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Admin Committee Minutes 2004 12-15-04 Page 1 of 4 APPROVED 1 -6-0$ UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2004 6:30 PM City Hall Conference Room Special Budget Meeting PRESENT: Mayor Art Prochaska Finance Director Traci Pleckham Alderman Paul James City Administrator Tony Graff Alderwoman Wanda Ohare Lt. Don Schwartzkopf Alderman Larry Kot City Intern Bart Olson The meeting was called to order at 6:34pm by Chairman Paul James. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the revised 2004 -2005 budget. Chairman James gave a quick snapshot of the budget and stated revenue increased by about 4% and the expenses also increased 4 %. A majority of the increase in revenue is a result of sales taxes while the expenses were earmarked for the following categories: • Water and sewer improvements • Road improvements • Purchase of vehicles • Building maintenance • Increased saving in reserve and contingency Upgrading City Hall sound system by $7,000 -8,000 • Adding crossing guards • Increased training, especially for the Police Department He stated he was comfortable with the money being used in those areas. The Mayor addressed the amount of money being spent for the sound system. There has been an inability to hear people during meetings and when presentations are given. This also presents difficulties for the minute- takers. The issue is the intake of sound, rather than the output of sound. In addition, equipment is desired for the hearing - impaired. Two portable microphones and upgrades for the mixer are also anticipated purchases. A quote of $6500 was noted for the sound system. Page 2 of 4 i Chairman James opened the floor for questions and Alderwoman Ohare began the discussion. Page 2: she questioned why the cleaning salary was not included with other salaries and why it was separated. It was explained that the salary of $34,000, included the full time cleaning person and Servicemaster. She felt that this might be questioned at a later time. A clearer explanation will be given in the budget descriptions. Page 3: the "merit pay equity" amount of zero was discussed. The Mayor explained that when raises are given, they vary by employee and salaries increase due to cost of living increases. On page 4, the allocated money for the salaries is shown and it is divided up from the amount shown on that page. "Transfer to salary line items" will be reflected in the budget on page 3 to give a better description. Page 5: the "CLASY program" was dropped, however, the Parks and Rec Department is continuing the program under a different name. "Training and conferences" were increased on a recommendation by the Administration committee and it was thought the training was for the Police Department. Mayor Prochaska suggested putting a date on the recommendation. "Police Recruitment Academy " -- Alderman Kot said it was hoped that experienced/trained officers could be hired, however, that was not possible so police academy training was necessary. Page 12: It was suggested that the "K -9 donations" be highlighted. The "$20,000 fund surplus (deficit)" should be put into reserve. The "Dictaphone quote" needs to be shifted to "equipment expenses ". Page 18: Ms. Ohare asked if the collection agency for water fund recoveries was shown in the budget and how it is accounted for. It was thought it might be listed under "contractual services ". Ms. Pleckham will research and clarify the location of that item. Page 19: The "refunds" "true number" reflect refunds for water meter deposits. Page 20: "Carryover" of $478,506 in the Sewer Maintenance reflects money in reserve for upcoming sewer projects. Page 21: " Kylyn's Crossing Land Cash" of $3,000 was in anticipation of possible permits being issued. Windette Ridge and Kylyn's Ridge land cash was briefly discussed. The expenses of $6,000 and revenues of $3,000 for Greenbriar were also discussed. Page 24: "transfer from general fund" is in relationship to the Park Planner position and was money transferred from the General Fund. Page 3 of 4 Page 25: The revenue from the preschool program was reviewed and it was noted that it was a positive number (see page 24 & 25). Also, an additional $640 in computer equipment was shown and it was clarified this money is not for the Park Planner position equipment. Page 26: Library employee salaries show an additional $20,000. Mayor Prochaska pointed out that the Library may have added personnel and once the tax levy is approved, the budget is overseen by the Library. Ms. Pleckham explained that the salaries increased due to loss of part -time employees because of low salaries. Page 27: The IMRF increased by $1,000 andthat is an indicator of additional personnel or an employee converting to full -time status. Page 28: "Reserve- Future Bond Payments " —Ms. Pleckham explained that the revenue stream for Fox Industrial