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Minutes August 8, 1995 CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 8, 1995 The Council convened into a Work Session on Tuesday, August 8, 1995 at 4:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Biles; Council Members Cott and Miller ABSENT: Council Members Brock, Krueger, and Young. City Manager Harrell stated that this was the formal start of the budget hearings. At this meeting and the next, Council would have presentations from staff providing an overview of their particular operation and how it was being impacted by the proposed budget. This was a time for Council to raise questions regarding these budgets and their proposals. The August 15th meeting would start at 4:00 p.m. with formal budget presentations until 7:00 p.m. The August 22nd meeting would schedule the public hearing regarding the proposed budget. Council Member Young joined the meeting. city Manager Harrell stated that the Council would also hear from the hotel/motel tax recipients at the August 22nd meeting. The meeting of August 29th and September 5th were devoted entirely to Council's discussion regarding the budget. September 5th would begin a preliminary budget balancing. Council Member Cott asked if the economic development discussion would be a part of the process. City Manager Harrell stated that at the next agenda, Council would have an ordinance formally approving the contract which Council had discussed. Council would also have, as part of the budget, the Utility Department contribution to the economic development effort. Council Member Miller asked if Council should only ask questions for clarification as the reports were received from staff and not go into long discussions. City Manger Harrell stated that it would be helpful if Council asked questions for clarification only and request additional information if necessary. As the budget stood today, in order to balance the budget the Council would need to either reduce expenditures by $341,000 or add revenues of that amount or a combination thereof. There was a $93,800 loss in the certified tax roll. It had been projected that the Appraisal District would not reduce the appraised value as much as they did. Two County contributions had an effect on the budget figures. There was an increase in the contribution to the library fund with an increase of $1,400 over what was projected in the budget. However, there was a loss in the County ambulance contribution of approximately ~26,279. Last ¥~a~ th~ County adopted a formula for EMS service which called for lj3 population, 1/3 for amount of territory serviced and 1/3 for the number of calls made. Last year there was a severe drop in the number of ambulance calls for the County which 277 278 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 2 drove the number down substantially. Council Member Krueger joined the meeting. City Manager Harrell stated that this might be a one year drop as the number of runs had already increased this year. Council Member Young asked what the County and the City did pertaining to the library. City Manager Harrell stated that last year the County developed a formula to fund library services in the County which remained constant for this year. The preliminary numbers for the sales tax receipts had been received. June was down $79,000 from the projected budget and July was down $143,000. The budget process would then start with a deficit of $341,000 which needed to be included in either a budget reduction in expenditures or an increase in revenue. One other unknown was the amount of rate increase in the health insurance premium. There were two remaining months of sales tax numbers which would have to be considered during the budget process. 1. The Council received reports and held discussions regarding the following budget hearings: General Government - Joseph Portugal, Assistant to the City Manager, stated that the general government administration interfaced with many other city departments. There were four major packages for this department. Those package included (1) a records management package for $1,000 for microfilming; (2) $2,580 to restore funding for the City Manager's office to attend the Texas City Manager's Association conference; (3) a laser printer for $1,680; and (4) a COG intern at $1,800. Richard Foster, Public Information officer, presented the budget for the Public Information Office. The budget reflected $28,740 to fund a citizen newsletter. Currently the newsletter was included in the three times per year Parks and Recreation brochure. This package would change the newsletter to a quarterly stand alone direct mail newsletter. At least for the next fiscal year, 75% of the total cost of the newsletter was funded by the Utilities D=purtment. This budget also inoluded $386 for a new printer. The cable television budget included a video producer/director who would be funded by a $.25 fee on cable television subscriptions. There were no other changes in the proposed budget. Council Member Krueger asked about the increase in supplies. Foster replied that that was the package for the citizen newsletter which was offset by the Utility Department. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 3 Council Member Krueger asked about the increase in services. Foster stated the supplies would be the sorting and the postage. The services included the newsletter project. Council Member Young asked if the newsletters were mailed with the utility bill. Foster stated that the proposal would have this be separate from a utility bill. It was felt that a direct mail piece would have a greater readability for the citizens rather than included with another item. City Manager Harrell stated that another concern was the comprehensive list of items which were already placed in with the utility bill. The small size of the utility bill would prohibit the size of the newsletter which could be mailed. Council Member Young felt that money could be saved by sending the newsletter with the utility bill. city Manager Harrell indicated that staff would develop information regarding that proposal. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked for a report on other types of publications and the format of those publications which the city sent out. Council Member Krueger suggested integrating Parks and Recreation brochures, library publications, etc. into one newsletter for savings. Mayor Castleberry asked about reductions in advertising which might be included in the newsletter. Council Member Krueger asked if the increase in cable television personal services was the increase of a half-time person. Foster replied correct that the position would be a full time position but only full-time for half of the year. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked if the individual would produce the television commercials for the City. Foster replied that the individual would supervise the broadcasts of the Council meetings and could help produce a weekly news program dealing with current events and issues, interviews with the council members and Drogramming for other deDartments. Council Member Krueger asked for the general resources on the revenue side. 279 28 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 4 City Manager Harrell stated that those were primarily tax funds which would be used to balance the budget. Legal - Herb Prouty, City Attorney, stated that his budget was much the same as last year. Document production was reduced due to the lack of a full staff for most of the year and it was anticipated that higher levels would be achieved during the next year. It was also anticipated that there would be more work associated with the Municipal Court of Record for the next year. Two budget changes were to continue the conversion of their law books to CD ROM which was more efficient for legal research. It also freed up space for the department. Another budget change was a request for filing cabinets for $2,230. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked about outside counsel fees. Prouty stated that outside counsel fees were reflected in the services account. The services account would be down next year. Some of funds in that account were dedicated for legal work for another department such as a rewrite of the zoning ordinance. The rest of the amount was for outside counsel for complex cases. As the Department was short staffed last year, not as many cases could be handled. That should change now that the department was full staffed. Human Resources - Tom Klinck, Director of Human Resources, reviewed the department's strategic services and major goals. Overall his 1994-95 budget would be under budget due to staff turnover. The proposed budget for his department was greater due to health insurance increases. He was requesting funding for three personal computers and for the COG Discount Plan. The budget reflected a reorganization within the division which down-graded a professional position and eliminated temporary/seasonal hours to fund an office clerical position. The budget provided for funding to implement a drug and alcohol random testing program as outlined by the Department of Transportation. The $9,000 was for three-fourths of a year as it was implemented January 1, 1995. It was anticipated that $16,000 would be needed for the program for the next fiscal year. Council Member Cott asked if any risk management had been applied to the drug te~ting item~. Klinck replied that as a result of implementing that program, there had been some improvement in risk management activities. The City was required by the Department of Transportation to test 25% of the City's 200 commercial drivers for alcohol and 50% for drugs. Council had d~termin~d to apply those same standards to all employees in safety sensitive positions. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 5 281 Council Member Young asked about funding for the JTPA Program. He also asked about benefits for half-time employees. Klinck replied that the JTPA program was funded by the Federal government through the State. The City did not budget for any funding as it was not a City program. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked about the occupational nurse position. Klinck replied that it would be a twenty hour professional services contract. The City would contract with an individual to provide the services for the City. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked where that was reflected in the budget. Klinck replied that it would be a zero cost increase paid for by the Risk Retention Fund. City Manager Harrell stated that the City had established a risk retention fund which was funded by assessments made by each operating department. These funds were used to pay law suit claims, workers compensation claims, etc. The cost involved with the occupational nurse would rollover in savings a sufficient amount on reduced workers compensation claims to pay for the cost of that allocation. Council Member Krueger suggested that a way to increase revenues might be to provide drug testing services to other entities such as the School District. Klinck replied that he had a meeting with representatives of the School District, the University of North Texas, Texas Woman's University and the State School and was in the process of putting together a coalition to provide services to those entities. Such an arrangement could also work with smaller cities for this service. Review of Proposed Compensation Package - Tom Klinck, Director of Human Resources, stated that the Council's philosophy for market analysis and adjustment was to strive to be competitive at the 50th percentile of the composite market based on actual salaries paid within the market. A survey done in the Spring of 1995 indicated that the City was behind the area market. The compensation adjustment philosophy was to compensate employees in direct relation to the value of the position and their contributions to the success of the City and their department goals and objections. The January 1994 adopted compensation matrix provided for a 4.6% average overall pay increase and 4.6% for police and fire. Council Member Miller asked for the average pay increase. 282 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 6 Klinck replied that the average increase was 4.7% but stayed under budget total. The compensation proposal for non-civil service was a 3% market adjustment to the ranges of salary and a matrix which would provide for a 4.8% average increase. Civil service was recommended for a 4.8% range adjustment for the pay ranges and schedule step increases effective January 1, 1996. Council Member Krueger stated that one factor in a salary range was once the salary was to the mid-mean point the convenience factor came into consideration. It was convenient to live in Denton rather than another city. He asked if that was figured into the mean range. Klinck replied that above the market increases were not as great as those below the market plus the evaluation was based upon performance. The benefits proposal recommended a 5% health insurance increase effective January 1, 1996 with negotiations still continuing. An item which was not recommended for funding was an increase in the retirement program. The City's retirement program was currently at 6% 2-1 match while other area cities were at 7% 2-1 match. This affected the City's ability to recruit and retain individuals in the organization. The Council convened into a Closed Meeting in the Civil Defense Room on Tuesday, August 8, 1995 at 5:30 p.m. No official action was taken. Council then returned to staff budget presentations. Municipal Judae - Sandra White, Municipal Judge, stated that the Municipal Judge's office consisted of a full-time judge, one permanent part-time judge, two assistant contract judges and one secretary. She reviewed her objectives for fiscal year 1995-96 and workload measures which were detailed in the budget manual. Changes in her budget reflected funding for services. Three packages were proposed for her budget. One package recommended for funding was to add services to pay for dues and publications dealing with employment contracts of the judges on staff. Additional costs for office supplies and books for CD ROM disks was necessary. Each judge needed his own bench book and penal code for personal use. Another package dealt with a modem for the printer for the secretary. There were other item= which were not included in th~ Judge's budget which could be discussed at another time. Council Member Cott asked for the total number of hours per week the judges were needed. White replied that ourrently the permanent part-time judge would bo working 20 hours, most of those hours would be in the evening hours. The part-time seasonal judges were on-call judges with no set schedules. city of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 7 283 Vehicles - City Manager Harrell stated that one of the major budget issues was to replace some of the City's vehicles in a fairly comprehensive way. There would be various vehicle packages in the proposed budget. Harlan Jefferson, Director of Fiscal Operations, presented the status of the City's fleet. A problem existed in that there was no current replacement schedule which could result in a safety hazard to operators and potential increased costs for maintenance. He presented overheads dealing with the average age of the fleet by department. The worst area was the Airport with the Police Department patrol area having the best replacement cycle of vehicles. Maintenance cost comparisons of the vehicles per department was also noted. Council Member Krueger asked if there was a regular scheduled maintenance program. Jefferson replied that there was a regular preventative maintenance program which was run by the Fleet Services Department for all vehicles. City Manager Harrell stated that this presentation was given to Council to provide an idea of the overall condition of the vehicle fleet. Staff felt that one problem area was that the fleet had been neglected over the years due to tight budgets. Vehicles which should have been replaced had not been replaced due to limited budgets. This report was to provide a general feel of the City's fleet condition. Jefferson stated that there was a strong relationship between the age of the vehicle and the use and the age of the vehicle and maintenance costs. He presented slides of vehicles in the fleet relative to maintenance and age. A fleet utilization study was done to evaluate the size of the fleet and appropriate use of the vehicles. Council Member Young felt that the fleet was aging and maintenance costs were high. Something needed to be done quickly in this area to update equipment. Treasury Operations - Motor Pool - Harlan Jefferson, Director of Fiscal Operations, stated that last year 32 vehicles were eliminated which generated $89,000 in revenue from the annual auction. This money was credited to the appropriate department motor pool accounts. Certificates of obligation were not issued but rather reserves were used to replace equipment. 284 city of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 8 Council Member Miller asked if interest was calculated on the use of the reserves. Jefferson replied that interest was calculated on what the charge would be on a 3 year treasury note. Council Member Young asked if the vehicles had warranties and how long were the warranties when purchased new. Jack Jarvis, Fleet Supervisor, stated that any time a vehicle was purchased the warranty was picked up from the dealership. Each warranty differed with the piece of equipment with some equipment having extended warranties available. Council Member Krueger stated that the City loaned money from the reserve to departments to purchase vehicles and then had to pay back with interest. Jefferson stated that in the past a department would purchase a vehicle from the motor pool with the funds up front. The department would have to have the capital that year to purchase the vehicle. Over the next five years the department would pay back to the motor pool for replacement of that vehicle. Because of financial constraints over the years, the lease-purchase option was considered. A large portion of the fleet capital built up in the reserve and those were the dollars which were used. Council Member Krueger stated that if there was a large reserve fund, why was lease-purchase being used. City Manager Harrell stated that a few vehicles were so expensive that there was not enough reserves from this type of program. The purchase of a snorkel would require a certificate of occupancy rather than lease-purchase. A vast majority of the vehicles would use this proposed scenario. Council Member Young stated that he had received many calls from citizens regarding taking a half a million dollar fire truck to the grocery store to purchase groceries. He felt that there should be a utility truck for that type of thing. city Manager Harrell stated that when a truck was out of the station, it still was on duty and ready to respond to a call. Customer Service - Harlan Jefferson, Director for Fiscal Operations, reviewed the work load measures and objectives in the budget manual. Major budget changes in this budget reflected an increase in postage ($5,600), a security system for $5,000, a mail extractor for $9,350, a consultant service fee for $35,000, a usage graph for utility bills for $10,000 and a curbside payment box $3,000. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 9 Council Member Biles asked about the consultant service. Jefferson replied that the consultant would help select and analyze a new customer billing system. City Manager Harrell stated that the current system could no longer be supported as the company had gone out of business. A consultant would help analyze the types of systems available. Council Member Krueger stated that the $35,000 was just for the consultant and not for the software, etc. Jefferson that the consultant would assist the City in the selection process, developing the bid specifications, etc. Council Member Krueger asked for a separate item on consulting fees in the proposed budget. Council Member Biles stated that the $35,000 appeared to be a very large amount. Jefferson replied that staff had projected what other cities had used for services. The $35,000 appeared large but if a new system was implemented and did not work correctly, there could be months of delays which would be very expensive. The downside in selecting a poor system would be very costly. City Manager Harrell asked for the cost for a new system. Jefferson replied that the purchase price of a system was approximately $750,000. City Manager Harrell stated that this showed the magnitude of the purchase for such a system. This was a utility system expenditure but was a very substantial investment. It was a crucial step to modernize the system. Treasury - Harlan Jefferson, Director of Fiscal Operations, stated that this budget indicated a change in the structure of the Finance Department personnel. It included the addition of the Risk Manager position which was moved from the Finance Administration Division. It also reflected funding for a copy machine and a contract for an occupational nurse which was funded by the Risk Retention Fund. Municipal Court - Harlan Jefferson, Director of Fiscal Operations, stated that this budget contained two packages. One was a proposal to reclassify a clerk Dosition to an Assistant Court Representative. The other package was to purchase vital records security paper with the fees for birth/death records increased slightly to cover the increased cost of the paper. 285 286 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 10 Finance Administration - Darren Asher, Administrative Assistant, presented a program description and division goals for Finance Administration as outlined in the budget manual. Major budget changes included a change in the structure of the Finance Department personnel transferring the Risk Manger position to Treasury. The budget also reflected funding for a laptop computer for the Executive Director for Finance. Council Member Biles questioned the need for a laptop. Asher stated that the laptop would provide staff access to perform financial transactions at home or away when needed. Kathy DuBose, Executive Director for Finance, stated that she did not have a computer in her office. The laptop would be her office computer and would be available to staff when needed. Purchasing - Tom Shaw, Purchasing Agent, reviewed objectives for 1995-96 as noted in the budget manual. His budget reflected funding for a personal computer and a printer for the department. Warehouse - Tom Shaw, Purchasing Agent, presented goals of the department as indicated in the budget manual. The major budget changes included funds to purchase a computer and a printer. His budget was a base line target budget. Council Member Young left the meeting. Internal Audit - Susan Croft, Internal Auditor, stated that her proposed budget reflected no major changes. She detailed objectives for her department and ways to achieve those objectives. Accountinq - Kristin Newman, Comptroller, stated that the department's baseline budget was affected by two factors. One was the reorganization of the Finance Department and the other was the separation of the budget function from the accounting function. The net effect of the adjustments left the budget the same as in prior years. Three packages were included in the proposed budget. One was for an Accounts Payable Clerk to comply with the Prompt Payable Act whioh required all ao~unt~ payable inv~i~e~ be paid within 30 days or pay 12% interest. The volume of work in this area had drastically increased with the current clerks routinely carrying a balance of 80 hours of compensatory time. This resulted in extreme burnout and heavy turnover in the department. The second package was for continuing professional education for the CPA's on staff. The third package was for a personal computer for the department. Council Member Cott asked about burnout in the department. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 11 287 Newman stated that there had been 12 people in 4 positions in the last two years. The heavy workload with heavy compensatory time provided too much stress and resulted in a large turnover. Budqet/Tax - Jon Fortune, Chief Finance Officer, stated that this was a new division this year with the budget reflecting a change in the structure of the Finance Department. This change separated the budget function from the accounting division. The Chief Finance officer and an Administrative Assistant I would be transferred from the Accounting Division. The proposed budget was requesting funding for a CD ROM and for the County Property Data software. Council Member Young returned to the meeting. Information Services Administration - Gary Collins, Director of Information Services, stated that a major goal for this department was to implement the public safety system and continue to develop long range strategic plans. The budget reflected funding for GIS maintenance. Administrative Services - Gary Collins, Director of Information Services, stated that this budget would be basically the same as last year. The budget reflected funding to reclassify the Administrative Services Representative to a Senior Secretary position. Development Services Planning Administration - Frank Robbins, Director of Planning and Development, reviewed the major division goals and objectives as noted in the budget manual. The budget reflected funding for additional overtime, the addition of a part-time secretary, the Denton Development Plan update, two uninterrupted power supplies, an add-a-stack shelving system and a Certified Local Government grant. The part-time secretary would work with neighborhood services. Mayor Pro Tem Biles questioned the $8000 listed for postage in connection with the Denton Development Plan update. Robbins replied that that was what it cost to mail to every address in Denton. That would be one notice document invitation survey to every address in Denton. Mayor Pro Tem Biles suggested placing that mailing in with the information from Richard Foster. Council Member Miller felt that a report should be prepared 288 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 12 regarding mailings from the City instead of trying to separate all of the mailings out from the budget. Buildinq Inspections - Robbins stated that there were no major changes in this budget. The budget reflected the funding for Motorola radios and the replacement of two vehicles. Main Street - Robbins indicated that this budget included $200 to pay fuel costs for the Main Street Manager to attend the Downtown Association Board meetings. Human Services Aaencv - Barbara Ross, Community Development Coordinator, stated that the Human Services budget was $900 dollars less than last year. There was a $3000 increase to Friends of the Family being recommended by the Committee, a $300 increase to RSVP, a $4,000 increase to the Denton Independent School District TTRIPS program, and two agencies not previously funded which were included this year. Those agencies were Interfaith Ministries for $7500 and Campfire First Texas Council at $3300. Drainaqe Howard Martin, Director of Environmental Services, stated that the proposed drainage budget was $38,000 more than last year. This included three packages for barrow ditch and culvert cleaning maintenance which included a grade-all and pickup truck, a customer demand response package and a street sweeper. Other packages which were proposed but not recommended for funding included a light equipment operator, a small construction project on East McKinney, special services money and a Bent Oaks Project. Council Member Young asked how many street sweepers the City had. Martin replied one with a long period of down time. Council Member Young felt that one sweeper was not adequate for the size of Denton. Council Member Cott asked about the Bent Oaks project. Martin ~eplied that Bent Oaks was one of the projects which was not recommended for funding. Council Member Cott felt that the drainage for Bent Oaks needed to be considered. Council Member Krueger asked why drainage was funded ou~ of General Fund. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 13 City Manager Harrell stated that the only item in which a specific transfer of money was made into a department was if that department gave direct service to either the electric, water, wastewater or solid waste function. Administrative functions such as Finance or Legal provided direct services to the utility system and therefore they receive an administrative transfer to the general fund. Utilities Bob Nelson, Executive Director of Utilities, presented an overview of the utility issues. Electric - Significant changes included the electric loss of power sale to College Station with a net revenue of $1.4 million; a reduction in the TMPA rate with a total net reduction to Denton of $1.35 million; 40 million additional KWH sales next year with a net increase of $800,000 to $900,000; converting University Drive to an underground line with a capital cost of $1.2 million; holding the rates steady for the next five years with a proposal to lower the rates to mid-sized commercial customers to a 3.9% reduction in 1996; the use of reserves after the year 2000 to pay expected higher TMPA rates. Water - Items of significance included the elimination of the Water Director position; setting aside $100,000 to paint the water tower in 1997; a proposed rate increase of approximately 2%; modest rate increases of 2.5% to 5% over the next five years to prepare for the additional $2.1 million/ year for the Lake Ray Roberts debt service payments and prepare for the new Ray Roberts water plant in 2003 to 2005; a proposed water tower in southwest Denton with a total cost of $3.5 million with $1.16 million funded from bond funds in 1996. Wastewater - the Wastewater Department owed the Electric Department $5 million and it was proposed to repay the Electric Department $1 million in 1996 vs. the $500,000 in 1995 to have it repaid by the year 2000; a wastewater treatment plant addition would be needed by the year 2000; the budget proposed a rate increase of 2%; the rate increase strategy over the years consisted of 2% to 4% to the year 2000 to provide for a wastewater plant addition; repair the three Hickory Creek sewer line crossings for $400,000; major sewer line bond projects in 1996 included the relocating of the sewer line on University Drive for $816,000 and Cooper Creek Line repair. Solid Waste - construction of the new landfill by 1997 was a major goal for the Solid Waste Department for the coming fiscal year. Also included in the goals was the development of recycling programs, an intermediate processing center in 1998, ramping rates to a~mm~dat~ th~ ~o~t~ of th~ landfill by 1997 and 1998. The dumpster rates would also be revised. 289 29O City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 14 Economic Development Fundinq - the total funding proposed for economic development within all utility departments was $178,250. The base funding for the Denton Chamber partnership program was $85,000 with challenge funding of $28,250 with the other four utilities in the city. The internal City economic development office would receive $10,000, the North Texas Commission membership was $5,000 for a total economic development package of $128,000 which was the equivalent of 1/$th of 1% of the gross revenues of the electric, water, wastewater and solid waste departments. The Public Utilities Board recommended funding the Denton Awareness advertising program at $50,000. The following were the rate changes which were programmed into the proposed budget: Electric - 0% increase except for a 3.9% decrease for small commercial customers. Water - 2% increase on retail and a 2.4% increase on wholesale. Wastewater - 2% increase on retail and a 2.1% increase wholesale. Solid Waste - 8.3% increase on residential or an increase from $12.00 to $13.00/month; a 9.1% increase in commercial with a 12% increase on dumpsters, 2% on open top, 4.1% compactor, and landfill from $6.00 to $7.00 for city customers. The average residential utility bill increase would be $2.01 or 1.5%. Council Member Young asked if the $100,000 was just to paint one water tower. Nelson replied correct. Council Member Young asked to allow students to prepare the design when the time came to paint the water towers. Nelson stated that it cost $60-100,000 more to paint designs on the water towers. The $600,000 total cost did not paint any designs on the tower. Regarding the utility billing system $300,000 was budgeted in the Eleotrio Department's speoial service~ budget to help pay for a new customer information system which was in addition to the $35,000 in the Customer Service budget. That would not pay for a complete system and it might take two years to implement such a system. Electric - Jim Harder, Director of Electric Utility, stated that when the budget was prepared, it was uncertain about what would happen with the TMPA rate to the City. The budget was prepared based upon the rate staying the same. TMPA decided to drop the rate City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 15 by $1.25 per KW. The balance of revenue did not reflect the 3.9% reduction in the small commercial rate. On the expenditure side, the load would be increased by 47 million KW hours which added approximately $900,000 to the expenses. Production expenses would increase by $600,000. The overhead and underground services would increase due to the $1.9 million capital project for University Drive. Operation and dispatch would be a separate division for those expenses. Substations would increase $107,000 due to new substation breakers which were replaced at two substations. Customer information would be adding a new position of a full-time administrative assistant to assist with a quarterly newsletter for the new customer packet. The demand management reduction was due to an analysis of several programs which indicated that the net payback was not as much as hoped. Communication was adding a part- time clerk. The Administration budget was increasing due to the partial funding of a customer information system, an administrative transfer for city Hall renovation and the Chamber of Commerce economic development effort. Water - Howard Martin, Director of Environmental Services, stated that the Water Department would increase its budget for the next year of $331,000. The Water Administration budget would have a decrease as the position of Director of Water Operations and Engineering had been deleted with Martin's salary being split among three budgets. A dispatcher would be transferred to the Electric Dispatching operation and it was proposed to reclassify the Financial Analyst to a Rate Administrator. There were increased expenses due to the Lillian Miller pipeline payment to the Upper Trinity Regional Water Distract. There was also approximately $15,000 included in this budget for economic development. In the Water Production budget there would be an increase from $5.2 million to $5.4 million due to the higher Ray Roberts water supply costs and higher well demolition costs. The services budget included $90,000 for well demolition that would be expended out of a reserve account that had been set up for this purpose. The supply budget increases were due to higher chemical prices and treatment volumes. Water Distribution increases were due to the transfer of vehicles into Water Field Services from Wastewater Field Services. The services budget increases were due to higher motor pool payments for vehicle replacement. Water metering would have a higher maintenance budget due to higher warehouse materials expense. Highlights of the Water Engineering budget included a Senior Engineer position which would be added to work at Denton West for "One Stop Shopping"; the Manager of Construction Project position was transferred in from the Solid Waste Department; Special Services were increased for a Hansen Workorder Maintenance System in Water; and additional Special Service funds were added for a water distribution ~y~tem model conversion to cybernet program. The Water Lab would experience increased maintenance costs due to the purchase of a maintenance agreement for the Atom Absorption Spectrometer. Miscellaneous transfers included $200,000 291 292 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 16 from the Water Department to the Wastewater Department for the treatment of water plant sledges. The Electric Operation had always done the meter reading and this year $238,000 would be transferred to the electric operation for meter reading. City Manager Harrell stated that there was a dollar amount programmed into the budget this year for the impact fee study. There was a like amount in sewer and water to do the engineering work for the impact fees. Last year during the budget process, it was decided to wait until the outcome of the Vision Project. In the next month Council would be considering the contracts to obligate those funds. Council Member Cott felt that all funds for Vision were going to go through the General Fund, be part of a bond issue or not get funded until next year. City Manager Harrell stated that last year during the budget deliberations, Council placed $100,000 in the budget for engineering work with front end studies to be done and the Council to decide whether to proceed with the impact fees. Staff delayed bringing the proposal forward for formal contractual approval until the first stage of the Vision project was done. That had now been completed and therefore, a decision the Council made a year ago would now come to Council for contractual compliance. Council Member Cott stated that he had a problem with anything which went after the budget was approved because then the budget would not have any integrity. Council Member Miller stated that Council approved this last year and could have gone ahead with the study but decided to wait until the Vision process was completed. Vision did not drive this issue. This was something the Council decided to do. Council Member Cott stated that the individuals connected with the Vision project were not elected and the Council was elected to watch the money for the citizens of Denton. As long as the Vision project came through before the Council decided on the budget, he might not have a problem with it. If it came in after the budget was finalized, he would have a problem with that process. Council Member Young stated that there was a problem with East Prairie Street sewer lines and asked if there was any money to fix that problem. Martin replied that there was no specific capital programs for East Prairie between Morrison Milling and Bradshaw. He could look though the Capital Program to see if there might be some funds to do such a program. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 17 Wastewate~ - Martin stated that there was a personnel change in the Wastewater Administration budget to include one third of his salary in this department. One reclassification was proposed to change an Administrative Assistant II to a Financial Analyst. The budget also included funding for economic development. The Wastewater Treatment Plant supply expenses were increased due to higher chemical costs with the services budget increased due to special services expenses for the clean out of the secondary anaerobic digester. Fixed assets were increased due to the upgrade of two lift stations. The Wastewater Collection budget was increased due to the service provided by the Engineering and Transportation Departments. Added motor pool expenses would also increase this budget with the purchase of a flushing truck. Wastewater Engineering had an Engineering Technician II position added for technical support to other divisions. The Wastewater Lab had an increase in personal services due to the addition of a new Laboratory Supervisor position. The maintenance budget increased to support a maintenance contract on the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Industrial Pretreatment had an increase in services due to the cost necessary to cover the analytical testing for six additional landfill monitoring wells. There would be a transfer of $1 million to the Electric Department to help reduce the $5 million debt. Additional transfers would be made to the Electric Department for meter reads, turn ons and turn offs. Solid Waste - Martin indicated that the Superintendent of Solid Waste was transferred into this budget from the Residential Division and reclassified at one grade higher. The Administrative Secretary position was reclassified to a Senior Secretary. Also, funding for the Director of Environmental Services was decreased from one-half to one-third. In the Residential Division, the personal services was decreased because the Superintendent of Solid Waste was transferred to the administrative budget. Service costs increased due to higher motor pool payments for vehicles and equipment in 1995 and 1996. The Commercial Division reflected a service budget increase due to higher motor pool payments for vehicle replacements. The Landfill budget personal services category had a decrease because the Manager of Construction Projects position was transferred to the Water Engineering Division. The services budget increased due to the purchase of a used scraper vehicle. The proposed budget for recycling increased due primarily to the new or expanded cardboard processing, woodwaste grinding and other new Solid Waste Master Plan programs. A majority of the increase was reflected in the services area and related to motor pool payments for vehicles and equipment. The budget also reflected the addition of a temporary Maintenance Worker II position. Council Member Krueger asked about the increase in the solid waste recycling budget. 293 2 .9 4City of Denton City Council Minutes August 8, 1995 Page 18 Martin replied that it included three packages for cardboard processing with associated revenues, an upsizing of the current grinder for woodwaste and various elements of Master Plan. $75,000 of the Master Plan was incorporated into the residential collection budget for curbside containers. Not all of the Master Plan money was recycling. Council Member Krueger asked how much of the increase was for the cardboard processing, the upsizing, etc. Martin replied that the cardboard expense was $56,000, the upsizing of the wood grinder was $61,000, and the Master Plan was.S250,000. Council Member Krueger stated that when the different configurations for curbside pickup was discussed at the Planning Session, it was mentioned that staff was exploring partnership possibilities with the private sector. Martin stated that the following day he would be meeting with a private entity to discuss a proposal they submitted to the City regarding this issue. Staff had had conversations with two different companies and had visited the facility of a third company. All of these firms had been sent copies of the Master Plan and were aware of what the City was trying to accomplish. Council Member Krueger asked if this could be a key to increased revenue with such a partnership. Martin replied yes. The City could benefit from a firm's processing and marketing experience and they could benefit from the City's collection experience. Earl Crews, Budget Rate Analyst, presented the proposed utility rates and the methodology for calculation. Fleet Services - Jack Jarvis, Fleet Superintendent, stated that this department provided vehicle services for all the equipment within the City. This department was an internally funded operation and the proposed budget for the next fiscal year was approximately the same as last year. with no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 p.m. ~NNIFE~A-LTERS ~CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DRNTON, TEXAS CITY OF DENTON~ TEXA~ ACCOO2AC /