City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Council Work Session March 24, 2015 Fiscal Year 2016 Recommended Budget Review The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Conference Room. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Presiding. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Timothy P. Duffy, Bradford C. Ellis, Charlie L. Frye, Jr. and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Budget Manager Amanda Lickey, Public Works Director Doug Fawcett, Marty Schlesinger, Assistant Director of Public Works for Utilities, Josh Knight, Superintendent of Public Works, Deputy Superintendent of Public Works Adam McManama, Field Supervisor of Street Sanitation Ottawa Johnson, Fire Chief Eddie Allen, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Jones, Police Chief David Nye, Director of Information Systems Suzanne Tills, Assistant Director of Information Systems Misheck Mundia, Network Administrator Kemper Bane and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. General Fund Capital Budget. Budget Manager Lickey reviewed the General Fund Capital items that were to be replaced. They total about $825,000. See attached documents for more information. She also reviewed the summary of the Fiscal Year 2016 Capital Improvements FY16 Major Capital Projects. Budget Manager Lickey reviewed the Capital Projects for the following departments: Public Works, Public Facilities, Public Safety, Public Education, Water and Sewer. (See attachments for details). Councilor Kelly asked if the Fire Department was still actively looking for storage and Chief Allen said they were but they did not put the money in the proposed budget. 1 Future Capital Improvements Plan FY 2017 – FY 2020. Ms. Lickey also reviewed the Future CIP project for Fiscal Years 2017 through 2020. There was a small discussion on the safety of the canal bridge underpass and possible solutions to make people aware of how low it is. Councilor Kelly stated that he would like to see the public safety radio system upgrades be completed earlier than FY 2018, if possible. Chief Allen said they could if grant monies were received. Councilor Kelly also asked about the new cell at the landfill. He said the City would be responsible for half of the cost and he wanted to know where the funding would come from. Mr. Cameron explained that he R-Board would be paying debt service the City’s component of the VRE Loan using the hauler revenue. Councilor Kelly addressed his concerns with the CIP for the Schools. He was concerned because the City does not have the revenue. Councilor Frye asked if there could be any saving with the $9 million for the Riverfront Park and Assistant City Manager Whitley said there could be through the design or by phasing the project. Vice-Mayor Withers asked if staff could provide a list of what would be paid off in the out years and Mr. Cameron said that could be done. Trash Collection. Mr. Fawcett reviewed the expansion of the curbside trash collection program. There is a four phase approach to getting this program in place. (See the attached for more information). He explained that they learned from the pilot program that there was a shakedown period for the residents to get used to the new system and that was the reason for phasing the expansion. Mr. Fawcett said they would also work with those with medical exceptions and those that don’t have places to store the receptacles. They will also offer different size carts. Councilor Devine asked if the City should be looking at making trash collection mandatory for all residents. She said it concerned her that some of the employees are still picking up the containers. Mr. Fawcett said he had discussed this with the employees and he will continue to discuss this with them. Mr. Cameron added that it is important for the implementation to take place one step at a time because there are over 2400 customers that will need to be converted to the new system. He explained that there are big changes that they will 2 need to get used to. He would like to work with the 2400 customers and get them acclimated first before making trash collection mandatory for everyone. Councilor Ellis said when he lived in a small community they found it to work well by giving large recycle containers and 25 percent smaller trash containers. Councilor Kelly asked how close the City was in narrowing the gap in the cost of the service and actual cost and Mr. Fawcett said that would be difficult to do because the pilot program was only 15 percent and they have been focusing more on operational issues. He said there was some saving with moving to the once a week pick up and some personnel savings. He noted that they have picked up additional customers since the first of the month and this may be because of the new tipping fees at the landfill. Tax Rate Advertisement Decision. Ms. Lickey presented the proposed tax rate at $0.03 per $100 valuation she asked Council what rate they would like to advertise. After a little discussion Council decided to advertise $0.04 per $100 valuation. Conflict of Interest Declaration. 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 employees of the Fredericksburg Public Schools. Councilor Duffy declared that he was a member of a business, profession, occupation or group of three or more members affected by the transaction, namely employees of the Fredericksburg Public Schools. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the work session officially adjourned at 7:04 p.m. ___Tonya B. Lacey_______ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 3