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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 3/25/2008 PLEASE NOTE: Since the Glendale City Council does not take formal action at the Workshops, Workshop minutes are not approved by the City Council. MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MARCH 25, 2008 1:30 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Elaine M. Scruggs, Vice Mayor Manuel D. Martinez, and Councilmembers Joyce V. Clark, Steven E. Frate, David M. Goulet, Yvonne J. Knaack, and H. Phillip Lieberman ALSO PRESENT: Ed Beasley, City Manager; Pam Kavanaugh, Assistant City Manager; Craig Tindall, City Attorney; and Pamela Hanna, City Clerk 1. FISCAL YEAR 2008-09 BUDGET- 1ST WORKSHOP CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Mr. Horatio Skeete, Deputy City Manager for Administrative Services, and Ms. Sherry M. Schurhammer, Management & Budget Director This is a request for the City Council to review the recommended General Fund (GF) operating budget explained in the City Manager's memo included in the budget workbook containing the City Manager's recommended budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008-09. This is also a request to review the recommended FY 2008-09 GF supplemental requests for the following departments, work groups, and areas: o Administrative Services Group o Appointed and Elected Officials Group o Community Development Group o Community Services Group o Facilities and Financial Management Group o Internal Services Group o Public Safety Group and o Public Works Group This is also a request to review the recommended FY 2008-09 supplemental requests for the GO! Transportation Fund. This item incorporates the Council's strategic goals and key objectives, while ensuring the city's financial stability by presenting realistic analyses about the provision of city services and future revenue expectations. 1 The recommended operating and capital budgets address the Council's strategic goals and key objectives with public safety for our residents and visitors and downtown redevelopment as the highest priorities. Other Council priorities that provide benefit to the community also are addressed. The recommended budget is being presented for review and evaluation. It is financially balanced as required by Arizona state law and is fiscally responsible. It includes the required contingency amount to provide the Council with flexibility to address unexpected issues that might arise during the course of FY 2008-09. The total amount of additional GF ongoinq capacity available for FY 2008-09 supplemental requests, after accounting for changes in the base and transfer budgets, is approximately $3.4 million, with $11.2M available for one-time items, as shown in the following table. F,==.= '01 Ongoing One-Time General Fund Revenue $184,998,463 General Fund Base Budget $164,151,378 Non Salary Budget Reduction — 4.5% (excludes Police, Fire, Homeland Security) ($1,131,228) General Fund Transfers $18,587,390 $4,406,027 Total General Fund Base Budget & Transfers $181,607,540 $4,406,027 p)} :r d Y _ Funds Available for Supplementals $3,390,923 $11,198,821 GF priority supplemental requests for ongoing funds total $3.5M and the one-time GF priority supplementals total $3.9M, as shown in the following table. � _ -_v Ongoing One-Time Funds Available for GF Supplementals $3,390,923 $11,198,821 Total Compensation $1,808,715 $1,831 ,932 Retirement Increases $1,717,606 Electricity/Utilities/Natural Gas $1,000,000 Vehicle Replacement Contributions ($566,810) $566,810 Technology Replacement Contributions ($507,223) $507,223 Total Priority Supplementals $2,452,288 $3,905,965 2 -re Remaining Funds Available for General Fund Supplementals $938,635 $7,292,856 As a result of the ongoing and one-time priority GF supplementals, as well as the change to ongoing GF contributions for the replacement funds, there is $938,635 in ongoing funds available for departmental GF supplementals and $7.3M available in one-time funds. A summary listing and the corresponding detail for the respective GF departmental supplementals are found in the tab labeled 'GF Supps' of the budget workbook. The following chart summarizes the recommended allocation of the $938,635 in ongoing funds and $7.3M available in one-time funds for other GF supplemental requests. The chart reflects only the GF supplemental requests. 22:41 - ! Ongoing One-Time Remaining Funds Available for $938,635 $7,292,856 General Fund Supplementals Redevelopment Planning & Program $100,000 $120,000 Police Department $880,000 Fire Department $65,273 $225,000 Homeland Security $73,012 $14,000 PAYGO Capital $2,029,793 Administrative Services Group $118,656 Appointed & Elected Officials Group $114,993 $1,016,983 Community Development Group $971 ,621 Community Services Group $257,278 $780,788 Facilities & Financial Management $305,896 Group Internal Services Group $241,906 $255,104 Public Works Group $74,759 $552,576 Total Departmental GF $927,221 $7,270,417 Supplementals Remaining GF Monies Available $11,414 $22,439 3 Public Safety Sales Tax Funds' Supplementals. A summary and the corresponding detail for the respective public safety sales tax funds are found in the tabs labeled 'Police Sales Tax' and 'Fire Sales Tax' of the budget workbook. Also included in each section is a one-page fund balance analysis for the next five years that summarizes the anticipated revenue, expenses, and additional funding available for supplementals each FY. The supplemental requests for the public safety sales tax funds reflect the continued implementation of the Police staffing study and the Fire needs assessment report. As discussed during the budget workshops in spring 2007, the recommendations of the Police and Fire Department studies will be implemented over a 3-5 year period. FY 2008- 09 will represent the second year of this phased implementation approach. For the Police Department, 41 additional FTEs are recommended as part of the supplemental requests for the police sales tax fund. Some of the additional positions requested include 16 officers, two motor officers, six detectives, two accident investigators and a victim's assistance caseworker. Other supplemental requests for the Police Department include additional funds for officer equipment and supplies, prisoner maintenance, and vehicle maintenance. For the Fire Department, 11 additional FTEs are recommended as part of the supplemental requests for the fire sales tax fund. Some of the additional positions requested include four firefighters, a fire protection engineer, a community services education captain, an emergency medical services captain and a health/safety division chief. Other supplemental requests for the Fire Department include additional funds for paramedic training, overtime for two medic units, professional standards training and development and computer aided dispatch services. The Budget Workbook containing the City Manager's recommended budget for FY 2008-09 was delivered to the Mayor and Council on Friday, March 14, 2007. Glendale's budget is an important financial, planning and public communication tool. It gives residents and businesses a clear and concrete view of the city's direction for public services, operations and capital facilities and equipment. It also provides the community with a better understanding of the city's ongoing needs for stable revenue sources to fund public services, ongoing operations and capital facilities and equipment. The budget provides Council, residents and businesses with a means to evaluate the city's financial stability. 4 All budget workshops are open to the public and are posted publicly per state requirements. Future budget workshops are scheduled as follows: o April 1, 1:30 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. o April 15, 8:30 a.m. — 12 p.m. o April 22 1:30 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. If additional time is needed for budget workshop discussion, a tentative budget workshop is scheduled for April 29, 1:30 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. Today's workshop is for information only. Decisions on the proposed budget will not be requested until the final balancing workshop, scheduled for April 22, 2008. Mr. Beasley introduced the first of the scheduled budget workshops. He said the staff had prepared a recommended budget that is being presented for Council's review and evaluation. He said it was financially balanced, is fiscally responsible and represents a good financial position for the city. He added that the recommended budget is based on a conservative approach given the economic climate in the United States. He said the recommended general fund operating budget reflects a 4.5% base budget reduction for all General Fund (GF) departments with the exception of the Police, Fire, and Homeland Security Departments. He said no decisions were required until the final budget workshop in April. Ms. Schurhammer stated the GF revenue projection for next fiscal year is reasonable and conservative as it reflects information that experts on the Arizona economy have provided in recent economic reports. The consensus among the experts is that the state is expected to experience very modest growth in population, personal income, and job creation over the next 12 to 18 months. The $185M revenue figure for the GF is about 2.3% or about $4.1 M more than the revenue expected to be collected by the end of the this fiscal year. She said the 2.3% growth was very modest given that the average annual growth rate in GF ongoing revenue has been 8.5% over the last several years. The ongoing expenses figure of $181 .6M accounts for the 4.5% reduction in the base budgets for all GF departments with the exception of the Police, Fire and the Homeland Security Departments. She said once the on-going expenses were accounted for, $3.4M in additional GF ongoing capacity is available to address supplemental requests for next fiscal year. The ongoing priority supplementals total $2.5 million, which means approximately $939,000 is available for other ongoing supplemental requests. Mr. Skeete reviewed the following and stated there will be an opportunity to discuss each item in more detail as they review the rest of the presentation. 5 Ongoing Surplus $939K • Public Safety ($138K) • Re-Dev Planning ($100K) • CIP O&M ($257K) • CAP Office O&M ($118K) • Add', Council Goals ($315K) Net Ongoing Surplus $11K One-Time Surplus $7.3M • Public Safety ($1.1M) • Re-Dev Planning ($120K) • PAYGO ($2.OM) • Add'I Council Goals4.OM Net One-Time Surplus 84K Councilmember Lieberman asked for clarification on the net one-time surplus. Ms. Schurhammer said the previous figure of $22K had increased to $84K because two supplementals were retracted -- $50K from the Mayors Office and $12K from the City Council office. Mayor Scruggs explained that the $50K supplemental referenced as coming from the Mayor's Office was related to the Arizona Centennial project which was somehow placed there because a staff member in her office was to be the lead manager on the project. She also wanted to clarify the $4.0 million labeled as "Additional Council Goals." She said the supplementals in that category were not requested by City Council, but rather were a recommendation by the city manager of how to use the surplus for each strategic goal and objective adopted by the city. Mr. Skeete stated she was correct. He added that the $4 million was the city's departments coming together and providing their best guess as to how to address the Council's goals and objectives. Mayor Scruggs reiterated that the $4 million was staff's recommendation after hearing from all the departments about their needs, rather than the Council asking for services totaling $4 million. Mr. Skeete stated she was correct. He stated that the departments responded by submitting supplementals to reflect the goals and objectives reflecting direction of the strategic planning meetings. Mayor Scruggs stated she personally would like the title changed to reflect the needs of the departments, rather than implying the Council was asking for the services totaling $4 million. Ms. Schurhammer said one feature of the recommended priority supplementals is the shift of approximately $1.1 million in GF ongoing contributions for the vehicle replacement and technology replacement funds to the one-time side. She said the funds have sufficient balances to sustain their financial stability over next fiscal year to accommodate this one-year change in GF contribution levels. She said the plan is to have the GF return to the 100% contribution level in FY2009-10. She said the supplemental for electricity, natural gas and other utilities totals $1M in one-time funds. One-time funds were recommended for FY2008-09 because the full year impact of the rate increases was not known at this time. She said this item would return as an ongoing supplemental request for FY2009-10 after more complete information would be available. Ms. Schurhammer discussed the supplemental request related to redevelopment planning & programming. She said Council had identified a need to develop a citywide redevelopment plan during its fall 2007 retreat. She stated a supplemental was prepared in response to that issue. She explained initial program startup costs included 1 staff person, $100K in ongoing funds and $120K in one-time funds. 6 Councilmember Clark asked about the duties of the staff person to be assigned to the program. Mr. Beasley said Mr. Bowers had indicated the need for a point person to commence the development of a redevelopment plan. He said the lead person would only work on the redevelopment plan. Councilmember Clark said Mr. Bowers had indicated planning would not begin until 2009. Mr. Beasley said she was correct, however it might take a few months to hire a lead consultant by September and that person would start work on the project by the beginning of the year. Ms. Julie Frisoni, Assistant Deputy City Manager, said the idea was to hire an individual who would start this fall and be the point person to work with the city completely through the process. She said it was in the city's best interest to have this person on board from the start of the process. The goal of this individual would be to focus solely on the Glendale Corridor area as designated by the Council. Ms. Schurhammer then introduced several slides that summarized the GF supplemental requests by administrative group. Administrative Services: • Finance: $25K One-Time Appointed & Elected Officials: • Attorney: $115K Ongoing, $589K One-Time • Clerk: $30K One-Time • Court: $314K One-Time • Mayor/Council Office: $22K One-Time Community Development: • Building Safety: $972K One-Time Community Services: • Library: $71 K One-Time • N'Hood Grants: $600K One-Time • Parks & Rec: $257K Ongoing, $110K One-Time Facilities & Financial Mgmt: • Econ Dev: $156K One-Time • Visual Imp Program: $150K One-Time Internal Services: • CM Office: $124K Ongoing, $2K One-Time • CAP Office: $118K Ongoing • Intergovt. Programs: $253K One-Time Public Safety: • Fire: $65K Ongoing, $225K One-Time • Police: $880K One-Time • EOC: $73K Ongoing, $14K One-Time Public Works: • Engineering: $60K Ongoing, $324K One-Time • Field Ops: $15K Ongoing, $160K One-Time • Transportation: $69K One-Time 7 Ms. Schurhammer said the ongoing request for Parks and Recreation is related to capital projects that had come on line in the current fiscal year. She said one-time funds were approved in October 