City Council Agendas & Minutes

U City Of Hampton VA 22 Lincoln Street Hampton VA 23669 Meeting Minutes www hampton gov o City Council UlY 9 1b W H Billy Hobbs Jr Christopher G Stuart Will Moffett Donnie R Tuck Chris Snead George E Wallace Molly Joseph Ward Mayor Staff Mary Bunting City Manager Cynthia Hudson City Attorney Katherine K Glass CMC Clerk of Council Wednesday March 13 2013 1 02 PM Council Chambers 8th Floor City Hall CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL MOLLY JOSEPH WARD PRESIDED PRESENT W H Billy Hobbs Jr Will Moffett Chris Snead Christopher G Stuart Donnie R Tuck George E Wallace AGENDA 13 0084 Fiscal Year 2014 Operating Budget Update City Manager Mary Bunting noted that there have been a series of opportunities for residents to discuss budget choices the City is currently facing She presented the information received to date a copy of which is attached to these minutes The information compiled from the public presentations will be available to the public online at the earliest opportunity Ms Bunting noted that it was incredibly heartwarming to see so many residents participate in these public meetings The participation this year far surpassed any past participation The event at Hampton High School had nearly 400 residents in attendance There were approximately 150 residents at each of the other events There was not much repeat attendance but those that did attend more than one event were discouraged from polling at multiple meetings in order to maintain the integrity of the polling The geographic spread was excellent The zip code data mirrors census data for those zip codes The demographics of the participants were not completely in alignment with the City demographics with more women participating and more of a Caucasian representation than is reflective of the City She noted that the percentage of parents with children in the Hampton School System was reflective of the City s statistics There was a slight overrepresentation of those over the age of 35 but that is not surprising because 30 of the population is made up of those under the age of 19 and those under a certain age would not be expected to participate in this type of event Ms Bunting reminded Council that the polling is advisory This is considered a critical pulse taking opportunity but she and Dr Linda Shifflette Hampton City Schools Page 1 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City of Hampton VA City Council Meeting Minutes Superintendent must consider multiple inputs before they can make a recommendation for the budget Her recommendations will try to reflect these polls as much as possible but discretion must be used in the final recommendations considering input from local businesses as business owners are not typically able to come to these types of forums Other opportunities will be made for businesses to express their opinions and concerns Long term effects of cuts must also be considered what it means for the community to cut certain things and if those cuts will cause expenses to rise elsewhere Ms Bunting noted that the residents were asked if they wanted to protect existing City and School service if they wanted to protect and invest in additional City and School services or whether they wanted to keep the tax rate the same which equates to a disinvestment in City and School services Residents were asked to indicate what cuts they were comfortable with at the City and School level as well as their personal tax rate philosophy Ms Bunting discussed the City cuts that had an overwhelming number or a supermajority of 65 or higher of residents wanting to avoid them These included closing branch libraries ending support of volunteer fire companies cutting school crossing guards closing Bluebird Gap Farm eliminating Healthy Start eliminating youth programs closing the teen center eliminating parent education courses and cutting the Community Services Board funding She believes this shows the community values young people and the investment in youth Many times these types of investments are the first to be cut She then discussed the City cuts that a majority of participants wanted to avoid including reduced street lighting on arterial roads closing the senior center closing the History Museum reducing grass mowing frequency scaling back on internal auditing and cuts to contributions for nonprofits Ms Bunting then discussed the school cuts that a supermajority wanted to avoid These included eliminating elementary school music and arts programs increasing class sizes for grades 4 5 changing kindergarten aides from full time to part time and eliminating some elementary school guidance counselors The majority of residents wanted to avoid cutting almost everything else in the schools She noted that it is interesting that the audience mirrored the larger community with only about 36 of the participants having school aged children so this speaks highly about the community valuing the school system and understanding that if they do not have children in the school system they still need to support it Ms Bunting discussed the City cuts that the supermajority supported These services included eliminating filming of the Holly Days Parade decreasing the newspaper ads suspending capital contributions to Christopher Newport University and Hampton University and cutting support to Bay Days and the Hampton Regatta The majority of residents supported cutting City services such as closing the Old Hampton Community Center increasing the construction inspection times reducing hours at 311 closing the Tennis Center eliminating the Citizens Unity Commission increasing the Planning Division response time closing the Visitor Center and eliminating extension support services She noted that it was important to remember that this was just advisory Just because 51 of the population doesn t support something it shows that this community is a mixed community and some judgment needs to be applied by both the City Manager when proposing a budget recommendation and the Council when adopting a budget She stated that there were no school services for which there was a supermajority Page 2 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City of Hampton VA City Council Meeting Minutes supporting cuts There were two cuts that had a majority for support which were closing Moton Early Childhood Center and elementary schools sharing assistant principals Dr Shifflette made it clear that closing the Moton Center would not impact the at risk four year old programming that the building would close but the classes would be distributed amongst the other schools Ms Bunting noted that many of the City services the citizens seemed willing to reduce or eliminate directly impact businesses and or tourists She stated this was not surprising because those two groups were not for the most part there to represent their viewpoints For example increasing construction inspection times might make us a less business friendly community for investment She will work on getting additional stakeholder input from other parts of the community including extensive business outreach Ms Bunting noted that the cuts supported by the supermajority only totaled 330 000 in savings out of a projected 16 million budget shortfall Those cuts supported by 50 or more of the public only totaled 1 15 million in savings She stated that overwhelmingly the citizens voted to protect City services Even knowing that the worst case scenario was a 24 cent tax increase 53 of total residents polled were willing to raise the tax rate to protect current services and invest in the capital and technological needs of the City and Schools Knowing that the worst case scenario would be a 16 cent increase 38 of total residents polled were willing to raise the tax rate to protect all current services Those who stated that their highest priority was keeping the current tax rate understanding that this meant disinvestment in current City and School services totaled 9 of the residents polled She noted that these results were not skewed from one forum or another but rather were the trend in every public meeting The disinvestment choice was at its low point a total of 8 at one forum and at its high point a total of 11 at another To protect and invest was the majority option at every forum Ms Bunting noted that online polling was opened on Monday A random scientific phone survey will also be conducted although all of the questions cannot be asked it will focus more on the tax rate philosophy question Also taking place are informal chats with various groups including the NAACP and the Northampton Civic League As those are completed the input from those sessions are sent to Council and made available online Ms Bunting stated that the City is updating the revenue information from the General Assembly Personal property taxes business license taxes sales tax and meals tax information is received in March so those will contribute to the updated information Expenditure requirements are also being updated Once this information is adjusted a more reliable estimate will be available She hopes that the 16 million shortfall becomes a smaller shortfall and any tax rate considerations made would not need to be at the upper limits currently being discussed The updated estimates will be presented to Council at the March 27 work session She noted the online polling will be open for two weeks The budget will be released to Council by April 15 Councilwoman Snead stated that she understood all the revenue projections were not in yet but she wondered what the City Manager was doing to bridge the gap to try and lower the tax burden Ms Bunting responded that the City staff is looking at every service currently being offered She asked all of the departments to submit scalable impacts for what would happen if they received less money She also asked them to submit information on what they could do differently such as saving money by contracting out with the private sector or changing a means of delivery The City staff is City of Hampton VA Page 3 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City Council Meeting Minutes also looking at the last several years expenditures to see if there are aberrations in spending that can be made more efficient She noted that when the process was started there seemed to be very little left to cut without impacting the service received by the citizens There are many things that cannot be cut such as Social Services or Public Health Even the Public Works Department is primarily funded by user fees so if there is a cut there there is a loss of revenue to add to the budget shortfall Many areas that could be cut have been cut in the past and cannot be cut further She believes the City is at the point of making some tough choices Councilman Tuck asked if the impacts from the items singled out for polling were primarily in operational costs or in personnel costs Ms Bunting responded that the savings figures included in the presentation contain the operating and personnel costs Councilman Tuck asked how much the City would save if the Old Hampton Community Center was closed Ms Bunting stated that the City would save 178 000 Councilman Tuck requested clarification that this would be the electricity heating air conditioning as well as personnel Ms Bunting confirmed this but noted that many of the employees are part time so there would be limited benefit cost savings She believes the assumption was made that some of those employees would shift to different areas such as the aquatics center Because the City would lose a pool with the closing of the Community Center we would want to offer more hours at the aquatics center Councilman Tuck asked how the items were chosen for the polling list Ms Bunting noted that all of the things that could not be cut were removed from the polling list like Social Services and Public Works She also removed the Police Fire and 911 services because she felt