Town of Ponce Inlet
Special Meeting of the Town Council
September 01, 2009
1. CALL TO ORDER: Pursuant to proper notice, Mayor Goudie called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at 4300 South Atlantic Avenue, Ponce Inlet, Florida.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Goudie led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. ROLL CALL:
Town Council:
Mayor Goudie, Seat #1
Councilmember Derr, Seat #2
Councilmember McCormick, Seat #3
Councilmember Davis, Seat #4 arrived at approximately 9:10 a.m.
Councilmember Sturno, Seat #5
Staff Members Present:
Jeaneen P. Clauss, Interim Town Manager/Town Clerk
Assistant Finance Director, Kim Morrone-Pont
Human Resource Technician, Kim Cherbano
Administrative Assistance, Jeni Trepasso
Police Chief, Steve Thomas
Fire Chief, Dan Scales
Planner, Melissa Yoon
Manager of Public Works, Keith Gunter
- Additions, Corrections or Deletions to the Agenda: None.
5. Discussion of proposed budget for FY 09/10. Mayor Goudie informed that this is the 7th budget meeting for fiscal year 09/10 and that there will then be two subsequent meetings which are required by law for September 10th and September 24th, 2009. These two meetings are for the first and second readings to set the budget and millage rate for fiscal year budget 2009/2010. Mayor Goudie asked Council for their overall recommendations or comments to the budget.
Councilmember McCormick inquired if Council was ready set a goal for the budget or identify what actually needs to be cut from the budget. Mayor Goudie suggested Council could either cut within the entire budget or go department by department. Councilmember McCormick stated that auto reimbursement versus auto allowance should be reviewed. He also stated that dispatch services was an area that should be reviewed because fire department also provides 24 hour service and it is a place where citizens can go for safety or to drop off and pickup items. Councilmember McCormick suggested termination of the police commander position due to the size of the Town and the mutual aid agreements.
Councilmember Derr suggested reducing the Town’s administrative assistant positions by one; elimination of the code enforcement position and to hire an individual that could be both code enforcement plus building inspector. She also suggested elimination of the fire marshal’s position and to contract fire inspections. In the police department, Councilmember Derr stated that she would like to see this department reduce its budget by fourteen to fifteen percent. She also agreed with Councilmember McCormick on the elimination of the police commander position. The area of special events and donations need to be trimmed substantially.
Mayor Goudie asked Ms. Clauss to reduce the administrative department by nine percent or $44,091 in funds. In the fire department, Mayor Goudie asked for a reduction of a three to four percent in their budget. He also agreed with the elimination of the code enforcement position and with the hiring of an individual that can do both code and building inspections for the building department. Mayor Goudie asked the police department to reduce its budget by twenty percent and requested that all these suggested changes get back to Council by the end of business day of Friday. Mayor Goudie informed that dispatch services and auto allowance was worthy of discussion.
Councilmember Sturno stated that with the elimination of the code enforcement position in the building department and with the reductions in costs for the LUDC rewrite, there has been a large reduction within the budget and a big savings to the Town. He also stressed another area of concern was the high cost of attorney fees and stated that if Council would review the attorney bills weekly this would assist with controlling cost. Councilmember Sturno stated that the employees have done a good job on the budget and thanked everyone involved. He also stated that the Council should follow the wishes of the residents in terms of special events. Councilmember Sturno suggested that the Council review the budget throughout the year and make adjustments as needed and not only once a year.
Vice-Mayor Davis stated that the police rack and server that was voted on at the last budget meeting were not necessary and should be removed from the budget. She also stressed the need to reduce or eliminate non-essential items from the budget such as: dental insurance; non-essential conferences and all non-essential training; uniform purchases; there should be no public funds spent on special events, and Council should support children activities but not charities. Vice-Mayor Davis also suggested cutting the planning department viewshed project, eliminating all police overtime for boating, and eliminating the part-time officer and police commander. The police department has already eliminated three thousand dollars for guns and they are holding off on unnecessary capital projects. Vice-Mayor Davis
would also like for the Lighthouse to pay for the publishing of this year’s flyers and to delay the landscaping for Timucuan Oaks and Parks and Recreation Master Plan, if grant permits. She also suggested that Council forgo the Goals workshop and only send one Town delegate to the Florida League of Cities Conference; elimination of continuing education funds for administrative staff and eliminate all auto allowance and vehicles unless they are in their employment contract. She would like to explore the issue of two firefighters on a shift and cross-training firefighters for fire inspections. This would allow for elimination of the fire marshal or hire a building inspector that can do fire inspections. Vice-Mayor Davis suggested to eliminate the IT and records management stipends due to the fact that it is done while working and to also eliminate public work employees on-call stipend because after-hours response is part of the nature of the job.
Vice-Mayor Davis stated that the public works department does not need an office person but stressed the need for the one in the fire department. She was not sure about replacing dispatch service but has viewed the need to eliminate one administrative person and consolidate positions in the area of administrative assistant personnel.
Mayor Goudie suggested to Ms. Clauss in regards to his own suggestion, to cut $44,000 from the admin budget, that it was his intention that she take a look at the staffing there with regards to administrative assistant position and accomplish in that manner if she saw fit.
