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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_06/30/1994VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 357 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 (407) 575-6200 Fax: (407) 575-6203 VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES JUNE 30, 1994 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Village Council held a Workshop Meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Thursday, June 30, 1994. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 P.M. by Mayor Ron T. Mackail. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, the Recording Secretary. Council members present were: Mayor Ron T. Mackail, Elizabeth A. Schauer, Earl L. Collings, and Joseph N. Capretta. Vice Mayor William E. Burckart was absent from the meeting. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford, Village Clerk Joann Manganiello, and Department Heads. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Schauer moved to approve the Agenda as submitted. Councilmember Capretta seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Ron T. Mackail - for Elizabeth A. Schauer - for Earl L. Collings - for Joseph N. Capretta - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the Agenda was approved as submitted. III. REVIEW OF PROPOSED FY 1994-1995 BUDGETS A) General Fund Village Manager Bradford stated items taken from Water Department funds were the Administrative Management Fee, $140,000; 8$ surcharge $80,000; Cultural Donations of $5,000 to BRITT and $5,000 to Lighthouse Gallery for uon~~~p,~ n~„~~ Village Council ,_., Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 1994 Page 2 a total of $10,000; and contribution to the Village's Capital Improvement Fund $75,000, which total $305,000 skimmed off the top before anything goes to Retained Earnings. Since the Enterprise Fund was funding some of the Village's costs it reduced the amount of millage increase. Councilmember Capretta pointed out that profit still has to be increased in order to have the funds to distribute to these accounts. Village Manager Bradford stated during the last twelve months all sources of revenue have been aggressively reviewed except Utility Taxes, which is the largest non-ad valorem revenue source and considered a rainy day fund. As a result, revenue sources increased 2.6%. The tax value has declined and/or has stayed stable for the last five years; meanwhile, costs of doing business have increased each year because inflation is not under Village control. Proposed millage rate increase of 7.6~ included 3.1~ increased debt service from the new bond issue because there will be less revenue from the pledged sources to transfer to the General Fund; however, the financed improvements will make the Village a better place in which to live. The balance of the millage rate increase was due to operational increases, of which $56,875 was due to management's recommendation that the Council create a new Code Enforcement Division within the Police Department as in the Lantana Plan, and hire a new police officer; and a tax increase of approximately 2.5~ for Village ongoing cost of operations. Taxes for operations have not been raised in 5 years, while all neighboring communities have had radical tax increases. A graphic analysis of Tequesta Taxes presented by Village Manager Bradford showed that based on 1990 U. S. Census figures, the median home value for a typical Tequesta homeowner of $152,200 when reduced by $25,000 homestead exemption resulted in total taxable value of $127,200; or $2,989.11 in total property taxes based upon the current tax rate of 23.5 mills. The portion received by the Village of Tequesta was $751.76 based on its current tax rate of 5.9140 mills. The proposed tax rate of 6.3810 would increase this hypothetical taxpayer's property taxes approximately $60 per year. Only about half of the amount necessary to operate the Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 1994 Page 3 Village came from taxes. The largest portion of costs of operations were shown to be Police 34.6% and Fire Rescue 25.5%; other costs were distributed among General Government 18.8%, Recreation 4.1%, Other 5.8% and Public Works 11.6%. Tequesta's property tax rate had stayed fairly constant over the past ten years, while all other taxing agencies' tax rates and the Consumer Price Index increased. Village Manager Bradford concluded his presentation by stating management did not feel the proposed 2.5% increase was out of line. Councilmember Collings complimented Village Manager Bradford on his presentation, and urged management to be critical of all costs. Councilmember Collings observed that a newspaper article had erroneously reported a 29% drop in administrative costs, which had actually increased. He stated that 50% of the personal services charges were benefits, and suggested if COLA were eliminated that the same amount could be given to employees in the form of a bonus which would not require benefits, therefore giving the employee money at less cost to the Village. Since employees raises are out of the Council's control and the Council as elected officials have a fiscal responsibility to the citizens, Councilmember Collings requested the Council be given the criteria used to determine amounts of salary increases, and questioned whether employee were treated equitably. When Councilmember Collings observed that COLA was important to employees who were topped out, Village Manager Bradford stated that approximately 30% of the Village employees were already topped out, that employees were treated equitably, and that a longevity pay plan needed to be established. Councilmember Collings stated that public employees differed from private employees in that they were more stable and received more benefits, but also had a larger critical audience. Councilmember Schauer commented on the high level of service provided by Village employees, and stated reducing increases could result in a "don't care" attitude. Councilmember Collings stated he wanted to consider the impact on the overall budget and look at items the Council might be able to control. Fire Chief Weinand commented the compensation packages were designed to attract good Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes '" June 30, 1994 Page 4 employees and that the Village would attract good employees without good compensation, and that one reason personal services increased was because of overtime to cover vacations. Mayor Mackail stated the only increases in number of Village employees in the past nine years had been because of the creation of a new Fire-Rescue Department and state law requirements for operation of the Water Department, and he considered that to be an indication that employees were happy and providing efficiency and productivity under good leadership. In response to Councilmember Capretta's statement that the Council had not approved going to the Lantana Plan and his question of what the current Code Enforcement Officer's duties would be, Village Manager Bradford explained management was not necessarily proposing the Council adopt the Lantana Plan if they accept -~ management's recommendation to create a new Code Enforcement Division within the Police Department; however, it would make transition to the Lantana Plan easier if it were adopted. He explained that when Steve Kennedy, the current Code Enforcement Officer, was hired as Building Inspector with the title Deputy Building Official, there were then two positions, Building Official and Building Inspector. The Building Inspector, who has retired, was not qualified to do plan reviews; therefore Mr. Kennedy was hired to do these reviews. Since building activity has recently increased Mr. Kennedy's plan review duties have taken much of his time. Also, the Council had made Code Enforcement a duty of the Police Department so that many cases were resolved before reaching Mr. Kennedy. This recommendation would place all code enforcement duties into one department and give Mr. Kennedy time for building inspections. An advantage of having a sworn police officer perform code enforcement duties would be that when his time permitted he could relieve other police officers of some duties. Councilmember Capretta stated the increased construction would not translate to property tax dollars to support hiring a new police officer until October of 1996 and suggested raising the Utility Tax to 9~ so that no tax increase would be necessary. Councilmember Capretta reminded ~~ management to check on Fire-Rescue to see if it in fact Village Council P Workshop Meeting Minutes ~'y June 30, 1994 Page 5 had cost what had been proposed and also to compare Fire-Rescue to Palm Beach County's Fire Department to see what it would have cost if Tequesta had stayed in their system. Village Manager Bradford reported if Tequesta were still in the Palm Beach County Fire Department the 1994 cost would have been $860,000 and that other information needed to answer Councilmember Capretta's questions was not yet available. Fire Chief Weinand reported the cost of Fire-Rescue was less than projected in the newsletter. Councilmember Capretta stated his suggestions for increasing revenue were increasing the utility tax, increasing the water surcharge to 25$ and doing a general evaluation of the whole water tax structure. He formally requested that Village Manager Bradford evaluate increasing the utility tax to ease the tax increase. He also stated an alternative would be that the tax increase could be explained as necessary to fund debt service for town improvements. Village Manager Bradford stated raising the utility tax from 8~ to 9.5~ would result in no tax increase necessary. Mayor Mackail stated annexation, which had been delayed because of time devoted to Mr. Benjamin's proposal, must be pursued aggressively to allow the Village to maintain status quo operation. Discussion of annexation revealed requested data had been provided to the Deputy Building Official by the Finance Department, and that he was currently preparing a proposal for consideration by the Council for a March, 1995 referendum. Councilmember Collings stated controlling increase in the millage rate would place the Village in a better position for annexations. Councilmember Capretta suggested creating a time line for the millage rate and another for the budget. He expressed concern over where to obtain funds to cover cost overruns for the proposed library. Village Manager Bradford reminded the Council that on January 1, 1995, the new law would go into effect which would place a 3~ cap in assessed valuation. Mayor Mackail stated he would like to institute an increase in utility tax, readjust water rates, institute an increased surcharge to Martin County and evaluate how the new construction and annexation would affect revenues; and felt Tequesta would have to contribute at least $160,000 toward the Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 1994 Page 6 library, which needed to be larger than the 4,000 square feet planned. Village Manager Bradford recommended leaving the tax rate as proposed in the new budget since that should provide a cushion which might increase if health insurance were less than projected. Councilmember Collings asked management to investigate his suggestion that the Village consider giving the same amount of money that an employee would have received under COLA in the form of a bonus to save the cost of some of the benefits. In response to Councilmember Capretta's question, Village Manager Bradford stated the increase over the rollback was estimated in the budget document to be 7.89%, determined by using the dollar value of all new construction in the Village during the past year; and a barometer of how well management was performing was the percentage increase in taxation over the rollback rate, i.e., the rate should be equal to or less than the Consumer Price Index, and if it were higher then action should be taken to increase revenue. Councilmember Capretta reminded the Council that the public would only remember the rate of tax rollback reported in the newspaper and Finance Director Kascavelis stated if the utility tax were increased to 9% and the millage rate were increased by 2.95% enough revenue would be generated to balance the budget. Village Manager Bradford directed attention to the Capital Improvement Fund which included revenue sources from (1) a contribution from General Fund of $63,800, (2) a contribution from Water Enterprise Fund of $75,000, and (3) interest income from idle funds as projects are ongoing. Proposed projects for next year were: Proposed rollover of Village Hall parking lot to be repaved and restriped after the library issue was resolved; Village Hall landscaping to make the property comply with Village codes; and a new sign for the front of Village Hall property; however, all those projects could be included in a bond issue for long-term facilities financing if the facilities assessment process resulted in the recommendation that the present facilities be used. In response to Councilmember Schauer's question, Village Manager Bradford stated funds for these projects would not be spent if municipal offices were moved. Director of Public Works Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes ~` June 30, 1994 Page 7 and Recreation Preston stated that $25,000 for a sign might still be needed if part of the municipal offices stayed in the current Village Hall. Village Manager Bradford highlighted budgeted landscape improvements, and the proposed fitness equipment for use by all municipal employees and specifically for Police and Fire Department officers. He stated the Capital Improvement Fund provided one half of the cost of assessing facilities, and one half of the funds for required confined space rescue equipment mandated by a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration law. Also proposed was an asphalt overlay of the bicycle path from Seabrook Road to Riverside Drive, and an asphalt overlay and drainage improvements to the Country Club Drive bicycle path between Turtle Creek and Tequesta Circle. Village Manager Bradford stated FY 1996 would be a difficult year for capital projects since so many projects were coming up. In answer to a question from Mayor Mackail, Village Manager Bradford responded the DOT has written a letter stating they would provide $75,000 towards re-landscaping and irrigation from Beach Road to County Line Road which should cover the costs for this project. Discussion of DOT intentions to close Bridge Road and keep Eyeball Alley open resulted in a consensus to place an appeal in the newsletter for citizens to write letters of protest. During a discussion of the poor condition of Eastwinds Circle, Dottie Campbell and Hal Hutchison spoke in favor of allocating budget funds and instituting repairs. Village Manager Bradford explained funds were available that could be used in the event legal action was determined to be necessary. When Hal Hutchison questioned the 2.6~ increase to Jupiter Inlet Colony in the budget for Fire-Rescue when other residents would have a 5.4$ increase, Village Manager Bradford explained the Village has a 10-year contract which determines the increase, and if Jupiter Inlet Colony had paid according to the millage rate in the current fiscal year their cost would have been roughly $175,000 and the Village contracted for $150,000 in return for the long-term contract. Mr. Cunningham inquired as to the items that go into determining the CPI index and was told he could obtain a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which would list the criteria used by the Federal Government. Village Council Workshop Meeting Minutes ~~~ June 30, 1994 Page 8 ------------------------------- VI. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Schauer moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Capretta seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Ron T. Mackail - for Elizabeth A. Schauer - for Earl L. Collings - for Joseph N. Capretta - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the meeting was adjourned at 6:46 P.M. Respectfully su fitted, Betty Laur Recording Secretary ATTEST: J ann Mangani to Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: