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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.28.05 Work Session Minutes COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES 2006 BUDGET CITY ADMINISTRATOR SELECTION PROCESS September 28, 2005 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Soderberg called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson Also Present: Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Robin Roland, Acting City Administrator/Finance Director; Dan Siebenaler, Police Chief; Lee Mann, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Bill Sauber, Fire Department; Rosemary Swedin, Accountant; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant 2. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. 2006 BUDGET Finance Director Roland gave an overview of the budget document and how the items contained in the budget are determined. She explained the separate funds and the expenses that come out of those funds. In putting the budget together, 2005 was used as a base year. Council had directed staff to look at a 14% levy increase. Of that levy increase, $100,000 went to pay for additional debt service. $175,000 of the levy went to a capital project fund to pay for the acquisition of computers and equipment throughout the City instead of bonding for them. The balance of the levy went to the General Fund. Staff made some minor changes to the 2005 revised budget. In July the City was in good shape. However, staff is still concerned about building permits. There was a significant rise in building permits this week because two new developments have opened. There should be an increase in OctoberlNovember but that might not be enough. Therefore, staff is looking at potential cuts which will be presented to Council later in October. Mayor Soderberg noted capital acquisitions are budgeted at $175,000, but there is $199,000 in expenditures. Finance Director Roland explained that fund has accumulated a fund balance from previous years' bonding. She noted the Fire Chief has asked to have an item he put forward reconsidered as it was pushed off to a future year. This is for an air compressor. Fire Chief Kuchera requested this equipment be in the budget for 2006 and it was shifted to 2007. Each of the departments was asked for a prioritization, and when one was not received, the choice was made between refurbishing the rescue truck in 2006 in order to put that in the new fire station or the $25,000 for the air compressor. A new air compressor will also be installed in the new station in addition to this replacement. Mr. Sauber explained the capabilities ofthe current compressor compared to a new compressor. The current one cannot be filled to capacity. The Fire Department Council Workshop September 28, 2005 Page 2 has applied for a grant, but it has not been officially awarded. Ifthe grant is received, it could be used to pay for the compressor in 2006 and it could then be eliminated in 2007. Mayor Soderberg then asked about the private capital projects fund. Finance Director Roland replied that accounts for the 25% overhead collected for engineering and administrative projects. She explained how the billing process works. Councilmember McKnight asked about the building permit number and how it was determined. Finance Director Roland replied $950,000 is for 350 new building permits. A new building permit is approximately $2,750 including base fee and plan review. This number has been used for the last two years. In 2004 the number was 440 permits, however, Riverbend did not come in. This number does not cover any commercial, industrial or retail permits. They are a separate revenue that is not budgeted. Councilmember McKnight stated his question goes to looking at this year and last year and not achieving the anticipated revenues. Why keep the revenue that high for next year? Finance Director Roland stated Community Development has assured her we have enough development in the pipeline to go for 500 houses in 2005. Unfortunately, we are behind the curve. We have the lots and the demand, but not enough time to get it done before year end. For the month of September so far there are 35 building permits. In 2003 the number of permits was budgeted at 275 and came in at 543. Police Chief Siebenaler explained that last year the Riverbend development was delayed by a lawsuit and this resulted in the shortage of building permits. This year there is Charleswood Crossing, Parkview Ponds and Mystic Meadows. Parkview Ponds began issuing permits on Friday which was later than expected. Mystic Meadows is installing curbing today. Charleswood has been issuing permits for two weeks. This year the lots exist which is the difference from last year. Finance Director Roland stated we may not make the 350 permits, but we will probably make the dollars because of commercial, industrial and retail that are not budgeted. Councilmember McKnight stated he wants to go for the dollars. This revenue has been missed the last couple years, so he would rather over achieve in the next couple years. He would like to reduce that number and he realized that would mean finding cuts somewhere else. Finance Director Roland stated as of yesterday there were 1,420 lots platted. Parkview Ponds has 147 lots available now. Charleswood Crossing is 151 lots. Mystic Meadows 1 st Addition has 274 lots. Middle Creek East has 26 lots left. Middle Creek Estates has 26 lots left. The final plat for Executive Estates will be presented at the next Council Meeting and that has 99 lots. We will run out of year before we get the houses in. Councilmember McKnight suggested changing the number to 300 building permits which equals $825,000. We have 350 permits in the budget at $950,000. This is a decrease of$125,000. Mayor Soderberg noted we are budgeting to dip into the fund balance in 2006. Finance Director Roland stated that is Citywide. Mayor Soderberg stated we are still short $144,000. Does that come out of the fund balance? Finance Director Roland stated it comes out ofthe fund balance in a variety of different funds not in the general fund. The $144,000 comes from the debt service fund which is what that fund is there for- exclusively to pay for debt. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated we budgeted for this year at $1.1 million in permits. Finance Director Roland stated that includes all permits. All permits is not just building permits, but also water, sewer, deck, burning permits, etc. Councilmember Pritzlaff Council Workshop September 28, 2005 Page 3 stated the lots may be there, but he is hearing the market is not going up. He asked what would be wrong with being under budgeted at 300 and hit 350. He asked how many permits does it take to budget that department. Finance Director Roland stated the building permits do not fund just the building department. The general fund accumulates the revenue and it all goes to pay for different things. For a number of years the building permit revenues exceeded the number of expenses charged to it. When building permits are down, we still have the staff and have to pay for inspections. The gap in what we collect for permits and what we have to payout in permit expenses is narrower than it has been in previous years. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked why we do not budget for commercial permits. Finance Director Roland stated because up until now it has not been a significant factor in the City's budget. To reduce the budgeted number of building permits to 300 staffwill have to come up with $125,000 worth of cuts in order to make the budget balance. The cost of the permits is based on the value of the home, so if300 permits come in, the dollar amount equal to 350 permits could be there. Finance Director Roland stated it is her goal to balance the budget for 2005. Last year the fund balance was 21 %. The goal is 35% to 45%. Mayor Soderberg agreed to find a way to reduce the revenue side. Councilmember Fogarty agreed with that for next year and in 2007 look at 350 permits. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated if we see the commercial come in 2006, could we start to put the commercial back in for 2007. The rest of Council was reluctant to do that. Finance Director Roland asked if Council had any suggestions as to where to cut $125,000. Mayor Soderberg stated he is not suggesting cutting $125,000 or drop to 300 building permits. Weare looking at $950,000. Councilmember McKnight stated the easiest place to look is at the potential new positions or delaying them. His preference would be everything before the police officers. Police Chief Siebenaler stated the Police Department will share in any cuts that are made. We will suffer along with everyone else. There is not a department in the City that is not understaffed. It is his desire not to be held apart. Police Chief Siebenaler then explained the staffing plan for the Police Department. His plan at 27,000 population shows a staffing ratio of 1.26 police officers for every 1,000 in population. For cities between 10,000 - 25,000 population there is an average of 1.34 officers per 1,000 in population. Two years ago we were at .84 officers per 1,000 population. That was the lowest ratio in the state. He developed a plan based on population, projected growth and the number of officers. The plan gets us up to speed to 1.1 officers per 1,000 population by the time we reach 25,000 population. The profile calls for hiring three officers per year for five years to get to the 1.1 officers and 25,000 population. Ifwe had not grown at all this year we would still have to hire six officers to catch up with the population. In 2005 they budgeted for three officers. The school requested another School Resource Officer and the school paid for him. Due to budget constraints he asked for two officers for 2006 and spread them out over the year. Today the population is estimated at 20,000 as of July/August. If the Certificates of Occupancy continue we will hit 20,500 by the end of the year. Right now we are at 1 officer per 1,000 population. Finance Director Roland stated the officer positions are already delayed in order to make the numbers fit and to fit the training schedule. Councilmember Pritzlaff did not want to delay officers so he asked ifthere was something else the Police Department could do. Council Workshop September 28, 2005 Page 4 Police Chief Siebenaler stated they had projected a promotion to Administrative Sergeant in 2006 which would be a savings of $8,900. He assured Council if they want staff to make cuts they will do so and asked Council to trust them to make the best priority cuts. Finance Director Roland stated many ofthem were fortunate to attend a national conference. Human Resources Director Wendlandt will not be able to go to a national conference this year because of the budget crunch. Ifno one goes next year, we are all giving it up. Eight departments at $1,000-$1,500 each you are saving $10,000. Some staff would go to a national conference and pay for it themselves. 