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Home My WebLink About08/14/2017 - Special Minutes - City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP CITY OF COLLEGE STATION AUGUST 14, 2017 STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Karl Mooney, Mayor Council: Blanche Brick Jerome Rektorik Linda Harvell Barry Moore Julie Schultz James Benham City Staff: Kelly Templin, City Manager Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager Jeff Capps, Assistant City Manager Aubrey Nettles, Special Projects Coordinator Mary Ellen Leonard, Finance Director Courtney Kennedy, Budget Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Mary Ann Powell, Deputy City Attorney Tanya McNutt, City Secretary 1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Budget Workshop of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Karl Mooney at 3:13 p.m. on Monday, August 14, 2017 in the CSU Meeting/Training Facility, 1603 Graham Road, College Station, Texas 77842. 2. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on the FY 2017-2018 Proposed Budget. Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager, provided a review of the proposed FY17-18 budget and citywide budget issues. Public hearings for the tax rate are scheduled for August 30 and September 11,both at 7:00 p.m. Key decision points include public safety,maintenance needs,capital project plan and funding, compensation and benefits plan, water rate increase, commercial and residential WKSHP081417 Minutes Page 1 sanitation rate increase, service level increases to address growth and maintenance needs; and tax rate, etc. The budget and tax rate are scheduled to be adopted September 25. The revised FY17 Budget has an authorized decrease of($2,855,804). Current estimate is that there will be a slight increase in fund balance when the year closes. GENERAL FUND Revenues Sales Tax, our largest revenue stream, accounts for 37%. The FY17 forecast is 5.2% higher than FY16 (FY17 forecast includes several one-time sales tax settlements and purchases). Staff is projecting a 2% increase over FY18 year-end estimate for an estimated revenue of$28.5 million. Ad valorem taxes account for 31% of our general fund revenues. Our certified property valuation is $8.9 billion, for an approximate 11.41% increase in value over last year. New Value is 45% of that increase or $409 million. We are continuing to see growth on the property value side. Our current tax rate is 47.25 cents. The effective tax rate is 44.4262 cents and generates approximately the same revenues on the same properties this year as last year. The rollback rate is calculated at 51.7358 cents. The property tax revenue coming into the General Fund is estimated to be $23.9 million, and the Debt Service Fund portion is estimated to be $19.1 million. Staff is proposing a tax rate of 49.75 cents. Council will need to discuss the tax rate,vote to increase tax revenues, and call and hold the Public Hearings on the tax rate to be considered. Total transfers from all Utilities are being proposed in the amount of$11.9 million which is an estimated 15% of General Fund revenues. The electric transfer rate policy remains the same as FY17. Minimal changes are proposed in other revenue categories such as licenses and permits, charges for service, etc. The other General Fund revenues are estimated at$12,763,174. Expenditures Police and Fire account for almost half of the General Fund expenditures. Department summaries were provided, along with Service Level Adjustments (SLAB) and proposed projects: • Key factors to consider include growth, students and pay plan. To attract and retain a well-qualified workforce, the budget includes a 2% market increase and 1.5% merit pay pool. • Retiree Healthcare: Change in administrator from BCBS to Cigna, PPO option, employee premiums increases 10%, high deductible plan employee premiums increases 5%, and City contribution for healthcare increases 5%. • Police: Four positions absorbed in base(previously SROs). SLAs:two detectives,special investigator, two public safety tele-communicators, police canine program, training and incentives for two SWAT operators, and two police assistants. The Service Level Adjustment total is $796,770. • Fire: Six grant funded firefighters absorbed in base. SLAs: Three additional positions (safety captain, accreditation manager, and fire inspector), , Phase 1 of multiple WKSHP081417 Minutes Page 2 equipment replacements,thermal imaging camera,tech gen gear, 12 lead EKG monitors, and bike EMS program. The Service Level Adjustment total is $1,210,550. • Public Works: $1,766,675 in service level adjustments for traffic signal technician, facility maintenance (corrective increase), traffic calming initiative, streets dump truck and equipment operator, curb repair funds (Summit and Casltegate II), landscape maintenance increase, and ADA compliance upgrades (Municipal Court/UCS). • Parks and Recreation: $470,785 in service level adjustments for business services manager, GIS analyst, equipment purchases, and Weathermatic system. Asset management plan items are budgeted in CIP. Also included are items that are 50% - 100% funded by hotel occupancy funds: various equipment purchases, Toro workman HDX auto & pro sweep attachment (50% GF & 50% HOT), operations supervisor & vehicle (50%GF & 50%HOT),TAAF Games of Texas Fee& Operations(100%HOT), and Turf maintenance increase (100% HOT). Revenue projections for recreation programs are $850,150 with expenditures of$3,388,674. The FY18 estimated subsidy is $2,538,524. At 5:10 p.m., the Mayor recessed the Budget Workshop. The Budget Workshop reconvened at 5:40 p.m. • Library: $21,260 in service level adjustments for increased operations and maintenance proposed by the City of Bryan. • Planning and Development Services: $304,405 in service level adjustments for Staff/Senior planner, Engineer, laptops for building inspectors, and implementation of neighborhood plans. • Information Technology: $106,463 in service level adjustments for phone system gateway replacement, and VMware vRealise operations manager software. • Fiscal Services: $93,787 in service level adjustments for temporary assistance for auditing court backlog, Finance Support Specialist, and training dollars for HPRR and fixed asset annual training. • General Government: $182,984 in service level adjustments, including the City Council's Office (Supplies, sponsorships and registration fees, memberships and travel and training),the Community Services(transfer of.5 FTE from CD fund to general fund), the Internal Audit (Peer Review), and Human Resources (temporary assistance, annual compensation survey and intern in connection with TAMU program). With the consensus of the Council, the U.S. Conference of Mayor's membership was removed from Council's FY18 budget and decreased$9,000. • Economic Development: General Fund budget includes $500,000 transfer to Economic Development Fund for cash assistance Economic Development activities were moved from City Manager's Office to establish a separate department in FY16. Non-departmental expenditures include: • General and Administrative transfers to offset expenditures incurred by service departments. WKSHP081417 Minutes Page 3 • Public Agency Funding for various public agencies, such as Lions Club, RVP, Arts Council, Health District, Appraisal District, and Animal Shelter. • Interfund Transfers including a transfer-out to the Economic Development Fund as well as transfers-in from HOT Fund for qualifying tournaments and special events and for Public Communications staffing and marketing, from the Benefits Fund for Fitlife programs for Police and Fire, from Drainage Fund for streets, and from various CIP Funds to offset cost of project management. • Other items including contingency, consulting, and SLAs for City Floor City Hall paint and flooring and for study of FM 2154/SH 40 Interchange. With the consensus of Council, the state legislative lobbying fund was removed and the FY18 budget decreased $40,000. Council consensus was that the budget for these services could be included in the budget during legislative years and if there was a necessity to pursue a specific legislative item during a non-legislative year,the budget could be amended. Council directed staff to bring back a report on the results of this year's lobbying efforts. GENERAL FUND FINANCIAL FORECAST Revenues: We will continue with conservative revenue estimates and includes property value and tax rate increases. Expenditures:New expenditures as proposed,the Pay Plan as proposed,and includes the estimated O&M on CIP projects. GENERAL GOVERNMENT CAPITAL PROJECTS Streets and Transportation: street rehabilitation projects, including Lincoln and Francis; extension and capacity improvement projects, including Royder Rd Phase II; traffic projects, including TX at Brothers and Barron at Alexandria traffic signals, pedestrian projects, and future sidewalk projects, including Munson. Parks: parking lot rehabilitation, project design for Southeast Park, field redevelopment and renovation of parks restrooms, and system-wide park improvements (lights at Central Park). Facilities Projects: Facility projects include the library expansion,arts council building renovation, storage tank and containment rehabilitation, Public Works compliance upgrades, City gateway signage #2, new Police Station construction, New City Hall design, Facilities maintenance relocation. Council's consensus on moving forward with the $2 million on the design of the new city hall on Texas avenue location. Technology Projects: Technology projects include ERP system replacement, , fiber optic infrastructure, wireless replacement, video surveillance system. Special Revenue Capital Projects: Special Revenue projects include Hotel Fund (Veterans Park Synthetic Fields), Community Development (Northeast Trunkline, Georgia Fitch Park, SW Parkway Sidewalks, Bus Shelter-Lincoln Center), Drainage Utility (Various minor drainage projects), and Sidewalk Zones (various minor sidewalk projects). WKSHP081417 Minutes Page 4 Parkland: Fun For All Playground design, various park development projects, improvements at Northgate Park, Wolf Pen, Crompton Park, Reatta Park, Bachmann Park (parking lot rehab), and minor amenity improvements at various parks. DEBT SERVICE FUND The FY18 rate of 22.0339 cents will generate an estimated property tax revenue of$19.1 million and will satisfy the FY18 debt service requirement. 50%of the Cemetery debt service will be paid from the tax rate in FY18, with the other 50% coming from the Cemetery Fund. At 7:29 p.m.,the Mayor recessed the Budget Workshop. The Budget Workshop reconvened at 7:42 p.m. SPECIAL REVENUE FUND—HOTEL TAX Hotel Tax revenue is down 4.85% through June 2017. The HOT Revenue for hotels open for 2 years or longer is down 8.45%. Operating expenses are down 38.24%due to lower budgets related to Veteran's Park and Southeast Park construction projects. HOT expenditures for Southeast Park are expected to resume in FY19—which will result in an increase in expenditures. FY18 projected revenue reflects 1% increase over FY17 estimate. Expenditures include $4.6 million for City operations, capital projects, preferred access payment, and miscellaneous programs and events. Also included is proposed funding of$2.99 million for HOT funded outside agencies including CVB, Arts Council, Easterwood Airport, and the Chamber of Commerce. CVB: The FY 18 proposed budget presented the amounts requested by CVB of$1,929,115 for CVB O&M and$450,000 for the CVB grant program. Staff recommended a reduction of $317,065 and $50,000, respectively. The O&M amount would reflect the City of College Station's portion of funding at 81% and the City of Bryan's funding at 19%. This agency request is less than 1%of the total City budget. The City of College Station and City of Bryan staff have met multiple times regarding the funding request in detail and agree on the recommendation. Council was in consensus to fund $1,846,991 for the CVB O&M budget and $400,000 for the grant program. 3. Presentation, possible action and discussion on the 2017-2018 ad valorem tax rate; and calling two public hearings on a proposed ad valorem tax rate for FY 2017-18. This item was not discussed. 4. Adjournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Mooney adjourned the budget workshop of the College Station City Council at 8:31 p.m. on Monday, August 14, 2017. WKSHP081417 Minutes Page 5 4, S LL/ 111 ni�/ .r1 oone May• ATTEST: ilk-i Tan a M/utt, City Secretary WKSHP081417 Minutes Page 6