Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/29/1990 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 29, 1990 '-'~ ' The Work Session of the City Council of t. he City of The Colony, Texas was called t.o order at. 7:00 p.m. on the 29th day of August, 1990 at Cit. y Hall with t. he following Council roll call: Bill Manning, Mayor Present Steve Withers, Councilman Arrived 7:30 p.m. Mike Alianell, Councilman Absent Rob Burchard, Councilman Present. Lou Gomez, Councilman Present. Joel Marks, Councilman Present~ and with five present, a quorum was est~ablished and t. he following items were addressed: 1. REVIEW OF THE PROPOSED MUNICIPAL BUDGET FY 1990/91 The Council reviewed t. he following departmental budget:s: MUNICIPAL COURT - Patt~i Ristagno Mayor Manning questioned Professional Services and Contrac~ Services. Ms. Ristagno stated Professional Services is ~he salary for t. he judge and prosecut, or and Contract~ual Services is maintenance agreements on the computer hardware and software and t. hat t~here was an increase due to a change in the company providing t~he service. There was a brief discussion regarding t. he maintenance agreements and what is provided for t. he money. Councilman Gomez suggested he and the Mayor get together and review all comput, ers in the city to be sure we are gett~ing t. he most from this equipment, stat. lng he is concerned that we have purchased an expensive computer in Court and it has lit. tie flexibilit, y. At. t. his time, before going on to another depart, mental budget, Mayor Manning asked Dwayne Pomykal and Becky Miller to address the Council regarding an increase requested by their company, Texas Waste Management, due to t. he Mid-east crisis. Mr. Pomykal said due to t. he crisis and increase in oil prices the company is asking the :city to review this request, noting t. hat.~he contract does all this opt. ion in cases such~ as this. Mr. Pomykal asked t~hat the Council take action by t. he next~ council meeting. Mayor Manning asked if this is approved, and oil prices go back down, will the rate be reversed. Mr. Pomykal said t. his would not happen over night~, but. it would be reflected in the next year's Consumer Price Index (C.P.I.). Mayor Manning ask what percentage of t. heir costs are associated wit. h fuel and Mr. Pomykal said he would get that. .--. information for Council. 2 Councilman Burchard asked if this could be approved for 30 days only and then brought back for an extension if necessary. Bill Hall said it. could, but. this will require an amendment to the contract and, it. would difficult to do that every 30 days or more, 7:30 p.m. - Councilman Withers arrived There was a general discussion regarding how the rates are determined each year in regard to the C.P.I. It was stated that the Council does have the option to go to Texas Waste and request the rates to go back down. Councilman Gomez said he is not in favor of increasing the rates just because the profit margin is suffering at Texas Waste, noting that all of us are suffering, but we can't just pass the increase on to the citizens. Mr. Hall suggested approving the 4% increase for 4 months only, going on to say that if we say no, there could be a possibility of litigation. Mr. Pomykal said the trash would continue to be picked up but the attorneys would probably get involved to work this out. It. was agreed the additional information asked for should be given to Council and that this should be brought to the next regular meeting for action. Councilman Marks wanted to add to the contract to allow for the city to have the ability to negotiate the rates each year. WASTEWATER - Kenneth Huffman There was a brief discussion regarding the decrease in Unemployment. Compensation, with Mr. Hall noting that. there is very little turn over in this department. Mr. Huffman noted that the Contract Services is for sludge disposal and that we may not be able to use the curre~n.t site much longer, ~ Bill Hall noted that the amount, budgeted for the Upper Trinity Regional Water Authority ($9520,00) may be saved if we drop out of the group, WATER - David Yordy Mayor Manning asked why meter expense is going up. Mr. Yordy explained that more homes had been built than anticipated. He did not that F & J will reimburse the city for all expenses relating to their subdivisions. Council discussed in general electrical costs and the need to monitor power and to conserve. UTILITY ADMINISTRATION - Jackie Carroll Ms. Carroll noted that in Version 3 of the budget, Professional Services will be increase $30,000 to cover engineering fees for the S.R.F. project in Eastvale, going on to say, however, that the amount will be reimbursed and the budget 3 00372i will then be adjusted. There was a lengthy discussion regarding new water bills and the most efficient, cost effective manner to handle them. It was determined that the post card method was the most economical. Ms. Carroll also advised that Travel Expenses were increased because Tommy Turner, Mike Russell and James England had been added to this account. TAX - Jackie Carroll for Kathie Smith It was noted that automation of this department has been requested. Ms. Carroll noted that Contract. Services is for the Appraisal District service in determining values of property. It was noted that this amount is levied upon us. VEHICLE MAINTENANCE - Don Owens Mr. Owens said his department services all vehicles in the City. He did note that fuel cost. is up. FINANCE - James England Mr. England used overheads to give a breakdown of this budget and noted that he has cut. the T.M.L. conference out this year because his association has dropped out of T.M.L. There were no questions. CITY SECRETARY - Patti Hicks Ms. Hicks explained that travel and education has been increased this year due to one conference to be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There was a discussion regarding mileage reimbursement versus car allowance. The Council all agreed to give the City Secretary a $100.00 per month car allowance.. Ms. Hicks noted this should decrease the amount in travel slightly. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION - Bob van Til Mr. van Til noted that Education and Travel includes Council, P & Z, Bill Hall and himself. Mr. Hall advised the Council that he has increased this budget to send Mr. van Til to the Public Executive Course; an 11 day course sponsored by TML and TCMA at. a cost of $1500.00. Mr. van Til explained that we are changing our method of handling Janitorial services and will be going out to bid for a contract to clean City Hall, Library, Rec Ctr. and the Civic Center. Councilman Gomez asked about, street lighting and if we monitor to see if the lights burn more than they should. Mr. Hall noted t. hat T.U.E. handles all maintenance on street, lights and that the city pays the electric bill on them. He noted that ---. the police department keeps a record of lights damaged or burned 4 out. and turns it in to T.U.E. Mr. Hall also noted that the $1900.00 for park improvements is for landscaping at the Municipal Complex. There was a brief discussion regarding the type of landscaping to be done, signage etc. ' With no further business to address, Councilman Gomez moved to adjourn and Councilman Burchard seconded the motion which carried with all members voting Aye. Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:52 and called another budget, work session for September 5, 1990 at. 7:00 p.m. to discussion personnel and capital expenditures. APPROVED: 1Mann~ng,~__a_~r Patti A. Hicks, City Secretary [SEAL]