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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-17-05 Minutes WS MINUTES OCOEE CITY COMMISSION August 17, 2005 at 7:00 P.M. I A. CALL TO ORDER BUDGET WORKSHOP Mayor Vandergrift called the regular session to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. City Clerk Eikenberry called roll and declared a quorum present. Roll Call: Commissioner Howell, Commissioner Anderson, Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Johnson, and Commissioner Parker Others Present: City Manager Frank, City Clerk Eikenberry I BUDGET (Continued From August 10,2005) Brian Koehler of United Health Insurance was there to answer questions of the Commission. Commissioner Anderson asked what the average out-of-pocket costs would be for a family where each member would get sick twice a year. Mr. Koehler said, with United Health Care (UHC), the doctor visits and prescription pharmacy are identical with what is currently offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). Themail order prescriptions are a littler higher with UHC than BCBS, for example a 90-day supply would cost 2 times the monthly prescription amount vs. 2 Y2 times the monthly prescription on UHC. Commissioner Anderson asked if the physician lists are different from one program to the next. Mr. Koehler said they selected the 50 doctors most used by our employees on the BCBS Plan, and all but three of them were on the UHC Plan. With UHC, employees would also have access to the Florida Hospital Health Care System. Mr. Koehler said BCBS's out-of-network benefit is better than UHC, however, only about 3% of benefits paid out are used for out-of-network benefits. Commissioner Howell said he spoke with employees who had major health issues and they are very happy with the service they received from BCBS. He feels we should stay with BCBS. Commissioner Anderson said he is not comfortable making employees switch from a plan they have been on for 14 years. He thinks we should stay with BCBS. Commissioner Johnson said UHC would provide the same service for less. We don't have the additional $90,000 in the budget. UHC is a very reputable company, and it took BCBS several attempts to give the City their final "best offer" when they initially tried to raise the rates by 26%. He thinks we should go with UHC. Commissioner Parker said she spoke to employees, advised them to look on UHC website, and they felt more comfortable once they saw their doctors were on UHC provider list. She feels that UHC is going to provide comparable service, for less money. She agrees with Commissioner Johnson that we have been good customers to BCBS, and City Commission Budget Workshop August 17, 2005 they should have given us a better price on the first go-round. She wants the City to educate employees about the change so there will be no panic, but feels we should go with UHC. Mayor Vandergrift said he has been using UHC through his wife's insurance plan, and he has been very happy with their service. He is in favor of switching to UHC. The consensus of the Commission (3-2 with Commissioner Anderson and Commissioner Howell obiectina), was that it would be in the best interest of the City and employees to switch to United Health Care. Page 3-62 Commissioner Anderson asked about the Capital Outlay Item in the General Government Budget, 6405- EOC wiring, and asked if there was grant funding for this purpose. City Manager Frank said it was put in the General Government budget because we need to do this, whether we get a grant or not, but we will look into grant applications for this purpose. Page 3-72 Commissioner Anderson asked about the $300,000 for the Public Works Building and Pole Barn. Finance Director Horton said this was part of the cash carry-forward discussed earlier. That number may have to change depending on how much they are able to complete in this fiscal year. Page 3-87 Commissioner Anderson asked if there is a mechanism in place to determine when we need more firefighters. Chief Firstner said their number of personnel is based on area served, and not on population. It is based on NFT A National Standards. Our minimum crew is three men per truck, nornlal response is four men per truck. Our deficiency at this time is due to the growth in the Northwest Sector. Once a station is built and manned to full compliment, the ISO rating will increase dramatically. Mayor Vandergrift asked about the two full-sized SUV's for the fire department. City Manager Frank said one is to replace the battalion chief vehicle, and one is to replace an older station wagon that we have. It will be used as a back up vehicle, or an extra vehicle to respond when the situation warrants. Mayor Vandergrift said he would like the City to consider hybrids or more energy-conserving vehicles in light of the big increased in gasoline. Chief Firstner said that in these two cases an SUV or larger vehicle is needed to carry equipment. Page 3-102 Commissioner Anderson asked about the additional expenses for the cemetery. The $15,000 under Parks and Recreation contractual services is for lawn maintenance, and the $10,000 under cemetery maintenance is for road repair, fences, irrigation, etc. There is also $10,000 in the City Clerk's Budget for administration and updating of the cemetery records. City Commission Budget Workshop August 17,2005 3-105 Commissioner Anderson said the amounts seem low with regards to the resurfacing of Hill Avenue ($11,000) and West Avenue ($13,000) and said Commission should expect that they will go up once work begins. Commissioner Howell asked if this type of repair is done in-house. Stormwater Supervisor Elmore advised that resurfacing is done in- house. Commissioner