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Minutes July 02, 1991180 CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JULY 2, 1991 The Council convened into the Work Session at 5:15 p.m. in the Civil Defense Room. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Hopkins; Council Members Alexander, Chew, Perry, Smith and Trent. ABSENT: None 1. The Council convened into the Executive Session to discuss legal matters (considered claim of Michael Wilson and considered action in Patel v. City), real estate, and personnel/board appointments (considered appointments to all City of Denton Boards, Commissions and Task Forces.) 2. The Council held a discussion and considered the Major Budget Issues Report. Lloyd Harrell, City Manager, stated that the purpose of the report was to highlight the major issues affecting the presentation of the 1991-92 budget that would be submitted Council by the end of July. It also divided the budget into two parts - the macro and micro items. The major budget items represented the macro budget items. The macro budget items were those major issues that made a difference in the direction for the community for the next few years. The micro budget items were the details of the budget which included wise use of funds in the department's budgets. The Council was faced with difficult financial impacts because of flat assessed property valuation, limited sales tax revenue growth and other revenue sources not keeping pace with current service level expenditures. In addition, the 1991-92 budget would be the first year to experience the impact of the Freeport Amendment which decreased the amount of available assessed property. The draft proposed budget was established with the continuing philosophy of retaining the City's fiscal integrity, while keeping current levels of services. Detailed back-up information was included in the agenda materials and can be found in the agenda packet information. The following represents a summary of that information. Major Issues - General Fund 1. General Fund Reserve - the adopted goal of Council had been to maintain this balance between 8% - 10% of General Fund expenditures. Staff was recommending utilizing $550,000 of the unreserved balance in order to help balance the 1991-92 budget. This would reduce the projected unreserved balance to 10.88% of the total expenditures. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 2 181 2. Fire Station #6 - It was anticipated that the opening of the station would be in October 1992. New employees would be hired by April 1992 to allow for adequate training prior to the opening of the station. Staff was recommending the option to allocate $190,000 for 1991-92 which allowed for the hiring of eight fir,fighters in April. In addition, staff would recommend the appointment of a citizen committee to work with Council to decide which station (#1 of #3) would be closed when Station #6 was opened, what location was appropriate for the relocation station, and what future use should be made of Stations #1 and #3. Due to a time constraint, this item was continued during "Miscellaneous Matters from the City Manager". 3. Presentation and discussion of the Capital Improvement Program. This item was considered during the Regular Session. The Council convened into the Regular Session at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Council Members Perry, Smith and Trent. ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Hopkins: Council Members Alexander and Chew Pledge of Allegiance The Council and members of the audience recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Consent Agenda Mayor Pro Hopkins joined the meeting. Perry motioned, Smith seconded to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Council Member Trent stated that the base price of the unit was $39,140. The final price of the unit was $88,000. He asked what caused the increase in the price. Council Members Alexander and Chew joined the meeting. Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Ut{lltles, stated that the unit was used to determine metals in wast,water. The added features would assist in automatic testing which would reduce labor costs. 18'2 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 3 Howard Martin, Director - Environmental Operations and Financial Administration, stated that the basic unit would not detect levels of metals in water. The basic unit would work for sludge but the levels were harder to analyze in water. Other improvements to the basic unit would reduce set-up time and allow a degree of automation which would release the lab technician to do other types of testing. Council Member Trent asked if this unit could be used with other agencies. Martin replied that prior Council response was that the City testing samples for other cities in the area would be in direct competition with private laboratories and Council did not want that done. It could be done if the Council so desired. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. A. Bids and Purchase Orders: 1. Bid ~1256 - Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer 3. Ordinances A. The Council considered adoption of an ordinance accepting competitive bids and providing for the award of contracts for the purchase of materials, equipment, supplies or services. (2.A.1. - Bid ~1256) The following ordinance was considered: NO. 91-095 AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING A COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSAL AND AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES OR SERVICES; PROVIDING FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS THEREFORE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Hopkins motioned, Trent seconded to adopt the ordinance. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. B. The Council considered adoption of an ordinance prohibiting the parking of vehicles on both sides of West Oak Street, from Bonnie Brae Street to Interstate Highway 35; providing a severability clause; and providing a penalty not to exceed two hundred dollars. (The Citizens Traffic Safety Support Commission recommended approval.) City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 4 Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that West Oak had recently been redone into a four lane divided facility. Parking had been occurring in the multi-family areas. There had been a request from one of the owners of the multi-family units to remove the parking. The other owners had been contacted and there was no one in opposition. The following ordinance was considered: NO. 91-096 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, PROHIBITING THE PARKING OF VEHICLES ON BOTH SIDES OF WEST OAK STREET, FROM BONNIE BRAE STREET TO INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 35: PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE: PROVIDING A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chew motioned, Alexander seconded to adopt the ordinance. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. C. The Council considered adoption of an ordinance amending the interim wastewater disposal contract between the City of Denton and the City of Argyle extending the contract term to January 1, 1992. (The Public Utilities Board recommended approval.) Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that this was the second extension of the original contract which was approved by Council in 1989. The contract 'provided wastewater treatment services, for the Argyle Independent School District while the Argyle wastewater source main project was being constructed. Argyle was unable to complete the wastewater force main as originally scheduled because of project delays. The second extension expired on June 30, 1991 and the proposed extension would expire on January 1, 1992. The following ordinance was considered: NO. 91-097 AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF DENTON AND THE CITY OF ARGYLE PROVIDING FOR INTERIM WASTEWATER DISPOSAL SERVICES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chew motioned, Trent seconded to adopt the ordinance. On roll vote. Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." MotioB carried unanimously. 183 18'4 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 5 D. The Council considered adoption of an ordinance authorizing the Mayor to execute a contract with Carl G. Mycoff and Associates for executive search consulting services for recruitment and placement of a Director of Electric Utilities. Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that staff was recommending retaining the firm because of its expertise and understanding of national utility operations, knowledge of the City,s electric utility operations, and a proven track record with the City. Council Member Trent asked if there was anyone in-house who could be considered for the position. Nelson replied that there was no in-house candidate with the expertise needed to fill the position. The following ordinance was considered: NO. 91-098 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF DENTON AND MYCOFF AND ASSOCIATES, INC. RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SEARCH SERVICES; AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS THEREFOR: AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chew motioned, Perry seconded to adopt the ordinance. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. E. The council considered adoption of an ordinance prohibiting parking in certain public cemeteries except for cemetery related purposes: and providing for a maximum penalty of $200 for violations thereof. Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that the ordinance had been as a result of a request from Council Member Chew. There had been problems in the Oakwood Cemetery with parking during athletic events. Currently there was no ordinance which restricted parking in the cemeteries and the proposed ordinance would give police officers the ability to control the parking. The following ordinance was considered: City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 6 NO. 91-099 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, PROHIBITING PARKING IN CERTAIN PUBLIC CEMETERIES EXCEPT FOR CEMETERY RELATED PURPOSES; PROVIDING FOR A MAXIMUM PENALTY OF $200.00 FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF: AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chew motioned, Perry seconded to adopt the ordinance. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. 4. Resolutions A. The Council considered approval of a resolution approving the Capital Improvement Plan proposed by the Planning and Zoning Commission. (The Planning and Zoning Commission and the Public Utilities Board recommended approval.) City Manager Harrell stated that the City Charter required the Planning and Zoning Commission to submit to the City Manager, a proposed capital improvements program which was then filed with the City Council. The plan did not commit the City to any specific capital projects as the necessary funding mechanisms must be adopted each year to pay for the improvements. Detailed information concerning the plan was submitted for agenda back-up and can be located in the agenda packet materials, Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, presented the Water Utility projects. Major projects would include an addition of a ten million gallon per day water treatment plant and water transmission line, one booster station and 3 million gallon capacity ground storage, one two million gallon elevated storage tank, upgrade of miscellaneous water lines and development plan water lines. Ernie Tullos, Director Electric Utilities, presented the Electric Department projects. Major projects included a booster substation, central dispatch facility, gas pipe line, over to under conversion, and a gas turbine generating unit. Howard Martin, Director - Environmental Operations and Financial Administration, presented the Wastewater Utility projects which included improvements to the wastewater treatment plant, collection system upgrade, sewer line replacements, development plan lines and mobile eguipment. 185 8:6 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 7 Bill Angelo, Director-Community Services, stated major projects for Community Services included communications equipment, computer equipment, office support equipment, mobile equipment and bond issues. John McGrane, Executive Director for Finance, presented the General Government projects which included engineering, planning, drainage and airport projects for the years 1991-1996. Mayor Pro Tem Hopkins expressed a concern with the language of the resolution. She wanted to make sure it did not limit Council or require Council to make the recommended expenditures. City Manager Harrell stated that there were two steps required to initiate the projects. First, the projects needed to be in an adopted budget or a voter approved bond project and second, the Council would have to approve the bids in order to do the project. The following resolution was considered: NO. R91-039 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROPOSED BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION: AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Perry motioned, Alexander seconded to approve the resolution. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. B. The Council considered approval of a resolution adopting a personnel policy relating to Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation. City Manager Harrell stated that the most important portion of the policy dealt with the testing element. Testing would be done for finalists for all City positions, reasonable suspicion of employees, and safety sensitive promotions. Tom Klinck, Director of Personnel, stated that this policy would provide the tool for a dru~-free work place. Mayor Pro Tem Hopkins stated that she would like to see a change in a portion of the policy prohibiting literature supportive of, instructive or, or advocating illegal drug or substance use. It was felt that deletion of that phrase would strengthen the City's legal position of the policy. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 8 187 The following resolution was considered: NO. R91-040 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A PERSONNEL POLICY RELATING TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND REHABILITATION: AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Hopkins motioned, Chew seconded approving the resolution with a deletion of I.A.3. "and literature supportive of, instructive or, or advocating illegal drug or substance use" on page 2 of 12. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye." Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. C. The Council considered approval of a resolution adopting an Investigation and Inspection Policy. Tom Klinck, Director of Personnel. stated that this was a companion policy with the previous policy. It assisted managers and supervisors in searches of City property, facilities, and equipment when employee misconduct was suspected. It also provided for the normal gathering of information in City facilities. The following resolution was considered: NO. R91-041 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS ADOPTING AN INVESTIGATION AND INSPECTION POLICY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Alexander motioned, Trent seconded to approve the resolution. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. D. The Council considered approval of a resolution adopting a personnel policy relating to a Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace Tom Klinck, Director of Personnel, stated that this resolution would change the Drug Free Workplace Policy to the Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace policy to include the prohibition of alcohol use in the work environment as required by recent legislative changes. 188 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 9 The following resolution was considered: NO. R91-042 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A PERSONNEL POLICY RELATING TO A DRUG AND ALCOHOL FREE WORKPLACE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Perry motioned, Trent seconded to approve the resolution. On roll vote, Trent "aye," Alexander "aye," Hopkins "aye," Smith "aye," Chew "aye," Perry "aye," and Mayor Castleberry "aye." Motion carried unanimously. E. The Council was to consider approval of a resolution authorizing Amendment No. 2 to the Airport Commercial Operator Lease Agreement between the City of Denton and Fox-51 Limited. (The Airport Advisory Board recommended approval.) This item was removed from the agenda. 5. Miscellaneous matters from the City Manager. City Manager Harrell continued with the Major Budget Issues Report. 3. Ambulance placement at fire stations - the current budget allocated $42,804 to upgrade all of the reserve ambulances to front line ambulances and to purchase one additional ambulance. Staff was recommending that the ambulance upgrade and purchase be approved so that this important community service could be enhanced. 4. Demolition of substandard structures - the City's current program for demolition was funded primarily from Community Development Block Grant funds. The $15,000 allocated would demolish between 15 and 20 structures depending on size and construction of the structures. The proposed budget allocated $15,000 from the General Fund to allow for the demolition of another 15 to 20 structures. 5. Pay plan implementation - in 1989 the City hired the consulting firm of Mercer Meidinger Hansen, Inc. to review and make recommendations regarding its compensation plan. The recommended philosophy from the study would be to manage a compensation plan around the mid-point or "market" range. Staff was recommending that a phased program be established to fully implement the plan and that all positions falling below the minimum level be brought up to that level in the 1991-92 budget effective January 1, 1992. City of Denton City Council Mihutes JUlY 2, 1991 Page 10 6. Salary adjustments the Mercer study also recommended that the City revise its formal pay plan by eliminating step increases and across the board market adjustment increases. In place of these two increases, City employees would receive an annual increase based on performance. Staff was recommending to give a 3% salary adjustment effective no later than January 1, 1992. Any employee who received a compensation increase of more than 3% because of a reclassification would not be eligible for this group performance payment. The individual pay for performance plan would be fully implemented in 1992-93. Council Member Alexander stated that he was not sure he was in favor of not allowing a reclassified person to receive the 3% general adjustment. City Manager Harrell replied that some employees who were reclassified would receive a large increase and staff was trying to give everyone at least a 3% increase. 7. Benefits adjustments - the benefits adjustment that was in the proposed 1992 budget was for health insurance increases. Staff was recommending that the health insurance increase for the employee be funded. 8. Revenues A. Property Tax due to the granting of the Freeport Amendment and the minimal growth in the preliminary tax roll assessed valuation, staff was recommending an increase of either $.03 or $.04 per $100 valuation. A $.03 increase would result in a tax rate of $.6851 per $100 valuation and would allow for the replacement of lost Freeport Exemption revenues and help fund a minimal increase to help offset the marginal assessed valuation growth and fund a minimal building repair program. A $.04 increase ($.6951) would allow flexibility to improve operations in the critical areas cited above. B. Sales Tax - until a trend could be established to determine if the local economy was accelerating its growth rate, staff was recommending a 2% growth projection. C. Other Revenues - staff was recommending a variety of increases in fines and fees as noted in the back-up. 9. Positions - the only new positions recommended for the 1991-92 budget were eight firefighters associated with the opening of Station Six. In addition, three positions were recommended for elimination - Quest Coordinator, Engineering Technician I and Engineering Technician II. 189 190 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 11 10. Other agency contributions A. Human Services - staff's recommendation was that because of the extremely tight budget, funding should be at the current year level of $115,600. Per the request of the Human Services Committee, that Committee should be asked to reallocate these funds among the various agencies. The Committee should be requested to follow Council policy and not recommend funding for health related agencies. B. Transportation - the proposed budget provided funding for SPAN and HandiHop at the same funding level as the current budget of $46,000. SPAN had requested that funding be increased for 1991-92 by $16~000. 11. Tax exemptions for persons over 65 - since the 1988-89 budget, the Council had agreed to establish a goal of raising the exemption to $25,000. The current exemption was $19,000 and staff was recommending a $1,000 increase in the. exemption for the 1991-92 fiscal year. 12. Split tax payments - staff was recommending the elimination of the split tax payment option as elderly homeowners now had the option of making quarterly payment and the majority of users of the option were businesses and not homeowners as originally designed. 13. Street Improvements - Council budget questionnaire indicated that street maintenance and street construction was a top priority of the Council. Staff recommended maintaining the current budget allocation and to seriously investigate calling a street bond election by January 1, 1992. 14. Building improvements _ because of the critical building improvement needs and in recognition of limited resources, staff recommended that 1/4 of $.01 tax increase be allocated for debt service on Certificates of Obligation. 15. Take Home Vehicle Program - staff was recommending that this program be continued as the maintenance costs of this program were essentially the same as a fleet system and any other costs savings were minimal when compared with the other benefits that the City received. 16. Recreation program funding - a review of the recreation program fund was included in the back-up materials per a request from Council. 17. Internal auditor - as no new positions were being recommended in the 1991-92 budget other than the required fire fighters for Station Six, staff was committed to alternative ways of accomplishing internal audit services. A proposed plan would be brought to Council at a future meeting. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 12 Major Issues - Utilities The proposed Utility Operations Budget for 1991-92 allocated total revenues of $86,132,000 and expenditures of $84,911,832. The revenues were based on a 3% reduction in electric rates, a 10% increase in water rates and a 15% increase in wastewater rates. The net amount of these rate changes would increase an average residential customer's monthly utility bill by slightly more than $4. In the Wastewater Department two Pretreatment Program Inspector positions were being proposed to assist with new industrial pretreatment regulatory requirements. Major changes in the Sanitation budget involved the City becoming the sole provider of solid waste services. That would require the purchase of 2 additional trucks, 37 compactors, 734 dumpsters, and 2 commercial driver positions. All of that was included in the proposed budget. There was no rate increase proposed in the 1991-92 budget for residential or commercial services but a 15% rate increase was proposed at the landfill. A supplemental package dealing with curbside recycling was proposed. The Public Utilities Board felt that curbside recycling was a policy decision that should be determined by the Council. The baseline budget included funds to continue a pilot curbside recycling project. In addition to the two commercial driver positions, two additional laborer positions in residential solid waste were being proposed. 6. There was no official action taken on Executive Session items discussed during the Work Session Executive Session. 7. New Business The following item of New Business was suggested by Council for future agendas: A. Council Member Trent asked for an update on the collection rate for ambulance services. 8. The Council convened into the Executive Session to discuss legal matters (considered claim of Michael Wilson and considered action in Patel v. City), real estate, and personnel/board appointments (considered appointments to all City of Denton Boards, Commissions and Task Forces.) 191 192 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 2, 1991 Page 13 No official action was taken. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. CIT~ SEORETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BOB CASTLEBERRY, MAYOR/ CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS/ / 3410C