WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011

BUDGET WORK SESSION

6:00 P.M.

1. CALL TO ORDER. Mr. Sauer opened the Budget Work Session at 6:00 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Sauer were present. Mr. Wisniewski arrived at 6:06 P.M, and Mr. Fix arrived at 6:50 P.M. Mrs. Sanders was absent. Others present were: Mayor O’Brien, Bill Vance, Lynda Yartin, Chris Schornack, Stephanie Spencer, Chief Mike Taylor, Ed Drobina, Greg Bachman, Scott Fulton, Joe Henderson, Lynn Miller, Becca Medinger, Commander Matt Delp, Mike Sabatino, Chris Schweitzer, Janet Thiede, Ted Hackworth, and others.

2. SCHEDULED MATTERS:

A. Review of proposed 2012 Budget for:

(1) General Fund. Mr. Schornack stated he would begin with a review of the Mayor’s proposed budget. Mayor O’Brien he had forwarded a copy of the 2011 budget to Mr. Gray and asked for his comments. Mayor O’Brien stated Mr. Gray had recommended an increase of $500 for printing expenses and an increase in the salary for the administrative assistant as he anticipates using more hours since he will be here more during the day. Mrs. Hammond stated currently we have budgeted 20 to 25 hours per week for the administrative assistant; however we do not use all of that. Mrs. Hammond stated she does not know if we even need 25 hours a week for that position and Mr. Blair stated he also questioned the number of hours necessary for that position. Mayor O’Brien stated the number of hours used depended on the season and events that were occurring. Mr. Vance stated in brief conversations with Mr. Gray he understood it was his intent to maintain a consistent presence in the office and also to have that position help out with some of the PIO responsibilities for the City, and he had no objections to that request. Mr. Sauer stated if the PIO function was put completely under the Mayor’s office then that would take Council out of the loop as well as, potentially, the City Manager, and he was not totally comfortable with that. Mr. Sauer stated the other concern he would have would be to increase staff time he would at least like to see the person who would be utilizing that staff time to come in a make a case for it. He stated right now he is not interested in exceeding where we are. Mr. Blair clarified the Public Information proposed budget included $5,000 that would be zeroed out should this function be moved into the Mayor’s office. Mr. Blair stated he agreed with Mr. Sauer and he would like to hear from Mr. Gray on this as well as maybe the potential of putting Molly back in that office if he just wants presence in there. Mayor O’Brien stated he would pass that information to Mr. Gray. Mr. Sauer stated he would like the discussion on the Mayor’s budget included on the next work session agenda.

Mr. Schornack reviewed the proposed budget for the Mayor’s Court Clerk, and pointed out he was estimating the Mayor’s Court to bring in $180,000 for 2011, and he is anticipating revenues of $160,000 in 2012.

The proposed budget for the City Manager was reviewed with no revisions. The Finance Department’s proposed budget was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated he has removed one part-time tax clerk position as he did not feel the benefit gained as far as collecting delinquent taxes was there so that position has now been allocated over to the building department. He stated there was now three and one-half positions in the tax department. Mr. Schornack stated the delinquent revenue collected had gone up slightly, but not what was anticipated. He stated he would be bringing forward some ideas as far as outside collection agencies to assist in that. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that was not budgeted for right now because we do not have the cost associated with that. Mr. Schornack stated the revenue would be offset by the expense of collecting those. Mr. Schornack stated by outsourcing this it will allow staff to focus more on current year collections. Mr. Schornack stated he hoped to have information put together, look at what outside agencies other cities are using, and bring it forward to Finance Committee in November. Mr. Blair clarified these agencies are usually paid on a percentage of what they collect. Mr. Schornack stated we would still use the assistance of Mayor’s Court to get those cases in.

The proposed budget for Personnel Department was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated one of the major items is the reduction of the sick leave sell back we do not have to pay back this year. He stated Ms Miller does have some additional funding included for training and Mr. Blair clarified this was for city-wide training programs.

The proposed budget for the Legal Department was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated he had reduced the line item for litigation as he and the City Manager felt that as litigation came up, they would come to Council for appropriations if necessary.

