On the agenda

1. 1Call to Order – Roll Call▶ 0:00
2. 2

   Pledge of Allegiance

   Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence in honor of servicemen and women.

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   [00:00:16] to all please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for a moment [00:00:20] of silence in honor of our servicemen and women at home and abroad. [00:00:24] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States [00:00:28] of America and to the republic for which it stands, [00:00:32] one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty [00:00:36] and justice for all.

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3. 3

   Moment of Silence

   Moment of silence observed.

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   [00:00:40] Thank you. You may be seated.

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4. 4.a

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   Final Public Hearing - FY18 Operating Budget & Capital Improvement Program

   discussed

   Final public hearing on the FY 2017-18 Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program. City Manager Manz and the Finance Director presented the $55,911,720 citywide budget with a proposed millage rate of 8.995 mills (down from 9.15). Council discussed staff reorganizations and Councilman Phillips advocated for a deeper millage reduction into the 7s by drawing more from the water/sewer enterprise fund. Public comment was taken; no final vote is captured in this excerpt.

   📍7210 Jasmine Drive🏢FGUA🏢Pasco County Property Appraiser's Office🏢Tyler Technologies👤Councilman Davis👤Councilman Phillips👤Councilman Starkey👤Joan Nelson-Hook👤Judy Myers👤Mr. Iazzoni👤Mr. Rivera👤Ms. Dillinger👤Ms. Manz#CRA TIF transfer ($923,480)#Capital Improvement Plan#FY 2017-18 Operating Budget#Florida Statute 200.065#Pavement Management Plan#Resolution 2017-34#Stormwater Assessment#Strategic Plan#Street Improvement Fund#Street Light Assessment#Truth in Millage Notice#Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund

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   [00:00:48] Tonight is the final public hearing [00:00:52] on the Fiscal Year 18 Operating Budget and Capital [00:00:56] Improvement Plan. Ms. Manz, take it away. Okay. Mr. Mayor, members [00:01:00] of the Council, it's my pleasure to present to [00:01:04] you for your consideration the Fiscal Year 2017- [00:01:08] 2018 budget. This budget represents [00:01:12] our collective work over the past three months to develop [00:01:16] a document that reflects your spending priorities for the coming fiscal year. [00:01:20] It also specifies the sources that are to be [00:01:24] relied upon to fund programs and services and as [00:01:28] is required by Florida law, all funds are structurally balanced [00:01:32] and are based on estimated revenues, expenditures [00:01:36] and available fund balance. In large part [00:01:40] the 2017-18 budget focuses on strategic [00:01:44] initiatives. The strategic initiatives are set forth [00:01:48] in the City's Strategic Plan and are the result of the goals of the City [00:01:52] Council as well as planning sessions that I conducted with [00:01:56] the Department Heads and Division Heads. City Council has [00:02:00] identified eight primary goals that have [00:02:04] guided the decisions on fiscal priorities, [00:02:08] organizational and operational improvements throughout the City. [00:02:12] And as much, this budget reflects the [00:02:16] City's needs and supports initiatives to enhance the type of [00:02:20] growth that will enable the sustainability of the City. [00:02:24] In more specific terms, the Fiscal Year 17-18 General Fund [00:02:28] Revenue Budget is $20,840,090. [00:02:32] $1,502,260 [00:02:36] $1,502,260 [00:02:40] represents transfers in. [00:02:44] $4,360,100 [00:02:48] are enterprise funds. The proposed budget [00:02:52] is based on a property tax rate of $8.995 [00:02:56] mills, which is a reduction in [00:03:00] the current mills. As I'm sure all of you [00:03:04] will recall, one mill equals $1 of tax per [00:03:08] $1,000 of value. The average [00:03:12] taxable value in the City of New Port Richey increased by [00:03:16] 3.64% this past year. The total [00:03:20] value of property in the City is [00:03:24] $533,024,487 [00:03:28] $533,024,487 [00:03:32] The total budgeted expenditures represents a [00:03:36] 2.74% decrease in [00:03:40] expenses and the total budget is [00:03:44] $46,547,300 [00:03:48] The capital expenditures proposed for [00:03:52] the 2017-18 year is $7,700,480 [00:03:56] $7,700,480 [00:04:00] I would like to express my appreciation to the City staff [00:04:04] for their contributions in the preparation of the budget document [00:04:08] and I'd like to thank the Mayor and the City Council for your leadership [00:04:12] Through your cooperative efforts, we can continue to plan and build [00:04:16] the City's path towards continued economic growth, eliminating [00:04:20] blight from the New Port Richey landscape, strengthening the [00:04:24] City's customer service and overall citizen perception of City programs [00:04:28] and services, improving the overall aesthetics of the City [00:04:32] and marketing New Port Richey for new businesses and residential [00:04:36] purposes. With that being said, I am [00:04:40] required to read the following statement into [00:04:44] the record. Florida Statute 200.065 [00:04:48] 2C1 prescribes that City Council adopt [00:04:52] the millage rate prior to adopting the 2017-18 [00:04:56] budget. A notification regarding the public hearing has been [00:05:00] provided to every property owner in the City by the Pasco [00:05:04] County Property Appraiser's Office. This notice, in [00:05:08] the form of the Truth in Millage Notice, was mailed the week of August [00:05:12] 24, 2017. Action requested [00:05:16] is to adopt Resolution 2017-34 [00:05:20] The name of the taxing authority is the City of [00:05:24] New Port Richey. The tentative millage rate of 8.995 [00:05:28] mills is 1.09 less [00:05:32] than the rollback rate of 90991 [00:05:36] mills. Total ad valorem revenues that will be generated [00:05:40] are estimated to be $4,451,030 [00:05:44] That is approximately [00:05:48] $231,580 more [00:05:52] than what was generated in ad valorem in fiscal year [00:05:56] 16-17 due to the increase of property values. [00:06:00] The millage rate is 8.9950 [00:06:04] and is a decrease from the prior year millage of [00:06:08] 9.1500. Although the statute requires [00:06:12] discussion regarding the percent increase over the rollback [00:06:16] rate and specific purposes for which ad valorem [00:06:20] is being increased, for the record, in neither case [00:06:24] does this apply to the City of New Port Richey. [00:06:28] After [00:06:32] review by you [00:06:36] and any requested changes or modifications [00:06:40] that you so desire, we will ask that you pass the resolutions [00:06:44] and at this time I'd like to [00:06:48] turn it over to the City's Finance Director who has a short presentation [00:06:52] regarding the operating budget. At the [00:06:56] close of the presentation it is requested that the Mayor invite public comment [00:07:00] on the millage. Good evening. [00:07:04] The City Manager has already covered [00:07:08] the key areas of the second proposed budget [00:07:12] so before we open the floor up to public comment I will take some [00:07:16] time to summarize just a few other key points. [00:07:24] The citywide budget being proposed to you [00:07:28] this evening totals $55,911,720. [00:07:32] Of that amount [00:07:36] the majority is made up of the General Fund and Water and Sewer Fund [00:07:40] which make up 37 and 29 percent respectively. [00:07:44] The other three funds that make up [00:07:48] the top five include the Capital Improvement Fund [00:07:52] coming in at 14 percent, the Street Improvement Fund [00:07:56] which is at 7 percent and the CRA Fund which is at 6 percent. [00:08:04] Total revenues for the General Fund proposed tonight [00:08:08] totals $20,730,090. [00:08:12] Departmental budgets total [00:08:16] $19,424,450 [00:08:20] and we have budgeted reserves coming in at $192,160. [00:08:24] And transfers out of the General Fund [00:08:28] to other funds totaling $1,223,480 [00:08:32] which totals $20,840,090 [00:08:40] which leaves the General Fund to use [00:08:44] a carryover of prior year reserves totaling $110,000. [00:08:48] And that amount is specifically related [00:08:52] to the fitness equipment that was budgeted for fiscal year 2017 [00:08:56] that we were not at the stage to purchase [00:09:00] and so we will roll those funds over to next year [00:09:04] to purchase when the project is ready for it. [00:09:08] The revenues that's being [00:09:12] presented here do include transfers in and the transfers out [00:09:16] amount includes a transfer to the Street Improvement Fund of $300,000 [00:09:20] which is part of the amount that the [00:09:24] General Fund has obligated itself for the Pavement Management Plan [00:09:28] and then the CRA TIF transfer of $923,480. [00:09:38] The second proposed expenditure [00:09:42] provides you with the total of [00:09:46] expenditures by department. So you can see each department [00:09:50] and its total amount being proposed to be included [00:09:54] in the budget. The Police, Fire, and [00:09:58] Public Works departments make up [00:10:02] a good majority of the General Fund budget but you can see that these other [00:10:06] departments are listed here as well and of course make up the rest of the amount. [00:10:10] The remaining funds [00:10:14] that are included in the budget [00:10:18] are listed here to provide a comparison of what was first proposed [00:10:22] and the changes that are being proposed [00:10:26] in tonight's second proposed budget. You have [00:10:30] stormwater, street lighting, general debt service, capital improvement, [00:10:34] water and sewer, central garage, CRA, and street [00:10:38] improvement. And you can see that this [00:10:42] schedule just outlines the changes in total expenditures from first proposed [00:10:46] budget to second proposed budget. [00:10:50] That's all I had. So I'll turn it over to the Mayor. [00:10:54] One other thing, Mr. Mayor, that I think we need to talk [00:10:58] about specifically are the staff changes that are proposed [00:11:02] as part of the budget. They are [00:11:06] the largest expenditure of funds and in the City Manager's [00:11:10] office we're reducing the Executive Assistant from full-time [00:11:14] to part-time. In the City Clerk we are reducing [00:11:18] that position from full-time to part-time and that's the result [00:11:22] of the fact that Judy Myers has taken over both responsibilities. [00:11:26] The Assistant to the City Manager position [00:11:30] has been dissolved. In the Finance Department we are talking [00:11:34] about adding a new full-time accountant to position [00:11:38] and eliminating a customer service representative position. [00:11:42] In the Library budget we are removing the Assistant Library Director. [00:11:46] In the Police Division we are removing the Deputy Police [00:11:50] Chief position to part-time dispatcher [00:11:54] positions and reducing a Code Enforcement [00:11:58] Clerk to part-time for half of the fiscal year. [00:12:02] In the Development Department we are removing the part-time receptionist. [00:12:06] We are removing a residential code inspector [00:12:10] and we are reducing the Housing Rehabilitation Specialist to part-time. [00:12:14] In the Recreation Department we have added two [00:12:18] part-time child watch positions, one part-time [00:12:22] fitness supervisor, and in Public Works we have added [00:12:26] two seasonal positions for the summer [00:12:30] and one part-time administrative assistant and one full-time utilities [00:12:34] mechanic one. [00:13:00] No, this would be your opportunity. Come on down and tell us [00:13:04] what's on your mind though, please. To the mic [00:13:08] so the people at home can get it. [00:13:20] No, no, we do and that's why I want you to come on up and talk. [00:13:24] Thank you. I'm Joan Nelson-Hook. I live at 7210 Jasmine Drive. [00:13:28] I'm just really interested in how this process [00:13:32] works. I heard Councilman Phillips [00:13:36] say last time we were here that the millage [00:13:40] rate needs to be reduced and I'm just very curious as to [00:13:44] how things are going to be cut, what's going to happen. I know we're [00:13:48] getting a new street assessment and a storm sewer [00:13:52] or street light assessment [00:13:56] and I just kind of wonder in my head if that [00:14:00] is going to offset the difference in [00:14:04] what we're paying in taxes and what the [00:14:08] reduction would be. I don't know that we really need [00:14:12] to be reducing the millage rate. [00:14:16] I pay my fair share of taxes but [00:14:20] I just don't want the city to go backwards. I don't [00:14:24] want us to buy it cheap. I just [00:14:28] really think that in order to attract the kind of businesses we want to [00:14:32] attract, we've got to have that shining city on the hill and [00:14:36] we have to pay for it, that's all. [00:14:40] So thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn how this process works. Thank you. [00:14:44] Thank you Mrs. Hook. Anyone else? [00:14:48] And let the record indicate [00:14:52] that Councilman Davis has joined us. [00:15:00] I'm going to take a brief pause until Councilman Starkey gets back. [00:15:30] I'm going to take a brief pause until Councilman Starkey gets back. [00:16:00] I'm going to take a brief pause until Councilman Starkey gets back. [00:16:20] I'm going to take a brief pause until Councilman Starkey gets back. [00:16:31] I'm going to take a brief pause until Councilman Starkey gets back. [00:16:35] ...public hearing and bring this back to Council. [00:16:38] Again, we'll have some discussion and then there will be two sets of motions. [00:16:44] One for the millage rate and then one for the actual budget. [00:16:51] In deference to the fact that it's hard to pick a millage [00:16:54] without at least talking about the budget, we'll do both discussions at the same time [00:16:58] if that meets the legal requirements. [00:17:01] Yes, that's fine. [00:17:02] Very good. [00:17:03] I would open it up for discussion. [00:17:05] I just have a couple of questions based on what Ms. Manz just shared with us. [00:17:10] Just a question about the code enforcement. [00:17:12] We currently have three and we're eliminating one position so there will only be two. [00:17:16] Is that what you were suggesting? [00:17:19] No. [00:17:20] Okay. [00:17:21] The code enforcement position that we are reducing from full-time to part-time [00:17:28] is the clerk that serves the special magistrate. [00:17:32] Okay. [00:17:33] So how many code enforcement personnel do we have in the field? [00:17:37] We have three full-time code enforcement officers. [00:17:39] Okay. [00:17:40] I was at a retirement party recently so that position that Liz has been filled. [00:17:45] Okay. [00:17:46] So we've got three code enforcement officers in the field. [00:17:49] In addition to that, or separate from that, [00:17:52] but the landlord residential, that is managed through the fire department. [00:17:58] Is that correct? [00:17:59] Yes, it is. [00:18:00] Okay. [00:18:01] I just wanted to confirm that. [00:18:02] Thank you. [00:18:03] Any other questions, comments? [00:18:06] Yes, Mr. Mayor. [00:18:07] Like I said, I guess my first question would be is, [00:18:14] not that I want to kick the can down the road any further this week, [00:18:18] but obviously we got the latest update last Tuesday. [00:18:23] We got the adjustment proposed budget items that had been changed in it. [00:18:32] And it's a tough document to get through. [00:18:38] I don't care how you sit down, how you try to parse it out. [00:18:43] With all the things that are coming in and all the things that are going out, [00:18:49] and you try to compare them on separate levels. [00:18:55] And in the meantime, there are two or three things that have, [00:19:02] that are being proposed in this new updated version that, [00:19:08] I don't know that we actually have had much time to discuss discourse about. [00:19:16] You know, the only things that the manager can't obviously do away with [00:19:25] are organizations in the city that are charter driven. [00:19:34] You know, it was news to me that we were eliminating the assistant CM. [00:19:40] I don't think we did a very good job explaining the reorganization in the library. [00:19:46] We make it look like we're just lopping off heads when I understand we're doing, [00:19:51] we're, I guess, reaccommodating some of the specialties that some of the people have [00:19:58] and don't need this assistant position at the moment, [00:20:01] but we're expanding responsibilities for a number of others in the organization. [00:20:08] So, you know, I, as usual, I went through and I got sticky notes. [00:20:15] I got tabs all over this thing. [00:20:17] You know, when you talk about millage versus special assessment fee against the CRA, [00:20:25] against all of those things, you know, every year, [00:20:30] and this is my fifth or sixth, I guess, [00:20:36] in my lifetime that I've had to go through a city budget. [00:20:39] This one, to me, seems like we're at the 11th hour [00:20:43] and I just don't believe that we've had a really good opportunity. [00:20:49] Don't get me wrong, I understand the hurricane got in the way [00:20:52] and some of the other things like that. [00:20:54] You know, life gets in the way of everybody's household budget, too. [00:21:00] And I know that for the last four meetings, [00:21:02] I had incessantly and over and over wanted to try to find a way to get into the sevens. [00:21:11] And I asked for numbers a month ago. [00:21:14] I got a set of numbers. [00:21:16] I got another group of numbers. [00:21:20] So to just quantify how we would get from 8.995, [00:21:27] which we make sound like it's a monumental relief off of 9.15, [00:21:33] because it's kind of like when you go buy something [00:21:35] and somebody tells you it's $99.99, it's still $100. [00:21:41] I don't care how you dress it up, it's still $100. [00:21:45] And to do what we have done in this budget cycle [00:21:51] to not only, again, balance our street light on our stormwater, [00:21:57] but also bring other players to the game, [00:22:00] which was the tune of about another $65,000 or $70,000 [00:22:05] when you take the uptick of the vacant properties in those two. [00:22:09] And they stand on their own and then they transfer money back [00:22:12] into the general revenue fund. [00:22:15] And then we went about putting together the pavement management plan. [00:22:21] And in essence, we are driving another $800,000 into the city. [00:22:31] And I just don't see where we've taken the fair and equitable path [00:22:35] of trying to reduce the millage rate. [00:22:40] I had a couple of thoughts. [00:22:42] One got shot out. [00:22:44] The numbers I got here, because it's not clearly stated [00:22:49] in two of the items, one for the police department [00:22:53] and one for the fire department, [00:22:56] which totaled about $135,000 that they were covered within [00:23:03] and a transfer from back into the general fund, let's just go it that way. [00:23:10] So the numbers I got today for us to take our millage rate down, [00:23:16] and I'm playing games too, I asked what it would take [00:23:22] for us to get our millage rate to 79950. [00:23:32] Now, I know it's not 7.5. [00:23:34] I know I'm playing the same games, but at least I'm identifying it up front [00:23:38] and it gets us started down into the sevens. [00:23:43] Because I've been at two meetings. [00:23:45] I've been at Mr. Iazzoni's CRA meetings [00:23:49] and what the consultancy brings in that tells us that [00:23:52] we would look a lot better in our marketing aspects [00:23:56] if our millage rate was somewhere in the sevens. [00:23:59] I think when I arrived here, Mayor, back in 2012, we were at 9.3 or 9.5. [00:24:05] We think it's a monumental, all the things we've done [00:24:08] and we've driven the bus pretty well. [00:24:11] We've hit a few potholes. [00:24:13] So the magic number to get down to that millage rate is $402,576. [00:24:23] Is that correct? [00:24:24] I'm sorry, my dyslexia is jumping around, which I don't have. [00:24:28] I just always say I do because I'm trying. [00:24:31] From what I'm showing from this feast this afternoon, [00:24:35] for us to go from $899 to $799, [00:24:39] we would have to find in this existing budget [00:24:43] or transfer in an additional $402,576. [00:24:58] And obviously during my due diligence [00:25:00] and trying to look at all the things that were in this budget this year [00:25:06] and then how you could kind of stabilize that rate next year [00:25:10] if you identified those items up front this year. [00:25:15] Because it doesn't do any good to pull it back one year [00:25:18] and then bump it back the next unless you have monumental circumstances. [00:25:27] Next year in your budget, there's a number of things you won't have. [00:25:32] You won't have the $355,000 payment for Tyler Technologies. [00:25:37] That happy trip down technology lane will be over for everyone. [00:25:42] We've had to live with it for three or four years trying to transition to that. [00:25:45] So that's off the table. [00:25:47] Also off the table next year is about $51,000 [00:25:52] that's in a payout that we've had on a poor zoning decision [00:25:58] that was made eight or nine years ago that we had to deal with. [00:26:02] And thank God before Ms. Manns got here, [00:26:06] Ms. Dillinger finally said I was sorry to the owner [00:26:11] and took our liability from close to a million dollars [00:26:14] down to somewhere in the 300s. [00:26:16] Which I thought was, I don't know how she did it to be honest with you, [00:26:20] but it worked out well on the city's behalf. [00:26:24] So next year, not this year, but next year you'll have $400,000 [00:26:29] if you don't go out and spend it because you have it, [00:26:33] but you apply it against trying to keep your millage rate in the sevens [00:26:39] and maybe find other ways to drive it down a little bit further. [00:26:45] The short and simple way without belaboring you, [00:26:48] and I don't want to do that because I've done that on other occasions [00:26:53] and it gets lost in all of the muck and the mire [00:26:58] and all the stuff that's in the budget and how it goes in and how it comes out. [00:27:04] There's really one, possibly two ways that I would bring [00:27:14] a recommendation to you on a way to get there. [00:27:17] Now that's going to take me asking a couple of questions of staff. [00:27:21] Ms. Manns, would that be okay? [00:27:23] Yes, sir. [00:27:26] Because I want to be clear about what I see in the budget [00:27:31] of where it was last year, where we've presented it this year, [00:27:37] and where again we might be able to get to that $400,000. [00:27:44] And ideally it comes back to a couple of things. [00:27:49] One, in this budget we've dropped out, but over and above that [00:27:57] is a philosophy on what we believe our enterprise fund, who it belongs to. [00:28:04] Does the enterprise fund belong to city council and the staff and to the operation? [00:28:10] Or does it belong to the citizens of New Port Richey [00:28:13] because they're the ones who pay for the water and sewer service [00:28:17] and because of the fine management it's had [00:28:19] and because we have ongoing annual escalations in operation, [00:28:25] we've had the ability to transfer funds. [00:28:29] And I'm going to say it out loud, the only reason the city really made it through [00:28:33] from 2012 through 2014 was because of the water sewer enterprise fund. [00:28:40] That's the only way we made it with less ad valorem [00:28:44] and less revenue coming into the city. [00:28:47] Is that a fair assessment, Mr. Rivera? [00:28:51] Yes, sir. [00:28:52] We took a pretty good swing on that, but at the same time [00:28:59] we went through a rate study, we went through an equalization element. [00:29:05] Thank God you didn't bring us the PowerPoint that your predecessor did, [00:29:09] but we understand that. [00:29:11] But we have relied on that because it is in all actual states, [00:29:19] it's part of our overall operations. [00:29:23] And just so I'm clear, over the last four years [00:29:26] we have a five-year program in place that every year [00:29:31] those expenses go up four percent across the board. [00:29:34] Is that correct? [00:29:35] Correct. That started back in 2006. [00:29:38] Yes, so every year. [00:29:40] But still recognize we're still way under water and sewer service [00:29:46] throughout our own service area. [00:29:48] Anybody that's got the county gets theirs, [00:29:50] anybody that's got Lendrick, FGUA, all those things. [00:29:54] And we even went out and bought two other utilities this year, [00:29:58] paid $10,000. [00:30:00] for them, or actually finance them, and they're covered in the debt service in this document. [00:30:06] The reason I bring us to that point is last year, if you look at our budget, we basically [00:30:13] went out and took from that enterprise fund about $3,600,000. [00:30:27] This year we're proposing to take about $3,200,000, which if you do the math, it's a difference [00:30:33] about $337 difference, and the budget was originally at the other number, and that number [00:30:39] was there, and I don't ever remember seeing a budget amendment to change that withdrawal, [00:30:44] but that's a different story for a different day. [00:30:49] My conversation to you is to look and to say, if it was okay to draw down $3,600,000 [00:30:57] last year, and we could draw $3,600,000 again this year, and apply that $337,000 against [00:31:04] our millage rate, that's $337,000 of $402,000 that's already there. [00:31:11] Let's have a conversation, Mr. Rivera. [00:31:13] I know that you've been around that organization for a long time. [00:31:17] Your guys do a great job, matter of fact, you talked to me about the wonderful things [00:31:21] they did for the city, and keeping cost downs, and all those. [00:31:26] I'm just trying to recognize in my own mind, before I would make that recommendation, that [00:31:34] is there any way possible over the last five years, we've increased operating expenses [00:31:38] to the tune of over 25% for that particular enterprise fund? [00:31:44] I took everything I could find in the budget to give back, and I still came away, that [00:31:50] we still at the end of the year, after all expenses and everything, was somewhere in [00:31:54] the $5,000,000 range. [00:31:56] It may be off by 10%, 12%, I don't know. [00:32:00] I just want to make sure, because that's what I'm seeing as a possible place, if people [00:32:07] agree with me, that that enterprise fund belongs to the citizens of New Port Richey. [00:32:14] I'm asking for your input, I'd really like to hear what you have to say. [00:32:17] I agree with you, it does belong to the citizens of New Port Richey, and it's our responsibility [00:32:22] to do our due diligence, and to run it like we are supposed to, and that's conservative, [00:32:27] and look at it from that approach. [00:32:30] That's one of the reasons why we do our revenue sufficiency studies so frequently, as a matter [00:32:35] of fact, we're on the back end of completing our latest one from the 2015, and each one [00:32:43] of those reports that we've done since around 2006, we've done five year projections, and [00:32:51] some of those inflation rates have been 2.5, some of them have been, they will fluctuate, [00:32:57] but in the end when the consultant takes that five year span, he does his math, and he figures [00:33:04] out what that inflation rate would be for operating. [00:33:08] Sometimes we exceed it, sometimes we go below, just depends on what type of year you've had, [00:33:14] so to answer your question, every report that has been subsequent to the previous one, we've [00:33:23] been in the ballpark when it came to what our expenditures were, what our projected [00:33:28] revenues were, every study that was completed, we maintained our position when compared to [00:33:34] other utilities as far as being in that middle ground where we weren't the most expensive [00:33:39] for water and sewer rates, but we weren't the cheapest either, so I think having these [00:33:47] sufficiency studies as often as we do is a good thing for us because it really gives [00:33:53] us that live input on where we're at with the utility. [00:33:56] Now I know that the last two reports have showed that there will probably be some capital [00:34:01] bonding in the 18-19 year to continue on with our capital projects, as aggressive as [00:34:06] we are, we knew, like you had stated, before the recession hit that the city was going [00:34:12] to have to, the city as a whole was going to have to lean on the utility, and we figured [00:34:16] at some point in time the consultants would give us their input as far as where that number [00:34:22] needed to be, and we're expected to get that number on this report, and we're hoping that [00:34:29] the report should be due to us probably maybe around December, and that should give us [00:34:34] those hard concrete numbers as far as are we within that range as far as transfers go, [00:34:42] are we too heavy, where do we stand when it comes to that dollar amount that you're talking [00:34:47] about because it was increased during the recession, and then now it's stayed basically [00:34:54] at about that same level. [00:34:56] 3.2 to 3.6, is that a fair, I just want to, and I understand that it's the right thing [00:35:03] to do, and being in that 3.2 to 3.6 range is kind of what I was looking at, because [00:35:13] I know that when we rolled out, Mr. Starkey one night, when we were here at his first [00:35:17] budget meeting, we talked about the peel-off rates and payment in lieu of right away and [00:35:24] all those things that we were doing at that time, and we raised it because it generated [00:35:29] some dollars that year that helped us balance a number of things, but kept us proactive [00:35:34] on our water and sewer service. [00:35:36] Sure, and I think what you're going to find in this report too is we have some of those [00:35:41] old agreements that were signed back in the day, like with Lendrick and our impact fees, [00:35:47] the dollar amounts that were coming in from Tampa Bay Water, a lot of those revenue funds [00:35:52] are starting to get towards the end of their lifespan to where they're going to come to [00:35:56] an end, and so what we're looking for also out of this report is how do we adjust to [00:36:02] that, because that's a good chunk of change that all of a sudden is not going to gradually [00:36:07] be done with, it's just going to stop, and so right now we're kind of getting that input [00:36:14] so we can learn how to deal with it so that it just doesn't become an emergency, we know [00:36:18] it's coming. [00:36:20] My final question with that would be, would one year staying at 3-6 and relying on these [00:36:30] other funds that will come up for you next year, would one year again at 3-6 or Ms. Manns, [00:36:39] I'm just, I'm not trying to, but obviously you understand the operational side. [00:36:44] Right, and I understand the question, and if you're asking me would one year matter, [00:36:50] I don't believe so. [00:36:52] That's a fair response, and so with that, obviously, the reason I wanted to know, because [00:37:01] I don't want to unduly stress the enterprise fund, but it has a lot of stuff going on in [00:37:09] it. [00:37:10] Well, we're going to have to make our adjustments, and it's going to have to be made after this [00:37:14] report, so from what we know now, whether it's December or January, so it's going to [00:37:18] be almost mid-year when you get it and assess it. [00:37:22] By the time it gets to council, next year's going to be February, March, with decisions [00:37:26] being made in April or May. [00:37:29] I don't think I've ever seen anything move faster than that, do you think, Mr. Mayor? [00:37:34] No, sir. [00:37:35] I'm not, I'm not, I really don't want to go down that road, because Ms. Dillard, when [00:37:41] she was here, her hair was, well, Mr. Rivera had hair, too, back in the day when we were [00:37:46] first here, and ours used to be darker. [00:37:48] I just really am, and I really am just trying to find some ways to balance, in my mind, [00:37:59] adding those new, that new pavement management fee, keeping the red light cameras and increasing [00:38:05] that revenue, and seeing that those are hard dollars that, even if you only collect 90% [00:38:16] of them, and that's, I think that's, you've calculated 90 to 95% collection on ad valorem [00:38:21] and everything else. [00:38:23] I'm just trying to find a way that we could get to seven this year, automatically know [00:38:29] it might be out there next year, and really feel like we've kind of balanced the scale. [00:38:37] Because to take that million dollars from business and all that, because we want to [00:38:45] put that pavement program in place, which is a good thing, because otherwise it'd never [00:38:49] get done. [00:38:50] That's the only reason I was in front of it with everybody else here, was because we knew [00:38:55] what that would do long term. [00:38:58] I think paving your roads, I think, that's the reason I didn't nitpick in every one of [00:39:03] these budgets. [00:39:04] Though I did ask Bernie earlier today, and I appreciate your quickness back, is that [00:39:09] today we have 18 positions throughout the city that are not filled, but they're represented [00:39:18] in this budget that starts on Monday, correct? [00:39:21] Yes, they are. [00:39:24] Whatever the lag time would be to fill those, and get people up to speed, there's some dollars [00:39:32] already in this budget that won't be spent. [00:39:37] Again, if we have retirements, or we have people leave, and we don't fill those positions [00:39:41] right away, there's a lag time of money there. [00:39:44] I don't want to get down and make it penny for penny. [00:39:49] I just want everybody to recognize that in the police department last year, fire department [00:39:56] this year, they've had openings, and if it's not filled, they have a little overtime, but [00:40:03] we're not doing benefits, so there's a whole series of things. [00:40:07] I wanted to understand, first off, if one year of keeping the level at 3.6 was going [00:40:15] to be detrimental to that water and sewer enterprise fund, number one. [00:40:22] Number two, obviously we've got rollover dollars, we've got these other things. [00:40:27] When you start, and Ms. Mann's already recognized some of those in her overview, that she did [00:40:36] recognize starting and stopping different projects, a little bit further out, maybe [00:40:41] another month or six weeks, I don't know, two months, just because then you don't get [00:40:45] all of it in one year, it carries over. [00:40:49] We have a ton of projects already that are in the system that have carried over maybe [00:40:55] one or two years, specifically the chief's fire department, fire station, however many [00:41:03] there's going to be, wherever it's going to be located. [00:41:05] That 2 million 9 number was in last year's budget, it's split up this coming year. [00:41:10] I don't know where the debt service is forecasted in 19, but, and the other thing that's not [00:41:16] out there that hasn't been talked about, that could free up a few dollars and may get you [00:41:21] from 337, and give me, if Bernie would give me $20,000 tonight, this money's not going [00:41:29] to be spent on payroll, because the positions aren't going to be filled, because seven or [00:41:34] eight of them are in public works. [00:41:37] It's unfortunate because they were stressed, and some of the folks left us during the hurricane. [00:41:45] That's when the cream rises to the top. [00:41:47] That's where your people step up, and unfortunately, it's nothing on you. [00:41:52] It's the reality of the world. [00:41:54] My business I'm in right now, we go through them every two weeks. [00:41:58] It's just amazing what people, I don't see them wanting to work these days, but that's [00:42:05] an old guy talking again. [00:42:07] If Bernie gave me $20,000 tonight, I'd be at 357. [00:42:13] What if I talked about, we haven't talked about it, but if you talk about taking that [00:42:18] payment management plan, and you decide that you want to increase it, or you want to fast [00:42:25] track it the first five years, and leverage that income stream, because we had three income [00:42:30] streams that came free, freed up, and they got used. [00:42:36] We got gas, and two others. [00:42:40] They're like a million and a half, a million eight. [00:42:44] When it wasn't into debt service, it was used up again for all kinds of projects, which [00:42:49] is great. [00:42:50] I'm up at 350, I've got to find $52,000. [00:43:00] I'm sure moving some projects, because the hurricane fees out of this budget, I didn't [00:43:09] know when I asked the question if there was firefighter positions still open, or police [00:43:13] positions, because those are $30,000 and $40,000 and $50,000 a year positions, that if they're [00:43:19] not filled for five to six, eight weeks, that's eight, nine, ten grants, plus benefits. [00:43:26] That money's on the table right now, that's not going to be spent in this budget year. [00:43:30] It's going to be there, and it'll get rolled over next year. [00:43:32] I personally would rather use that money right now. [00:43:36] My time, value, and money is to take my ad valorem down to $799.95, so Mr. Iazzoni can [00:43:42] use it as a marketing tool that he keeps telling me he'd like to have. [00:43:45] He hasn't told me that, I'm sorry, I don't want to put words in his mouth. [00:43:48] His consultants have told me, on many occasions, that they think we would be better positioned [00:43:53] at a $799.99 rate. [00:43:55] Plus, I think once again, it balances the scales of the three other fees that we raised [00:44:02] this year that are going to take us well into about $850,000 more to accomplish concrete [00:44:10] constructive goals. [00:44:11] Mr. Mayor, I'm going to stop, because I have itemized items, all those kinds of things, [00:44:18] but that's my easiest way. [00:44:23] If I can't get to $400,000, if I could just get to $350,000 and you'd let me take it down, [00:44:30] I might consider that a victory. [00:44:33] Thank you, Councilman. [00:44:35] It's up to you. [00:44:36] I'm going to jump in here. [00:44:40] Back in 2007, we had property tax collection of $5,853,106. [00:44:56] The proposed $899.99 [00:45:00] millage rate that was proposed by staff is $4,005,054,827. In round numbers, that's a [00:45:13] decrease in taxes of $1.3 million. That doesn't count the fact that there's been inflation. [00:45:21] If you inflated using the CPI, that 2007 budget would have been over $7 million. We're looking [00:45:28] at what staff's proposing at just over $4.5 million on the property tax side, which I [00:45:35] think is very reasonable and shows a lot of restraint on our part. [00:45:41] So I'm going to be right up front. I don't have a problem with the staff's recommendation [00:45:45] on the millage rate. I have not heard any major groundswell of support for slashing [00:45:54] taxes just for the sake of slashing taxes. I do not belong to the school of economic [00:46:00] thought that believes that cutting taxes is the be-all end-all of the world. We have citizens [00:46:07] in New Port Richey who believe that they are willing to pay taxes and to do the things [00:46:15] that make New Port Richey a great place to live. We had one of those people come up and [00:46:21] talk to us tonight and said exactly that. The fact of the matter is that the average [00:46:29] taxpayer in New Port Richey in the next fiscal year will be paying less in property taxes [00:46:35] than they were in 2007, a decade ago. So I'm not buying that we've got to cut taxes just [00:46:42] for the sake of cutting taxes. We went through a very rough period, as Councilman Phillips [00:46:47] pointed out, if it had not been for the enterprise funds, the city might not have survived from [00:46:53] a financial standpoint. We've got folks that still would like to see us spend money in [00:46:59] certain places, the library being one of them. You've already had a pitch from the folks [00:47:04] at Main Street to do additional stuff with them. Ms. Manns has told me that she can think [00:47:10] of places where we could be spending money. But at the same time, I understand exactly [00:47:18] where you're coming from, Councilman Phillips, as far as making sure that we're collecting [00:47:26] funds from the enterprises where we can. I want to toss something out. I've done this [00:47:32] in a few previous years and it never got any traction, but I'll toss it out again because [00:47:41] maybe the time is right. I don't believe that the money that the City of New Port Richey [00:47:49] spends on picking up yard debris is money particularly well spent. I believe it, notwithstanding [00:48:00] the hurricane where we've all got trash piles of yard debris. On an ongoing basis, I believe [00:48:09] those piles of yard clippings, including the ones that the commercial vendor people are [00:48:13] bringing in from outside and dumping on the sides of our street, are bringing down our [00:48:18] property values. I've heard different numbers and I will defer to Ms. Feast and Mr. Rivera [00:48:25] to tell me where they quantify that today. If we accept that there is a certain amount [00:48:35] of emergency equipment that we need to keep active and available and that we need to have [00:48:40] somebody that helps do the mulch cut-up stuff at the Pine Hill, what exactly is it costing [00:48:47] us on an annual basis to be driving all around the city picking up yard scraps? And if we [00:48:55] if that number is significant, maybe we should be applying that towards either doing something [00:49:02] with some of the things we haven't been able to do or applying it towards that rate reduction [00:49:08] on the mulch rate. I'll toss that out. Can you guys give us some numbers? [00:49:16] We did supply two cost proposals for the yard debris collection when asked. One of them [00:49:22] was what was the cost to operate and basically we included the whole operation as far as [00:49:30] if we were charging somebody to perform a certain task and that would include the equipment, [00:49:37] the driver driving the vehicle, what his salary would be as well as what the cost of operating [00:49:45] the vehicle would be. And then we also did another proposal that we said, okay, let's [00:49:51] look at the real dollars. What did the vehicles cost? How long do they last? How much fuel [00:49:59] did they use for that operation? Let's see, for the last two or three years we wanted [00:50:07] to also find out what was the cost, all benefits and everything of each position that was used. [00:50:14] We also took into consideration that the yard debris guys were, depending on what time of [00:50:19] year it was, they could go through the whole town in a month and then because we have a [00:50:24] six to eight weeks pickup time, we were able to utilize those guys with other tasks to [00:50:30] where we could take them off of the road and then put them back and still maintain that [00:50:34] schedule. There were times in the winter or fall, spring where a lot of people were out [00:50:39] in their yards doing yard work where it was all we could do to maintain that six to eight [00:50:44] week schedule. So with that, to give you a real dollar amount, you would roughly be looking [00:50:50] at $100,000 right off the bat that you could go down in your operating budget and take [00:50:58] those dollars out. An example would be the R&R funds, which I think Ms. Manson, the finance [00:51:04] director at Crystal Feast has already taken out in this second proposed budget as far [00:51:09] as the dollars that are put in reserves to buy the equipment. We would reduce fuel costs. [00:51:19] We had fuel costs that had dropped $12,000. That's what all three of those pieces of equipment [00:51:26] used. We had costs for the parts and labor that was charged out for that. And then we [00:51:32] had a reduction of one maintenance worker at around $40,000 and that was simply because [00:51:38] you still would have to have some of that equipment because you're still going to have [00:51:43] trees out there. You're still going to have illegal dumping that once it gets out in the [00:51:47] right of way, we have the responsibility to collect it. But it would be at a slower rate. [00:51:54] You would only see the R&R, like I said, because you've already purchased all that equipment [00:51:59] in those vehicles and that's why that number drops back down. The grinding over the years, [00:52:06] what we ended up trying to do was we had originally, back in the day, had all of those [00:52:10] funds that it costs for the grinding yard debris coming out of the street division. [00:52:15] Over the years we've taken a look at it and seen where you have water and sewer repairs [00:52:20] that they have to cut trees that are directly related to those repairs. So over the years [00:52:25] we've moved some of those dollar amounts over into the utilities. The storm water utility [00:52:31] pays for some for obvious reasons. So the general fund in the street division, those [00:52:36] grinding costs have steadily gone down to where they're at $15,000. We estimated that [00:52:43] you should still leave $5,000 in that line account because you're still going to have [00:52:47] to maintain some of those things. So to answer your question, you would probably be looking [00:52:52] at a quantified number of a minimum of $100,000 and that's with allowing us to maintain two [00:53:01] of the three employees. [00:53:03] So we could either use that for the gap in Mr. Phillips' reduction, millage reduction, [00:53:08] or we could use it to fund some of the stuff we're not currently able to fund. [00:53:13] Correct, but I also would look at it from the standpoint to where I'm not sure if that's [00:53:18] a service that you could just stop cold turkey. I don't know if it would be a period of maybe [00:53:26] three years or so, two years or something to where you could start. [00:53:30] If we announced it tonight, I don't think we could reasonably have it implemented before [00:53:36] the first of the year, just realistically. [00:53:37] It's the fifth rail of New Port Richey. There's things in the federal government you can't [00:53:41] touch. Last year when they mentioned it, Ms. Hook's son came in and just up and down about [00:53:47] it. As far as I'm concerned, we ought to stretch out our performance time, six to eight weeks [00:53:53] or make it a little bit longer, but recognizing it is a service that you get for your ad valorem [00:54:03] tax. It's not covered anywhere else. You get that over and above. So I understand some [00:54:10] of those fringes, but I do remember a year ago that we got lit up pretty good for that. [00:54:16] I just wanted to bring it up because it's been an ongoing issue. [00:54:21] It does bring up several safety issues when you think about it because when you go through [00:54:28] those dry spells where we've got droughts and you have the fire hazards, you've just [00:54:32] got this yard debris just laying all over your town. During the hurricanes before they [00:54:38] started coming in, we had double crews out on the road because they were saying it was [00:54:42] going to be a wind event. We've got all these piles out there. [00:54:46] Within two blocks of my house, I saw four by fours in some of those debris piles. These [00:54:50] are like ready-made missiles. Right, and so we were trying to collect that [00:54:53] stuff as fast as we could. I appreciate that. Deputy Mayor. [00:54:59] What I wanted to say is I think that program, how many households do we have in the city [00:55:07] that are paying taxes? Is there a quantified number? Because I'm of two minds of this thing. [00:55:14] A little over 7,000. Just 7,000. Okay, so if you were to divide [00:55:17] that, I think that if you were to ask people, if we would add that to your fee, I would [00:55:24] think more people would say, I'll pay the $12 a year to be able to have that. But I [00:55:29] think that that program, we definitely need to tighten it up, whether we consolidate some [00:55:34] of the areas that we have, where we have it, especially those areas that if there are homes [00:55:41] that have alleys, then perhaps those areas should be in the alleyways, that type of thing. [00:55:47] Right now, right this minute, if you were to go outside, I mean, there's streets that [00:55:53] we can't pass through because of the hurricane debris, so we certainly understand that, and [00:55:56] I was thinking that same thing, is now the time to think about that. But I think definitely [00:56:01] we need to review that issue, because I think that we have that same issue. I don't know [00:56:08] that we have necessarily overcome the idea that there are other commercial vendors that [00:56:12] are dumping their trash, you know, how to police that. I think we need to figure that [00:56:17] piece out, and definitely consolidate it. When I first moved to the area where I was, [00:56:23] there were more areas, and I don't know if you personally have shared that with the neighbors, [00:56:29] but there are fewer, more consolidated areas in my own neighborhood, and I think that's [00:56:34] an improvement, and certainly if we're able to move through that program to get a quicker [00:56:41] pickup, but yeah, it's a challenge. [00:56:43] Okay. Deputy Mayor. [00:56:46] Just to touch on the landscape, I've been up here complaining for as long as I can remember. [00:56:50] It's a program that is being 100% taking advantage of. It's absolutely mind-blowing to me, and [00:56:56] I can't wait, we're talking about this in such depth and out of the budget, but it's [00:57:01] mind-blowing to me that someone thinks that they can just take 25 palm fronds and just [00:57:06] throw them anywhere they want to outside of their own property line. I have a neighbor [00:57:11] across the street who has a side yard who has a designated area for yard debris. I go [00:57:17] up, when I first moved in, I said, do you mind if I dump my stuff here? I have a commercial [00:57:21] landscape company, they haul it most of the way, sometimes I'll pull weeds, do some stuff [00:57:24] myself. No, absolutely not. So, you know, when I blow my yard off, my driveway off, [00:57:29] he has a bunch of pine trees, I take the rake out on the street, and I clean up his pine [00:57:34] needles. That's kind of my way to make myself feel better about him letting me use it. But [00:57:40] it's just mind-blowing to me that someone thinks that just because they see a pile, [00:57:45] that they can take their own stuff and just throw it on that pile without asking the property [00:57:49] owner's permission. I've seen people do it on church properties, I've seen people do [00:57:53] it on city parks. The River Road Park is a dumping site now. It's a park 30 yards from [00:57:58] where I grew up. People come in, commercial dump, commercial landscape companies come [00:58:03] in and just throw it on the dead grass two days after it's built up. So there's no way [00:58:08] we could just say tonight, no, we're going to cut that out of the budget. We can have [00:58:11] a work session and get people's, our residents' input, but it's a broken system. I hate to [00:58:16] see us put away, do away with it all together, but I don't know what the solution is. I've [00:58:20] talked to Robert, I've talked to our police chief, I've talked to Debbie Manz, we implemented [00:58:24] a $500 fine, you can take a picture of a commercial dump or a neighbor doing it where they're [00:58:27] not allowed to. Nothing's working. We have bigger fish to fry rather than have our police [00:58:32] department chase landscape trucks around all day. So I don't know what the solution is, [00:58:37] but it's definitely, definitely a broken system. I love the fact that we can grind it up and [00:58:40] use it for compost, for our gardening ordinance, all that's great. But you know what? The mayor's [00:58:45] right. It's bringing our property values down. It's deplorable to me that we have these huge [00:58:51] landscape debris piles all over our city and it's not regulated and people don't even have [00:58:56] the courtesy to ask their neighbor if they can dump their own stuff on their neighbor's [00:59:00] property. If Andrew told me, nope, I don't like you very much to be honest with you, [00:59:04] I don't want your crap on my property, I have a side street, I'd put a cutout, I would have [00:59:09] a border made of the big wood, whatever you call it, it looked like the, you know, from [00:59:12] the train track stuff, whatever, and I would have my own and I would go nuts if someone [00:59:17] came and dumped it there on my property without asking me. It's just, it's mind-blowing to [00:59:20] me how we've created this awesome benefit for our residents that, you know, part of [00:59:26] their ad valorem taxes go to pay for it and it's spiraled out of control to where we are [00:59:30] today. To me it goes back to people living in our city that don't care about the aesthetics [00:59:36] of our city, property values, it's the renters, it's the landlords, it's the people that don't [00:59:43] care, that don't care about property values and making our city a nicer, more pleasant [00:59:48] place to live, work, and play. So that's what ticks me off. As far as the budget goes, [00:59:54] Mr. Phillips, you are much better at accounting than I could ever even hope to be. I appreciate [01:00:00] Your due diligence, two things that caught my eye, one thing that really was eye-opening [01:00:05] to me that I hadn't really found in the budget when I looked it over was the Tyler Technologies [01:00:09] payment going away and the Wayne Allen lawsuit settlement going away as well, 400 grand for [01:00:14] next year. [01:00:17] I'm with the mayor on this one though, we are on the cusp of a really, really awesome [01:00:21] renaissance in our city. [01:00:22] I know it would look better for potential investors if we had a lower millage rate. [01:00:26] I also know our property values have plummeted in the last 10 years. [01:00:30] Our millage rate is up over 2.5 points and we're paying less property taxes. [01:00:35] So to me, until we continue to get those property values up, we do that gradually, we drop the [01:00:40] millage rate gradually. [01:00:41] I don't want people paying a ton more than they are this year, next year, or anything [01:00:45] like that by any means, but we need money to make this city a better place to live and [01:00:50] to attract the residents and the business owners and I'm seeing that. [01:00:54] I'm seeing homes in my neighborhood being bought, renovated, and sold to families that [01:00:59] are happy to live in our neighborhood and I haven't seen that in a long time. [01:01:02] I'm seeing millions and millions of dollars of investment from commercial investment, [01:01:07] partners, individuals, sure, we're giving them a ton of incentives, I acknowledge that, [01:01:13] but we weren't seeing that two and three years ago and to me, that makes me believe we're [01:01:17] doing something right and I think if we continue on the course that we're on, those property [01:01:21] values, even though they're going up much gradually than I would like to see and Mr. [01:01:25] Phillips and all my colleagues up here, I'm sure, would like to see, they are going up [01:01:30] and I think if we continue making the decisions and thinking progressively, the property values [01:01:34] will go up and at that point, we can gradually drop the millage rate. [01:01:37] I wish we could do it at 7.995, I'm sure there's a way we could do it, but to me, it's just [01:01:42] let's use that money that we're looking, that we're finding now to do it next year. [01:01:46] That's where I'm at. [01:01:47] Thank you. [01:01:48] Thank you. [01:01:49] David? [01:01:50] I brought up a little bit when I got back from the League of Cities that on the docket [01:01:56] is a change in the homestead exemption and that's going to affect a lot of the higher [01:02:06] end homes and it's not going to affect the rentals, but it's going to affect the rest [01:02:09] of it and we have to be prepared because we're going to have to find ways to compensate for [01:02:16] that money that we're not going to get with the new tax. [01:02:20] So to start working our way down so we do have some monies that we can actually do to [01:02:26] pay for some of these things, we've got to find, we've got to sharpen our pencils today, [01:02:31] not tomorrow, not next year, today. [01:02:35] I don't have the ultimate solution. [01:02:39] I know that I, you know, Bill said, you know, reminded me of the movie Dave and one of the [01:02:49] things that kind of stuck out to me, right, and I asked Ms. Manns for some information [01:02:55] on the assistant director at the rec center and what I got from what the person does, [01:03:02] it sounds like we've got two people doing the same job or very little difference in [01:03:06] both jobs and if you look on page 100 in this book, in fact, page 44 and 100 at the [01:03:16] same time, page 44, we have a library director, we have, you know, an administrative assistant, [01:03:31] but we have three people running the library, which has 11 employees, not including the [01:03:35] summer aid, but the other four that are under the library number three and then you have [01:03:40] the community outreach piece and the youth, which ends up, you know, but anyhow, they're [01:03:45] managing, basically managing 11 people or maybe one person's managing 11 people underneath [01:03:51] the director. [01:03:52] Now if we go over to the page 100, we have a director, we have a rec director, we have [01:03:57] an assistant director, we have a recreation director, we have a marketing coordinator, [01:04:02] but then we have a supervisor, supervisor, supervisor. [01:04:06] We're so top-heavy there to run 19 people. [01:04:09] You know, we have more, we have one, two, three, four, five, six people, not including [01:04:13] the event marketing, we have six people running 19 and we have three running 11. [01:04:20] So somewhere there, there's a mix that's not right in my mind and especially once I got [01:04:25] the resume or the job description of the assistant, you know, rec director was doing [01:04:34] everything, just about everything the director does, so I don't understand why we have two [01:04:38] people doing the same job. [01:04:40] We're way top-heavy, you're looking at one position, you want close to $100,000 with [01:04:45] benefits and time off and all these other things, sick leave, whatever, you know, you've [01:04:50] got probably, you know, $70,000, $80,000 of it right there. [01:04:54] I think if we have an aggressive parks director, they don't need an assistant and if we want [01:05:00] to take, you know, the rec manager, there's something there that shouldn't be there, in [01:05:06] my mind. [01:05:07] If we can do it in the library, we can do it in the rec center. [01:05:13] Thank you. [01:05:14] Councilwoman? [01:05:15] Well, I think that I too feel that we've gone through an incredible change in our city. [01:05:27] I think it started last year in January when we opened up the new park and I think that [01:05:33] we are moving in a, definitely in a forward motion. [01:05:37] I've been pleased to know of and hear and see people moving into the community, moving [01:05:44] into the city and doing the same thing, whether it's property owners in the city purchasing [01:05:52] rental property that they are then renovating and renting. [01:05:58] But I've seen an uptick in the quality, if you will, of rental property and renters. [01:06:07] You know, I'm not going to dismiss the fact that we have a problem still with the whole [01:06:13] rental thing, that it's out of balance, but I'm confident that with the incorporation [01:06:18] of the fire department doing our residential side, the code enforcement, it just seems [01:06:24] that everyone is keen on moving us in the right direction. [01:06:29] So I'm confident that we are doing that. [01:06:34] My concern is as well that with this forward motion and the plans that we have for this [01:06:39] coming year to try and reduce the millage rate to a significant degree, I think that [01:06:49] we still need to give ourselves a chance to keep moving forward on where we are going. [01:06:55] We have implemented some assessment fees and I was surprised actually on the last two meetings [01:07:01] that we did not have more, you know, we did not have more calls or concerns or people [01:07:06] coming to the city to complain about that because I think that everyone understands [01:07:11] and agrees that in order for us to significantly improve the city, the things that we're asking [01:07:19] everyone to do has to be done. [01:07:25] Are there some things that, thank you Mr. Davis for that information, I was looking [01:07:33] at that same thing. [01:07:34] I was really intrigued with the idea that they're a very similar dollar budget and I [01:07:40] know making the changes to the recreation department with the public works and all of [01:07:45] that, it's now reached a point where I think that's more smooth, I think everyone is familiar [01:07:50] with what they're needing to do and how the two departments are operating, so perhaps [01:07:56] there is an opportunity in there to fine tune the manpower that's in that department. [01:08:06] I'm very confident that we are judicious in our spending. [01:08:14] I don't think the time that I've been here on council that I've seen waste or capricious [01:08:22] spending, I think that we really have held everyone to that task and I've been pleased [01:08:28] to see the improvements in every single area, starting with this particular chamber. [01:08:35] I think we're moving in the right direction and in order to do that, it will take money. [01:08:42] I have also every confidence that we continue to move in this direction, that we will be [01:08:46] able to make significant changes in our millage rate because those things that we put into [01:08:52] place will pay off, where we will have higher property taxes because our values have gone [01:09:02] up and I just think that we're kind of in a good place and I just don't want to change [01:09:14] that because as I said, I think that we're in a good place, we're moving in the right [01:09:18] direction and I too do not want to go backwards in that. [01:09:21] I think we can always, next year, address this and look back and suggest that we're [01:09:26] able to do what we need to do. [01:09:28] I'd like to make one final comment that hasn't been mentioned and it's the question of TIF [01:09:34] revenues, which if we drop the millage rate by an entire mill, there will be a significant [01:09:43] impact on the CRA as far as TIF receipts are concerned and I don't believe this is the [01:09:48] time to do that either. [01:09:51] So I say I'm happy where we are, I love the idea of taking the money that we're not going [01:09:58] to be spending on Tyler in the next fiscal year, 18-19, and using that as a down payment [01:10:07] towards tax reduction, particularly if we see the property values going up. [01:10:16] And same story after Mr. Rivera gets his sufficiency study out of the way so we know long term [01:10:22] what we've got, I would be willing to entertain dropping millage and using some of that. [01:10:31] Keep in mind, we've got a meeting scheduled, Ms. Mann's, next month early with the county [01:10:39] and I'm sure they're going to be beating us up on water rates, for what that's worth. [01:10:48] We have to have two motions tonight, the first one, bizarrely, has to be the one on the millage [01:10:55] rate, so I'll let the city attorney repeat that and then entertain a motion. [01:11:00] Resolution number 2017-34, a resolution of the City of New Port Richey of Pasco County, [01:11:05] Florida adopting the final levying of ad valorem taxes for all non-exempt real and personal [01:11:10] property in New Port Richey, Pasco County, Florida for fiscal year October 1, 2017 to [01:11:15] September 30, 2018, providing for an effective date. [01:11:20] Would entertain a motion? [01:11:22] I move to approve the final millage rate at 8.995 mils. [01:11:26] I second that. [01:11:27] Do we have a motion and a second to the make? [01:11:30] Nothing. [01:11:31] To the second? [01:11:32] No, just thank you and appreciate all the work that everyone has done to reach this [01:11:36] point. [01:11:37] Thank you. [01:11:38] Ms. Schultz? [01:11:39] No, Mr. Mayor. [01:11:40] I'm ready to vote. [01:11:41] Mr. Davis? [01:11:42] Nothing. [01:11:43] In that case, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. [01:11:46] Aye. [01:11:47] Opposed? [01:11:48] Like sign? [01:11:49] No. [01:11:50] Aye. [01:11:51] Motion passes 3-2. [01:11:52] The next item is resolution number 2017-35, a resolution of the City of New Port Richey [01:12:00] of Pasco County, Florida adopting the final operating budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 [01:12:05] and the capital improvement program for fiscal year 2017-2018, providing for an effective [01:12:09] date. [01:12:10] Thank you. [01:12:11] Entertain a motion? [01:12:12] I move to approve the final operating budget and the capital improvement budget. [01:12:17] I'll second. [01:12:18] To the maker? [01:12:19] Nothing. [01:12:20] To the second? [01:12:21] No. [01:12:22] Mr. Davis? [01:12:23] Yeah, when you get a chance, look at the street improvement fund and you'll see money coming [01:12:30] in from the general fund and then you'll see money going out on the backside back to the [01:12:35] general fund. [01:12:37] So take your time, it's only $91,000, but just do your homework. [01:12:44] Thank you. [01:12:45] Councilman Davis? [01:12:46] Nothing. [01:12:47] Hearing no further discussion, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. [01:12:51] Aye. [01:12:53] Opposed? [01:12:54] Like sign? [01:12:55] No. [01:12:56] Motion passes on a 3-2 vote. [01:12:59] I'm going to defer on communications until we get through the CRA meeting, if that is [01:13:05] okay with everybody. [01:13:07] So I would entertain a motion to adjourn the regular city council meeting. [01:13:10] Move to adjourn. [01:13:11] Now I'm going to call the Community Redevelopment Agency Board to order. [01:13:16] Madam Clerk, may we have the roll call, please? [01:13:19] Chairman Marlow? [01:13:20] Here, ma'am. [01:13:21] Director Fahey? [01:13:22] Here. [01:13:23] Director Phillips? [01:13:24] I'm here. [01:13:25] Director Dybala-Thomas? [01:13:26] Here. [01:13:27] Director Davis? [01:13:28] Here. [01:13:29] Executive Manager Manz? [01:13:30] Here. [01:13:31] And City Attorney Driscoll? [01:13:32] Here. [01:13:33] Thank you, we do have a quorum. [01:13:34] The first item on business is approval of the minutes August 15th and September 5th. [01:13:38] Move for approval. [01:13:40] Second. [01:13:41] We have a motion and a second. [01:13:44] Hearing no one asking for discussion, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. [01:13:49] Aye. [01:13:50] Opposed, like sign. [01:13:51] Motion passes. [01:13:52] Next is, item is approval of the fiscal year 2017-2018 operating budget and capital improvement [01:13:58] plan. [01:13:59] Ms. Manz? [01:14:00] Mr. Arjoni, are you ready? [01:14:05] Sure. [01:14:08] Since the last budget, there's basically only been one change and it's account number 369-9, [01:14:18] which is other miscellaneous revenue, which has to do with litigation proceeds associated [01:14:23] with the problem with the business incubator roof. [01:14:26] That amount has been reduced by $25,000. [01:14:29] All the other amounts have remained the same. [01:14:32] And this area budget has been cut specifically in account 31-81 professional service planning [01:14:39] to $40,000 and a reduction of professional service fees miscellaneous and some other [01:14:46] items related to building and ground maintenance and again some work on the incubator, which [01:14:51] makes up that $25,000. [01:14:53] There has been a slight increase in the hacienda. [01:14:56] It has a lot to do with the unfinished work. [01:15:00] that their current contractor is trying to get done. We expect that to be done within [01:15:03] the next two weeks. [01:15:05] Thank you. This is a public hearing. I'm going to open it up for public comment. Seeing no [01:15:13] one come forward, I will bring it back to the CRA. Could we read the... [01:15:20] It's resolution number 2017-36, a resolution of the City of New Port Richey, Florida Community [01:15:24] Redevelopment Agency, a public body, corporate and politic, adopting the 2017-2018 operating [01:15:30] budget, adopting the 2017-2018 five-year work program for the Community Redevelopment Agency [01:15:36] of the City of New Port Richey, Florida, and providing an effective date. [01:15:40] Thank you. Would you entertain a motion? [01:15:43] Move for approval. [01:15:44] Do we have a motion? [01:15:47] Second. [01:15:47] Second. [01:15:48] To the maker? [01:15:49] Nothing. [01:15:50] To the second? [01:15:50] Nothing. [01:15:51] Mr. Bell-Thomas? [01:15:52] No, thank you. [01:15:53] Mr. Phillips? [01:15:54] Yeah, I had a couple of questions. Can you explain to me why line 6353, Main Street Landings [01:16:02] Incentive Program at $587,500? Is this supposed to correlate in some fashion or form to 6299? [01:16:17] I'm trying to understand what that line is all about. [01:16:25] Over and above that, your Main Street Landings Incentive Program on page 214, if anybody [01:16:34] turns the page, will see that there's half payment to them. Like I said, I'm at a loss. [01:16:46] Can somebody walk me out of the woods here? I was in the woods with Ms. Fierce one time [01:16:52] and Mr. Rivera, and somehow we found our way home. It wasn't very pretty, but we sure [01:16:57] found it. [01:16:59] I would appreciate that clarification, too. [01:17:00] Ms. Pansy out there, she didn't like it as much, though. It was a hot day. It was almost [01:17:04] like today. I picked the best times. It's one of those hair days. [01:17:09] Ms. Fierce, can you shed some light on this for us, please? [01:17:12] I hate to approve something. That's number one. The second question, maybe you can do [01:17:16] it the same time. Can somebody add the $737,500 twice and tell me what that amount is? I put [01:17:29] my calculator away. It's like $1,000,000,475. Is that what that is? [01:17:36] Looks like it. [01:17:47] That number's wrong. That number's not right. We have an agreement that we have with the [01:17:55] Main Street Landings people that's here today. It hasn't been modified. Maybe it's been modified [01:18:00] in somebody else's mind. Maybe we've sent them something, but as of today, our obligation [01:18:08] to Main Street Landings is $1,750,000 because it used to be $1,500,000 until they drug their [01:18:16] feet for 10 years. So that we could do another deal with them, we've given them another $250,000. [01:18:24] You can check. Please do me a favor. Just go check my math. If I'm wrong, I'll come [01:18:30] back out here and say I'm wrong. Not only that, but I asked a question to Mr. Manns [01:18:35] on Friday. I want to know where it's going to show up in my audit statement this year [01:18:41] that we get some kind of audit credit, because Mr. Davis is all about having our audits done. [01:18:47] I want audit credit for the development rights that we gave these people off of our gray [01:18:53] preserve property. We gave them development rights. We didn't charge them any money for [01:18:57] them, but there was some extra value we gave to the Main Street Landings people. That all [01:19:03] falls under your CRA, our CRA. I just don't want to pass this. If it needs to be amended, [01:19:15] then I expect to see a budget amendment next month that gets everything back into order. [01:19:21] Right now, from my understanding of the CRA and our obligations to Main Street, these [01:19:29] numbers don't tie together. My only other question, Mr. Iazzoni, is after we go through [01:19:37] the planning charrettes and everything with the CRA, do you think they're ever going to [01:19:43] come to us with the correct operation of what a CRA is, as opposed to the one that we have [01:19:51] the way we took it four years ago? We turned it into a debt service model when Mr. Schneiger [01:19:56] was here. We went down that path and it's kind of there. The CRA was developed years [01:20:06] and years ago to have a lot more bells and whistles in the tune to help the police department, [01:20:13] fire department, other agencies, all those kind of things. We've woefully neglected that [01:20:19] and we've done some nice development deals. We've done some marginal development deals. [01:20:25] We've given a lot of stuff away. I'd also like to see where the value of my property [01:20:29] gets recognized on my audit for how much I give away from assessed value. I know we wrote [01:20:34] it down to zero, but at the end of the day, when we sold Orange Lake, we gave away a lot [01:20:40] of value. I just want it recognized in the audit that that value doesn't exist. I don't [01:20:47] think it affects us on anything else. I just want it to be recognized correctly. [01:20:52] Speaks to Mr. Iazzoni? [01:20:54] Well, I can speak. On page 211, page 212, and page 213 of your Orange Budget Book, the [01:21:04] amounts here are correctly stated for the CRA budget and what you're approving tonight. [01:21:08] The clerical error is on the final page, 214, which is just the five-year capital improvement [01:21:14] program, which is future years, where there is a clerical error in where it states Main [01:21:22] Street Landing Incentive Program. That amount needs to be corrected, but the amounts as [01:21:29] presented on page 211, 212, and 213 are correct. [01:21:35] Thank you. Mr. Iazzoni, any other comments? [01:21:43] I'm pretty sure the number that you stated there, the number that we have in recurrence [01:21:47] is 1.475 million. I'm trying to understand where that other value is coming from. You [01:21:54] know, there was an abatement of sewer and water that was basically a credit where that [01:22:02] value might be coming from, and we will look into that and get back to you on that, Councilman. [01:22:07] With regard to the CRA itself, and in terms of looking at the history of the CRA and the [01:22:14] administration of the CRA, specifically with how it was managed in prior years, and in [01:22:19] relationship to the current discussion that goes on at the state level legislatively, [01:22:26] I'm completely comfortable with the administration of the CRA. I think the city does a really [01:22:30] great job with it. The city got slammed real hard in 2007 and inverted the CRA, and that's [01:22:37] what you hired me for. You hired me as the economic development to come here and be aggressive, [01:22:42] build strong relationships with business owners. In regard to the residents of Orange Lakes, [01:22:48] if you go to the notes of the financial statements over the seven years, there's a carry-on cost [01:22:52] per year that when we do nothing to Orange Lake, it'll cost the city approximately $800,000 [01:22:57] a year in interest carrying costs. One of the reasons why I took aggressive position [01:23:01] with the residents of Orange Lake is that the present value of the avalorum that comes [01:23:06] in as a result of their project comes to $5.4 million. To sit there and do nothing is an [01:23:12] invisible tax that occurs to the residents of the city. And I have that detail, I have [01:23:18] that detail in the spreadsheet, I've shared it with the Councilman, and it's quite clear, [01:23:22] it's clearly in the notes. That piece of property cost the city $2.68 million. Basically, [01:23:29] it was a balloon payment that occurred, I think, back in 2005 when they kind of did [01:23:33] that project. It looks like they were planning to flip the property, but it was only amortized [01:23:38] for two years. And then when the Soil and Water Fund paid off that SunTrust debt, that [01:23:44] ended up with another balloon payment on that property back to Soil and Water at a carry-on [01:23:48] cost of 4.5% interest. So when I look at basically my role of bringing new tax dollars [01:23:55] to this city, I take a very aggressive position and I use my expertise as the CPA and also [01:24:01] I certify evaluation analysts. And I truly believe that the functions that I've done [01:24:07] as Economic Development Director related to the CRA have really kind of assisted Council [01:24:13] in terms of trying to find a direction for the city. But again, the concern that the [01:24:18] residents have as to why we give that property away is because there's been a carry-on cost [01:24:22] on an annual basis that is a bell-shaped curve that will continue to accelerate because there's [01:24:27] a compounding interest rate that accumulates back to Soil and Water. At some point, you're [01:24:31] going to have to address that debt, and you cannot address that debt with no additional [01:24:35] tax revenues coming in. So that's why we did that deal on the residents of Orange Lakes. [01:24:40] That's why we did the density deal on that, where we probably could have did less housing [01:24:44] on that, because the reality is that your city was hit hard through the 05 recession. [01:24:50] And you know, when I look at it, yes, my approach is quite aggressive. It's often very novel. [01:24:58] But I like to think that when I look at things, I look at the present value of future cash [01:25:03] flows, and I look for the tax revenues to benefit. And you know, quite frankly, you [01:25:08] know, the perspective of Council has been very positive. We've turned the corner. We [01:25:13] need this to age a little bit more. I sit down, and I look across the table from property [01:25:17] owners on Highway 19 and say, yeah, I'm thinking about investing more capital. And when that [01:25:22] new investment capital comes to the city, that's new tax dollars to the city. But Councilman [01:25:26] Phillips, I understand your concern completely. I understand the concerns of the residents, [01:25:30] and that's why you hired my expertise here. [01:25:32] But it's $5.4 million when it's completed. It's $5.4 million when the project is completed. [01:25:40] It's the present value of the future cash flow of that cash revenue. [01:25:43] I recognize that completely. But it's $5.4 million when they build it out. And right [01:25:48] now we only have phase one. So you and I have this debate over and over again. We've had [01:25:53] it for over a year and a half. And I recognize that, that you have a position. I take mine. [01:25:59] I appreciate what you bring to the bottom line. And at the end of the day, I get to [01:26:04] talk about it. Because I'm a city resident, I pay my taxes, and at the end of the day, [01:26:11] it comes off of my bottom line. And again, we continue to not sell anything else. So [01:26:20] it gets wrapped up with everything else. I don't get the chance to talk about selling [01:26:25] the incubator? Got to wait. Don't get a chance about talking River Road? Got to wait. Hacienda [01:26:31] is going to have its own discussion down the road. We've been all around that. So [01:26:35] at the end of the day, I recognize what we did. We also gave a lot of money in downtown [01:26:40] on the IGA building. And there'll be people coming to us. I just want to again say that [01:26:46] I want to know, in my audit report, what we've given away as a city on a value basis, so [01:26:53] that if anybody wants to go look at it, we can point them right to it. So that's where [01:26:57] it's at. Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Director.

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5. 5Communications▶ 1:26:59
6. 6Adjournment▶ 1:29:53