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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992.0625.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 25, 1992 A Special Session, open to the public, and possible Executive Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m.,Thursday,June 25, 1992,in the Fountain Hills Council Chambers located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona. ROLL CALL-Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilman Fox,roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo,Vice Mayor Fox and Councilmembers Frank Clark, Peg Tibbetts, Bill O'Brien and Wally Hudson. Councilman Minarsich arrived at 6:35 p.m. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin,Town Accountant Julie Ghetti,Director of Community Development Gary Jeppson, Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman, and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. Mayor Cutillo stated that Mr.Nordin would start where he had stopped the evening before. Mr.Nordin said that staff had been working on the Parks and Recreation budget and would address that topic first. He distributed sheets to the Council and said that he would explain them with the use of matching overhead displays. Mr. Nordin stated that Option D proposed to sponsor fewer programs than Option C. He said that it retained the Kids Country Club Program,with a reduction in the cultural program. Mr.Nordin stated that the total cost would be$70,400. He said the projected revenue for that option would be $55,000. Mr. Nordin said that the Option D would require a new position entitled "Recreation Coordinator" for a total salary and fringe benefit package of $38,000. He said there would be an additional program cost of $20,400. Mr. Nordin explained the remaining differences in the proposed options. He stated that the net cost increase for Option D was $30,350. Councilman Minarsich asked for a job description on the new position. Ms. Goodman stated that it would be someone with a Bachelor's Degree,two to three years'recreation programing experience,preferably municipal experience. She said that the person would coordinate all the recreation activities,plan all the new activities,work with the part-time staff and contract personnel,secure facilities,and purchase equipment. Mr. Nordin presented two options that reflected other reductions in the budget. He said that Option 1 reflected$8,000 in General Fund cuts. Mr.Nordin stated that Option 2 indicated a reduction of$15,300. Mr. Nordin explained the differences in the two options. He said that the proper course for the Town to follow for the General Fund was to choose the present proposed expenditure level as he presented earlier but only with Option B, not C or D. Mr. Nordin said that he recommended not hiring an additional planner in the Community Development Department. He recommended waiting at least ninety days and at that point, checking the revenues from the building permits. Mr. Nordin said that he felt the employees did deserve a merit increase during the next fiscal year and he did recommend the adjusted rate of five percent. He said the dollar amount that the reduction in merit pay reflected was approximately $42,200. Mr. Nordin said that for every percent the Council chose to decrease that request, the General Fund would accrue a savings of $5,100. Councilman Minarsich asked if there was duplication with the Kid's Country Club after school program and McDowell Mountain Elementary School's latch key program. Mr. Nordin stated that it might have been a miscommunication among school personnel. Councilman Minarsich stated that he did not want to see a duplication of effort,that perhaps the school could use help from the Town and efforts be combined. Councilwoman Tibbetts said she would like more information on the school's program to see if the Town could help with their program and save some funds. Vice Mayor Fox stated that the school wanted to have their program but did not have the funds for it. Councilman O'Brien reviewed the Parks and Recreation figures from the Options. Vice Mayor Fox asked if Option 2 was chosen,would$15,050 be needed to fund Option D. Mr.Nordin said it would. Vice Mayor Fox Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/25/92 Page 1 of 5 stated that he felt it was important for employees to receive raises. He suggested that another option would be to pull $15,000 from the funds for the purchase of computers,and the Town staff could still receive their five percent raises. Vice Mayor Fox stated that an amount of$15,000 considering all the benefit the community would receive, was not too much to ask. Councilman Minarsich stated that he liked the plan but did not think it should be done in the next fiscal year. He said he supported Option B. Mayor Cutillo said Option 3 could work if further cuts were made. He suggested that the Community Center Budget be cut$1,000 more,the Mayor and Council salaries be cut $7,200, the merit pay 2% instead of 5%. Councilman O'Brien agreed with Mayor Cutillo but said he felt that the Town's programs would be under-funded if the Council chose an Option other than C or D. Mr.Nordin stated that in Option 2, the Community Center contract could be reduced from $22,000 to $20,000, the construction budget could be reduced by two or three thousand dollars. He stated that he did not intend to take any of the calary money out of the budget. Mr. Nordin said that the Magistrate Court budget had been reduced by $3,700 and that the Engineering Department had $3,600 of small line items that could be reduced. He stated that the Community Development Department could remove$1,500 in their budget, the Marshal's Department could be reduced in the areas of printing,travel expenses and uniforms. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to accept Option 3 as he had just outlined and fund Option D as presented in the Parks and Recreation. He said his motion was to fund the fund cuts as proposed under the new Option 3 which included an additional$1,000 cut to the Community Center,an additional $7,200 cut to the Mayor and Council,and a cut in the merit pay raises from 5%to 2%,and all the other cuts under Option 2 would remain. Mayor Cutillo continued,stating that with those cuts,he would then recommend acceptance the Parks and Recreation Option D as presented. Vice Mayor Fox stated that the cuts described totalled approximately$8,000 more than the budget needed to fund the proposed programs. Councilman O'Brien stated that the excess should be put back into the merit program. SECONDED by Vice Mayor Fox. Councilman Hudson stated that there were too many topics in the motion. Councilman Minarsich said he would not vote on the motion, which included an ordinance regarding Council salaries. Vice Mayor Fox said that the Mayor's motion was subject to the ordinance. Councilwoman Tibbetts said that she did not agree with the reduction of the management fee for the Community Center. She stated that it would be all right to reduce the construction budget. Vice Mayor Fox said that he would agree to an ordinance provision to reduce the council salaries and apply the balance to the merit pool. Vice Mayor Fox AMENDED the motion to reduce the cuts of$3,000 for the Community Center and$5,000 from the merit pool, to leave a balance of$30,350 to fund Option D. Councilman O'Brien stated that the total of items in Option 3,not including the merit pay,was$23,500. He said that if the rest was made up from merit pay,it would be$6,500. The amendment was SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien. Councilman Hudson requested the motion and the amendment be written down before any further discussion took place. Mayor Cutillo called for a five minute recess. The Council recessed at 7:35 p.m. and reconvened at 7:40 p.m. Mayor Cutillo read the written motion as follows: To accept a new option labelled Option 3 to include the following fund cuts;Community Center,$3,000,Mayor and Council,$10,400,Magistrate Court,$3,700,Building and Safety, $500, Engineering, $3,600, Community Development, $1,500, Town Marshal, $2,000, and reduce the merit pay increase from 5%to 2%,and to further accept the Parks and Recreation Department recommendation as represented in Option D. Vice Mayor Fox then stated his amendment: The motion to reduce the Community Center by$2,000 rather than $3,000 and to return $7,700 to the merit pay pool and the Mayor and Council reduction subject to Ordinance passage. Councilman Minarsich asked if the amendment took the funds from the Community Center Budget rather than from management Vice Mayor Fox stated that that was correct. Mayor Cutillo called for discussion from the public. Ms. Myers asked for clarification on the$3,000 and requested that it not come out of the management fee. She requested that it come out of the construction portion of the budget. Vice Mayor Fox explained that he did not specify the area of reduction so staff could meet with the committee and decide what area they preferred to reduce. Mayor Cutillo requested a roll call vote on the amendment to the original motion and the results were as follows: Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/25/92 Page2of5 Mayor Cutillo aye Vice Mayor Fox aye Councilman Minarsich nay Councilwoman Tibbetts aye Councilman Clark nay Councilman Hudson nay Councilman O'Brien aye The amended motion CARRIED with a roll call vote of four aye votes to three nay votes. Mayor Cutillo called for discussion on the original motion. Councilman Hudson stated that the written version of the original motion was legal and he had no objection, however, the original verbal motion was stated in such a way that would not have been legal. Mayor Cutillo called for the vote on the original motion and then a roll call vote. The results of the roll call vote were as follows: Councilwoman Tibbetts aye Mayor Cutillo aye Councilman Hudson nay Vice Mayor Fox aye Councilman O'Brien aye Councilman Minarsich nay Councilman Clark nay The original motion CARRIED with a roll call vote of four aye votes to three nay votes. Mr.Nordin asked if the Council wanted to discuss the Management Agreement with the Civic Association. Mayor Cutillo said he wanted to wait until Tuesday night's Special Session meeting. ktiov Mr.Nordin moved the discussion to the Heritage Fund portion of the budget. He stated that staff wanted to proceed with a new grant application. Mr.Nordin stated that the application would require a$100,000 match from the Town. He said that the $100,000 had been held in the General Fund account. Mr. Nordin said that staff was asking the Council's permission to apply for the grant. Ms.Goodman said the application would be for approximately$350,000 and she gave the Council a breakdown of the amounts. Councilman Hudson requested the item be put on the agenda for the Tuesday meeting. Mr. Nordin stated that the topic was on the agenda. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to accept the recommendation as presented. SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien and CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin moved the discussion to the Street Department. He said the new revenue expected in the next fiscal year was $752,400 as indicated in the budget. Mr.Nordin stated that with the carry forward amount of$278,000 there was a total available of just over $1 million in the highway user fund. Vice Mayor Fox asked what the total expenditures would be and Mr.Nordin said they would be$923,618. Mr.Nordin explained some of the expenditures in the Street Department budget. Mr.Harrel stated that the road repair and maintenance items included most of the operation and maintenance costs. He said that the median maintenance contract was included under the road repair and maintenance section. Mr.Harrel stated the Town would plastic seal approximately twenty miles of roadway and slurry seal about five miles. He said there was one pickup truck they intended to replace during the year. Mr. Harrel stated that$50,000 from the current fiscal year for capital outlay had not been spent and they proposed to carry it over. He said the budgeted amount for a street striper from the current fiscal year had been carried over also. Mr. Nordin stated that the staff recommended approval from the Council. Councilman O'Brien made a MOTION to approve as presented. SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Vice Mayor Fox requested that the Town employees that were paid from the street fund be given the same percentage of raise as those employees that were paid from the General Fund. Mr. Nordin stated that he had interpreted the original motion that way. Vice Mayor Fox AMENDED the motion to instruct staff to redistribute the merit pool in the H.U.R.F. fund proportionate to Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/25/92 tkage Page 3 of 5 General and the Bond Fund. Councilman Clark retracted his second to the motion and included Vice Mayor Fox's amendment. The amended motion CARRIED unanimously. The original motion to accept the Street Department Budget CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Nordin moved the discussion to the Bond Funds. He stated that the debt retirement G.O. bond fund was put in the budget to provide for the debt retirement payments that had to be made. Mr.Nordin said staff recommended approval. Vice Mayor Fox made a MOTION to accept as presented. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts and CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Nordin stated that the H.U.R.F.-G.O. Bond Construction Fund could be considered in two segments. He reviewed the budget presentation with the Council for that topic. Mr. Harrel said that the Engineering Fees section included some minor change order work for the design of the street paving project and a contract the Town currently had for materials testing. He said it also included a contract for the mapping of the Town. Mr. Harrel said staff had included several major items that they viewed as priorities under major road repairs. Mr.Nordin said that staff recommended approval of the H.U.R.F.Road Paving Budget. Councilwoman Tibbetts made a MOTION to approve as presented. SECONDED by Councilman Clark and CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin called on Mr.Harrel to explain the G.O.Bond Paving Budget. Mr.Harrel said that it was only one item. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to approve the G.O.Bond Budget. SECONDED by Councilman Clark and CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Nordin said the final discussion item was the Grant Fund. He said it had four sections and briefly explained them. Councilman Clark made a MOTION to approve the Grant Fund Budget with the salaries and wages adjusted proportionately. Councilman Hudson said there was no increase. Mr.Nordin stated that was correct,there was no pay raise for that position. Councilman Clark said the motion was to approve then. SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien and CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin said that concluded the 1992-93 budget presentation. He stated that the changes and the motions by the Council during the meetings would be included in a semi-final budget document that would be prepared and distributed to the Council as soon as possible. Mr. Nordin said it would come to the Council for review and approval. He said after the approval,the budget would be advertised as required and a fmal Council approval date would be set. Mr.Nordin stated that in August,the Council would set the property tax levy that would be required to retire the General Obligation Bond payment that was required. AGENDA ITEM#7 - CALL TO THE PUBLIC. Mayor Cutillo made the call to the public. There was no discussion. AGENDA ITEM#9 - ADJOURNMENT. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to adjourn. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich and CARRIED unanimously. The Town Council adjourned at approximately 8:26 p.m. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/25/92 Page4ofS TO OUNTAIN 41116, By: ' e Cutillo,Mayor ATTEST: 015• 144-1h-LIA---) Cassie B. Hansen, To lerk PREPARED BY:r Lad L. • .tcher, S tary CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 25th day of June 1992. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this v Ci+_day of August 1992. 0,1114.4.A.....' . Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk L Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/25/92 Page 5 of 5