City Council

CITY OF POCATELLO, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL MEETING- BUDGET DEVELOPMENT JUNE 14, 2012 Mayor Brian Blad called the City Council meeting for budget development to order at 9:40 a.m. Council members present were Roger Bray, Steve Brown, Craig Cooper, Gary Moore and Eva Johnson Nye. David Swindell, Chief Financial Officer, overviewed the schedule for the meeting. He reminded the Council of the decisions that were made at the previous meeting on June 7, 2012 for budget development and reviewed the information handouts available. General discussion was held regarding City employee wages and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) comparisons for Fiscal Year 2005 through Fiscal Year 2012 which included medical insurance coverage. It may be difficult to determine actual costs because medical benefits are in constant change depending on the circumstances of the employee. However, if one compares medical benefit costs with the portion the City pays, the City has kept up with the CPI. City employee wages and medical benefit increases were reviewed and actual comparisons made. Mr. Swindell recommended that the focus be made on employee wages because recruiting efforts rely more heavily on the pay scale offered by the City. Council discussed various items on the Decision Spreadsheet. Mr. Swindell provided additional information to the Council on the medical insurance reserve fund that will no longer be necessary with the City going fully insured by Blue Cross. It was suggested that this fund be used for various projects that need to be done. Discussion regarding the Edson Fichter paving project and funding amounts anticipated from Idaho Fish and Game to complete the project was held. Mr. Moore mentioned the City’s compensation package has always included wages and benefits. He feels employees should receive a small increase in wages in addition to paying a portion of the increased cost for their medical insurance. Kim Smith, Human Resources Director, and Mike Duersch, Benefits Coordinator, reviewed the employee wages and health benefits. Mr. Bray suggested that employees receive $250.00 in their VEBA account for having blood work done at the City’s health fair and an additional $250.00 after verification of a wellness check from their physician. Ms. Smith agreed with Mr. Bray’s suggestion to hold back a percentage of VEBA dollars ($500.00) until certain guidelines are met. Human Resource staff is proposing this change as a CITY COUNCIL MEETING- 2 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT JUNE 14, 2012 greater incentive to get employees to follow through with utilizing their wellness benefits since the current incentives do not seem to be working. Council shared ideas of how to keep up with the costs of health care and proposed changes to City employee wages. Additional discussion addressing the concerns citizens may have regarding wages and benefits given to employees followed. Mr. Swindell gave a review of Mayor Blad’s proposal to balance the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget. Upon review, the Council decided to review the previous spreadsheet to determine cutbacks to the budget. Mr. Bray stated the 2012 property tax assessment for Bannock County had some issues. The City took a hit because some property did not assess at the amount predicted. He feels a small increase in the levy rate will still be low in comparison to past figures. Mr. Swindell reminded the Council that based upon the decisions made at the June 7, 2012 meeting the levy rate would increase by approximately 5%. He provided information on factors that impact property taxes. Mr. Swindell presented various scenarios of how taxing entities have changed policies that affect the City’s revenue. Council continued to discuss various items on the Decision Spreadsheet. Mr. Swindell provided additional information to the Council on various items on the spreadsheet. The age of City owned vehicles and determining the need to replace vehicles were reviewed. It was noted that other than the patrol fleet in the Police Department, the other departments are driving older vehicles. Discussion to replace very old vehicles was gone over and options to replace vehicles through many of the avenues available to government entities. It was suggested that Department heads track vehicle maintenance costs to help determine when vehicles should be replaced. Council began discussion regarding Raymond Park tennis court renovations. It was determined the City is not in a position to completely renovate the tennis courts at this time. However, the City could move forward with doing a temporary fix so the tennis courts can last a few more years. Mr. Sepich explained major cracks in the tennis courts reappeared very quickly after the last temporary fix. He noted the cracks are now 1½ inches wide and feels it will be difficult CITY COUNCIL MEETING- 3 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT JUNE 14, 2012 to do a quick fix. However, Mr. Sepich reviewed the options that have been researched to temporarily correct the problem. It was noted that Parks staff cannot find a vendor who will guarantee the products used to fill the cracks because of the poor condition of the courts. Mr. Bray mentioned he would like to schedule maintenance of the courts on a year-to-year basis until a final decision can be made. He noted Council has seen presentations showing extensive landscaping plans to the area near the river and he is hesitant to put $200,000.00 into tennis court renovations if the City will eventually lose access. Mr. Johnson would like to see the Raymond Park tennis courts visualized as a community asset and hold competitions there. Mayor Blad reminded the Council there are ADA access issues with the current location of the courts. Council discussion regarding restroom facilities at the Zoo entrance began. It was suggested that instead of eliminating restrooms for the park by placing them inside the zoo boundaries, other ideas to incorporate new restrooms as part of the Zoo entrance remodel should be considered. Mr. Johnston feels the Zoo is a community jewel and should have appropriate restrooms and public entrance that the City can be proud of. Mike Irwin, Fire Chief, reviewed his department’s request for an additional Battalion Chief. He feels the position would be very beneficial for the Fire Department and would allow each shift to receive the same training and help eliminate over-time hours. Mr. Bray does not feel the new position request should be considered until the new Ambulance Levy positions are in place to see how staff functions with the change. Council discussed adding a full-time zookeeper position in conjunction with the opening of the new Grizzly Bear Exhibit. It was noted zoo animals need year around care and part-time positions are mostly seasonal. Mr. Ransom feels Zoo revenues will increase as the exhibits increase. He noted that improved ADA access to the upper level of the zoo and new bathrooms where the Grizzly Bear Exhibit is located will increase the number of visitors at the zoo. CITY COUNCIL MEETING- 4 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT JUNE 14, 2012 It was the consensus of the Council to add the zookeeper position to the budget. Mr. Sepich discussed revenue projects for the City’s Fun Runs and other Outdoor Recreation programs. As a result of increased participation in these programs, additional positions are needed and he feels there will be an increase in revenue to support the positions. Mayor Blad called a recess at 12:12 p.m. Mayor Blad reconvened the meeting at 1:03 p.m. David Swindell reviewed the discussion from the morning session and the budget gap still needing to be solved. The Council continued to discuss items on the Decision Spreadsheet. Various scenarios were studied to balance the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. Tax Levy amounts were discussed and it was determined to add $300,000.00 to the current levy amount. It was mentioned that this amount equals 3.20 percent less than the rate in 2011 as the result of fluctuation in the actual assessment mistake in 2012. It was the consensus of the Council to allow City department heads determine cuts from their expenses to balance the budget. In response to questions from the Council, department heads provided additional information on various items on the Decision Spreadsheet. The Decision Spreadsheet showing the consensus of the Council is attached as a permanent part of the minutes (see Attachment “A”). Mayor Blad adjourned the meeting for budget development at 1:14 p.m. APPROVED: BRIAN C. BLAD, MAYOR ATTEST: RUTH E. WHITWORTH, CMC, CITY CLERK