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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998.0610.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL BUDGET MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 10, 1998 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Morgan at 6:30 P.M., Wednesday, June 10, 1998, in the Fountain Hills Town Hall Council Chambers, located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd.,Building B, Fountain Hills,Arizona. ROLL CALL—Mayor Morgan led the Pledge to the flag and Councilman Poma gave the invocation. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon Morgan,Vice Mayor Al Poma and Councilmembers John Wyman, Sharon Hutcheson, Sid Apps (6:33), Marianne Wiggishoff, and Penfield Mower. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Engineer Randy Harrel, Marshal Steve Gendler, and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. AGENDA ITEM #2 - REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS FOR THE 98/99 FISCAL YEAR. ALL ASPECTS OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES WILL BE DISCUSSED AND CONSIDERED. Town Manager Paul Nordin reviewed the timetable for the budget process leading up to the final adoption of the '98-99 budget. He displayed the state-required expenditure limitation analysis, which he stated conformed to the existing and proposed funds for the next fiscal year. Budget Summary Sheets Mr. Nordin reviewed the General Fund Revenue and Expenditure summary sheets comparing the different departments of the Town's government. Councilman Wyman pointed out that 34% of the revenues collected were from building permits. Councilman Apps asked if sales tax revenues would offset a decrease in building fees. Mr. Nordin said the sales tax revenues would increase from retail sales as the population increases and said he expected state shared revenues to increase as well. Councilman Wyman expressed concern over the 25% increase in wages and related costs as compared to a 6.4% increase in revenues. Personnel and Related Issues Mr. Nordin stated the merit money request of 5% of the total budgeted salaries for the fiscal year was the same amount as had been requested in the last 5-6 years. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve for discussion purposes. Vice Mayor Poma SECONDED the motion. Councilman Apps asked how many SEAL awards and superior performance awards were given out over the last year. Mr. Nordin stated he would provide this information. The motion CARRIED unanimously. Information Technology All expenditures related to computer technology for all departments was included in this section. Councilman Wyman MOVED to approve for discussion purposes. Vice Mayor Poma SECONDED the motion. Mr. Nordin stated the network related expenses provided for significantly more capacity to the present network. A major expenditure for enhanced lighting in the Council Chambers for better video production,an automated light dimming feature and an electronic voting system were proposed.Vice Mayor Poma said the$33,000 expenditure for lighting improvements should not be included until negotiations for a new rental contract were completed. Peter Putterman estimated that $12,000 was the figure for lighting enhancements and could be used in any future facility the Town occupied. The video lighting was $7500. Councilman Wyman questioned the need for an electronic voting system. Councilman Wiggishoff agreed Town Council Budget Meeting 6/10/98 Page 1 of 6 ‘iier and MOVED to amend the Information Technology budget by deleting $14,000 for an electronic voting system from this budget. Councilman Wyman SECONDED the amendment, which CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Putterman reviewed the remainder of the requests for Information Technology. Councilman Wyman said a 7% increase in expenditures was reasonable and he would support it. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked if four notebook computers ($2500 each) for the Building Department were necessary and said she was concerned about the security of the computers. Mr. Putterman stated notebook computers were needed to allow inspectors to keep more accurate records of inspections for tracking purposes. Councilman Apps MOVED to amend the motion to approve $7500 for notebook computers. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the amendment, which CARRIED with a 6-1 vote. Councilman Mower cast the nay vote. Councilman Apps MOVED to amend the Network Related Expenses from$74,700 to $60,000. There was no second to the motion—the motion DIED. Councilman Apps asked about the item for $8,000 entitled System Support. Mr. Putterman said software for each department to design and create resource pages for the website was included under System Support. Vice Mayor Poma asked about the $1500 expenditure for a telephone system at the Street Yard. Mr. Putterman explained that the expenditure would enable phone connections with an intercom system. Councilman Apps asked about the costs associated with videotaping Council meetings. Mr. Putterman said the current vendor charges $295 per meeting and was providing unsatisfactory service. He planned to bid this service out and estimated a$500 per meeting expense. Councilman Mower called for the question. The motion to approve the Information Technology budget as amended CARRIED with a 5-2 vote. Vice Mayor Poma and Councilman Apps cast the nay votes. Councilman Apps expressed concern that he had not been able to ask questions regarding the remainder of this budget. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to reconsider the Information Technology budget as amended. Vice Mayor Poma SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED with a 6-1 vote. Councilman Wyman cast the nay vote. The Council resumed their questions with the Information Technology budget. There were no additional questions concerning the Administration, Building Safety, and Community Development departments. Councilman Apps asked about the Traffic Modeling(EEME-2) request($6,000) in the Engineering section. Town Engineer Randy Harrel said this equipment would assist in determining future traffic needs of the Town. Vice Mayor Poma MOVED to approve the Information Technology budget as amended. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Community Center Mr. Nordin stated expenditures were requested for the existing Community Center in the amount of $60,800. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. There were no questions. Councilman Wyman MOVED to approve the Community Center budget. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. L Town Council Budget Meeting 6/10/98 Page 2of6 Community Center Construction Mr. Nordin stated the Municipal Property Corporation budget (Capital Outlay-Building Construction) was included in the Community Center Construction budget. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she preferred a $1.5 million to $2 million down payment included in the budget for the Community Center project rather than the $1 million figure. She suggested that by doing so the Council reduce the interest costs significantly. She said she thought that at least$500,000 in budget cuts could go toward the Community Center project this year. Councilwoman Hutcheson suggested rather than creating a specific department, a team approach be used to oversee this project along with the Community Center Advisory Commission's chairperson until a permanent department could be developed. Vice Mayor Poma said he preferred to submit this project to the voters for approval. Mr. Nordin stated that if the Council desired to choose either the cash payment option or general obligation bonds option, a public vote would be required. If the municipal property corporation was selected as the method for financing the project,no voter input would be allowed. Councilwoman Wiggishoff outlined the history of the project and stated that the public had significantly participated in the project making their opinions known for some time and a public vote wasn't necessary. She supported the municipal property corporation option to finance a portion of the building with no additional property tax increase or sales tax increase. Mr. Nordin reviewed the pros and cons of the financing methods for the Council. He asked the Council for direction to enable him to begin the finalization of the document process. Councilman Mower rescinded his motion, and Councilwoman Wyman rescinded his second. Councilman Mower then MOVED to approve the municipal property corporation. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion. Councilman Apps stated he wanted the citizens to have a better opportunity for input into this project. The motion CARRIED with a 5-2 roll call vote. Vice Mayor Poma and Councilman Apps cast the nay votes. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked for clarification as to how to proceed with increasing the down payment under the capital outlay line item. Mr. Nordin suggested an amendment be made that any reductions to the budget be transferred to the line item for the cash down payment. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to amend the motion to incorporate any monetary reductions that would be made in the proposed budget into the line item that would provide for the cash down payment for the Community Center rather than the capital reserves. Councilman Mower SECONDED the amendment, which CARRIED with a 5-2 vote. Councilman Apps and Vice Mayor Poma cast the nay votes. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve the Community Center Construction budget as amended. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED with a 5-2 roll call vote. Councilman Apps and Vice Mayor Poma cast the nay votes. Mayor and Council Mr. Nordin reviewed the line items in the Mayor and Council budget. Town Clerk Cassie Hansen pointed out that the Capital Outlay-Improvements line item ($5,000) was for the dimmer lighting capabilities discussed earlier. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Magistrate Court Mr.Nordin stated that other than the recently approved salary increase for the Judge, the Court's budget was very similar to last year's requests. He added that a request for a new copy machine for the Court in the Town Council Budget Meeting 6/10/98 Page 3 of 6 amount of$6000.was included under the Capital Outlay line item. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Administration Mr. Nordin pointed out three areas of increases for the Council to consider. He stated one of them was in the personnel section where a half-time receptionist and two part-time janitors were requested. The second item was the difference between the Special Programs and the Community Benefit Programs. He stated that last year the Council had discussed the possibility of using the LTAF method for distribution of monies for the Community Benefit Programs. He said the Council could discuss each individual request for Special programs and then use the methods used by the LTAF Committee to apply a total amount to all those requesting funds under the Community Benefit Programs. He said the third item to consider was under the capital improvements under Capital Expenditures which included recommendations for moving offices into Building "A" including renovation of existing offices in Building "C". Additional improvements to Building "B" for an emergency control center and a control access system for Building "C" were also included in the Capital Expenditure requests. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion. Community Benefit Programs-Councilman Mower MOVED to reduce the amount for Community Benefit Programs from$152,555 to $80,000 and proceed with the LTAF committee method in determination of the distribution of those funds. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion, which FAILED with a 4- 3 roll call vote. Councilwoman Hutcheson, Wiggishoff and Mower cast the aye votes. Councilman Apps MOVED to set the amount for Community Benefits Programs at $152,555 as budgeted. There was no second to the motion—the motion DIED. Vice Mayor Poma MOVED to appropriate $115,000 for the Community Benefits Programs. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED with a 4-3 roll call vote. Councilman Mower,Councilwomen Hutcheson and Wiggishoff cast the nay votes. Special Programs—Chamber of Commerce — Councilman Mower asked about the Chamber's out of state advertising expenses. Michael Bush said the results of advertising, especially out of state advertising, were not always readily determinable. Councilwoman Wiggishoff suggested the Council consider funding the Thanksgiving Parade and Holiday Events requests for the Chamber and increasing the budget for the Mayor's Council for Economic Development rather than to subsidize the Chamber's advertising expenses. She suggested postponing the production of a town video until such time as the parks were nearer completion and the Community Center started. Councilwoman Wiggishoff then MOVED to reduce the budget allotment for the Chamber of Commerce to $5,300. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED with a 5-2 roll call vote. Councilman Apps and Vice Mayor Poma cast the nay votes. Special Programs-Mayor's Council for Business Growth—Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to increase the budget from$25,000 to$30,000. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion,which FAILED with a 5-2 roll call vote. Councilman Mower and Councilwoman Wiggishoff cast the aye votes. Special Programs-McDowell Mountain Preservation — Councilman Wyman MOVED to open for discussion. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion. Councilman Wyman questioned the expenditure requests for the budget. Mr. Nordin stated he had not made any revisions to the budget requests for the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission because it was a Council-appointed subcommittee. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked about the proposed video productions but no one was present to provide information about them. Councilman Wyman MOVED to table discussion until the next budget meeting. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. L Town Council Budget Meeting 6/10/98 Page 4 of 6 Capital Expenditures-Furniture/Equipment — Councilwoman Wiggishoff questioned the need for two copy machines and suggested approval be given only to replace the existing copy machine. Town Clerk Cassie Hansen explained that if the expansion into Building"A" was approved, the Parks &Recreation Department would need their own copy machine due to their high usage of the existing machine. After discussion, Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to postpone the $64,000 expenditure item for an access control, security card system until the next fiscal year. Vice Mayor Poma SECONDED the motion. In response to questions from Councilwoman Hutcheson, Peter Putterman explained how the access control system would function. The motion FAILED with a 5-2 vote. Councilwoman Wiggishoff and Vice Mayor Poma cast the aye votes. Capital Outlay—Improvements-Town Hall—Councilwoman Wiggishoff suggested no action be taken with moving the Parks & Recreation Department to Building "A" until the year 2000. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to delay the request to acquire 1800 square feet of space in Building"A"and consider space expansions in the next fiscal year. Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked how much money would be saved by not renting Building "A". Clerk Hansen answered that approximately $14,000 would be the rental fee for that area. Councilman Apps suggested the Town receive consideration for their improvements in the form of free rent. Ms. Hansen said MCO had agreed to contribute towards expenses of the exterior doors and the air conditioning duct work/repair expenses. She predicted that if the landlord was asked to subsidize tenant improvements that the rental fee might be affected. Councilman Wyman questioned the placement of the 31/2 additional staff members for Parks & Recreation if the plan was not approved. Vice Mayor Poma said he thought the Council should wait until negotiations began for a future lease, purchase or construction of a new town hall was established. Vice Mayor Poma suggested the costs be cut. Councilman Apps suggested a figure of half of the anticipated costs would be acceptable. The motion CARRIED with a 4-3 roll call vote. Councilmen Apps and Mower and Mayor Morgan cast the nay votes. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked for clarification regarding the second copier expense. Ms. Hansen said that $51,000 was proposed for a new copy machine and was now not needed due to the denial of the improvements for Building "A". Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked for clarification of a health care consultant in the amount of$5000. Mr. Nordin explained he preferred to hire a consultant to assist in health care benefits rather than using a broker as had been done in the past. Councilman Apps supported Mr. Nordin's request. Ms. Hansen informed the Council that the second fax machine, planned for Building "A", was requested in the amount of$2500 and could be added to the amounts for credit to the Community Center. Vice Mayor Poma MOVED to approve the Administration budget as amended. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously with a roll call vote. Building Safety Mr. Nordin stated two additional items were noteworthy in this budget. An adjustment to the Wages line item to reflect the increased amount of overtime was included in the new request. Also the request to increase a half-time employee to a full time status was included. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion. Vice Mayor Poma objected to the amount of the outside contract services appropriated in the budget. Mr. Nordin stated outside services were needed especially for commercial developments. The motion CARRIED unanimously. L Town Council Budget Meeting 6/10/98 Page 5 of 6 Community Development Mr. Nordin stated there were no requests for additional employees and that he supported the budget for this department. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve for discussion. Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#3- CALL TO THE PUBLIC. AGENDA ITEM#4-ADJOURNMENT. Vice Mayor Poma MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m. TOWN OF 0 NTAIN HILLS By: .Q1e7 Sharon Morgan,Mayor A 1'l EST: 4j1A.4 )1^AA---1 Cassie B. Hansen,Town Clerk (ki "' . PREPARED BY: , ' � � �� Linda D.Lemmen,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Budget Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 10th day of June, 1998. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 2nd day of July, 1998. Cassie B. Hansen,Town Clerk Town Council Budget Meeting 6/10/98 Page 6of6