HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/05/2003 City CouncilAugust 4, 2003
MINUTES OF SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL
HELD ON
AUGUST 5, 2003
The Special Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to
order at 7:07 p.m. on the 5th day of August 2003, at City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The
Colony, Texas, with the following roll call:
Joe McCourry Mayor Pro-tem Present
Allen Harris Councilmember Present
Scott Ward Councilmember Present
Lynda Bayliss Councilmember Present
Perry Schrag Councilmember Present
Joel Marks Councilmember Present
And with six present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed:
1. Consideration of approval of an ordinance canvassing and declaring the
results o f a n election held i n t he City o f T he Colony, Texas o n August 2,
2003, and if necessary calling a run-off election to be held in the city on
August 16, 2003 (Hicks)
Mayor Pro-tern McCourry called the meeting to order and requested Deputy City
Secretary Christie Wilson read portions from the canvassing ordinance as follows:
CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS
ORDINANCE NO. 03-1482
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
THE COLONY, TEXAS, CANVASSING THE RETURNS AND
DECLARING THE RESULTS OF A SPECIAL ELECTION HELD
IN SAID CITY ON THE 2nd DAY OF AUGUST 2003, FOR THE
PURPOSE OF ELECTING ONE MAYOR FOR SAID CITY;
ORDERING A RUN-OFF ELECTION; DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, said election was duly and legally held on August 2, 2003, in
conformity with the election laws of the State of Texas, and the results of said election
have been certified and returned by the proper judges and clerks thereof;
and
WHEREAS, the election returns duly and legally made showed that there were
cast at said election 2214 valid and legal votes, and that each of the candidates in said
election received the following votes:
August 4, 2003
FOR MAYOR
Dennis Howard 193
Marlene Poole-Milsak 111
Bernetta Henville-Sharmon 795
Sue Walden 88
Dale Douglas 25
John Dillard 1001
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.04 of Chapter VII of the Home Rule Charter
of the City, in order to be declared elected, a candidate must receive a majority of the
legal votes cast for the office or place for which such person is a candidate.
WHEREAS, no candidate for mayor received a majority of the of the votes cast
for such office or place; and
WHEREAS, it is hereby found and determined by the City Council that it is
necessary to hold a runoff election for the purpose of electing a mayor, and that it is in
the best interest of the City and its citizens to hold such an election; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.05 of Chapter VII of the Home Rule Charter
of the City, the runoff election shall be held within fourteen (14) days of the special
election in which no candidate received a majority of votes.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS:
Section 3. That n o candidate rcceived a majority o f total votes c asr for t he
office or place of mayor and a runoff election between thc two candidates receiving the
highest number of votes cast for such office or place as tabulated and canvassed in the
preambles hereof shall be held on the 16th day of August 2003, for the purpose of
electing a mayor to serve on the City Council, to wit:
Names of Candidates Office or Place
John Dillard Mayor
Bernetta Henville-Shannon Mayor __
007860
August 4, 2003
Section 5. That the runoff election shall be held at
Dick Weaver Senior Citizens Center
6301B Main Street
Section 8. That voting at and on the date of said runoff election shall be by
optical scan ballot in accordance with the Texas Election Code, as amended, and said
ballots shall be printed in accordance with the Texas Election Code, as amended.
Section 10. As t o early voting for s aid election, optical s can b allots shall b e
used, and such early voting shall be conducted by the City Secretary, who is hereby
appointed the Clerk for Early Voting, at the City Secretary's Office at City Hall, City of
The Colony, Texas. For the period early voting for said rtmoff election is permitted by
law, the Clerk shall keep said office open for early voting for at least eight (8) hours of
each day except Sunday and official State holidays beginning as soon as practicable after
the main election and continuing through the 4th day preceding the date of said runoff
election. For the purpose of additional early voting the Clerk shall keep said office open
on Saturday, August 9, 2003 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Section 13. That the public importance of this measure and the fact that it is in
the best interest of the City to declare the duly elected officers of the City at the earliest
possible date for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health and
safety of the City and its citizens creates an emergency and an imperative public
necessity which requires that this Ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and
after its final passage and approval, and it is accordingly so ordained.
Motion to approve as written-Marks; second-Bayliss; motion carried with all ayes.
2. Work session to discuss preliminary municipal budget for 2003-2004
(Johnston)
City Manager Dale Cheatham opened the work session with a review of the
preliminary budget, pointing out the highlights and passed out a summary (see exhibit
"A").
