FINANCE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
CITY
HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD
WEDNESDAY,
APRIL 2, 2008
EXPENSE
SUBCOMMITTEE
8:10
P.M.
1. Finance Committee of Council’s Subcommittee to review Expenses opened at 8:10 P.M., with Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Sauer present. Others present were Mayor O’Brien, Cristie Hammond, Tim Hansley, Lynda Yartin, Chris Schornack, Chief Mike Taylor, and Angie Fenner.
2. SCHEDULED MATTERS:
A. Review and discussion regarding Police Department expenses. Mr. Fix stated at the initial meeting of the subcommittee some general ideas on how to proceed were agreed upon. He stated he felt this would be a good process and would allow the committee members to learn a lot as the process continues. Mr. Sabatino stated his idea of what was to be accomplished was not so much to look at how many paper clips or bullets are purchased, but more to look at the process we are using to expend funds. Mr. Sabatino stated along that line he has spoken to individuals that have a background in municipal government and it was suggested that it would make sense for the committee to contact the municipalities that have a municipal police department and also a township fire department because those are typically the two largest components of most municipal budgets, and to do a survey to find out how they are funded. Is it through property tax; is it through income tax? He stated there are pros and cons to each one and if we can survey these other entities and see how they are funding their operations and then see how much they are expending for these departments, and see how much they are spending for police protection as a percentage of their budget and from that perspective he felt it would be a big help to see just exactly where we are in that respect. He further stated if we find out that most of the places are using an income tax, and maybe some have a dedicated amount for police or something like that, it might help give this committee a sense of direction. He stated once we know exactly where we fall in terms of what is typical of how other communities do it, this is how we do it, the other communities typically spend so much with a break out down to something like $1.00 per population, he felt that would give the committee a good basis to start and would provide a better appreciation for the actual process used to fund the operation and also the expenses associated with doing that. Mr. Fix stated that from the revenue generation side, it made a great deal of sense to explore how other communities fund their safety departments. He stated he felt there would be some value in knowing the per capita costs associated with safety, however, he didn’t know if on the expense side that information would change the process. He stated on the expense side, every community is a little different and a little unique and he felt Council needed to make the best decisions for the City based on what is presented. He stated he felt this committee should try to get all the information they can, but he didn’t know if that would change the decisions they have to make, at least on the expense side. He stated it would be most helpful on the revenue side. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt this information would at least give the committee an idea of where we stood and how we are doing in relation to our neighbors. He stated once they had that information they could track and compare and would give them a basis from which to start. Mr. Fix stated he agreed that would be good information to have. Mr. Hansley stated he could get that information, and based on what he knew about surrounding communities, we would be one of the lowest. Mr. Sabatino stated if we found the department was doing a very judicious job with the funds they have to work with, then that would be valuable information. Mr. Hansley stated he would try to have the survey for the next meeting.
Mr. Sauer inquired if a three to five year budget forecast was produced each year to update in terms of, for example, cruisers or police officers. He stated when he knew things were coming down the road; this enabled you to plan for it, to know they were coming, and to make funds available for it as they are coming. He stated he felt this might be helpful to both Council and staff. Chief Taylor stated we currently try to trade in cruisers at 80,000 miles which is about every three years. Mr. Sauer stated what he would like to see is a two to three year prognostication in terms such as businesses do, of where they saw themselves in two to three years. He stated he felt this would be helpful to see what costs are coming and would help contain costs if that is something that needs to be done.
Mr. Fix stated this Committee had discussed the process they wanted to go through on this and they would like to identify the streams of revenue for each particular area, the discretionary and non-discrectionary expenses. He stated there are things the police department spends money on that are mandated, and there are things they spend money on that is discretionary to the police department. He stated as a starting point, he would like Mr. Schornack to take the Committee through the specific revenue streams that are specifically for police. Mr. Schornack distributed copies of the revenue budget to all committee members and Mr. Fix stated the real estate taxes come from our police levy, which is currently being collected at roughly 3 mills. Mr. Fix further clarified the levy is 5.5 mills and is a permanent levy. Mr. Fix clarified that tangible personal property tax is on what people have in inventory at year-end, but that is being phased out.
Mr. Schornack stated for the DARE Grant we asked for $39,000 and we only received $20,000 and Ms Fenner is looking into this to see why we did not get the full amount. Mr. Fix further clarified the wireless fee comes from wireless bills and can only be used for certain trainings for the police officers. Mayor O’Brien clarified the utility security contract was funds paid by the City’s utility funds for the police to monitor the alarm systems for the plants. Mr. Fix stated this is a way of taking funds from the water and sewer fund and putting it in the police fund. Mr. Hansley stated we could have someone else monitor the alarms, but this is a way to keep it in-house and keep some of the revenue in the city limits.
Mr. Hansley stated the Police Department is funded in two ways, the property tax, but the largest portion is from income tax. Mr. Fix inquired if the committee could get the total revenue less the general fund money, and Mr. Schornack stated that would be $1.3 million. Mr. Hansley stated approximately two-thirds of the police department is supported by the general fund.
Mr. Schornack stated in looking at expenditures, personal services make up 83 percent of the total budget. He stated that includes wages, fringe benefits, etc. Mr. Hansley stated also this is a different type of agency because they are a 24/7 department. He stated if, for example, the finance department were staffed around the clock their budget would be three times higher. He stated this is a labor-intensive department that is run every day of the year for three shifts. Mr. Sauer stated his question would be what in the police department’s budget would be considered discretionary versus required. Mr. Schornack stated the department really only has about $700,000 worth of non-personnel related items and not all of those are discretionary. Mr. Sauer stated what he was looking for was if there were any extra programs, and perhaps there are none. Mr. Schornack stated there is the DARE program. Mr. Sauer stated that would be one, and he was not proposing getting rid of that, but it is one that would be on the list.
Mr. Fix stated if possible he would like to have this presented in descending order to the percentage of the overall budget. Mr. Fix stated if it is presented to this committee, as they go through each department, showing, for example, the top ten things that make up 90 percent of their budget, then the committee could focus on what those ten things are and have discussion centered around that. Mr. Schornack stated he would check to see if that could be done. Mr. Fix stated while he appreciated the historical data, 2008 was actually what they were focusing on and if those can be sorted in descending order that would be what he was looking for. Mr. Schornack stated perhaps he could also just highlight items over a certain threshold. Mayor O’Brien questioned if Mr. Fix would like to have any information out of the personal services included in the information he was requesting from Mr. Schornack, and Mr. Fix stated he would like a breakdown such as how many Commanders, how many Sergeants, etc. Mr. Fix stated he knew everyone has a lean budget, but they were trying to find a way to save some money. Mr. Fix stated further he knew the police department’s budget was very lean, but he didn’t know that he had a very good understanding of what is actually in there. He further stated he wants to better understand so when it comes time to go to the voter’s with whatever the revenue subcommittee comes up with, everyone can have a full understanding of where the money is spent and it makes sense and the voter’s would make the exact same decisions this Council is making. Chief Taylor stated he couldn’t agree more. Chief Taylor stated since he has been Chief, the department has managed with what they are given in their budget and they have yet to come back and ask for an additional appropriation. Chief Taylor stated he was prepared to return the $10,000 in his budget for a motorcycle because it is not working out to their benefit to get a new one. Mrs. Hammond stated that might be transferred to another fund for training or overtime or whatever. Chief Taylor stated he felt he would run out of overtime money by fall. He stated the three parades we have and the Violet Festival really impacts his overtime money. Mayor O’Brien stated perhaps during the Council retreat they could address this with regard to assessing a charge for this and have it pay for itself. Mr. Fix stated he thought the revenue subcommittee would be looking at all of these types of issues.
Mr. Sauer stated when this committee receives the list of the top ten things; he would also like to see a list of what is required and what is discretionary. He stated he would like to see the items that are not mandated by law, that are not salaries, not utilities, but items that are extra little add ons.
Mr. Hansley questioned if Chief Taylor were forced to cut $100,000 out of his budget, what could he cut out that was not mandated by the State or Federal government. Chief Taylor stated it would have to be manpower. Mr. Hansley stated he felt to get to any number that would satisfy this Committee’s concern; it would mean to cut back on people. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt there might be the opportunity to contract services as opposed to providing our own, and he felt that Chief Taylor has been very responsible with his budget. Mr. Hansley stated Violet Township and Canal Winchester contract with Fairfield County for police services, and what they contract for is basic, routine patrol. Mr. Sauer stated he did not feel anyone on Council would be proposing doing anything like that. Mr. Fix stated the purpose of this committee was not to necessarily make cuts, but to understand where we are spending money. He stated if there are appropriate places to recommend making cuts, they would do so, but they may come out of this subcommittee without recommending any cuts because the budget is already slim. Mr. Hansley stated one suggestion, for example, would be to contract for dispatching because it is somewhat labor intensive, it is not routine patrol, so you theoretically contract that if you could find someone to do it cheaper than what we pay now. Chief Taylor stated the Sheriff’s office does dispatching, however, our dispatchers are more highly trained than the Sheriff’s people. Mr. Fix ascertained the average response time of our police is approximately four minutes.
Mr. Fix stated at the next meeting, if possible, if Mr. Schornack could provide the 2008 proposed budget, with the account numbers and description. He stated if he could get that information he could organize it so he could come with really good questions at the next meeting. He also stated before asking Chief Taylor to come in for another meeting, the committee could get most of their questions answered by Mr. Schornack and, if necessary, have Chief Taylor come back at the meeting after that to answer further questions. Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Sauer stated they agreed with that suggestion. Mrs. Hammond stated if Chief Taylor had any suggestions on items that the department does not charge for and that should have a fee, if he would let her know the revenue committee can consider that.
Mayor O’Brien stated he would like to commend Council for going through this process and the commitment to get involved in the budget process throughout the year. Mrs. Hammond stated the revenue committee will be hearing how much money is generated by property tax, etc., and that committee will be forced to make a decision that all of Council will have to act upon. She stated she still felt it was important to continue with the process this committee is working on because she felt it need to be looked at two ways; streamlining if we do get a levy or an income tax passed, but also what would we do if it didn’t pass. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt the expense side is more of the due diligence side of saying we are doing the best we can with what we have, and we may find some tweaks here and there that would be beneficial to the City, however, he did not feel that long term that was the answer. Mr. Sabatino further stated we need to go through this process to justify any approach to the citizens that we are doing a judicious job with the funds they are trusting us with. Mayor O’Brien stated if the committee desired someone could be brought in to run an issue, a professional to run a campaign. Mr. Sabatino stated that might be a one-time cost for a long-term gain. Mr. Sabatino stated he did not feel any council member was qualified to get the message out, and Mrs. Hammond stated the message council will need to get out is that they are all behind whatever decision is made. Mr. Sauer stated if, for instance, something were put on the ballot and it failed, that would put a lot of impetus on this committee to make sure the budget balances next year. Mrs. Hammond stated that was what she was saying, there needs to be a back-up plan. Mr. Sabatino stated he agreed with Mayor O’Brien that the citizens need the right to say whether they want to step up to the plate or not, but to not do anything and then be in the position where drastic and painful cuts must be made, would not be the responsible thing to do.
3. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Sabatino moved to adjourn; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Sabatino voted "Aye." Motion carried, 3-0. The Expense Subcommittee adjourned at 8:10 P.M., April 2, 2008.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
________________________________