70% of the money spent in the City is personnel. The price of fuel is significantly higher in 2005 than budgeted. Staff is looking for ways to reduce the amount of fuel used. They now wait until a garbage truck is full before making the trip to dump it. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about getting our own fuel tanks. Finance Director Roland stated we have the slab and we could buy the tanks which cost $150,000. The tanks we were looking at were 6,000 gallons. City Engineer Mann stated even if you buy gas in bulk it still takes a lot of years to pay offthat expense, probably more than five years. The City uses 6,000 - 8,000 gallons per month. Councilmember Wilson noted for 2006 the Police Department would like to add two officers and a promotion to Sergeant. If revenues come in, he assumed they would want the opportunity to add a third officer. Finance Director Roland replied no. The CSO is in the 2005 budget, but we stopped having a CSO in August so we will save four months of that salary. In the 2006 budget there is 12 months worth of salary. Ifwe do not hire a CSO until April, then we have a savings, but right now there is no carryover. Police Chief Siebenaler stated if there is excess it goes to the general fund. Councilmember Fogarty stated she would be comfortable ifpeople asked to accelerate the positions. Police Chief Siebenaler replied staff would not be comfortable with that. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the $19,000 for elections. Staff noted the school also has an election next year which will be combined with the City's election. The school will be billed for a portion of the ballot. Councilmember Wilson felt the debt service is looking good. Finance Director Roland stated she is proud of how the debt service looks. They have worked hard over the last few years to pay offthe debt and consolidate bonds. There are two bond issues which will be levied in 2007. In 2006 there is a debt service of $2.7 million to be paid. In 2007 we will pay $2,767,564. Mayor Soderberg asked if there are expenses they can expect to see in 2006 that are not in the budget. Finance Director Roland explained what the insurance pays for with regard to a lawsuit and the current lawsuits that are pending. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked how snow removal was budgeted for 2006. City Engineer Mann stated for 2005 as of August we used 72% ofthe snow budget. There has been an increase in cost for salt and sand. He figures the number of average events which is about 14. He does not cut the budget back because one year was a light year. He tries to keep it even. Finance Director Roland stated we still have ten employees that are working. The savings is in gas, salt and sand, and some overtime. Council Workshop September 28, 2005 Page 5 Councilmember Wilson asked for an illustration of how the revised 2006 budget would treat a property owner with property worth $150,000, $200,000, $250,000, $300,000, $350,000 and up. It was decided to hold a second budget workshop on October 26,2005, at 6:00 p.m. 4. CITY ADMINISTRATOR SELECTION PROCESS Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson Also Present: Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Robin Roland, Acting City Administrator/Finance Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director Mayor Soderberg stated Ms. Ruthe Batulis, President of the Northern Dakota Chamber of Commerce offered her assistance in the search process. He felt interviews are Council's job and does not want outside entities involved in the interview process. However, designing and offering suggestions on the profile could be valuable input. The Chamber has provided this input. Mayor Soderberg also received a call two weeks ago from Mr. Jerry Serfling, the former labor Business Agent concerned about the selection for an Interim City Administrator. He was referred to the City Attorney. Acting City Administrator Roland and Human Resources Director Wendlandt had also mentioned they might want some input, so Mayor Soderberg contacted Mr. Serfling and received an e-mail from him. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated staff has updated a portion of the profile and the announcement and provided copies to Council. The ICMA website has some guidelines for recruiting City Administrators and she also provided copies of these and a suggested timeline. Staff discussed with Council whether they want a City Application completed and a resume. Councilmember McKnight stated there should be an application and a resume at a minimum. Councilmember Fogarty would like references, and was not sure if she wanted letters of recommendation. Councilmember Wilson felt requesting a reference letter showed a sincere interest. Mayor Soderberg felt the January 30, 2006 start date could be flexible. Staff gave Council three options as to how to narrow down the applications. Mayor Soderberg asked Attorney Poehler how interviews can be conducted without violating the open meeting law. Attorney Poehler stated you could have someone in a room and each Councilmember interview them individually. She would recommend doing them as an open meeting. Staff noted last time they were identified by number. In the last process, Council received the top 12 or 10 and they discussed each candidate and narrowed it down to the five they wanted to interview. Councilmember McKnight suggested including the starting salary and the full salary range in the announcement. He noted it did not state the years of experience required. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated last time they required a degree and they had a good candidate who did not have a degree. She talked to him about how broad they want to make this so she left the years of experience out. Council also asked about the budget figure and the population. Councilmember McKnight would like to see years of experience and a degree or equivalent. Councilmember Fogarty agreed. Mayor Soderberg noted the NDC's recommendations are not that different from what Council has. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated they are similar to the job Council Workshop September 28, 2005 Page 6 description. A profile is intended to be a quick overview and not a job description. Mayor Soderberg stated Mr. Serfling liked the walk-around management style, suggested letting the union know as soon as they have a list of finalists and his last suggestion was for the union to be included in the interviews. Mayor Soderberg had informed him that Council will be doing the interviews. Acting City Administrator Roland stated the question arose at the Chamber lunch how they would help interview the candidates. She noted last time there was a reception where all the candidates were available to talk to anyone. This would satisfy the union representatives, the business community, and line staff. She suggested Council may want to consider this. Mayor Soderberg felt this was a good idea. Councilmember McKnight agreed. He suggested doing this the night before the interviews. Human Resources Director Wendlandt talked about where to post the announcement. If Council wanted to look for candidates nationally, it could be posted on the ICMA website. The fee is $250/ad for up to 30 days. Mayor Soderberg had no problem with looking at candidates nationally. Stafftypically places ads with the LMC, Star Tribune, Farmington Independent, possibly the Pioneer Press. The ad would also be sent to the Metro Area HR listserv or the Metro Area Managers listserv. The information would also be on the City's website. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if we only receive 10-20 applications, do you still narrow it down to five. Staff replied typically it is five or six. Mayor Soderberg stated when we get to November 18, there are three options. He asked if Council wanted to see all the applicants and narrow it down, or should Human Resources Director Wendlandt develop some criteria to narrow them down. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated Council also has the option of having a selection committee of the Council narrow them down. Councilmember Fogarty suggested Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember McKnight be on the selection committee with Human Resources Director Wendlandt. Council agreed. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated they use a 100 pt scale, giving each qualification a point rating. Those that are closest to 100 pts would move on. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if having a management team member involved would come back to haunt us. Councilmember McKnight explained that Council would have the final decision. The timeline suggests the Council meet November 28 to discuss the candidates and narrow it down to five or six. Background checks could then be conducted by the police department. The psychological tests would be done by an outside firm. Councilmember Fogarty stated she likes to do her own reference checks. Staff noted police officers tend to get more information than Human Resources. Councilmember McKnight recommended it be done both ways. Human Resources Director Wendlandt confirmed Council wanted the management assessment from either Martin McAlister, PDI, etc. and the background checks would be done by the police department and Council. Mayor Soderberg asked if Council felt there was a need to have a consultant involved in the process. The consensus was to not involve a consultant in the process. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated the next step is a candidate reception which was discussed. This information will be included in the Council packets. Council Workshop September 28, 2005 Page 7 Human Resources Director Wendlandt reviewed what was updated as far as the City Administrator profile. Finance Director Roland stated currently the title for this position is City Administrator/City Clerk. There are some people who would look at the position more favorably as just a City Administrator position and the Clerk's duties were assigned to another position. The last three Administrators commented it would be nice to separate those duties. There is a natural place to put the Clerk's duties which would be with the Administrative Services Director and the Deputy Clerk's duties could then be assigned to another person. This would require an ordinance change. In surrounding cities the Clerk's duties are separate from the City Administrator. Councilmember Wilson felt it was time to separate them. Councilmember McKnight felt nothing should be done now and suggested letting the City Administrator do it. Attorney Poehler stated it is a hold over from being a small community where those functions are combined. Councilmember Fogarty felt it should be left as is. The announcement just reads City Administrator. Mayor Soderberg felt the new City Administrator should make the decision. Councilmember McKnight asked if staff had heard any comments. Acting City Administrator Roland stated she attended the ICMA conference and suggested to a number of people to mention the position to those who might be interested. A couple people had someone in mind and she also has a couple ideas for people she would like to suggest it to. Human Resources Director Wendlandt received a call from someone in Ohio. Councilmember McKnight has received a couple calls. Mayor Soderberg made a couple suggestions for the class specification such as serving on the ALF Executive Committee, the City representative for the High Performance Partnership, etc. Staff felt this could be listed under the background and experience. Councilmember McKnight asked that the 2005 goals be included. Staff noted the community priorities were from 2001 and suggested this be the place for the 2005 goals. Councilmember Wilson suggested calling it Council/Management Team goals. He asked that the wording regarding getting to know the staff and style of operation be revised. He suggested the phrase do not discourage communications from staff to Council be worded more positively. Council suggested several other minor changes. Human Resources Director Wendlandt will make the revisions and it will be on the October 3,2005 Council Agenda. Council recessed this portion of the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~}rl~ / ./ '~tynthia Muller Executive Assistant City of Farmington City Council workshop Minutes 9/28/05 The communications section of the workshop began at 9pm. Mayor Soderberg and the Council members requested that the tape recorder be turned off. At this time, the five members ofthe council, City attorney Andrea MacDowell Poehler and Acting Administrator Roland were the only individuals in attendance. Mayor Soderberg addressed the group and indicated that it had become clear that due to a variety of reasons, communications between the five council members had been lacking, resulting in several of the members feeling left out of the loop. He asked the question "How can we communicate with each other freely without violating the State's open meeting law?" Council member McKnight discussed the need for team work and the need for the Council to be on the same page and to have the Administrator on that page as well. McKnight also indicated he felt that over the last several months, council roles and staff roles had become less defined, resulting in confusion. He advocated for a single point of contact (in the City Administrator) for both Council and Staff alike. Information should flow to Council from staff through the Administrator and questions/information should flow from Council through the Administrator to staff. Attorney MacDowell-Poehler reminded Council that their authority was not as individuals, but rather as a group; that the only way to communicate with one another without violation ofthe open meeting law was through the City Administrator. That the only person who should be using the 'FA Council' e-mail address was the City Administrator and that the City Administrator should be the focal point passing information back and forth between Council and Staff. This does not prevent (or preclude) Department heads and Council members from communicating with one another, but it focuses the majority ofthe communication through that one person. The difficulty of being a team when there are differing opinions among members was discussed. The effectiveness of the message of those entities speaking with 'One Voice' was also discussed. Council members reviewed recent discussions and compared their perceptions of those discussions. They also discussed communications with the press and who should be the point of contact. It was determined that more workshop meetings with open discussion would be beneficial to Council and the Administrator; that Council members would use the Administrator as the central point of contact and the Administrator (even Acting) would coordinate communications; and that Council would work on speaking with 'One Voice' on issues of policy. Motion by Fogarty Second by McKnight to adjourn at 10:15. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. ~?il~ Acting City Administrator