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Work Session Minutes of the Town of Present:
Mayor Ernie McAlister, Mayor Pro Tem Jack Smith, Council Members
Marla Dorrel, Ervin Portman, Julie Robison and Nels Roseland Absent:
Council Member Jennifer Robinson Mayor McAlister started
the meeting at The proposed budget is
attached to and incorporated in these minutes as Exhibit
A. Town Manager Bill Coleman
stated that the budget was prepared with a look at future accomplishments.
He said that during the past year council had lengthy discussions
about quality of life issues and the vision statement offered by Ms.
Dorrel has been incorporated. Also
included are the he basic principals discussed by council and how council
wants the organization to go forward in creating and maintaining the
community. He said that staff
will continue to work to further refine the goals, objectives, and work
measures so that they relate to the quality of life basic principles. Mr. Coleman stated that
Budget Director Scott Fogleman has provided a more detailed look at the
information in the summary and comparison of general and utility fund
budgets to more accurately reflect the recommended increases. (A
copy of the detailed information is attached to and incorporated in these
minutes as Exhibit B.) Mr. Fogleman
added that one of the biggest changes from the FY07 budget to the FY08
budget is the amount of pay-as-you-go capital transfers going from the
general fund to various capital projects.
Mr. Coleman said that the
Town’s major costs in the operating budget are in personnel.
In particular, there are recommendations to add a number of new
positions and funding for the pay plan.
He said that a small percentage has to do with moving the small
capital projects to the operating budget; staff will continue to look at
that as a means of operating in the future because a number of ongoing
capital projects are essentially maintenance and should be funded by the
tax rate yearly rather than debt funding maintenance into the future.
Mr. Coleman discussed the
difference between the number of positions requested and the number
recommended. He said that
police department requested six patrol officers and the recommendation is
to not fund those positions at this time.
In reviewing the operational and statistical information from the
police department the numbers didn’t indicate any dramatic changes over
time. As a result they looked
at staffing levels and noted through the course of year that the Town
operated with 10-14 patrol offices under what had been authorized.
He said that they felt it was more prudent to become fully staffed
and see the affects before adding new positions.
Mr. Coleman said that
more than one position was also requested in permits and inspections.
Several years ago there was a significant downturn in growth and
eight positions were eliminated in order to staff down to the level of
work being experienced. Since
that time, the number of new housing starts and inspections has increased
which has resulted in the recommendation for three building inspection
positions—four were requested. He
said that a large number of employees are requested in public works and
utilities areas, which is in response to an expansion of the utility
system, the expansion in work order requests, and an expansion in
activities required to maintain the Town’s utility system and other
parts of our infrastructure. He
said that the additions are necessary to ensure that we can respond on a
timely basis to all of the maintenance activities requested.
Mayor McAlister asked how
many police officers and code inspectors were approved in the budget last
year. Mr. Coleman responded
that there were three code inspectors and ten patrol positions approved
last year. Mayor McAlister stated
that the justification for the police officers is to be able to switch to
12 beats. He said it is a
compelling argument that if the positions approved last year weren’t
filled then those should be filled first.
He asked whether not approving the extra 6 positions affects the
ability to complete the conversion to 12 beats.
Mr. Coleman said he believes it does.
He said in reviewing the requests they didn’t see where 12 beats
made much difference over the 10 beats if the proactive policing and
response times are adequate; the beat issue didn’t seem to be
significant. Mayor McAlister said that
he hopes they are looking at other indicators to see if those positions
need to be filled before we start seeing an increase in crime statistics.
Mr. Coleman said that Assistant Town Manager Ben Shivar conducts a
monthly public safety task force meeting where he reviews with the police
chief and fire chief all data relevant to operations activities in those
areas and it is tracked on a continuing basis. He
said they would be able to quickly respond to any needed changes. Mayor McAlister asked if
going to a new field technology allows the inspectors to enter data more
quickly and be more efficient. He
also asked when the system is it going to be up and running and whether it
will help the existing code enforcement officers to be more efficient.
Mr. Coleman said it will allow more efficient internet data.
It will allow the existing employees perform more inspections, but
based experience and research it doesn’t appear that it will shorten the
time spent on inspections. He
believes that the time saved in entering data will allow for higher
quality inspections. Ms. Dorrel asked if
inspectors are assigned specific geographic zones.
Mr. Coleman said several years ago the Town went to a point system
for assigning inspections. Staff
looked at variables related to inspections, locations, travel times, type
of inspection, and complexity, and assigned workload based on all of those
factors, including geographical location.
Currently inspections are grouped and as much as possible many are
assigned to the same area where the inspectors will be. Inspections
& Permits Director Bob Strowbridge added that a benefit of having
multi-trained inspectors is that they don’t have to send separate
individuals; they can send only one person certified in the other areas,
which has been very efficient. Mayor McAlister asked if
utilizing the multi-trained inspectors saves times.
Mr. Strowbridge said that it does, but they try to limit those
inspectors to the smaller inspections. He said that they like to use the
single trained inspectors for the larger jobs like houses and commercial
buildings to look at those more closely. Ms. Dorrel asked if the
ten police positions added last year were all police officer I.
Mr. Coleman said yes, they were patrol officers.
Ms. Dorrel asked about
the reasons for the current vacancies.
Mr. Coleman said that the police department made changes in their
recruitment and selection process this year and getting those procedures
and policies in place took more time.
He said the process for recruiting and selecting police officer’s
is more complicated than hiring other employees; they have to perform
background checks, psychological testing, and physical testing, so
there’s a lot more involved. He
said that the turnover rate this year has been a little higher than in the
past. Mayor Pro Tem Smith asked
if there were any trends in the turnover.
Human Resources Director Vee Willis said there isn’t a definite
trend; it is a combination of Chief Cunningham said we
currently have six people in the police academy, three recently graduated
from another academy, another three were recently hired.
Because of the length of time it takes they will become fully
operational right before Christmas. He
said it takes about 30 weeks if they are not already certified—the basic
academy is about 16 weeks, the field training program 12 weeks, and then a
2-3 week internal familiarization program. Mr. Roseland asked if the
turnover is related to burnout. Chief
Cunningham said no. He said
the Town continues to hire extremely good people.
They look for a sufficient number but not an overflow to ensure
quality hires. Mayor McAlister asked if
the six positions aren’t filled how quickly we can respond if there is a
marginal rise in the statistics. Chief
Cunningham said what will help eliminate down time is that the police
department now has open recruiting and hiring process and accepts
applications on a continuing basis. The
people they are currently hiring are certified and they can immediately go
on the street. He said it’s
quicker to bring them on board pending open positions. Mayor McAlister asked if
the systemic changes make it a quicker process going forward.
Chief Cunningham said yes. He
said going forward they would be looking to hire those with their
certification because the police department would be looking for a quicker
turnaround. Ms. Dorrel asked about
the current vacancies. Chief
Cunningham responded that there are 9 open now.
She asked if that number considers the three they are ready to
hire. Chief Cunningham said
the nine include the two detectives recently approved.
He said in the last few weeks they have filled 12 positions,
including a couple of over-hires. Ms. Dorrel said council
needs a better understanding of the transition to 12 beats to help
understand the urgency for the six requested positions. Mayor McAlister
asked Chief Cunningham to be prepared at next session to give a synopsis
of the benefits of the 12 beats. Mr. Roseland said he
supports revisiting staffing recommended for the FY08 police budget.
He asked about the affects on the hiring phase if the six are not
hired. Chief Cunningham said
that the one thing changed in the hiring process is that he personally
interviews all candidates before the final hiring decision.
He said it’s not practical to bring everyone on in one year
because they could run into trouble trying to bring on too many people at
one time. He also doesn’t
anticipate condensing it down to two years because that could overload the
system. Mr. Roseland asked if
hiring an additional 2-4 investigators would have an impact on the violent
or property crime numbers. Chief
Cunningham said that the primary emphasis would be in the patrol area
because they can have more of an impact.
If only hiring a limited number of people you get a bigger bang for
the buck with the detectives. Mr. Roseland said he
hopes council can consider adding staff to go to the12 beats or adding
detectives. He requested
information on possible options and how they would impact the numbers in a
positive way. Chief Cunningham
said that the 12 beat concept is a deployment plan; it’s a detailed plan
on how they would use the additional people needed to serve the community.
Mayor McAlister said that
at next work session they will get a better understanding of the 12 beat
plan, the possible options, and trade offs between six officers verses
several detectives. Ms. Dorrel asked about
stormwater management and whether we have adequate coverage for the best
management practices (BMPs) with new developments.
Engineering Director Tim Bailey said last year the engineering
department hired someone to deal strictly with stormwater issues; they
have also restructured internally to have people working on environmental
permitting. He said that the
LDO was also changed to require that professional engineers submit
specific information and that has helped with the workload.
He said that they’ve requested the additional field staff person
to help primarily with the erosion control issue. Ms. Dorrel asked about
the Town’s role in assuring that developers provide the required BMPs to
fulfill their obligation. Mr.
Bailey said that a certificate of occupancy for building is not issued
until the BMPs are in place. He
said that BMPs are in place and are working when the facilities come on
line. The Town also has good
inspection program for BMPs and erosion control.
Ms. Dorrel asked if they
follow the development and construction of the BMPs or do they come in
toward the end. Mr. Bailey
said it starts with the preconstruction conferences where developers are
told up front that what they will need and that they have to have erosion
control devices in place before the Town will issue the grading permit.
They are also given a check list.
He said that staff works with them along the way and reminds them
when things are behind so that nothing slips through the cracks. Ms. Dorrel asked how much
time is spent on citizen education with the status of stormwater issues in
new development. Mr. Bailey
said that more time is spent doing inspections.
He would be surprised if more than 5 to 10 percent of the field
staff’s time is spent dealing with those direct development responses.
They usually deal with it based on calls and requests.
More staff time is spent dealing with ongoing issues with
homeowners who have had chronic problems and concerns.
Ms. Dorrel asked what
happens with the BMPs after the certificate of occupancy is issued.
Mr. Bailey said they keep a chronological database and track
when annual inspections are needed. They
keep all financial party information on line and send notices to the
owners. He said that they also
perform follow up inspections to make sure necessary repairs are made, as
well as spot checks to ensure those doing certifications are doing a good
job. Mr. Roseland asked about
the two technology positions requested and the new computer programs being
created. Technology Services
Director Bill Stice said the systems analysts position was generated by
growth and workload. He said
that they’ve requested another position for wireless technology and part
of that person’s responsibility will be to absorb the new workload from
building inspectors using laptops and field devices.
Also, three facilities have been added and hardware on the network
side that one systems analyst was moved to a fulltime network position to
manage the network, which put all of the workload on the two remaining
systems analysts. They’ve
reached the saturation point. The
systems analyst would also function as a business analyst to work with
each department, look at workflow processes, and ways in which technology
can better improve the efficiency process.
Mr. Stice said that the database programmer would develop
applications so that the backend database would be able to capture
information electronically to be used throughout the organization for
improvement and efficiency. Mr. Roseland asked of the
three positions what percentage of time is for maintenance and what
percentage is for new. Mr.
Stice said the wireless person is generated by the new automated meter
reading system (AMI)—they have about 100 wireless access points for
downtown that will have to be maintained. He
said that they are also adding several applications requiring wireless
support. He said the number of
laptops in public safety has also been doubled and TS has reached the
point were they’re having issues with overtime.
All systems analysts are cross trained to function on all of the
business applications and they are on call 24 hours/7 days a week, 365
days a year at least one third of the time.
One is required to be in Town at all times in case of an emergency.
Mr. Stice said probably about 60-65 percent of the database
programmer’s time would be to support the existing applications and
relieve some of the GIS workload. The
rest is developing new applications and working with departments on
streamlining and improving their operations. Mr. Roseland asked about
the automated meter reading and whether there will be less meter readers.
Mr. Coleman said the Town will be eliminating all meter readers
except one. Finance Director
Karen Mills said they expect to eliminate 10 of the 12 field service staff
members in customer accounting with this project.
There aren’t any positions eliminated in FY08; they anticipate
some being eliminated in FY09, near the end of the project. Mr. Roseland asked when
the savings would be realized. Mrs.
Mills said the project has a 17 year life and they anticipate about $14
million in savings over the life of that project.
It would break even in about 8 or 9 years and pay for the cost of
the system. The costs
anticipated adding staff in technology services, eliminating the meter
readers, and slowing the growth of customer service clerks as the Town’s
customer base increases. Mr.
Stice added that one reason for adding the wireless division this year is
because the first part of the AMR system requires all the infrastructure
to be in place. Mr. Coleman said that the
other personnel-related issue is on the pay plan is funded.
The recommendation in the pay plan for FY08 for the average raise
would be about 4.93 percent. He
said the Town doesn’t give cost of living increases and any salary
increase is through the merit program.
He said that Mr. Roseland asked staff during the preview sessions
to look at Capital Associates Incorporated (CAI) which does research on
benefits, pay packages, etc. Mr.
Coleman said that Human Resources Director Vee Willis is familiar with
that service and reported that the CAI survey for next year is being
conducted now. The results
will include pay plan and budget recommendations for next year and will be
available in late July or early August.
However, a very small number of municipalities participate in
survey and most of the information comes from manufacturing companies.
Mr. Coleman said the Town
also has 401k and 457 plans whereby the town contributes five percent of
salary to the 401k account for all employees.
Mrs. Willis has also done research with regard to other
municipalities’ and counties’ pay increases this year which is
included in the budget material. He
said their recommendation is that the pay plan be based on a dollar amount
which is about 4.93 percent for the average increase.
Mr. Fogelman looked at the Town’s performance in administering
the pay plan over the last several years and in 2005 the budgeted pay
raise was 5.47 percent and the actually given was 4.67 percent; in 2006
the budgeted raise average was 4 percent and the performance was actually
3.54 percent; in 2007 the budgeted amount was 4.53 percent and year to
date we are at about 4.22 percent. Mr.
Coleman said they’ve also calculated the amount of reduction per percent
of the 4.93 and each percent of that is $529,704.
Mr. Roseland said that he asked for that information to get an
indication of the recommended pay plan package since it’s the second
single largest budget increase. Mr. Coleman said the
actual operating budget expenditure for materials, supplies and capital
equipment is fairly stagnant from last year.
Mr. Portman asked the
Town is funding capital from the fund balance.
Mr. Coleman responded yes. Mr. Portman asked if
there’s been a policy change to cut the fund balance or if it is the
result of decisions. Mr.
Coleman said that the policy direction from council was to maintain six
months. As a general rule,
council has felt that any difference above six months was available for
appropriation for capital projects. Ms. Dorrel said that some
point council needs to consider whether the six month reserve in fund
balance is an appropriate level. Mr.
Coleman said staff has discussed maintaining that at about $50 million
regardless of the percentage. Ms. Dorrel said the
question is whether there is an understanding that council wants to head
in that direction and set up $50 million.
She said they may want to take action during the budget process to
establish that policy. Mr. Portman asked about
the rational of the amount I the fund balance and the pros and cons of
going lower or higher. Mr.
Coleman said that there are three purposes of fund balance: (1) cash
flow–our biggest revenue sources is property tax and a majority of that
comes in late December, January. Fund
balance is there to make sure we maintain our cash flow to meet all of the
monthly expenses; (2) emergencies; and (3) to support the Town’s overall
financial position which is the basis for our bond rating.
Mr. Coleman said it is essentially based on the needs and
requirements of each community. The
$50 million isn’t related to anything in particular but it is a number
that adequately addresses all three of the needs of the purpose of fund
balance. Mrs. Robison
stated that it was a comfort level for council.
Mrs. Mills added that the six month target adopted by council
served well in improving the Town’s bond ratings.
Now that the Town has AAA bond ratings council can continue to make
choices. She doesn’t think
that the AAA bond rating for the general fund would be at risk as long as
the choices are prudent and conservative.
Mr. Portman asked about
the cash flow need for fund balance. Mrs.
Mills said the Town has adequate balances because of our capital program.
She said if Ms. Dorrel asked if it
would be much more favorable to the Town’s position for council to make
the decision to change the policy to a cap at the time they can clearly
afford to do that, wisely invest the capital in pay as you go projects,
and not because of some impending issue needing addressed.
Mrs. Mills responded yes, as long as it is made within the
parameters of other financial issues.
Mr. Portman stated that
he would like to have the 2006 and 2007 actual budget comparisons for the
next work session so that council can see growth and projections.
Mr. Portman asked if
there was revenue in the budget this year for the redlight camera system
and whether it is at risk. Mr.
Coleman said it’s very minor revenue for the Town.
Town Attorney Chris Simpson said in the background there’s always
a threat of a challenge to the Town’s authority to operate the program.
She said if it were decided it were unconstitutional we could be
responsible for paying to the schools all of the money collected,
including what the Town paid for the operation of the system.
She said the Town has a different local act that gives us the
authorization to operate the system. Mr. Portman asked about
the economic development funding. Mr.
Roseland said it was set up as a sinking fund to support the position for
several years with the understanding that the business community would
pick up the positions from their fundraising and matching efforts
afterwards. Mayor McAlister
said it was $250,000 a year for three years.
He said because it was a new initiative we wanted to show a
commitment by funding it for three years up front to make sure it got a
good solid start. Ms. Dorrel asked about
the general fund fund balance policy issue and whether it should be
addressed by council. Mrs.
Robison said if addressed in the next work session it would give them time
to look at the numbers and see what may be put back.
Mr. Coleman suggested that rather than having a fund balance
discussion as part of the budget it be held separately through the
operations committee. He said
the fund balance policy is part of the overall financial policy and has to
do with overall financial management of the Town.
Mr. Robison said council
should discuss it as a whole; she is not comfortable with it going to the
operations committee. Mr.
Roseland said when they review the capital budget if they find it to be
deficient that would be a funding source that could modify the policy. Mayor
McAlister said separating it from the budget process makes the point
clearer that council is doing it because it’s a good strategic decision
going forward and it avoids creating the impression that it is done out of
need. Mr. Roseland said it is
a significant policy decision that should be modified just as other policy
decisions are done. He said
adopting the budget is the most significant policy statement council
makes. Ms. Dorrel said that
what matters most is that if council is inclined to make the policy change
then it should be done. Mr. Coleman said
there’s about a $5 million overage between six months and what’s
available at end of 07. He
said they can discuss it during the capital budget and deal with the
policy issue at a later date. Mrs.
Robison said that she doesn’t see compelling reason to change the
policy. Ms. Dorrel said she
doesn’t see urgency; however, it’s unfinished business and she would
like to see it addressed. Mayor McAlister
summarized council’s discussions by saying they will consider it as they
always do during the budget but not t initiate any action to change it at
this point. Mr. Coleman said
staff will do the research, create the staff report, and bring it to
committee as soon as possible. Mrs.
Robison said her preference is that it comes to the full council instead
of committee. Mrs. Mills said
that she can have the information ready to bring to council for the first
meeting in June. Mr. Portman asked if
staff has looked at service levels from the standpoint of interaction of
citizens with the Town. He
said as they review the budget they need to ensure that the interactions
are efficient and as good and on line as they can be.
Mr. Coleman said that is done continually throughout the year with
daily feedback from citizens, through the Information Services Advisory
Baord (ISAB), citizen satisfaction survey, and the operations of boards
and commissions. He said we
are currently looking at implementing an on-line site plan review and some
other functions. Mr. Stice
said they’ve done a pilot for putting a majority of the site plans on
the Web site so that citizens can look for site plan details.
He said we also provide an e-mail notification system and the
automated meter reading system will enable us to get better feedback about
water usage. He said that the
ISAB is also a good feedback source. They help decide the layers of the
GIS data on the Web site and they are looking at a content management
system for the Web site. Mr. Portman asked about
the length of time for Ms. Dorrel asked to what Ms. Dorrel said we need
to ensure that that we can provide contact information to help the citizen
make the connection. She
suggested looking at additional ways to make it happen more consistently.
She said it would help if staff had an ombudsman frame of mind.
Mr. Coleman said we do this to some extent now.
He said as part of the orientation session we discuss our operating
culture and that it is service to citizens.
He said regardless of whose function it is staff is there to
provide information. There are
simple systemic things that can be done through the orientation process
and departmental training process to make it more of a habit rather than a
whim. He said we can talk
about the things that will make it an element of our culture by providing
examples of phrases that shouldn’t be used.
Mrs. Robison said she is
concerned with how we check in with our citizens and whether we are
devoting energy in the appropriate places.
She said we should have an organized assessment of our levels of
service and look at how our budget process can report back to citizens
about how well we’re doing. Mr.
Coleman said that the guiding principles that came out of the quality of
life sessions will be incorporated into the current budget.
He said staff will begin revising goals and objectives and work
measures to try to get more at the quality of life issues. The
budget and public information staff will take a look at what we can do
using the current means with feedback from the community through
technology, the citizen satisfaction survey, and other survey tools to try
to get more of that information and relate it back to the budget and
budget outcomes. Mr. Coleman said at the
next session staff will review some of the police operations budget issues
and then move into the capital budget.
The work session ended at
The next work session is
scheduled for
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