City Council Finance Committee Meeting

FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES February 21, 2019 The City Council Finance Committee of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met at 4:00 pm in the Municipal Building Executive Conference Room on the 21st day of February, 2019, and notice and agenda of the meeting were posted in the Municipal Building at 201 West Gray and the Norman Public Library at 225 North Webster 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. PRESENT: Chair Castleberry, Members Bierman, and Wilson ABSENT: Member Joe Carter OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Lynne Miller Anthony Francisco, Director of Finance Mary Rupp, Interim City Manager Gala Hicks, Director of Human Resources Kim Coffman, Budget Manager Kathryn Walker, Interim City Attorney Alison Petrone, candidate for City Council Roger Gallagher, Veterans Parade Committee Item 1, being: DISCUSSON AND REVIEW OF OUTSIDE AGENCY REPORTS AND/OR REQUESTS FROM THE FOLLOWING: • Social and Voluntary Services Commission • Veterans Day Parade Committee • Center for Children and Families • Firehouse Art Center • Cleveland County Historic Museum • Sooner Theater • Aging Services-Kiwanis Kruiser • Performing Arts Studio • Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART) Anthony Francisco stated that the Veterans Day Parade asked for an increase from $400 to $450, the Center for Children and Families requested an increase from $110,000 to $120,000, the Performing Arts Studio did not make a request, and CART has a reduction from $635,000 to $625,000 assuming we do not contract this service out to another agency. Chair Castleberry asked how we are going about deciding what to do with the CART service. Interim City Manager Mary Rupp stated that City staff is working on the CART contract. We are currently waiting on the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) in regards to what information they will require from the City and OU about the current service. We do not know if the transition process will be completed before July 1, 2019. Finance Committee Minutes February 21, 2019 Page 2 Francisco stated that the handout does not include the Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC) because we have not received their request as of yet. Chair Castleberry stated that the NEDC is looking at restructuring, so they may be behind schedule. Interim City Manager Rupp stated that NEDC and the Chamber of Commerce are discussing merging to form one organization. Mayor Miller stated that the City would just help fund the economic “wing” of this organization if this happens. Member Wilson stated that she is hesitant to approve any funding without knowing what the final structure will be. Member Bierman stated that she would like to see more funding go to programs that help with homelessness; she would like more funding on top of what is funded by the Voluntary and Social Services request. Chair Castleberry asked what Mr. Francisco thought next fiscal year’s General Fund budget would look like. Francisco stated that we are projecting a little less than $1 million in loss for the General Fund. The Committee agreed unanimously to recommend approval of all of the above requests for funding from outside agencies. ***** Item 2, being: SUBMISSION OF THE REVENUE/EXPENDITURE REPORTS Francisco stated that the February sales tax collection, which reflects sales in December, was down, but the January sales tax collection, which reflects sales in November, was way up. This is very pronounced this year, which means people are doing their holiday shopping early. Holiday sales were up a little bit this fiscal year, so we are up about 2.75% as a whole for the general purpose sales tax. This is above our budgetary projection, but is below our historic growth rate of about 4%. Items submitted for the record: 1. Summary of Major Fund Revenue Sources vs. Budget FYE 2019 as of January 31, 2019 2. Summary of Major Fund Expenditures vs. Budget FYE 2019 as of January 31, 2019 3. Appropriations from Fund Balance FY19 4. General Fund Transfers over $50,000 between Expenditure Categories FYE 19 January 2019 5. Norman Forward Sales Tax Financial Reports ***** Finance Committee Minutes February 21, 2019 Page 3 Item 3, being: SUBMISSION OF THE REPORT ON OPEN POSITIONS Gala Hicks stated that we have many open positions. There will be a Fire Academy starting soon and we are looking for 11 or 12 recruits. We did finally fill all of the open Animal Welfare positions. Items submitted for the record: 1. City of Norman Position Vacancy Report dated 2/13/19 ***** Item 4, being: MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS Roger Gallagher stated that the insurance for the Veteran’s Day Parade is not usually $450 and wondered why the increase in funding. Chair Castleberry stated that they are anticipating the insurance rates to increase. The meeting adjourned at 4:35 pm. ATTEST: City Clerk Mayor