2007 when Council adopted the second budget. The costs are really ongoing in nature, which explains why this request is being recommended for ongoing funding. Mayor Scruggs asked if the figure of $253K for the Intergovernmental Programs reflected the cost for consultants hired for specific projects and purposes in addition to city staff. Mr. Beasley stated she was correct. Mayor Scruggs asked why the operating and maintenance expenses for the Bank of America building were slated for one-time funds only while the operating expenses for the Promenade at Palmaire were split between one-time and ongoing funds. Ms. Schurhammer said an ongoing base budget already exists for the B of A building in the Engineering Department's operating budget. The supplemental request is for additional resources. She said the ongoing amount for the Promenade at Palmaire parking facility was only for the retail space, not the parking garage itself. She said there was some uncertainty about the ongoing operating costs for the retail space so funding for FY2008-09 was split between ongoing and one-time until more complete information is available. Mayor Scruggs asked about the timing of the last payment for the B of A building. Ms. Schurhammer said the last debt service payment for the building is scheduled to occur in FY2008-09. Councilmember Clark asked a question regarding pay raises for temporary employees. Ms. Schurhammer said the supplemental addressing this issue would be discussed in more detail during the total compensation presentation on April 22. She added that the pay increases applied to temporary workers for Parks and Recreation, the Library, and the Civic Center. Councilmember Goulet asked about the request for an assistant city prosecutor dedicated to code enforcement cases. Mr. Tindall, Glendale's City Attorney said the Prosecutor's Office had experienced an increase in code enforcement cases and is working to move those cases forward. He said there was really no expectation that the caseload would double each year. He noted that the new software for case management would facilitate the transfer of data from the police department that would flow internally through the court system, thus eliminating duplication of manual data entry. Councilmember Clark asked for clarification on a part-time position for the city clerk. She asked why this part-time position was so critical it needed to be funded at this time. Ms. Hanna said the request was made because of an increase in the work load in the office, as well as a decrease in funding for two part-time personnel. She added she realizes the budget is very tight, however, she was only asking for one part-time person to replace two part-time personnel. Councilmember Clark commented on the request for $880K for prisoner maintenance at the Maricopa County jail system. Chief Conrad, the Police Chief, said there were several issues driving this request. He said Glendale experienced two price increases, one for daily housing costs and one related to booking fees. In addition, the number of arrests made by Glendale officers had increased as more officers were put on the street. He said arrests were up 25% over the last two years. Councilmember Clark asked if everyone arrested went through the city's jail or were sent to the county's jail. 8 Chief Conrad stated all arrested individuals were booked through the city's jail; however, the majority of the time spent in jail is at the county jail. Councilmember Clark asked about the percentage of arrested individuals who are sent to the county's jail. Chief Conrad said approximately 45% of arrested individuals in the past year were sent to the county's jail. Chief Conrad said a third reason behind the cost increase for prisoner maintenance is related to changes in state laws, particularly those concerning driving under the influence (DUI) He said judges were mandated to order longer sentences for people convicted of DUI. Councilmember Clark commented that none of these reasons were going to go away anytime soon, so she inquired why this item was recommended for one-time funds. Chief Conrad stated one-time funds are recommended because the amount of ongoing funds available was limited. Mayor Scruggs commented that the public often requested more police presence in the community with more enforcement of the laws. She said the citizens voted for approval of the public safety sales tax rate adjustment to help accomplish that objective. However, the public might be surprised at the additional costs that go along with having more police presence and enforcement of the laws. Additionally, the public also requested longer, stricter sentencing for DUI enforcement which drives the operating budget higher. She said the public also requested the city cut expenses, therefore, the direction given was always a competing direction by the public as a whole. She said the prisoner maintenance issue was typically not seen by the public as having the potential to increase taxes. She noted that understanding these types of scenarios, the public might have a clearer understanding of why sometimes budgets cannot be cut as easily as it might appear on the outside. She stated this was a very important issue to be addressed further. Vice Mayor Martinez commented that this increase also translates into needing additional jail space. He asked if the state had or was shipping inmates out to other states because of the need for jail space. Chief Conrad said he did not know the answer to that question. Councilmember Clark asked about the request for $175K to address the costs of bus stop maintenance. Mr. Mehta, Transportation Director, said City Council recently approved an increase in the spending authority for the contract for bus stop maintenance. He said this request is for one-time funds because the amount of ongoing funds available was limited. Councilmember Clark asked Mr. Mehta how many bus shelters were currently in the city. Mr. Mehta stated they had 153 shelters and 461 bus stops throughout the City of Glendale. He said the 153 shelters had a bench and a trash can. Councilmember Clark asked how many stops had benches but no shelters. Mr. Mehta stated there were approximately 44 stops with benches but no shelters, so it would be approximately 197 bus stops throughout the city with benches. Councilmember Clark asked if 225 out of 461 had waste receptacles. Mr. Mehta stated she was correct. Councilmember Clark asked how many bus stops had only a post stating it was a bus stop. The answer was 236 bus stops having nothing but a sign. Councilmember Clark stated it was very disconcerting for the City of Glendale to offer a bus stop with only a pole in the ground as a designated bus stop. 9 Councilmember Clark asked if there was a plan to deal with the 236 bus stops with only a sign. Mr. Mehta said the GO Transportation capital project included projects that would address new and existing bus stops and shelters. Councilmember Clark asked whether a certain percentage of funds were dedicated to bus stops or bus stop shelter maintenance when the issue was presented to the voters. She asked how the budget was set up to deal with this issue. Mr. Mehta stated he did not have the break down; however, he would have it ready for next week's meeting. Councilmember Frate asked Mr. Mehta for a complete cost of the amenities needed to complete a bus shelter. Mr. Mehta said the total cost, with installation, was in the $10,000 range. He added there was also the additional cost of sidewalk preparation and utility relocation. Councilmember Frate commented he had been aware the cost was not as minimal as one would think. Councilmember Clark asked about the operation and maintenance costs for GO transportation projects. Mr. Mehta said the operation and maintenance costs for GO capital projects were in the base budget for the GO operating program. Mayor Scruggs inquired about the 63rd Avenue Bike and Pedestrian Project as well as other supplemental requests for GO funds related to new capital projects coming on line. Mr. Mehta stated those were CIP projects approved by Council last year; however, the O&M component would not become effective until the project is completed. Therefore, it was not shown in the budget for next fiscal year. Mayor Scruggs inquired if the 63rd Avenue Bridge had been delayed beyond the FY2008-09 budget year. Mr. Mehta stated she was correct. He added the supplemental request for the operation and maintenance of the bridge would come forward for the year in which the facility is expected to open. Vice Mayor Martinez discussed the ADOT project and said his understanding was that the entire funding for the project had been identified. Mr. Mehta said he was correct. Vice Mayor Martinez asked if ADOT was going out for contract bids. Mr. Mehta stated he did not know, however, it being a CIP item, staff can bring it back with additional information for next week's meeting. Mayor Scruggs commented on the bus shelter issue. She said there was some money in the Proposition 400 countywide transportation tax for bus stop improvements. She explained that at the last Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) board meeting, one of the members requested the elimination of funding for bus shelters and instead shifting the money to fixed routes because of concerns about decreased revenues. She said there was some concern RPTA would not be able to fund all transit services. Councilmember Clark asked why the city should encourage people to use alternative methods of transportation, and then make it uncomfortable for them to use it. She related a story about her witnessing people sitting on overturned shopping carts at bus stops. She said if the city wants to encourage ridership, it was essential the city provide benches and shade. Mayor Scruggs stated she believes this discussion would also be had by the Valley Metro Board. She added she agreed with Councilmember Clark's comments. 10 Ms. Schurhammer said the April 1 workshop will address the supplemental requests for the public safety sales tax funds, as well as the entire capital improvement plan. She said the April 15 workshop will address the capital and operating budgets for the enterprise funds, which includes the water, sewer, sanitation, and landfill programs. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m. 11