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HomeMy WebLinkAbout021102S CC Min CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL SESSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2002 MUNICIPAL BUILDING 3800 UNIVERSITY BLVD. 6:30 P.M. The City Council convened in Special Session in the Municipal Building Conference Room (3800 University Blvd.) on February 11, 2002, with the following members present: Mayor Lewis presiding, Council Members May, Farley, Griffin and Jackson. The City Manager, City Secretary, City Attorney, Public Works Director, Finance Director and Fire Chief were also present. The notice for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, th Chapter 551, on the 8 day of February 2002 at 4:00 p.m. Agenda Review . The City Council reviewed the regular meeting agenda and discussed items under consideration with the Staff. Long-term plan and priorities. Matters related to the City?s long-term plan and setting priorities including a five-year financial outlook, potential and planned capital improvement projects and staffing needs. City Manager Sherman Yehl presented the five-year financial forecast. The Forecast presents the General and Debt Service Funds over eight fiscal years: three previous years, the estimated expenditures for 2001, the adopted ?base? budget for 2002 and five projected years. The assumptions used in preparing the Forecast are: The Houston area economy will continue to grow at a realistic rate. The Utility Funds will continue to reimburse the General Fund for expenditures made on their behalf. Inflation and interest rates will remain under control. The inflation rates used to make the forecasts varied from line item to line item, but generally were 2%. A 5% rate of return was assumed on investments and the cost of issuing debt was projected to be 6%. Property values are the basis of the property tax revenue forecast. Assessed values are projected to increase 6.5% in 2003 because of appraised values deferred due to the 10% cap on annual increases. Value is expected to increase 2% per year after 2003. In addition to the value increases due to inflation, new City Council Special Session, February 11, 2002 construction is expected to add $40 million in value to the roll in 2003 and $25 million for each of the following years. The tax rate dedicated to Maintenance and Operations was projected to rise 1 cent to 20.5 cents per $100 valuation in 2003, then remain constant through out the projection. The tax rate for Debt Service is projected to rise to 23.5 cents per $100 valuation in 2004 and begin a slow decline in 2006 as debt service requirements stabilize. All of the City?s remaining authorized, un-issued bonds will be issued and all of the City?s infrastructure projects will be completed without issuing additional debt. The target fund balance would be set at 25% of revenues, but taxes would not be raised in order to fund any projected shortfall. Parks and Recreation Department expenditures are projected to increase due to the acquisition of the YMCA property. Personnel costs are forecasted to increase 3% each annually due to cost of living increases. Additional staffing was limited to six additional firefighters. Three new firefighter positions were anticipated in 2003 and six new positions were added to each year thereafter. Revenues Revenues are expected to increase from $12.6 million in 2001 to $16.4 million in 2007. ? Property tax revenues are projected to increase from $8.5 million in Property Taxes 2001 to $11.8 million in 2007. This $3.3 million revenue increase will largely be used to fund increased debt service and higher operating costs resulting from expanding services in the Parks and Recreation Department. Previous FiscalAssessed IncreasedNewAssessed YearValueValueConstructionValue 20022,000,000,000 231,000,000 69,000,000 2,300,000,000 20032,300,000,000 150,000,000 40,000,000 2,490,000,000 20042,490,000,000 49,800,000 25,000,000 2,564,800,000 20052,564,800,000 51,296,000 25,000,000 2,641,096,000 20062,641,096,000 52,821,920 25,000,000 2,718,917,920 20072,718,917,920 54,378,358 25,000,000 2,798,296,278 2 City Council Special Session, February 11, 2002 Property values in West U have increased $1 since 1993, the forecast assumes that billion the rate of increase will stabilize at $25 million annually for new construction and 2% annually for property value increases. ? Franchise taxes represent over 5% of the City?s revenues. These taxes Franchise Taxes are essentially sales taxes charged to electric, cable TV, telephone and gas customers. While the forecast assumes some increased revenues due to larger, more affluent households, deregulation and changes in how the revenues are assessed are expected to flatten the growth in this source of revenue. ? The City?s portion of the State Sales Tax is 1% of sales made by businesses Sales Tax in West U. This revenue source is expected to increase to $610 thousand by 2007, an increase of 11% from the $550 thousand budgeted in 2002. This increased is based on revitalization of West U and the neighborhoods around the City. Increased affluence should mean more sales and more sales tax revenues. The City requires Contractors to obtain licenses before providing Licenses and permits ? services in West U and charges fees for building permits. The revenue from these fees is expected to increase from $352 thousand in 2001 to $538 thousand in 2007. This sharp (52%) increase results from additional fees and changes in how building permits are issued. Expenditures Operating expenditures, those for personnel, supplies, services Operating Expenditures ? and replacement capital are expected to increase to $10.2 million from $8.9 million in 2001. Much of this increase is due to annual increases in salaries (3%) and the increased service level in Parks and Recreation brought on by adding the cost of operating the YMCA property. Debt service payments are expected to grow from $4.5 million in 2001 to Debt Service - $6.2 million in 2006. Debt service payments will remain around $6.2 million until 2013 when they will begin to decline. This projection does not include debt service for any issues that might be needed to complete the infrastructure projects. The City Council asked numerous questions concerning the forecast. Mr. Yehl stated that the budget process would begin in May 2002. Additional meetings will be scheduled to consider priorities and capital improvements. 3 City Council Special Session, February 11, 2002 Street lights. Matters related to the purchase and installation of streetlights and other related items. Mr. Yehl presented a letter from Reliant Energy HL&P where they agreed to replace existing cobra style street lighting with decorating style street lighting. The newly installed lighting will be owned and maintained by HL&P provided certain agreements are met. Street lighting poles that are at or near the end of their useful life will be removed at no cost to the City. If a pole is considered not to be at the near of its useful life, pole removal costs will be determined. The City has chosen the pole which is powder coated black and has a 10 foot Montecello shaft length. The actual mounting height including pole and luminaire will be approximately 12 feet. The luminaire chosen is the at 100 watt, Metal Halide Midtown designed to provide type III photometric distribution, cut-off characteristics, and is also powder coated black. The current decorative difference in cost of installation of this pole and luminaire combination utilizing a screw-in type galvanized steel anchor is $1,169 per installation. This cost is subject to adjustment if the cost of the decorative material changes. There are two options available to secure the cost of $1,169 per installation. In either option the City agrees to pay the cost difference up-front between installing the standard direct embedded steel galvanized pole with 4 foot arm and cobra style luminaire (Standard) and the decorative pole and luminaire combination, prior to the purchase of such material. The City Council recessed the Special Session at 7:30 p.m. to convene in Regular Session. The Special Session reconvened at 7:50 p.m. The City Council continued its discussion of street lights. The City Council asked numerous questions regarding the costs and installation of the street lights. Council Member May inquired about other options for poles and cost savings. Following a complete discussion of this item, the City Council requested that City Staff research other options for poles and lighting and to place this item on a future agenda for a final decision. 4 City Council Special Session, February 11, 2002 Edloe Street clean-up. Matters related to Edloe Street and a community clean-up day including ongoing maintenance of the area and the oleanders. Mayor Lewis stated that she had gotten in touch with some of the residents who had concerns about the oleanders on Edloe Street and suggested arranging a community clean-up day. She asked if the Council would be in support of such a day. City employee involvement would be limited to hauling away heavy trash. Mayor Lewis will plan and coordinate the clean-up day. Drainage system improvements and study. Matters related to drainage system improvements, costs and benefits and the appointment of a committee to study the drainage recommendations. Council Member Farley suggested forming a committee to study the drainage system improvements as reported by Claunch and Miller. The committee would consist of 5 members with staff interface. The City Council agreed with the proposal made by Council Member Farley. Council process on discussing agenda items. Matters related to the process and Council policy of discussing Regular Session agenda items during the Special Session including combining the two agendas. After a complete discussion of this item, the City Council agreed to remove the agenda from the special session. review Report from Board or Commission Liaisons. The City Council reported on Board or Commission meetings attended by the liaisons. Council Member Griffin reported that the Park Lovers Ball had netted approximately $110,000. She reported that the Parks and Recreation Board talked about Colonial Park at their last meeting. Council Member May reported that the Building and Standards Commission had reviewed the previous years proposed amendments to the code and had opted not to propose any changes at this time. 5 City Council Special Session, February 11, 2002 Council Member Farley reported that the Public Safety Board would like to get copies of a crosswalk report that was distributed by the Traffic Task Force last year. The Board has some concerns about overlapping functions between boards. Inquiries, requests and complaints. The City Council reviewed matters received from the public and referred them to the appropriate department or will place them on a future agenda for consideration or action. Matters related to utility facilities and easements . Matters related to utility facilities and easements in and near Colonial Park, including pending or contemplated litigation, settlement offer and related matters. Closed Executive Session to be held under Section 551.071 and Section 551.072, Texas Government Code. The City Council convened in Executive Session at 8:55 p.m. The City Council closed the Executive Session at 9:26 p.m. and reconvened in special session. A motion was made by Mayor Lewis, seconded by Council Member Griffin, to authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to proceed with their business with Reliant Energy HL&P. A vote was taken on the motion with the following result: Voting Aye: Mayor Lewis, Council Members May, Farley, Griffin and Jackson Voting Nay: None Absent: None Adjournment. With no further business to come before the City Council at this time, a motion was made by Council Member Jackson, seconded by Council Member Farley, to adjourn. The Special Session adjourned at 9:27 p.m. 6