HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 07.21.2008 CC-WThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor
George Garver presiding.
Council Present: Council Absent:
Patty Eason, Gabe Sansing, Keith Brainard, Bill Ben Oliver
Sattler, Pat Berryman, Dale Ross
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Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Patricia E. Carls, City Attorney; Tom Yantis, Assistant City Manager;
Ed Polasek, Principal Planner; Micki Rundell, Director of Finance and Administration; Jessica Hamilton,
Assistant City Secretary; Leticia Zavala, Controller; Lorie Lankford, Chief Accountant; Eric Lashley,
Director of Library Services; Elizabeth Cook, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Bills,
Housing Coordinator; Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service
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A Discussion and possible direction to staff regarding additional information requested for consideration relating to
the 2008/09 City Manager's Proposed Budget -- Paul Brandenburg, City Manager and Micki Rundell, Director
Finance and Administration
Brandenburg introduced the item and said, based upon the last workshop, the two items up for consideration
are the transit system as well as the TMRS retirement plan adjustment. He reviewed these two issues. Rundell
showed Council a PowerPoint covering the key budget elements. She said the total budget for 2008-2009 is a
little over $200 million which compares to last year's budget of $185 million. She added the estimated tax rate to
fund this year's budget is $0.35613, which is slightly less than that'07-'08 rate. She said the City's assessed
valuation this year is estimated to exceed $4.2 billion. She noted the budget does not include any utility rate
increases and said there are fee adjustments planned for the rec center. She added a development fee review
is currently under way. She said the major programs included are the recreation center expansion, public safety
compensation, 32 new positions, 4% non-public safety COLA, and an increase in TMRS funding.
Rundell said she has been working wtih the City Manager to figure out a way to phase the implementation for
the transit system from a financial perspective. She said staff would like to include $75,000 for one-time funding
from excess funds to hire a consultant to help the City finalize the business and marketing plan. She added the
City would commit to implementing the system no later than January of 2010. She noted this means the '09210
budget would include the transit system. She said the City has committed to working with CARTS to implement
some type of "pilot" program in 2009. She added the program would measure ridership and community support.
She described to Council the TMRS program saying it is the City's retirement plan. She added the cost of
funding that plan is not being fully recognized. She said there has been some changes in actuarial methodology
which results in an increase in the funding of the plan. She noted the current TMRS rate is 11.3% of our total
payroll. She said, in order to fully fund the current retirement plan, the City would need to increase that amount
to 14.8%. She reviewed how this would affect City expenses. She said, in the '08-'09 budget, the City funded a
13.3% increase which is $470,000 Citywide. She said the goal is to fully fund the entire 14.8% within the next
two years. Rundell reviewed the City's current TMRS plan. She noted the TMRS proposed plan change is to
City Council Meeting Minutes/July 21, 2008
Page 1 of 4 Pages
reduce the cost of living adjustment for retirees from 70% to 30%. She said this reduces the rate from 14.8% to
12.83% and would result in $483,000 of future savings.
Sattler asked and Rundell said the City does not know what the average cost of a house is until the appraisal
district certifies the roll. She added this total will come out when the City does its budget hearings. Rundell said
the existing property has gone up an estimated average of 3%. She added a person's taxes will go up based
upon how much the value of their house went up, but the actual rate is slightly less than last year. Ross asked
if Rundell could review the reduction of the cost of living adjustment from 70% to 30% for retirees. He said he is
concerned about employees who have been planning on that 70% amount once they retire. He added he is
worried about the equity issue. Rundell said this change would not have any impact on the rate of the retiree's
annuity. She noted this change would only have an affect on the annuity's ability to keep up with the rate of
inflation. Ross said and Rundell confirmed that each year, in inflation goes higher than 30%, a retiree would
get paid less in terms of dollar amount. Ross said he thinks the City should do extensive studies on existing
employees and how this proposed change may impact them.
Mayor said Brainard suggested the appointment of a subcommittee of the Council composed of three members
who would meet with staff and review the fiscal impact as well as other options that may be part of this equation.
Mayor said he would like to suggest to Council that a three person subcommittee be composed to meet and to
work on this topic and to see what recommendations can be generated for the Council before the City finalizes
its budget. Rundell said the City does not have to make any TMRS plan adjustments until the end of December.
Rundell made a recommendation for Council to review this in more depth, but she noted Finance has a tool that
allows staff to do some modeling of the changes and the affects of adjusting the plan. Mayor recommended to
Council that Brainard (as chairman), Eason, and Sattler be appointed to a TMRS retirement system
subcommittee that would come back to Council with their recommendations. Brainard said there are more
opportunities for the City and its employees. He added one of the problems of the cost of living adjustment is the
City had never paid for it. He spoke about the cost of TMRS to the City. He said the cost continues to rise and
it is a very expensive benefit. He said he would appreciate the opportunity to review the TMRS retirement plan
further.
