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Home My WebLink About09122005 . . . CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP SESSION OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met in workshop session this twelfth day of September, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. in the Port Townsend temporary Council Chambers in the Cedar Room of the Waterman & Katz Building, Mayor Catharine Robinson presiding. ROLL CALL Council members present at roll call were Frank Benskin, Freida Fenn, Kees Kolff, Laurie Medlicott, Michelle Sandoval, and Catharine Robinson. Geoff Masci was absent, unexcused. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, Finance Director Michael Legarsky, Public Works Director Ken Clow, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy 2006 BUDGET Mr. Timmons stated that the Council has received the general ledger printout, which has the highest level of detail available to date regarding the 2006 budget without going into department breakdowns of line item budget detail. He said this is the first "cut" by the Finance Department, based on input from City departments; at this point the City Manager has had no input, there has been no reconciliation and it is simply a document produced from transferring numbers. He added this is not a good document for a layperson, or even staff, to work from. He stated he will be meeting with each department director to go over the various departmental budgets in the next few weeks; then on October 1 st will produce the City Manager's budget with reconciliation of revenue to expense. Staff is working on a new format for the preliminary budget, which will be more legible and understandable. The current document in hand (general ledger) consists of thousands of accounts which must be listed whether there is anything in them or not and fund transfers make it more confusing. He said that he wished to present this evening a list of the issues that will significantly impact the 2006 budget, which were identified during a staff retreat. He provided two written documents: "2006 Budget Worksheet Check List" and "Councilor 2006 Budget Awareness Form." He asked Councilors to use the Budget City Council Workshop Page 1 September 12, 2005 Awareness Form to request information on any 2006 budget issue. This will help . staff track the record of an issue being discussed and addressed during the process. Highlighted issues included: Intergovernmental Contracts: costs are skyrocketing, need to analyze at some point whether it would be cost effective to provide certain services in house. County will be charging a new fee for maintaining voter registration lists per new stage legislation. Parks User Fees to be reviewed: currently fees are nominal for space rentals, particularly for Chetzemoka park. Development Services Department charges: examine whether fees for service can cover departmental expenses; look at software upgrades for permit tracking. Consider allocating money from new construction to Street Fund. EMS levy - noted that the amount collected per dollar has dropped dramatically due to the 1 % cap and raises fewer dollars than originally intended. System Development charges: consider raising according to the construction cost . index. Cable utility: consider charging 6% utility tax on TV and cable modem services. Stormwater rates: have not been adjusted since inception. Ms. Robinson asked if an increase in stormwater rates would be done as part of stormwater planning, similar to the utility rate study. Mr. Timmons stated the stormwater plan does call for adjustments tied to inflation. Staff will probably propose some type of adjustment for utilities to keep us close to our cost index, rather than proposing major increases every few years. Ms. Robinson asked if the proposed DSD software package would allow permitting on line. Mr. Timmons stated an upgrade could improve permit tracking, information on line, and coordination between DSD and Public Works. One of the systems that may be considered is Tidemark, the system used by Jefferson County. Ms. Fenn asked if an admissions tax is not listed due to the fact it wouldn't go into effect until 2007, if instituted. Mr. Timmons affirmed. Compost facility rates were discussed at length. Issues included: Compost sales are doing well but the gap between revenue and expense is growing since we get more yard waste than we can use; raising fees has an impact on the . City Council Workshop Page 2 September 12, 2005 . . . amount of septage brought in and the major supplier has never returned since the last raise in fees. Difference between cost and revenue for the facility is about $200,000, without factoring in what it would cost to dispose from the solid waste treatment plant. Bagging and selling in smaller quantities has been considered; selling would not be a problem but there is a cost incrementally higher than selling in bulk. Staff would have to work out a cost analysis. Other clarifications in response to questions from the Council included the following: DSD Software application cost could be around $75,000 but hope to cover through department revenues. EMS levy cannot be amended by Council ordinance, would have to go back to voters. Currently the General Fund subsidizes the EMS fund by about $209,000; if the full 50 cents per thousand approved by voters could be collected, the subsidy would be about $100,000. Tax on private utility limited to 6%. City strategy is to move away from property tax to a more user-based tax system pegged toward spending habits rather than the value of property. City has probably maxed out user fees in some areas. If gas tax initiative succeeds and gas tax is repealed, City will not receive $30,000 which would have gone directly to the street fund; also will severely impact the plans for the ferry terminal and the Hood Canal Bridge. Main Street is working to get funding from new program that can divert state B&O taxes to Main Street; funding could be used for streetscape projects. EPA has not finalized the rule on secondary disinfection yet. RECESS Mayor Robinson declared a recess at 8:10 p.m. for the purpose of a break. RECONVENE The meeting was reconvened at 8:23 p.m. Equipment rental fund will be impacted by fuel costs; purchase of two police vehicles has been deferred through 2006. City Council Workshop Page 3 September 12, 2005 ~ City may look at transfer and assignment of fire equipment to the consolidated . district; these are largest and most expensive apparatus and transfer would probably help the equipment rental fund. Surplus property has been identified; most are targeted for particular uses, Le., police property would be used for new station; Cherry Street used to relocate public works shops; Water Barn and Morgan Hill site earmarked for secondary disinfection costs. Proceeds from almost all potential surplus properties are utility related. Surplus process is not complicated, and will move forward as capital projects begin. City has not yet had conversations with new school administration regarding the proposed drug prevention program which requires city/school cooperation. Liquor tax proceeds currently paid to County Health Department could be dispensed directly to providers. Ms. Robinson noted she will not be present on November 14, and will ask that Council agree to change draft meetings schedule to reflect final adoption of the budget on November 21 (proposal at next meeting.) Because of budget discussion this evening, CD/LU meeting scheduled for September 13 cancelled per agreement of committee members. ADJOURN . There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Attest: ~ck~ Pam Kolacy, CMC City Clerk . City Council Workshop Page 4 September 12, 2005