Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/08/1993 City Council00, 90'/ MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON September 8, 1993 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 8th day of September, 1993 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Toby Pollard, Councilman Present Joe Agnew, Councilman Present Tom Bogan, Councilman Present John Dillard, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tem Absent (Arrived 8:20) and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED MUNICIPAL BUDGET FY 1993-94 Bill Hall advised that staff had prepared a very concise packet for council review, that includes everything which has been discussed throughout the budgetary process. Mr. Hall also told the council that he had received a proposal from a firm interested in taking over our Vehicle Maintenance Department, which is something that had been discussed in the previous budget work session, after a suggestion regarding that department by Councilman Dillard. Councilman Dillard took the proposal to review. Mr. Hall also presented police vehicle mileage reports to Councilman Lynch as requested. At this time, James England gave a presentation using overheads explaining the current lease purchase contracts, their balances and their pay off dates. Mr. Hall told the council the new packet includes the Project Plan for both the General and Utility Funds. He noted that when there had been two proposals discussed, he had placed both proposals on the sheet, but the total amount includes the maximum figure. Mr. Hall went on to say the council will need to decide which, if any of the proposals will be approved. In regard to the projected revenues, Mr. Hall said the General Fund balance will not change very much, however, depending on the water usage, the Utility Fund balance may increase. Mr. England then explained the ad valorem tax break down, stating the difference between $.29 and $.28 in Utility Fund Debt Service. He stated that transferring one cent from the Utility Fund Debt Service will leave an estimated fund balance of $311,160. Bill Hall then explained that the penny would be transferred to the General Fund, adding approximately $53,000 to the General Fund contingency fund and of course, lowering the Utility Fund contingency by $53,000. Mr. Hall advised that money could be used for a one time occurrence expenditure, but it is not recommended to use it for personnel since we 2 004900 may not have that extra money next year. Councilman Bogan asked the difference between a new manager in Animal Control and promoting from within. Bill Hall said the current salary for an existing employee is $22,620 and to make them a supervisor would add approximately $10,000. Mayor Manning said the Sick Leave Buy Back may not really happen so the real numbers are unknown, and noted that the maximum has been placed in the total. James England said these amounts could be shown in compensated absences, not in the line item budget. Bill Hall added that vacation pay should also be included in those amounts. Mr. England noted that these payments are usually taken from the salary line item budgets. Mayor Manning asked for consensus on the tax allocation. After brief discussion, council agreed to transfer one penny from the Utility Fund Debt Service to the General Fund in the allocation of ad valorem taxes for the upcoming year. Councilman Agnew agreed suggesting perhaps two cents should be transferred to equalize the fund balances. Mayor Manning said in a good year the balance in the Utility Fund will always be higher. Councilman Lynch agreed, stating that very soon we will need money to repair the infrastructure and we should keep that balance as high as we can. PROJECT PLAN - UTILITY FUND D. Sick Leave Buy Back - Mayor Manning suggested the 30 day plan and all agreed. B. Capital Expenditures - Brief discussion regarding the computer. Councilman Agnew stated that if all money budgeted for technology is combined, we can get the best for all departments. Councilman Lynch said that since some changes may be made in the Vehicle Maintenance Department, the scanner should be cut. Discussion followed. General feeling was that the money should be left in and if it is not needed, then the scanner will not be purchased. Councilman Dillard asked if the FAX machines are plain paper, and they are not. He suggested adding to the budget to purchase plain paper machines. All agreed this would cut down on copying. Amount increased in the Utility Admin. and General Admin. from $500.00 to $900.00. PROJECT PLAN - GENERAL FUND I. Sick Leave Buy Back - 30 day plan J. Friends of the Family - Mayor Manning suggested giving the $5000.00 to Kid's Colony Playground project instead. Councilman Dillard reminded council they (Kid's 004905 Colony) are using our land. Councilman Bogan suggested splitting the amount between Friends of the Family and Kid's Colony. Councilman Lynch suggested adding $3000.00 for Kid's Colony, since we just opted to cut the 60 day sick leave buy back ($11,768.00). Councilman Agnew said we may need to irrigate the park to keep the landscaping alive. After brief discussion it was agreed to add $3000.00 for Kid's Colony Playground Project. Mayor Manning asked for and received consensus on the following items: A. COLA - January 1, 1994 - $45,737.00 F. School Resource Officer - $38,380.00 K. Volunteer EMT Training - $7000.00 L. Supervisory Training Program - $1330.00 M. Adjustment to Street Line Item - $7000.00 G. Ambulance Escrow - Bill Hall advised that he and Councilman Bogan are going with Chief Morrison tomorrow to visit the company that rebuilds ambulances. He explained this account will be set aside to cover payments until the subscription money can make the payments. Mr. Hall went on to say there are some questions regarding the remounting of the ambulances and if it is determined to be a good deal, perhaps both ambulances can be rebuilt instead of buying a new ambulance. Mayor Manning said this is not an expenditure, it is just moving money into an account to use when and if necessary. All agreed to set up the account, calling it Emergency Equipment Escrow instead of Ambulance Escrow. C. Capital Projects 8:20 Councilman Marks arrived Councilman Agnew noted that there is nothing in the budget for a signal light at S. Colony and Paige Rd. Tom Cravens said he just received a traffic study from Hal Jones who recommended putting in a signal light at that intersection. Mr. Cravens said he had $20,000 in the line item budget but it had been cut. Lengthy discussion regarding the need for a signal light. Some council felt that money would be better spent upgrading wells and pumps. Mr. Hall recommended leaving the line item budget for maintenance as it is, noting this is an on going program and that major problems should be addressed when they occur. Tom Cravens agreed, stating that more could be done, but that the department is doing fine. After a lengthy discussion, all agreed to leave the budget as is for contract maintenance. All agreed with the capital projects as presented. B. Capital Expenditures Councilman Dillard said he wants to cut one police car, noting it will make little difference in the budget, and suggested waiting to see what the total expenditures are before making the final decision. Further discussion followed regarding police cars. Councilman 4 Pollard said he does not think 22 cars are needed at all times, going on to say that if they need 2 this year, then we should buy them, but he thinks the fleet should be cut in half. He went on to suggest this could be done by cutting in half the budget requests each year. Councilman Pollard said there is a lot of inventory sitting on a lot depreciating. He said he is not sure about the take home car policy, but disagrees with keeping 22 cars at all times. His recommendation this year is one car. Councilman Lynch said to keep the money in the budget, but buy pick up trucks for Public Works instead of police cars and then transfer 2 paid for trucks to the Water Department from Public Works. His recommendation for Police - no cars this year. Councilman Bogan agrees with two cars this year. Councilman Agnew suggested buying one police car and one pick up truck, taking two police cars out of service this year. Mayor Manning agreed with one car and one truck. Councilman Marks asked why we are considering pick up trucks when no one asked for them, stating that if we need two police cars then we should buy them. No consensus on this item, council will consider later. D. Library Secretary - Councilman Agnew agrees with the addition, if it means an increase in the hours at the Library. Joan Sveinsson said the person will be full time and will be cross trained on circulation, but it will not allow them to open more hours. Councilmen Bogan, Marks, Pollard and Dillard and Mayor Manning agreed to add the secretary. Councilman Lynch agreed if Option 1 of the proposals to change hours be adopted within six months. E. Animal Shelter Manager - Councilman Bogan said this was his idea and he realizes we cannot afford to add another person. He suggested promoting an existing employee to manager to handle problems on a day to day basis. He went on to say increasing the present salary of an existing employee would only be a $10,000 impact on the budget. Bill Hall said the current salary for an existing employee is $22,620 and to make them a supervisor would add approximately $10,000. Councilman Agnew agreed with that recommendation, but stated the department should be left under the police department. Mayor Manning also agreed, stating the police department should be given 6 months to prove whether they can run department before making this change. Councilman Bogan said someone needs to be responsible for setting priorities within that department. Bill Hall agreed, stating that an additional Animal Control Officer is needed immediately, going on to say there is a current city employee who would like to transfer to Animal Control Officer, although, Mr. Hall said he is not sure this person has supervisory capabilities. Councilman Bogan said we should hire the officer and make that person the supervisor also. Mayor Manning agreed if the new hire is experienced in Animal Control and has supervisory experience. All agreed to add $10,000 to current salary for supervisory duties. H. Library Materials - After a brief discussion all agreed the materials in the library need to be upgraded. Leave budget as is. Police Cars - Councilman Bogan said the issue should not be clouded with pick up trucks, and asked do we want to buy police cars or not. A suggestion was made to leave the 0.0491i money in the budget and allow the City Manager to determine where the need is greatest. ~--.~ Mayor Manning stated that is what the City Manager did when this budget was presented. Bill Hall advised that in reality, both police cars are necessary this year if we want to maintain the fleet, and that obviously pick up trucks are needed also. He went on to say staff was directed to present their budgets, requesting only those items absolutely necessary for operations in the coming fiscal year. Mr. Hall said his recommendation would be to buy two cars and one pick up truck. Councilmen Bogan, Marks, and Lynch and Mayor Manning agreed. Mayor Manning stated that a consensus had been reached on the budget. Councilman Pollard said he is not looking for wa~ to this that he needs some comfort. Council Pollard stated he realizes there are many needs in the city. He said throughout the process, the council has said "yes, if we can afford it", based on what is left in our checking account at the end of year. Councilman Pollard said he is concerned for next year, going on to say we are spending more than we are going to take in. He said he knows we usually do better than projected, but that he doesn't think next year will be as good as this year has been and that he doesn't feel good about this. He said he doesn't know if expenses are going to come in under, noting he has been told that expenditures are overstated, but that he doesn't know how much, going on to say he needs a comfort level. Councilman Pollard went on to say we are proposing to spend $500,000 more than we will bring in. Mayor Manning said that if Councilman Pollard has not come to understand the budget during the last few weeks, then nothing can be said at this meeting to clarify things. Councilman Pollard said he does understand but he does not understand how we are going do that much better next year than this year. Councilman Agnew said that last year as much as possible was cut and the city suffered. He said things must be improved, noting also that the amount being transferred from savings was reduced last year and this year there are no transfers from savings. Councilman Bogan asked for Councilman Pollard's suggestion. Councilman Pollard said we need another budget work session, stating he does not think we can handle this budget. Mayor Manning said he is comfortable with the budget as it is and asked what Councilman Pollard's proposal is. Councilman Pollard said we will have a large tax increase or water increase next year if we adopt the budget as it is. Mayor Manning said we must pay our people, we must make repairs and we cannot let the city deteriorate. Mayor Manning said he does not think a tax increase will be necessary next year and asked Councilman Pollard what he wants to cut. Councilman Pollard said he is not talking about cuts but about increasing revenues. Mayor Manning asked for his proposal and Councilman Pollard said he would have it ready by tomorrow night's (September 9, 1993) work session. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m. 6 CC 49] ~ APPROVED: ATTEST: - ' '"'~ ' Manning, Ma~ Patti A. Hicks,TRMC, City Secretary