Fort Walton Beach Ordinance — 1740 Adopt Budget FY07-08 — reading text

convert to a performance- based merit system for annual increases. These professional positions should be compensated based on their budgetary conformance, achievement of organization goals, and supervisory & management responsibilities. Employees in this pay system who receive an overall rating less than satisfactory would not receive a merit increase and those receiving an overall rating of satisfactory, above average, or superior would receive 1 % to 3. 5%. There are 70 positions associated with this category, which account for approximately 28% of total payroll. Charter Officers will continue to receive cost of living adjustments in accordance with the general employee adjustment and annual increases set by City Council during the annual budget process or during the Charter Officer' s evaluation. Performance adjustments are estimated at $ 271, 816. c. Pension contributions - Based on actuarial analyses and a " one- year payment delay" methodology, the City' s pension contributions fQr all three pension plans are anticipated to increase $ 52, 292 over the prior year. d. Medical insurance - Affordable health insurance providing quality coverage ;s an important part of the City' s benefits package. The City contributes 75% of the premium for both single coverage and family coverage. Based on current plan structures and utilization levels, insurance increases of 7% medical, 5% dental 5%, and 0% life are anticipated at an estimated cost of $ 118, 745. The City has a two- year rate guarantee for life insurance effective March 1, 2007. . e. Workers compensation - Legislation passed in June 2007 minimizes the requirements for and increases the benefits of workers compensation for first responders. Consequently, the rates for police officer and firefighter class codes have increased 5% while other class codes have decreased. The net effect of the class code rates is a decrease of $ 103, 930. i f. Fire Union - The current three- year contract expires September 30, 2007. Any benefits negotiated with the Fire Union will most likely be handled through a budget amendment. Due to City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 16-  City Manager' s Budget Message the uncertainty with homestead property tax reform on the January 2008 primary election ballot, it is unlikely that the City will obtain more than a one- year agreement at this time. Despite these Wages and benefits adjustments, personal services are down $ 440,235 or 2. 2% from the previous year due to positions being eliminated or frozen/ unfunded. . 3. Personnel changes (including FY 2006- 07 mid- year changes for reduced communication services tax revenues carried forward into FY 2007 -08) result in net savings of $ 689,336. The total number of authorized positions is budgeted to decrease from 447 to 427. However, only 414 positions are funded - a decrease of 33 positions or 7.4%. Funded full- time equivalent ( FTE) postions total 363. 24, compared to 378. 68 last year - a decrease of 15.44 FTE' s or 4. 1 %. Details of the personnel changes are available on pages 50- 56. a. Eliminated positions - 7 vacant reserve police officers, 7 vacant recreation specialists, 1 vacant service worker / I in parks & recreation, 1 vacant engineer, and 1 vacant assistant golf superintendent. One filled position ( service maintenance supervisor) will be eliminated in the General Fund. It is a mid- level supervisory position and the job duties can be reassigned to other staff members Two filled grant- funded positions are also for elimination: 1 community proposed development block grant specialist in the CDBG Fund and 1 waterfront planner in the CRA Fund. The CDBG program is being planned for outsourcing to the Okaloosa Community Development Corporation. If outsourcing is unsuccessful, the position will be reclassified to part- time so as not to exceed the grant allowance for administrative expenses. The Waterfronts Florida grant program expires August 31, 2007. Accommodations for continued employment will be endeavored for all three employees if desired. Four filled positions ( 2 sanitation operator I' s and 2 refuse collectors) will be eliminated as a result of terminating the recycling program. All four of t~ ese individuals will be absorbed by current vacancies and attrition in the solid waste division. b. Frozen/ Unfunded positions - 1 vacant polite sergeant, 8 vacant summer youth workers, 1 vacant neighborhood improvement coordinator, 1 vacant equipment mechanic III, and 2 vacant street service worker I' s. These positions represent a savings of $ 275,406 and will not be filled until a recovery in revenues is realized. c. Reclassified positions - 1 staff assistant to accounting technician I in customer service, 1 street service worker II from full- time to part- time, 1 welder to welder/ paint & body tech in fleet, 1 chief accountant to comptroller in finance, 1 accountant from part-time to full- time in finance, 1 budget grants manager from city manager' s office to finance department, 1 long- range planner to senior planner in community development, 1 chief building inspector to building inspector, and 1 service worker II from Utilities Fund to General Fund. d. New positions - 1 part- time service worker I in parks & recreation to assist with recreation facility maintenance in lieu of budgeted janitorial contractual services, 1 part- time custodial worker in parks & recreation and 2 part-time custodial workers in golf to assume janitorial duties previously performed as contractual services. Although new authorizations, these positions are cost neutral to the bUdget. 4. As mentioned earlier, the City is eliminating its recycling program effective October 1, 2007. The tonnage of recyclab!es collected has steadily decreased over the years, while the cost of providing the service, including labor and fuel, have increased. A proposed 20. 7% fee increas~ from 1.45/ month to $ 1. 75/ month would not cover the cost of running the program. The cost of the program is about $ 2. 26 per month per household. All four employees in this division will be absorbed by the solid waste division. 5. Due to an Internal Revenue Service ruling, City Council's expense allowance must be treated as wages subject to Social Security and Medicare withholding. This effect of this change will be partially offset by the 1.4% increase in the expense allowance effective October 1, 2007. The health insurance benefit is not subject to taxation as a result of this change. 6. Under the Fair labor Standards Act ( FlSA), police officers and firefighters must receive overtime for hours worked in excess of the work schedules adopted by the In both cases, overtime employer. t rates of pay are to be calculated including add pays ( e. g. incentive pay for higher education, EMT/ paramedic duties, and the like). In 1995 when the City's payroll module was designed, add pays were not included in the calculation of overtime for these employees. This issue was recently City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 17- City Manager' s Budget Message brought to the City' s attention by the Fire Department. Under FLSA regulations, a two- year payback period is required. Staff estimates it will take several months to recalculate each police officer and firefighter paycheck ( current and former employees) for the past two years. Although the amount is not yet known, the total amount of the repayments could be $ 60K - $ 100K. It is anticipated this amount will be taken from fund balance and is not included in the proposed budget. 7. The Finance department was previously comprised of the Administration ( 0500) and Accounting 0510) divisions. These two divisions have been merged to streamline operations as there was no functional benefit for the separation. The Community Development Services department was previously comprised of the Administration ( 1100), Building and Zoning ( 1110), Neighborhood Improvement ( 1120), and Planning ( 1130) divisions. With the Neighborhood Improvement Coordinator position frozen and that program greatly scaled back in the upcoming year, along with the pending retirement of the Long- Range Planner and reclassification of that position, those two divisions have been merged into the Administration division to decrease the organizational complexity of the department. 8. To streamline the accounting system, funding for office supplies and computer supplies has been combined this year. The computer supplies account will no longer be used. 9. As discussed earlier, the City is transitioning from budgeting and accounting for shared expenses via both interfund transfers and as expenses split across funds. The interfund transfer amounts to the General Fund budgeted to include expenses in the City' s Cost Allocation Plan as well as are personnel and operating expenses previously shared across funds. For details of the interfund transfers amounts, please refer