The proposed budget for the Engineering Department was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated one of the major items was the Category B increase and that is due to the bridge inspection program that will be in place next year. Mr. Bachman stated the salary increase is the result of a larger portion of the staff engineer’s salary being charged to the General Fund. He stated last year she concentrated on storm water and the storm water master plan and he did not anticipate her spending as much time on storm water next year. Mr. Bachman stated he has also requested an increase in the Engineer’s monthly retainer to take care of our maintenance, engineering-wise, on our traffic signals. He stated the increase in Category B, as Mr. Schornack had mentioned, is due to the bridge inspections we are responsible for.

The proposed budget for the Planning and Zoning Department was reviewed as well as the Development Department. Mr. Wisniewski questioned the amount projected for PERS in the Planning and Zoning Department and Mr. Schornack stated he did feel that should be decreased and he would look at that. Mr. Wisniewski questioned the increase in salary and Mr. Vance stated that was the offer made and accepted by Mr. Henderson and the salary amount stayed within what was previously budgeted. Mr. Blair clarified the $12,000 in the Downtown Revitalization was the amount from Volunteer Energy.

The proposed budget for the Building Department was reviewed and Mr. Sauer clarified the administrative clerk is the one discussed earlier that was moved over from Finance.

The proposed budget for Public Information was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated in the past we have used Governing Dynamics to do some things and he does not know if anyone plans to do that again this year. He stated it was not included in the budget and that is why it shows a decrease for Professional Services. Mr. Blair clarified the advertising was for magazines and other annual commitments we have made over the past few years. Mr. Sauer questioned if Council’s retreat were included in this category and Mr. Schornack stated that was included in Council’s budget. The amount for 2011 was for the survey and the retreat.

The proposed budget for Council was reviewed and Mrs. Yartin stated the $1,650 was to cover meeting expenses and a retreat. Mr. Blair and Mr. Wisniewski both stated they did not see the need to have someone come in to lead Council through a retreat. Mr. Blair stated he did not mind having a retreat, he just felt it was something that staff could lead them through. Mr. Sauer stated his only concern was that he felt the process and the experience was important especially since there would be new members sitting on Council next year. Mr. Schornack determined that this line item would be reduced to $250.

The proposed budget for the Municipal Clerk was reviewed and there were no recommended revisions.

Mr. Schornack stated the next budget to be reviewed was for General Government. Mr. Sauer stated this budget contains all of our contributions to various agencies and he would like to have everyone consider possibly setting out a dollar amount that would be a cap for all contributions for the year. He stated then, basically, after that amount was set Council could look at the requests that come into the City and allocate those funds accordingly. Mr. Sauer stated he felt this would include any of the activities listed under Leisure Time Activities as well as the organizations we support such as the paratransit subsidy and the food pantry. Mrs. Hammond stated she felt that was a good idea. Mr. Wisniewski questioned who would determine the dollar amount and how it would be split out. Mr. Wisniewski stated the Chamber of Commerce, the 33 Alliance, and a lot of those fall under that same thing. Mr. Sauer stated if we felt those were more of a commitment than the others, they could always be split out. Mr. Sauer stated he just felt throughout the year they get hit with different requests for funds and it just keeps growing. Mr. Wisniewski stated he didn’t recall anyone coming in late this year and Mr. Schornack stated the only one he recalled coming in late this year was the Playapaluzza request. Mrs. Hammond stated while she doesn’t like being in the position of having to turn anyone down, she feels that we owe it to the citizens to provide for services that actually benefit them and she felt we should look at this again. Mr. Sauer clarified that everyone would like Mr. Schornack to come back to the next budget meeting with a review of what we have typically spent. Mr. Schornack stated what was in the proposed budget is what we have funded in the past and if Council funded everything that was funded last year, this is what it would look like. Mr. Schornack stated whatever was taken out would increase the fund balance. Mr. Blair stated that being the case, what was listed in the proposed budget would show everything. Mr. Sauer stated that was correct and if we started with this year, what was shown was a baseline, and then going forward adjust accordingly. Mr. Vance stated with the Committee’s approval he could have the OPVBA and the Chamber make a presentation at the next Finance Committee meeting to confirm what they have accomplished this year and promote what they would like to accomplish next year and present their funding proposals. Mr. Sauer stated they were more than welcome to come in and make their presentation, but what they were discussing is that if they know the ceiling amount it helps them determine what percentage of that amount they would be able to donate to all of the different organizations. Mr. Barletta stated he did not object to a ceiling amount, but he felt just going through the budgeting process you are setting your ceiling amount on these line items. He stated he did not want to get into the position of setting a ceiling amount and then realizing that something was left out. Mrs. Hammond stated that realistically we need to look at where we are spending the money. Mr. Blair stated there were increases in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and Fairfield Regional Planning Commission and Mr. Schornack stated our membership costs are population based and are the result of the last census. Mr. Hammond further stated she felt there needed to be discussion on the 33 Alliance as well because it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Mr. Henderson stated he is scheduled to make two trips in November and December with the 33 Alliance. Mayor O’Brien clarified Mrs. Hammond was asking what we got out of these trips. Mr. Henderson stated they market the 33 corridor and visit developers and site surveyors. Mr. Henderson stated he has not gone on one of these trips as yet so he does not know the pattern, but it is his understanding that the goal is to meet people, talk about the 33 corridor, and market the City as well. Mrs. Hammond clarified the Alliance pays for these trips. Mayor O’Brien stated the question was, for the $6,000 we paid, what have got in return. Mr. Sauer stated he would have a similar question, and he understands the advertising and that this is a long term thing, but he questioned if we were getting $6,000 worth of trips and what is the benefit to the City. He stated we have been doing this for a couple of years and he does not see any benefits. Mr. Henderson stated if he would try to schedule these types of trips on his own, he would not have the same invitations to functions that he gets through the Alliance. Mr. Wisniewski stated we have paid out $18,000 so far and with next year’s budget that will be $24,000 we will have spent and in order to recoup that we will need to have $2.4 million in wages come into the City. He stated the more we spend on it the more we will have to get out of it to just break even. He stated he did not feel it was worth it and we were throwing good money after bad. Mr. Blair clarified we are a part of 20/20 because we belong to MODE. Mayor O’Brien inquired if we were a dues paying member of Columbus 20/20 and Mr. Henderson stated he did not believe so. Mayor O’Brien inquired if we could be and how much those dues would be. Mr. Henderson stated he believed if you were a member of MODE you were a member of Columbus 20/20 and those dues are $2,500. Mr. Blair stated he felt Columbus 20/20 was the group moving everything right now and whatever it takes to get with them, and if it takes being a part of the 33 Alliance, he felt that it was smart to do that. He stated as Mayor O’Brien had questioned, he would be interested in finding out what it cost to be a member of Columbus 20/20 specifically. Mr. Henderson stated he would get that information. Mr. Barletta stated if we can help promote the 33 corridor it would only benefit the City and he felt we had more land and possibilities down the 33 corridor than we do in Columbus. Mr. Fix stated he felt regionalism is an important part of our future and for a minimal investment of $6,000 he felt it was well worth it. Mr. Wisniewski clarified the $20,000 budgeted for the Violet Township Annexation Agreement is the road and bridge levy we have to pay to the Township. Mr. Blair clarified that at the next budget work session we will recap all of the memberships.

Mr. Schornack stated that $3.6 million is our current budget which is down 2.7 percent from last year, and that is where we currently stand with everything that is in there at this time.

