HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 02/01/2013 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF TH E A M ES C ITY CO UN CIL
AME S, I OWA FEBRU ARY 1, 2013
The Am es City Co unc il met in sp ecial sessio n at 2:1 5 p.m . on F ebru ary 1, 2 013 , in th e Co unc il
Cham bers of City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Campbell presiding and the
following Cou ncil mem bers present: Matthew Go odm an, Jam i Larso n, Pete r Oraz em , and V ictoria
Szo pinsk i. Council Member Jeremy Davis was absent. Council Member Tom Wacha arrived at 2:35
p.m . Ex officio M em ber B aker w as also p resent.
WAIVER OF GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION PRICING THRESHOLD AND
AUT HO RIZI NG PURCH ASE OF EQUIPMENT FOR POLICE DEPARTMENT: Chief Chuck
Cych osz explained that, as part of the City Hall Renovation project, the Police Department has
identified evide nce sto rage lo ckers a nd sh elving that w ill meet its ne eds. T he D epartm ent inten ds to
fund the purchase through a Department of Justice Edw ard Byrne Mem orial Justice A ssistance Gran t,
which will expire on February 20, 2013. There is an urgency to procure the evidence loc kers before
the Grant expires. This equipment is being offered through General Service Administration (GSA)
contract pricing; however, the City’s Purchas ing Po licies limit the u se of G SA expe nditu res to
$25,000. The Police Department is requesting that that dollar limit be waived. The cost of the lockers
is $29,004.74 and the shelving is $2,034.90 for a total cost of $31,039.64.
Mo ved by Larson, seconded by Orazem, to adopt RE SOLUTION N O. 12-037 approving a
waiver of City Purchasing Policies regarding General Services Administration pricing thresho ld
and authorizing the purchase of evidence lockers and weapons shelving at a cost of $31,039.64.
Ro ll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
mad e a portion of these M inutes.
COUNC IL COMM ENTS: Moved by Orazem, seconded by Larson, to refer to staff th e requ est
from Bob Gibson, Civil Design Advantage, for a waiver of the design and improv ement
standards for a 16-l ot single-family home rural subdivision to be located at 3491 Cameron School
Road.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
FY 2013/14 BUDGET OVE RVIEW: City Manager Steve Schainker told the Council that the FY
2013/14 budg et is particularly challenging becau se of a num ber of u nfun ded man dates as well
as the responsibility to fund the recently voter-approved bon d issue. The need to repair or replace
deteriorated utility infrastru cture, as w ell as me et federa l and state enviro nm enta l regulations,
have includ ed the need for user fe e increa ses in tw o (W ater and San itary Sew er) of the five
utilities for FY 2013 /14. Mr. Schainker advised that the budget that he was recommending for
FY 201 3/14 reflected e xpe nditu res of $2 06,2 72,8 97.
Council Member Wacha arrived at 2:35 p.m.
City M anag er Sch ainke r anno unc ed tha t he is pro posin g a pro perty tax increase of $.14 (or a
1.27% increase) per $1,000 of taxable valuation (from $10.72 to $10.86). He explained that the
City was informed that the additio nal co st to finance the state-mandated Fire & Police Retirement
System will be $340,558. That am ount alone would cause a $.12 increase in the tax rate.
Secondly, the additional cost to cover debt service payments for the construction phase of the
Library renovation project is estimate d to be $90 6,000 o r a $.39 increase in the tax rate. Tho se
two items w ould have increased the tax rate by $.51. According to Mr. Schainker, property taxes
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historica lly have been used to financ e th e Police, Fire, Transit, Planning, Parks, Recreation,
Cemetery, and L ibrary se rvices. The Department Heads have worked very hard to keep the
expenditures as low as possible without sacrificing the qu ality of serv ices citizen s hav e com e to
expect. The increase in the cost of Gener al Fund operations is 3.2%.
Finance Director Duane Pitcher stated that the City’s levy makes up 33.13% of a property’s total
tax bill; the Sch ool D istrict makes up 44.72% (if in the Ames C omm unity Sch ool District);
20.34% is the County’s share ; and 1.81% goes to Des Moines Area Community College
DM AC C).
Mr. Pitche r gave a com pariso n of C ity Property Tax Valuations and Total Levies to be collected
for fiscal year 2013/14 for the 13 largest cities in Iow a. Am es has th e seco nd-lo we st total city
tax levy per $1 ,000 valu ation; Mr. Pitche r reiterate d that for FY 2013/14, the total tax
levy/$1,00 0 taxa ble va luation will be $10.8 6.
City Manager Schainker gave a summa r y of the Local Sales Tax Expenditures for 2013/14.
Total receipts fo r 201 3/14 is estimate d at $7 ,122 ,355 . Sixty percent (60%) of that goes directly
to prop erty tax re duc tion an d 40 % ($2,8 48,9 42) g oes fo r Co mm unity Betterment. The funding
coming from Community Betterment goes to:
ASS ET A llocations (3% increase)$1,184,786
CO TA A llocations (2% increase) 140,879
Human Services Administration 16,149
Public A rt 33,500
Municipal Band 26,968
City Council Special Allocations 116,000
Hotel/Motel Tax Revenues to Replace LOST 88,286
Contribution to Park Development Fund 100,000
Contribution to Ames/ISU Arena Fund 20,000
City C IP Pro jects 1,237,270
Difference $ 61,676
Mr. Sc hainker listed the agen cies being fun ded throu gh C ity Coun cil Special Allocations:
Am es H istorical So ciety
Ames Partner City Association
Campustown Action Association
Main Street Cultural District
Hunziker Yo uth Sports Comp lex
ISU Homecoming
FACES
VEISHEA
Co unc il Member Goodman asked to hav e the C IP bro ken dow n. M r. Scha inker sa id that is
already being don e and will be re view ed for th e City Co unc il.
He gave a detailed analysis of changes in taxable values among residential, comm ercial,
indu strial, and u tilities. Reside ntial increa sed b y 5.4 3%, Com me rcial increa sed b y 2.3 6%,
Industrial decreased slightly (1.65%), and Utilities increased 2.93%. The percentage chan ge in
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taxable value equates to 3.85%.
The Fire & Police Trust Fun d was reviewed in detail by Mr. Pitcher. He emphasized that the
amount to be funded out of property tax will continue to increase; next year it is estimated that
it will be amount $2,000,000.
Finance Director Pitcher reviewed the debt service cost allocation for the 20 13/1 4 B udg et. He
told the Council how the bond proceeds will be used, with the largest portion ($5,540,222) going
to streets. The debt service issues for Fiscal Years 2012/2013 through 2017/18 were highlighted.
The total FY 2013/14 Debt Service Levy will be 3.59946/$1,000 valuation.
Co unc il Mem ber Go odm an asked for a graph sho wing total costs of City Services, not on ly those
amo unts prov ided by p roperty taxes.
A su mm ary of c han ge in tax asking for 20 13/1 4 w as prese nted b y Fin ance Direc tor Pitch er..
The costs of City services for 2013/14 per residence from property taxes (based on a $100,000
hom e) were sum marized, as follow s:
Streets/T raffic $ 138
Police Protection 131
Fire Protection 89
Recreation and Parks 52
Library 71
Tran sit 34
General Support Services 23
Planning 10
Storm Sew er 7
Resou rce Reco very 6
Animal Control 5
Building and G round s/Airport 4
Inspections/Sanitation 3
TOTAL $ 573/$100,000
An historic breakdown of the budget, specifically valuation increases and rollback, from 1992/93
to the pres ent w as giv en by M r. Pitcher. He also rev iewed the Full-Time Equ ivalents (FTE s)
recommended for 2012/13. There will be no new FTEs in 2013/14.
Rental Hou sing Fees, includ ing FY 2012 /13 Ad justed and F Y 20 13/14 R ecom men ded, w ere
shown. City Manager Sch ainker emphasized that the new software for Inspections (estimated at
$250,000) will not be charged back to customers; it will be paid for from excess revenue in the
General Fund.
Finance Director Pitcher showed the proposed FY 20 13/14 fees for Building Permits, which will
be in creased by an average of 3.0%. He show ed the prop osed fees for 20 13/14 fo r Parks an d
Recreation facilities and prog rams.
City Manager Schainker reported that two out of five utilities (Water and S anitary Sew er) will
hav e rate incre ases.
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Assistant Director of Water and Pollution Control Steve DuVall reviewed water and sewer rates,
including the Wa ter and Sew er Fund s and C IP expen ses. He no ted that FY 2013 /14 is the last
rate increase associated to the new Water Plant. In FY 2015/16, the increase of 7% will go
towards development of new well fields. Mr. DuVall showed the Water Fund Balance projection,
which has been built up and will make the transition into paying the expenses for the new W ater
Plant easier.
The Sewer Rate Projections as of April 10, 2012, were shown . Those projected rates changed as
of Feb ruary 1, 201 3. FY 2013/14 will need a 9% increase, instead of 5%; FY 2014/15 will be
12%, instead of 8%; FY 2015/16 will be 9%, instead of 0% and F Y 2 016 /17, a 6 % increase will
be need e d. Much of the increase is due to increases in CIP projects that have been proven
necessary by stu dies be ing co ndu cted. T here is a p ossibility that the increases will not be as large
when the two studies are complete. The Total Sewer CIP Expense Projections as of February 1,
201 3, w ere giv en.
Council Member Orazem left the meeting at 3:45 p.m.
M r. Du Va ll show ed w hat a typ ical residen tial, com me rcial, and indu strial custom er will pa y.
City Manag er Schainker emphasized that the City Council is not approving the rates at this time.
Staff will come back to the Council in April for a decision.
Budg et Officer Nancy Masteller outlined the Fund Sheets, broken down by General Fund,
Special Rev enu e Fu nds [e .g., Lo cal O ption Sales T axes, H otel/Motel Tax, Leased Housing, Road
Use Tax , City-W ide A fforda ble Housing, Tax Increment Financing, Fire/Police Pension
Retirem ent, Em ployee B enefit Property T ax, M iscellaneous Sp ecial Reven ues, Library
Do nations, Dev elope r Projec ts, and E con om ic Development (Revolving Loans and Forg ivable
Lo ans)], Permanent Funds (Cemetery, Furman Aqu atic Center Operations), Debt Service, Cap ital
Proje cts (Special A ssessm ent, Street Construction, Airport Construction, Am erican Reco very and
Reinvestment Act Energy Block Grant, Various Construction Grants, and Bond Proceeds), the
Enterprise Funds (Water Utility, W ater Co nstruc tion, Se we r Utility Operations, Sanitary Sewer
Impro vem ents, Electric Utility, Parking Operations and Improvement, Transit Agency
Op erations, Tran sit Capital Reserve, GSB Tran sit Tru st, and Tran sit Ag ency Inte rmodal Facility.)
City Manag er Schainker remin ded the C oun cil abou t the agre em ent w ith Iow a State U nivers ity
to split the amount of any operations deficit for the Intermodal Facility.
Ms. Mas teller co ntinued with the Enterprise Funds (Storm Sew er, Ames/ISU Ice Arena, Ice
Arena Capital Reserve, Homew ood G olf Course, Resource Recover y Operations and
Impro vem ents). Internal Services were summarized, including Fleet Maintenance Se rvices, Fleet
Rep lacem ent, Inform a tion Technology, Computer Replacement Fund, Risk Management, and
Health Insurance.
Finance Director Pitcher pointed out that the City’s Health Benefits Plan is self-insured (funded
through City and employee contributions). The Health Insurance Fund has enjoyed lower
increases for many years. There were some larger claims in 201 2/13 , and an 8% contrib ution rate
increase is budgeted for FY 2013/14.
Co unc il Mem ber Larson noted the lower balance in the Electric Utility fund. He did not want the
fund balance to drop so low that it necessitates a large rate increase.
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City M anag er Sch ainke r brou ght the Co unc il’s attention to the m em os pe rtaining to:
1.2013/14 ASSET Allocations and COTA Funding requests. More in-depth information will
be pro vided on F ebru ary 12 , 201 3, du ring B udg et W rap-U p.
2.201 3/14 Pub lic Art C om missio n fun ding reque st.
3.2013 /14 Ou tside Fund ing Req uests.
City M anag er Sch ainke r told the Council that the request from Ames Historical Society for funds
to help with the Ames Sesquicentennial celebration had not been included as part of the 2013/14
Ou tside Fund ing Req uests.
Mayor Campbell also reported that she had g otten notice from the Jaycees that they will no
longer be involved in funding the 4 th of July firewo rks. Th erefore , fund ing fo r the firew orks w ill
need to co me from another sou rce, be it from the City or o thers.
It was noted by Mr. Schainker that the minutes of the Town Budget Meeting on October 2, 2012,
were included in the budget information.
The Council’s attention was brou ght to six revised CIP sheets. T hree o f the revisio ns pe rtain to
the Resource Recove ry Plant, shifting funding to Gene ral Obligation B onds for the P rimary
Shredd er, the PDS Cyclone, and a new project, the Area Sprinkler System. One of the revisions
is for the Cy Ride Building Expansion and Modernization, shifting funding on a small portion
of the project not eligible for federal funding. Two revisions pertain to Parks and Recreation and
both are new p roje cts: one for Play grou nd/P ark E quip me nt Im prov em ents for R oose velt
Neighborhood Park Developm ent and the other to add playground eq uipment to the former
Willson-Beardshear School, which has recently been purchased by the Ames Commu nity
Presc hoo l Cen ter.
Regarding the recommendation to fund improvements in the amount of $80,000 to the
playground at the form er Ro osev elt School in 2014/15, Council Member Wacha asked wh y on ly
Ro osev elt was being in cluded and not the other the other closed schools. Council Mem ber
Larson noted that the City had not heard anything from Edwards or Crawford.
Discussion ensued about the potential CIP project to add $30,000 for playground equipment for
Am es Com munity Preschool Center (AC PC) at the former Willson-Beardshear school site. Mr.
Sc hainker advised that a User Agreement would need to be developed and signed. Counc i l
Mem ber Good man noted that normally the City pays 50% w ith the School D istrict paying the
other 50% for playground equipment. That arrangement has been the norm because the school
sites are used as neighborhood parks. He pointed out that the school property is used for a
neighborhood park f or those months and times when school is not in session. That would not
be the case for Willson-Beardshear as ACPC w ould be in operation during the day year-round.
Co unc il Member Wacha said that he felt Willson-Beardshear was a unique situation. From a
neighborhood asset stand poin t, the develop men t of Willson-B eardshear as a neighbo rhood park
wo uld b e ideal.
Discussion contin ued abou t the C ity Manag er inquiring from A CPC if it would be willing to pay
a portion of the playground equipment. Due to two members of the Council being absent and
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Co unc il Mem ber Wacha indicated that he w ould need to abstain due to a con flict of interest, no
further action wa s taken on this m atter.
ADJOURNMEN T: Moved by Larson to adjourn the meeting at 4:40 p.m.
________________________________________________________________________
Diane R . Voss, City C lerk An n H. C amp bell, May or