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. JASON N. GRAHAM, 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 April 9, 2019 Joint City Council/School Board Budget The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the Executive Plaza on the third floor. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Presiding. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr., Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Timothy P. Duffy (via phone), Charlie L. Frye, Jr. (5:22), Jason N. Graham and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen A. Dooley, Economic Development Director Bill Freehling, Business Development Manager Angela Freeman, Budget Manager Deidre Jett, and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. School Board Present. Vice-Chair Jennifer Boyd, Jannan Holmes, Kathleen Pomeroy, and Elizabeth Rehm. School Board Absent. Chair Malvina Rollins-Kay and Jarvis Bailey. Other School Representatives Present. Superintendent David Melton, Assistant Superintendent Marceline Catlett, Chief Financial Officer David Baker, Chief Administrative Officer Dr. John Russ, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Harry Thomas, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Sue Keffer and Assistant Clerk Rebecca Christopher. School Budget. City Manager Baroody welcomed the School Board and staff. He stated that he and Dr. Melton had been meeting on a regular basis to discuss budget matters. Mayor Greenlaw also stated that the working group had also been meeting regularly and sharing wishes and budget realities. Vice-Chair Boyd presented a PowerPoint presentation and in the presentation she highlighted the Fiscal Year 2020 General Operating Fund, Enrollment Growth, Building Capacity, Class Size, Justification of the Operating Budget, Challenges if Not Addressed, Priorities of 1 Financial Needs and Looking Forward. The budget request totaled $47,974,568 which is $3,347,779 or a 7.5% increase from the approved FY2019 budget. Ms. Boyd listed significant budget drivers as position growth, enrollment growth and health insurance. Ms. Boyd explained the School Board’s justification of the budget request first was to allow a 5% salary increase for all staff, hiring additional new staff members and 12% health insurance increase. She also showed a local salary comparison chart which shows where the teachers’ salaries are and where they need to stay and she showed a chart with the salary increase comparison. (See Attachment I for more information). Dr. Duffy disclosed that he was an Assistant Principle at James Monroe High School but that he could participate in the transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest. Councilor Frye disclosed that his spouse works for the Fredericksburg City Public School but that he could participate in the transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest. Councilor Graham asked about the administrative position for the new ERP program and Mr. Baker explained that the new Munis Software put more of the processing such as VRS on the Human Resources Department and they have never don’t this type of work before. He explained that they cannot keep up with the volume because the payroll department has not grown over the years although the budget and staff has. Mr. Grham also questioned the increase in the clerical line and Mr. Baker explained that they were attempting to correct budget codes for some clerical staff who were in incorrect categories under the old accounting system. Ms. Boyd said there had been a lot of questions in the community about the 5% pay increase for all staff to include the superintendent and she noted that the School Board makes that decision not the Council. Councilor Devine expressed her concern with the International Baccalaureate Program. She was concerned because of the low numbers and the high costs of the program. Ms. Boyd responded stating that it takes time to develop and she noted the larger impact was in the critical thinking and cooperative work by students. She said the board would continue to evaluate the progress of the program. Dr. Melton noted that the City schools were not members of the Governor’s School and parents wanted something other than the Advanced Placement Courses. Dr. Catlett noted that the IB program aligned perfectly with the State’s new profile for graduation requirements. Councilor Devine asked about the teacher turnover, she was aware that salaries was one of the reasons but she asked what other reasons there might be. Ms. Boyd said the Board has a new focus on cultural matters relating to the school division and improving the culture. Ms. Holmes added that they have a new teacher’s mentoring program to try and help with teacher retention. Dr. 2 Melton added that there were discipline issues and with the hiring of more teachers those issues should be lowered. Vice-Mayor Withers noted that the salary scale for teachers had been compared to other localities and he asked whether the same had been done for the administrative scale. Ms. Boyd said the total increase for administrators was small. Vice-Mayor Withers said he wanted to be sure the lower paid employees received compensation in order to make a decent living. He also asked where the local composite index came from and Mr. Boyd explained that it was calculated from the percentage of low income population, real property, taxable income and sales tax. Dr. Melton said they have been to court twice regarding the Composite Index and the State won both times. Vice- Mayor Wither said the five percent increase was a good increase. Councilor Frye mentioned the workforce development program offered by the University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College. He said the workforce development programs were needed for the 64 percent that do not go to college. Councilor Kelly thanked the School Board for working with the City council and allowing the Council to have the working group. He noted that it would be difficult for the City to keep up with other localities because of the composite index ratio therefore there was a need to think outside the box. Councilor Devine asked whether anything could be done about the non-resident students that attend and may not pay tuition. Dr. Melton said they get a few reported each year and once a person has been reported they give them so many days to enroll and pay or the student is removed. He also noted that currently, they are not accepting any new tuition applications. Councilor Frye asked if anything could be done with the annex building to help with capacity and Dr. Melton explained that the cost to renovate that building 9 years ago was $250- $300/square foot and today it is $400-500/square foot. He noted this was costly compared to $200/per square foot for new construction. Mr. Frye asked shat the school board felt about the working group and Ms. Boyd said the working group has been critical and she see added benefits from meeting but she would like to see the discussion expand with the Council and School Board. Ms. Rehm said the discussions generated are valuable and they help with problem solving and help to understand where the money goes. Councilor Graham suggested going to a multi-year budget to help with future planning. Councilor Kelly agreed that would make sense to mirror the state budget process. Mayor Greenlaw thanked Ms. Boyd for her presentation and she said the Council was looking at the building capacity and the need for additional space. 3  Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time. Mayor Greenlaw declared the session officially adjourned at 6:45 p.m. _Tonya B. Lacey _______ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 4