City Council

April 17, 2018 Budget Work Session A special meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia, was held on April 17, 2018, in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 6:00PM, to conduct a budget work session with Mayor Gene Teague presiding. Council Members present included: Mayor Teague, Vice Mayor Chad Martin, Council Member Kathy Lawson, Council Member Jennifer Bowles and Council Member Sharon Brooks Hodge. Staff present included: City Manager Leon Towarnicki, Clerk of Council Karen Roberts, Assistant City Manager Wayne Knox, City Attorney Eric Monday, Finance Director Linda Conover, Public Works Director Chris Morris, Fire Chief Ted Anderson, School Board representatives were also in attendance: Dr. Zebedee Talley, Travis Clemmons, Janie Fulcher, Angilee Downing, Eric Hruza, Donna Dillard, Tonya Jones, Sammy Redd and Joan Montgomery. Mayor Teague opened the Council meeting. Joan Montgomery called the School Board to order. Teague shared that Council had the opportunity to tour the Martinsville schools and thanked the staff for showing them around. He observed an orderly, clean environment with clear focus on the students in every school. He noted that all students were active learners and were using up-to-date technology. Teague said he wished the community could see what he saw today. Council Member Hodge thanked Council for providing a line item budget, making it easier for Council to review. Council and the school board discussed the schools capital requests and how the carry- over funds could assist with capital and staffing needs. Council agreed to keep schools budget level funded and that in the event the state does not issue the schools the additional funds as anticipated, then they will receive the carry-over funds. All agreed that they prefer to use the carry-over funds for capital improvement concerns and would discuss those in the near future. Council Member Bowles asked that the student demographics be sent to Council. Discussions were held on school media needs. Dr. Talley thanked Council for their support and now that they have the resources, they can move forward towards their goals. City Manager Towarnicki welcomed Darrin Doss, Environmental Supervisor who introduced Bill Rogers, (Acting) Business Manager, Nancy Bell, Population Health Manager and Dr. Kerry Gateley, (Acting) Health Director for the West Piedmont Health District. Gateley’s biggest concern is the public opioid health crisis. Mayor Teague referenced the budget which is about the same as the current year and discussion was had on the Health Departments request, the state funds and the City’s match which decreased. J. R. Powell, Director of Martinsville-Henry County 911 Center and Deputy Director Tiara Dillard presented the 2019 budget, requesting a 2.8% less total than the current year. Some remodeling was done at the center this past year. Calls received and dispatches continue to increase. The dispatchers continue to provide service to the citizens and 18 agencies efficiently. Powell detailed the Next Generation 911 program that will cost $69 million to get Virginia compliant. A breakdown for service calls was provided for Council’s April 17, 2018 Budget Work Session review which reflects a 7.9% increase. All 25 dispatchers are Emergency Medical Dispatcher certified. Rick Ward, Betsy Haskins, Cecil Holland and Mary Ruth Reynolds of the Blue Ridge Regional Library provided a report with data and statistics. Ward shared details regarding a project with the museum and the girl scouts. Holland touched on the food fundraiser, Gift a Kid a Book received 167 books donated to Christmas Cheer. The mobile computer lab offers day classes especially for senior citizens. Additional activities are offered at the library for children including board games, robotics, bakery, history lectures, etc. They are requesting an increase of $3,000 to cover one employee who will receive insurance this year and a general increase in costs. Amy Rice, Director of Social Services touched on a few programs being offered by their organization. Bonnie Covington, April Evans and Lisa Thompson were also in attendance. A $45,000 increase is related to the VRS increase, movement of the Children’s’ Services Act office, the second tier of a salary alignment and the hiring of five workers related to the Medicaid expansion if that passes. Heidi Pinkston, the new Executive Director of Piedmont Arts asked Council for level funding for the 2019 budget which is only 1% of the City’s outside agency budget allowance, detailing some of what the organization does for the community. She thanked Council for their continued support of the arts and the community. Cliff Glickman, grant writer for Virginia Legal Aid explains one of their challenges is people are not familiar with what they do and offer. In 2016, only 1% of court cases had an attorney for both sides. Previously, less than ¾ of funding comes from federal and state resources; the rest has come from various foundations. In 2017, they began a pro bono project where several Martinsville attorney’s volunteer their services. Chris Morris requested level funding for the engineering department and an increase in Street Maintenance due to increased hours and special events with an increased focus on safety. If there are leftover funds from snow removal, those funds go towards street pavement. The City receives additional money from VDOT for street maintenance. If Council awarded additional funds he would put it towards replacing some heavy equipment and hiring another engineering employee. City Manager Towarnicki summarized capital priorities according to the capital committee. There being no further business, Council Member Bowles made a motion to adjourn. Vice Mayor Martin seconded the motion with all in favor. The meeting adjourned at 9:06pm. ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Karen Roberts, Clerk of Council Gene Teague, Mayor