comes from TIF revenues. The TIF revenues are used to pay the bonds. If there is a deficit, motor fuel taxes are used. She felt $9,500 might need to be pulled from MFT this year. At this point in the meeting Chairman James presented his observation of committee meetings in general. He said he felt it would be beneficial if questions on specific items (such as the budget) would be addressed with Ms. Pleckham (or other appropriate person) prior to a given meeting. This would assist in shortening the length of all committee meetings. He would like to see this change in procedure for all City meetings. Alderman Kot said the point was well taken and also complimented Ms. Ohare on her comprehensive review of the budget and subsequent questions. Mayor Prochaska said he had asked Ms. Pleckham for clarification prior to the meeting, on carryover amounts. Sewer improvement differed the most from $12.6 million to $9.5 million. The budget explanation was "per audit ". She explained that connection fees were budgeted higher than what was collected. Regarding water improvement, the radium project was budgeted for last year and fewer connection fees were collected. As a result, the carryover monies were less because some subdivision projects did not occur last year as scheduled. Alderman Kot commented that there was less money in the water improvement carryover. He asked if the carryovers would balance out if they were added. Timing of projects affected the carryovers greatly, according to Ms. Pleckham. Mr. Kot then complimented Ms. Pleckham and staff on the attention to the budget and asked that the comment section be used even more. More detailed explanations will be included in areas of change. Ms. Pleckham said that a hydrogeology and water quality study (page 16) had just been approved and the cost will be $29,750. She will revise that number. She further stated that additional office equipment noted on page 3, is for two new work stations. It i Page 4 of 4 is also hoped to remodel the center area of the administration offices to increase the number of workstations from 4 to 6. This work is expected to cost about $10,000. A brief discussion followed, regarding use of office space and space needed for a Community Relations and Human Resources person. Three months' salary was also included in the budget for a part-time IT person at $25/hour, according to Finance Director Pleckham. In addition, she said the voice mail must be upgraded since it is always busy when trying to retrieve messages. It was noted that not all elected officials have voice mail set up for them. Chairman James suggested a more in -depth discussion on voice mail, at the next Administration meeting. Mr. Graff noted that currently there is not enough recording space on the voice mail system. The discussion returned to the actual budget. Alderman Kot commented that a 4% increase in the budget indicates a healthy budget and that money is coming in. He also said that many of the expenditures result from Council direction. The Mayor added that the Contingency fund increased from $122,500 to $175,200 and that indicates the City is still being conservative in their spending. The Fund Balance is not included in the budget since it is treated similar to a 401K. The Fund Balance indicates some money is earmarked for two projects that the Council approved. The Mayor explained that the Fund Balance has hit the desired level as indicated by the Treasurer and the amount spent was above the level indicated by the Treasurer. The law dictates that surplus money must be used for, capital purchases. An amount of $113,000 is currently being transferred from the Fund Balance back into the budget. Alderman Kot commented that the general public would view this action as spending the money in the Fund Balance and it should be explained in the budget. This surplus is now considered as "revenue" in the budget. Alderwoman Ohare asked where the Fund Balance amount is shown. Mayor Prochaska explained that it is shown in the audit each year and in the Treasurer's report. He further said that the City needs to consider how much of the budget year needs to be reserved in the Fund Balance. Alderman James suggested that there should be a line item to show the Fund Balance amount. He also said he would like to see the Contingency money split between two line items: one that says Contingency and one that says what the percentage is. He said it would be a good idea to show a line item with "zero" this year to get it into the budget and to note in the comments "Fund Balance met ". By doing this, the Mayor said it would provide a comfort level for citizens who may review the budget. It was reiterated by Finance Director Pleckham that the Fund Balance was increased by 25% this year. There was no further discussion of the budget and the meeting was adjourned at 7:36pm. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker