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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005.0517.TCWSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF THE WORK STUDY SESSION May 17,2005 AGENDA ITEM#1 —CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Councilman Archambault, Councilman Kehe, Councilman Kavanagh, Councilman McMahan, Vice Mayor Nicola**, and Mayor Nichols. Town Manager Tim Pickering, Town Clerk Bev Bender, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Accounting Supervisor Julie Ghetti were also present. Mayor Nichols excused Councilman Schlum from the meeting and sadly announced that his grandmother was gravely ill and he went to be by her side. ** The Mayor explained that Vice Mayor Nicola, through the use of teleconferencing equipment, would participate throughout the entire meeting. AGENDA ITEM#2-DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS FISCAL YEAR 2005-2006 BUDGET, INCLUDING THE EAGLE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT AND THE COTTONWOODS COMMUNITY MAINTENANCE DISTRICT. THE COUNCIL WILL DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ALL ASPECTS OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. çMayor Nichols stated that the purpose of the meeting was to review the proposed Town of Fountain Hills Fiscal Year 2005-2006 budget and said that the meeting was scheduled to last until 6:30 p.m. at the latest. Town Manager Tim Pickering stated that staff had prepared a brief PowerPoint presentation that summarized the budget in different fashions based on the input received from the various members of the Council. Accounting Supervisor Julie Ghetti addressed the Council and discussed the Council's goals that were established at their previous retreat,namely: • Annex State trust land; • Develop a public information and grant-writing program; • Complete the Strategic Planning process; • Explore opportunities for additional parks and amenities; • Develop on-going relationships with neighboring communities; • Enhance business relations. Ms. Ghetti referred to charts and graphs included in the presentation and commented on revenues by fund; the General Fund; a comparison (this Fiscal Year versus last) of revenues included in the General Fund as well as revenues in other funds; expenditures by fund; fund summary expenditures; where the money actually went; a comparison of expenditures included in the General Fund as well as by department and other funds; and a summary of authorized full-time equivalent(FTE)positions proposed in the budget. (For specific, detailed numbers, a copy of the presentation that was presented to the Council is also on file in the Office of the Town Clerk.) kw Ms. Ghetti also outlined a list of proposed FY 2005-06 new capital projects, which included: • Major road improvements; Z:\Council Packets\2005\126-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 1 of 10 • Downtown development; • Town Hall equipment, parking lot; • Traffic signal El Lago/Saguaro; • Adero Canyon trailhead design; • Two picnic ramadas at Fountain Park; • Desert Vista Park lighting/recreation; • Four Peaks Park ADA modifications/concession improvements. Ms. Ghetti said that she would be happy to respond to questions from the Council regarding the proposed budget. Councilman Archambault noted that the revenues amounted to $28.3 million, while the budget was only $26.6 million and requested that she provide an explanation of the difference. She said that the difference represents a reserve transfer to the Capital Projects Fund. Councilman Kehe referred to the grant budget and asked whether it accounted for the possibility that they would have a new grant officer who might obtain funds so in order to ensure that they would be able to spend those funds, sufficient monies must be contained in the budget. Ms. Ghetti confirmed that the budget did account for that. Mr. Pickering explained that approximately $1.5 million had been placed in the budget each year in case the Town received those types of grants but added that of course if the monies were not received, they could not spend it, but they did in fact budget for them. Mayor Nichols stated that he had been asked on several occasions whether it was possible for the Town to put more resources into the Compliance division to allow them to be more proactive in the area of compliance rather than strictly reactive. He added that he would support additional funding for this to "beef up" the program. He explained that the job was not simply an 8 to 5 job Mondays thru Fridays. There was a lot going on at all hours and on weekends as well. He questioned whether there could be additional coverage on weekends when a significant amount of the violations occurred if sufficient funding was included in the budget. Mr. Pickering responded that it was definitely possible that they could increase funding for the Code Enforcement division. He pointed out that he and Planning and Zoning Administrator Richard Turner, who oversees that department, looked at what costs would be involved in providing proactive enforcement coverage throughout the Town. He stated that he was talking about a program whereby at least once a year every neighborhood would be visited and they would make sure that junk cars were removed, weeds were taken care of, houses were painted and in good condition, etc. Mr. Pickering advised that they estimated that in order to conduct that level of quality enforcement, they would need to hire approximately three additional staff persons. He added that he anticipated that over time, when building processes began to decrease,funds that were once used for building inspections could be used for this purpose. He stated that if the Council decided to increase Code Enforcement staff, every little bit helped. Councilman Kavanagh expressed the opinion that the major problem was that on weekends they did not always have a Code Enforcement person in place and said he would like staff to look into some "creative scheduling". He stated that someone would not have to be assigned every weekend, but rather on a random basis, so that violators would never really know when the inspector was going to show up. He added that he thought a lot of the problem had to do with signs. He also suggested that staff "take the pulse of the community" before adding on multiple Code Enforcement people and develop a Town where if a weed grew out of a crack in the sidewalk, a violation was placed on the person's door. He emphasized that he did not wish to live in a Town like that and didn't want that intense level of proactive enforcement to occur. He stated that they should not waste time on minor infractions that might occur all over the Town and the officers should instead focus on the bigger picture. Councilman Kehe commented that at a Work Study Session not too long ago, there was a report on code enforcement efforts and the officer told the Council that the reason that there was an inability to be more proactive was the huge number of responses to complaints. He referred to a document dated September 30, 2003, that discussed "the provision of an effective and efficient proactive code enforcement program. He noted that the report Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 2 of 10 was authored by John Poole, a consultant, and said he indicated that some of the problems in the code enforcement area were not only did the officer have to be out in the field but he was also bogged down performing clerical work. He noted that the recommendation at that time was to hire a clerical person to relieve him of that responsibility and allow him to concentrate more on actual enforcement. He asked whether this ever happened. Mr. Pickering stated that he believed they asked an existing staff person to assume that responsibility and provide clerical assistance to the Code Enforcement staff. Councilman Kehe expressed the opinion that rather than going from a reactive position to a stringent proactive one, there are intermediate steps that could be taken and asked whether hiring clerical assistance would be worthwhile to allow the officers to go out into the field. Mr. Pickering said that anytime additional staff comes on board, more work could be accomplished. He commented that it was certainly a"balancing act" and noted that when they originally set up the division, there was much discussion regarding whether to hire two or three officers. Mr. Poole felt that the Town could get by with two officers at that point in time. He stated that the Council would have to make this call over time and agreed that the number of staff would need to be increased as maintenance issues continued to rise. He said that there were 2.71 officers and reiterated that the Council could certainly increase that number. In response to a question from Councilman Kavanagh as to whether a backlog of enforcement cases existed at the current time,Mr. Pickering responded that he was not aware of any existing backlog. Mayor Nichols said that one of the issues that people had asked him to address was the fact that there were so many unlicensed contractors working in the Town. He commented that this was not fair to those people who were licensed and who were acting according to the rules of the Town. He pointed out that citing those unlicensed individuals would also generate revenues. He added that he was not even sure whether those unlicensed contractors cw were paying sales tax on the work they performed. Councilman Kehe stated that he had heard that same complaint from residents in the Town. He said that the officers have to spend so much time on the complaints that there was no time for them to be proactive. Councilman Kavanagh commented that the major code deficiency that he heard about had to do with garage sale signs on weekends. He said that although he believed this was a significant problem, he thought it could be settled by "creative scheduling" or the hiring of an additional part-time person. He stated that if other tasks required it, then he was certainly open to considering additional positions but he would like to see a hard study conducted first to provide adequate justification. He added that he would like to review estimates of the number of unlicensed contractors, etc., and expressed the opinion that that would be a "one shot deal" because once the contractors were cracked down on, they would disappear and word would get out that they could not work in the Town unless they were licensed. He said then they could wind up with too many officers on hand. Mr. Pickering commented that if the Council so desired, staff would be happy to look into this issue and said he agreed with Councilman Kavanagh's comment regarding the need to study the issue and provide adequate justification prior to hiring additional staff. Mayor Nichols commented that residents were billed for the business licenses but some of them did not pay the fee. He asked how staff followed up on this issue. Mr. Pickering responded that this responsibility falls under the Town's Clerk's office and said they send renewal letters and ask Code Enforcement staff to contact the ones who still have not paid in an effort to collect the funds. He requested that Town Clerk Bev Bender provide information to the Council. Ms. Bender advised that a process was in place and after renewal notices were sent, if there was no response then Lthey were sent an additional notice and if that notice was also ignored, the matter was forwarded to Code Enforcement for their follow-up. She said they had a number of people who did not pay and the ones that were physically located in Town were much easier to bring into compliance. Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 3 of 10 Mayor Nichols stated that he did not like losing revenues and therefore would like staff to follow up on this matter. He added that he also gets very frustrated when he reads reports from the Court showing how much money in fines has not been collected. Councilman Kavanagh further stated that he would be interested in learning how other towns address the issue of out-of-town contractors and explained that many people have workers come in from other cities and towns to complete short projects. Mr. Pickering said that staff would follow up on this as well and noted that the Town does require a permit for any contractor who does work in Fountain Hills, according to the current ordinances. Councilman Kavanagh asked whether someone who comes into town to fix a leaky faucet would need to obtain a Town license. He reiterated the importance of knowing how other cities and towns handle this situation and whether every out-of-town contractor was required to get a license. He said if they do, fine, but if they did not, he did not want the Town of Fountain Hills to put into place an onerous requirement that was unenforceable in the first place. Vice Mayor Nicola pointed out that as far as business licenses go, the Town was obligated to follow State law. She said she would also be interested in knowing how other cities and towns handled it, but it was not as though they could be different. She added that they could look at each and every little ordinance but she believed they needed to look at the "big picture". She noted that the Town has a number of ordinances in place regarding grading, barking dogs, gopeds, etc., and she supports more selective enforcement and a wider schedule. She expressed the opinion that what they were doing now would not be adequate in the future because as of January 1S`, they were going to be re-educating all the business owners and the public on A-frame signs, and that would be a full-time job for two enforcement officers. She stated that she supports additional resources to support the enforcement of the Town's ordinances. Councilman Kehe commented that he agreed with Vice Mayor Nicola and said they should not focus entirely on the licensure. He added that they were talking about things such as unsightly premises, yard parking, construction Ilk activity, trucks parked for lengthy periods of time in the streets, etc. He added that neighbors were oftentimes reluctant to report another neighbor and therefore an additional staff person would allow more enforcement to occur out on the streets. He agreed that they should seriously consider approving an additional position. Councilman Archambault said that at this point in time they were directing staff to look into the situation and determine whether there was a need for an additional person. He requested that staff study the matter, develop a recommendation, and present their findings at a future meeting. Mayor Nichols stated that he wanted to take a moment to compliment Ms. Ghetti on her presentation and said she took a very complicated issue and broke it down into several overheads that helped the Council and the audience gained a clearer understanding of the matter at hand. Councilman McMahan concurred with the Mayor's remarks. Vice Mayor Nicola stated that if they were going to look at trends, it would be interesting to go back to when they did have a Marshal's Department that was reactively, not proactively, addressing this issue. She said they had a good team of people who carried out this responsibility and she would like to see some statistics to determine whether the Town was still doing the job as well as they could. Councilman Kavanagh requested that staff provide the Council with a log of complaints so they could see just how many people had called with specific complaints. Mr. Pickering said that that was exactly what staff needed to present to the Council, the facts, how many calls, and how many were outstanding. He said they do log them and they are broken down by category and he would make sure that the Council obtained this information. Councilman Archambault stated that he would like to discuss the Fire Department. He noted that they were hiring an Assistant Fire Chief and questioned whether he would be scheduled in such a way to ensure that the Chief and the Assistant Chief were not on the clock at the same time. Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 4 of 10 Mr. Pickering expressed the opinion that they should go back and set the foundation for what they meant by the term"adding that position." He said that this year they were paying for it but this position had been in place for the past year and the contractor was gracious enough not to charge the Town. He explained that the position was Assistant Fire Chief/Fire Marshall. He added that one of the main responsibilities of the position, aside from being the back-up Chief should a fire emergency arise, was to review the plans that come in on a daily basis. He reported that the position's hours were typically during the hours when contractors could call to talk with them. He added that the individual would be "on call" to handle weekend emergencies but most of their responsibility would be plan review and talking to the businesses about fire-related issues. In response to a question from Councilman Archambault, Mr. Pickering explained that the reason the Town required an Assistant Fire Chief(although he would be on duty during the same hours as the Fire Chief) was plans needed to be reviewed as expeditiously as possible in order to avoid backups and delays in the approval process. He added that every house that came through had to be reviewed to ensure that it met the Town's sprinkler ordinance and every business plan must also undergo intensive reviews. He said that he gained a good understanding of this when the Town lost the Fire Marshall at the end of March. The impact immediately became evident. He reported that calls immediately began to come in from the contractors concerned about delays they were experiencing. He emphasized the importance of having someone there to answer all of the calls and respond to all the questions that came forward about potential buildings/projects. He stated that he highly recommended that they fund this position and provide a much needed service to the public. Councilman Archambault asked whether a Plan Reviewer position dedicated to the Fire Department rather than an Assistant Fire Chief position would suffice. Mr. Pickering said that that was a good question but pointed out that aside from plan review responsibilities, the Assistant Chief would also fill in for the Chief when he was out of Town or unavailable. He noted that the position at Rural Metro was at that level and according to their organizational structure, that person happened to be at the Assistant Chief level, an Assistant Fire Chief/Fire Marshall. (gor Councilman Kehe commented that concerns had been expressed about obtaining a collapsible shelter for performers at the performance pads and Mr. Pickering said they were actually doing something about that this year. He said that staff looked into the matter and it was not in the budget and they planned to buy that in the current Fiscal Year. He added that the business signs would also be added this year. Councilman Kehe also raised the issue of assistance to local organizations and said he brought the issue up a year ago as well when he first assumed office. He commented that he would feel much more comfortable if there was some indicator to which they could tie assistance to local organizations. He added that at the time he spoke specifically with the Chamber of Commerce about assistance from the Tourism Bureau and he had asked whether they could tie that, in some way, to bed tax. He advised that he recently spoke to Councilmembers from Scottsdale and noted that a certain percentage of their bed tax goes to the Chamber of Commerce (70%). He said he wonders if they go down the line to some of the other organizations or whether there was something they could tie it to so that it would be easier to make a judgment as they progressed into the future budget years. Mr. Pickering stated the opinion that the matter would require some study in order to ensure that a fair analysis took place. He added that as far as the bed tax, the Town was providing actually more assistance for tourism than it takes in from the bed tax. He said that staff could work with the different entities and review this issue in greater depth. Councilman Kehe commented that right now, the organizations submit a number and it is placed in the budget. He said he was looking for some justification for the numbers. Councilman McMahan asked whether the bed tax revenues went directly into the General Fund and Mr. Pickering answered that they do, the monies were not allocated towards any special fund. He reiterated that the amount, e $125,000, that the Town allocates for tourism was above the amount received as a result of the bed tax at the current time. Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 5 of 10 Councilman Kehe commented that a protective clause could be put into place so that if they went strictly by a percentage of the bed tax, the organizations could be protected in some way. Mayor Nichols noted that the Town could not declare or make known tn.:- amount of monies received as a result of the bed tax and Ms. Ghetti confirmed this fact and stated that State Statutes prohibit the Town from releasing the information on a category of business where there were less than ten businesses and the Town did not have ten hotels. Councilman Archambault asked whether the previous Council passed an ordinance that allowed up to the first $50,000 in bed tax to be allocated towards tourism. Mr. Pickering responded that when it was originally created, the resolution specified that the first $50,000 went towards tourism and any remaining funds went towards parks and recreation. Councilman Archambault questioned why they were looking at a larger amount now and Mr. Pickering said that additional monies were being requested. He pointed out that last year when staff proposed $50,000 in the budget, the Council increased it to$75,000. In response to a question from the Mayor, Mr. Pickering confirmed that the Town's development fees would be looked at this year. Mayor Nichols asked whether the proposed budget reflected any increase in the development fees. Mr. Pickering stated that they did not and that might be an "unanticipated increase." He explained that staff did not know how to project that because they had not participated in a study to date. He added that this week or next he planned to meet with the development expert to discuss this issue and noted that it takes quite a bit of time to put together a capital improvement plan for many years out. He noted that if a builder were ever to challenge the development fees, the Town would have to show that all of the numbers were based on growth. He said that there was a certain process that had to be followed in order to do that. He informed the Council that at this time he was not sure whether the development fees would increase and that was why staff did not reflect any in the proposed budget. Mayor Nichols said that if the development fees did increase, probably sometime in 2006, he would like to know if they had the ability in their budget to take in the additional development fees. Mr. Pickering responded that they did. Councilman Kehe commented that they just could not spend the monies. Mr. Pickering concurred and said that the monies could be taken in but they could not be spent at that time. He stated that they were probably not going to realize that impact right away because of the timeframe involved. He added that the fees go into effect when homes are starting to be built and building permits are issued. He expressed the opinion that there would be somewhat of a delay before the funds were actually collected and they could justify using the monies for growth. Ms. Ghetti estimated that the fees would become effective on March 1,2006 and that people would begin to pay the increased impact fees (should there be an increase) by July 1, 2006. She added that the impact fees would have to be spent within six years. Mayor Nichols asked whether staff was testing the Town's impact fees to make sure that there are no monies that had to be returned to the builders and Ms. Ghetti said they were. She noted that it was part of the review from the development fee consultant. Councilman Archambault commented on the fact that earlier last year the Council did away with the A-frame signs and said he was wondering how much had been budgeted in anticipation of the signage that had to go on Saguaro and c r-er major streets in Town. Mr. Pickering reported that they were doing that in this Fiscal Year (at least qt paying for it) and reported that the signs would cost approximately $20,000. He concurred that this had to be done by January 1st and was in the Fiscal Year 2004-05 budget. Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 6 of 10 Councilman Kavanagh clarified that they were talking about the signs that would just point to the districts. (w Vice Mayor Nicola added that the block signage was also included. Mr. Pickering noted that as far as the development fees, they did not go into effect until after a 90-day period of time and that actually explained the reason for the delay. Councilman Kehe requested that Mr. Pickering review the budget process in a general sense, for the benefit of the audience and viewing public. Mr. Pickering explained that the budget process begins in February when the different departments begin to talk with their employees and the supervisors start putting together lists of what they believe they will need for the upcoming year. He said that they start putting together their justification sheets that list out their needs. He stated that the department directors and supervisors meet with him and Ms. Ghetti and/or the Town's other financial person and review all of the submitted documentation in great detail. He added that they go back and forth and sometimes staff is asked to prioritize needs, decide cuts and provide sufficient justification to back up their requests. He further stated that at the same time staff works on the revenues that are prepared by the Town's Finance Department. He reported that it takes approximately one month to go through all of the meetings and then he begins to compare the expenses to the revenues. He explained that,for example,this year there were some items that they decided to hold back on (i.e. some park improvements) but after they determined that the revenues had actually increased,they allowed the improvements to go forward and increased funding. Mr. Pickering pointed out that many departments receive input from the residents in the form of commissions that make recommendations on different items and all of that information is taken into account. He reported that the proposed budget is distributed to the Council and the press in May and anyone else who wished to review it could do so by accessing the Town's web or by simply coming into Town Hall. He said that they encourage citizen participation and occasionally they receive e-mails such as the one the Mayor recently forwarded him from a citizen with questions. He stated that they respond to all inquiries and attempt to provide sufficient justification for the proposed budget items. He reported that at the first meeting in May, the maximum amount of the budget is "set" and said that this process was advertised twice in the newspaper so that everyone could read about it. He noted that the notice is required by the State and therefore the form of the notice is in accordance with that requirement. He added that sometimes workshops are held or special Council meetings to review the budget and solicit citizen input. He said that this year the Town's public hearing was scheduled to take place on June 2nd and the Council could adopt the budget any time after that date. Councilman Kehe reiterated that various commissions and members of the public have an opportunity to provide input to the department heads. Mr. Pickering concurred with his remark and added that they encourage input and questions. He added, however, that not all requests can be put into the budget because there are limits but they do their best to prioritize the various requests that are submitted to the Council. He pointed out that the current proposed budget contains a request for over $1 million for park improvements/staffing, etc. He noted that a significant amount of funding was being proposed to upgrade the Town's parks and streets. He commented that the budget was solid and balanced but unfortunately they could not have everything that they would like to have. He said that the process helps staff prioritize and focus on the various items that they believe are necessary and crucial to the overall quality of life in Fountain Hills. Councilman McMahan commented on the Building Safety Department (Page 83) and said that for years he has heard complaints about the service provided to the various contractors. He asked whether the proposed budget contains a sufficient number of new staffing (5) to enhance the service provided to the contractors. Mr. Pickering responded that staffing levels are always somewhat of a balancing act and said that staff believes that the proposed additional staffing is sufficient at this time because they recently hired a new Senior Building Inspector, with significant experience in this area, who can handle a wide variety of tasks. He stated that he believes the proposed increase in staff will improve the level of service. He added that consistency is another way to improve service, which means retaining employees, and said that at the current time the Town has a great crew of inspectors. He stated that the contractors he has spoken with are very pleased with the service they are being provided and he Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 7 of 10 commended staff on their hard work and efforts. He informed the Council that the new Senior Building Inspector, Roy Rice, has electrical inspection background and is doing an excellent job in working with the contractors. Councilman McMahan asked what responsibilities are carried out by the Building Permit Technicians and Mr. Pickering explained that they handle the incoming permit requests at the counter. He added that they do approve plans,review pool permits,fence permits,etc. and answer a lot of questions. He said they are an integral part of the process and provide immediate assistance to contractors who come into Town Hall. Councilman Archambault noted that the Town has pulled itself out of the rut it was in and is experiencing much better times. He expressed the opinion that it is prudent at this point to not spend all the monies that they take in and actually begin to set revenues aside for capital expenditures such as roads, other buildings that may need to be built, add staff only when needed,etc. He asked Mr. Pickering to explain where the monies were going(Page 152). Mr. Pickering responded to Councilman Archambault's request and discussed the Capital Projects Fund. He informed the Council that this was the first year that the Town had started the policy of transferring remaining monies in the General Fund to the Capital Projects Fund. He estimated that this year approximately $2.5 million would be transferred. He added that staff also knows that they don't have enough money to handle all their projects throughout all the years. He concurred that now was the time to place money aside so that when construction revenues begin to drop,capital improvement needs could still be met,particularly in the streets area. Councilman Kavanagh commented on the fact that the Town has lost a number of Planning personnel and clarified that contrary to some comments that had been floating around, the employees were "snatched up" by the private sector and did not leave because of dissatisfaction with the Town. Councilman Kavanagh asked whether this was a major concern and whether the Town's salary structure was competitive enough in this area to attract and maintain qualified,knowledgeable individuals. Mr. Pickering said that the issue was one of concern and added that they had the same problem in the development field/building inspections/plans examiner areas because of the significant amount of development that was occurring and the need for expertise in this area. He stated the opinion that the Town provides a very good benefit package (including tuition assistance) but added that staff does move on. He commented that the Town was "blessed" with outstanding remaining staff in the Planning Department. He said they have been "lucky" because each time they have had to hire a replacement, they have been able to hire individuals with increased skill levels. He pointed out that the Town's current Planning& Zoning Administrator has years of experience and said they are very lucky to have him. He noted that even employees who do not have a great wealth of experience perform fantastic jobs. He reiterated that the issue was one of concern and said that they were advertising right now. He said they had to make the decision as to whether they were "within the market or below"and added that they would be able to determine this by the type of applicants who applied for the open positions. He stated that they might find that they had to increase salaries to attract and maintain the type of individuals they desired. Councilman Kavanagh asked whether the budget would allow for that and Mr. Pickering responded that it would. He also pointed out that although there was a starting salary, there was also a range, and that allowed some added flexibility should they find someone with extensive expertise. Vice Mayor Nicola noted that when the Town looked at its salaries and benefits, there were some people who would choose to go elsewhere because they want to be part of the Arizona State Retirement System and there were others who were going to think that the 11% match and a 401K was a good thing. It was an individual decision that each candidate for employment had to make. She said that was a nice benefit provided by the Town. Councilman Archambault asked when they would be seeing the salaries and Mr. Pickering responded that the pay plan would be presented to the Council in June. He said that they had made increases to the ranges due to the market and the Council would have the opportunity to review staffs recommendations in June. He added that the assumptions were included in the budget. Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 8 of 10 Councilman Kavanagh clarified that this year the Council did not have the "marathon sessions"they had in the past because this was a workshop to gather information and not the time to argue the pros or cons of different line çitems/positions. He stated that the Council had the packets in their possession for a couple of weeks and have had the opportunity to privately meet with both the Town Manager and the Finance Director where all of the little "nit- picky" questions were answered. He spoke in support of the manner in which the process had been conducted. He added that there would be discussion on the pros and cons and different parts of the budget at the actual adoption meeting. Vice Mayor Nicola agreed that they had all had the opportunity to meet with the Town Manager and said that sometimes the Town Manager looked for consensus to make any kind of changes. She said that one of her concerns was, on Page 64, when they looked at the budget again, the fourth paragraph down, no dollar amount had been identified for refunds to the Eagle Mountain Community Facilities District (EMCFD). She asked that at least three other Councilmembers requested that Mr. Pickering put in a number if they felt it is as important as she did. Mr. Pickering stated that he would include a figure. Vice Mayor Nicola said that she really appreciated all of the hard work that Mr. Pickering, Ms. Ghetti and the department heads had put into the budget and added that it was obvious from many of the changes that had been made that this was the best budget she had ever seen and she wanted to express her appreciation. Councilman Kavanagh asked whether the EMCFD figure was going to be added to the final finished budget and Mr. Pickering responded that it was. He clarified that the Vice Mayor was asking that it also be put in the area where they justified it as well. Councilman Archambault commented on the fact that the Town's goal was to work with the State Trust Land Commissioner and said $110,000 was budgeted for that purpose. He referred to Page 98 (Planning & Zoning Division) and said it talked about contractual services and asked whether the $20,880 and the $40,000 for the çGeneral Plan Amendment all part of the $110,000. Mr. Pickering confirmed that the amounts were all part of the total $110,000 and noted that they were also looking at having an aerial photograph of the Town done. He added that there would be legal fees as well and that was where all those monies would come from. Councilman Archambault asked whether they would have to do a new meets and bounds for Town prior to the General Plan Amendment and Mr. Pickering advised that that would be done during the annexation process if they were fortunate enough to be in that position. He pointed out that that would be large undertaking. Mayor Nichols stated that this Council had come to the meetings prepared, not only today, but at other Council meeting. He noted that in 2004,the average time of Council meetings was reduced by one hour and twenty minutes from the previous year. He said that the Councilmembers were doing their homework ahead of time and operating more efficiently and therefore more effectively. He thanked them for their hard work and commended them on their ongoing efforts to serve the Town. Councilman McMahan commented on the Public Information Officer position and said that it was his understanding that it was going to be expanded to include grant writing and community relations duties as well, a Community Relations Coordinator. Mr. Pickering confirmed that his understanding was correct. Vice Mayor Nicola stated that, as she had said to the Mayor and the Town Manager, she believed that a grant writer position should be a full-time position, dedicated to serving all departments. She expressed the opinion that it would more than pay for itself. She added that she also supported the Public Information/Community Relation's position but also believed that if they tried to add grant writing and reporting onto that job, it was going to be way too much for one person to carry out effectively and grant writing would not be carried out to the degree that she believed it should be. Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 9 of 10 • AGENDA ITEM#3- ADJOURNMENT COUNCILMAN MCMAHAN MOVED that the Council adjourn and COUNCILMAN ARCHAMBAULT SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present. The meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNT N HILLS By Wally ichols,Mayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Bevelyn J. Bender,.-Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work Study Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 17th day of May 2005. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 2nd day of June 2005. .' ''1v 'l Bevelyn J.,Render,Town Clerk Z:\Council Packets\2005\R6-2-05\Work Study 05-17-05 minutes.doc Page 10 of 10