Finance Committee

Office of the Clerk of Council City of Gahanna 200 South Hamilton Road Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Finance Committee Michael Schnetzer, Chair, Karen J. Angelou, Ryan P. Jolley, Thomas R. Kneeland, Brian D. Larick, Jamie Leeseberg, Stephen A. Renner Kimberly McWilliams, CMC, Clerk of Council Monday, November 24, 2014 Council Committee Rooms Immediately Following Committee of the Whole Members: Present 6 - Brian D. Larick, Jamie Leeseberg, Karen J. Angelou, Michael Schnetzer, Stephen A. Renner, and Thomas R. Kneeland Absent 1 - Ryan P. Jolley Additional Attendees: Mayor Stinchcomb, City Attorney Ewald, Chief Murphy, Lt. Spence, Dottie Franey, Matt Holdren, Sue Wadley, Rory Gaydos, Tony Collins, Anthony Jones, Clerk McWilliams. Schnetzer called Finance Committee to order at 7:56 p.m. PENDING LEGISLATION ORD-0163-2014 TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, OHIO DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 2015. Attachments: 2015 Appropriation-1 2015 Budget Message from the Mayor 2015 Proposed Budget APPROPRIATION ORD - FINAL Schnetzer has not received any in depth questions and making the assumption that due to the complexity of the document that more time is needed; without a list of questions to come his way it is difficult to come up with a structure; would like to open the floor for discussion; Angelou inquired on the TIF, if they are preforming well, what are the things that cause this; is this a typical thing, are there specifics; Teal replied can be prepared for next committee meeting; Schnetzer preferred email to encourage discussion and preparedness; Larick noted next opportunity on Monday to get the word out; inviting the City of Gahanna Page 1 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes November 24, 2014 community for input to get as many eyes on budget document as possible; proposed to Council to put an amount in Council budget for contract services; same as last year and some is already in the document, but requesting the full amount be put back in; amount to provide assistance and support to the administration for projects and initiative and permit resources to be brought to the table providing expertise and skills for areas that can be addressed, but require additional leverage; Schnetzer inquired if what Larick is asking is bumping the current request of $15,000 for contract services to $100,000; Schnetzer inquired how much of the $100,000 was spent; Teal noted total was a $10,000 cost and $35,000 for a total of $45,000 encumbered; Schnetzer inquired based on those figures is the $100,000 a good amount; Larick confirmed, it is a good place to be; Schnetzer inquired on Police Department current run-rate in a 5 year projection show a $250,000 costs for vehicle replacement; would like to add calcification for what vehicles are being replaced; Franey replied prior to 2008 equipment was replaced by age; now replacement is based on multiple criteria; in 2012 the next phase determines how much would it cost if every year you could budget on a fixed amount; considering a set budget, how much would it cost; $250,000 amount was decided upon and would be the yearly request each year for the police department equipment; in 2013 Police Department received $250,000 and was reduced to $100,000 in 2014; intention is to get a set amount and could budget based on guaranteed amount; Angelou inquired after the $250,000 amount they wouldn’t need more allocations for this matter; Franey confirmed; felt strongly that if they had a set amount they wouldn’t have to ask for a cent more; Larick inquired what year the ten cruisers were acquired; Franey replied 2008; Spence clarified it was 2012 into 2013; Franey would ask that even though it was a lump purchase replacements are not based on age, but multiple criteria; might need to replace all or significantly less; Stinchcomb noted criteria: mileage, maintenance, accidents, history; Larick noted ten cars authorized, five came on in 2012 and five came on in 2013, and the $250,000 in 2013 was for the five cars, is that correct; Spence confirmed some of those; Franey additionally clarified they could have been from a previous appropriation as the process of acquisition is lengthy; Angelou noted maintenance rotations and new program where the same officer drives the same car; Spence confirmed an assigned fleet program; instills ownership of the vehicle from the officer and utilizes as many up-hours as possible from the vehicle; Angelou noted if they want to save $250,000, they can spend on a higher price item in the future; Spence confirmed, no money was spent from the $100,000 allocation this year; Kneeland inquired if the $250,000 covers total cost of ownership for the vehicle and up fitting; Spence confirmed, the cars are life cycled and it covers the total life-cost of the vehicle. City of Gahanna Page 2 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes November 24, 2014 Angelou inquired about the golf course gas tank replacements, they have a twenty-year life cycle, intention to position the new tanks above ground; Franey replied tanks have been in there for 20 years and they are approaching a high-risk time frame; replacements should be considered; also experimenting with alternative fuel sources like propane to lower costs; Angelou inquired since they may use alternative fuel sources, would there be any grants; Franey noted they would look into grants; Angelou inquired if the tank replacements are a necessity; Franey noted tanks have to be manually checked and verified for no leaks each year, but the longer it goes the more of a concern; Schnetzer inquired what the risk would be if there was a leak; Franey noted it is very messy; Angelou noted only twice in Gahanna history we have had gas leaks, we could get through another year, but not without increasing concern; Schnetzer noted a risk assessment; if damage is hypothetically $100,000, but the tanks are $50,000 then it is a good choice to replace the tanks. Angelou inquired with the safe routes to school at Cherry Bottom; pathway planned on a right-of-way near a property; issue has been resolved with the property owner; Priestas confirmed all are agreeable. Schnetzer noted on page 159, inquired on potential bonding on Detroit streets and Big Walnut Trail; Teal replied intention was to be clear on differentiating the model which is the inclusive five-year plan for long-time sustainable operations for the city, and budget request which is the actual appropriation passed by Council; sustainable operating model can accommodate the anticipated debt service for completed 1/3 of the City’s remaining Detroit St. rebuild and a high priority section of the Big Walnut Trail, but did not include in the appropriations request the cash to pay the debt service, because there is no bond deal; wouldn’t be able to tell cost now, but required funds to handle appropriations; would look in January to bring a proposal forward to Council for those two pieces; Leeseberg inquired projection sustainable, but not in the appropriation; Teal confirmed; Angelou noted another fee onto license plates, if passed cities would have permission to do it; at state level passage and well received; Teal has followed the legislation; would be good to have funds; Angelou inquired if we still have a process in place to determine if the plates required to be purchased in Gahanna are so purchased; Teal noted Columbus audits annually; Gahanna has not done an audit recently; noted Columbus went to GIS system and the number of auditing errors diminished considerably; computer does it at the time of registration; gain and lose license plate; get the net of winners and losers; and thus, most cities found it no longer of their best interest to spend money on auditing the plates; Angelou noted potential to help with funding. City of Gahanna Page 3 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes November 24, 2014 Kneeland inquired about the sidewalk extension on Flint Ridge Dr., is it identified in the binder; Jones replied outside of the project scope and would come from TIF funds, but does not permit current building with our current funds; Kneeland noted spending for the project now and recouping with TIF revenue; noted elderly pedestrians and traffic increases will pose increasing risk; Franey clarified under priority 3, $10,000 for design in 2016 and anticipated costs at $214,000; outlined on page 61 in the capital needs assessment; Angelou inquired if that would fit the project into safe routes for school; Jones replied he doesn’t think it applies, will investigate; Priestas noted and will review, but has to be considered under school travel plan to count; Kneeland clarified concern with it being a priority 3; can’t be 1, because economic development is key, but concerned with safety issues; with onset of development there will be new residents in neighborhood and is unsafe. Schnetzer noted 2014 reassessment year for county; Jones added receiving first installment; Schnetzer noted Cable Franchise Fee; how susceptible that is to reduction; what is the driver of that fee; Franey noted cable franchise fees are compensation for using public right of ways; $500,000 range for five years, before for two years was in $400,000 range, and even further back at $300,000; very stable increase; are provided by cable network itself. RECOMMENDATION: First Reading; back to Committee Schnetzer adjourned the Finance Committee at 8:30 p.m. City of Gahanna Page 4