Discussion followed with Chief Clark regarding communications equipment to
replace the existing 800 mhz system. He noted safety problems with the current system
and explained the various solutions. He advised that the new communications equipment
would encompass all city departments who use radio equipment. He advised this is a 10
year plan at a cost of approximately $550,000. The council gave approval for Chief
Clark to proceed with the specification process.
Council members discussed the proposed ½ cent reduction in the ad valorem tax
rate.
August 4, 2003
There was further discussion regarding the number of personnel needed by the
police and fire departments. The consensus was to find the funds to add more public
safety personnel than was proposed in the budget. It was decided to reduce the amount of
money allocated for non-profit agencies, leaving only a $5,000 allocation for SPAN.
This would free up $30,000 and adding the remainder needed from the contingency and
fund balance, an additional fire fighter, one dispatcher, and one traffic officer would be
added.
Lengthy discussion followed regarding the proposal to increase the longevity pay
for city employees. The result was to leave it as proposed in the budget.
Mr. Cheatham confirmed with council members that the additional personnel in
fire and police deparm~ents were the only changes being made to this proposed budget.
With no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m.
APPROVED:
ATTEST: f/~e, McQ~d~y, Mayo/~m
'C-hrFstie Wilson, Deputy City Secretary
Budget Meeting
August 5, 2003
· Solid financially. We are not in great shape, but not in poor shape either. Overall
feel comfortable with where we are now.
· General Fund- expect to finish year better than we originally projected.
Page 9 - $108k drawdown planned in budget. Looking at actual revenues
expect to see a $146k increase.
Page 10 - Expenses slightly less than budgeted. Currently projecting an
increase in fund balance of $167k instead of a $108k drawdown.
· Proposed budget has a half cent decrease in the property tax rate
· There is about a $1.1M increase in revenues in the general fund. Most of this is
from increases in the tax base.
Have budgeted for uncollectable property taxes. City hasn't done this for
several years
No sales tax increase. Conservative approach.
Building permits for new homes has slowed to a trickle - 8 homes a
month. We have budgeted at this level.
· Most significant new expenses in the General Fund:
$282k - three new lieutenant positions and one firefighter/paramedic
$138k - two new police officer positions and one new dispatcher position
$190k - pay increases of up to 3 percent for all employees
$25k - salary adjustments for a handful of employees; based on
comparisons with other cities. Need is greater, but based on limited
resources didn't feel comfortable recommending more.
$39k - increase longevity pay from $8 per month of service to $10 per
month of service. Very positive feedback from employees.
$21k - increase monthly certification pay from $30, $65, and $I00 to $50,
$100, and $125 respectively.
$95k - workers comp increase
$20k - increase transfer to Hidden Cove Park Fund
$25k - increase in contractual street maintenance; have $270k for street
maintenance in operating budget. This is in addition to capital funds for
infrastructure improvements.
$75k - increased transfer/allocation for fleet services
8/5/2003 12:15 PM G:~Budget Meeting - August 5, 2003.doc
00787:
· Utility Fund
No proposed increase in water or sewer rates. Have not had a utility rate
increase in more than 4 years. Last increase was 3 percent.
We have budgeted to increase the water purchases from Dallas up to 6M
gallons a day beginning next June.
Placed $200k in contingency which can be used for debt service payment
this next year. Not sure at this time how much infrastructure
improvements will cost
· Special Funds
Hidden Cove Park Fund - increased annual transfer, but still have a deficit
of more than halfa million dollars. More than likely will need to use fund
balance in general fund to eliminate this accumulated deficit.
General Fund Reserve Fund - used primarily to pay $1.31M obligation for
SH 121. Need to supplement FY 2003-04 payment with debt issuance, but
have no funds earmarked for final payment in FY 2004-05. Expect to
have to issue debt for this.
Fleet Services - for the past several years we have seen expenditure
increases as our fleet has increased, but have not increased the allocation
from operating funds. This budget has an increase of $75k from GF and
$26k from UF.
Economic Development (4A) - have $1M for economic development
incentives
Hotel/Motel Tax Fund - we have budgeted $350k in contingency. Trying
to give Council as much flexibility as possible in this fund. Would plan to
use maximum amount possible next year and in future for Arts Building
assuming this becomes a reality.
Debt Service - includes funds to pay debt cost of $5.2M issuance.
· Capital
Must spend some dollars in each category in issuance. Not required to
spend specified amount on any particular project or category.
Tight funding - not a lot for contingency
Hopeful of having some savings from other projects to pay for engineering
on some residential streets and perhaps some reconstruction. Too early to
tell how much might be available.
Communication equipment
8/5/2003 12:15 PM G:~Budget Meeting - August 5, 2003.doc