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Home My WebLink About073013 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP BUDGET RETREAT OF JULY 30, 2013 CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met in workshop session for a budget retreat the thirtieth day of July 2013 at 1:00 p.m. in the Cotton Building at 607 Water Street. Mayor David King convened the meeting at 1:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Councilmembers present at roll call were Robert Gray, David King, Catharine Robinson, Deborah Stinson and Mark Welch. Michelle Sandoval and Kris Nelson arrived later. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, Public Works Director Ken Clow, City Engineer Dave Peterson, Deputy Finance Director Corena Stern, Interim Library Director Beverly Shelton, Police Chief Conner Daily, Planning Manager Judy Surber, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy There were no changes to the agenda as presented. PUBLIC COMMENT Patrick Moore posed questions about whether the City has a Chief Financial Officer and asked what fund the Council and Manager's pay comes from. 2013 MIDYEAR BUDGET REPORT AND STATUS Six month status report: Deputy Finance Director Corena Stern reviewed the Mid-year Finance Reports. She noted trends are positive on the revenue side. She also reviewed the status of the various funds and answered several clarifying questions from the Council. Capital Projects Status report: City Engineer Dave Peterson reviewed the capital projects status report. Supplemental budget amendment projections: City Manager Timmons gave a preliminary report on the 2013 supplemental budget. He noted that internal adjustments will be made prior to requests for supplemental funding. Financial Policies: Mr. Timmons noted that the Finance and Budget Committee would be assigned review of the financial policies and that other Council members should review the policies and let staff and committee know about concerns or suggestions. BUDGET PRIORITIES City Council Budget Retreat July 30, 2013 1 Various budget priorities were listed and discussed briefly. Debt service: reviewed current debt limits; noted that devaluation would drop the estimated numbers. S&P rating will be reviewed with hopes of dropping the "negative outlook." A policy document would include potential debt service reserve. Payroll: will estimate per existing staffing levels with cost of living increase projected at 1.5%; benefits may increase about 5%. There is some uncertainty regarding future health care costs with the advent of the new national healthcare program. Maintenance of existing service levels is baseline goal. Restoration opportunities include adding staff or funding for Parks, Mountain View facility, Public Safety and Administration, which were all cut last year. Public safety costs related to JeffCom 911 may go up by $80,000. Court costs will also increase. With retirements pending in Police Department, training costs for new officers must be anticipated. Shortage in Administration staff impacts records management, public information requests, and other City-wide support tasks. There may be potential to shift Mountain View facility from the City to an independent trust. Capital Plan Program 2014-18 (General, Street, Utility, Engineering). Upcoming issues include mandated water treatment, Howard Street Corridor and sidewalks. The engineering staffing level must match the project profile. Howard Street Corridor utilities may include Latecomer Agreements, Local Improvement Districts, etc. SPECIAL PURPOSE FUND REVIEWS Equipment Rental and Replacement. Our current method of funding equipment replacement does not seem to be working and another set of policy guidelines will be developed. Lodging Tax Fund. Revenues should continue to gradually increase. Library Fund. Loss of valuation will not affect special purpose levies. Public Works (Administration, Solid Waste, Water/Wastewater, Street, Stormwater). Solid waste is contracted but the City receives a fee. Need to review overhead allocations for water and wastewater; if projects are not done, it disrupts the general fund. AREAS OF CONCERN Citizen Concern database shows that main areas of concern are trees, streets, and potholes. Ability to increase or retain staffing to meet demand for services. City Council Budget Retreat July 30, 2013 2 Succession planning: 25% of senior staff will be eligible for retirement in the next two years. Human Resource administration: Human resource administration is an area that needs to be staffed; potential that this could be shared with another jurisdiction could be considered. STREETS Deferred Conditions — streets accumulated deficit is $8 million. Stormwater projects must be done to save streets. Noted that the bulk of citizen complaints are related to street conditions. Non-federal aid funding — we need a sustainable income source. Neighborhood streets suffer if no federal or state money is available. CONCLUDING REMARKS The Finance Committee will take up the financial policies issue. An ad hoc committee will discuss succession planning. More information will be gathered regarding options and requirements for secondary water treatment. A supplemental budget is anticipated in September. The 2012 audit will be completed by the end of August. Staffing issues (lack of) prevent many new initiatives; desire was expressed to get the Council committees back in action. At some point, a resolution will be brought forward with a framework for financial policies. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:12 p.m. Attest: Pam Kolacy, City Clerk City Council Budget Retreat July 30, 2013 3