OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
CHERYL L. BROWN 117 WEST
DUVAL STREET,
DIRECTOR 4TH
FLOOR, CITY HALL
OFFICE (904) 630-1452
FAX (904) 630-2906
E-MAIL: CLBROWN@coj.net
FINANCE COMMITTEE BUDGET HEARING MINUTES
August 31, 2012
9:00 a.m.
Location: City Council Chamber, 1st floor, City
Hall –
In attendance:
Council Members John Crescimbeni (Chair), Greg Anderson, Bill Gulliford , Stephen Joost and Clay Yarborough
Excused: Lori Boyer, Johnny Gaffney
Also: Council Member Jones (arr. 10:05), Carter (arr. 10:14), Brown (arr. 10:45); Kirk Sherman, Kim Taylor, Robert Campbell – Council Auditor’s Office; Steve Rohan and Peggy Sidman – Office of General Counsel; Ronnie Belton, Glenn Hansen and Angela Moyer – Finance Department; Jessica Deal – Mayor’s Office; Jessica Stephens – Legislative Services Division; Jeff Clements – City Council Research Division, David Bauerlein and Steve Patterson – Florida Times-Union; David Chapman – Financial News and Daily Record; Kevin Meerschaert – WJCT; Mike Lyons – First Coast News; Steve Cassada – Council Staff Services
Meeting Convened: 9:07 a.m.
References from this
point refer to the Council Auditor’s handout for Meeting #8 – August 30, 2012.
Jacksonville Children’s Commission
Council Auditor Kirk Sherman noted that the JCC’s budget includes a $2 million transfer from fund balance which will leave $1.8 million in that fund. The commission can only make one more transfer of that magnitude before exhausting its reserves. Jill Dame, Acting Executive Director of the Children’s Commission, answered questions from council members Yarborough and Anderson about several programs and funding line item changes. Ms. Dame explained the degree to which City match funds leverage state and federal grant funding, and noted that the nature of some of the grants is changing such that priority is being given to non-profit applicants rather than governments.
Motion (Gulliford): on p. 49, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #1 – approved.
Motion (Yarborough):
on p. 49, approve Council Auditor’s recommendations #2 and 3 – approved.
Motion (Joost): approve the JCC’s request to restore the reduction in funding for security guard service, utilizing offsetting revenue from a miscalculation by the Public Works Department of the security guard funding for City Hall at St. James – approved.
Public Works Department
Robert Campbell of the Council Auditor’s Office gave an overview of department’s budget. He noted that proposed service level reductions include: 1) reducing median, right-of-way and vacant lot mowing from 8 times to 4 times per year; 2) reduce mowing around City buildings from 19 to 11 times per year; 3) shutting off 7,500 street lights (6.88% of total lights) in industrial and office areas that are not heavily used at night. Street lights would not be affected in residential and commercial areas.
Motion (Joost):
on pp. 55-56, approve Council Auditor’s recommendations #1, 2 and 3 – withdrawn.
Public Works Director Jim Robinson explained that the department zeroed out its Plant Renewal Expense expenditures budget but by error still budgeted to collect $2.74 million in revenues, $1.85 million from General Fund agencies and $891,000 from non-General Fund agencies. The Council Auditor believes this creates a $340,838 net deficit that needs to be addressed to fund the provision of some services that will have to be provided during the year.
Mr. Sherman cautioned that as a result of actions taken to date in the budget process, the City is projecting an FY11-12 year-end surplus of approximately $2 million in a nearly $1 billion budget – a razor thin margin that cannot be reduced any further by appropriations of FY11-12 fund balance.
Council Member Yarborough expressed concern with the reduction in mowing frequency and its effect on the level of service that can be maintained and that the general public expects. In response to a question Mr. Robinson said that maintaining the current level of mowing would require an additional $1.5 million
Motion
(Yarborough): restore $1.5 million to the Public Works Department budget to
maintain the current level of mowing service, allocating the funding to the
Special Council Reserve Fund deficit for future consideration – dies for lack of a second.
Motion (Yarborough): restore $750,000 to the Public Works Department budget to restore a portion of the current level of mowing service, allocating the funding to the Special Council Reserve Fund deficit for future consideration – fails 1-4 (Yarborough in favor).
Mr. Robinson and Kelley Boree, Director of Parks and Recreation, discussed the transfer of grounds maintenance employees between the two departments and Mr. Robinson noted the reduction in the mowing contract that funded all right-of-way mowing. Mr. Robinson said that the two contracts for mowing (Northside and Southside) were let in 2006 and are reaching their conclusion. Public Works will issue an RFP for new contractors this fall to begin January 2013.
Mr. Robinson said that the street light proposal has been revised since review by the Council Auditor’s Office several weeks ago. The revised proposal is to shut off 2,341 lights for a total savings of $302,619. After accounting for JEA’s expenses to disable the chosen lights ($60,000), the number of lights to be shut off would be increased incrementally to reach the $302,000 savings goal.
Mr. Robinson responded to questions from Chairman Crescimbeni about the annual Zero-Tolerance Litter Program report required by the Ordinance Code and will provide the requested report at next Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting.
The committee had an extended discussion of the Intra-Fund Service Charges in the Public Works Department budget. An error in the budget preparation process led to a removal of revenue to the General Fund from these charges but not a corresponding reduction in departmental expenses on the non-General Fund departments that pay the fund. The Auditor’s Office urged an amendment to remove the expenditures charged to this fund at a cost to the Special Council Contingency Fund of $340,838.
Council Member Brown urged restoration of funding to the department to increase the level of service being provided to the community because constituents are complaining about the effects of service reductions and suggested the use of emergency contingency funds as a revenue source. He believes that other agencies should be restored as the Sheriff’s budget was restored.
Motion (Joost): on p. 55, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #1 – approved.
Motion (
Motion
(Gulliford) – on p. 56, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #2 – approved.
Motion (Gulliford): on p. 56, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #3 – approved
Council Member Yarborough urged a restoration of funding to the Public Works Department on the same basis that the Public Library was restored. In response to a question from Council Member Brown, Deputy General Counsel Steve Rohan explained the remaining opportunities for council members to propose amendments to the budget under development at future Finance Committee and full City Council meetings. Council Member Gulliford pointed out that departments that accrue savings during the fiscal year from efficient operations can use those resources to improve the level of service. Kirk Sherman noted that any particular department’s ability to utilize its budget savings is restricted by the need for the entire City budget to balance at year-end. The Mayor’s office will determine what funds are needed to balance the overall budget by the end of a fiscal year.
In response to a question from Chairman Crescimbeni about whether the City Council could prospectively appropriate future revenues that might accrue during the course of the fiscal year to City Council priorities, Mr. Sherman stated that the Council could certainly establish priorities for future funding but could probably not appropriate funds that do not yet exist. Peggy Sidman of the General Counsel’s Office said that the Mayor’s transfer authority is the key to the use of future budget savings, and that Council Member Schellenberg has an ordinance pending that would substantially restrict the Mayor’s transfer authority. Deputy General Counsel Steve Rohan said that the City Council and administration must work together to achieve the goals that both want to achieve. The City Council controls the budget but cannot get programs accomplished without the administration’s cooperation. The Mayor cannot get his priorities implemented without funding appropriated by the Council.
Motion (Joost):
approve the request by the Public Works Department to delete two clerical
support positions and add one engineering contract specialist for a net
reduction of one FTE and savings of $16,494.88 – approved.
Tree Protection Trust fund
Motion (
Solid Waste
The primary service level change is to eliminate 5 day per week downtown waste collection to 124 businesses. Various ordinances apply to this service, including the ordinance that authorizes heightened level of service for downtown and the regulations that apply to the downtown businesses placing their garbage out for collection.
Motion (Gulliford): on p. 66, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #1 – approved.
Motion (Gulliford): on p. 67, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #2 – approved.
Public Works Director Robinson stated that the City has gotten significant negative reaction from downtown businesses to the proposal to discontinue daily waste pickup in downtown. Analysis of the cost of the service showed that the budget account covers much more than just downtown business collections – it also includes collection from downtown residences, from residences and businesses in portions of Riverside/Five Points, and emptying downtown trash receptacles. Meetings of downtown businesses organized by Downtown Vision, Inc. found that those businesses would be willing to pay more to keep the level of service at 5 days per week. The department intends to work toward requiring all downtown business waste to be put out in City-issued receptacles (not in plastic bags as some now do) so that accurate charges can be levied on the users. Jim Bailey of Bailey Publishing, a downtown business owner and leader, urged that the current system be maintained as-is; the twice per day collection system is what works for downtown to deal with the different timing of restaurant waste vs. business waste and large volume producers vs. small volume producers. Many small business owners will not be able to afford the cost of the new system as proposed by Public Works.
Mr. Robinson made a proposal to institute a $46.70 per-can charge for downtown businesses that would produce $119,365 in revenue to cover the cost of downtown collection service for six collections per week (Monday – Friday, two collections on Monday), plus additional spot pickups by crews in the course of emptying the downtown trash receptacles.
Motion (Gulliford): allocate $100,000 from Special Council Contingency to fund the downtown waste collection system at the current level for 6 months to give the Downtown Investment Authority a chance to be established and to offer its opinion
Motion (Joost): amend the Gulliford amendment to put the funding “below the line”
Council Members Jones and Redman urged caution in shifting to the new system on October 1st, citing the financial burden to the small businesses from the increased fees and the unsightliness and potential health hazards of moving to a once per day pickup system. Mr. Robinson stated that the department had checked with the private waste haulers and the cost would be higher than the City’s new proposal.
Motion (Gulliford): adopt the “Robinson Proposal” for downtown garbage collection 5 days per week at $46.70 per receptacle, with authority to Council Auditor and General Counsel’s Office to develop any necessary associated Ordinance Code amendment – approved.
Kirk Sherman urged the administration to expeditiously implement the new billing system that will be needed so that cash flow can begin at the start of the fiscal year.
Landfill mitigation fund capital projects subfund
Motion (
Stormwater Utility
Motion (Gulliford): on p. 76, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation – approved.
The committee submitted the list of questions on Public Works issues developed by Council Member Boyer to Jim Robinson for production of a written response due at next Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting.
Kirk Sherman reported that at the end of the agenda presentations, the Special Council Contingency stands at a deficit of $993,626.
Motion (Gulliford): add $500,000 in savings from the new facilities management contract and reduce Special Council Contingency deficit by like amount.
Motion (Joost): add $493,626 in savings from the new facilities management contract and recognize additional sales tax revenue of $500,000.
Motion (Joost): recognize additional sales tax revenue of $500,000 and spread the remaining Special Council Contingency deficit of $493,626 across the remainder of the budget as a lapse.
The committee was in recess from 1:26 to 1:39.
Motion (Gulliford): recognize additional sales tax revenue of $500,000, add $200,000 in savings from the new facilities management contract and allocate $293,626 as an extraordinary lapse for the administration to allocate – fails 3-1 (Crescimbeni no).
Motion (Joost): recognize additional sales tax revenue of $500,000 and apply the remaining Special Council Contingency deficit of $493,626 as a lapse against departmental budgets on a pro rata basis – approved.
Motion (Joost):
approve the Finance substitute to the budget ordinance – approved.
Motion (Joost): recommend approval of 2012-433 as substituted by the Finance Committee – approved.
Chairman Crescimbeni noted that the Finance Committee next week may be a lengthy one, with reports pending on several subjects in addition to the budget ordinance.
Meeting adjourned: 1:47 p.m.
Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research Division
8.31.12 Posted: 4:00 p.m.
Tape: Finance budget hearing 8.31.12
Legislative Services Division
Attachments: Council Auditor’s Handout for Meeting #8, August 30, 2012