The proposed budget for the street fund was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated we have budgeted $350,000 for annual street resurfacing and we also have the S.R. 256 Safety Grant for $200,000 under the capital line item. He stated those were the two major projects in this fund. Mr. Fix inquired what percentage of insurance we cover under AFSCME and Mr. Schornack stated the employees pay 12 percent of their premium. Mr. Fix further clarified under vehicle and equipment replacement Mr. Drobina was requesting a dump truck. Mr. Blair clarified the AFSCME contract runs through the end of 2012. Mr. Fix ascertained the grant application has been submitted and hopefully in December of this year we will know if we receive it. Mr. Fix further clarified that if we receive the grant we will spend the $200,000 on engineering, but if we do not receive the grant the money will go back. Mr. Blair clarified that we have requested a 90 percent grant on a $5 million project; however, the budget is based on receiving an 80 percent grant on a $4 million project. Mrs. Hammond clarified that if we receive the grant we will begin the engineering on the project, with construction occurring in 2013 or later. Mr. Blair inquired exactly what the landscaping in the downtown and S.R. 256 was for and Mr. Drobina stated it was extra money for mulch, flowers, etc., and Mr. Vance stated $5,000 is for flowers. Mr. Wisniewski stated he felt the landscaping needed to be cut back to $2,500. Mr. Vance stated we have invested in the flowers and all the planters and if we are going to use the planters we will need $5,000 to fill them up. Mr. Sauer inquired if $5,000 would buy what we had this year and Mr. Vance stated it would. Mr. Wisniewski stated he thought the $5,000 was to purchase the planters and Mr. Schornack stated he thought that was for the hangers. Mr. Wisniewski stated if we spent $5,000 on flowers that was too much and he would like a more reasonable recommendation for flowers. Mr. Sauer stated he would request Mr. Drobina come back with exactly what that was for, was just for flowers, did it include mulch, etc. Mr. Vance stated it was his recollection that we invested $10,000 in 20+ planters that are hanging on Hill Road, Columbus Street, and one or two on East Street. Mr. Blair stated he would like to know what it cost to fill those. Mr. Henderson stated he recalled it was $50 a year for the baskets with the hangers and about $38 to replant them every year per basket. Mr. Henderson stated the majority of that cost was that the arms on the poles could not support the weight of the baskets so we bought brackets for 20 different locations throughout the City and the idea was to try and put another 20 baskets out there. Mr. Sauer stated he would like Mr. Drobina to come back with what it would cost to fill those baskets this year. Mr. Sauer clarified that Mr. Drobina was requesting a dump truck with a salt spreader and snow plow that we need for Dilley Road. Mrs. Hammond stated she felt this was a justified request with the widening of Diley Road and the increased plowing.

The proposed budget for Parks and Recreation was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated one of the items being requested is that instead of a part-time assistant to go to a full time assistant. Mr. Blair stated he would like to know why there was an increase in contract landscaping and Mr. Drobina stated that was to take care of some flower beds and Mr. Vance stated this was more for the City entrances and Mr. Blair stated that seemed like a lot of money to pay for the entrances. Mr. Barletta stated he the flowers did seem excessive but he knew we wanted to maintain the entrances to the City and keep them looking good, but there are more flowers listed under supplies and materials. Mr. Drobina stated that also included mulch for the flower beds. Mr. Wisniewski questioned why we didn’t make our own mulch and Mr. Drobina stated if we did that it would not be treated or anything. Mr. Wisniewski stated just in the parks department we have $10,000 for landscaping and then another $3,000 in flowers. Mr. Sauer stated we have $13,000 as a grand total for flowers in the parks and questioned what we thought we really needed and Mr. Blair suggested a total of $6,500 for flowers in the parks. Mr. Blair questioned if there was a way to combine the landscaping instead of putting it in different areas. Mr. Sauer questioned if we could get a proposal for someone to do the landscaping for the City and do it by contract, and Mr. Drobina stated we did that in the past and then to cut costs we started doing it ourselves. Mr. Sauer stated he thought that might be something to look into next year. Mrs. Hammond clarified there were no issues with the request for a full time assistant in the Parks Department.

