Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 04-19-05 — reading text

aTY OF FORT WALTON BEACH City Council Workshop Agenda - April 19, 2005 - 5: 30P.M. City Council Chambers 107 Miracle Strip Parkway, SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE I WORKSHOP AGENDA 1. General Public ( on items of City business). 2. Consideration of major budget policy issues to guide the development of the Fiscal Year 2005- 06 Operational Budget and Capital Improvements Program. Report and presentation. ( City Manager) ( See Backup). ADJOURN Any person who decides to appeal any decision made with respect to any matter at this meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. (FS286.0105). The City of Fort Walton Beach adheres to the American with Disabilities Act and will make reasonable modifications for access to this meeting upon request. Please call City Clerk Helen Spencer at 850-833- 9509 to make a request. For Hearing Impaired dial the City Hall TDD # 850- 833- 9925 or 1- 800- 955- 8771 ( TDD) or 1- 800-955-8770 ( Voice). Requests must be received at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting in order to allow the City time to provide requested service. Budget Policy Workshop Questions Page 1 of 1 Helen Spencer From: Jim. Hartwell@Hurlburt. af.mil Sent: Friday, April 15, 200511: 51 AM To: Joyce Shanahan Cc: fwbclerk@fwb. org Subject: Budget Policy Workshop Questions Joyce. Since receiving my copy of the FY 2005- 06 Budget Workshop I have several questions. I would appreciate your assistance in finding answers to the questions listed in the attachment. I want to attend the workshop being fully informed and ready to provide valuable input. I realize I have come up with numerous questions. Please answer as many as possible before next Tuesday. If this becomes too cumbersome ( I understand you are very busy) please answer as many as possible. Thanks again for your help. Helen. Please forward this e- mail and attachment to the Mayor and other members of the Council, if applicable. Thanks Helen. Questions from Budget Policy Workshop manual.doc>> Jim Hartwell 4/15/ 2005  Questions from Budget Policy Workshop manual Page 6 1. Last paragraph refers to ' roll-back rate'. Please explain this rate. I have not seen it referenced earlier in the document. Page 8 1. Sanitation rates have not increased since 1995. Is there a multi- year fee schedule? 2. Recycling rates have remained unchanged for 10+ years. Is there a multi- year fee schedule? 3. According to the multi- year graph on the golf rates the forecast predicts a surplus of revenue in 2007- 2008. Will those funds be incorporated into the general fund? Page 9 1. The adopted City' s budgets have been 2. 5% higher then the City Manager' s proposed budget. Why the difference? 2. Have there been comments or complainants from the general employees about the disparity in salary increases between them and the police and fire departments? 3. Compensation is sighted as being the most commonly noted reason for leaving yet nationally the most common reason sited for leaving is lack of job satisfaction. Are exiting employees satisfied with general work environment? Page 11 1. The FY 2005- 2006 budget projects gas and diesel prices at $ 2. 25 & $ 1. 90 when today' s AAA listed Florida average is $ 2.33 for regular and $ 2.40 for diesel. AAA also stated that prices have risen 33 cents in the past 30 days. Is our price estimating too conservative. Policy Decisions) Page 14 1. Reference to ' roll-back rate... The impact is cited but not the rate. What is the rate? 2. The impact of maintaining the current millage is cited.. .minimal revenue growth and escalating expenditures for maintaining current service levels could erode fund balance stability. Neither roll- back nor maintaining the current rate makes fiscal sense to me! ( Please help to understand this recommendation). Page 17 1. Cited: Industry standards recommend a comprehensive pay, benefit, and classification study be conducted every 3 to 5 years. Does the City conduct Job  Satisfaction/morale surveys of its employees? This is a practice that the Federal Government uses to pre- empt job dissatisfaction and to help reverse low employee production. There have been hundreds of industry studies conducted proving that employee dissatisfaction is much higher from working conditions than from uncompetitive monetary compensation. 2. There is a reference that recent unfilled positions in the City are the direct result of employees seeking higher wages in the construction sector? Was this determined from the exit surveys? 3. Doesn' t using a lower turn- over rate due to unfilled positions lead to a false sense of stability? Using this model, an annual 18% turnover without filling those positions would eventually lead to a work force of ZERO. Am I reading this model incorrectly? 4. Is the figure of $14, 400 for lost service worker position using retraining time and loss of service in that position? Page 20 1. Ifpurchase of the 42 acres at $ 4M will put the Fund Balance at risk... what is the advantage of the purchase? Ifminimal revenue growth ( cited on page 14) and escalating expenditures for maintaining current service levels could erode fund balance stability why would we purchase a non- revenue generating property? When would lease revenues from the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds Association pay for the acreage they are using? 2. Would taking this risk impact our S& P rating? Page 21 1. What is the rationale for spending $ 160K on tree replacement along US 98 when the entire 98 Corridor is understudy? There is a possibility (perhaps a probability) that US 98 will be either widened or the medians removed to accommodate the traffic load. Could the tree replacement initiative be diverted to another area at less risk? Page 22 1. Do you know if recent studies have been conducted to determine the silt build- up in Lake Earl from City storm water runoff? Page 23 1. I would appreciate an explanation of the graph used to estimate costs of the Police Take- Home Vehicle Program. The changing of variables does not seem to be consistent i.e. 5, 10, 22, 30 officers, when the additional number of participants cited above would be 32. 2. What is the cost to the city for the loss of a police officer? It was cited earlier that a service worker cost the City $ 14, 400. It would help to put the program cost into  perspective if I knew the cost for loosing an officer. I could then weigh cost of added vehicles and maintenance costs verse the historical loss of police officers. Page 24 st. 1. Truck 6 was listed as being out- of-service for ' numerous' days since January 1 Do you know the number of days? What was the impact on service to the community and added wear and tear on the Fire Department while Truck 6 was down? 2. Can you explain OSHA standard of2in/2out? I am not familiar with it. 3. Have we received feedback from the Chief on a single- use vehicle vs. a vehicle also capable of pumping water etc.? 4. Do surrounding communities charge a fire assessment fee?  City of Fort Walton Beach Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members From: Joyce Shanahan, City Manager Subject: Budget Policy Workshop Date: April 14, 2005 BACKGROUND: The City completed its first strategic planning process in January 2004, determining the City' s current and future priorities and creating shared commitments among all stakeholders to address the identified priorities. The shared community vision and strategic plan initiative are translated into annual budget priorities. The 2005 Strategic Plan Goal for Economic Health and Financial Viability Tier A Objective is to provide Council early involvement in the Budget process with roll- back millage information and long- term financial information. To respond to this objective staff has developed the attached report and set aside April 19, 2005 for a Budget Policy Workshop to discuss critical issues impacting the development of the FY 2005- 06 Operations Budget and Capital Improvement Program. In preparation for the FY 2005- 06 Budget, we continue the City' s commitment of using the Vision and Strategic Plans as the blueprint for providing services and programs for the betterment of our community consistent with the values expressed in these Plans. These goals have been redefined in operational and budget benchmarks terms to include: 1. Customer Focus - High Quality Services a) Protect and enhance the quality of life by improvements in City services, facilities and infrastructure. b) Respond to the needs of the community as expressed by citizens and Council. 2. Financial Focus - Community and Organizational Financial Health and Viability a) Understand the City' s available revenue sources and plan of operation, and allow revisions as desired. b) Develop balanced sources of revenues to fund programs that sustain the desired quality of life. c) Estimate revenues at realistic levels. 3. Process Focus - Efficient and Effective Government a) Strive for excellence in service delivery through the implementation of programs to improve City operations. b) Provide necessary quality services to respond to community needs in a cost- controlled manner. . Page i  c) Recognize that our employees are our most valued resource and continue to work to preserve and enhance this asset to the greatest extent possible. d) Maintain salaries and benefits at competitive levels. 4. Renewal and Development Focus - Community Quality - Maintain and Enhance Infrastructure. a) Fund infrastructure maintenance to preserve the efficiency and effectiveness of utilities, street, drainage systems and the like. DISCUSSION: The City Council's primary responsibility is to shape public policy in order to achieve the