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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999.0629.TCSBM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL BUDGET SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 29, 1999 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Morgan at 6:30 P.M., Tuesday, June 29, 1999, in the Fountain Hills Town Hall Council Chambers, located at 16836 E.Palisades Blvd.,Building B,Fountain Hills,Arizona. AGENDA ITEM#1 - ROLL CALL—Following the pledge to the flag and a moment of silence, roll call was taken. Present were Mayor Sharon Morgan, Vice Mayor Pen Mower and Councilmembers John Wyman, Sharon Hutcheson, Sid Apps, Marianne Wiggishoff, and Al Poma. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Clerk Cassie Hansen, Magistrate Stuart Shoob and Director of Community Development Jeff Valder. AGENDA ITEM #2 - REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS FOR THE 99/00 FISCAL YEAR. ALL ASPECTS OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES WILL BE DISCUSSED AND CONSIDERED. Town Manager Paul Nordin started with discussions about the positive, superior financial position that the Town has experienced over the years. He noted that the Council had approved a fifth priority for consideration, that being land preservation. In the next fiscal year, $1,000,000 was planned for open space acquisition. Another concern of the Council that was addressed in pre-budget meetings was improvements to the medians of major streets in the town. He stated that he would review each section of the budget and ask for the Council's approval. General Fund Summary Mr. Nordin pointed out that the expected revenues of$15.1 million and expenditures of$9.0 million would enable a$6 million carry-forward amount into the new fiscal year. Personnel &Related Issues Mr. Nordin explained that the merit monies had been reduced from 5% to 4.25% because the retirement fund benefits were proposed to increase from 9.5% to 11%. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked if a ten-year projection of personnel costs reflecting these changes could be completed. Councilman Poma MOVED to approve the merit money and retirement percentages as explained by Mr. Nordin. Vice Mayor Mower SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Each department would present new position requests and job reclassifications. Information Technology Peter Putterman, Information Tech Specialist, told the Council that a recent grant from COPS-MORE in the amount of$28,000 had been used for purchases of software, computers and laptop computers for the Marshal's Department. Also, sound system improvements in the Council Chambers had been completed during the past fiscal year. Mr. Putterman stated the computer imaging camera was purchased from the grant money and that the $3500 expenditure could be eliminated from the budget. Councilman Mower MOVED to delete $3500 from the Information Technology budget. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. He explained the merits of the electronic voting system that was part of this budget. After some discussion, Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to delete the$18,000 expenditure for an electronic voting system. Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED with a 6-1 vote. Councilman Town Council Budget Session 6/29/99 Page 1 of 5 Apps cast the nay vote. Councilman Mower MOVED to accept the Information Technology as amended. Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Community Center Mr. Nordin reviewed the existing Community Center budget summary sheet. Councilman Mower asked about the 25% increase of the water and sewer line item. Mr. Nordin stated the past expenditure of$1700 was not enough to cover expenses and that the new figure of $2500 reflected the expected sewer rate increase. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the Community Center budget. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Community Center Construction Mr. Nordin stated this budget's total of $1.555 million was a non-recurring expense. Councilman Mower wanted to know if the capital expenditure could be increased from $1.5 million to $2 million. Mr. Nordin suggested to keep the $1.5 million figure so that the $2 million reserve funds could be used for the Four Peaks Park construction of Phase II. Councilman Wyman MOVED to approve the Community Center Construction budget. Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Town Council Increases in the Town Council budget were due to more elections, plans for a ten-year anniversary party, expenses for sister city representatives and additional council pictures. Councilwoman Wiggishoff suggested obtaining council pictures at a lesser cost. Councilman Poma MOVED to approve the Town Council budget. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Magistrate Court The primary increase in the Magistrate Court budget was in the personnel/wages item. A full-time judicial collection specialist was requested and it was anticipated that additional monies collected by this position would be self-funding. Also a part time position for clerical help was requested to assist with the increased workload of the Court. Judge Shoob was present to answer questions. Councilman Apps MOVED to approve the Court's budget. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Administration Mr. Nordin stated two personnel positions were being requested. One position would be an assistant in the Information Technology office and the other was a newly created full-time position for Supervisor of Facilities Operations. Town Clerk Cassie Hansen explained that a facilities assessment was currently being performed and since a property manager would no longer be available when the master lease expires in February of 2000, it would be necessary to create a full time position to handle the maintenance of all three buildings and the additional 7000 square foot library space. Mr. Nordin explained that the contracted services contained the Y2K contract fees. Also a wage classification study would be completed in the amount of$15,000. He reviewed the legal fees line item. An $80,000 amount would be included for the community benefit programs and would be distributed through a citizen review committee. The holiday lighting project would be completed with an additional $25,000 expenditure. The drug rehabilitation program was increased this year based on last year's history. A new line item for Senior Center Services was included for two-thirds funding for a full-time director. Mr. Nordin explained other expenses in the Administration budget that were a result of the library space takeover. Included in the building repairs and maintenance line item were improvements for the renovation of the theater building which had not been performed as expected in last year's budget. He explained that the liability insurance line item had increased due to an increase in premiums. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked about the loss ratio. Mr. Nordin stated the Naim claim and a car accident claim were pending. Councilman Wyman asked about the rent expense line item. Ms. Hansen stated the rent increase was based on the current rate of$7.52 per square foot and that the 7000 square feet for the Library space was the only square footage added. Councilwoman Wiggishoff questioned the $1,000 request for the Town Attorney's membership fees in IMLA. Mr. Farrell stated only town-sponsored officials were accepted through the IMLA. It was decided to Town Council Budget Session 6/29/99 Page 2 of 5 leave this request in the budget. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve the Administration budget,minus the Chamber of Commerce section, which was discussed separately. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan abstained from the discussion of the Chamber of Commerce section of the budget. Vice Mayor Mower chaired the discussion. Frank Ferrara, Executive Director of the Chamber, explained the various priorities of the Chamber's requests. After discussion, Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the amount of$24,000 for the Chamber of Commerce's section of the budget for the next fiscal year. This provided for the deletion of the Fountain Hills video project in the amount of$12,000, the deletion of preprint publishing in the amount of$5,930 and allowing$1,400 for the Arizona Drive Guide. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Building Safety Requests in the Building Safety were similar to last year's line items and did not require any additional personnel. Councilman Mower asked about the Worker's Compensation line item.Accounting Supervisor Julie Ghetti stated that the estimate for the next fiscal year did not reflect a discount because the experience modification factor had not yet been determined. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the Building Safety budget. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Community Development Mr.Valder stated the reduction in this year's budget was a result of personnel changes resulting in lower starting salaries. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve the Community Development budget. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Town Marshal Mr. Nordin reviewed the Marshal's Department budget, which included no increase in staffing. He noted an additional expenditure in the amount of $300,000 for the MCSO contract expense, which reflected a full year's level of services at the 3.0 beat. One grant position for MCSO expired and was requested to be funded. The capital outlay item provided for the purchase of two vehicles to replace two older law enforcement vehicles. Public Safety Director Steve Gendler was present to answer questions. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve the Town Marshal's budget. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Debt Service Mr. Nordin stated the debt service for the respective bond issues would be paid from this section of the budget. He reviewed the expenditures and noted that the newly-approved $1.4 million bond issue contained one principal and two interest payments. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the Debt Service section of the budget. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Grants Mr. Nordin stated the requests for this section included actual and future applied-for grant requests. Public Safety Director Steve Gendler pointed out that the Gang Intervention Task Force was fully funded by grants and there was no cost to the Town. Councilman Poma MOVED to approve the Grants section of the budget. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Eagle Mountain CFD Mr. Nordin stated this section provided for the infrastructure costs that were paid for by the property owners in the Eagle Mountain Community Facilities District. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the Eagle Mountain CFD budget. Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Town Council Budget Session 6/29/99 Page 3 of 5 Cottonwoods CFD Mr. Nordin stated the Street Department performed the Cottonwoods Subdivision maintenance project and that the revenues collected through property taxes would be transferred to reimburse the Street Fund. Councilman Poma MOVED to approve the Cottonwoods Community Facility Districts budget. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. McDowell Mountain Preserve Mr. Nordin stated the inclusion of the $6 million voter-approved bond issue was placed in the budget for the next fiscal year. Councilman Apps MOVED to approve the McDowell Mountain Preserve budget. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. Municipal Property Corporation Mr. Nordin stated that even though the issuance of the bonds from the Municipal Property Corporation had not commenced,budgetary provisions needed to be made in this budget. Town Clerk Cassie Hansen explained that the figure of$5.5 million had considered the addition of items not included in the original bid; i.e., the center courtyard area and the covered walkway. Councilman Wyman MOVED to approve the Municipal Property Corporation budget and directed staff to present requests to the Council for review. Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED with a 6-1 vote. Councilman Apps cast the nay vote. Kiwanis Building Town Clerk Cassie Hansen stated this new section of the budget was originally part of the Administration budget but had been separated for accounting reasons. Utility cost requests were based on actual experience costs and the capital outlay request would provide for construction of an outside north wall. The Boys & Girls Club were assuming the cable/satellite request so the$900 amount could be deleted. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the Kiwanis Building request minus the $900 expenditure for a total of $23,700. Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Library/Museum Construction Mr.Nordin stated that although the total construction of the Library/Museum project would not be completed in the next fiscal year, he suggested the entire amount be budgeted rather than estimating the portion of the project that might be completed. Councilman Apps MOVED to approve the Library/Museum Construction budget. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Preservation As directed by the Council in pre-budget meetings, Mr. Nordin said he had included a figure of$1 million for the purchase of property for the preservation of open space. Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED to approve the Preservation budget. Mayor Morgan SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. After some discussion, Councilman Mower MOVED to amend the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission part of the budget under Special Programs in the Administration budget by deleting the figures of $10,000 as requested for an educational consultant and the $16,000 request for video presentation costs. Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED with a 6-1 vote. Councilman Apps cast the nay vote. AGENDA ITEM#3-CALL TO THE PUBLIC. There were no comments from the public. Town Council Budget Session 6/29/99 Page 4 of 5 AGENDA ITEM#4-ADJOURNMENT. Low Councilman Poma MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m. TOWN OF FO UNTAIN HILLS By: f % l Sharon Morgan/Mayor A I EST: �1J Cassie B.Hansen,Town Clerk PREPARED BY: ,J Linda D.Lemm ,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Budget Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 29th day of June, 1999. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 5th day of August, 1999. Cassie B.Hansen,Town Clerk L Town Council Budget Session 6/29/99 Page 5 of 5