Glenns Ferry City Council Special Meeting
August 14, 2012
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City of Glenns Ferry City Council Special Meeting August 14, 2012
The special meeting of the City Council of the City of Glenns Ferry was opened and called to order at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 by Mayor JoAnne Lanham.
Members Present: Chris Bryant, Traci Stewart, Alan Crane, Billie Dillon, Mayor JoAnne Lanham.
Staff Present:
Others Present:
Item 1.Open Meeting with Welcome and Roll-call Attendance:
Mayor Lanham called the special meeting of the City of Glenns Ferry City Council on Tuesday, August 14, 2012at 7:00 pm. City Clerk Berg did the roll-call attendance:
X Chris BryantX Traci Stewart
X Alan CraneX Billie Dillon
X Mayor JoAnne Lanham
Item 2.Adoption of the Agenda:
Mayor Lanhamentertained a motion to adopt the agenda.
Bryant:Motion to adopt the agenda.
Dillon:Second the motion.
Lanham:All in favor – all ayes. The motion carried.
Item 4.Ordinance No. 2012 / 2013 FY Annual Appropriation Ordinance:
Mayor Lanham opened the Public Hearing for the proposed budget for
2012 - 2013.
Rowan: I handed out, to the Council, the Notice of Public
Hearing for Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2012 – 2013, which is the same as
the one in the paper, and Iwill go through the tentative budget figures, (see
attached).
City Attorney Buxton:Mayor and City Council, I’m Susan Buxton, City
Attorney, generally when you have Public Hearings, especially for budgets, in it’s
appropriation it’s an legislative act. Your acting just on your budget and what
you like to do especially if you have the Treasurer go through the budget, identify
what the changes were from last year, it
doesn’t have to take very long but that way at least the public, before they get up
and make comment, they at least have a full understanding of what the
Mayor, Council, Treasurer, and Department heads have done over the last
couple of months in coming up with this proposed budget.
Rowan: We are having to look at our levy rates because of Glenns Ferry’s evaluations and because we do have a levy rate in the General Fund, we can’t go over. We can’t spend more property taxes that we can’t levy for and also the Councils trying to look at the taxes and make sure that we’re using the best that we can do with the tax payers money we were able to lessen that amount.
Stewart: The other cut we were able to make was in cost of the insurance.
Rowan:Yes, definitely. We lowered the administrations benefits for medical insurance, Blue Cross. We had a turnover in Council and Council decided that they would no longer take insurance. That was a big savings of about $30,000.00. In Law Enforcement we have seen a big decrease in what we are paying for our county law enforcement. This next year they did ask for a 3% increase, council didn’t feel that was feasible so council did budget for a 1-1 1/2%.
Bryant:Rick Layer proposed or requested 2012 – 2013, 149,270, so we had that figured, and then, what is proposed on the tentative budget, 151,509 is a 1½%increase from that 149,270.
Rowan: The Fire budget is reduced 5,000.00. Another fact in the fireman’s budget is that we’ve been paying on a fire truck for quite a few years, that payment each year is $14,510.00, we have two more years to pay on that and it will be paid off. Considered paying it off early but the city won’t save any money on interest, so council decided to pay it off in two more payments.
Animal Control, we have had some repairs on the animal control vehicle it’s been about $1300.00 this year. We did have work done at the animal shelter, problem with drainage in the floor, $600.00 worth of work.
Parks, one of Jeff’s line items is called projects and that is carried over every year hoping that Jeff will be able to get enough money to repair things that have to be done, and one thing that has to be done is, we need new bathrooms and they need to be ADA compliance.
Mayor Lanham:Wasn’t that a stipulation of our water plant, that these bathrooms had to be ADA?
Cook: Yes, all city facilities have to meet ADA requirements.
Rowan: We do have the new budget line item that we started last year, the Recreation Trail Maintenance. We’re not sure what it is going to cost to maintain the trail, it’s going to take a while to see. Jeff did feel that $5,000.00 was a good start. Jeff’s budget has not changed from last year but if you noticed the actual in 2011 it came in at $129,489.00, but, that was grant money and it does have to flow through the budget.
Capital Improvement Fund was set up in hopes that we could have enough money to do repairs that needed to be done on buildings.
Economic Development, we started two years ago, to be a member of SIEDO. The council wants to keep that membership up and they do want to have some money, about, $250.00 to help send people that are on that committee to training or workshops. What’s going to happen with that budget line itemin the future, I’m not sure.
Revitalization Grant Expense, $49,647.00 is the closure of the grant.
We don’t have any grants planned on the budget for the next year so that’s why those are zero, it doesn’t mean that we won’t get one, it’s just that we don’t know.
Library Fund, again council was looking at what would be best.
Council Bryant:The Library Fund is up against the levy rate.
Treasurer Rowan:They are up against the levy rate. The property taxes that are planned to be levied for library is $36,000.00 and the rest of that will be made up with revenues from library cards, fees, donations, whatever the committee decides what to do or what their plans are for the year.
Librarian Hampton:We got some projects that we’d like to try, to bring in more money.
Treasurer Rowan:Onto our Airport, last year we got to work on the airport master plan and got that grant, in, 2011, $25,443.00 and that was when they started working on the Masters Airport Plan. Last year we also had the runway redone, that was pretty much the reason for the $8600.00 in, 2012, and then, this year, 2013, the airport will be maintained.
Cemetery is levied, we can only put so much property taxes in to maintain. Unless we raise rates on the plots, raise fees, we’re limited to the money that we can run the cemetery on.
Cook:This year in particular we took a cut last year because of levy limit and this year we lost another 9 1/2%, it’s just been dwindling down over the last three years and made a lot of decisions very difficult.
Rowan:I’d like to explain what happens to the money if it’s not spent? A fund that’s on its own like this in a government entity will not have any carry over. They don’t know what they are going to do from year to year, they’re looking at the levy rates, they’re looking at revenues, and so, we do try to have a fund balance in each of our funds and that’s a good thing because if you didn’t then you wouldn’t know from year to year how to plan. The cemetery does have a little bit of a fund balance but it could be used up in a year if there was a project or something that had to be done.
Streets will fluctuate depending on projects. We do want to understand that the street fund does not have a limit to what type of property taxes can be put in that. Jeff has had to make some changes in that budget as far as wages and benefits. $37,000.00 may have to be carried over because we haven’t spent all of the grant that we’ve been working on this year. That was that ITD Cash for Towns, we’re still working on that project.If we get billed for that $37,000.00 we won’t see that in the budget for next year, so the expenditure will be less.
Liability Insurance Fund, the 2013 premium is $29,714.00. Each time we have a claim we pay a $500.00 deductible.
Water Fund, we will be getting a grant next year for a master plan, $45,000.00. Jeff will be working on that master plan with the engineers and the council.
$91,650.00 is our bond payment, we have to make sure that we have that in our budget, we do have to carry a reserve and the reserve for that is $9,165.00.
Irrigation is in our Water Fund. We have pumping fees of around $14,250.00.
Lanham:The water rights have to be clarified before we can doing anything with irrigation, although, I’m assuming that $1.00 from everybody’s water bill is suppose to be going into a fund and so when we do have the water right cleared we will be able to start with irrigation, but , there’s a fallacy out there. The city has never had a water right for irrigation. King Hill Irrigation District had the only water right until, someone donated some cfsand so we partnered up with King Hill to pump that water, and they’re at their capacity. Until we get the water rights that are pending adjudicated there’s no way that we can do anything with irrigation. I want to clear that up because there’s been a lot of misinformation. The city never did have a full irrigation water right.
Rowan:Sewer, this next following year we’ll have a $45,000.00 grant to work on a master plan. That’s revenue going in and expenditure going out, so, that’s part of the $230,832.00.
Cook:You might mention that we have a bond payment of $29,800.00, a set reserve of $2,981.00.
Rowan:Museum has a budget of $20,700.00. They are looking at a $5,000.00 grant. They are self supportive. The building belongs to the city and the city takes care of the lawn, and carries the liability insurance on that building.
Trust Fund is to pay for our auditor every year, most comes out of the trust fund the rest is picked up by the administration. This next year $2700.00 is budgeted for part of the audit. Our audit runs a little over $11,000.00.
Our revenues and our expenditures for the proposed budget $1,631,446.00.
Lanham:At this time I’m going to open it up for public comment. I have a list here, the first person is, Harry Knox.
Knox:Thank you Mayor, Honorable Council, tax payer, citizens. The sewer and water expenditures and revenue are a wash on the paperwork in front of you, in that $650,000.00 expenditure, how much of that is going to fund the replacement reserve fund that the auditor, I heard say, we’re behind $275,000.
Crane:In this next budget it’d be $48,000.00, roughly with different things we’re trying to put together also. The following year it’d about $114,000.00.
Knox:My second question, we had the projections of a 9% reduction in assessed valuations, when I do the math on that, I come out depending on how that pie slices up, somewhere between 50 & $60,000.00 in reduced revenue to the city from property tax, (tape change) to maintain a levy rate the same as last year is there a plan for that?
Bryant:It’s true that the 578,000 levy, the tentative budget, based on our assessed values that those estimated assessed values, the levy rate would be higher this next year. Last year the levy amount was 603,000 if the city levies 578,000 then the city will be paying less property tax. The levy rate goes up but the city will be paying less property taxes.
Lanham:I talked to Mr. Fisher and he said, most all of the residential areas went down again this year and I know mine did, I don’t know if everybody looked at theirs, but, the last two years mine have gone down, so I’m going to pay less taxes this year, and I paid less taxes last year.
Bryant:And, that can only be said for the city as a whole because not every property is being assessed the same. Last year it was residential and they kept commercial the same so commercial properties took the brunt, and we knew that. There was a big discussion about that. This year it seems it’s more across the board.
Lanham:Fisher told me that very few commercial properties were valued higher this year, he said there were a few, very few, but it was based on like sales. That came directly from his office.
Knox:My third question you answered earlier. The question isyou said there was no city obligations related to grants. Well, I’ve heard from other members of the city officials that the two study grants, sewer and water, each about 45,000 have each approximately a $60,000.00 cash match attached to them, is that true or not true?
Cook:It’s a 50/50 match on those. So we’ve got 45,000 in each department to match that.
Knox:Where’s that 90,000 coming from?
Cook:Part of that is going on right now out of this current budget, we’ve already started that. So the 66 that you see is what’s anticipated to be in the cost to finish it up next year.
Knox:Thank you, you’ve answered my questions.
Pattison:Linda Pattison, 319 West Arthur, Glenns Ferry. I am not picking on anyone on this question, what I asked in the Cemetery Fund is it has a $12,000.00 fund balance is that available for their use however they need it?
Rowan:Yes.
Pattison:Okay, how come it doesn’t just show up as the money appropriated for this next year?
Rowan:Because it’s not being appropriated
Pattison:Okay, it’s just sitting there.
Rowan:Yes.
Pattison:Alright, thank you.
Denise Carnahan:I want to start out by saying thank you to JoAnne, to Alan, to Billie, and Traci, and Chris, I understand your not taking healthcare benefits, is that true?
Lanham:Yes, we’re not after the first of the year.
Denise Carnahan:None of you are, thank you. I want to say thank you very much. My next question, as far as the employee benefits go, could somebody here explain to me how that all works and who qualifies for employee benefits.
Lanham:When our employees are hired they have a choice, whether they want to take health insurance, eye and dental. If they sign up for it, they’re on it. Every year in March we go over the budget, and if we need to raise the deductible, if we need to pay more out when we go to the doctor, those things are accounted for every year. Right now we’ve tried to keep it grandfathered in because a lot of them do not want to go with Obama plan so we’re trying to wait to see what happens, maybe by March we’ll know. Most cities, most governments have health benefits for their employees, and we do and I think it’s a great thing.
Rowan:They have to be full time.
Denise Carnahan:So, part-time employees don’t qualify.
Lanham:No.
Denise Carnahan:What kind of plan is it, is it a Cadillac plan, where they don’t have to pay anything towards the cost of their premiums?
Lanham:The only out of pocket is before they meet their deductible and then every time you go to a doctor you have to pay $30., which does not go towards your deductible, which is something we added because the rates were getting too high, so we’ve done different things like that over the years. If we have to do things like that again we will, but I think our employees deserve, they haven’t had a raise in 4 years, their good employees and I do not see taking their benefits away from them at this point, that’s my opinion.
Denise Carnahan:I know with the economy the way it is, I know a lot of places are asking their employees to pay some toward their premiums.
Lanham:Wemay have to do that if it comes to that but at this point we aren’t.
Denise Carnahan:As a tax payer and somebody who is self employed, who pays 100% of a terrible insurance plan, I would like to see you consider having the employees pay towards their benefits.
Lanham:Is there anybody else that would like to give any testimony concerning this budget and what’s going on?
L.Pattison:I am in agreement with the employees having health insurance and I’m in agreement with them also paying a portion towards their premium. I’ve worked for the state and we went several years without raises but we still paid our portion of the insurance and I think it’s something that seriously needs to be looked at. Having said that, I’ve heard that a couple of employees are going to be laid off at the end of the fiscal year, I can’t say that I’m happy with the way, from what I’ve heard, that it was done. I was hoping that there’d be someone who was ready for retirement and that you do have the money in the next fiscal year to do a severance package to help them ease into that transition. I did not want to see someone whose not ready for medicare but that may be asking for too much, I mean if there’s no one available, there’s no one available but I do not want to see someone just let go and that’s it. I feel strongly about that, I understand that times are tough and that we have to do something and these people are my neighbors and my friends and I just want it known that, that was not the intent of my speaking out before.
Artz:I’m Sam Artz, tax payer of Glenns Ferry. I just like to say that I’ve been snowed since I walked in here, wondering what the 2012-13 budget has to do with the 2010-11 budget, which is water under the bridge. I would think it’d be based on how things are flowing in 2011-2012. What happened in 2010-2011doesn’t have nothing to do with it, I guess that’s all I’d like to have somebody explain that to me.