Town Council Regular Meeting

Town of Tyrone Budget Work Session Minutes May 12, 2015 – 9:00 AM Present: Mayor Eric Dial Mayor Pro Tem Gloria Furr Council Member Linda Howard Town Manager Kyle Hood Town Finance Director Sandy Beach Chief of Police Brandon Perkins The Invocation was be given by Mayor Dial, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comments Approval of Agenda Council Member Matthews made a motion to approve the agenda. Council Member Furr seconded the motion. Motion was approved 3-0. CONSENT AGENDA: All matters listed under this item are considered to be routine by the Town Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered separately. PRESENTATIONS/RECOGNITION: PUBLIC HEARING: OLD BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS: 1. Discussion of proposed budget for FY 2015-2016. Kyle Hood, Town Manager Mr. Hood opened the work session by making introductory remarks about revisions to the format and process that have led up to the day’s first discussion of the proposed budget. Particular interest was given to procedural efficiencies and the willingness of the departments to act as good stewards of the public trust; having weathered the recession and maintained high-level services with fewer resources. The Mayor and Town Council were also recognized for their allocation of monies to address deferred maintenance items and equipment purchases. 9:15 am – Personnel Lengthy discussion was held about the quality of our staffing and specific needs in various departments. The maintenance staff in Public Works is some of the hardest working, yet least paid employees of the Town. Councilman Matthews makes a motion to move each of the guys into a higher step within their pay grade. Councilwoman Furr seconds the motion. The motion was approved 3-0, but was later withdrawn after more discussion. Chief Perkins presented to Mayor and Council a retention and recruitment package that he believes will help to attract more viable candidates for departmental vacancies; while also allowing the Town to lose fewer certified officers to neighboring jurisdictions that are currently paying more for similar positions. Specifically, Chief Perkins is soliciting additional discretionary money to increase the new-hire pay range and to give an across-the-board increase to the department during this time when public safety personnel is under unnecessarily high scrutiny and facing a more robust threat than perhaps ever in recent memory. Councilman Matthews makes a motion to increase the starting pay range to an amount not to exceed $36,199.80 annually. Councilwoman Howard seconds the motion. The motion is approved 3-0. More discussion is had about the current staffing and the request for 5% hazard pay increase, which will not include the Chief or Major positions. Councilman Matthews makes a motion to approve the increase for July 1, 2015. Councilwoman Howard seconds the motion. The motion is approved 3-0. Clarification is given that the new hire pay changes are effective immediately, while the approved departmental salary adjustments are approved in principle and shall be included, exclusive of other changes, in the proposed FY16 budget. Mr. Hood brought Town Council up to speed on the hiring process for the Environmental Planning staff position previously held by Beth Vaughn. After a review of resumes and two rounds of interviews, the top candidate has been identified and Mr. Hood seeks authorization to hire in up to $45,000. Councilman Matthews makes a motion to allow for the hiring salary to not exceed $45,000 annually. Councilwoman Howard seconds the motion. The motion is approved 3-0. Additional conversation is had relating to other employees who are listed in the same grade on the salary guideline document. Mr. Hood suggests that some of the positions should be listed separately due to the nature and environment of the work. Two positions as different as Town Clerk and Public Works Supervisor, while both important, do not share enough commonality to be listed together. It requested that the current Public Works Supervisor’s salary be considered when hiring the Environmental Planning Technician. Councilwoman Howard also asks that staff reconsider what the Town Clerk is making, by comparison. After it is determined that meritorious increases should be consider going into the next budget year, all previous motions are withdrawn in favor of the Town Manager, Chief and Finance Director reviewing staff performance and recommending increases to be approved for the July 1st budget. 10:20 am – Revenue Mr. Hood shares with Council that he and Ms. Beach have used historical averages on the anticipated revenue, but that estimates continue to be conservative so as to keep Town spending in line with Public expectations and Council recommendations. Projections for Local Option Sales Tax collections are up due to the Town’s percentage stake increase over previous years. 10:45 am – General Fund Departments Minor amounts of discussion take place regarding the clarification of what items are included in various cost code line items. Ms. Beach briefs Council on consolidations that have been made that will show incidental changes in Town Hall departments due to it being too inefficient to break out the cost of drinking water, for example, based on the number of employees. Additional finance changes include eliminating the Veterans Park fund and bringing it under the general Parks budget. Also, supplemental fund accounts that contain little money or were established for specific projects are going to be dissolved to streamline office processes. 11:00 am – Capital Improvement Plan and Enterprise Funds Mayor Dial and Mr. Hood updated members of Town Council on the status of several projects and upcoming opportunities to highlight the Town’s development prospect and work with neighboring jurisdictions. The Enterprise Funds (sewerage and sanitation, respectively) continue to be in great financial standing. Mr. Hood and Ms. Beach will make all corrections, additions and deletions that were discussed and send back out a draft budget for consideration at the first public hearing on June 4th. Public Comments Staff Comments Council Comments Executive Session Adjournment Council Member Howard made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 11:20 am. ____________________ __________________ Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk