Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-10-13--regular — reading text

715 1 OepY HiBY i i- s: qrs wa¢, wa.. s: i. i liews wi svwo meuimn ¢sex 11 u0 PPOM all s 3. Lm dsandsan asas Imo; m. y, m; F \\ Ir1 l89 _ al-  15.2 City Council of Fort Walton Beach 0 To: CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM Michael D. Beedie, City Manager From: Carole Jones, Executive Assistant Date: September 10, 2013 Subject: City Council Winter Meeting Schedule BACKGROUND: 1. L Per Section 15. 06 of the City' s Personnel Rules and Regulations Manual, the City will be closed for business on Monday, November 116 for Veteran' s Day; Thursday, November 28`h and Friday, November 29" for the Thanksgiving Holiday; and Tuesday, December 20 and Wednesday, December 25' h for the Christmas Holiday. 1. 2. The regularly scheduled City Council meetings in November are scheduled for November 12' h and 26'. 1. 3. The regularly scheduled City Council meetings in December are scheduled for December 10'" and 24' h. 2. DISCUSSION: 2. 1. In prior years, City Council has decided to hold only one ( 1) City Council meeting in November and December. Last year, City Council cancelled the second regular meeting in both November and December. 3. RECOMMENDATION: 3. 1. Staff respectfully requests that City Council set a winter meeting schedule for November and December and determine which, if any, of the regular meetings City Council may wish to cancel. SIGNATURE BLOCK: Carole Jones Completed 08/ 26/ 2013 10: 18 AM Carole Jones Completed 08/ 26/ 2013 10: 18 AM City Manager Completed 09/ 05/ 2013 10: 02 AM City Council Pending Page 1 of 1 z.Pe `. 195  Page 1 of 2 Helen Spencer From: Michael Beadle Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 4:55 PM To: Amy Jamieson; Bobby Griggs; C. H. " Bull" Rigdon; Dick Rynearson; John Mead; joyce gillie gossom Mike Anderson; Trey Goodwin Cc: Helen Spencer; Carole Jones Subject: FW: Healthy Start FYI for those of you who weren' t copied on the original e- mail. Helen, Please print for those Council members who may not have time to check their a -mails before the meeting. Thanks, Michael D. Beedie, P. E. City Manager City of Fort Walton Beach 107 Miracle Strip Parkway SW Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 Phone: ( 850) 833- 9612 Fax: ( 850) 833- 9926 Cell: ( 850) 461 -2687 Please note the new cell phone number! E -Mail: mbeedie fwb. ory Website: www. fwb. or¢ Please Note: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written communications to or from City of Fort walton Beach officials subject toarepublic publicdisclosure. records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail address and communications may therefore be From: Barry Gray ( mailto: bg _usagreencleansupply@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 4: 47 PM To: Michael Beedie Cc: Joyce g!Ille gossom; Mike Anderson; C. H. " Bull" Rigdon Subject: Healthy Start I am volunteering to coach little football for the City of Fort Walton Beach and will not be able to attend the meeting tonight and this letter is my strong support for the Okaloosa County Healthy Start Program in a central location. This request from the community is in support of the Okaloosa County Healthy Start Program and encouraging Dr. Chapman to reconsider her decision and preserve these valuable public health services in our community within a central location at Florida Department of Health Okaloosa County. Healthy Start was born in 1991 when the Governor and First Lady convened a group of community leaders and challenged them to build local coalitions to reduce Florida' s alarmingly high infant mortality rate. Healthy Start builds on Governor Chiles' experience as chairman of the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality and helps at- risk mothers receive the care they need for a healthy pregnancy and baby. Governor Lawton Chiles believed every child deserved a healthy start in life and worked with communities to build strong local coalitions to provide high - quality prenatal care for mothers and health care for children. Okaloosa County Healthy Start Program 9/ 10/ 2013 O" t '  Page 2 of 2 has provided invaluable assistance such as: Okaloosa County Healthy Start Program has provided invaluable assistance such as Healthy Start Care Coordination and Outreach Breastfeeding and Childbirth education Parenting education and support Smoking Cessation Assistance Nutritional Services and Counseling Psychosocial Counseling Home Visits Car seat safety classes and bicycle helmet safety education Many other services to address individual identified risks MomCare: A Medicaid -funded program authorized by a special waiver from the federal government called the Sixth Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (SOBRA). identify any client needs Ensure health insurance for the newborn increases Healthy Start screening rates Increases participation in the WIC program Assigns a primary care provider within 30 days Increases family planning services Being an out -reach volunteer 90% of the clients have transportation problems A network collaboration and being in a central location to provide wrap- around care within Florida Department of Health Okaloosa County as the single most effective means of enhancing the quality of services provided by Healthy Start program in Fort Walton Beach. Sincerely, Barry Gray I Nq ' VV( lP. 9/ 10/ 2013  I " You asked for suggestions on the budget so I have one. Page 56 in the draft copy is about City Council and has a line " Dental, Life & Health Insurance" with a budget of $71, 125. Why are the citizens of Fort Walton Beach paying this when most of the council can well afford this on their own? Delete this and have $ 71, 125 to be used for other things I also found another entry of page 56 that worries me. Why is the council members being paid a salary when they shouldn' t be. Over 400 a month for each of the seven members comes to $39, 932. Any expenses they have performing their duties should be reimbursed after they fill out a voucher. Paying them as is done is a salary and they are not paid personnel. These two lines should put near $ 111, 057 back into the general fund and be used for other things Let' s talk about the pay raise. I don' t disagree with the portion about increasing the pay for those who are in the lower pay bracket, but I am against the across the board pay raise. Some people make pretty good salaries and the pay raise would also be good. The problem I have is that I and other citizens of Fort Walton Beach have to pay for this increase. I am on a fixed income and have only had one pay increase and that was Social Security. With that pay increase ( 3. 6%) came an increase in Medicare medical insurance payment. The increase for medical insurance was $ 3. 50 and an increase in withholding tax of 11. 20. Net take home pay increase was 28. 6. Now you want almost half of that. The lady sitting next to me, at the budget meeting, told me she ended up with $ 1 less at the same time. Last week, before the meeting, I received my home owners insurance bill and it went up $ 667. 74. 1 also received notice from the bank of an increase of one of their services. So far an increase for rM  owning my home in Ft Walton is about $792. Total bill for the home is around $4127 ($ 344 a month). Also you need to think about those who have to take a day off without pay. One couple I know has a decrease in annual pay of between 7, 000 and $ 9, 000. Get rid of the pay raise. The replacement of vehicles seems to be based on purchasing new and not working some kind of deal with other cities or county. The number of miles seems less important to me then condition and serviceability. I am looking at a newer car with my daughter and those that she can afford have around 130, 000 to 197, 000. Exterior and interior of these older models is near excellent. Care and feeding of the equipment we use is most important. A change just because of high mileage and /or age should be given another thought. If you can' t afford a new one make due with used. Take a look at the criteria for selecting replacement equipment. If not used get rid of it and rent when the need arises. The same problem with the computers could be simplified by just changing the criteria for replacement. Just replacing every certain number of years can cost money that could be used somewhere else. Take a look at the number of computers and ask are all these needed? Didn' t know that the city had that many employees. Only replace as required and not by date. Over all the increase in millage and the higher budget should not happen. What is going on in the world makes a difference and the city of Fort Walton needs to replace their tunnel vision with realism. You i have boxed yourself into a corner and have a dead line to meet so do what is necessary and good luck. r jjj  Northwest Florida League of Cities 2013 Priorities At- A- Glance Restore Act: NWFLC supports equitable and legitimate representation for all affected by the oil spill regarding distribution of funds under the Restore Act. Local Government Pensions: NWFLC supports municipal control over municipal employee pension plans including negotiation, management and funding. Economic Devleopment: NWFLC supports programs that allow municipalities to create new, retain, and expand exisiting job growth. Energy Policy: NWFLC supports programs that promote the development and implementation of renewable and alternative energy policies aimed to increase economic development. Transportation, Water and Wastewater Infrastructure: NWFLC supports revenue sources for municipal transportation, wastewater, and surface water infrastrucure. k 4)L) (  8. 1. 7 Regular Meeting Minutes October 23, 2012 hl4B