In review of the proposed budget for the Aquatic Fund Mr. Schornack stated the purchase of the pool was covered by the Impact Fees and it is 30 years old. He stated at this point we have some issues to take care of, some of which are necessary and some are mandatory. Mr. Schornack stated since the decision was made that the General Fund would not support the activities of the pool, in order to do some of the mandatory items it would require a large sum of money. He stated that would leave us with no funds available, and therefore he is recommending we take out a note on the pool improvements, go ahead and do all of the projects that are necessary and mandatory, and pay down that note as we bring the revenues in. Mr. Blair clarified that all of the ADA requirements are mandatory and must be completed before we can open the pool in 2012. Mr. Schornack stated the note would be paid out of pool revenues. Mr. Sauer inquired what our net profit was for last year on the pool and Mr. Schornack stated there was no net profit because we had projects in 2011. Mr. Schornack stated he was estimating a debt retirement of $25,000 annually beginning in 2013 to pay down the note. Mr. Blair inquired if we have made revenue on the pool and Mr. Schornack stated we are just putting those monies right back into the pool, we are not in it to make a profit. Mr. Schornack stated we just want it to maintain itself and make it a better place. Mr. Vance stated it was his recollection that there was a discussion and the revenues exceeded the expenditures as far as operations of the pool in 2011, and Mr. Schornack stated it was the reverse, in 2011 the expenditures exceeded the revenues. Mr. Vance stated the potential for financing opportunities would not be realistic if the revenues were not exceeding the expenditures. Mr. Fix stated Council needed to see operating revenue and operating costs, and not all the things that were done in 2011, to show that the pool makes a profit on an operating basis. Mr. Schornack stated he does have it broken down and the operating portion for 2011 is approximately $98,000 and the revenue is approximately $183,000. Mr. Fix clarified that there was a profit of about $90,000 and you put money back into the pool. Mr. Fix stated then there would be $80,000 that could be spent to pay down the debt incurred, and he would be doing it over seven years so there would still be funds to take care of things that would pop up. Mr. Fix stated because there are a lot of questions and concerns he would like to see Mr. Schornack come back next time and show our revenue each year, our operating costs each year, our regular maintenance for each year, the debt reduction for each year, and show a seven year plan on how it is really going to work. Mr. Sauer stated he would want to see that before making any decisions. Mr. Fix summarized they would like to see a plan that accomplishes everything that is needed and has it paid back out of revenues. Mr. Sauer stated he would like this at the next budget work session. Mr. Vance stated they would come back with a game plan and a proposal that is based on reality for the Committee’s consideration.

Mr. Sauer stated he would recess the work session for a five minute break before beginning the next review.

The work session recessed at 7:50 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 8:00 P.M.

(2) Service Department:

a. Water Fund. The Water fund proposed budget was reviewed and Mr. Drobina stated the largest change was in the water debt retirement and Mr. Schornack stated this was due to the new reverse osmosis that we are paying down; however, we saved $217,000 in salt. Mr. Schornack stated with the amount of debt we are paying down we are still maintaining a pretty healthy fund balance going forward. Mr. Blair clarified the increase in capital equipment was due to the request to purchase a mower to mow the 60 acres we have at the water plant. Mr. Drobina stated presently we have a six-foot mower and that is what we are using, and he would like to get a bat-wing we can put behind a tractor to do that mowing.

b. Sewer Fund. The Sewer fund proposed budget was reviewed and Mr. Schornack stated we were down on the estimate for this year, but that was because we rolled back that increase on the rates. Mr. Fix clarified the disaster assistance is used should there be a problem where the City had to pay out claims to residents from a sewer backup or something of that nature. Mr. Fix stated he would recommend that amount be removed because we have not needed it for several years and further that the claims for damages amount to reduced to $5,000, since historically that seemed to be a reasonable amount. Mr. Schornack stated he could do that and if he needs funds he would bring it forward as an appropriation request.

Mr. Blair inquired why there was such an increase in the budget for capital equipment in the sewer fund. Mr. Drobina stated our chief operator really tries to keep things up and operational and he had provided a list of what he felt they needed. Mr. Drobina stated there were some items that were not a priority and could be removed. Mr. Fix clarified that a reasonable amount for equipment would be $99,000 and that would allow for most of the items to be accomplished.

The proposed budget for storm water was reviewed and Mr. Drobina stated the request for equipment was to purchase a pull behind trailer jet that can be used to jet out lines. He stated if we do purchase this equipment, we could reduce the professional services from $90,000 to $60,000. The Committee determined they would approve the equipment purchase and reduce the professional service proposed amount to $60,000.

Mr. Schornack stated with regard to debt and the principal retired, we followed what was shown in the forecast and we were paying down about $3.7 million and that leaves a $31.2 million balance on our debt.

Mr. Sauer stated the next budget work session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25, 2011, at 6:00 P.M. Mrs. Yartin summarized that the items from tonight’s discussion that would be carried over to the next meeting included the Mayor’s budget and PIO work, a total listing of landscaping and flowers for the streets and parks, a consolidated list of donation requests, membership and dues required for Columbus 20/20, and a recommended plan of action for the pool.

3. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, the work session adjourned at 8:20 P.M., October 12, 2011.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, City Clerk