CITY OF PICKERINGTON

FINANCE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2004

2005 BUDGET WORK SESSION

6:00 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Hackworth opened the work session at 6:00 P.M. with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Hackworth present. Mrs. Riggs arrived at 6:15 P.M. Others present were: Mayor Shaver, Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Parker, Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Linda Fersch, Frank Wiseman, Bob Mapes, and others.

2. SCHEDULED MATTERS:

A. Review of proposed 2005 Manager’s Budget. Ms Gilleland stated she would ask to postpone the review of the remaining items on the Capital Improvement Plan and try to get through the budget this evening. She stated all the department heads were available should there be any questions for them. She stated we can complete the review of the CIP after the budget review is completed.

Ms Gilleland stated all of council had been provided with copies of the budget in the new format as well as by line item. She stated all of her comments had been detailed on the letter included with the draft budget. She stated the general fund budget and variances by departments had also been provided this evening. Ms Gilleland stated the line item budget for the City Manager’s office was inadvertently left out of the line item budget during the copying process, so it is included with the information this evening. Mr. Sabatino clarified the 31.46 percent increase in the City Manager’s office is due to the fact that the administrative assistant position was funded out of water and sewer last year, and now that person is assigned to the City Manager’s office.

Ms Gilleland stated she would just go through each section of the budget and answer questions as they came up. Mr. O’Brien clarified the software upgrade being requested by the Personnel Department is for payroll as well as for personnel and will allow the departments to directly input the time sheets so there will not be a duplication of efforts.

Ms Gilleland stated for the engineer she was recommending continuing with the retainer fee and adding $87,000 to have an engineer on site through a contractual arrangement. She stated the amount for Category B could then be reduced.

Mr. Sabatino questioned in the legal department where the 2005 proposed budget shows $50,000 for legal assistance and $144,000 for general legal counsel. He stated that has not been funded in the past and questioned what the funds would be used for. Ms Gilleland stated that would be for a contractual arrangement for legal services. Mr. Sabatino stated it appeared then that last year we spent $112,000 and this year we are projecting $194,000. Ms Gilleland stated the $144,000 is an estimate on legal services should Council choose to hire a city attorney through a contractual arrangement and the additional fees are for any additional special counsel we may need. Mr. Sabatino stated the total is still about $80,000 more than the previous year. Ms Gilleland stated that was correct, however, the salary is reduced accordingly and reflects $25,000 for a prosecutor. She stated the net budget shows a net decrease of almost $70,000.

Ms Gilleland stated the budget for the Planning and Zoning department has gone up 144 percent, but that is mainly due to the fact that the Code Enforcement position is now included in the Planning and Zoning Department. Mr. Schultz clarified the increase in his budget for professional services was for the growth management plan that the City is in the process of having prepared.

Mr. Sabatino inquired if the entire amount budgeted in the Public Information Department was for a contract for a public information officer. Ms Gilleland stated she was proposing the same arrangement we had this year, but that amount also included funding for an intern position. Mr. Wright questioned the amount being funded for travel and transportation if we were doing a contract employee. Ms Gilleland stated she had included that amount so it could be used for the intern as well. Mr. Wright stated he felt it might be better to have the amounts being budgeted for the public information contract position separated from the amounts being budgeted for an intern position. He stated by including it all together it did appear to be a large amount. Ms Gilleland stated she would see how this could be broken out to reflect the two positions.

Ms Gilleland stated the Police Fund increased by 7.44 percent and does not include the new officers requested by the Chief of Police. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt it was more important to add a police officer than to add code enforcement. Ms Gilleland stated the Chief did request two officers, and it would be her recommendation that one new officer be added. Ms Gilleland stated this was an issue that she would like Council to discuss this evening. Mr. Wright stated we have a 5.5 mill police levy, however, the amount that is collected is at the amount when it was voted in. He stated you basically lose money each year because of increased growth, etc. Mrs. Fersch stated that is correct and right now the 5.5 mill levy is more like 4.14 mills. Mr. Sabatino stated he still felt it was our duty to provide a safe environment for our residents and businesses. Mrs. Riggs stated she agreed with Mr. Sabatino and requested additional information. She stated the information provided relies on the quantity of service and she would like to see more on the quality of service provided. Ms Gilleland stated she would get that information for Council. Ms Gilleland stated it was her recommendation that one police officer be included on the contingency list for funding, and she was fairly confident we would be able to fund all of the items listed on the contingency list provided to Council. Mrs. Fersch stated this is the year for tax re-evaluation and the auditor’s office has not released those figures as yet. She stated it appeared the property tax evaluations were averaging eight percent. She stated the property tax and the income tax are our two main sources of revenue. Mr. Wright stated he would like to see if it would be possible to look at replacing at least one of the police cruisers as well.

Ms Gilleland stated as it was time for the City Council meeting, she would like to know if Council would like to continue this work session at another time. Mrs. Riggs stated Finance Committee would like to set a work session to complete the budget review for Thursday, November 18, 2004, at 6:30 P.M.

3. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further at this time, the Finance Committee Work Session closed at 7:28 P.M., November 16, 2004.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk