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Minutes 09-20-00SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING ON THE 2000/2001 PROPOSED BUDGET HELD IN THE CHAMBERS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2000 AT 6:30 P.M., BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT Gerald Broening, Mayor Ronald Weiland, Vice Mayor William Sherman, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Black, Commissioner Charlie Fisher, Commissioner ALSO PRESENT Kurt Bressner, City Manager Jim Cherof, City Attorney Nicholas Igwe, Assistant City Attorney Sue Kruse, City Clerk Mayor Broening called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to have a public hearing on Proposed Resolution No. R00-135 reference Adoption of Final Millage Rate for Fiscal Year 2000/2001. City Attorney Cherof stated that this was the second and final public hearing that the Commission was required to undertake pursuant to Florida statutes to adopt a millage rate and budget for fiscal year 2000/2001. Members of the public are permitted to speak and ask questions on any issue that is a subject matter of the budget. The City's administrative staff and Commission will answer those questions. City Attorney Cherof announced that the millage rate was 7.8160 for the general operating fund, which was 2.16% above the computed rollback rate. He further stated that this was to be the first item of business and that if anyone had any questions, the subject of the millage rate should be the first one. The procedures for adopting the millage rate and the final budget were contained in the documents that were distributed at the meeting, he said. Mayor Broening asked for any questions or comments from the Commission. There were none. Motion Vice Mayor Weiland made a motion to approve the proposed Resolution No. R00-135 reference adoption of final millage rate for fiscal year 2000/2001. Bruce Black seconded the motion. Mayor Broening opened the public forum on the topic of the millage rate. Patricia Balluh, 9'11 S.W. 6th Avenue, Boynton Beach assumed the podium and asked how much more this millage rate was than the one the City adopted the previous year? Mayor Broening stated that it was identical to what it was last year. He said that unless one's assessment had gone up, the same tax from the City of Boynton Beach would apply. City Clerk Sue Kruse polled the vote on the motion. The motion passed 5-0. Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Budget and Millage Rate Boynton Beach, Florida September 20, 2000 Mayor Broening introduced the second topic of adoption of the final budget for fiscal year 2000/2001. City Attorney Cherof read proposed Ordinance No. 000-48 by title reference Adoption of Final Budget for Fiscal Year 2000/2001. Mayor Broening asked for comments or questions from the Commission. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman asked the Commission to consider a proposal from Health Solutions Corporation whereby the City would purchase for interested employees a system allowing for the collection and maintenance of health history information on cards accessible by physicians and/or emergency response personnel if authorized by the employee. The approximate cost per year would be $20,000 based on 600 employees signing up for the voluntary program. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman stated that the money for the program could come out of the Commission's discretionary funds. Vice Mayor Weiland stated he knew very little about the idea and asked for a brief summary of the concept. Mike Ferguson, 460 Horizons West, Sterling Village, Boynton Beach, assumed the podium and stated that the concept involved collecting and maintaining each employee's health history. It would be filled out in paper form and compiled on a scanner into a computer. It would be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year via a secure website on the Internet. Its basic advantages were that of guaranteed confidentiality, available only to the employee and, at his or her discretion, to his doctor in case of emergency. It would display all the medical data and history in his or her background and would be available for heirs and relatives on the basis that 1/3 to 45% of all illnesses are supposed to be genetic. This would be an important document for one's heirs. There are no other municipalities in the State of Florida using this program. The cost is $29.00 per employee for the first year, $19.00 for a spouse and $10.00 for each included child. Each history would be compiled individually and gives one a record of that history in case one's memory is or becomes faulty. It would become more valuable as more information was added to it through time. Mayor Broening asked if he had presented this to staff and Mr. Ferguson replied that they had. City Manager Bressner stated that he had a presentation on the concept when he first came to the City in April of this year, and that it seemed as though the price had gone down. Mr. Ferguson replied that the price had gone down. Mr. Bressner stated that the higher cost and the fact that no other municipalities had participated in the program had led him away from setting money aside for this particular budget cycle. He felt the idea was a good one. He asked if the sign-up was voluntary or did the City pay for each employee regardless of his or her interest. Mr. Ferguson said it was completely voluntary and the City would pay only for the employees who decided to sign up for it. 2 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Budget and Millage Rate Boynton Beach, Florida September 20, 2000 Vice Mayor Weiland asked what would happen if the employee had the card in his wallet and was unable to speak to the paramedics or the hospital? He asked if the paramedic or hospital would be able to scan the card? Mr. Ferguson stated that they would have the physical capability of accessing the information on the Internet, given the employee's permission and password. City Manager Bressner said if it was on a secure server on the website and there was confidentiality with the employee, there would have to be prior arrangements with the emergency room or medical providers in order to obtain the record. If you have somebody who has been injured and is incapable of rendering any authorization to enter the website to obtain the data, then what type of workaround has been arranged with this corporation and the health care givers to get into the secure system to obtain this confidential information? Mr. Ferguson said the information was confidential to that individual and he would have to release that information or at least his encrypted password to the emergency personnel involved. Mr. Bressner reiterated then that this system would only work if a person were conscious and able to provide the password and authorization to obtain the information. Mr. Bressner asked if the system had been implemented anywhere yet and Mr. Ferguson replied that it had not. City Attorney Cherof said there was no line item for this expenditure in the proposed budget. He said if the Commission was interested in earmarking funds for it they would have to find a line item in the budget that this would be attached to. City Attorney Cherof asked Ms. Reese, Finance Director, to identify a more specific line item than the Commission reserve fund. Ms. Reese stated it would be left in the contingency or reserve fund and at the time the money was needed the Commission could authorize the transfer out of the contingency fund and into the fund that would be set up to pay for this. Vice Mayor Weiland said it sounded interesting and wondered if the City could try it as a pilot project, canceling it if it did not prove itself. He was in favor of seeing how many employees were interested in it and how many employees were satisfied with it at the end of a trial period. Mr. Ferguson said there was a one-year contract with automatic renewal, cancelable on 90 days notice. City Attorney Cherof stated that the Commission would get a closer look at it when it came back as a contract approval before any money was appropriated. Mayor Broening asked if any input had been received from the bargaining units yet and he was told no. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman said it was a wonderful benefit for 600 employees for such a modest expenditure and he asked for full consideration by the Commission of the idea. Mr. Harry Marcus, 650 Horizons East, Boynton Beach assumed the podium and spoke. He stated that Mr. Ferguson had been working on this idea since 1993. He said that with the arrival of the Internet and all that went with it Mr. Ferguson felt that this 3 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Budget and Millage Rate Boynton Beach, Florida September 20, 2000 could be a way of bringing together all the many pieces of the health care puzzle including doctor's reports and prior histories. He said that problems ensued because families did not know their prior medical history and that of their ancestors. He felt it could be useful to doctors in making diagnoses. Mr. Marcus also felt that the costs of health today were very high and that there was a lot of duplication with respect to tests. If this idea proved successful it could start a trend in the entire country. He said it would take "gumption" for an industrial or governmental organization to stand up and offer such a program to its employees. Regarding the need for something like this program, Mr. Marcus stated that over 85% of the youth of this country on drugs had tried marijuana before they were 16 years of age. The statistics with respect to teen-age pregnancies were staggering throughout the country, he said. He indicated his interest in these matters and felt that the City of Boynton Beach could offer something to the country to improve these conditions if it initiated this program for its employees. Mr. Marcus related a conversation he had with a minister who said that if people were sitting around the family table and the youngsters knew that the family was keeping a genetic health record, he believed that the knowledge of that would prevent some youngsters from going out and trying drugs or getting into situations which could lead to teenage pregnancies. This minister had connections with 400 volunteers and said he wanted his organization to look into it and hoped it was successful. Mr. Ferguson was offering the Commissioners an opportunity to try something that was not being offered anywhere else in the country except on a commercial basis. His contention was that this program was not commercial in that their intention was to offer a morally correct thing that the City could do that could actually help the negative social conditions of the day. City Attorney Cherof said it was important that they stay on topic and that this was a budget hearing. He said that the question was really whether or not there was money in the budget that could be used if the City so decided at a later date. He said that the answer was yes, and that should be the end of the discussion on the issue because it was not on the agenda. Mayor Broening said the Commission was interested in the idea but needed more details on how the system worked, particularly from staff. He believed it should be brought back as an agenda item at a future time. Mayor Broening asked if the Commissioners had any comments or questions about the budget as presented? Vice Mayor Weiland asked about two long-term employees who may lose their engineering jobs due to changes being made in the Development and Engineering departments. City Manager Bressner said Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Lee could advise the Commission about this, without naming names. Mr. Arthur Lee, Human Resources Director, assumed the podium and said he believed the Vice-Mayor had been referring to the Engineering Department and its new 4 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Budget and Millage Rate Boynton Beach, Florida September 20, 2000 configuration. He stated that the two people's duties did not fit in the new configuration of the department. In one case, the individual had applied for a very similar position and had been offered a transfer and a promotion, which the employee was in the process of accepting. Vice Mayor Weiland asked why, after so many years, were the employees no longer qualified to perform in the department? City Manager Bressner said that the City was making reasonable accommodations to the individual to assure his success in a new position and will be coaching the individual to further assure that success. He stated that many organizations have to retool and that in this instance the emphasis was being shifted to deliver capital projects and that this individual may have the needed skills. The City was giving the individual an opportunity to perform in this area. Mr. Lee indicated, also, that no certification requirement was placed on the position. In the second instance, Mr. Lee said the person had a civil engineering background; however, the new position calls for an emphasis on design and that person does not have design ability. Currently that person had already come to Personnel about a new position that they have applied for. The person requested additional time in order to situate himself or herself in terms of the new position. Vice Mayor Weiland said that since both were long-term employees he hoped the City was working with them to assure their success. Mr. Lee and Mr. Bressner assured him that the City was making reasonable accommodations for the success of the employees. Mayor Broening opened the budget adoption section of the meeting up for public comment. Patricia Balluh, 911 S.W. 6th Avenue, Boynton Beach, took the podium and stated she had a comment about the Health Solutions project: She stated that she and her husband both carried a card containing their health histories and that it was on the Internet and free. It had been provided by their insurance company. Mayor Broening stated that this item was not on the evening's agenda and would be discussed at a later date. Herb Suss, 1711 Wood Fern Drive, Boynton Beach, assumed the podium and complimented the City Manager for the capital improvement meeting held earlier in the month. He also complimented Ms. Reese, the Finance Director, for the great job she had done in preparing the budget. Mr. Suss asked the Commissioners to restore the $25,000 to the library's budget for books that was cut in previous years. He wanted the library to be brought up to its rightful state. Mr. SUss also asked the Commissioners to consider allocating an additional $10 to $25,000 to the Neighborhood Specialist Department. He believed that neighborhoods should be bettered and that more money should be allocated for this purpose. Mr. Suss complimented Mr. DeCarlo on the good job he was doing. The last topic covered by Mr. Suss was the issue of special tax districts due to the high number of persons in the City who did not pay taxes yet were receiving the services of the police, fire and sanitation departments. All of these departments do a good job, he said. He 5 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Budget and Millage Rate Boynton Beach, Florida September 20, 2000 hoped the Commission could find a way to produce more revenue for the City. He asked them to get some legislation going or a lobby in the legislature to help the problem. Mr. Suss complimented the Commission on the preparation of the budget and their financial prudence, asking the Commission to show the City that more books for the library and more money for the Neighborhood Specialist's department were important. Mayor Broening stated that the Commission, at its capital improvement workshops, did direct staff to look into the establishment of a municipal special taxing unit for services that are supplied to the City and that they had been asked to move rapidly on it. City Manager Bressner stated that there had been discussion of the library at the staff level and that there were great opportunities today, whether in the business or the residential communities, to provide donations of funds for the library collection. He said he knew there were alternative ways to provide additional funds for the library and he knew the library staff was looking at doing some outreach into the community to increase the dollars for the library collection. Mr. Bressner stated that the City realized that the library collection was an important asset to the city and he regretted that their budget had to be cut back two years in a row. He hoped the community would step forward. Mr. Suss said that the residents and the taxpayers of the City get grant money and money from private businesses but he asked the City, instead of cutting, to let the citizens know that the Commission restored the $25,000 for books. If people want to donate that's great also, we'll get more books. Mr. Sonny Garcia, 1631 N.W. 3rd Lane, Boynton Beach assumed the podium and spoke about the press box at Ezell Hester Park. Mr. Garcia wondered if the City would make up the difference if the expected NFL grant of $50 to $60,000 did not materialize? City Manager Bressner responded that the direction the Commission gave to staff was to put the item in the budget contingent on obtaining the money from the NFL grant. Mr. Garcia asked if the City would give them the difference if the NFL grant were not enough to complete the press box and storage areas? Mayor Broening said it would have to be addressed at that time. He reiterated the City's manager's comment that the answer was no at this time. Vice Mayor Weiland stated that the Commission may decide to just do the press box alone if all the money did not come through from the NFL. Mr. Garcia said that the greatest need was for the storage area for the football players' uniforms and the equipment for the basketball players. He hoped that in case of a shortfall in the money that the storage area would come before the press box in order of priority. No one else wished to speak. 6 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Budget and Millage Rate Boynton Beach, Florida September 20, 2000 Motion Vice Mayor Weiland made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 000-48 reference adoption of final budget for fiscal year 2000/2001. Commissioner Fisher seconded the motion. City Clerk Sue Kruse polled the vote. The motion carried 5-0. Mayor Broening thanked the staff for all of its hard work in the months that preceded the budget. He knew the decisions had been difficult and he was personally grateful to all of them and especially Diane Reese and her staff. He directed thanks also to the City Manager and his staff. City Manager Bressner stated that the Commission had also worked very hard on the budget and had done a nice job. Motion Vice Mayor Weiland made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 P.M. Commissioner Black seconded the motion that carried unanimously. ATTEST: Recording Secretary (one tape) Comrfiissioner Commissioner