City Council

City of Trotwood 3035 Olive Road Trotwood, Ohio 45426 937.837.7771 www.trotwood.org Meeting Minutes - Final Wednesday, November 20, 2024 6:30 PM Budget Workshop Trotwood Community and Cultural Arts Center 4000 Lake Center Drive, Trotwood, Ohio 45426 City Council Mayor Yvette F. Page Vice Mayor Tyna R. Brown, Ward 4 Council Member Bettye L. Gales, Ward 1 Council Member Martha H. Clark, Ward 2 Council Member Charles Ron Vaughn, Ward 3 Council Member Rhonda C. Finley, At Large Council Member Denise Moore, At Large Clerk of Council Kara B. Landis City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 20, 2024 I. Call to Order Mayor Page called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Page led the Pledge of Allegiance. III. Roll Call Clerk Landis took Roll Call and advised that Council Member Finley was unable to attend in person due to her work schedule, but that she is joining the workshop virtually. Council Member Moore arrived at 6:45 p.m. IV. Approve the Agenda Mayor Page requested a Motion to approve the Agenda. A Motion was made by Vice Mayor Brown, seconded by Council Member Gales, and the Motion CARRIED by the following vote: Aye: 5- Council Member Gales, Council Member Clark, Council Member Vaughn, Vice Mayor Brown and Mayor Page Excused: 2- Council Member Moore and Council Member Finley V. Presentation PR34-24 Presentation of the 2025 Proposed Annual Operating Budget (10-minute presentations) Police Department Fire and Rescue Department Public Works Department Finance Department Planning and Development Department Planning and Zoning Division Code Enforcement and Inspection Division Recreation Department Personnel Department City Manager Mayor and Council Attachments: PR34-24 Presentation City Manager Pope introduced the proposed FY 2025 All Funds Operating Budget. He reviewed the details of the Expenditure and Revenue Budgets and concluded his opening remarks by announcing that the 2025 General Fund Budget is balanced. City Manager Pope thanked the City employees who worked hard to develop the budget, specifically Finance Director Peeples and Assistant Finance Director Kilbarger. City of Trotwood Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 20, 2024 City Manager Pope stated that the Cost of Living Allowance, or "COLA", shown on each budget center is aligned with the union's negotiated wage increase of 5%, as the City has always awarded the same increase to all employees, union and non-union. Department Directors then reviewed their respective proposed 2025 Budget as shown in the attached Presentation. Presenters included Police Chief Erik Wilson, Fire Chief Rick Haacke, Operations Manager Johnny McCluskey, Finance Director Chris Peeples, Planning and Zoning Administrator Tyler Hauck, Deputy City Manager Stephanie Kellum for Marketing Coordinator Charles Wheeler, Human Resource Generalist Portia Hill, City Manager Quincy Pope, and Mayor Yvette Page. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Council Member Vaughn mentioned how Council approved salary increases last year to help with retention and recruitment efforts and that those increases placed the City's pay as the second highest among 12 agencies. Council Member Vaughn asked where salaries currently stand in comparison to the other agencies. Chief Wilson explained that when Council last increased salaries, because union negotiations are ongoing, other agencies did the same. He stated that at this time, the department's salaries fall in the middle, which he believes is a good place to be on the list. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Council Member Vaughn asked about the change of part-time employees. Chief Haacke explained that this is due to the reallocation of funding for part-time employees from 50/50 to 60/40 between Suppression and EMS, not the number of employees. FINANCE DEPARTMENT: Council Member Moore asked about water rates and who owns the water lines. Finance Director Peeples explained that the City owns lines and we buy our water from the City of Dayton. He added that the City is serviced by three providers: the City, the County, and Jefferson Authority, but all buy their water from the City of Dayton. Council Member Moore asked why there are three providers. Operations Supervisor McCluskey explained that when Madison Township merged with the City of Trotwood the County continued to maintain the lines in the township, but they did not want to take on the City lines. Therefore, the City continues to maintain the water lines for the area that was the City prior to the merger and added that Jefferson Authority maintains the lines for a very small section of the City. Council Member Moore asked if the rates are the same for all three providers. Finance Director Peeples explained that the rates are not the same for all three providers because they are different owners. Operations Supervisor McCluskey shared that the City has explored the idea of other water sources or even having their own water source; however, the cost for both options is astronomical. City Manager Pope added that this is a long range strategy for the City, and because most other communities also purchase their water from the City of Dayton there is an idea of a joint water facility. He shared that there has also been discussion on extending water lines out west as there are areas within the City that do not have access to City water. Operations Supervisor McCluskey shared that water quality is also a big factor to consider when thinking of joining another source. Council Member Vaughn asked for clarification on the additional $100,000. Finance Director Peeples explained that this amount reflects the rate increase City of Trotwood Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 20, 2024 from the City of Dayton. Council Member Vaughn asked if that increase is passed on to customers. Finance Director Peeples stated that increases have not been passed on to customers, but that discussion will need to take place as the City cannot continue to absorb the rate increases. PLANNING AND ZONING: Council Member Moore asked about the increase of $120,000 to the TCIC and if that is due to an increase of employees. City Manager Pope explained that years ago when the City decided that the TCIC would be the economic development arm of the City they were focused on residential development, which was very successful. However, now the TCIC is focusing on commercial development and their responsibilities have increased to include grant administration, development agreements, etc. City Manager Pope referred to information contained in a document shared with Council (attached) that details the amount of money other communities seed to their CIC compared to their population and that Trotwood is way below all of these communities. He shared that he believes the City's attitude about development is not consistent with their behavior - saying they want development but they are not making the needed investment to make it happen. City Manager Pope stated that the TCIC has generated over $225 million in capital investment compared to the City only seeding $120,000 so his argument is that it pails in comparison to the increase in the City's tax base and the hundreds of new jobs in the community. He then quoted the tax dollars generated by these investments: Beontag will generate over $800,000 in the first five years; Westrafo will generate over $900,000 in the first five years, for a total of over $1.7 million in tax dollars in five years. City Manager Pope commented that the City has to invest in development in order to take the tax burden off of the residents and further, he has a letter signed by him as Chair of the TCIC Board of Directors, along with the entire Board, requesting that the amount seeded to the TCIC be increased by $120,000 for a total of $240,000. Council Member Vaughn added that he has been a member of the TCIC Board of Directors for many years and explained that he has asked what the cost would be to add one City employee to do this work rather than to contract with a CIC. He said he was told that one director would cost the City between $150,000 and $200,000 annually. Council Member Vaughn added that our CIC operates in several areas outside of economic development. MAYOR AND COUNCIL: Mayor Page stated that funds for travel and training have been increased to support learning opportunities from organizations such as OML and that Council will be receiving two City shirts each year. Council Member Moore asked how much wiggle room is in Council's budget for certain projects. Mayor Page stated that it depends on the nature of each project and that proposals will need to be submitted for approval. City Manager Pope announced that the City is in the running for another large company coming to the City of Trotwood. He thanked Council for their leadership and their vision for the community. City Manager Pope ended by shared that at the ribbon cutting for Beontag, they announced that they will be having a research and development arm at their facility, which will add around 100 more jobs for scientists and engineers that will pay six figures. City of Trotwood Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 20, 2024 VI. Adjourn Mayor Page confirmed that all minds were clear and adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m. City of Trotwood Page 4