HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012.0221.TCWSM.Minutesz:\council packets\2012\r3-15-12\120221wsm.docx Page 1 of 12
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE WORK STUDY SESSION
OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
AGENDA ITEM #1 – CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Vice Mayor Dickey called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers.
Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Vice Mayor Dickey,
Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember Brown, Councilmember Hansen and
Councilmember Elkie. Interim Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti, Town Attorney David Pennartz and
Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
Mayor Schlum was not present for the meeting.
AGENDA ITEM #2 – PRESENTATION OF PRELIMINARY TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS BUDGET FOR
THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2012, INCLUDING COUNCIL GOALS AND INITIATIVES AND
FUNDING.
Interim Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that
she would highlight a brief PowerPoint presentation on this item (Copy of the presentation is available on-line and in
the office of the Town Clerk). She explained that this is the first of many meetings that will be held on the budget and
said that this is an introduction that does not go into the details of the budget because they real ly need to go through
what the goals are. She noted that at the November Budget Retreat the staff presented a toolbox to the Council of
items to balance the projected shortfall that they know will be upcoming over the next few years. She stated that some
of those tools were moved forward for further discussion during the budgeting process and noted that no decisions
have been made yet -- this is just a starting point for discussion and dialogue on the budget. She added that staff hopes
to receive feedback from the Council and the public over the next six weeks before the draft budget is put together
(hopefully by the end of March). She indicated her intention to go over the toolbox options and their projected
revenues and expenditures, just for the operating budgets and then talk about the initiatives, which were the result of
staff getting together after the Goal Setting Retreat in January and develop ing initiatives to accomplish the Council's
goals. She said that staff will present those initiatives this evening and report whether there are any costs associated
with them. She stated that staff would like feedback from the Council as to whether they are on the right track and
whether they have missed anything.
Ms. Ghetti referred to a slide that depicted the toolbox options that are considered in the proposed budget for next year
and said that during the March 20th Budget Retreat/Work Study the staff will be looking for ratification of those items
that the Council would like staff to move forward with. The toolbox options included the following:
* Decreasing the recreation subsidy ($35,000)
* Staff reduction (hours, vacant positions - $104,000)
* Franchise Agreement ($600,000)
* Use of 10% General Fund Reserves ($60,000)
* Renegotiation of services of community contracts ($71,000)
* Recruit part-time Prosecutor ($50,000)
In response to a question from Vice Mayor Dickey, Ms. Ghetti clarified that she is presenting toolbox items that that
Council talked about at the Retreat in November and said that they have been included in the projections for the next
year's budget. She added that tonight's meeting is just about the goals and initiatives but she would be happy to talk
about the toolbox items as well if that is the desire of the Council.
The Vice Mayor commented that any changes would affect the goals and Ms. Ghetti sta ted that they are packaged
together but staff expects that some things will change. She noted that this is early on in the process and things are
very fluid; it is a work in progress. She said that staff expects that things will change but they will just move forward
and then see where they are at if that is okay.
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Ms. Ghetti further stated that at the November Retreat staff presented a toolbox parking lot, items not included in the
budget projections, which included:
* Increase employee contributions to health care and premiums ($122,000)
* Increase sales tax on telecommunications ($550,000)
* Reduce sales tax rate, replace with franchise, telecommunications tax ($570,000)
Ms. Ghetti said that there are a lot of issues to talk about tonight associated with increasing employee contributions to
health care and premiums.
Ms. Ghetti referred to a chart that reflected a five-year General Fund projection (at that time they were looking at a
$411,000 deficit next year, primarily due to the drop in State Shared Revenues, which is the result of the Town's
population decline due to the 2010 Census). She advised that things have changed for next year since November
including a State Income Tax increase of $369,000; the local sales taxes are projected to increase $100,000 (if the
economy continues to improve); the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) contract is $127,000 less than the
November projection ($150,000) and staff successfully negotiated a decrease in health insurance premiums by 11%.
Ms. Ghetti referred to a revised chart reflecting the five-year General Fund projection as of February 2012, that
includes all of the items discussed above as well as the toolbox items, and reported that the Town's fiscal sustainability
is resolved through at least the next five years assuming that everything stays the same and there are no changes in
services. She pointed out that the chart does include increase maintenance of infrastructure that was a priority with the
Council as well as the proposed franchise fee that Chaparral City Water will be requesting from the voters.
Councilmember Hansen asked what dollar figure is associated with the decrease in health insurance premiums and Ms.
Ghetti reported that health insurance costs decreased $60,000 overall for the whole Town.
Vice Mayor Dickey asked when the franchise agreement would kick in if it is successful and Ms. Ghetti responded that
staff is not exactly sure when that would be. When staff talked to Chaparral they said they would like the item to be
brought before the voters in March of 2013 so it depends on the success of that election and when the fee would
actually be put into place (not sure if there is a 30 day or 60 -day waiting period). She stated that staff is not counting
on that money for next fiscal year.
Ms. Ghetti briefly highlighted additional charts relating to revenues and expenditures for the operating funds as a
starting point for discussion. She discussed her intention to review each goal and the recommended initiatives that
staff has put together. She said that they hope that staff has interpreted what the Council wants to accomplish with the
various initiatives.
Councilmember Leger referred to Page 2 of 7 in the memo and requested that she address the newly proposed
expenditures. He noted that these are new items that have been added and Ms. Ghetti concurred. She explained that
the reason they were added is because if they have resolved the issue of the deficit, these items are ones that have been
put off for at least three or four years and it is becoming critical that they be put back into the budget. She said that
when staff put together the budget they addressed those items that need to be done. She said that a few of the items,
such as the cost of living/merit increase, does not represent a critical infrastructure need but it is something staff felt
was important (to reward the staff) and the increased toddler/teen events was an item that the Council indicated was a
priority along with a household hazardous waste event and the Law Enforcement and Fire/EMS contract -- these are all
things that the Council is going to see.
Councilmember Leger stated that when they look at the revised chart, they are not seeing the deficit and asked whether
the proposed expenses are included in the analysis.
Ms. Ghetti confirmed that they are in fact included.
Councilmember Leger commented that he knows they have been deferring maintenance as they go through the
financial crisis and discussed the ADWR (Arizona Department of Water Rights). He stated that there have been
discussions about pushing that back to the Legislature and seeing where they are at with that. He advised that he
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recently read that someone was introducing a bill take that off of local municipalit ies’ plates and asked whether staff
has any information on that.
Town Attorney David Pennartz advised that the bill has been introduced and he is not sure whether that bill came out
of Committee. He indicated his willingness to research this issue and provide the information to the Council.
Councilmember Leger asked Ms. Ghetti if the additional items are being driven by the fact that staff anticipates
$696,000 more than previously anticipated and Ms. Ghetti replied absolutely. She reiterated that this is merely the
introduction and they will be going through the budget line by line and a lot of things may change.
Councilmember Leger noted that when they engaged in the toolbox activity they were looking at a very different
number that drove a lot of the decisions that were made. He said he needs to go back and determine how academic
some of those decisions were given the fact that they now have almost $700,000 in additional revenue.
Ms. Ghetti advised that at the March Work Study staff will look for ratification of the toolbox items -- which ones the
Council wants staff to move forward with. She noted that in March the League update will occur and more
information relative to the sales tax, the vehicle license tax and HURF funds will be available so the numbers will
change slightly (in addition to any changes that the Council decides to make).
Councilmember Brown also referred to Page 2 of 7 and said that the largest number is $350,000 for major facilities
maintenance and asked if the Council will see an itemized list outlining exactly where that money is going and Ms.
Ghetti replied absolutely.
Vice Mayor Dickey stated that she believes the Council understands what the objective is at this point in time and
added that there will be much more information and discussion on this as t hey move forward. She said that one of the
things that she has been trying to find out is when the MCSO and Rural Metro contracts are actually up -- not just the
automatic renewals -- but the actual negotiation of the contracts. She added that she understands that at this point staff
is just asking the Council to look at the goals but noted that they do have a lot of questions as they look at the
information being brought forward.
Ms. Ghetti commented that that is why the staff is present this evening and stated that they can go as deep as the
Council desires. She acknowledged that the Council just received the materials last week and stated that she didn't
expect that they would have had an opportunity to review the information in any depth.
In response to a question from Councilmember Hansen, Ms. Ghetti said that the proposed merit increase would be
2.5%.
Ms. Ghetti continued her presentation and referred to and briefly discussed charts that contained revenue information;
General Fund expenditures; HURF revenues that staff is awaiting confirmation on ($1.4 million); Downtown Excise
Tax revenues; the new items that are being proposed in the budget for a total of $728,000; and a list of the Council's
highest priorities. She indicated her intention to review each of the goals and the proposed initiatives and requested
input/direction from the Council relative to anything that staff may have misinterpreted or missed.
Mr. Pennartz advised that the bill that Councilmember Leger referred to earlier is SB 1288. He reported that it passed
the Senate and has moved on to the House.
Ms. Ghetti highlighted the priorities as follows:
1. (C3) Genuinely solicit and consider public and stakeholder feedback as part of the decision-making process.
Ms. Ghetti advised that some of the initiatives that staff came up with were to create a budget committee that would
include two members of the public, possibly graduates from the Citizens Academy, solicited through a volunteer
program and said that although there would not be an actual fiscal impact, there would be an impact on staff time.
They would also conduct a statistically valid citizen survey, correlating to the previous statistically valid survey
($35,000 in the Town Manager's budget). In addition, staff will attend at least 12 meetings per year (one per month)
with community organizations, HOAs, etc. (no fiscal impact, however, staff time will be impacted); enhance the Town
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website to promote citizen feedback, comments on specific initiatives or general comment s; utilize telephone
technology to make calls to citizens to inform them of upcoming events, etc. Ms. Ghetti asked if the Council had any
questions or input on this item.
Councilmember Hansen referred to the proposed survey and asked whether that could be broadened to obtain feedback
from the citizens on different funding and revenue enhancements.
Ms. Ghetti stated that she believes they could do both with the second one being a little less formal or they could
combine them if that is the desire of the Council. She clarified that the $35,000 would cover the cost of both surveys.
The Vice Mayor noted that a Budget Committee already exists and asked if the intent is to have the two members of
the public participate as part of that committee. Ms. Ghetti replied yes, they would open it up to any citizens in the
community who have experience in this area and understand what the goals are.
Councilmember Hansen advised that she would prefer to see more enhanced citizen involvement (more than just the
proposed two citizens). Discussion ensued relative to the current composition of the Budget Committee and Ms.
Ghetti said they could appoint three citizens instead of two.
Councilmember Elkie suggested that they task current members of the Commissions to provi de input (i.e. charge the
SPAC, etc. with various responsibilities). He stated the opinion that the Commissions are underutilized. He said that
presentations could then be made to the Council by the Commissions relative to their specific tasks and
recommendations. He noted that this would be in addition to having citizens involved in the Budget Committee.
Vice Mayor Dickey concurred with Councilmember Elkie's suggestion.
Councilmember Leger stated that he believes that the intent during the Retreat with respect to Item #1 was to have
more citizen involvement/input relative to the budget and having a couple citizens appointed to serve in a greater
capacity. He added that he is very open to selecting/appointing however many members of the public they dec ide
upon to serve. He further stated that depending on how the survey is done and how well it is done, they can utilize that
as a way to tap into a needs assessment -- information that could be used in the budget process that would be coming
from the citizenry at large. He said he wanted to keep in mind how the survey could also be a vehicle for high
involvement in governance (having citizens prioritize what they would like to see the Council focus on in the budget).
2. (EV 1) Develop a comprehensive economic development strategy for the Town's future and work with our
partners to forward economic growth and awareness.
Ms. Ghetti stated that the economic development plan would be reviewed annually and staff would recommend
revisions as appropriate.
In response to a question from Councilmember Hansen relative to the status of this plan, Ms. Ghetti advised that staff
has been working on one and she believes it is in the final draft stage.
Economic Development Administrator Lori Gary advised that she int ends to wrap everything up before the end of this
fiscal year and stressed the importance of obtaining stakeholder input and feedback.
3) (EV 2) Develop and maintain a balanced, equitable, sustainable and local financing structure to support the
Town's core government services at desired service levels.
Ms. Ghetti explained that one of the initiatives is outreach to the community’s citizens regarding proposals that came
from the November toolbox Retreat; highlight individual proposals during the budget process and reemphasize
sustainability. She added that staff also included funds to update the Hocking Report (fiscal impact $25,00 0) if the
Council so desires. She said they would support Chaparral City Water with a franchise election in the Spring of 2013;
continue to work with partners and legislators on the creation of a Public Safety District and consider a public safety
fee on all property owners (similar to Paradise Valley). She said that the last item, the public safety fee, is something
she brought up for discussion purposes; it was not a Council generated initiative.
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Councilmember Leger agreed that it is important to update plans on a periodic basis but said that as far as the Hocking
Report, he feels that the recommendations contained in that report are still relevant today and he does not see a need to
spend money to update it.
Ms. Ghetti stated that the Report is referred to time and time again and it contains data that may be outdated. She
added that the decision on whether or not to update that Report rests with the Town Council.
Vice Mayor Dickey said that the last two initiatives outlined by Ms. Ghetti require more discussion. She added that
she thought they had decided not to pursue the Public Safety District (ultimately, it is a property tax). She further
stated that she would like to know more about the public safety fee and commented that she is not sure that she is
interested in spending time or resources on the Public Safety District initiative.
Councilmember Elkie suggested that this might be something for one of the Commissions to look at and investigate
and then forward their findings on to the Council.
Vice Mayor Dickey advised that she is in favor of getting information on this as long as they are not utilizing staff time
or resources. She noted that there are so many hurdles associated with this and the overriding aspect of it is that it is a
property tax and there is so much to that.
Fire Chief Scott LaGreca addressed the Council and informed them that the Paradise Valley fee is going through the
State Legislature right now. He said that when the bill does come out the Town would not be able to qual ify for it as it
is currently written because it is written for communities of 10,000 or less. He advised that if it does pass and it
withstands a legal challenge because it truly is not a fee, it is a tax, and there are groups that would go after it
immediately -- but if it does get through all that then if the Council desired to try to modify it to allow the Town to
participate that could be done. He stressed that this bill was written for Paradise Valley only. He added that should the
Town decide to run its own bill, with the assistance of the League for example, he would be willing to provide
assistance if desired but said he would wait until they hear what happens with the bill before proceeding in any
manner.
Councilmember Leger commented that he is not in favor of moving in that direction -- it is not something that was
brought up by Council and they have never discussed it. He noted that they are looking at the last two items in EV 2 as
possible revenue sources to support fire services and the General Fund and he believes it lacks other initiatives that
could jumpstart their economy, such as job creation and economic development. He added that he recognizes that they
are probably in a more specific area but nonetheless he looks at those types of things as a solution rather than what is
before them that is probably not even possible. He said that he would not support these two staff recommendations.
Ms. Ghetti stated that she believes she is hearing the Council direction as being to pursue further research on the Public
Safety District but not to spend more staff time and to use a Commission to conduct that research. She questioned
whether there is any Council support for the Public Safety fee or should it be taken off the table.
The Vice Mayor said that they have to come up with some solutions for how to fund the Town and she is not sure they
should pursue it at this time.
Councilmember Hansen expressed the opinion that it should remain on the table for now and if the y are going to have
some of the Commissions look at these things they should include every possible place to find funding because
whatever they can free up in that area would give them quite a bit of money to use for streets and may alleviate a bond
in that area.
Councilmember Elkie agreed that it should be something that a Commission looks at and it may be a moot point for
next fiscal year because even if it passes the Legislature, there would have to be an amendment for it to apply to the
Town. He added that as far as the Public Safety District, if set up similar to a Fire District, it could allay some of the
concerns the public has and may reduce the sales tax percentage and maintain the Town's streets as well without bonds.
Vice Mayor Dickey said that she believes this also leads to a bigger discussion about public safety -- when the contract
is up -- and what they are talking about on a higher level including looking at having their own Fire Department. She
added that if they are going to be talking about the best way to serve the community at the best price, a lot of
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discussion will have to take place (whether it has to do with changes in ambulance service or having their own Fire
Department versus continuing the contract). She noted that there would have to be another board and that would move
them away from having municipal fire and/or police departments.
Councilmember Elkie pointed out that a Public Safety District does not currently exist today in the Legislature and
there is a whole host of things that could be discussed. He stated that it is worth discussing and should go to a
Commission for further analysis and feedback.
Vice Mayor Dickey concurred and said it is worth having a discussion and further examination.
4. (EV 4) Promote retention, expansion and relocation of quality businesses.
Ms. Ghetti stated that the initiatives include expanding upon the outreach efforts in one of the target industry sectors to
encourage business locations that create new employment opportunities and increase daytime population; utilize the
trade area analysis to target recruitment efforts on those businesses/business sectors identified; encourage the location
of businesses along the Avenue that complement and support the existing business base (fiscal impact $42,000 total,
$8,000 from the General Fund and $34,000 from the Excise Tax Fund. A significant portion geographically falls
within the downtown area -- the retail, office and "Avenue" initiatives).
In response to a request from Councilmember Hansen, Ms. Gary clarified that the $42,000 is for the three initiatives.
She said that with this particular priority, (EV 4), the $42,000 would include developing and implementing integrated
marketing strategies and would include lead development and deploying a communications strategy for outreach
efforts in the targeted industry category as well as the trade area analysis, which is retail. She expanded upon what
would be included.
5. (I2, I9). Lower the reliance on State revenues by developing a locally controlled, reliable funding source for
infrastructure maintenance.
Ms. Ghetti advised that staff is proposing that an infrastructure maintenance fund for facilities, parks and fire be
created -- no roads; would require initial cash infusion of $500,000 and an annual contribution of $275,000 from the
General Fund (excluding the lake liner and park lights). Monies are not currently included in the budget. This would
be a dedicated fund with proceeds from an increase in the telecommunications sales tax; increase to 3.1% would
provide $275,000 per year. Capital Projects Fund could fund the initial and the new fund would be dedicated to the
infrastructure maintenance; sell assets that have become expensive to maintain and have limited future value.
Councilmember Brown requested that Ms. Ghetti provide examples of two Town assets that should be sold off because
they have become too expensive to retain.
Ms. Ghetti advised that the Town-owned Kiwanis Building is quite old and significant repairs are needed. She said
they have a lease with the Kiwanis group to lease that building but the Town does not receive any revenue from it
although the Town is responsible for maintaining it and doing the required repairs.
Ms. Ghetti said that other items that could be sold off could be assets like big equipment (a tractor or a street sweeper
for example).
The Vice Mayor stated that this item is reliant on having a telecommunication sales tax and Ms. Ghetti commented that
is not the only way they could do it -- they could fund it out of the General Fund. One option is to increase revenues to
fund it and another option is to put it in the General Fund and find the $275,000. The $500,000 could come out of the
Capital Projects Fund so they are not tied together so they couldn't do one without the other. She added that staff was
heading towards a dedicated fund (separated from the General Fund so it could only be used for infrastructure
maintenance).
Vice Mayor Dickey expressed the opinion that this is worth discussing but she is not sure how they would fund it. She
asked whether it would be worth doing the cash infusion without knowing they had a reliable $275,000 a year (do they
go together).
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Ms. Ghetti replied no, the Council could create the fund with the $500,000 and then if the decision is to find the money
in the General Fund that would mean that they would have to rearrange their priorities -- it would not be a dedicated
fund -- it would still be in the General Fund and the General Fund would be responsible for doing all of the
maintenance.
Vice Mayor Dickey stated that she is not sure about this and asked for input from the Council.
Councilmember Elkie commented that it is worth discussing further and the only concerns he would have is how the
fund would be set up and whether it would tie future Councils' hands if there was a budget shortfall (dedicated funds
must be used for the reason they were set aside). He added that additional information is needed.
Councilmember Leger advised that he would like to look at other options besides increasing the telecommunications
tax -- they have already said no to that several times and he is a little disappointed that this keeps reappearing as a
solution. He added that they need to pay as they go and if the money isn't there they have been very go od at adjusting
over the last few years and he would hope that they would continue to do that. He said this is like an unfunded
mandate and he doesn't want to depend on a source of dollars that they have already said no to several times.
Vice Mayor Dickey asked if the Council would like to leave the part in about selling off the assets. She said the older
equipment is one thing but she is not sure about selling off buildings.
Councilmember Leger stated that it has worked very well for the vehicle replac ement and in theory he agrees with
where staff is going with this. He said that if dollars could be set aside to set that fund up then he thinks they pay as
they go moving forward. He added that he does not want to take it off the table but he does not f eel comfortable with
an increase in the telecommunications tax because the Council has decided not to move in that direction on two
occasions, particularly because of the state of the economy.
Councilmember Hansen advised that she thinks it is good to have the fund and noted that when Mr. Mood provided a
report on all the facilities and all the things that are going wrong with them it became evident that a lot needs to be
done. She stated that she does not think that the Kiwanis Club would want to buy the building back because then they
would have to pay the property taxes and that is why they got rid of it in the first place. She suggested that perhaps
they could renegotiate the lease so that the Town would get rental revenues if there were any and those monies could
go towards the upkeep of the building.
Ms. Ghetti said that she is hearing that the telecommunications tax is off the table and the Council wants staff to come
up with other options for consideration. She stated that staff could certainly do that. She assured the Council that the
telecommunication tax will not come back.
Vice Mayor Dickey commented that she is not ready to say yes to the idea of putting $500,000 from the Capit al
Projects Fund into the initial fund and said she doesn't know if anyone else is.
Ms. Ghetti stated that when staff comes back in March to go line item by line item they will have another proposal for
the Council to consider but they will eliminate the one component of it.
6. (CR 7) Communicate the role of local government and clearly define the trade-offs between service levels
and amenities and the associated costs so residents can make informed choices.
Ms. Ghetti said that staff is recommending that the Citizens Academy continue; create a reader friendly report that
citizens can understand; move forward with the SPAC recommendation to create a sense of urgency regarding the
importance of residents and businesses taking responsibility to financially participate in the Town's infrastructure
maintenance and provision of basic services to protect home, land and property values; utilize the results of the
citizens' survey to compare to previous survey; citizens will communicate where we need to do better ; introduce the
idea of a property fire fee to cover the cost of fire and EMS protection.
There was no discussion on this item.
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7. & 8. (CR 2 and CR 3) Discover, recognize and utilize the talents of our citizens and use these assets to
address community needs.
Ms. Ghetti noted that these two items are related and reported that staff is recommending the following for Council
consideration: Advertise with a Request for Proposal for specific need or skill set that a member of the community
might have and want to offer his/her services to the Town and foster a culture of public service and volunteerism
through the annual Make a Difference Day.
Vice Mayor Dickey said she came across a website, www.timebanks.org, and accessed it. She stated that it is not
really about bartering, because everything is measured in time -- if someone did some legal work that took an hour
someone else could repay that hour with their skill or work (raking, weeding, etc.). She advised that this is very
widespread and maybe something staff could look into with their volunteers. Right now volunteers may offer to drive
someone somewhere and with this program, the person receiving the ride down the line could help that person by
doing something for them. She said that there are many examples on line. She added that they have talked about the
"nice to haves versus the need to haves" and stated the opinion that this might be well worth looking into and it would
help the volunteers. She requested that this or something similar be included in the toolbox.
Mr. Pennartz advised that his firm would look into procurement issues that might relate to that since citizens would be
getting something back for what they would be providing.
9. (R 2) Provide an interconnected multi-use trail and bicycle system that promotes active living, physical
activity and education and appreciation of our parks and natural resources.
Ms. Ghetti advised that if approved, staff would coordinate and promote activities with McDowell Mountain Regional
Park; coordinate with the Tourism Bureau to promote Town trails and a bicycle system as part of active living,
including a booth during the two fairs; new flyers would be distributed to Valley sports stores; promote FIT (Fountain
Hills Interconnected Trails); Urban Trails Plan - create a flyer for distribution, coordinate with Tourism, create new
Town webpage dedicated to healthy living, active lifestyles; and utilize FIT logo to promote trails with signage to
mark FIT stations.
There was no discussion on this item.
10. (R 13) Maintain a current condition assessment of all roadways and sidewalks and prioritize and implement
maintenance efforts to minimize costly reconstruction.
Ms. Ghetti said that the proposal is to update the Stantec Report (fiscal impact $35,000 in HURF budget) and evaluate
the post mortem on the bond with the public and prepare a new strategy for recommendation.
Councilmember Leger asked what the purpose of updating the Stantec Report is and Mr. Mood said that the update
would provide a current assessment of the roads. He added that they could also include taking some core samples of
some of the roads like Saguaro and Palisades and looking at their condition s but he could tell the Council what it is
going to say.
Councilmember Leger said he thought they had a pretty good gauge on the condition of the roads because they
reviewed the Pavement Management Plan, which is an off shoot of the Stantec Report, so he would be hard pressed to
support this funding when they already know where the Town's significant needs are.
Mr. Mood concurred and stated that this was just in response to the goal.
In response to a question from Councilmember Brown, Mr. Mood advised that the last Stantec Report was done in
2008.
Ms. Ghetti stated that staff will remove the proposed update per the Council's discussion but staff will evaluate the post
mortem on the bond and prepare a new strategy for recommendation. She noted that this was a Council priority so if
there is something else that staff should be doing she would appreciate the Council's input.
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Councilmember Elkie expressed the opinion that everyone would agree that the reason why the bond didn't pass was
because it was "too much and not specific." He added that he would be interested in learning what staff will be able to
gather but he will be surprised if there is something beyond that.
Ms. Ghetti indicated staff's intent to conduct the post mortem, report their findings t o the Council and come up with a
new recommendation.
11. (C 2 ) Support community events and activities that create opportunities to build community and friendship.
Ms. Ghetti stated that the intent is to do more events; network with promoters (Tourism contract); coordinate calendars
with McDowell Mountain Regional Park and Tourism; Tourism contract to include keeping up with future events,
contact hotels and restaurants to reach out to promoters.
There was no discussion on this item.
12. (CR 1) Foster an environment of accessible, responsive governance.
Ms. Ghetti said that the proposal includes upgrading citizen portal to be more user friendly, offer more options
(estimated $10,000 fiscal impact); and appoint a formal Ombudsman (perhaps a retired judge so they are impartial).
There was no discussion on this item.
13. (CR 6) Evaluate customer satisfaction with Town services on a regular basis and implement appropriate service
improvements.
Ms. Ghetti advised that this gets back to the statistically valid customer satisfaction survey ($35,000 fiscal impact,
using prior survey as a baseline); consider conducting a survey at least once every three years; develop customer
service performance measures utilizing the ICMA standards and soliciting citizen feedback through a mailer asking
how we are doing.
Councilmember Brown asked if the surveys would be conducted in-house and Ms. Ghetti replied that the statistically
valid survey would not be done in-house but the other ones would be.
Councilmember Contino said that he hears a lot from citizens about all the surveys that are conducted but stay in-
house. He added that what they need is to find out how citizens feel about what is going on in Town outside of this
building.
Ms. Ghetti stated that she thought they were talking about who would conduct the survey and if it was not a
statistically valid type of survey they could make it more accessible to the citizens -- put it out on the web or at the
Library and citizens could take them and fill them in.
Councilmember Contino stated that the more input they receive from the citizens the better off they are going to be.
Vice Mayor Dickey noted that the customer service surveys are from people who are here but the statistically valid one
is going to be much broader than just who has actually had interaction at Town Hall.
14. Other Public Safety
Ms. Ghetti advised that those items listed above were the Council priorities but they have a category called "Other,"
which the Council talked about but it was not part of the Strategic Directions. She said these are ones that do not
necessarily fit in there so that is why staff is calling them "Other." She noted that they have Other Public Safety and
stated that they talked at the Retreat about funding for the Posse based on specific deliverables, funding to come from
the contract with MCSO; propose a bond issue for the Fire Station and adding the CARE program to the Rural Metro
contract (fiscal impact $24,000).
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Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that she has since spoken with the Captain and he does not believe that it would be
functionally feasible to utilize the MCSO contract to fund Posse activities so if the Council wants to proceed with
contracting with the Posse for services, the funding would just come out of the General Fund.
Councilmember Brown referred to the proposed bond issue for the Fire Station and said he thinks that is a great idea
but he believes they need to go through a couple more years of recovery before they actually address this issue. He
agreed that they definitely need it but thinks they need to let the recovery system happen just a little bit longer before
they proceed with this project.
Vice Mayor Dickey pointed out that the budget still contains that item because she wants to have further discussion on
it as far as a regular budget item. She added that they still haven't talked about capital and how it relates to all of thes e
goals. She said that things like conducting the events will help.
Ms. Ghetti asked if the Council is directing staff to take the Fire Station bond issue out (it won't be in the Capital
Projects Fund). She said they did not budget for an election to be held for this purpose; it was currently unfunded. She
added that they could leave it in the Capital Projects Fund for discussion purposes when they talk about the capital
projects but staff will not include an election if that is the desire of the Council.
Vice Mayor Dickey advised that that is her opinion and said that one of the reasons they kept it in the budget was in
case a grant came along or something happened to allow them to do it (they wanted to be in a good position if that
occurred). She noted that she has not yet given up on it.
Councilmember Brown stressed that he has not given up on it either and reiterated that it is something that the Town
needs but if they have to take monies out of the General Fund or any other fund to do it at this time, he thinks it is a big
number to be dealing with during these economic times. He suggested that they sit on it and see what happens with the
economy.
Councilmember Elkie referred to the CARE Program being added to the Rural Metro contract and said they would be
paying Rural Metro who in turn would be funding CARE.
Ms. Ghetti concurred with Councilmember Elkie's statement.
Councilmember Elkie asked if there is anything the Council should be considering or talking about as far as funding
because CARE is a program that originated out of Fountain Hills (based initially on volunteers). He questioned
whether an issue of accountability exists if they are paying Rural Metro an additional $24,000 and Victoria is reporting
to Rural Metro. He asked whether she should be reporting to the Town.
Ms. Ghetti responded that the thought process associated with this is that the CARE Program is under the Fire
Department. She added that if the Town wanted to pay for that position that would be a new position for the Town and
it would have to be paid for separate from the Fire. She noted that when they have their own Fire Department they are
going to take all those people including CARE -- right now they are all paid out of the Rural Metro contract and they
report to the Fire Chief who reports to the Manager . She advised that it was not a position that staff wanted to add to
the Town so the way to do it is to have Rural Metro assume the responsibility for the employee and pay for it out of the
contract.
Vice Mayor Dickey commented on other programs that are run through Rural Metro and said they have their ways of
evaluating them. She said she believes she is hearing that this is something that should be part of the evaluation of the
whole contract.
Councilmember Elkie said at some point there will be discussion about what tha t $24,000 is paying for exactly, what
the deliverables are and what is expected of CARE for the additional monies that are being paid to Rural Metro for
sustaining that particular service.
Ms. Ghetti advised that staff will be prepared for that at the March meeting.
15. Other Tourism
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Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that she put all of the Tourism items into one and basically staff would be going back
to rebid the contract and they would include the following: Consider placing a Visitor Center downtown commercial
space (Tourism contract) staffed seven (7) days a week (unknown fiscal impact); promote Brand, including the Town's
trails; coordinate with the Town on events; coordinate events to capitalize on the two fair events (new events on either
side of fairs); communicate with event promoters for events; link to hotels, restaurants, etc., provide restaurant guides
to promoters; promote trails locally, nationally and internationally; trails on Tourism website, maps in packets and
partner with McDowell Mountain Regional Park to promote a trail that encompasses both organizations.
Ms. Ghetti noted that this is just a beginning dialogue.
Councilmember Hansen asked when Ms. Ghetti says "rebid" whether she really means "renegotiate" and Ms. Ghetti
said every year when they renegotiate this contract they end up with the same deliverables because they keep going
back to the original contract. She added that when she says "rebid" she is talking about a whole new set of deliverables
and a whole new contract so it would be a whole new bid.
Councilmember Hansen commented that they have "grown beyond the contract" and Ms. Ghetti concurred. She said
that they technically rebid all of these community contracts.
Ms. Ghetti advised that they originally entered into a three-year contract and this would be year six and all they have
done was just extend those contracts twice so this would be the third time. She said that if they do that (extend the
contract) it just brings them back to the old criteria and at some point they have to create a new contract that contains
the things that they want out of the Tourism contract.
The Vice Mayor said they can wait until the Town Attorney Andrew McGuire comes back to obtain some guidance on
that.
16. Other SPAC Initiatives
Ms. Ghetti stated that these are some initiatives that the SPAC put forward. She noted that they were tabled by the
Council and did not make the top priority list but she is bringing them forward for discussion as to whether they want
these items brought back at a public meeting or if they would like staff to include them in the budget.
Ms. Ghetti stated that EV 4 promotes retention, expansion and relocation of quality businesses; the goal would be to
move forward with strategy development for the two other target industry sectors for employment expansion; "health
care and social assistance," and "finance and insurance; " EV 6 - Identify a state of economic development tools and
strategies (including tax incentives, fee abatements, etc.) to stimulate ec onomic growth; and ELC 5 - Encourage access
to higher learning opportunities or the establishment of an educational or training campus within the community.
The Vice Mayor pointed out that they have "folded them" into what is before the Council and she thinks they are very
easily adaptable, particularly the first two, and the higher education goes alone with something else they wanted to talk
about -- multigenerational -- and she believes they can cover that when they talk about events and some of the other
things that have been included. She added that it feels to her that they are in there.
Ms. Ghetti said that she would want clarification on the last one, access to higher learning opportunities or the
establishment of an educational or training campus within the community, because that would require additional
resources.
Vice Mayor Dickey advised that when they talk about the theature and some of the potential uses and some of the
buildings that will be going down there this can be discussed. She added that she knows Ms. Gary would not say no to
someone who wants to go in there and do something. She stressed that education is actually a very good economic
driver but said they did come up with the other three niches and those are the priority. She sta ted that she would hate
to not see that a part of what they continue to do but she understands what Ms. Ghetti is saying.
Ms. Ghetti noted that if something came up staff wou ld definitely take a look at it but to actually recruit and find
incentives to get them to come here is the part that would take the work.
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Other Staff Proposals
Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that these are items that staff came up with at the end and includes rightsourcing for
all Town programs (something staff is going to focus on over the next couple of years) and eliminating street sweeping
(saves HURF approximately $100,000 per year).
There was no discussion on this item.
Unfinished Business
Ms. Ghetti noted that these are some "parking lot" items left over from the November Retreat for further discussion
and they include increasing the sales tax on telecommunications, which she heard is off the table and the same with
reducing the sales tax rate, replace with a franchise and telecommunications tax. She added that if the Council wants
staff to bring the latter item back for discussion, she would be happy to do that but she is going to eliminate these two
items based on the discussion this evening.
Ms. Ghetti indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council. She reiterated that this is just a first
glance at the budget, it will be on line and they will have more meetings an d a lot of discussion on this. She said that
they will meet to discuss this at a Special Session on March 20th and noted that they wi ll go over everything in detail,
line by line. She encouraged the Council and members of the public to come in to Town Hall, review the budget and
pose any questions they might have.
Vice Mayor Dickey thanked Ms. Ghetti for the presentation and the Council for the great discussion that took place.
AGENDA ITEM #3 – ADJOURNMENT.
Councilmember Leger MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Elkie SECONDED the motion. The
Work Study Session adjourned at 7:38 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
By __________________________
Ginny Dickey, Vice Mayor
ATTEST AND
PREPARED BY:
__________________________
Bev 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 in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 21st day of February, 2012. I
further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 15th day of March, 2012.
_____________________________
Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk