HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 11.22.2011 CC-WMinutes of the Meeting of the Governing Body
of the City of Georgetown, Tues
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor
George Garver presiding.
Council Present:
Patty Eason, Danny Meigs, Bill Sattler, Pat
Berryman, Tommy Gonzalez, Rachael Jonrowe,
Troy Hellmann
Council Absent:
All Council Present
Staff Present.
Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney; Jim Briggs, Assistant City
Manager; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Jim Briggs, Assistant
City Manager; Rachel Saucier, Assistant City Secretary;
Minutes
A Overview of the September 30, 2011 year end preliminary financial information -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial
Officer
Berryman, Gonzalez absent.
With a Powerpoint Presentation, Rundell provided Council with the annual financial wrap up from last year. She
said these are preliminary numbers but noted they are better than anticipated. She said the numbers are
unaudited but noted the presentation is about the difference between the actual year-end balances and
projections. She said the sales tax revenue for the year ended at 4.68% higher than anticipated. She said this
is due to increased revenue from building materials, housing starts throughout the region and information
technology sales. She said there were also a few one time sales. She said the 2011/2012 sales tax revenue
projection is $7.9 Million. She noted this assumed a 2% increase of 2011 projections. She said this is 1% over
the actual year end 2010/2011 revenue. She said the long term forecast for sales tax is that it is to remain
relatively flat. She showed Council a graph of the City's sales tax history which demonstrated a large increase
between 2010 and 2011. She spoke about the sales tax per capita and how it jumped significantly because of
the 2010 Census. She said the general fund ended higher than anticipated with $8.7 million or 100 days,
including contingency reserves of $6.85 million. She said the excess funds were approximately $920,000 higher
than projected which results from higher revenue. She said those are due to weather related issues including
the increased sale of water. She spoke about development related revenues and said they were $50,000 or 5.9
percent higher than previous years. She said there were 509 residential permits and 97 commercial permits.
She said there were 284 development applications filed so far this year, whereas last year there was only 150
files for the whole year. She showed Council a graph of the construction permits with the City's revenue and the
value they create. She said the City generated the same amount of permits as last year, but with higher
revenue. She spoke about the other revenues in the City. She said one of the only revenues that are down are
the court fines, which are down 20.4%. She described why that is the case. She said parks and recreation
continues to increase at a rate of 6% over last year. She said, overall, revenues are within $731,000 of what was
projected.
Berryman arrived at the dais.
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Rundell provided Council with the overall fund balance, which is $920,000 higher than projected. She said staff
has some recommended allocations for those funds. She spoke about what the city could use the general fund
excess funds for including the Rock Street improvements, city office building remodel, Bellaire and Shell Road
improvements and 971 improvements. Rundell spoke about the special revenue funds and how the majority
were higher than anticipated due to revenues being higher or expenses being lower than anticipated. She said
the parks restricted funds were $724,000 in the fund balance because no parkland dedication fees expended
during the year. She spoke about the internal service funds and said these funds are used to support other
departments. She spoke about the facilities maintenance fund and how it is $33,000 less due to allocated
savings and timing of projects. She said the joint services fund was $147,000 less due to allocation savings.
She briefly spoke about the funds in fleet services as well as information services. She spoke about the debt
service fund and how it ended $131,000 higher than projections mainly because the debt payments were less
than expected. She said the fund balance is about $1.9 million or 9% higher than projections. She said the
excess will be used to offset the debt service payment and the tax rate for next year. She spoke about the
airport fund and said revenues were $713,000 more than projections and described how they were offset by
increased expenses. Rundell moved to the Utility funds and said they continue to grow. She said the electric
customers grew by 2%. She said water and wastewater customer base grew at 3%. She showed Council a
graph demonstrating the utility customer growth. She spoke about the electric fund and noted the total revenue
was $2.7 million greater than projected due to the hot and dry summer. She said the service revenues were
$2.4 million greater than projected. She said CIP expenses were higher than projected because of the timing.
She said the ending working capital is about $93,000 less than projected. She spoke about water services fund
and noted the total revenue was $3.1 million more than projected. She said the wasterwater revenue was on
target. She said expenses were $2.2 million less than projected due to the timing of CIP projects. She noted the
ending working capital is about $5.3 million more than projected. She spoke about the stormwater drainage
fund and how the revenue and expenses were right on target. She said the City completed some capital projects
this year. She listed many projects that began in 2010-11 with expected completion in 2012. She provided
council with a conclusion and said the balances were higher than anticipated in most funds. She said the timing
of expenditures created negative variances for special revenue finds. She said the staff sees some current year
end budget amendments to finalize the 2010/11 budget proposed for January 2012. She said the 2010/11 Year
End Budget Amendment includes amendments to the general fund related to community services, general
capital projects and various SRFs funds due to increased donations. She said the first reading of the budget
amendment ordinance will be brought to council in January. She spoke about the 2010/11 audit and financial
statements, or the CAFR, will brought to Council in February. She said the year ended well but it is all because
of the sale of water.
Mayor asked and Brandneburg said the revenue was much better than anticipated and added a lot of it is due to
the weather. He said he is happy with the numbers presented to Council. Hellmann asked and Rundell
confirmed the net is about $920,000. Hellmann asked and Rundell said the potential uses were about $450,000
and the rest can be used for excess money in the following year. Meigs asked if the policy requires the City to
have a fixed interest rate. Rundell said no, but noted it does limit what the City can invest in. She said CDs are
the majority of the City's investment options right now. Sattler asked and Rundell said she would like to
recommend $400-450k to reduce next year's budget deficit. Jonrowe asked and Rundell said these numbers
are the variances above and below what was the budgeted numbers last year. Rundell said the City is actually
better than what was expected. Jonrowe asked and Rundell confirmed we have a surplus. Jonrowe asked and
Rundell said the surplus is over and above anything that staff projected. Rundell said the revenues from the
utilities that were so much higher than anticipated is what made this year so unusual. Jonrowe asked and
Rundell said staff predicts usage with yearly averages. Hellmann asked and Rundell said the excess funds can
be used to buy down the tax rate.
B Update on Boards & Commissions Administration and Training Procedures -- Jessica Brettle, City Secretary;
Rachel Saucier, Assistant City Secretary; Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney and Skye Masson, Legal
Assistant
Saucier spoke some of the resources that have developed over the past couple of months for the City's Boards
and Commissions. Saucier showed the Council the new online application and how that functions on the City's
website. She spoke about how citizens can now look up information about the Boards and Commissions before
applying. She noted the online application mirrors the form that has been used in the past and explained how
each Board's eligibility criteria shows up on the Board. She spoke about how the citizen comment and conflict of
interest forms are now available online as well. She described the new Board training portion of the website and
how each page of the site is tailored to each particular board. She noted the City Secretary's office is in the
process of finalizing an Frequently Asked Questions "FAQ" page for new and existing board members. She said
the bylaws for each of the boards and home rule charter are also on the site. She continued to speak about all
of the resources that are being provided to the public and new and existing board members on the City's
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website. Saucier said the City Secretary's office and the legal department will be having the annual board
member training at the end of February. She said, in addition to open meetings training, staff will be providing
members with meeting procedure training as well. She said the staff is also planning on holding some
specialized training for certain board that have specific legal or decision making authority such as Planning and
Zoning and Zoning Board of Adjustment. She said staff hosted a training session for the staff liaisons to get
feedback and review police and procedures.
Brettle said we are trying to provide as much information as we can to new board members to make sure the
transitions are as smooth as possible. She noted staff wants to provide the members with as much information
as they need to be the best board members and service people as possible. Chapman said her and Masson are
happy to support the City Secretary's office in this effort. She said Saucier has done a fantastic job. She noted
they are working toward consistency among board. Brettle spoke about how staff is wanting to open up the
lines of communication between staff and the board liaisons as well so that staff can be kept up to date on any
board concerns or questions.
Mayor asked if there was a way to know how many employee hours are spent working with these boards.
Saucier said it could be said that some staff liaisons spend 10-20% of their time per week on Board issues.
Brettle spoke about how all of the Boards are going to be moved to the online NovusAgenda system. Mayor
spoke about the importance of the Board liaisons. Berryman asked and Saucier confirmed she will send a
document to Council showing which terms are up and who is eligible for reappointment. Sattler complimented
Saucier and added he is pleased with the ways things have been going. Eason thanked Saucier for all of her
hard work and added it is a tremendous job. She noted having been involved for nine years, Saucier has turned
this process into a streamlined and easier process. She said she likes the idea that people will be able to go
online and preview the Board they are interested in before they apply. Mayor spoke about the improvements
Saucier, Brettle and Chapman to the process.
Meeting recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071, 551.072 and 551.087 of the Local Government
Code -- 4:46 PM
Meeting returned to open session and adjourned -- 6:08 PM
Approve
Mayor Georo Garver
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Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 06:08 PM.
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city Secret ssica Brettle