Howell also asked Mr. Elmore to look into recent pothole repairs on Adair Street because they need some more work. 3-106 Mayor Vandergrift inquired about the cost of the stump grinder vs. renting one when needed. City Manager Frank said they were not even able to rent them after the hurricane, and the rental cost is approximately $250 per day. Mayor Vandergrift asked about the item for $30,000 for a sidewalk on Lyman Street, and asked how bad the need is for this. City Engineer Wheeler said that Ocoee Elementary School students walk there every day and there is an area with no sidewalk. Commissioner Anderson said that he does not think $10,000 will be enough to cover all traffic-calming devices needed. City Manager Frank said he is correct, that item was originally much higher, but it was reduced to balance the budget at 4.59. Police Department Mayor Vandergrift asked how many positions are open in the Police Department. City Manager Frank said they budgeted for five new police officers, and applied for a grant for a sixth officer. He said that Human Resources has been looking at new ways to recruit officers and get them through the hiring process. Police Chief Goclon said we are down 12 positions at this time. Some officers are leaving the department due to working understaffed for many years. Since September 2004, twelve officers left; seven went to other agencies, two were terminated, one retired, and two went to the private sector. Mayor Vandergrift said we need to keep up with the cutting edge of technology, such as using "Robocops" for traffic enforcement. Chief Goclon said combination traffic lights will make it possible for one officer to write a ticket for running red lights. Chiefs of Police in Orange County wrote a letter to the Legislature supporting red-light cameras, and we will hopefully see them one day soon. Commissioner Anderson asked if "Robocop" type new equipment would be covered by impact fees. Page 4-14 Commissioner Anderson asked about the small Street Sweeper, which is not able to keep up with the current demand, and asked why we are not getting a larger one. He felt we should purchase two small sweepers or one large one. Stormwater Supervisor Elmore said the smaller sweepers only go 15 m.p.h., where the larger ones will travel at normal vehicle speeds which gets us to and from the dumping area quicker. The cost is $120,000 for a small sweeper and $156,000 for the large one. Concensus of the Commission was to purchase the laraer street sweeper. City Commission Budget Workshop August 17, 2005 Email response Mayor Vandergrift asked City Manager Frank to respond to emails inquiring about the need for an Assistant to the City Manager. City Manager Frank said that he has to spend much of his time in meetings or away from the office and is not available, and things have to wait until he returns. We need someone who can assist with evaluating things associated with the City's growth and change, such as impact fees, operational improvement, grant funding programs, performance initiatives, community relations etc. Commissioner Johnson said he feels that there is too much going on for the City Manager to address all of the issues, and be able to meet with Commissioners, Department Heads, Developers, etc. Commissioner Parker said that the City Manager has limited time to work with various departments to discuss pertinent issues and adding an Assistant City Manager would free up some of his time. Mayor Vandergrift said he thinks that we should have the job duties listed before creating the position. City Manager Frank said he would get the job description out in the next couple days. Mayor Vandergrift also asked about the need for the Assistant Parks and Recreation Director. City Manager Frank said the Parks and Recreation people are doing an excellent job considering how thin they are stretched. He thinks that the new residents moving to Ocoee have a higher expectation of Recreation Programs, and another managerial position could help to devise a Master Plan, act as a liaison to the Advisory Board, identify property for acquisition, etc. This is a department that we need to put some resources into to help prepare for the future. Commissioner Anderson said that he feels they need more employees in that department, rather than another manager. Page 3-41 Commissioner Johnson asked about the position in the Water Department that was placed in the budget last year as a part-time position with the understanding it would be reviewed mid-year for consideration of full-time. Finance Director Horton said, until the HRMP salary survey was completed, it was not a priority to reconsider that position. Commissioner Johnson said it needs to be changed to a full-time position, because they are always short-staffed on the front counter when he walks by. Commissioner Anderson agreed the position should be made full-time. Page 4-15 Commissioner Anderson asked why the contractual services under the storm water department were reduced from $190,000 to $60,000 after the initial request. Finance Director Horton said it was because the mosquito control services were deleted from the budget. Page 4-16 Commissioner Anderson asked why the item under "Transfers Out - R&R" was reduced from $100,000 to O. Finance Director Horton said it was moved to projects. Page 5-4 Commissioner Anderson asked why the water tax went to zero. Finance Director Horton said it had been moved to the General Fund where it should have been. City Commission Budget Workshop August 17, 2005 Commissioner Anderson asked if the elevation in wastewater fund on page 5-4 and the reduction in water fees shown on 5-5 are due to the rate changes. Finance Director Horton said yes. Page 5-13 Commissioner Anderson asked why our storm water expenditure always shows less for actual than for what was budgeted. Finance Director Horton said projects may not have been completed or come in under budget. Page 5-20 Commissioner Anderson asked about the redrilling of a new well, permlttmg, and design. Utilities Director Smith said this item is for the design and permitting only. The whole cost to tear down Jamela and do the transfer and relocate is estimated to be in the $600,000 range and the new pump station is estimated in the 1.1 million dollar range. The well at Jamela will be transferred over to Forest Oaks. Page 5-22 Commissioner Anderson asked what we are doing differently on the POWR Program. Utilities Director Smith said the program will change a little by doing less education and more direct one-on-one contact with residents and on-site audits. The job description for the conservation coordinator is being redone per Commission request. Commissioner Anderson asked what the $50,000 in Emergency Repairs Utilities was for. City Manager Frank said it was for unanticipated emergency repairs. Page 6-13 Commissioner Anderson asked if the Operating Supplies went from $400,000 requested to $40,000 proposed. City Engineer Wheeler said it appears to be a typo. Finance Director Horton said that line item is for the recycle bins and garbage carts. She does not recall a large increase in any line item and believes it is a typo. She said they will check with Public Works Director Zaitooni and report back. Email Why has the City Clerk's budget increased? City Clerk Eikenberry said that two line items were added this year that were not in last year's budget: Elections, and Cemetery Administration (Contractual Services). The operating budget would have otherwise decreased. Do we collect revenues for telephone and cable franchises? Mayor Vandergrift said about four years ago the government lumped them all into a telecommunications fee, and we are still trying to figure out how much we lost. City Manager Frank said that the revenues from this have been decreasing over the last few years, due in part to "unlimited long distance" being added to the base rate and cell phone bills being lower than they used to be. City Commission Budget Workshop August 17, 2005 Public Comments Elizabeth Irvine- asked that the budget for the Withers Maguire House be increased this year, and would like to see an accounting of funds that are spent. Finance Director Horton said one Page 3-74, under facilities maintenance, there is a line item for the Maguire House with $2,000 being proposed for next year. That figure does not reflect the electrical expense, lawn maintenance, alarms, and other items. She said she will provide that information. Ms. Irvine said the house is supposed to be painted inside, and they have had to close the house several times waiting for it to be painted and it hasn't been done yet. City Manager Frank said that will be done by our Facilities Maintenance, and they have been stretched very thin since all of the hurricane damage occurred. Commissioner Anderson suggested we bump up that line item a few thousand dollars. Commissioner Parker said she wants to be sure it is put in excellent condition by Founder's Day, because it is the day they have the highest number of visitors. Commissioner Anderson said he would like to add $2,000 to that line item. City Manager Frank said that money should probably go in the Facilities Maintenance overtime budget. Max Jacobs, 2247 Mountain Spruce Street, said he is concerned about the budget process as a resident. What happened to the sanitation employees after we privatized and where are all of the savings that we were supposed to see? Where did the money go for the fines that were paid by the sanitation hauler. City Manager Frank said the employees were relocated to other positions in the city, and the fines that the hauler had to pay go in to the solid waste enterprise fund. Mr. Jacobs said he would like to see more accountability. Finance Director Horton said Mr. Jacobs can stop by or call the Finance Department and she will go over that with him. Commissioner Anderson said he would like to reverse the salary increases to 3% COLA and 2% Merit (instead of the proposed 2% COLA and 3% Merit). He said the Cost of Living for gas and goods has increased, and the COLA raise should more closely mirror the CPI. City Manger Frank said he will bring figures back in a few minutes. Commissioner Anderson said he would like to see more exercise equipment in the Recreation Department. We need to see more projects being done. We need less managers and more worker bees. He would like to increase traffic calming devices, he doesn't think $10,000 will be enough. Commissioner Parker said we could look at increasing them at mid-year. Commissioner Anderson said we may want to consider going year-round on the pool, other cities have been very successful. He said it would be a service to the community. Mayor Vandergrift noted that he started out saying he didn't want to raise the millage rate, and then listed many items that would require additional funding. Commissioner Anderson said we should have less personnel, and more amenities by eliminating positions such as Assistant to the City Manager, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director, and Code Enforcement Supervisor. City Manger Frank said the figures for reversing the COLA and Merit raises would be $85,000. The Public Hearing for the Budget will be September 15,2005, at 7:00 p.m. City Commission Budget Workshop August 17,2005 I ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9: 50 p.rn. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee