HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Town Board Study Session Budget Meeting 10-13-2006 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, October 13, 2006
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD BUDGET STUDY
SESSION of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting
held at Town Hall in said Town of Estes Park on the 13th day of October,
2006.
Committee: Mayor Baudek, Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Homeier
Levine, Newsom and Pinkham
Attending: All
Also Attending: Town Administrator Repola, Finance Officer McFarland,
Clerk Williamson
Absent: None
Mayor Baudek called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m.
2007 & 2008 BUDGET PRESENTATION – GENERAL FUND AND RELATED FUNDS.
Administrator Repola reviewed the overall picture of the budget including the General,
Convention and Visitor Bureau and Community Reinvestment funds. In past years
there has been a significant fund balance in the General fund. Recent projects have
drawn that balance down, and by 2008, the fund will drop below 30% of O&M.
Therefore, any increases in the proposed 2007/2008 budgets will need a corresponding
cut. Trustees requested a current copy of the overview be provided each week. Staff
emphasized the fact this is a working document that is only as good as the day it is
printed.
Trustee Homeier stated concern that expenses have increased approximately 32% from
2005 to 2008 without significant revenue to offset these increases. Employee salaries
are an increasing portion of the budget and will exceed operational costs. He
questioned when the personnel expenses would reach a maximum percentage of the
budget. Administrator Repola stated the Town might need to look at outsourcing.
Finance Officer McFarland stated the addition of the LETA director as a pass through is
causing an artificial increase in personnel costs. The Board agreed a philosophical
discussion regarding compensation for personnel is needed to give staff
direction.
Finance Officer McFarland reviewed revenues/sales tax for the last 12 months and
forecasts a 3.5% increase in revenues for 2007 & 2008. Other sources of revenues
include franchise fees, general property tax, payments in lieu of taxes and transfers
from the utility funds.
Community Development – Dir. Joseph reviewed the trend line for the
department’s revenues versus expenses (83% of expenses are recovered). The
revenues also ijmplies an increase in workload. O&M will increase with the
addition of legal expenses and IT services. Department is fully staffed with no
need for additional personnel. A large format plotter is budgeted for 2007 and
will be a shared expense with the museum. Larimer County revenue for 2006
includes the reimbursement of an entry-level planner salary and plan review fees
for building permits ($75/building permit). Projected revenues for 2007/2008 do
not include miscellaneous building permit review fees. Discussion followed
regarding the archival of site plans for residential properties and whether or not
the Town should keep the files as permanent records. The state only requires
the permit be maintained permanently. It was agreed these records should be
kept in perpetuity and staff should look at digitizing the files in the future to
eliminate the need for additional filing space.
Town Board Budget Study Session – October 13, 2006 – Page 2
Protective Inspections – Revenues were estimated conservatively for 2007/2008
as they are a function of workload, and therefore, difficult to predict. A new fee
schedule will be proposed at the Community Development Committee meeting in
November for 2007. The latest International Building Codes will be adopted in
2007. O&M includes IT services and $5,000 for possible contract labor.
Buildings – No capital projects are budgeted for 2007/2008. Personnel costs
increased in 2007/2008 with the reallocation of cost and should be updated
to reflect this change. Cleaning contracts have increased over the last couple
of years due to the increase in service level and the number of facilities;
however, the 2007/2008 budgets have remained static. These companies
provide a continual level of service (14 staff) that the Town would not be able to
provide if the service was brought in house.
Mayor Baudek announced a 7-minute recess at 9:58 a.m., and the meeting was
reconvened at 10:05 a.m.
Engineering – O&M expenses will increase in 2007 for the post office parking lot
design. The river wall along Wiest Dr. is in need of repair; however, EPURA is
planning on completing the riverwalk along Wiest Dr. next year. Funds have
been included as a contingency if the repair needs to be completed earlier.
Streets – Capital purchases include a street sweeper and the post office parking
lot for 2007 and a new 1-ton truck and a retaining wall along Virginia Dr. for 2008.
No additional personnel are being requested.
Sanitation – This fund will be absorbed into the Streets Department (3100) in
2007. Waste Management provides trash pickup once a day and after special
events. Staff will be reviewing this contract in the future.
Parks – Personnel costs increaseed by $70,000 in 2007. Staff levels appear to
be the same as 2006. Staff will provide an explanation of the increase in
personnel costs at the next meeting. Total expenses increased from 2005 to
2006 due to a rollover for a vehicle purchase, bond park redesign and
playground equipment. Capital includes vehicle purchases in both 2007 & 2008
and a new concrete planter along the sidewalk near the Diary Queen
(Elkhorn/Riverside). Funds have been included to hire a consultant to determine
an action plan for the pine beetle. Staff is collaborating with the National Park to
use the same contractor for spraying of the pine beetle. $40,000 is included in
the 2007 budget for the repair of backflow preventors along Riverside.
Conservation Trust – Bond Park and Tregent Park improvements are budgeted
for in 2007.
Fleet – The addition of a mechanic in 2008 should be removed from the budget.
The budget shall be updated to reflect the correct personnel costs. This
fund maintains a fund balance that will be used to fund maintenance of the
building as well as purchase of new equipment.
Vehicle Replacement Fund – Funds are transferred from each department with
vehicles to fund depreciation of current vehicles and accumulate funds for the
replacements of those vehicles in lieu of purchasing vehicles through a bank
loan. Staff is considering other options such as a motor pool that owns the
vehicles and the individual departments pay a fee based on mileage to generate
capital for the purchase of new vehicles. Discussion followed on when and how
to determine which vehicles should be purchased from this fund. Vehicles that
are paying into the fund could be purchased such as the police vehicles. If the
fund were used now to purchase all new vehicles and equipment, it would go
negative. Staff will evaluate which new vehicles in the proposed 2007/2008
budgets could be purchased from this fund.
Salary – Staff is considering 3.5 to 3.9% that could include COLA, merit, bonus
and CML salary adjustments. Staff is evaluating the cost of providing a housing
stipend for those positions that are required to be on call and available within a
certain timeframe and first responders. A stipend would only be available up to a
yet to be determined salary range. Town could provide incentives for employees
Town Board Budget Study Session – October 13, 2006 – Page 3
to purchase a home through forgiveable loans, no interest loans, etc. Staff will
continue to look at other creative ways for employees to live in Estes Park,
look at the future uses of the fish hatchery property and determine how
many employees live in the valley.
The next Budget Study Session is scheduled October 20th, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
There being no further business, Mayor Baudek adjourned the meeting at 11:34 a.m.
Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk