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Minutes 03-21-11 MINUTES OF THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 AT 6:00 P.M. AT THE LIBRARY ROOM "A," BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT Don Scantlan, Chair Michael Madalena, Vice Chair (arrived 6:16 p.m.) George Feldman Terry Lonergan David Madigan Merline Pamplona William Shulman Kurt Bressner, City Manager Barry Atwood, Finance Director Chair Scantlan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was present. 1. Approval of Agenda Chair Scantlan added item 1.5 - For the Record, to the agenda. This was a response to information which had been circulated about him as Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee. Motion Mr. Shulman moved to approve the agenda as amended. Mr. Feldman seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Approval of Minutes - February 28, 2011 Motion Mr. Shulman moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Madigan seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 1.5. For the Record Chair Scantlan distributed a flyer that had been circulated to the public about him as Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC). Chair Scantlan advised he would continue to serve on the FAC as long as the City Commission wanted him to. The piece was mailed during the election, in which he was a candidate. He contended none of the statements made on the flyer were attributable to him. Chair Scantlan distributed the referenced excerpts of the minutes. 1 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 2. Comment that City Ordinance amending attendance requirements of the Financial Advisory Committee was passed by the City Commission on March 15, 2011. Barry Atwood, Finance Director, explained due to the increase in the number of meetings, the attendance requirement was changed to a percentage as opposed to an absolute number or three in a row. Chair Scantlan had attended the meeting when the Ordinance was heard and had confirmed for the Commission that the Committee was in favor of the change. After the budget passed, the FAC probably will not meet twice a month. The Ordinance passed. Chair Scantlan noted the Board was still two alternate members short. 3. Discussion and voting on recommendations made by each Financial Advisory Committee Member on assigned projects. Chair Scantlan suggested going down the order of the recommendations. He would read the subject and submitter's name and ask for any dissenters to what was written. The dissenter should ask the question to the person submitting the recommendation. Passage of the recommendations does not have to have a unanimous vote. He reminded the members the recommendations would be forwarded as a recommendation from the Committee, not the individual. The vote would also be forwarded, unless the author agreed to revise the recommendation in a manner that could gain all the votes. Any revisions were due by the next meeting. If someone felt a change was needed, it would be construed as one's dissent. . Cell Phone Allowances - Bill Shulman. Mr. Atwood explained one argument that may be received on the recommendation was it was geared to city-owned cell phones in the hands of employees, most of who are in police. Cell phones are not supposed to be used for personal use. Mr. Shulman did not find any written document on the practice. Accordingly, it was his logical conclusion that most people have one cell phone, and if they have one, they should avoid using the City-owned phone for personal use. Mr. Sressner confirmed employees are not supposed to use the phones for personal use. Discussion followed if the City reviewed the cellular bills. The City does not review the bills in any detail and likely could not tell which calls were personal unless there was a tracer. The cost was $124,829 per year. In times of austerity, although it was not a popular recommendation, $10 or 20% of the phone bill was a reasonable amount to charge employees for personal use of the phones. Vice Chair Madalena inquired if the City considered a reimbursement program and putting phones in the individual's name. Mr. Sressner responded they had. These amounts ranged from $20 to $65 - $70. Vice Chair Madalena inquired if any of those individuals were from public safety. Mr. Sressner confirmed some receive an allowance 2 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 from public safety. Mr. Feldman inquired if texting and phone service was on most plans. Mr. Bressner responded in most cases it was in the phone package, some of which included email. Mr. Feldman inquired if the City negotiated a flat rate for the phones. Mr. Bressner responded they had and further commented what the City paid the carrier was not the issue: the issue is what should employees pay for having a cell phone for incidental personal use. To tell employees incidental use was absolutely forbidden and policing such use was not possible. Employees are discouraged from using city.owned cell phones for personal use, but it happens. The allowance amount depended on the data package needed for the employee to meet their duties. Mr. Bressner explained he expected all department heads to have access to and monitor email on the weekend. Mr. Shulman stressed the recommendation was not popular, and he was not recommending discontinuing the issuance of cell phones or allowances, but it was his opinion there are some employees who use the phones for personal use. Mr. Madigan dissented because it would be an employee disincentive and there are regulations outlining the phones are not personal use phones. Based on those two items, they do not need to deflate the employees more than they already have been. Chair Scantlan inquired if any non-exempt employees had cell phones or allowances. Mr. Bressner responded some did because some employees were on call. A phone is assigned to them when they are on rotation. He also commented the City tried to economize on cell phones. One example was the Fire Department is now having a cell phone assigned to a rig. Chair Scantlan inquired if there was an increased cost to the City for such personal use. Mr. Bressner responded unless there was exorbitant personal use that would run minutes up, the cost to the City falls within the package. Each department is different. Mr. Shulman indicated Mr. Madigan's dissent was predisposed to each employee having two phones. He commented that was not a logical assumption. With regard to the lack of morale, the premise of the Committee is to reduce cost and raise revenues without causing a loss of services to the City. He emphasized everyone had to chip in. Vice Chair Madalena dissented based on the amount being low. He thought $25 was more appropriate. Mr. Feldman inquired if anyone reviewed the bills. Mr. Bressner responded staff did if it was a large bill. Mr. Feldman asked if the City could use the honor system. Mr. Shulman thought it would be administratively burdensome. It was also noted the employees do not receive a copy of the bill. Chair Scantlan commented his wife carries two phones. Mr. Shulman noted there are 294 employees with cell phones. 3 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 Cell phones have only been an issue when there were instances where the phone bill was very high, but it was an exception rather than the rule. Employees understand the phones are not for personal calls, and the City acknowledges there are bona fide emergencies that would warrant incidental use. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written. The motion passed 4-3, (Chair Scantlan, Vice Chair Madalena and Mr. Madigan dissenting.) . Merge Community Redevelopment Agency Functions - Mr. Madigan Mr. Madigan did not recommend any changes. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written. The vote was unanimous. . E-billing System It was suggested language be added to reflect that the amount being saved was about $2,000 per month. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation with the suggestion which unanimously passed. . Forestry and Grounds - Merline Pam plana Mr. Shulman dissented and asked how Ms. Pamplona arrived at the 15% reduction. Mr. Bressner responded it was an early recommended reduction. Additionally, the Department heads had made recommendations, which Ms. Pamplona agreed with. Mr. Bressner noted her recommendation of the items cut were elements of collective bargaining that may have to be set aside. The 15% was an overall number, mostly from median maintenance, but it was not part of the $232,965. After a brief dialogue, there was agreement that the report be modified that it was a reference point only, or noted that the items are subject to collective bargaining or the Fair Standard Labor Act. Since it was not part of the $232,965, it could also be deleted. Mr. Bressner agreed a deletion would be clearer. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as modified that passed unanimously. 4 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 . Golf Course Department - George Feldman Ms. Pamplona dissented. She felt the Committee should not do anything. Other departments were asked to come up with a 15% cut. Golf Course staff feels that they have done what they could to meet the requirement. They are an Enterprise Fund. They did not ask for any additional funding except to keep their operation constant. Mr. Feldman recommended continuing to monitor and think of ways to increase revenue. If asked to reduce the budget by 15%, it could result in a loss of revenue. Staff co-ops the equipment. Chair Scantlan indicated it had a market-driven cost side. Many departments funded by the General Fund do not live under a direct-market relationship between revenues and costs. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously passed. . Hiring Freeze This policy has been in effect since 2007. The suggestion was to continue it. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously passed. . Homeowner Association Contributions to City Programs There were no comments received on this item. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously passed. . Library Vice Chair Madalena dissented based on the $14,524 reduction in operation expenses due to the Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLtN). If the library reduced that expense, he inquired if it was tied to the State funding or the Department of Education. Mr. Atwood expressed there was some interchange. Ms. Pam pion a explained the only way to meet the 15% reduction was by reducing hours, eliminating positions, and eliminating SEFLtN. They were the best possible ways to reduce the budget. 5 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 The library was already closed on Fridays since the four-day workweek started. Mr. Bressner requested if going forward with the SEFLlN reduction, a recommendation be made that the SELFIN item be clarified by staff. Chair Scantlan also had a concern. library usage was up and as such, library services were in greater demand and it was hard to support a reduction in services when something was important to the community. Ms. Pamplona had consulted with Craig Clark, Library Director, about user fees, but in some instances, the Library cannot charge. Fines, however, could be increased. Ms. Lonergan inquired if the Library could charge a membership fee and it was noted non-city residents use the Boynton Library because there was reciprocity with other libraries. Chair Scantlan asked what would be a good time of day to decrease library hours and asked if the library gate indicated the best time to close the library. Ms. Pamplona indicated Mr. Clark did not believe 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. was a good time because of the students and a suggestion was made that the Library open at noon. Discussion followed about what the City would lose by handing the Library over to the County. Mr. Bressner responded the County may not be in a position to accept it. He did not know what debt service the Library had, but commented if the City agreed to handle the debt service by turning it over to the Library, the City could get out from under the operating expenses. Mr. Bressner compared the library to fire districts. In other states when fire districts were consolidated, the debt service remained with the fire district that was being dissolved. They were still required to meet the debt service even though the operating expenses were taken over by another municipality. It was unusual for the debt to carry over to the successor agency. There are also private companies that run libraries. It was suggested an amendment be made to show the Library is closed on Friday and Sunday, to show that it is current and the $14,524 reduction be clarified by staff as to its impact at the next meeting. Additionally, the language in the recommendation section would be changed to cut three hours. Instead of closing from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., the Library would be closed in the morning hours. The recommendation would be to drop 10.5 hours and the hours reduction should be the hours of least demand, driven by usage. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as amended, which passed 5-2, (Chair Scantlan and Mr. Madigan dissenting.) Mr. Madigan offered a substitute motion and thought they should table the matter to the next meeting when they will review the revisions and vote on it in its revised status. 6 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 . Schoolhouse Children's Museum - Merline Pam plana Mr. Shulman dissented. He inquired about the elimination of janitorial services. The only other item was a cut in salary. Mr. Bressner, clarified the Executive Director is not a city employee. The Museum was operated through an agreement with the Cultural Center to provide certain services. The City provides for the facility's maintenance and the operating costs of the building, but he was unsure if they provided janitorial services. Mr. Bressner also commented the Executive Director's salary was off the table. He recommended the item be tabled. The City would also provide a staff report indicating what the services and uses have been. The Museum's operation was in transition and not even a fiscal year had passed. Vote Mr. Shulman moved to table the item to the next meeting. Mr. Madigan seconded the motion which unanimously passed. . Paperless Billing - Don Scantlan Chair Scantlan explained this item was different than the E-billing Item. One was an electronic version of the water bill to replace a paper version. He and Mr. Atwood, looked at a system to electronically mail water bills and explained there would be some initial costs but he thought customers would be hesitant to sign up because with the opt out extension, consumers cannot see their water bill. Mr. Atwood explained the conference call he and the Chair took part in was with Check Free, a company that provides E-billing services nationwide for several large banks. The service would pay for itself out of the $1 per month savings because it would encourage more customers to sign up. Some people would not sign up for the opt out provision. Mr. Bressner suggested this item be merged with the E-billing item as one step of the City not sending a paper bill. The next step would be to make available to those on electronic billing, the ability to see their bill. The total cost to provide the service would be incidental contingent on the set up and number of accounts. Chair Scantlan advised he accidentally switched the fourth item, the Paperless billing with this item, the E-billing system. The E-billing system was the item that had set-up and small recurring licenses costs but the implementation costs should be offset. He explained the first item had the paperless billing which provided the option of declining a paper bill. Chair Scantlan did not want to combine the items as the success of one item did not drive the success of the other, although there was a relationship. It was the next generation of progress which could also be used for any City invoice aside from the water bills. 7 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 Ms. Lonergan indicated if the City has something to send out, they send a blurb with the water bill. If the bills were electronic, customers could not see it. The E-billing would contain the picture of the bill. Vote Chair Scantlan moved that the item be tabled because the Committee did not have the actual implementation costs. He clarified he was tabling the E-billing system which was the fourth item heard which the Committee thought they were voting on the paperless billing, which was approved. The E-billing system was not approved and will be tabled to the next meeting. Mr. Howard suggested it does not have to be tabled and offered the Committee could make a comment that further research is needed to fully learn the impact of the up-front costs. The idea is if the item goes any further, it should be turned over to staff to research the costs to bring to the Commission. He suggested highlighting there are up front costs and a feasibility study needed to be conducted in order to implement it. Chair Scantlan did not want to make a recommendation without more facts. . City Funding of their three Pensions - Michael Madalena Vice Chair Madalena suggested this item be tabled to see if SB 1128 passed. If so, the there would be changes mandated by the State that municipalities shift to a defined contribution plan. The bill was moving through committees. Mr. Atwood explained pensions are subject to labor agreements. Mr. Bressner pointed out changes still have to go to through the collective bargaining agreement process. After contracts run full term, any changes to the pension law would go into effect. The Blue and White Collar Collective Agreements expire on September 30, 2011. Police and Fire contracts were extended to 2013. Vice Chair Madalena also commented it would be very disruptive to the employees and a shock to employee morale to take away the benefit. In light of that, this may not be the area to look at for all savings. Mr. Bressner advised as of today, there was another version of SB 1128 issued which was not significantly different from what was passed from the Committee. Mr. Shulman inquired, in view of the increase in the fire assessment, if it could fund the Fire Pension obligations and if it was the only thing that should be done with regard to the increase in the assessment. Discussion followed the assessment was for fire rescue operations. The funds cannot be earmarked. Mr. Atwood explained how they calculate eligible fire costs. The item was tabled pending the legislative session. 8 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 . Recreation and Parks - Merline Pam plana Mr. Shulman dissented. He noted language about the holidays should be removed. The survey indicated that Recreation and Parks was a draw to the City. Mr. Bressner commented there was a very high increase in recreation programs and activities, and there are waiting lists for programs. Little League has asked for $20K, however, the City cannot fund them at this time. Mr. Bressner also noted Little League assumed responsibility of the field, but the City takes care of the common areas. In the past, the City took care of everything. Facilities serviced the restrooms, and in exchange, the City paid a fee with the understanding that as Little League became self-sufficient, the amount would drop. The City had received a proposal to raise their rates, which Mr. Bressner sent back as it was not appropriate. Staff would review the item for typos. Mr. Shulman noted under "Increase in Program Fees", the $10 might be in conflict with his recommendations. The members should be careful not to have conflicting recommendations. Vote Ms. Pam pion a indicated she was not opposed to adding language "Increase all Program Fees by amounts consistent with Revenue Increase recommendations." There was a vote on the recommendation with the additional language which unanimously passed. . Suggested Increase in Revenue Sources Mr. Shulman distributed a corrected recommendation. Mr. Atwood noted there were several one-time transfers in the general fund in this budget year. The new handout had the correct figure as it pertained to the total transfers into the fund and the fire assessment. After the clarification, there was no further discussion on the recommendation. Vote There was a vote on the corrected recommendation as written which passed unanimously · Sell Surplus Physical Property (Physical Property) - David Madigan There were no questions or dissenters. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously passed. 9 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 . Sell Surplus Physical Property (Real Estate) - David Madigan Chair Scantlan suggested a high-level working group conduct a study with this item. Mr. Bressner commented if an area was targeted for possible disposal, the Committee would have to ensure there are no deed restrictions to prohibit it from being sold. Some vacant property the City owned was encumbered. There was no standing committee at the moment to review this. Mr. Bressner agreed the concept was a good one. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously passed. . Shopper Hopper - Terry Longergan Mr. Shulman dissented based on the language regarding the impact it would have on citizens. He commented on the suggestion that the service could be replaced with a subsidized taxi service as was done in Wellington. Discussion followed if the taxi service was implemented, discontinuing the Shopper Hopper would have no impact on the citizens. The $200,000 savings that would be added to the budget was from gas savings and those funds would be restricted to expenditures for transportation-type issues. As such, transportation for the After-School program could be funded. Mr. Bressner commented at the April 5th City Commission meeting, there will be a review of transportation options about the Wellington taxi program. If the report was complete, he would email it to the Committee. Accordingly, he recommended tabling the item, reviewing the report and then merging some items. Ms. Lonergan also commented she went to the Senior Center and did not observe the bus showing up packed with standing room only. The Shopper Hopper was not for the physically impaired or handicapped. Chair Scantlan spoke about Palm Tran and commented individuals did not want to fill out six pages of information to receive the service. Staff could assist, however, in helping to fill out the paperwork. The City could provide a docent to assist citizens as part of the Senior Center program and could serve as an "Palm Tran Concierge". There was also agreement that if the subsidized taxi service was implemented, it would be means tested. Mr. Shulman asked for further research so the Senior Center would not lose its accreditation. He noted Denise Chamberlain, Chair of the Senior Advisory Board, had commented that because the service was provided, it assisted with national accreditation. Ms. Lonergan acknowledged that if alternative transportation was provided, it should not have a negative effect. The members recognized this is an issue all over the country. Mr. Madigan reviewed a newspaper article about how the State of North Carolina was attempting to subsidize the service, such as imposing a tax on cars each year. 10 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 . Solid Waste - Franchise all Solid Waste - George Feldman Mr. Feldman explained the issue was divided because there was the potential for revenue reductions. The cost would be $3,430,000, which was the amount transferred out of the Enterprise Account to the General Fund account. Mr. Feldman spoke with an employee who had worked for a private company in the past and he advised that the employees that were carried over to the private company eventually were replaced. Additionally, he questioned if the private company would respond as the City would respond in a hurricane or disaster situation, or if they were inline with others and the City would not get service right away. The pros and cons were listed on the recommendation. Mr. Shulman noted, however, there is one pro and nine cons listed. Chair Scantlan commented residents were paying too much for Solid Waste pickup if funds are transferred. Mr. Atwood explained costs were cut, but the savings were not passed on to Solid Waste, they were transferred to the General Fund. Chair Scantlan explained if the transfer occurred on a recurring basis, ratepayers were being improperly invoiced for the cost of the service, and at some point, the monies should be passed back and/or rates reduced. It was also discussed that if rates were reduced or monies rebated, taxes would have to be raised to generate $3 million to offset the cost. Some members felt the transfer was wrong, while others felt it was permissible. Further discussion followed that if the service were sold to a private enterprise that charged the exact same fee as the City was charging for the service, they would make an immediate profit of $3,430,000. A bid would be issued for the service and that amount would have to be paid. It was noted that is the way it is done in other cities. Chair Scantlan requested a vote whether to franchise the service and clarified an affirmative vote meant to franchise the service and a no vote was to maintain the status quo. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously failed. . Solid Waste Residential Recycling - George Feldman Mr. Feldman reviewed this item. There was a savings of $455,000, but he noted there was a mandate for the City to recycle 75% of its waste stream by the year 2020. Chair Scantlan requested adding a data point based on his conversations with several of his neighbors. He posed the question, if there was a $10 million shortfall, and the City can save $5 million if they quit recycling, if the residents would prefer to quit recycling. To Chair Scantlan's surprise, the residents wanted to continue with the recycling. He requested adding that most individuals preferred to continue recycling. Chair Scantlan clarified before voting that an affirmative vote meant to eliminate curbside recycling. A no vote was to continue the status quo. 11 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 Vote There was a vote on the recommendation to discontinue the service which unanimously failed. · Residential Garbage Collection - George Feldman Mr. Feldman reviewed the recommendation. Prior discussion had included contacting homeowner associations to see if they wanted to opt out for the once a week garbage collection. The survey had indicated residents were in favor of once a week collection. The savings would be $275,000. It was thought the text of the report needed to be modified to reflect the survey. Mr. Bressner also commented with the small toters for recycling, the hydraulics of the arms of the recycling trucks wear out and the container winds up in the truck. Discussion turned to increasing the cart sizes to accommodate larger pickups. There was agreement Mr. Feldman would add language reflecting the pros of the weekly pickup and add the information from the survey results. This item was tabled for one week. · City Services Survey - General - Donald Scantlan Chair Scantlan explained the main point of the survey was the sample size was statistically significant, although it may not be obvious. It had two assumptions. The first was the population was evenly distributed. The second was the survey was truly random. When he had reviewed the responses to the main survey question, he learned most respondents did not answer the main question. Another concern was more City employees were taking the survey than City residents. He ascertained 32% of the respondents made over $100,000 and 16% of the population in Boynton Beach earned over $100,000. He recommended the City Commission use the survey as the data point for this year's budget drills, but note the sample was not truly random. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation to use the survey results for this year's budget, which unanimously passed. · City Services Survey Question No.8 - What is Your Annual Family Income? - Donald Scantlan 12 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 Vote There were no dissenters and this recommendation as written was unanimously passed. . City Services Survey Question Nos. 11, 13, 18 and 26 - Question 11, How important were the following factors in influencing you to move to Boynton Beach?; Question 13, In thinking back to the following question "How important were the following factors in influencing you to move to Boynton Beach?", how important are these same factors in influencing you to remain in Boynton Beach?; Question 18, To retain the property tax rate at 6.7626 mills, are you in favor of cutting services for public safety (i.e. Police, Fire, Communications?); Question 26, Relating to Police coverage/response time: would you rather increase property taxes, or reduce coverage and see a possible reduction in response time. - Donald Scantlan There were no dissenters. Vote This recommendation was unanimously passed as written. . City Services Survey Question Nos. 11, 13, 18 and 19 - Question 11, How important were the following factors in influencing you to move to Boynton Beach?; Question 13, In thinking back to the following question "How important were the following factors in influencing you to move to Boynton Beach?", how important are these same factors in influencing you to remain in Boynton Beach?; Question 19, To retain the property tax rate at 6.7626 mills, are you in favor of cutting Cultural and or Recreation services (i.e. Library, Recreation Programs?) - Donald Scantlan Discussion followed the City Commission should acknowledge that based on the survey, these were areas the public was willing to take cuts in. The recommendation was this be used as a data point. Vote A vote was held on the recommendation as written which was passed unanimously. . City Services Survey Question No. 21 - Since it was implemented in June 2009, the Compressed Work Week for Employees (Monday - Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except for essential services) has enabled the City to budget an annual $140,000. Are you in favor of continuing the Compressed Work Week? - Donald Scantlan 13 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 The recommendation was to continue the compressed work week. Chair Scantlan noted; however, the City Clerk's office previously had Friday's to transcribe meeting minutes. Now there are no full work days so it impacted how quickly the City Clerk's staff can turn around minutes. There was at least one department in the City that the compressed work week was causing an efficiency problem. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which was passed unanimously. . City Services Survey Question No. 22 - The City's Fire Rescue Assessment is a non-ad valorem fee (i.e. not based on property value). Are you in favor or an increase in the Residential Fire Assessment, which is not set at $68 a year, to $88 a year and a corresponding increase in current rates for non- residential buildings (commercial, institutional and industrial/warehouse buildings) to enable Fire Rescue to maintain its current quality levels of emergency response times and level of service? For residential buildings, this represents a monthly increase of $1.67 a month; for non-residential buildings the fee is calculated on a square footage basis. For a 10,000 square foot building, this represents a monthly increase of $39.22 for commercial buildings, and $9.80 for industrial/warehouse buildings. - Donald Scantlan Chair Scantlan reviewed this was an increase from $68 to $88 and roughly a 30% increase for commercial. The results indicated the public was willing to pay more for the assessment. The recommendation was to increase the assessment. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which was unanimously passed. . City Services Survey Question No. 24 - How much do you agree or disagree that the following taxes and/or user fees should be raised to the extent to which the City is able in order to maintain the City's high level of services? (Franchise fees are fees that the City charges utility companies for the use of City streets and right-of-ways. The utility company - electric, telephone, cable, water is allowed to pass the cost on to the customer.) - Donald Scantlan Discussion followed raising fees for revenue was highly supported. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which was unanimously passed. 14 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 . City Services Survey Question No. 25 - Relating to garbage pickup, would you rather: decrease service (fewer pick-up days) or increase fees? - Donald Scantlan Chair Scantlan explained the answers revealed a reduction in service was preferred to increasing the fees for garbage collection. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which was unanimously passed. . City Services Survey Question No. 27 - The Utilities Fund is an enterprise fund for the City; operational expenses for the City comes from customer fees. They are not part of the General Fund budget. The water supply infrastructure consists of what is built to pump, deliver, transport, store, treat and deliver safe drinking water. In order to maintain and expand the City's infrastructure to meet increasing water supply and demand, it may be necessary to increase fees. Should the City increase fees annually or semi-annually (two-years). Chair Scantlan explained the survey indicated fees should be raised every other year. It was noted there was a scheduled increase this year. There would also be increases in bond coverage to cover capital improvements. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which was unanimously passed. . Take Home Vehicles and Car Allowances - William Shulman Mr. Madigan dissented based on the fact it is a crime deterrent to have a police car parked in a neighborhood. Mr. Shulman commented the reverse of the mindset was an officer uses the vehicle for 8 hours or however long the shift is when on duty, and then takes it home and it sits idle 16 hours a day. When one multiplied the hours by the number of vehicles in the fire and police departments that are brought home, it is a tremendous investment sitting doing nothing. The cars can be used all the time, but the life is shortened. The less the cars are taken home, the more vehicles are available for officers on duty. There are 116 fire and police cars that are not being utilized. Chair Scantlan would have preferred to see the item framed that there is a benefit to the City for providing the car and not necessarily paying for private vehicle reimbursement. He clarified that at some level there is number of calls for each position in the organization where the benefit of providing the car saves the City money versus having to pay a mileage rate for officers having to use their own car to respond to City business. 15 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 Discussion followed it will be very difficult to change this because 133 vehicles are based on employment agreements, 114 are based on collective bargaining agreements, 3 vehicles were based on past practices, and 19 vehicles were based on assignments. "Assignments" were clarified to mean assignments were rotated. The recommendation was to eliminate the 3 vehicles from past practices and the 19 vehicles on assignment immediately and then work to change future employment agreements and collective bargaining agreements so there are less vehicles taken home. There are a total of 269 vehicles taken home. The assignments are based on a specific duration if someone on call who is responsible for responding from home for emergencies. It rotates to an individual - similar to the phone, except it is with a car. How much of a time savings is there for someone on call to drive their own car, drive to the yard, pick up the city vehicle and drive to the response was unknown. There are 14 utility vehicles assigned to the Utilities department that are taken home on a rotating basis. Mr. Shulman thought those employees could request mileage expenses. The total cost associated with the vehicles was $536,000 which was $6,349 per employee. He acknowledged the City cannot eliminate all 269 vehicles at once, but the Committee should consider what they want to do in the future to reduce the cost. There were only three vehicles assigned that were not tied to collective bargaining or employment agreement. It was noted the recommendation included the words "where possible." Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which passed unanimously. . Voluntary Separation Program - David Madigan Mr. Madigan reviewed continuation of the program would have cost savings. The projected savings were $300,000 this fiscal year and another $200,000 for the future. Vote There was a vote on the recommendation as written which unanimously passed. Chair Scantlan explained the recommendations that were amended would be brought back to the Committee for a final vote. 4. Other Business The next meeting was scheduled for April 11 , 2011. 16 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL March 21, 2011 4. Adjournment There was no further business to discuss. Motion Mr. Shulman moved to adjourn. Mr. Madigan seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m. ~~~ Catherine Cherry Recording Secretary 0404 17