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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council Workshop - Minutes - 11/03/1998 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES i November 3, 1998 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Leona Orr, Chair, Sandy Amodt, Tom Brotherton, Tim Clark, Connie Epperly, Judy Woods, Rico Yingling STAFF PRESENT: Mayor Jim White, May Miller, Brent McFall, Don Wickstrom, Cliff Craig, Michael Sigsbee,Pete Petersen, John Hodgson, Jana King, Lori Flemm, Dena Laurent, Lori Hogan, Greg Markley, Roger Lubovich, Charlie Lindsey, Rick Weiss PUBLIC PRESENT: Christopher Taute, Riversdale, South Africa The meeting was called to order by Chair Leona Orr at 5:03PM. Approval of Minutes of October 6, 1998 Committee Member, Connie Epperly, moved to approve the minutes of October 6, 1998. The motion was seconded and carried 7-0. 1999 Preliminary Budget Overview Mayor Jim White presented his proposed Operating and Capital Budget for 1999. Mayor White said the City strives to continue its commitment to effective and efficient management of resources and to consistently deliver high quality municipal services to its customers. He said Kent continues to have a positive revenue picture. The proposed 1999 Budget totals $123,814,305 of which $53,699,564 is in the General Fund. The Budget complies with maintaining a 10% strategic reserve in the General Fund and the Capital Improvement Program, and it complies with Referendum 47 by limiting property tax collections to 0.85%. Pending final assessed value figures from King County, this results in an estimated property tax reduction of 16.5 cents per$1,000 of assessed value. The budget requires no increase in fees for services except for a proposed adjustment in planning and zoning fees. Mayor White stated his pride in a budget which proposes to address specific areas of need in the City while maintaining a fiscally conservative position. The City of Kent is a rapidly growing and changing city (Population has grown from approximately 40,000 to nearly 70,000 in just a few years), and growth has placed tremendous demands upon the resources and staff. The 1999 Budget proposes the addition of over 43 new staff positions in order to maintain the capacity of service. Of these new positions, 27.8 are in the General Fund and the balance is spread throughout a variety of other funds. The Mayor talked about maintaining the current quality and scope of services, but also incorporating new initiatives to enhance current programs. He is proposing a comprehensive economic development program that will focus on assisting businesses in their efforts to relocate or expand in Kent. Employee Services will be expanding city-wide training programs that will include the Kent Management Training Academy for supervisors, work place violence training, and diversity training for City employees. Also proposed is the development of performance measures for key city services and the tracking of performance. In the Planning Department, a project will be undertaken to study and plan for transit- oriented development around the Sound Transit Commuter Rail Station. The proposed Performing Arts Center fund-raising project will benefit from a temporary position that will work with the non- profit group undertaking the effort. • In Transportation, current projects will be continued and road widening projects undertaken. $75,000 has been budgeted for Neighborhood Traffic Control physical improvements and the City will finance a share of the new commuter rail parking garage. Public Safety will be enhanced by new mobile data terminals, the Corrections Facility will receive renovation, and the purchase is balance for Fire Station#75 will be financed. In the Parks Department, there will be expansion and addition of city parks and funding for Gateway Projects called for in the Downtown Strategic Plan. Major sewer system, flood control, and water supply projects will also be undertaken. Finance Director, May Miller, explained the layout of the budget document. Ms. Miller said the Summary Ordinance pages show all the revenue sources in each different fund of the City. Each fund has its own rules on how money can be spent. The operating portion of the budget, which includes all capital projects and the utility budget, is up about 10%. Capital is up from $15,000,000 to $29,000,000. Ms. Miller said that when the whole City picture is taken together, taxes are a smaller rate percentage, Transfer, Capital, and Debt Service goes way up, and 41% expenditure by object, salaries, and benefits is not a high percentage. The biggest portion of the budget goes to Public Works and Public Safety. Public Works is the largest program and consists primarily of the corridor projects and water drainage. The Capital Improvement Program shows Planned Debt Financing of$211,000,000. The General Fund section shows all the operating budgets of the different departments and the general expenditures. Special Revenues are special funds that have additional rules on how the money can be spent. They are kept separate to make sure the money is spent for its considered purpose. The Street Fund, Youth/Teen Tax, the Capital Improvement Fund, Criminal Justice Fund, Environmental Mitigation Fund, Community Development, Block Grant, and Other Operating Projects Fund are all included in the Special Revenues. The debt section shows all the general government debt, whether it is Voted, Councilmanic, or Special Assessment, and what the interest rate was when issued. The Capital Projects Fund lists every capital project such as streets, parks, and other projects. This is where the money is actually spent as it's transferred from tax money and the CIP to the individual Funds. The Enterprise Fund section covers pay to the meter readers and some of the utility clerical staff. It clears the money and charges it back to utilities. The Golf Course Fund has been updated with the rate increase that was proposed. Internal Service Funds are Fleet funds allocated out to all the departments with the fleet vehicle charged back. Fire equipment covers the central service of postage,printing information, service charges, facilities, buildings, insurance, etc. Trust and Agency is the special Firemen's Relief and Pension Fund that's been in place since 1965. It is a required fund and there are still some people eligible to go out on pension in that fund. A study showed that the interest from the money in the fund pays the pensions of the individuals participating. The Economic Development Fund collects fees for economic bonds that have been issued and a small amount of money comes into it each year. The Statistics section covers Property Tax Data and shows what the City's assessed valuations are. Ms. Miller said the next year's taxes are always based on the previous year's assessed valuation. Also shown is the General Fund rates of property tax and the debt service, which are both special voted issues. Ms. Miller said the City is taking a very conservative picture by using the Implicit Price Deflator of 0.85%. The 2%x% CPI and Growth of 1.9% is assumed, and there is no • economical growth. A super-majority vote of the Council can overrule the 0.85%, and the City could actually go to 6% with a super-majority overrule. The 6%would still bring a very low or probably even reduced tax rate and would add another $845,000 to the budget for the general fund. If the percentage were 3%,that would add $353,000. The property tax to an owner on a$150,000 house would be $432 at the 0.85% bill. At 3%, it would go up to $441, and at the full 6%the tax would be $453. Ms. Miller said new construction Property Tax money is coming in and will give • the City another$241,000. The Del Mar and Meridian Valley annexations add $1,259,000. The amount of Sales Tax to be collected has been reduced as one-time-only projects will not continue to generate revenue next year. Overall, the revenue picture runs about 3 %x - 6% depending on the categories. All the funds are balanced. The reserve is at 10%, and to keep it there, as a higher expenditure is budgeted, a higher reserve must be budgeted. In 1990, the Fund balance was $1,500,000. In 1992 there was an economic downturn and the Fund went down to $500,000. Each year since it has been built to keep it at a 10%reserve. There is money in the general fund and also in the capital fund. The City pre-funds its fire equipment and is self-insured for health insurance. Ms. Miller said both of those funds have a good balance and they are actuarially sound. Rates have stayed the same in health insurance for the last 10 years. Council President, Leona Orr, asked if the new positions would be phased in, if they were budgeted for a full year or a partial year. Ms. Miller said that most of them are budgeted for the full year, however, Police, Fire, and the Finance position are phased. 100% of the money is not budgeted this year, but the positions are included in anticipation of when they will be hired. Ms. Orr asked for information on the overtime budget, what was spent this year and what is anticipated for next year. Ms. Miller said the City did increase some overtime in the base plan. Committee Member, Rico Yingling, asked if there were worksheets or documents that would show how the Target Issues were linked to different budget items. Brent McFall answered that in each department breakdown, there is a section of the report that talks about how that department responds to target issues. He said not every department responds to every target issue, but to the degree that it does, it's shown for each department. To Mr. Yingling's question of whether or not the report shows capital or operating cost changes due to the response to target issues, Mr. McFall said those changes aren't quantified in the current report. Committee Member, Torn Brotherton, asked if there was a regular process for assessing where the risks are and how they would be addressed. Mr. McFall said the City does have a risk management function housed in the Employee Services Department, which focuses primarily on elimination of risk in terms of municipal liability. The City's emergency management system is housed in the Fire Department, and is actively engaged in disaster preparedness planning. The Fire Department is updating the disaster-planning manual and has done training exercises on communications and emergency coordination center operations for management staff. Mr. Brotherton said he was thinking of financial risk and how the other risks are turned into financial risks. Mr. McFall said the breadth and scope of what cities do and the exposure they have is enormous and that he did not know of any city that could be totally prepared, but that cities can plan and train, and they can also recognize there is a recovery period. Mr. Brotherton asked if there was a central coordinator for emergency responses in the City. Mr. McFall answered that the Fire Chief is designated as the emergency management coordinator. Brent McFall notified Council Members that he and Finance Director, May Miller, would set a time to be available in the council office to answer questions about the 1999 Budget. . The meeting was adjourned at 6:01 PM.