OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL

 

117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425

4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202

904-630-1377

 

 

FINANCE COMMITTEE BUDGET HEARING #6 MINUTES


August 28, 2018

9:00 a.m.

 

Location: City Council Chamber, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street,

In attendance: Council Members Greg Anderson, Joyce Morgan, Lori Boyer, Reggie Gaffney, Bill Gulliford, Jim Love, Sam Newby

Excused:

 

Also: Council Members Danny Becton, Terrance Freeman, Matt Schellenberg (arr. 9:46)

Peggy Sidman – Office of General Counsel; Kyle Billy, Brian Parks and Phillip Peterson - Council Auditor’s Office; Adri Maguire-Segui - Legislative Services Division; Sam Mousa – Mayor’s Office; Mike Weinstein and Angela Moyer – Finance and Administration Department

 

Meeting Convened: 9:02 a.m.

 

Chairman Anderson convened the meeting and the attendees introduced themselves for the record. The chairman thanked the administration, Council Auditor’s office and Office of General Counsel for the smoothness of the budget hearings to date. Mr. Anderson said that an enhancement proposal list will be distributed at the end of today’s meeting for consideration by the committee. Any additions to that list must be requested by a Finance Committee member; proposals by non-Finance members must be relayed through a committee member. It appears that the enhancements discussion will take place Thursday afternoon, given the committee’s progress through its work.

 

Debt Affordability Study

Joey Greive, City Treasurer, presented the annual Debt Affordability Study, explaining the various affordability ratios that govern the City’s borrowing. He reported that revenues are coming in strongly and the City has been paying down its debt load over the past several years, including refinancing over $500 million in debt to lower interest rates. All of the City’s debt affordability ratios are within their established ranges and five of the seven ratios are better than their target amount. Council Member Boyer noted that the Council is not being requested to waive any of the ratios, which has been done in years past. The City’s reserve funds are growing in recent years. The City’s credit ratings are at Aa2/AA/AA for general obligations and at Aa3/AA/AA- for the special revenue pledge borrowing (where the City does the majority of its borrowing). The ratings agencies have commented favorably about the City’s lowering debt burden and growing reserves. Research shows that Jacksonville’s consolidated city millage rate of 11.4419 is in the middle of the range of the ten largest cities in Florida combined with their counties (ranging from 9.2884 in Port St. Lucie to 12.4144 in Tallahassee).

 

As of September 30, 2018 the City’s outstanding debt is estimated to be $1,098,226,000 for general government and enterprise funds and $1,176,943,000 for the Better Jacksonville Plan, for a total debt outstanding of $2,275,169,000. The City will be paying down between $129 million and $144 million of debt each year over the next 5 fiscal years. The total outstanding debt load is projected to decline from $2.275B in FY18 to $2.149B in FY23. Council Member Boyer suggested that the Debt Affordability Study could be improved in future years by finding a better way to show the impact of future years’ borrowing that is more easily understood by the average reader. Mr. Greive reported that even with the proposed borrowing over the next 5 years, all of the affordability ratios will improve because revenue projections are very favorable over those years as well. CFO Mike Weinstein thanked Mr. Greive and debt manager Randall Barnes for their hard work in producing the affordability study and carefully managing the City’s debt.

 

Page references from this point refer to Auditor’s Budget Hearing #6 handout.

 

Debt Management Fund

In response to a question from the Chairman, CAO Sam Mousa described the $2.4 million Ed Ball Building Energy Audit project, a public/private initiative that will implement energy savings strategies into capital improvements projects in the building. Mr. Mousa also described the Trail Ridge Landfill leachate evaporator project, which will eliminate the transportation of collected leachate to the JEA’s Buckman Sewage treatment plant for disposal. Council Member Boyer pointed out that the table on pages 2 and 3 represent borrowing authorizations for projects in the FY18-19 capital improvement plan, not the amount of actual borrowing (which may be as little as 50% of the authorization in the first year). In response to a question from Council Member Love, Public Works Director John Pappas explained the $14 million for the development of the next new cell at the Trail Ridge Landfill planned for FY20-21. Council Member Boyer said that a mechanism needs to be developed to allow funding to be moved from one project to another related project (possibly just a renaming of an existing project or correcting an accounting error) without the need for council approval. Ms. Boyer also encouraged her fellow council members to scrutinize the Capital Improvement Projects Not Lapsed list to track the progress of projects over the course of years, particularly to spot projects that are stalled for some reason.

 

Tim Rogers, Director of the Jacksonville Public Library, described the 21st Century Urban Libraries initiative, which will study 4 urban core library branches to determine their future and their ability to deliver expected 21st century library services. Committee members urged that the study process include community residents from the very beginning so that they help drive the process.

 

Mr. Mousa reviewed the Terms and Conditions of a grant agreement between the City and the Jacksonville Zoological Society for $25 million in City matching funding for the zoo over the next 6 years. Tony Vecchio, Executive Director of the Zoo, said that the zoo board had approved the terms and conditions. The funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis after the zoo makes its expenditures. Council Member Boyer said that the Jacksonville Zoo is one of the City’s greatest assets and a tremendous tourism attraction, and lauded the administration’s commitment of funding for improvement of this City asset. Zoo board chairman Carl Cannon said that the zoo has a $50 million master plan, of which the zoo has already raised $10 million privately and will raise another $15 million to match the City’s $25 million. He said that the master plan will completely transform the zoo and make it one of the premier zoos in America.

 

The committee was in recess from 10:54 to 11:09 a.m.

 

In response to a question from Council Member Morgan, Public Works Director John Pappas described the school zone flashers – countywide project and explained the process by which potential sites are identified and prioritized.

 

Sam Mousa described the Terms and Conditions for a grant agreement with UF Health Jacksonville for $120 million in capital improvements over 6 years to the City-owned hospital. One purpose is to reduce UF Health’s $30 million per year maintenance budget by fixing persistent problems such as leaking roofs. The funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis and the project will be overseen by the Public Works Department. Council Member Gulliford noted that Jacksonville is prohibited by state law from imposing a tax levy for indigent care and hospital operations. Chairman Anderson shared several statistics about UF Health’s Jacksonville operations and about the construction plans from Dr. Leon Haley, CEO of the hospital, who was unavailable to attend the meeting due to out-of-town travel. In response to a question from Council Auditor Kyle Billy, Mr. Mousa explained the relationship between the JEA chilled water plant serving the UF Health campus and the HVAC work going on inside the hospital buildings. Mr. Mousa asked for the flexibility in the agreement for amounts to be changed and funds allocated as necessary as the program unfolds over the course of 6 years.

 

In response to a question from Council Member Gulliford, John Pappas reported that the City has a mandate from the U.S. Department of Justice to install 27,000 ADA-accessible sidewalk and building ramps to ensure handicapped accessibility; 3,353 have been completed, 267 are currently under construction, and contracts are pending for 4,975 more ramps. The Justice Department has ended its enhanced oversight of the City’s ramp construction project because of the City’s commitment and the progress being made.

 

Council Member Boyer cited language in a report to the City Council by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Abandoned and Neglected Cemeteries from 2007 regarding the different types of cemeteries that exist in the city and how they were, or were not, maintained. She said that the proposed budget implements many of the recommendations of that 2007 report with regard to cemeteries for which the City has some degree of responsibility.

 

Council Member Gaffney said that he has been trying to think of ways that the City Council could attack the violent crime issue in Jacksonville. He proposed a $300,000 enhancement request for a Stop the Violence allocation to the Kids Hope Alliance to make small grants ($10-15,000) to community agencies not currently receiving City funding to implement crime prevention programs. He has scheduled a noticed meeting tomorrow morning with the Council President to discuss the proposal and invited any interested council members to attend. Council Member Boyer said that perhaps next year the Public Service Grant process should prioritize violent crime prevention as top priority given the seriousness of the problem compared with the other priorities. Council Member Gulliford recommended the Project Empowered Parents program as a model for restoring parental influence over their children and instilling good values in young people, which he sees as the root cause of the violent crime problem. Council Member Morgan noted that the Kids Hope Alliance has already committed, earlier in the budget process, to make grants to smaller organizations. Mr. Mousa said that the mayor has allocated $50,000 from the Mayor’s Operating Reserve to grants of up to $10,000 to small faith-based and community organizations to address the crime problem. Council Member Boyer said that the City has a large variety of grant programs through multiple agencies that impact on social services and felt that coordination and cooperation is going to be important.

 

FY 2018/19 General Capital Projects Capital Improvement Plan Budget

No recommendations

 

Stormwater Capital Projects 5-year Schedule

No recommendations

 

FY 2018/19 Stormwater Capital Projects Capital Improvement Plan Budget

No recommendations

 

Solid Waste Capital Projects 5-year Schedule

No recommendations

 

FY 2018/19 Solid Waste Capital Projects Capital Improvement Plan Budget

No recommendations

 

The committee was in recess from 12:16 to 1:33 p.m.

 

Capital Improvement Plan Notes & Recommendations

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #1 to add a contract term to the term sheet for all direct contracts identified in the Budget Ordinance, which states that any substantial change to the contract terms as defined in each exhibit shall require further Council approval – approved unanimously.

 

Motion: add the UF Health project description as an attachment, with a footnote stating that funds can be moved among categories as needed – approved unanimously.

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #2 to remove the following grant funds from the totals shown on the 1-year schedule as these funds are not appropriated in the FY 2018/19 budget:

 

Project

Total on 1-year schedule

Revised total on 1-year schedule

Difference

Roadway Resurfacing

$11,994,588

$10,150,519

($1,844,069)

ADA Compliance Curbs, Ramps, and Sidewalks

$6,545,000

$5,484,643

($1,060,357)

McCoys Creek Greenway

$1,650,000

$1,400,000

($250,000)

Hart Bridge Ramp Modifications

$25,000,000

$12,500,000

($12,500,000)

Crosswalk Countdown Heads

$631,072

0

($631,072)

 

The motion was approved unanimously.

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #3 to correcting the 1-year, 5-year, and project information sheet for the Mayport Docks project to reflect total FY 18/19 funding of $1,260,000, consisting of a $900,000 project transfer (Mayport Dock and Launch Lane project) and a $360,000 grant. The $360,000 grant was not included in the proposed budget and needs to be added since the City has subsequently received the grant agreement - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #4 to add language to the budget ordinance granting approval and authorization to enter into the grant agreement with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for the Mayport Docks project - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #5 to correcting FY 2018/19 total shown on the 5-year schedule for the McCoy’s Creek Greenway project to $1,600,000 – approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #6 to remove the Chairs & Tables - Prime Osborn Convention Center project (page number 159/PDF page 174) from the CIP schedules. This recommendation does not affect the funding for this project, but rather just removes it as it does not meet the definition of a capital improvement project – approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 29, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #7 to decrease the Art In Public Places allocation by $30,000 related to the Fire Station #65 and Oceanway Branch Library projects. The allocations related to these projects were overstated in the proposed budget. This will have a positive impact of $30,000 on Special Council Contingency – approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #8 to removing $13,125 from the 1-year and 5-year schedules for Fire Station #65. This amount is related to AIPP funding and was included on the 1-year schedule inadvertently. This does not affect the project funding - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #9 to revise the project detail pages for the projects listed in item 11 above to indicate AIPP funding was provided for the FY 2018/19 project appropriations via a transfer from the General Fund/GSD - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve the administration’s request #10 to use debt funding to cover the shortfalls in the following projects:

 

Project Name in CIP

Proposed Funding Source

Proposed Amount

Amount Available

Shortfall

Ed Ball Building - Maintenance and

Upgrades

Interest – SF 311

$21,263

0

($21,263)

Interest – SF 314

$63,187

0

($63,187)

Interest – SF 31A

$26,084

0

($26,084)

Interest – SF 31G

$5,127

0

($5,127

Interest – SF 31I

$39,992

0

($39,992)

Interest – SF 328

$23,405

$9,552

($13,853)

Interest – SF 32A

$5,287

$3,183

($2,104)

Interest – SF 32B

$1,700

$1,365

($335)

Interest – SF 32D

$12,514

$12,214

($300)

9A/Baymeadows Park

Interest – SF 414

$421,209

$38,942

($382,267)

 

Interest – SF 341

$18,088

0

($18,088)

 

 

 

Total

($572,600)

 

The motion was approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve the administration’s request #11 to transfer $200,000 from the construction of Fire Station #61 (FR0039-01) to fund a temporary Fire Station #61 (FR0039-02) - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #12 to remove the Traffic Sign Inventory project (page number 61/ PDF page 76) and Corridor Signal Timing project (page number 94/PDF page 109) from the CIP as they do not meet the definition of a CIP project. These projects are funded in out years only - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #13 to remove the FIND grant projects from the 1-year schedule. They will remain on the 5-year schedule and will not require further Council approval once the grants are received - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #14 to add Subfund 414 to Budget Ordinance Schedule B – Schedule of Appropriations as it was inadvertently omitted - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 30, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #15 to correct the index code for the Palm Avenue Improvements project expenditures - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 31, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #16 to correct the project number of the Boone Park – Upgrade Electrical & Tennis Court project; also appropriate the $252,253 payment in lieu of taxes revenue to be received from the Mission Springs Apartments to the School Board ($82,532) and the City’s portion ($142,721) to the Boone Park project - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 31, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #17 to correct the project number of the Carvill Park & Pool project and adding prior year funding to the 5-year schedule - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 31, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #18 to correct the project information sheets shown below:

 

Project Name in CIP

CIP Book

Page

PDF

Page

Recommended Change

Fire Station #65

11

26

Add operating costs

Roadway Resurfacing

23

38

Correct budgeted expenditures

ADA Compliance – Curb Ramps and Sidewalks

25

40

Correct justification regarding consent

decree

Phoenix Area Pedestrian Safety

Improvements

31

46

Include language that this is a priority

project identified in the 2017Bike/ Pedestrian Master Plan

Centurion Pkwy at Deerwood Park Blvd Intersection Improv

35

50

Add expenditures to schedule

San Clerc Road Pedestrian Bridges

39

54

Correct justification language

Acree Road Bridge Replacement

41

56

Clarify project scope and justification

Yellow Bluff Road Bridge Repairs

42

57

Delete “Funding from PW0381-02

project transfer per Dept” in scope

Plymouth Street Bridge

43

58

Delete “Funding from PW0381-02

project transfer per Dept” in scope

Collins Road Bridge

44

59

Delete “Funding from PW0381-02

project transfer per Dept” in scope

Hart Bridge Ramp Modifications

47

62

Clarify scope regarding bicycle/pedestrian access

Downtown Network Switches

Replacement

59

74

Clarify justification

School Zone Flashers – Countywide

64

79

Add project number PW0328-06

Railroad Quiet Zone Match

69

84

Clarify City dollars will be used to provide a 50/50 match to privately raised funds

McCoys Creek Channel

Improvements/Restoration

74

89

Revise scope

McCoys Creek Boulevard Closure

78

93

Clarify scope

Park Street Road Diet

79

94

Add project boundaries to scope

(Forest to Stonewall)

Cemetery projects

101-106

116-121

Include address/RE #

Southside Senior Center

164

179

Add operating costs

Add project location of Beach & Peach

Park

Southbank Floating Dock

168

183

Add location and justification

Countywide Park Capital

Maintenance Playground/ Ballfields

174

189

Remove page from CIP (no funding

McCoy's Creek Greenway

179

194

Correct grant funding to $200,000

Riverplace Tower Finger Piers

180

195

Remove page from CIP (no funding)

St. Johns River Park

188

203

Add project location

Main Street Dog Park

189

204

Add project location

Stormwater Projects

n/a

n/a

Add project numbers

Gaskin Road (DSR) - Capital

Improvement

n/a

n/a

Correct budgeted expenditures

 

Motion (Boyer): Amend recommendation #18 to authorize the administration, Council Auditor and General Counsel’s Office to make changes in project descriptions to accurately reflect the project purpose

 

The motion as amended was approved unanimously.

 

Motion: on p. 32, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #19 to add the administration’s list of Mobility Zone Bike/Pedestrian projects; projects with costs over $100,000 are also added to the CIP schedules - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 32, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #20 to include the chart showing the suggested minimums, targets, and FY 18/19 funded amounts for recurring capital maintenance needs in the CIP as required by Ordinance Code Sec. 106.219 - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 32, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #21 to revise the title of the 1-year schedule to “FY 2019 Capital Improvement Plan Budget” - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 32, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #22 to revise the 1-year schedule to correct the funding sources (i.e. transfer between projects, pay-go, interest, debt, grant/trust fund) to reflect the proposed budget and corresponding amendments. This does not affect project budgets - approved unanimously

 

Motion: on p. 32, approve Council Auditor’s recommendation #23 to grant staff the ability to adjust project names, numbers, and prior years funding amounts for schedule presentation purposes as necessary for continuity - approved unanimously

 

Mr. Mousa requested a listing of the projects just removed from the CIP listing so that they can be properly tracked. Phillip Peterson agreed to work with CIP manager Teresa Eichner to develop such a list to be attached to the budget ordinance as an additional exhibit. Council Member Boyer suggested that each mobility zone have a capital project listing for all the bicycle/pedestrian projects in that zone, with a schedule listing both capital (over $100,000) and non-capital (under $100,000) projects comprising the full scope of the mobility zone work project.

 

Motion (Boyer): on pp. 6-7 of the Auditor’s handout (shown on a separate Boyer amendment handout), move $3 million from Jax Ash Site Remediation allocation in FY18-19 to the Northbank Riverwalk Bulkhead project in FY18-19 to start bulkhead replacement behind the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts; move $3 million from Northbank Riverwalk Bulkhead project in FY20-21 to Jax Ash Site Remediation project in FY20-21 –

 

In response to a question from Chairman Anderson, Mr. Mousa briefly recounted the ash site remediation settlement with the federal government and the City’s financial obligations for the remediation project. Public Works Director John Pappas estimated the City’s remaining obligation for cleanup at $23 million beyond current appropriations, plus ongoing monitoring and maintenance expenses thereafter.

 

The Boyer motion was approved unanimously

 

Motion (Gulliford): add a project to the CIP for FY19-20 entitled Johnson Island Acquisition in the amount of $1.5 million, funded with $562,500 of debt, $562,500 of contributions from private sources and a FIND grant of $375,000 - approved unanimously

 

Motion (Morgan): move the $1 million project entitled “Norman Studios interior build-out” up from FY22-23 to FY19-20 in the CIP – approved unanimously.

 

Council Member Boyer suggested that the Norman Studios might qualify for a Tourist Development Council due to its tourism attraction potential.

 

Ms. Boyer said that there is sufficient available funding in the JIA CRA budget to fund the Harts Road bridge project in FY18-19 if it were to be removed from the City’s CIP (FY21-22) and shifted to the JIA CRA’s work program and budget. Alternatively, the project could be left in the CIP and unspent JIA CRA funds that lapse into fund balance at the end of the fiscal year could be transferred to the CIP to fund the project next year.

 

Better Jacksonville Plan

No recommendations. Mr. Mousa noted that sales tax revenues are trending upward and any revenue exceeding BJP debt service is pledged to completing BJP pay-as-you-go projects that have been on hold awaiting funding availability. In response to a question from Council Member Gulliford, Mr. Mousa said that no General Fund dollars were ever transferred to the BJP project. The General Fund (excluding ad valorem taxes) was pledged as a potential funding source for a $30 million BJP bond issue, but that pledge was never used and BJP sales tax revenue paid all the bond costs.

 

Committee discussion

 

Council Member Becton asked that an enhancement request be made for $61,238 for the Public Library for 3 additional operating hours per week at the Southeast Branch library to be open one additional night per week for community access.

 

Motion (Gaffney): add an enhancement request of $61,238 for the Public Library for 3 additional night operating hours per week at the Southeast Branch library (replaces the previous enhancement request for unspecified “increased library hours”) – approved unanimously.

 

Motion (Gulliford): maintain the enhancement request for unspecified additional library operating hours system-wide on the list – approved unanimously.

 

Council Member Boyer said that the various McCoy’s Creek-related projects have been planned and sequenced to be accomplishable in a logical manner.

 

Ordinance Code waivers in the budget ordinance

In response to questions posed at an earlier hearing about what would be necessary to avoid the need for several Ordinance Code waivers contained in the budget ordinance, Deputy General Counsel Peggy Sidman said that the Lynch Building waiver (waiving the requirement that revenue from the loan payments be deposited into the Downtown Economic Development Fund) could be removed from the budget ordinance if a new contract was signed with the project developer or if the Ordinance Code was amended to remove the requirement. She also reported that the need for the waiver regarding the City Council communication allowance (Sec. 10.1, budget ordinance) could only be eliminated by amending the Code. Both of these items can be addressed via post-budget action.

 

Budget issues being examined by the General Counsel’s Office

1)      Courthouse furniture appropriate funding source

2)      WJCT mobile broadcast studio public purpose

3)      Harts Road bridge project JIA CRA versus CIP funding

 

Next meetings

Thursday and Friday, August 30 and 31.

 

Outstanding items

·         Non-departmental expenditures  - Constitutional gas tax to fiscal agent

·         Sheriff Williams – progress in hiring the 100 new officers, overall employment level, and the deployment of those new officers

·         Sheriff Williams – red light camera removal

·         Sheriff Williams – false alarm data since the implementation of the new registration system

·         Clerk of the Courts – collection rate on the $3 and $65 fees

Special Council Contingency

Brian Parks reported that the Special Council Contingency fund stands at +$877,331

 

Enhancement requests

·         Additional funding for Public Service grants

·         Additional funding for Cultural Service grants

·         AGAPE $150,000 additional funding request

·         City Council Legislative Services – add an additional Legislative Assistant position ($45,666 salary and benefits, unfunded) for succession planning – no impact to Special Council Contingency

·         City Council - council member communications allowance of $2,416 and $2,183 for City hall parking for new council members for July 1 – September 30, 2019

·         Increased library hours

·         Tax Collector – 4 new entry level positions ($147,904 - salaries and benefits)

·         Chief Judge Mahon requested an ongoing enhancement of $10,509 in Other Equipment Under $1,000 for purchase of replacement chairs for the courthouse (can this be paid for out of the 1S1 fund?)

·         Parks, Recreation and Community Services – add one unfunded position to potentially hire a current intern into a permanent position

·         Kids Hope Alliance - $60,000 for grief counseling and trauma-informed care for children affected by violent crime

·         Public Works Department – purchase additional VacCon truck for $360,000

·         Public Works Department – add one additional engineer position in the Engineering Division ($70,000 recurring)

·         WJCT mobile broadcasting/emergency response First Alert radio network vehicle - $200,000

·         Gaffney – Stop the Violence small grant program via Kids Hope Alliance - $300,000

·         Public Service Grants – appropriate $50,000 to commission a consultant return on investment study of the most effective use of PSG funds (replaces the first enhancement request above for PSG betterment)

 

 

Meeting adjourned:  3:26 p.m.

 

Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research

8.28.18     Posted 5:30 p.m.

Tapes:  Finance Budget Hearing #6 – LSD

             8.28.18

Materials: Council Auditor’s Budget Meeting #6 handout - LSD

             8.28.18