Ms. Clauss informed Council that staff had already reduced this budget by $847,000 as compared to the prior year’s budget. She stated that there are only four positions that currently receive an auto allowance. She also stated that action has been taken in combining code enforcement & building inspector into one position for the coming year. Ms. Clauss stated that she has reduced the anticipated legal fees by $40,000 & is working to bring the actual even below that.
Mayor Goudie stated that he was giving a challenge to Ms. Clauss and the other department heads to meet these budget numbers and present Council with a reduced budget by Friday, September 5th at the close of the business day. Mayor Goudie asked for public participation: Thomas Rutledge, 68 Beverly Hills, thanked Council for going through the budget line item by line item and stated Council that revenue will be declining for a few years and he thanked them for challenging department heads to cut their budgets even further but to asked that they leave the specifics to them to look for inefficiencies in their departments.
Councilmember McCormick stated that a workshop is the only area where the Council can get a consensus to direct staff and give them a goal or a target to meet that is realistic. He stressed the fact that the Council should have given department heads a target much earlier than today. But there seems to be a consensus on the Council dealing with elimination of the commander position; eliminations of special events but not the children programs; overtime needs to be cut and the marine patrol boat is not needed. Councilmember Derr thanked staff for their hard work on the budget but unfortunately that Council is just getting to ideas and percentages that need to cut from each department budget. This task will allow the department heads to make the best judgment for their department but that the elimination of
positions is not a pleasant task. Mayor Goudie thanked staff for their hard work and stated that this is a challenging process for everyone but necessary due to the fact that we are in a recession. Mayor Goudie stated that this Town relies on ad valorem taxes and with property values declining, so are the funds. The areas that Mayor Goudie concurred on were the holding off on the Timucuan Oaks landscaping, no special events except for the children programs, cancellation of the FLC conference for all but one for the next year, elimination of the marine patrol boat and the publicity flyers. Dental insurance is a benefit for the employees and he supports it. Vice-Mayor Davis stated that Council needs to get a consensus for each area for the department heads. Vice-Mayor Davis stated that if Council wants to eliminate a position then Council needs to get a consensus on each position that is being eliminated. Councilmember Sturno stated that
Council also needs to do the same on each special event and the marine patrol boat. He also stressed the fact that the Town needs to watch the outsourcing work it has done due to the cost. He spoke about the Beach Street project and the need for a contingency fund for this project. Vice-Mayor Davis asked that Beach Street project be placed on the Council regular meeting agenda for discussion. There was a discussion on auto allowance versus take home vehicle. There are four department heads that receive auto allowance; they are police chief, assistant town manager, director of planning and development services, and town manager. The take home vehicles are fire chief, public works manager, police commander and police detective. Chief Scales stated that it would have an operational impact on how fast he could respond to an emergency without his take home vehicle since he performs as the Town’s emergency coordinator, fire chief and
his IT responsibilities. Ms. Clauss stated that these positions are the ones that generally go to work day and after hour meetings and are expected to respond more often than just the normal drive to and from work. Vice-Mayor Davis stated that for the department heads that have auto allowance in their contract they should receive it and to give a vehicle to the other department heads without it in their contract because they already have them available. Vice-Mayor Davis suggested that the director of planning and development, the assistant town manager and the town manager receive auto allowance and that take home vehicles should be for the police chief, fire chief, and general manager of public works but no vehicles for the police commander or detective. Police Chief Thomas stated that he suggested he should receive an auto allowance several years back instead of a vehicle to save the Town the money that goes with the purchase of a new vehicle.
Chief Thomas informed the Council of the minimal cost of providing the commander and detective with take home vehicles, that the Town would only be saving $136 a year without the vehicles. Councilmember Derr addressed her concerns that she has not seen any documentation on the fuel cost, mileage, or the maintenance fees on these vehicles and stressed the issue of not allowing take home vehicles and that she would go in the direction of auto allowance instead.
Mayor Goudie asked for public participation. Tami Lewis, Ponce DeLeon Circle, informed the Council that the Town’s police chief has always been very economical and it was not the job of the Council to micro-manage the departments but to let the department heads manage their department and cut where they could. Councilmember Sturno stressed his concern on Council’s micro-managing. Mayor Goudie stated that Ms. Clauss is asking for direction from Council on where they would like to see additional cuts. Regarding discussion of contractual services of police dispatch – Council agreed to postpone this item. Councilmember McCormick stated that the police department is too top heavy and suggested eliminating the police commander position. The consensus of the Council to eliminate the police
commander position was 4-1 of which Councilmember Sturno objected. Chief Thomas asked Council to postpone this area because reducing command staff will have a substantial impact on the police department and residents of the Town. The consensus of the elimination of an administrative assistant position – Mayor Goudie informed that this is necessary at this time and all Council members were in agreement with eliminating one position. The next item was the fire marshal position; Ms. Clauss informed Council that one-third of this position’s hours have been eliminated. The consensus of the Council was not to eliminate this position but to get the fire department employees certified in this area and also when filling the newly created position of code compliance inspector to look for this certification as well. Ms. Clauss informed that the next items of concerns are the special events and donations. Ms. Clauss read the special events
proposed for fiscal year 09/10. The consensus of the Council was to not approve these events. Ms. Clauss read the donation line items for fiscal year 09/10 the consensus of the Council was not to approve the funding for the majority of these charities, but to fund the Ponce Inlet Children’s Activity Committee at $500, Ponce Inlet Garden Club at $100 and SPARC at $445. Ms. Clauss stated the next item life insurance for the employees at a cost of $4,554. This expense passed consensus 3-2 of which Councilmember Derr and Vice-Mayor Davis objected; Council agreed by consensus to eliminate life insurance for Council.
Councilmember McCormick stated as long as the department heads meet the impact of the percentages in their department by Friday then Council can review the changes. Council agreed to take out police department server and rack that was approved and voted on at the last budget meeting. The consensus to continue to provide employee’s with dental insurance was 3-2 of which Councilmember Derr and Vice-Mayor Davis objected. Council agreed to send only one delegate to the FLC conference and to eliminate paying for spouses on these types of events and functions. Ms. Clauss stated the next item is the $25,000 for the viewshed. Ms. Yoon stated that the viewshed is actually the PWD (planned waterfront development) and that it is the design guideline for the riverfront as soon as the Town receives the okay to
implement that part of the comprehensive plan. She also stated that the $25,000 is a cash carry forward and not a request for funds. Mayor Goudie asked Council if they would like to keep this item in the budget - Council agreed. Ms. Clauss stated the next item was the police department overtime for operating the marine unit and for training. Chief Thomas informed that this is a grant with manatee conservation program and has already been approved by the State and Council. The grant is for $1,000 and should not exceed that amount in overtime funds. Council agreed to this expenditure and Chief Thomas reassured Council that no more than the allotted amount would be used in funds. Ms. Clauss stated the next item was the elimination of the part-time police officer position. Councilmember McCormick stated that this would eliminate the PAL program and he would vote against eliminating this position. Councilmember Derr
stressed the issue of partnering with the neighbor communities such as Port Orange that has a wide range of benefits beyond what Ponce Inlet can offer and she was in agreement with eliminating the part time officer. Chief Thomas informed that the elimination of the part-time officer will cause the overtime rate to increase due to the fact that this position monitors the boat ramp, PAL, and other areas as needed. The consensus of the Council regarding the elimination of part-time police officer position was 3-2 of which Councilmember Sturno and Councilmember McCormick objected. Council agreed to not participate in the Lighthouse Flyer for $1,700. Ms. Clauss asked Ms. Yoon to address the item of Timucuan Oaks and Parks and Recreation grants. Ms. Yoon stated that the Town is required to make improvements in these two parks and that she will get the information on the requirements of these two grants and forward the information to the Council. Next
item was the continuing education expense in administrative department of $3,000 and fire department with $1,700. Council agreed to leave this expenditure in the budget. Council agreed to forego the goals workshop this year and agreed not to purchase a sign for $1,500 for the public works building. Next item was the on-call stipend for public works and Ms. Clauss explained the purpose of this stipend to assure 24/7 response to water emergencies and the total cost was $5,200 a year. Council agreed to leave this in the budget. Ms. Clauss explained the issues and reasons of why IT and record management stipends were given. Council agreed to leave this in the budget. Council agreed to eliminate the $1,000 for a new Christmas tree and to leave the expense for the flags as budgeted. Councilmember Derr stated that she would like to reduce the amount of air cards for the police department by three and one for the fire department. Mayor
Goudie asked for public participation: Don Rominack, 4545 S. Atlantic Avenue, commended the Town Council for their budget cuts and also agreed that property values will proceed on the down side, not upward for a few more years. He informed that the issues of employee benefits may be reduced in the next few years and he felt they should consider hiring an attorney in-house. He also spoke about the Davis house, informing that this project will be a huge expenditure to the Town and asked Council to reconsider and host the Fine Arts Festival. Tami Lewis, Ponce DeLeon Circle, stressed to the Council that Ms. Clauss gave them a reduced budget and before Council reduces jobs in the Town they should allow the department heads to decide what is not needed in their departments. She also stressed the need for mid-year adjustments to the budget. Tom Rutledge, 68 Beverly Hills, stated that there is inefficiency in the police department but from a leadership
stand point it is fundamentally wrong for Council to eliminate the commander position. Council has not given the department heads the chance to reduce their budgets and provide justification for what they are requesting in the budget. The same goes for the police department overtime and the part-time officer should be the call of the police chief. Margaret Ann McCormick, 94 Raines Court, asked for clarification on the events that were going to be held at Lighthouse Park and was the Council stating that there would be no events at the park? Mayor Goudie stated they had decided not to host the events in the park. Ms. Clauss added that other may continue with these and the Town has a special events application for such events; Council is simply not providing the funding for the events in the coming year.
Mayor Goudie stated that the next budget meeting is scheduled for September 10th, 2009 at 6:00 p.m.
- ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Goudie adjourned the meeting at 11:45 a.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Jeaneen P. Clauss, CMC, Interim Town Manager/Town Clerk
Prepared by: Kim Cherbano, Human Resources Technician
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