Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 06-22-2010 Regular — reading text

transfer. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. Dan Corrigan, 116 Ferry Place, questioned the fiscal responsibility of giving $ 2. 7M to an entity that cannot pay its debts, and asked how are they are expected to pay back the interest, it is already supported out of the general fund every year. He said if a business does not make money you sell it and close it and questioned why the City is still holding it up. Robert Hull, 245 Shannon Court, questioned if the loan was going to be another loan that is forgiven. He suggested other options be considered such as contracting it out to a private contractor. He objected to spending money to save the golf course when vital services may be cut, people may be cut, and wages may be cut. As no one further wished to speak public input was closed. Mr. Nabors moved to appropriate up to $2.735M from General Fund reserved to pay off the 1999 Golf Clubhouse Bond, structured as a loan from the General Fund to the Golf Fund payable at 1. 5% over 20 years. Mr. Rynearson seconded motion and it carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Holmes, Reeves, Minch, Nabors, Patterson, and Rynearson in favor and gossom opposed. Council Meeting, June 22, 2010  Special Council meeting 6 -1 - 10 Reserves —Early Retirement Incentive Policy Decision: Should the City appropriate reserves for an Early Retirement Incentive Program payout. The presentation included information that as an incentive for retiring early, employees who meet early retirement age as of August 1, 2010 and elect to participate in this program would receive an incentive payout based on years of service with the City; that the purpose is to compensate employees for the early retirement penalty making it more attractive to leave early; that the City reserves the exclusive right to either accept or not accept the application from eligible employees; that employees approved for the program would not be eligible for re -hire by the City for 5 years from the date of separation. It was noted there are approximately 40 -50 eligible employees and that early retirement incentives are estimated at $ 132K with an estimated payroll savings of $246K from position eliminations and reclassifications. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. Kabe Wood, 240 Brooks Street, stated the millage rate needs to stay the same for another year, that the priorities of government are safety and security first, basic infrastructure next, and then quality of life items are last; and to make sure there is an appropriate reserve level. He said the enterprise funds need to be self - sustaining or do away with them. Gene Large, Battalion Chief Fort Walton Beach Fire Department, mentioned he is one of the positions to be discussed to possibly be removed and he is one of the 40 -50 that could possibly be eligible for early retirement incentive. He said if offered the opportunity to retire the position could be offered to someone else at a reduced salary. As there was no one further who wished to speak public input was closed. Mr. Reeves moved to appropriate reserves for an Early Retirement Incentive Program and authorize the City Manager to execute agreements with approved employees and disburse incentive payments in accordance with the program offerings. Mr. Patterson seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, gossom, Reeves, Minich, Nabors, Patterson, and Rynearson in favor. Reserves —Employee Incentive Policy Decision: Should the City appropriate reserves for an employee incentive payout. The presentation included information that an alternative way to compensate employees and maintain morale while controlling costs is a lump -sum payment; that a lump -sum payment would acknowledge employees' service on the last pay period in November in time for the holidays, without a permanent pay increase subject to future wage adjustments and pension contributions; and that a flat dollar amount rather than a percentage has a greater impact for lower paid employees. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. Larry DiAmco, 6612 Redfield Street, Navarre, President of Fort Walton Beach Professional Firefighters speaking on behalf of 33 members stated, although subject to negotiation and final approval of the membership, they would decline the incentive. As there was no one further who wished to speak public input was closed. Mr. Rynearson moved to approve a $ 500 lump sum employee incentive for all non -bargaining employees. Mr. Reeves seconded motion. Discussion included objection to giving out bonuses with the possible elimination of jobs; the desire to offer the employees something that would show they are valued; disappointment expressed that input on the items before Council were discussed by Department Heads but not by the employees, and the desire expressed that the employees be asked what they can do, what can be done, and how the City can make adjustments. Council Meeting, June 22, 2010  Special Council meeting 6 -1 - 10 Reserves —Employee Incentive cont. The Mayor called for the: vote on the motion and it failed by a vote of 2 to 5 with Reeves and Rynearson in favor and Holmes, gossomm, Minich, Nabors, and Patterson opposed. Mr. Minich moved to grant two additional vacation days to all non -union employees. Motion failed for lack of a second. During discussion it was suggested that staff look at the last year the employees were able to receive a cost of living increase, take the cumulative percentages to determine what the percentage would be to see what the actual dollar figure wound be per person; the desire was expressed to offer a one -time bonus that would substantially convey to the employees they are valuable. Ms. gossom moved to request the City Manager and staff to return with a revised incentive plan for City employees. Mr. Holmes seconded motion and it carried by a vote of 4 to 3 with Holmes, gossom, Patterson, and Rynearson in favor and Reeves, Minich, and Nabors opposed. Reserves —Capital & Other Policy Decision: Should the City appropriate reserves for capital, infrastructure, and unemployment compensation. The presentation included information that Capital replacements cannot be delayed indefinitely and as equipment ages the cost of maintenance increases; that reserves may be the only mechanism for replacing these items until revenues recover; that staff has identified several capital replacements and improvements that would be a fiscally sound use of reserves; and unemployment expense will be unusually high next year due to the Federal government extending benefits for ex- employees currently collecting as well as the anticipated expense for additional employees affected by the FY 2010 -11 program/ service reductions. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. As no one wished to speak public input was closed. Mr. Reeves moved to appropriate remaining reserves to fund vehicle, equipment, computer, and infrastructure needs, as well as unemployment compensation. Ms. gossom seconded motion and it carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with gossom, Reeves, Minich, Nabors, Patterson and Rynearson in favor and Holmes opposed. Public Safety —Battalion Chiefs Policy Decision: Should the City eliminate 3. 0 FTE Battalion Chief Positions. The presentation included information that the primary purpose of Battalion Chiefs is to ensure the safety of emergency responders and citizens during an emergency by establishing incident command to account for personnel, determine the size and scope of an emergency, develop initial strategic goals, and assign and direct crews; that the driver /engineers could remain outside to direct operations until relieved by Fire Chief or Deputy Chief and still meet the 2in/2out rule for entering a burning structure; that Captains have supervisory capabilities and are qualified to perform administrative tasks such as directing employees and apparatus and conducting training activities in addition to their fire suppression responsibilities; that the Fire Chief and Deputy Chief currently work a Monday-Friday 40 -hour schedule and staggering their work hours and alternating on -call after hours would enable them to command fire scenes in the absence of Battalion Chief. The policy impact included the initial control of the scene will be delayed or not performed at optimal levels, creating a possible safety hazard for the firefighters entering the structure, the administrative duties performed by the Battalion Chiefs would need to be absorbed by the Captains which could delay completion of the tasks, the vacation and sick leave within the department would likely require the City to incur additional overtime costs, and the elimination of three Battalion Chiefs would save $ 407, 000.00. It was noted the millage rate increase required to fund at the current status would require 0.3758 mills to sustain the 407K for three Battalion Chiefs. 4 Council Meeting, June 22, 2010  Special Council meeting 6 -1 - 10 Public Safety —Battalion Chiefs cont. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. Curt Isakson, 4349 Chautauqua Drive, President of Suburban Fire Training LLC, fire training consultant, commented that the City could not mitigate and handle emergencies on a daily basis, without the outside agencies; discussed the responsibilities of the Battalion Chiefs to protect the firefighters and to ensure the residents are still receiving adequate protection; and stated the citizens of Fort Walton Beach and surrounding communities will be jeopardized if the positions are eliminated. Bill Lord, Fire Chief Ocean City -Wright Fire District, suggested sitting down with the personnel to find ways to save the money without cutting the positions. He said the City' s Battalion Chief is an asset to Ocean City - Wright and the Ocean City -Wright Battalion Chief is an asset to Fort Walton Beach. He asked Council to consider sitting down with the employees to work out an agreement that will reduce the costs and save the positions. He also suggested Council consider re- implementing cost recovery fees as a source of revenue. Scott Hutchins, Battalion Chief Ocean City -Wright Fire District, speaking on behalf of Battalion Chiefs, stated to cut their role would be devastating and the decision will affect other departments. He asked they be given an opportunity to sit down with City staff to figure out what can be done. Tami Large talked about the number of years her husband has worked for the City and the importance of the Battalion Chief position to the Fire Department. Pat Thornber, 342 Holmes Blvd., commented that the insurance companies want to know how close a residence is to a fire hydrant and the ISO rating and questioned how the rating will be affected. She acknowledged she would pay more in property taxes in lieu of eliminating Battalion Chiefs. Fire Chief Mike Dutton confirmed any manning change will affect the ISO rating. Jonathan Kanzigg, Midway Chief, expressed concern that