those were too critical to the safety of the community to allow cuts especially since these are services citizens cannot provide for themselves She stated she believes more police officers are needed and it has previously been discussed that more firefighters are needed for which a grant was recently obtained She noted that sequestration does not affect that grant since it was allocated in FY2012 She stated that for the most part she also took off internal service departments This area has been cut several times in the past Removing all these from the list effectively left the quality of life departments She doesn t believe these services should be cut because they make Hampton what it is and they bring value to the City but this is all that is left to cut PRESENTED by Mary Bunting City Manager 2 13 0092 Discussion of Telephone Comments by the Disabled During City Council Meetings Councilman Tuck stated that he had a conversation with a citizen early last year concerning this subject Last July when Council was given a presentation by Our Choices representatives of the disabled community Ms Jane Hobbs of the Mayor s Committee for People with Disabilities made a statement that they wanted to speak to Council for themselves This was a statement that resonated with him because the gentleman he spoke with has made a request for the last five years to have provisions made for an individual with disabilities to address the Council He has seen the letters between this gentleman and City Attorney Cynthia Hudson and he understands that this is not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act but there are provisions that state certain accommodations can and should be made If Council had attendees who were blind they would be required to have Braille agendas If Council had attendees who were deaf there would need to be an interpreter Councilman Tuck believes allowing this gentleman to participate in Public Comment sessions and Public Hearings by calling City of Hampton VA Page 4 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City Council Meeting Minutes in is a reasonable accommodation and allows him and anyone else with a disability to participate He noted that there are several individuals who attend Council meetings in wheelchairs Councilman Stuart noted that in 2012 the Council met with the Neighborhood Commission The City Manager reminded Council that there are groups or institutions populated with skilled citizens that are not relied upon He stated that inclusion is important but he would like to defer to the Mayor s Committee to allow them to research and reach a reasonable conclusion on what the Council should consider first from a priority standpoint He noted that no one is signing today nor is an agenda available in Braille He believes that to spend the taxpayers money wisely the Council should rely on a group that comes together for the exact reason they are discussing Councilman Moffett thanked Councilman Tuck for bringing this to the Council s attention He believes it is a great idea to bring this matter to the Mayor s Committee for review He would also like them to review the access to all services He also requested a report or technical review from Channel 47 because there might be some challenges in being able to bring a feed into the audience present and simultaneously broadcast it He requested that Councilman Tuck see if it would be a possible alternative if all else fails to have a phone call email or letter read by the Clerk of Council during the Public Comment or Public Hearing sessions Councilman Tuck agreed that Councilman Stuart and Councilman Moffett raised valid points He stated that he had spoken to Channel 47 to find out what might be involved and recognizes that there will be some costs and challenges He believes involving the Mayor s Committee is a great idea because he doesn t know to what extent there are people out there who cannot participate However he believes that acting as a filter by having the Clerk read a submission is not the best way to handle the situation If there can be a consensus based on research from the Mayor s Committee and Channel 47 allowing them the opportunity to present their own comments in their own way would be an ideal way to handle it PRESENTED by Councilman Tuck He asked that Council consider allowing disabled citizens to call in to City Council meetings Councilman Stuart suggested that the matter be referred to the Mayor s Committee for People with Disabilities to study Councilman Moffett suggested a technical review by the City s television station and that perhaps people could send their comments to the Clerk of Council to read into the record 3 13 0094 Briefing on the Status of Fort Monroe Ms Bunting stated that there were not a lot of updates on Fort Monroe at this point There will be more to present in about a month when the National Parks Services and the Army are able to share more details about the impacts of sequestration on both the process of setting up the National Park and the process of transferring land from the Army to the Fort Monroe Authority FMA As of this point information has not been received from any of the parties involved The FMA held a Planning Advisory Group which is essentially the equivalent of a planning commission on March 1 City staff attended as well as Hampton and regional representatives that are on the committee The Master Plan consultant Sasaki provided an update on the draft activities to the Master Plan The Planning Advisory Group seemed pleased with the progress There City of Hampton VA Page 5 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City Council Meeting Minutes has been work done on examining the economic feasibility of all three alternatives that were provided by Sasaki in the Master Plan work An update will be given to the FMA Board at their next scheduled meeting on March 28th Of the 164 historic homes in Fort Monroe 130 are now leased There are also some pending leases Currently there is no final date on the proposed transfer of land from the Army to the FMA PRESENTED by Mary Bunting City Manager REGIONAL ISSUES Mayor Ward informed council that she went to New Orleans last week to attend the Mayor s Institute of City Design MICD a workshop sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors She was a guest at the conference so there was no cost to the City There were eight mayors from around the United States that were invited to go including the mayors from New Orleans LA Baltimore MD Spokane WA Madison WI Surprise AZ Anaheim CA and Burlington VT The mayors are put together with city design and development professionals from all over the country The mayors each present a design problem to this group and a workshop is created An agreement is signed by the group members to guarantee that they will not bid on your work or even contact the cities involved for the next year because the group does not want there to be a sense that they were trying to get business She found the process fascinating She stated that the MICD team had been to Hampton and looked at various sites as well as met with Terry O Neill Director of Community Development and Ms Bunting They picked the Goodyear site for Hampton s case study She noted that she attended this conference with the support of Ms Bunting and Mr O Neill which she appreciated as not all the mayors in attendance had support from their planning staffs She stated that she had been waiting for a large transformative idea from this group as the mayors who had presented before her were given amazing ideas to help with their problems but instead they said Hampton needs to work with what it already has They stated that Hampton has great consultants and needs to implement the plans that are already in place She stated that she had lamented the parking garages on the water the design of City Hall and all the things that had been bulldozed in the name of urban renewal and they believed that Hampton should embrace what it had become with things like the Air Space Center and the old buildings downtown They stated Hampton should not try to make itself like Colonial Williamsburg They believe Hampton is on the right track and could not be more enthusiastic about where the City is going They also believe the City should do a world class Request for Proposal RFP which the National Endowment for the Arts stated they would assist with The designers did think there were a few things that could be done to better define the downtown area and the suggestions were given to Ms Bunting She stated that it was a wonderful experience and she believes we are lucky to live in such an amazing and beautiful City Ms Bunting noted that you cannot apply to go to this conference There are selection criteria that the conference officials do not share An invitation is considered a great privilege around the country She considers it a great honor that Mayor Ward was asked to represent the community Councilman Tuck noted that he was at a meeting the night before where there was a presentation about the status of the Virginia School for the Deaf Blind and Multi Disabled as well as for master planning in the community around it His understanding is City of Hampton VA Page 6 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City Council Meeting Minutes that the school is in a state of suspense at the moment He took pictures of the site but they were not quality so he has chosen not to share them There appears to be a lot of overgrowth as well as other things that do not present a good picture He understands that Parks Recreation is responsible for the upkeep Ms Bunting noted that the City is only responsible for the 50 acres that the City owns not the 25 acres that belong to the State Councilman Tuck stated he would like to know what could be done to try to clean up this area a little Ms Bunting noted that Mr Anthony Reyes Director of Public Works was at the same meeting and emailed her and Mr Jim Wilson Director of Parks Recreation She noted there were also concerns expressed about some rodents such as muskrats Mr Wilson is on the site today to investigate if the overgrowth is in the City s area Unfortunately the City cannot take care of the 25 acres that belongs to someone else The entomology department is also going out there to look into what is causing the muskrat situation and to investigate what can be done with the State Department of Wildlife NEW BUSINESS CLOSED MEETING 4 13 0087 Closed session pursuant to Virginia Code Sections 2 2 3711 A 1 and A 7 to discuss a personnel matter involving the Police Division and to consult with legal Counsel regarding specific matters pertaining to Council procedure that require legal advice and to discuss pending litigation and APPROVED Motion made by Councilmember Chris Snead Seconded by Councilmember W H Billy Hobbs Jr Ayes 7 W H Billy Hobbs Jr Will Moffett Chris Snead Christopher G Stuart Donnie R Tuck George E Wallace Molly Joseph Ward Nays 0 13 0062 to consider an appointment to the Hampton Arts Commission NO ACTION REQUIRED 13 0085 to consider an appointment to the Neighborhood Commission NO ACTION REQUIRED 13 0093 to consider appointments to the Debt Set Off Review Panel NO ACTION REQUIRED CERTIFICATION 5 13 0088 Resolution Certifying Closed Session WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Hampton Virginia has convened a closed session on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote made in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and City of Hampton VA Page 7 of 8 Printed on 41212013 City Council Meeting Minutes WHEREAS Section 2 2 3712D of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the City Council of the City of Hampton Virginia that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia Law NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton Virginia hereby certifies that to the best of each member s knowledge i only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed session to which this certification resolution applies and iionly such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the city council of the city of Hampton Virginia ADOPTED Motion made by Councilmember Will Moffett Seconded by Councilmember W H Billy Hobbs Jr Ayes 7 W H Billy Hobbs Jr Will Moffett Chris Snead Christopher G Stuart Donnie R Tuck George E Wallace Molly Joseph Ward Nays 0 Molly Joseph Ward Mayor I 1 Date approved by Council City of Hampton VA Page 8 of 8 Printed on 41212013  4 2 2013 9 e 23666 35 Northampton e Road 4 More women than city as a whole Coliseum P 65 female 35 male central Riverdale P Census is about 52 female i9 32 vntown 4 More white than city as a whole w Oaks P 56 white black 37 Hill Road is Creek P Census 43 white 50 black r 4 Close on number of parents P 36 have children in schools 23661 10 P 32 of households have children under 19 Wythe 1  4 2 2013 4 Overrepresented f 4 Critical pulse taking opportunities P 35 49 31 19 of population or 25 of adult population 4 Manager and Superintendent consider P 50 64 38 19 of population or 25 of adult input in determining recommended population budgets 4 Represented evenly 4 However both must use discretion in final P 65 and up 14 12 3 of total 16 of adults recommendations considering input from 4 Underrepresented businesses and other interests and also P 19 and under 5 3 30 of population long term effects of cuts P 20 34 12 23 of population 30 of adults 4 Residents asked which possible cuts are 4 Cuts that an overwhelming number acceptable and which are not 65 of participants wanted to avoid P Close branch libraries 87 4 Residents asked to indicate their personal P End volunteer fire support 83 tax rate philosophy P Cut school crossing guards 83 P Close Bluebird Gap 72 P Eliminate Healthy Start 72 P Eliminate youth programs 69 P Close teen center 69 P Eliminate parent education 67 P CSB funding cut 65 2  4 2 2013 4 Cuts that most participants 50 65 4 Cuts that an overwhelming number wanted to avoid 65 of participants wanted to avoid P Reduce street lighting 63 P Cut a quarter of elementary music and art 80 P Close senior center 63 P Increase class size in grades 4 5 76 P Close history museum 56 P Make kindergarten aides part time 71 P Reduce mowing 56 P Cut 42 of elementary guidance counselors 66 P Decrease internal audit 55 P Eliminate contributions for non profit organizations 51 4 Cuts that most participants 50 65 wanted to avoid 4 Cuts that an overwhelming number 65 of participants supported P Reduce field trip funding 64 4 Don t televise Holly Days parade 89 P Increase walk no bus zone 61 4 Decrease newspaper ads 80 P Reduction of supplements for coaches sponsors 60 4 Suspend CNU HU capital contributions 72 P Decrease high schools from 8 classes per year to 7 4 Slop supporting Bay Days Hampton Cup Regatta 65 59 P Eliminate cafeteria monitors 59 P Pay cut for 12 month employees 57 P Replace half of RNs with LPNs 56 P Eliminate teaming in middle schools 53 3  4 2 2013 4 Cuts that most 50 65 of participants 4 Cuts that an overwhelming number supported 65 of participants supported P Close Old Hampton Community Center 64 4 None P Increase construction inspection time 63 4 Reduce 311 hours 63 P Close Tennis Center 61 P Eliminate Citizens Unity Commission 60 P Increase Planning division time 56 P Close visitors center 54 P Eliminate Extension Service support 52 4 Cuts that most 50 65 of participants 4 Many of the city services residents appear willing to supported reduce or eliminate impact businesses and tourists P Close Moton Early Childhood Center 63 directly P Examples Increase construction inspection lime Increase P Share assistant principals in some elementary Planning division turn around time Close visitors center schools 51 Eliminate Bay Days Regatta etc 4 The total savings of all of the cuts supported by 65 or more of the public is 330 000 out of a 16 million projected budget shortfall 4 The total savings of all of the cuts supported by 50 or more of the public is 1 154 461 out of a 16 million projected budget shortfall C  4 2 2013 Disinvest Disinvest 9 9 a I am wilting to raise the tax rate to protect current services and I want to Invest in e I am Wiling to raise the tax rate to protect current services and I want to invest In capitaLtechndogical needs capitalftechndogical needs o I am willing to raise the tax rate to protect some or all or the current services o I am willing to raise the tax rate to protect some or all of the current services I want to reinvest In order to maintain the current tax rate o I Want to dsinvest in order to maintain the current tax rate Disinvest Disinvest 8 11 m 1 am ailfng to raise the tax rate to protect current services and I want to invest In c I am willing to raise the tax rate to protect current services and I want to invest in capltalftedhnotoycal needs capitalitechnological needs I am willing to raise the tax rate to protect some or all of the current services I am willing to raise the tax rate to protect some w cull of the current services I want to dsinvest In order to maintain the currenitax rate I want to dsinvest In order to maintain the current tax rate  4 2 2013 Disinvest Disinvest 9 9 a I am Wiling to raise the tax rate to protect current services and I rant to invest In I am WI ing to raise the tax rate to protect current services and I vtant to invest in ca pits1h ohndogical needs capitaltechnological needs a I am vhlling to raise the tax rate to protect some or all of the current services a I am Riling to raise the tax rate to protect some or a I of the current services e I want to dsinve t In order to maintain the current tax rate a I v amt to dsinvest in order to maintain the current tax rate 4 Online polling open at www hampton govv 4 Random scientific phone survey planned 4 Additional informal chats with groups 4 Input from business groups including polling 4 More information from General Assembly about state funding 4 Estimates on other local revenues due