was no internal mechanism and that generally, staff did not have the basic qualifications or required education to operate as department heads; and noted senior staff was operating above - and - beyond. Council discussed the need for a long -term plan, with a short-term plan for emergencies, as there were continuous demands placed on senior staff and that even the department head's employees were specialists in their own ways. The Manager stated his plan for key positions was to immediately fill vacant positions from outside the Village, if necessary. Discussion ensued on the need to look internally before you consider going outside and the need to identify current Village staff with the potential to move up through development. Mr. Couzzo suggested Council consider a "Key Man Insurance Policy" for his position; Council discussed an assistant for the Manager who could learn and develop. Consensus of Council agreed to have the Village Manager work with department heads, prepare a report and bring back to Council for review. 2. 2012/2013 Budget Planning (PART 1) Village Manager Couzzo reviewed the General Fund revenues, which consisted of the Ad Valorem tax base; the current tax base was under $4.5 million and used to be over $6 million. He reviewed the revenue streams and noted the proposed budget was less than last year's amended. Council Member Brennan understood the budget presentation was set via GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board), however, would like to know the true earned revenue. Mayor Patemo suggested a separate report taking out the appropriated fund balance. He wanted to see what operations were increasing — remove the one -time instances. Council Member Brennan wanted to see the earned Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 11, 2012 Page 3 income and real expenses and noted when funds were moved from savings to operating — they were not earned income. Discussion ensued on the amount of funds that would have to come out of savings to fund the proposed budget; which was due to the Village Council not increasing taxes due to having revenues set aside over the years. Council discussed moving to a 5 -year plan; and taking smaller bites out of the apple so it would be a less painful taxing experience; opposition to increasing taxes; ability to pursue other options; bending the revenue curve up and the expenditure curve down; continuing to be prudent with taxpayer funds; and having personnel and technology in place to distinguish the Village. The Manager notified Council the Nextel revenues would be going down since they were shutting down Nextel; contract would be provided to Council reference the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue with a nine -year contract which should help revenues come close to last year and Palm Beach County would provide $70,000 worth of fleet maintenance to the Village as part of the contract. Together with the Department Heads, he reviewed each departmental budget individually. Council Mr. Couzzo explained the Council budget was $28,000 and that "Aide to the Community" was removed. Manager Compensation and budget was split between general fund and water. Human Resources No changes requested. Clerk The Village Clerk requested an additional $2,000 in Code Codification and $5,000 in legal advertising due to Council's recently approved comprehensive Code review by legal. Advertising is required for each ordinance as well as final edification into the Code Book. Legal estimated the Ordinances to double during their review. Council Member Okun commented on the need for a marketing budget to include funds for the various enterprise initiative plans he had for the Village. Council asked him to bring a plan and budget forward for review. Council agreed appropriations over the next year should be only due to emergencies or if there was a significant reduction in cost to purchase in this budget year. Finance No changes requested. Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 11, 2012 Page 4 Legal An increase was included due to work on the comprehensive ordinance review. Community Development The Manager explained there was a 20% increase due to the changes made with personnel and other adjustments. The Manager and Ms. Zacarias reviewed the requested increases: legal services (annexation, code review legal advertisements, and legal advice), mapping, office supplies, and contractual services. General Government Manager explained the IT position fell under General Government and was cost shared. Council Member Brennan noted the breast cancer awareness and volunteer appreciation events were not budgeted this year and asked that they be included. Mayor Paterno noted the Council's job was to run the Village efficiently and Council Member D'Ambra voiced concern with using taxpayer funds to support specific non- profit organizations; Mayor Patemo noted the Council could not support non - profits with Village staff and time. Manager Couzzo stated there was $800 in the Council's budget for volunteer appreciation. Consensus of Council agreed to fund $2500 for Volunteer Appreciation in the General Fund. Police The Manager and Chief Pitocchelli reviewed the benefits to the Village to reorganize the Reserve to permanent full time positions. Council discussed the better control offered through this reorganization and Consensus of Council (Mayor disagreed) agreed to proceed with the Chiefs request to transition Reserve to full -time in January 2013. The Manager explained the Reserve Program would be a volunteer program rather than paid program. Community Development Detailed discussion ensued by Council on businesses not following proper procedures and Council's response and communication and the need to find better communication outlets to eliminate misunderstandings between the Village and businesses. Ms. Zacarias noted the building official wanted to continue his 25 hours per week plus the eight hours for the additional staff member, who was brought on to help ensure the five -day turnaround time was met. Discussion on the need to have software in place to allow staff to determine who had pulled permits for specific projects, Code Enforcement working weekend and evening hours, using current resources more effectively and taking a softer approach to code and hanging cards on doors is not as effective as one - on -one conversations. Council and staff had a detailed discussion on the current process of sending three firefighters out to complete an inspection and did not believe that was necessary. The Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 11, 2012 Page 5 status of the contract with the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue was discussed, as well as fire education, boat and dive certification and advanced courses. Public Works Manager Couzzo received a letter from FEC (Florida East Coast Railroad) that the Village would be billed $132,000, which would be funded out of capital improvement funds. Council discussed the Tequesta Drive project and requirements of capital fund project funding and road paving necessities and Council Member D'Ambra felt if it would cost less to fund a project today it might be a more prudent investment. Parks and Recreation The Manager reviewed the parks budget, Council discussed lower camp attendance, travel, and per diem and building maintenance costs. Mr. Couzzo noted the property, casual insurance cost was increasing, and they would continue to review deductible costs to help lower costs. MOTION: Vice -Mayor Arena moved to adjourn the meeting at 1:06 p.m. for a 5- minute break; seconded by Council Member D'Ambra; motion carried 4 -1 (with Council Member Brennan was out of room). Meeting re- adjourned at 1:29 p.m. 3. Discussion of Annexation Matters Council discussed the annexation workshop that was scheduled and the need to review the code and possibly grandfather in certain code compliance issues that had no adverse costs to the Village. Council suggested a three -year window that would ride with the property and not the owner, free permits, incentives and to ensure property owners understood what code issues run with the property. Council discussed how to notice properties with code issues and the three -year window and the Manager noted it could be done through the Clerk's Office via the lien search process. Council continued discussion on how to correct code issues and discussed a three -year window and potentially waiving permit fees up to $500 within the first three years. Ms. Zacarias, Community Development Director, discussed dialogue with potential new residents and referendum issues and provided a status on the 48 letters she mailed. She suggested doing a cost analysis if Council considered annexing other areas; and noted she was contacting owners of area G — the commercial area on US 1. MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra moved to adjoum the workshop to an Executive Session at 3:11 p.m. to discuss labor negotiation strategies; seconded by Council Member Okun; motion carried unanimously. Workshop was rye- adjourned at 3:50 p.m. Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 11, 2012 Page 6 4. 2012/2013 Budget Planning (Part 2) Mayor Patemo noted all the added requests of the department heads was an increase of $349,500 in the budget and Mr. Couzzo explained revenues budgeted for next year were less than this year by $30,000; and noted the fire rescue agreement would adjust by 3% this year and then each year, thereafter plus up to $70,000 per year in fleet maintenance. The Manager explained the budget started off every year in the negative by $726,000. Council Member D'Ambra asked that the budget be reformatted as a work product for presentation to Council while continuing to utilize the required format for GASB. Council reviewed each departmental request with the consensus agreeing: Railroad project $130,000 Do not fund unless FEC invoices the Village Paving project $100,000 Remove Property insurance - Manager to obtain final figure Community Development • Legal $26,000 No (Community Development should advise the Manager if legal is necessa • Mapping $2500 Fund • Other Contractual $6000 Do not fund Services • Inspector salary $123,000 Fund $113,000 • Software $1200 Fund • Office supplies $1100 Fund • Scanner $20,000 Do not fund Police $60,000 Leave at $60,000 • Gas • Roof repair $15,000 Leave at $15,000 Volunteer Recognition $1700 Fund at $2500 Fire Volunteer Program Manager to instruct the Fire Chief to move forward on the volunteer program Police Reserves Program Continue to promote reserve program - leave the police as manager proposed in budget Police art-time position $32,900 Remove — do not fund Fire - Rescue Do not fund • Education Reimbursement • Personnel Training Do not fund • Gas and Oil Cut to $20,000 • Manager to come back to Council with a program to train inspectors so the Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes August 11, 2012 Page 7 Captains do not have to continue to complete the inspections Clerk • Legal $5,000 Fund • Codification $2,000 Fund After Council discussion on insurance costs and pending insurance requlations, Consensus of Council agreed all new part-time hires would be hired at 24 hours a week. Mayor Paterno inquired on the how much the Village paid staff when the park facilities were rented and suggested non - resident usage cost double. The Manager agreed to look into the cost. Mr. Couzzo agreed to have all the Village's white vehicles and police fleet in current rotation striped with the new design; new police cars would be striped as received; not to exceed $5,000 this year. Water The Manager explained the water revenues were expected to decrease when the Jupiter Island agreement expired as they purchased their own utility. He recommended a rate analysis, which had not been done in a while (Council did not agree to a rate analysis at this time). Refuse and Recycling Mr. Couzzo explained the Village was putting $4,700 in to offset rate increases. Branding (Council Member Okun) Consensus of Council requested to see the final revised budget before deciding on an amount to place in the budget for Council Member Okun's branding projects. 5. Mission Statement Review and Discussion — Tabled to next workshop 6. Village Initiatives to Elevate Property Values — Tabled to next workshop MOTION: Council Member Okun moved to table #5 and #6 until the next workshop meeting; Council Member D'Ambra seconded; and the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lori McWilliams, MMC Village Clerk Note These summary minutes are prepared in compliance with 286.011 F.S. and are not verbatim transcripts of the meeting. A verbatim audio record is available from the Office of the Village Clerk. All referenced attachments are on file in the Village Clerk's office.