City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. THOMAS J. TOMZAK, MAYOR HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, VICE MAYOR CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. GEORGE C. SOLLEY, WARD TWO HON. FREDERIC N. HOWE, III, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. BEATRICE R. PAOLUCCI, WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Council Work Session March 29, 2012 Fiscal Year 2013 Budget The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Thursday, March 29, 2012, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Conference Room. Council Present. Mayor Thomas J. Tomzak, Presiding. Vice-Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Bradford C. Ellis, Frederic N. Howe, III, Beatrice R. Paolucci and George C. Solley. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Budget Manager Amanda Lickey, and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Fiscal Year Budget 2013. Councilor Devine declared that she was a member of a business, profession, occupation or group of three or more members affected by the transaction, namely she is an employee of the Fredericksburg Public School Board and that she is able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. Mayor Tomzak declared that he was a member of a business, profession, occupation or group of three or more members affected by the transaction, namely he is an employee of the Fredericksburg Public Health Department and that he is able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. City Manager Cameron reviewed the topics for discussion as the goals and objectives, new positions and programs, capital budget and the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). He explained that the goals and objectives serve as the guide for program evaluation and resource allocation. Mr. Cameron said when they developed the budget they were guided by Council’s nine goals and objectives. In addition to setting the objectives Council provided guidance by prioritizing the objectives using pair wise comparison. The two objectives that were on the top 1 of the priority were the promotion of economic vitality and improve governance and communication. He explained that they were heavily guided by those priorities especially in regards to discretionary funding. New Positions. Budget Manager Lickey stated that they used a budget committee and the pair wise comparison to determine which positions should be recommended in the budget. The department heads who requested positions were required to provide how the new position would provide better service to the citizens, how it could provide a cross-departmental benefit and benefit the city as an organizational whole and how the new position fit into Councils goals and objectives. The proposed positions were as follows: Public Information Officer (PIO): this position allows the City to improve communications, it was indicated on the National Citizen Survey as an area that needed improvement and it is key to improving performance on Council’s Governance and Communications Goal. This was the top choice of positions recommended. Councilor Solley asked if the PIO position would be similar to the police PIO position in the police department and whether this person would be able to get information out to the public before people come to erroneous conclusion. He said this would take planning and he wanted to know if this person would be allowed to develop those procedures and policies Mr. Cameron said it would be like the position at the Police Department ,but with an expanded roll to include working on the website as well establishing a presence on others social medias and he would allow that person to develop those procedures. Councilor Ellis warned that there will also be a cost for the means of this position in addition to the salary for the position. Councilor Solley said the better the communication to the public the better they trust the government. Vice-Mayor Greenlaw agreed she stated once they are informed the have a better chance of making an educated decision. Councilor Paolucci stated that she understood that Governance and Communication was the highest ranking goal, but she feels strongly that the organizational study should be completed first. She said there may be someone in the network that can do the job. Mr. Cameron stated that the funds are still available for the study, but staff has not had the time to get it done this year and the funds would be carried over into FY 2013 budget. 2  Councilor Devine said she doesn’t see this position as a full-time position at this point. She mentioned a previous position that pick up some of these task but she funneled information rather than creating the information and it didn’t work as it should have. Councilor Solley asked if it could be accomplished by a part-time or by a contracted position. He felt there was enough agreement that the City needed better communications and he didn’t feel a study would change that. Councilor Ellis put forward two proposals: Insuring that the study was going to be done and resurrecting the rental housing program, but he said with the study the City may find out that after the rental program may only need one additional person to help with the program. Councilor Paolucci suggested that the study would show that certain positions could work more with each other and break some of the barriers. Councilor Howe said knowing that everyone was in agreement that the position was needed, he suggested doing the study but in the interim hire a contractor to do this position and if the study determines the position was not warranted then the position could be abolished. The contractor could develop a process for the person to be hired. Vice-Mayor Greenlaw suggested having a contractor develop a communications plan and then the City could hire a person to carry out the plan. She said without the plan it would be difficult for the position to be successful. E911 Dispatcher: currently there are four rotating shifts with three employees per shift that provide 24/7 coverage for 911 calls for police and fire transmissions. This position increases the ability to meet 911 call demands, as well as help with managing the communications with staff on the scenes of calls for service and to conduct law enforcement, fire and rescue activity and after hour utility notification. The position would also allow for three communication stations to be operational with the option of a fourth during peak times allowing the shift supervisor to provide both managerial and service support. Ms. Lickey also noted that an organizational review of the 911 Center had been completed by the Police and Fire Chiefs and the position would help to move towards implementing recommended service level improvements. After a brief discussion council agreed on the position. Mechanic for FREDericksburg Regional Transit: this position would be paid out of the transit fund and not the general fund. Operating grants would pay 50 percent of the cost for salary and benefits, Fredericksburg’s portion would be 17.5 percent. Currently the fleet manager is the only certified mechanic on staff to maintain 37 vehicles. This position would 3 help in keeping the FRED fleet of buses at their peak performance. After a brief discussion council agreed on the position. Assistant Director of Public Works: this position would be a split between water and wastewater. This position was a key recommendation of the Water/Wastewater Rate and Management Study. This position would oversee operations, assist with capital planning and assist with implementation of other study recommendations. Councilor Howe suggested waiting until the study was completed before hiring a permanent person. It was noted that a study had already been completed for this department. Councilor Solley stated that out of all the positions this is the most important of them all. Mayor Tomzak agreed stating there were many people watching to make sure things were done right. Councilor Howe said during the study he suggested outsourcing some of the work in that department such as the meter reading and such and those employees could be repurposed. He would like this to be looked into because he thinks the costs could be cheaper. He would still like this included in the organizational study. Council agreed with the position. Assistant City Manager Whitley reviewed the positions that were not recommended in the proposed budget: Emergency Medical Service Technician, Zoning Inspector, Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities also requested a variety of additional staff to supplement service and Building and Development requested tracking software for the permit system. Councilors asked the cost for the tracking software system and what it would do. Staff stated that the cost was approximately $100,000 and Information Technologies said it would be a 20 percent yearly maintenance cost. Staff also explained that the software would only help with building permits and not with the types of concerns Council had been hearing about. Councilor Ellis asked if it would help speed up the process of getting the permits. Councilor Howe said he would be agreeable to anything to help support the businesses in the building and development process. Councilor Solley asked if there were plans to hire additional staff for the two trails coming on line. Mr. Cameron said there was no plans, but they have an idea on where the deficiencies were and what positions would be needed. 4  Councilor Devine asked if the fire positions were new positions or certification for existing fire personnel. Mr. Whitley stated they were new positions to be adding to the existing 12-14 paramedics in order to extend coverage. Councilor Howe asked if the City could start contracting out some positions as full-time employees leave until the study is completed. Mr. Cameron said the City already does contracting in Public Works and Parks and Recreation at various times of the year, but he said there could be opportunity for more. Main Street Program – which is designed to create a cooperative and cohesive downtown marketing group. The recommended budget has $30,000 in it, which is the City’s portion to support the program. Staff said they were recommending the City’s portion be available depending on the results of the merchants association and the creation of the program. Councilor Solley asked if they have to be officially a main street program before the funds become available. Mr. Cameron said he has not decided, but he would like to see a business plan before the City gives them any money. Capital Improvements Plan – Mr. Whitley reviewed the CIP projects. The Public Facilities projects included technology replacements ($268,000), Energy retrofits to improve energy efficiency in the Police Headquarters and the parking garage ($120,000), Roof replacement at Fire Station I ($50,000) and VCR Pathways ($1,650,000). Councilor Devine asked what the goal was for the retrofits. Mr. Whitley said with the parking garage the retrofits included the lights and he explained that it’s not just energy efficiency, but they were having trouble with the maintenance on them. She was a little disappointed that retrofits were needed on such new buildings. Ms. Lickey said the retrofits for the Police headquarters were for the HVAC. Councilor Ellis asked for an explanation of the $125,000 in contingency for public facilities and whether this would be the source for the retrofit cost. Mr. Whitley explained that there is a need for public facilities to have access to a small contingency of funds for things that come up because the budget is too tight to pay for those items. The Public Works CIP projects include the Riverfront Park ($200,000), asphalt and concrete repairs ($800,000), Fall Hill Avenue over Canal Bridge ($2,100,000) and culvert replacements ($100,000). 5  Councilor Ellis said members of the Idlewild Subdivision HOA had spoken with Public Works two years ago about the curbing throughout Idlewild which had been damaged by snow removal trucks and nothing had been done to fix the problem. Councilor Ellis wanted to know the status. Mr. Whitley said he would check into it. Public Safety – Mr. Whitley said there was $200,000 proposed for ambulance replacement for the rescue squad and he noted that Fire Station 3 was still in the plan but not until 2017. Public Education – Mr. Whtiley explained that there were four big projects coming in the near future: Walker-Grant roof replacement, Walker-Grant HVAC replacement, Original Walker-Grant renovations and Hugh Mercer School expansion. There was also $55,000 proposed this year for cottages at Hugh Mercer Elementary. Court Facilities – Mr. Whitley reviewed the draw schedule on the main project as: FY 2012 - $3,186,459; FY 2013 - $12,305,693; FY 2014 - $16,342,125; FY 2015 - $3,430,663. The draw schedule included the FY 2013 Capital Budget and the future years are in the CIP. Water – the proposed budget was less than what was proposed in FY 2012 based on the study, but it has allowances. Wastewater – the proposed budget also has less proposed than in FY 2012. There is $3 million proposed for FY 2015, but Mr. Whitley proposed to bond it. Staff Response to Request for Additional Public Hearings – Jobs and Economic Development: the Economic Development and Tourism Department budget includes $7,500 additional funds for Civil War Sesquicentennial, but it did not include a funding request for Retail Sales Study. There was a budget supplement request in the 2012 budget for the study to jump start the work, but Council did not approve the request. Staff was requesting level funding for most line items. The Regional Tourism Programs which are grant funded and it included a transfer to Regional Consumer Marketing which is being level funded for $121,000 and the there was also a transfer to Regional Group Tourism. The City’s share has increase by $10,000 to $50,000. BPOL Tax Reduction – Mr. Whitely explained that the BPOL tax had various degrees of expense and there were three different brackets. He said it gives staff some options to work with. Staff was not suggesting eliminating the BPOL tax, but he noted that the BPOL generated over $5 million in general fund revenue and if it were eliminated it would require substantial reductions in spending and or a substantial increases in the real estate tax rate. 6  Councilor Howe asked if an incentive program could be created to reward veteran businesses while trying to reduce the BPOL as a potential business retention. Discussion continued on the General Assembly decision to give localities the ability to reduce the BPOL to the Virginia State Income Tax. Councilor Howe stated that he would like to start the dialogue so that the City can start doing something now for next year. Public Education – staff suggested level funding for the schools transfer in the amount of $24,928,000 as requested by the School Board. There was a proposed transfer to schools grants for the Head Start program in the amount of $215,000. Staff also proposes a $200,000 transfer to support school capital needs and payment of $3,433,092 for a payment towards the City Schools debt service. In FY 2013, City will fund $200,000 of the Schools Capital Improvements. At the close of FY 2011, the Schools Operating Fund transferred $1.58 million to the Schools Capital Fund for various projects which included setting $100,000 aside for architectural and engineering (A/E) services on the Walker-Grant roof as well as $500,000 to go towards the original Walker-Grant project for A/E services. Mr. Whitley stated that there may be an opportunity to set aside monies again in this budget. The schools have four major projects coming in the future: Original Walker-Grant Renovations A/E services; Original Walker-Grant construction; Hugh Mercer Elementary (HMES) addition; Walker-Grant roof replacement and Walker-Grant HVAC replacement. Councilor Devine stated that if there was opportunity to move funding around it should be used for the HMES because the kids were younger and the cottages have changed the environment. She reminded Council the more multiple housing they approve the more students you are going to have and she said the models for the new projects do not work very well. Councilor Howe suggested having some policy when those projects come forward for approval. Councilor Devine suggested that the City start looking at all the budgets and how the students are going to affect it. Historic Downtown and Riverfront - $200,000 had been placed in the FY 2013 Public Facilities CIP fund for design of the park. $30,000 has been set aside for the Main Street program, which will support historic downtown. There will be policy change for water and wastewater availability fees for smaller meter sizes where the uses changed but not the service size. The asphalt program, also included in the capital budget, tentatively includes William Street from Caroline to Sophia Street. In the future year, the program will include Williams Street from Kenmore to Caroline Streets. The current projects in the downtown include the 7 improvements at the intersection of Sophia and William Streets, pedestrian signals at several intersections on the edge of the historic district, impact of the Unified Development Ordinance, $200,000 allowance for streetscape and other downtown improvements such as painting of City-owned streetlights. Mr. Whitley explained that there are many operations that were woven into the operating budget such as one full-time laborer in street sanitation for downtown, other services were police and fire and he noted the acquisition of the Masonic Lodge. Councilor Howe addressed the concerns of the riverfront stabilization before anything was done with the Riverfront Park. Councilor Solley explained that stabilization was done at the George Street portion and the Riverfront Taskforce was looking at the river bank as part of the plan. Courts Project – Mr. Whitley stated that the project will have both positive and negative impacts during the construction period. Staff stated that they were hoping that the end result would be a major transformation to the intersection to the Princess Anne and Charlotte Streets. Mr. Whitley reviewed the general fund transfer to debt service. The sources of funding for the courts were through bond proceeds and new court construction fee. The bond proceeds were issued in 2011, and they will remain available to the new court capital fund until it’s drawn down based on project expenditures. The money is not available to be repurposed to education, parks, or other public uses. The bonds represent a general obligation of the City, and the debt service must be paid. The new court construction fee was a small court fee available to the City on a per-conviction basis because the courts were certified by the state as being substandard. It is estimated to earn $50,000 a year. The Renwick building –any remaining balances in the court fund would be used to renovate the building. The remaining balances would include any amounts remaining from the $1 million transfer in FY 2011and any amounts remaining from any savings that are realized from the continued refinement of cost built into the project. Councilor Howe asked for an explanation on where the money was coming from for the $1.3 million interest only payment on the courts. Mr. Cameron explained that the money was coming from the General Fund Revenues. Councilor Howe expressed his concern that monies were being taken from revenues that could be used for a number of other city projects instead of increasing the taxes as it was originally presented to citizens. He stated to staff that he would like a list of projects that the City would like to do but couldn’t because of the court 8 costs. City Manager Cameron respectfully disagreed and stated that the tax increase was a projection that may have to occur. He explained that the City has been able to pay the interest only payment on the court in the amount of $1.4 million for the current revenues. Those revenues would be available next year as well. The additional debt service payment on the court project next year would be another $750,000 for a total of $2.14 million. Next year for the court project debt service, the City will have to come up with another $750,000 of annual revenues and it may come from a variety of sources one of which may be a real estate tax increase. Councilor Solley said it is always the intent for the budget manager to get the best deal for the City and it shows in the City audits, the credit ratings and the finances from year to year. Council Howe stated that his argument was that because of courts there were many projects put on hold and he requested that as Council goes through the process that they disclose that due to the decision to build the courthouse that the City has had to forgo these other projects. Several members of Council stated that that was a false statement because that is not how they make their decisions. Public Hearing Requests – staff suggested advertising all four additional hearings to be held concurrent with the budget and tax rate public hearing on Tuesday, April 17 and they will be continued on Thursday, April 19. Council did not agree with meeting on April 19 but they did agree to hold the hearing open until the April 24 meeting. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was declared officially adjourned at 7:45 p.m. _____Tonya B. Lacey_____ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 9