Motion
by Berryman, second
by Ross
to establish a subcommittee to
study the TMRS retirement plan made up
of Keith
Brainard, Patty Eason
and Bill
Sattler. Approved 5-1
(Sansing
opposed)
Eason asked and Rundell confirmed that nothing has changed in regard to the City Manager's budget
recommendation. There were questions and comments from Council. Rundell reviewed the calendar of budget
hearings and the process of setting the tax rate. Eason said she would like to discuss the transit system. She
said she met with Rundell and she is hoping to inspire Council to do more than is proposed. She said the City
can not go forward with the CARTS project without a line item in the budget supporting this project. She said,
on January 11th, Council was presented a CARTS business plan and they supported it 7-0. She said the
Georgetown Citizen's Survey showed that 58.5% of the public supported raising taxes to fund this transit
system. She said, if Council goes forward with this item as recommended, the marketing and financial analysis
will explain how the program will be funded. She noted there has been widespread support for this program.
She added this program is essential to attracting businesses and people who would live in Georgetown. She
said this is an essential amenity that people look for in a thriving and progressive community like Georgetown.
Sattler said he believes a transit system is needed, but he thinks more information should be collected. He
noted he supports the pilot program because it will produce more information for this type of program. He
referred to a study done in February of 2008 saying it did not provide Council with numbers pertaining to issues
such as ridership, how many buses are needed, or community support. Sattler referred to the citizen
satisfaction survey and noted that only 16% said the transit system is a priority while 58% would be willing to
pay increased taxes and fees. He said this program needs a lot of encouragement but he is hoping the City can
work with CARTS to start a pilot program. Sattler reviewed a few ideas and possible timelines for the pilot
program. He said a pilot program would be very instrumental in gaining the facts needed to continue with a
transit system.
Berryman asked and Brandenburg said the City has not contacted other communities our size about a transit
system. Berryman said this program is going to be a huge expense for every tax payer in the City. She added
this is not a financially viable thing to do. She expressed her concerns regarding the costs this program would
bring to the City. Sansing said bus service is much like social services. He noted the City has to do this as a
service to the citizens. He said now that gas prices are at $4.00 a gallon and as the population gets older, it
would be nice to have mass transit on routes that are heavily traveled. He said Sattler's idea of studying this
program is great. He suggested doing target surveys in the neighborhoods that would be affected by these
routes in order to get feedback and to find out if people would be willing to ride the bus. He noted the City
needs to be able to serve all demographics. Brainard said he would like to see more transportation options in
City Council Meeting Minutes/July 21, 2008
Page 2 of 4 Pages
the City. He added the City needs to be very careful, move slowly and take time to understand why cities of
Georgetown's size do not have public transit systems.
Motion by
Eason to accept the City Manager's
proposal to include $75,000 in
the General Fund to
hire a
consultant
to develop a business plan in order
to implement a citywide transit
system no
later than
2010.
Eason asked and Brandenburg said the $75,000 amount will be studied and refined according to the finding of
the consultant. Sattler introduced Edna Johnson, a representative from CARTS. Johnson referred to a planning
document that CARTS produced for the City. She said, in order to cover the City, the plan became a four route
system and she added there are buses available to use in order to run a "pilot" program. She said CARTS is
not opposed to a pilot project but will need more information from the City. Sattler asked and Johnson said she
does not know the exact number of buses available. Sattler asked and Johnson explained the funding process
for CARTS. There were questions from Council. Sattler asked and Johnson noted the availability of the buses
will depend on the plan for the pilot program. Sattler asked and Johnson said CARTS would help the City with a
business plan. Sattler said he likes Sansing's idea of including a survey as a part of the transit system study.
Berryman said she thinks the motion should exclude the deadline of 2010 for the implementation of the
program. Sansing seconded Eason's motion and made a friendly amendment to re -word the motion to say
"hire a consultant to develop a business plan in order to implement a transit system within the City of
Georgetown with the goal being by January 2010." Eason accepted Sansing's friendly amendment. She asked
and Brandenburg said 2010 was chosen because it allows the City to have a year to plan this program properly.
Sansing restated the motion and his amendment.
Ross said, the way the motion is worded, it sounds like the plan will be implemented by 2010 no matter what the
research discovers. He said he though the City was still in "discovery mode." Brainard said he shares Ross'
concerns and he can agree on something as long as there is not a specific date included. Sansing agreed and
withdrew his friendly amendment. Sansing made a second friendly amendment to reword the motion to say
"motion to include $75,000 in the General Fund to hire a consultant to make recommendations to the
Georgetown City Council about the possible implementation of a transit system for the City of Georgetown with
its goal being budget year 2009-2010." Brainard made a third friendly amendment to change the motion to say:
hire a consultant to develop a business plan in order to evaluate the feasability of a transit system. Sansing
agreed with this amendment.
