title
Minutes for the special called Finance Committee meeting on December 18, 2006.
body
Finance & Administration Committee Minutes
Monday, December 18, 2006
Special called budget meeting
3:00 p.m.
Members Present were: Darrel Dover, Judy Furr, Jim Hargis, Harold Perrin, John Street and Ann Williams. Also in attendance were Councilman Farmer, as well as Mayor Formon and Mr. Tony Thomas from the Mayor’s Office.
2007 BUDGET
Chairman Dover questioned what the current deficit is for the 2007 budget. Finance Director Don Ray stated the projected deficit right now of the O&M funds is $1.227 million plus $609,041 in restricted funds for a total of $1.836 million. He added the Capital Improvements deficit is projected to be approximately $1.2 million.
Mayor Formon discussed the proposed budget. He stated the budget includes a 4% pay increase for employees, 2.5% for a step increase and 1.5% for cost of living. He noted the City did not receive the grant for the 9 new firefighters, so they were added to the budget. He explained he was not sure why the City didn’t receive the grant and so they will be looking into a possible appeal. Mayor Formon further explained the budget included a safety tech position for HR, a part-time employee moving to full-time in Maintenance, the 9 firefighters, as well as health and dental insurances increases.
Police Department: Police Chief Michael Yates stated they have already cut their budget by $110,000, $55,000 out of Fixed Assets and another $55,000 out because of their physical fitness program. Discussion was held regarding hiring new police officers. Chief Yates asked the committee to allow him to hire five more officers. He noted hiring more officers would not affect the salaries because of the number of officers that come and go through the year. He added they are not losing officers to other enforcement agencies; rather they’re losing officers to the federal government and the private sector. Questions were then raised concerning the purchase of 30 new vehicles. Chief Yates stated if they do not buy the vehicles this year, then in 2008 they will have to purchase 10 to 15 more vehicles to catch up. He further explained if all 30 are purchased this year, then they would only need to buy between 5 and 10 vehicles from here on out assuming zero growth and the take-home program will be fully in place. Councilman Perrin questioned whether he wanted to purchase the vehicles outright or if he wanted to lease the vehicles. Chief Yates stated he would get the vehicles however the committee wanted him to. Discussion was held regarding leasing the vehicles. Councilman Perrin suggested Mr. Ray should make a recommendation as to whether the City should lease or purchase the vehicles. Chairman Dover questioned adding the five police officers to the budget. Councilman Farmer noted the officers will have to be added to the budget so they can be listed with the rest of the officers.
Fire Department: Fire Chief Aaron Keller stated he would need 15 new firemen for the new station. He stated they only have 9 new firemen in the budget and they can come back and ask for the other 6 at mid-year or for next year’s budget. Mayor Formon questioned why the holiday pay went down, yet there is a salary increase. Mr. Ray stated they have had a lot of changes with the holidays. He explained they were asked to take out Martin Luther King Day and then told to put it back in. He added he will check on that because the decrease is not right.
911: Mr. Bob Andrews stated he spoke with a company in Little Rock concerning the City’s share of money from cell phones. He explained it was indicated to him the amount the City is paid is based on population, not actual cell phone usage.
Animal Control: Mr. Jim Bowman stated he has a full-time position open, so he would like to move one of his part-time employees to the full-time position. He added he would also like to move his other part-time employee to full-time status. Councilman Perrin questioned how many part-time workers would be left. Mr. Bowman stated the only part-time worker they would have is the veterinarian. Mayor Formon noted the amount budgeted for 201 Salaries account for 2007 was incorrect because with the 4% increase the salaries should only be $183,159.
Information Systems: Mr. Alan Young stated they were not asking for any new positions. Councilman Perrin questioned why the 201 Salaries account increased by almost $30,000 if there were not positions added. Mr. Young stated it was because Human Resources Director Suzanne Hackney re-worked their job descriptions and took them to Condrey, who recommended increasing some of the employees’ pay based on the duties they perform. Councilman Perrin stated Internal Auditor Misty Micenhamer recommended hiring an outside agent to write a complete disaster recovery plan for the City. He noted the pay would need to be added to the 217 Professional Services account. Ms. Micenhamer added the pay would be $25,000 maximum. It was asked to change the 217 Professional Services account to $47,000. Discussion was held regarding other increases in the budget. Chairman Dover questioned the increase in the 296 Computer Software account. Mr. Young explained they want to implement a telephone and internet system for Inspections so contractors can go online and purchase permits or check the status of their permits. Councilman Perrin questioned whether the City already has software that would perform that function. Mr. Young stated the City does not have anything similar to what they’re looking at. He added the software will cost approximately $87,000. Councilman Perrin suggested looking at the software further before purchasing it. Mayor Formon stated most cities are doing something similar to that now. Questions were raised concerning the 320 Dedicated Circuits account. Mr. Young stated he did not know why the year to date balance was so low because they were supposed to have paid $10,000 to Ritter for the PRI circuits for the phone out of the 320 account. Discussion was held regarding what the year to date balance of the account should be. Ms. Rebekah Roddy suggested the money was paid out of the phone expense account under general administration. It was asked for Ms. Roddy to double-check to make sure the money is in the account. Discussion was then held regarding the purchase of a truck for the department. Councilwoman Williams questioned using mileage reimbursement instead of purchasing a vehicle. Mr. Young stated the problem with mileage reimbursement is that he has employees who do not drive their own vehicles to work. Chairman Dover questioned whether Mr. Young would be better off purchasing a mini van. Mr. Young stated a van would be a good idea. It was recommended the department could get more use out of a van, so a mini-van should be purchased as opposed to purchasing a truck. Councilman Perrin explained at some point the City needs to look at a mileage reimbursement policy. Councilwoman Williams noted last year it was asked how many vehicles the City owns and still no one has presented that list. Mayor Formon stated it should be easy to get that information since the City just went through insurance renewal with APERMA in November. Councilwoman Furr noted the City would have insurance problems if an employee loaded up thousands of dollars of equipment in their personal vehicle and was in an accident. Mr. Young stated a mini van would be a reasonable alternative to a pickup truck. Discussion was then held regarding the purchase of the projectors. City Clerk Donna Jackson questioned where the City Clerk’s projector is. Mr. Young stated they are waiting for the money to mount it in the Huntington Building. Ms. Jackson asked if they money was in the 2007 budget. Mr. Young stated yes, he did include it. Mr. Young stated they are using the projector that was supposed to be in City Council Chambers in the Huntington Building because their department’s projector had broken down. He added the department is using the City Council Chambers projector until they can purchase another one.
Finance: Chairman Dover questioned why the 228 Dues and Subscriptions account decreased by $6,100. Mr. Ray stated he was not sure what the former Finance Director used the account for, but he budgeted for what he expected to use.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.