Board of Commissioners Budget Workshop Meeting

MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING AUGUST 6, 2019 2:00 P.M. A budget workshop meeting of the C ity of Madeira Beach Board of Commissioners was held at 2:00 p.m., on August 6, 20 19 in the Patricia Shontz Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: Maggi Black, Mayor Deby Weinstein, Commissioner District I Nancy Hodges, V ice-Mayor/Comm issioner District 2 Doug Andrews, Commissioner, District 3 John Douthi11, Commissioner D istrict 4 MEMBERS ABSENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Robe11 Dan iels, Interim City Manager Clara VanBlargan, City Clerk 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Black called the meeting to order at 2:0 1 p.m. 2.ROLLCALL City C lerk Clara VanBlargan called the roll. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Black opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bay Shore Drive, thanked the City and Commissioner Douthirt for supporting the little league team and said the team had brought back a trophy. 4. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION A. Additional Planning & Development Services and Impact Fee Documentation (15 Minutes Presentation) - Jerry Murphy, FRCI, Consulting Planning and Development Services Provider August 6, 20 19, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 1 of 11  Jerry Murphy, University of Florida, explained that the number put in front of the Board regarding the budget is an estimation. Expenditures over a certain amount must be approved by the Board. As the Board proceeds through the new fiscal year and directs priorities regarding impact fees, etc. that are in the priority list, those items will be brought back to the Board with a detailed budget and schedule. Commissioner Weinstein asked if an assessment would be done on the projects that are currently on the slate not permitted to determine what language might be necessary to include in those projects that might result in an impact fee. Mr. Murphy explained that in accordance with state regulations, impact fees in Florida can only be charged in the building permitting phase. If an impact fee program is in place before a building permit is issued the fee would be paid. Anything that has been approved or has been permitted already is not subject to the impact fee ordinance because the City does not have an impact fee ordinance. Commissioner Weinstein asked if a broad scope of the City could be done before starting to see how the impact fee study would help the City to charge people for what they are going to build. Mr. Murphy said that is considered capturing the increment of the impact and explained that impact fees attempt to capture the additional impact that new growth brings. Madeira Beach is considered built out except for a couple vacant lots here and there, but most everything has been developed. It has not been developed to the extent that the comprehensive plan envisions the extent of what the land development code allows. What is seen as time goes by are tear downs of smaller structures that have been there for some time that are being replaced by larger structures and taller or expanding footprint of the development. That is the increment they hope to capture through an impact fee program moving forward. Commissioner Weinstein said since it is a lot of money for the impact fee study, she wanted it to be beneficial to them and hopes they are not too far built out that they would not get their money back in the next five years. Mr. Murphy explained that they will do an inventory of what is existing, which becomes the basis, and then look at what development would be allowed in the current code and plan. Part of the budget number covers looking at the comprehensive plan because the City is due for an update on the plan itself in terms of the evaluation and appraisal, but the City is also due for an update on the data and analysis underling the plan because it's believed that the plan had not been updated since 1995 and things have definitely changed. That data and analysis underscores or underpins the comprehensive plan goals, objectives, and policies. That data will be used to understand what the level of service is. They will meet with the Board, Planning Commission, and the community to determine what Madeira Beach would like to do in the future and what additional municipal services would be needed as the town redevelops and what the town would like to provide. That becomes the basis of the level of service and the calculus for the impact fee so new development pays their increment of the expanded or the existing level of service that the City currently provides. Commissioner Weinstein asked if the impact fee services could be bid out. Mr. Murphy explained yes, but they do not compete in the private market. If the City should put out an RFP, they could not respond because they have a direct relationship with the City. August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 2 ofll  Commissioner Weinstein asked about the scope of services they did for Manatee County. Mr. Murphy explained they work with Manatee County in the same kind of relationship they will have with Madeira Beach, but they have not done an impact fee study for Manatee County. He explained the type of services they provided to Manatee County and his background and broad experience in providing an impact fee study. Commissioner Weinstein asked if he had looked at existing language in the current development agreements. Mr. Murphy explained they only look at it as part of the inventory aspect to understand what is there. An agreement is already in place and once a building permit has already been issued on those projects, they are considered vested unless those permits are revoked or extinguished for some reason. Mayor Black asked if impact fees could be applied to individual homes or just major development. Mr. Murphy said that would be a policy issue decision made by the Board, but he would recommend it because what is being seen in terms of redevelopment is small footprint cottages going down and larger places going up. Homes are being less homesteaded and put more often into the rental market. Larger homes that are rented out can accommodate more people and those additional people bring additional impacts. Commissioner Weinstein asked if they were to go forward at some point how often could he report back to the City on the status and progress. Mr. Murphy explained they will report to the Board as often as reasonably necessary, which would be part of the budget impact. Commissioner Weinstein said she understood him to say at a committee meeting that he could start in January of 2020 and it would go on for a period of six months. Mr. Murphy said they could do that if the paperwork is in place. From now until January, they will be trying to figure out what the City would like to do, what municipal services would be needed, and how they can capture the increment the development would be impacting. Commissioner Weinstein asked if someone were to come in asking for a permit, could they do them pending the evaluation of impact fees. Mr. Murphy explained the Board could put a moratorium on building permits until the impact fees are in place, which. he would not recommend doing because it brings everything down to a halt, or the Board could set a window for when certain permits would be subject to the impact fees, which makes them a springing type of impact fee. He explained that the City would need to put the developer on notice to let them know they would be subject to those fees if they are developed by a certain time. But anything that happens prior to having an impact fee ordinance in place is based on the status quo of the City's regulations, as they stand at that time. Mayor Black opened to public comment and there were no public comments. B. Recap: Recommendations from Budget Review Committee and two additional recommendations (Community Development and LOST Fund) Finance Director Walt Pierce explained that the Board had requested additional information at the workshop meeting on July 25 th regarding the allocation of the additional $100,000 added August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 3 of 11  to the community development professional services budgetary expenditure account. He said that is for Jerry Murphy to provide planning and development assistance and to revise the documents necessary to establish impact fees for the community and to provide additional support to the department. He is looking for a consensus from the Board on the additional $100,000. If the contract is approved at the August 13th meeting, Mr. Murphy can start sometime in August or September. There are funds in the community development budget this year to help offset that cost. Commissioner Douthirt asked if the money raised by the Building Department can only be used in the Building Department. Director Pierce said yes. Interim City Manager Robert Daniels clarified that Building and Planning are two separate departments and there are a couple of areas where the funds can be mixed, but this is not one of them. Mr. Daniels said the contract will be on the August 13 th agenda for approval. Commissioner Douthirt and Commissioner Weinstein commented in favor of the $100,000 expenditure. Commissioner Andrews asked where in the budget the money would be pulled from to cover the $100,000 expenditure. Director Pierce said the amount would be added to the regular expenditure budget and currently there is enough revenues to cover it if they continue with the 2. 75 millage rate. Mr. Daniels explained that the meeting is to get feedback from the Board on what it would like in that budget and then it is Walt's job to perform the magic to make it all balance, so they would have a tentative budget for the Board to look at through the public hearing process and then the proposed budget to enact. That will be shown to the Board in the next couple of weeks. Commissioner Andrews stressed concern about placing another $100,000 in the budget after they have already spoken about certain areas and asked if there were other areas in the budget they can pull stuff out of such as the $15,000 placed in the budget for an audit without knowing the department to be audited. What is more important, the $15,000 audit or the $100,000 for an impact fee study? Removing the $15,000 would be a savings. To do the study is great because it will add value to what they are doing. It needs to be determined what they are doing in the budget to afford the extra $100,000. They must get back to being accountable for every dollar and stop spending money without having any justification for it. Director Pierce explained that because the interest on the $15 million loan in the first year is short of $400,000, there will be extra money to put back into the General Fund. He will be bringing to the Board two big budget amendments in September: The Crystal Island Bridge repair and the generator. The amount for both will be about $400,000 to $500,000 and that will have to come from Fund Balance. The money currently shown in the proposed budget for FY 2020 would go into the General Fund, which is principle less interest that would go into Fund Balance to cover the $400,000 or $500,000 they have to take out of there at the end of this year from Fund Balance. The information provided show that they can cover the additional $100,000 as well. August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 4 ofll  Commissioner Andrews said that is only possible because they approved the 2.75 millage rate. If they get rid of the generator, they could offset it and still have $250,000. He would like to start budgeting things and sticking to a budget going forward, and not trying to make changes to it as they go. Director Pierce explained that the generator and the Crystal Island Bridge repair were emergencies that had to be done and that was approved by the Board. The generator should have been purchased a year ago and now they are going into hurricane season without it. Commissioner Andrews asked if it was the backup generator they are talking about because that has already been agreed on. He is talking about moving a generator from here down to the Recreation Center. Director Pierce explained after a study was done, the plan changed. It is more feasible to have the generator for this building and leave the fire department generator alone mainly because some of the wiring needed to be done to tap into the fire department generator and that would be too costly as opposed to putting a permanent generator here at City Hall. Commissioner Andrews said he did not recall that change in plans regarding the generator being discussed with the Board. Director Pierce said the Board had given the former city manager direction to make sure there was a generator for this building in the most cost feasible way and that is to have the generator at City Hall. Commissioner Andrews said the Board did not approve that. The last he heard was that the generator was going to the Recreation Center. He would like it tabled until they know what is going on because he is not a thousand percent comfortable with it. Commissioner Douthirt asked that with the impact fees could they anticipate on how much money in FY 2020 they would take in the first year to offset the cost. Mr. Murphy explained that he expected the number to be reasonably substantial, but there was no way in knowing that until the Board made the required policy decisions. The cost of the study would be well absorbed by the impact fee program over an unknowingly amount of time because it would depend on the development market, but right now nobody is building and nobody is paying anything and they cannot pay anything unless they have the study done. The state requires an update to the data on an annual basis and to have an audit on an annual basis. Those are administrative costs that can all be absorbed in the impact fee program. Commissioner Douthirt commented he has been asking for that for a long time because the burden of costs should not be on the taxpayers. The fiscal responsibility of the Board is to figure out how to pay for it and they must start saving money somewhere. Mr. Daniels said his goal is to not bring anything to the Board of Commissioners unless there is a revenue source to it. It might be a revenue source they do not want to look at. If it is an emergency, they must dip into reserves or something along those lines, but there must be a revenue source and that must be discussed as part of the process in doing an approval. He will be looking into the history of the generator because it is the first hearing that it is supposed to be a different deal than what was told to him. He will report back at the next meeting. Commissioner Douthirt asked if the dollar amount would be going up or down since the plan on the generator had changed. Director Piece explained that it would be within the amount approved for the former city manager to go forward on and that will be below that $300,000 figure. Commissioner Weinstein said they approved it going out to bid once they get the specifications. Director Pierce said the Building Official must scope it out with the engineers August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 5 of 11  first to put together the specifications for the RFP. Mr. Daniels said that is part of the process they are working on now and the RFP will come before the Board when completed. Commissioner Douthirt said if they are saving $100,000 by not moving the generator then that savings will pay for the impact fee study. Mr. Daniels said he will research that and provide those answers to the Board as they move through the budget process. Commissioner Weinstein commented there are two things built into the budget that total close to $100,000. One is the Military Court of Honor and the other is the July 4 th fireworks. Those are things citizens have brought to her attention in the last month or so. She suggested taking those two items out of the budget. Cities do not have to do fireworks and there are so many of them. The Military Court of Honor is not a have to do project, but an amenity. Those savings would replace the $100,000 needed. Director Pierce said Al Carrier had been tasked to scope out the Military Court of Honor and expenditures have been made toward that before it goes out for a RFP. Commissioner Douthirt said he asked former city manager Jonathan Evans about the July 4th fireworks before. They are the only City paying for fireworks. The businesses and sponsors pay for it in other cities. He asked why no one was getting sponsors and asking businesses for donations to pay for the fireworks and why no one was approaching the VFW, American Legion, the Marine Corps League, and other veterans' organizations to get them to sponsor that. Vice-Mayor Hodges said the Military Court of Honor is listed in the non-departmental budget on p.73 of the budget book, under capital improvements. The Military Court ofHonor expenses were running about $40,000 and BP money from the oil spill had been given to them and set aside over a year ago for that. The other agencies mentioned by Commissioner Douthirt can get involved if they would like to and donate things like the flagpole that is needed to cut down on some of the costs. Director Pierce commented that the project and what Al Carrier is doing can be stopped right now and they could take the difference left. Mayor Black said it looks to be some savings in the budget to pay for it, but they do not have enough information to make a decision right now. The decision will be easier to make if they can get a better estimate of what it will save them or how much they can bring in. Right now, there are not many places in Madeira Beach left to develop. They are not going to get large amounts of income by building a 10-story building because there is no place to build it. Mr. Daniels said they cannot get an answer from Jerry between now and the next meeting because that is all part of the study. The key thing is to bring a budget to the Board and to show in there where they are looking to save money to pay for the impact fee study. The Board consented. C. FY 2020 Budget Document (already provided) Director Pierce said based on the proposed budget there are additional revenue projections showing in the LOST Fund on p.81 to increase the proposed $200,000 expenditure for capital improvement to $300,000. That will be for repaving and improving the beach access. Commissioner Weinstein asked if options had been looked at to use the $100,000. Director August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 6 ofll  Pierce said beach access, parking lot improvement, and signage are things that should be spread out over a few years. He said that he and the Interim City Manager had recently met with Steve Tarte, the engineer, who indicated that he could put together a 4 or 5 year plan for that because it is too big of a expenditure for the City to take on in one year. Those are necessary improvements that need to be done. Mr. Daniels said by doing a multi-year approach it could be less than zero if they can get some funding from other sources to help. Commissioner Douthirt asked if the beach access and paving project would be paid for out of Penny for Pinellas, and Director Pierce confirmed so. Mayor Black said the consensus is to move forward with it. Mayor Black opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bay Shore Drive, commented that the Board had been given a scenario that City Hall would not lose power and he explained why that was not so. He said anything over $15,000 is supposed to go out to bid and asked why the impact fee study was not taken out to bid. Mr. Daniels explained that it was because of the relation relationship the City has with Mr. Murphy and the University ofFlorida. However, it is a policy decision by the Board, and they will do what the Board choses to do. He will be monitoring the expenditures to keep the number below the estimated number that had been given to them by Mr. Murphy. Community Director Linda Portal reminded the Board that under Florida Statutes 163, they have the ability to enter into an interlocal agreement because the university system is part of the government, so they can have an arrangement to not go out to bid under those circumstances. D. Additional information requested by the Board Director Pierce explained that the Board had requested additional information at the July 22, 2019 workshop meeting. He distributed a 4-page document to the Board showing the information, which he also provided in the staff memo as follows: Employer Paid Benefits for FY 2020: Attachment #1 displays the anticipated employer paid benefits for FY 2020 to be $569,056.44. The monthly medical per employee is $759.97 which represents a 2.7% increase from FY 2019. The number of eligible employees is also noted. Correction to FY 2019 Parking Revenue and Budget for FY 2020: Attachment #2 reflects the section of the General Fund revenue summary page that displays Parking Enforcement revenue. The FY 2018 actual numbers have been revised (highlighted in yellow) to reflect $119,181 that was committed revenue or the .50 increase for three months in FY 2018. The total actual for FY 2018 in the amount of$1,736,829 did not change. The parking revenue for the General Fund is projected to increase by 18% for FY 2020. The total parking revenue including the Archibald Fund is projected to increase from $2,073,574 actual for FY August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 7 ofll  2018 to $2,438,400 for FY 2020. While the $2,438,400 for FY 2020 is a conservative estimate, the hope is that this total exceeds $2.5 million for FY 2020. Clarification of Marina Fund Revenue and Expenditure Fuel Impact for FY 2020: Attachment #3 displays (highlighted in yellow) operating revenue and operating expenditure for fuel. The FY 2020 Budget for fuel revenue is currently $1,961,000 ($1,400,500-unleaded, $45,000 -diesel, and $515,500 -diesel commercial). On the operating expenditure side, $1,600,000 is being budgeted. The FY 2018 actual is $1,631,795 and the hope is that fuel purchases continue its current course into FY 2020. The difference between the revenue of $1,961,000 and expenditure of $1,600,000 is $361,000. Employees Reaching the Maximum on Salary Range: Attachment #4 displays (highlighted in yellow) an example of those employees that at the start of FY 2019 that reached the maximum salary range. Per the current Employee Handbook, these employees did not receive the 4% similar to what each employee received due to reaching this maximum. Instead, they received 3% as a payout. The revised employee Handbook does correct this payout amount. However, a new salary range has been constructed per the latest comprehensive pay plan and this needs to be revised and approved on an annual basis so that this does not create a problem in the future. Vice-Mayor Hodges said she received information this week on the Archibald Park. The information showed why that park is separate from the others. Director Pierce explained how the personnel costs in the budget are allocated to the Archibald Fund. E. Department Directors will be available to take questions about their FY 2020 departmental budgets from the Board Parking Supervisor Brian Rau provided an update on the recent decision supported by the Board to go coinless and to have all their fees charged for parking paid by credit card and/or by pay app. Mr. Rau said the coinless system has been a success and they have received no negative comments about it. He displayed a pay station parking machine in the Chambers to show the Board that they are using the same machine, but with an upgrade making it a coinless machine. Mr. Rau said it will cost about $7,000 for a new machine versus about $1,600 for the upgrade. They are upgrading 29 machines, which is a new proposal for capital in FY 2020. Mr. Rau responded to questions and comments by the Board. Commissioner Weinstein asked about getting a report for August, September, and October of 2018 and August, September, October of 2019 to show how successful it is. Mr. Rau said he would provide a report for FY 2018 and FY 2019 ending in September. Director Pierce noted a correction made to a couple of the line items to the FY 2020 department budgets. One, to the office supply line item on p.23, which was reduced by $2,100. The other August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 8 ofll  to the travel line item on p.17, which was reduced by $2,000. The Mayor pointed out that the word "relevant" was misspelled on that same page. Vice-Mayor Hodges asked about the $15,000 increase on p.69, Public Works Administration budget, line item 4670, Maintenance-Signs & Signals. Interim Public Works/Marina Director Deb Laramee said she will look into it and report back. Vice-Mayor Hodges asked about the $1,000 shown in the cellphone line item on p.40 of the Commission budget. She asked if the $1,000 could be removed ifno Commissioner has a City cell phone. Director Pierce said there might be a new Commission next year, so he would like to keep that number in there just in case a new Commissioner might want a City cell phone. Mayor Black said in the City Clerk budget on p.34, the cell phone line item, 4100, did not show a dollar amount. The City Clerk said she was issued a City cell phone this week, so money needed to now be put in that line item. The Mayor also pointed out that the postage line item, 4200, on that same page, did not show a dollar amount and it showed $500 in that in prior years. The City Clerk said she will look into it and that she did not recall taking that out. Mr. Daniels asked that the $500 be put back in. Commissioner Andrews said he would like a complete analysis showing a breakdown of all the legal expenses and where they fit in. There are a lot of different line items within the budget that have something legal attached to it and it shows no justification for it. He would like a better understanding on that. Commissioner Weinstein asked if the legal fees for the land use attorney would be more appropriate listed in the Community Development budget since it is legal fees for Community Development. Director Pierce explained his reasons for keeping that in a separate account. Mayor Black pointed out a grammar change needed on p.27 and asked why the website services costs on p.43 were so much. Director Pierce and Mr. Daniels explained. Commissioner Andrews questioned the computer support line item, 3122, on p.44. He suggested hiring two computer support techs to work inhouse for much less than what the City is paying Network People. Having inhouse people would be a huge advantage. Director Pierce said going forward that was something they could talk about. Mr. Daniels said he had some concerns with Network People and would like to look at that. They may have to look at phasing something in over a period of years to ensure they are getting the expertise there. He asked if the cyber security was part of the $170,000 and Director Pierce confirmed so. Commissioner Weinstein asked about the contractual services line item, 3400, on p.61 of the Parks budget and asked if we had a new agreement for landscaping services. Director Pierce said that information is from last year and he would correct it. Mr. Daniels said he toured the ROC Park facilities and changes needed to be made there and that will be addressed during this budget process. He wanted to make sure all the park facilities are pristine, and one should not lack something that another one has. Those goals will be achieved in the future. August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 9 ofll  Commissioner Weinstein clarified that on p.64, in the Recreation budget, the Recreation Department is not a revenue making department. When comparing the revenues and the expenditures to 2018, it was a loss less than any of the previous 4 or 5 years. She thanked Recreation Director Jay Hatch for keeping that loss low and said she hoped he could keep that down for 2020. Mr. Daniels explained his terminology of loss and said they are spending the taxpayers' dollars wisely to provide services that they do not recoup through other fees. Mayor Black said on p.64, it shows a donation of $23,100 received in FY 2017 and no donations received any time after that. Director Hatch explained it was an expenditure. F. Setting of Millage Rate Finance Director Walt Pierce reported that they successfully complied with the Florida Statutes with informing the Property Appraiser that the maximum millage rate was set at 2.75 and the first public hearing is on September 3, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. He explained the next steps in the process. Mayor Black opened to public comment. Doreen Moore, 13019 Boca Ciega Avenue, made comment to the street and improvements for the parking areas and the street walkovers to the beach and said, as previously discussed, that kind of ties into Gulf Lane as well. For informational purposes there needed to be some tie in along Gulf Lane. Also, in the budget and in prior conversations about the potential of developing the streets and parks, which are not Gulf front, but also streets and parks owned by the City that intersect with the intercoastal side by the Coastguard station. Those are all improvements needing to be looked at. Regarding impact fees and a phone conversation the Budget Review Committee had with Mr. Murphy, it is important to recognize they have development agreements with properties that have come out of the ground that have been completed, they are in construction, and asked where the impact fees were for that. Some of the agreements have fees that have been assessed, but she does not believe they have been collected. Ms. Moore asked the mechanism in place to do that and said for the new developments that are coming out of the ground now, they are anticipating assessing impact fees and asked if they can do that if they have not. They cannot think that we are completely developed. An impact fees study needs to be done and in place, so they could look at the future. Mr. Daniels explained that setting of the millage rate is listed on the agenda for transparency purposes and that they wanted to make sure they were outreaching because of increasing the millage rate. He will also be addressing it at the 'Coffee with the Manager' on Thursday morning at the Madeira Beach Juicerie at 8:00 a.m. Mayor Black thanked the Budget Review Committee and staff for their work on the budget. Mr. Daniels said there has been a lot of conversation going on in the community about the City Manager's contract, so he took the liberty in putting that item on the August 13 th meeting agenda for discussion because the Board needs to discuss what they want to do. The agenda August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 10 of 11  packet for that meeting has been published and the Board packets are available for pickup after the meeting and he will be meeting with each of the Commissioners toward the end of the week and he is happy to answer any questions they have. Commissioner Weinstein said the Interim City Manager' s report on the website was very interesting. Mayor Black commented she was very pleased to see it. Vice-Mayor Hodges reminded everyone that on Thursday at 6:00 p.m., Pinellas County Emergency Management and the Madeira Beach Fire Depa1tment will be talking about hunicane preparedness in the Commission Chambers. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. ATTEST: Cl~ \ranBlargan, MMC, MS~ City Clerk ..... ·- - August 6, 2019, BOC Budget Workshop Meeting Page 11 of 11