Eason reminded Council of the motion they made in January and said, if Council starts something they must
commit to it. She said the word implementation can be a problem for people but noted that to implement a
program means they are beginning to set up the program. Berryman said the problem is the study showed that
the costs of this program are very high. Eason agreed and said that is what was discussed back in January.
She added this was all supposed to be researched between then and now and it hasn't been done yet. She
noted, even to start a pilot program would be a form of implementing. Brainard made a fourth friendly
amendment to say: motion to include $75,000 in the General Fund to hire a consultant to develop a business
plan in order to implement a transit sytem. Eason did not accept this amendment and said she would like for it to
include a goal of 2010.
Mayor asked Brainard if he agrees with the inclusion of this date and Brainard said he does not know what the
business plan is going to say. He said he appreciates what Eason is trying to do and he noted he would like to
move in this direction, but he cannot commit to a date. He said there are too many unknowns in his mind.
Sattler said he thinks the goal of 2010 is not outrageous and it allows Council to get the information necessary
by that time. Brandenburg said, 12 months from now, the work of the consultant would be completed and the
Council will be going over the new budget. He added Council will be able to make a better and more informed
decision on this issue at that time.
Vote on the original motion: Tied Vote 3-3 (Brainard, Ross and Berryman opposed) Mayor broke the tie and
voted in favor of the motion. ,approved 4-3
B Discussion and possible direction to staff regarding the establishment of a Home Repair Program -- Paul E.
Brandenburg, City Manager and Jennifer Bills, Housing Coordinator
Brandenburg explained the item and said this program has been in effect for a couple of years. He said the
funding for this program was included the budget and the money was put into Social Service funding. He added
it was then turned over to The Caring Place to run the program. He said, with this program, people who can not
afford to make repairs to their homes would come through the City for approval. He added both the City and
The Caring Place would promote the program and have application forms available. He explained the
application process for the program. He noted there is $43,540 in the Social Service funding that has been
City Council Meeting Minutes/July 21, 2008
Page 3 of 4 Pages
earmarked for this program but he does not believe the money for this program should be included in Social
Service funding.
Sansing asked and Brandenburg requested a motion to have the City move forward with the Home Repair
Program in house with City staff, and that the money in next year's budget be separated out from Social Service
Funding. Sattler asked and Brandenburg said the motion would not decrease the amount in the Social Service
funding. Brandenburg noted the $43,540 is an extra amount included in the Social Service budget specifically
for home repair. He noted it has already been separated out. Eason explained why this line item started off in
the Social Service funding. Ross asked and Brandenburg said $43,540 would be moved to another line item
regarding the Home Repair Program. Ross said and Brandenburg agreed this move would be neutral to the
City's budget.
Motion by Sansing, second by Brainard to support the staff moving forward with the Home Repair Program and
to move the $43,540 out of the Social Services funding account.
Brainard asked and Brandenburg said the City has kept a track record and 7-10 different property owners apply
for the program each year. He added each one uses about $3,000-$5,000 worth of repairs. He said he would
like for the City to have greater control of this program by having it in-house. Mayor asked and Brandenburg
said the need for this type of program in Georgetown is quite large. There were questions and comments from
Council. Vote on the motion: Approved 6-0
C Discussion and possible direction to staff regarding 2008 Annexation Process -- Edward G. Polasek, AICP,
Principal Planner and Elizabeth Cook, Director of Planning and Development
Polasek explained the item and said this is the third year of the annexation process which was started in 2005.
He reviewed the history of the annexation process. He said, in 2005, the City initiated the first involuntary
annexation process in fifteen years. He described some of the basics behind the annexation process, saying the
City can annex 10% of its area involuntarily each year. He noted, if a City did not annex that 10% one year, it
can be carried over to the next year and added to the annexation bank. He said, right now, the City has almost
9,000 acres they can involuntarily annex this year.
He noted the Planning Department could only come up with about 2,500 acres identified as potential
annexation. He said these acres have been split up into 25 different areas and have identified the potential
impacts such as fire hydrants, water, and wastewater. He said, when planning comes back to Council in
August, they will have a better financial scenario laid out. With a slide presentation, Polasek reviewed all of the
individual areas up for annexation in greater detail. Polasek said staff needs permission from Council to move
forward with this annexation process because the notices of annexation must be mailed to arrive by August 9th.
He reviewed the annexation timeline. Brandenburg said Council can always drop items off of the list, but should
not add areas to this list.
Motion
by
Sattler, second
by Sansing to direct staff
to proceed with the list of 2008 annexations presented to
Council
in
accordance with
the annexation schedule.
Approved
6-0
Recessed to Executive Session 5:52pm under Sec. 551.071 of the Open Meeting Act
Reconvened at 6:27pm
Motion by Ross, Second by Berryman to adjourn. Approved 6-0
Meeting adjourned at 6:28pm
The meeting was adjourned at 06:28 PM.
City Council Meeting Minutes/July 21, 2008
Page 4 of 4 Pages
Attest:
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