Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 12-18-1990 Special — reading text

hand, The Mayor noted Mr. speak,Reeder is welcome to but this should all be addressed budget workshop in a hearing; and the fact that it was addressed during the regular budget hearing. this is being isolated and separated from the budget. He agreed this should all be put together, the salaries addressed as well as the revenues and expenditures at one time. but not to pull it out and look at it individually. Thornber Smith said he thinks the agenda is overly restricted, from what he heard last week the City has three years to go into deficit and many citizens have come to the Council meetings because they found out about an impending problem they had no knowledge of, and he thinks Council owes it to the citizens to pay the bills, to give them a disclosure and not to bury it in a workshop or some other place where they cannot be there. The Mayor objected to the remarks and said that does not occur. In response to Mr. deVaux' s question if there is a motion on the floor, the Mayor said the only motion on the floor is not to approve the salary freeze or the hiring moratorium. Mr. Kitchens said he feels evening the only issue this is the raise for employees; the understand he did not why the other issues are being brought up because it was I already decided the employees would get a raise. Mr. a Reeder workshop acknowledged to During discussion on the status of the total budget, he would be willing to return to work with further and in Council. response to questions posed regarding the expected revenues projected, Mr. Reeder explained the function of the auditor is to come in and audit the comprehensive annual financial report. 166 12- 18- 90 SALARIES ( CONT.) Mr. Reeder said basically they audit historical numbers and right they are working on the September 30th now audit; they come in and make sure it fairly presents the financial position as of that date. He said the questions being asked are what they are in the process now of auditing; all he can tell Council is what he knows of the numbers that have been revised and presented, the revenues will fall in line. and he presumes from the numbers they are working with the expenditures will fall in line also. He said if last year $ 1. 2 million was budgeted to spend out of pre- existing funds, that is what is going to happen and he has no reason to believe otherwise. Mr. Kitchens said one thing in budget that appalled the him was the $ 165. 225 for gifts and grants to organizations. then the budget was raised to approximately $ 90, 000; so if there is a short- fall of 200, 000, he questioned why that money was given to those organizations when the budget cannot be met. During further discussion on the status of the total budget, the Mayor pointed out they have to deal with the budget as a whole. not pick one particular line out of it and try to deal with that; he did not think it was fair to bring this one item up three months after the budget was approved and try to deal with it now. He said he did not think anyone is opposed dealing to with this, and the whole problem, in theworkshop. The City Manager said, for the record, in the past three years, recommendations have been presented to the Fort Walton Beach City Council on ways to increase revenue and cut expenditures. and he will bring the documents back to Council, which he is in the process of updating. The Mayor called for the vote on the action. and it carried by a vote of 4 to 3. with Smith. Wyatt. Nicholson. and Wyninegar in favor. and Rosenbaum. deVaux:. and Maney opposed. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5: 05 p. m. APPROVE(> iiI-- MAYOR: f; 1, ,('! _ V, 4'V./?, v/~ / t/',. /