Columbus, Georgia

Minutes



BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE



Meeting

May 6, 2003



Members Present: Chairperson Evelyn Turner Pugh and Councilors R. Gary Allen,

Wayne Anthony, Glenn Davis, Berry Henderson, Julius Hunter, Jr., Charles E.

McDaniel, Jr. and Nathan Suber. Also present were City Manager Cavezza, City

Attorney Clifton Fay, Finance Director Kay Love, and Assistant Finance Director

Angela Cole.



Members Absent: Mayor Pro Tem John J. Rodgers and Councilor Evelyn Woodson

were absent.

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Chairperson Turner Pugh called the meeting to order at 10:52 a.m. in the Ground

Floor Conference Room, Government Center.



Emergency Siren System:

City Manager Cavezza announced that the Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical

Services would be holding a press conference today, at 3:00 p.m., in the Fire

Chief?s Conference Room to explain the emergency siren system, along with a

tape to identify the sounds. Chairperson Turner Pugh asked City Manager

Cavezza to have the Administration present the emergency siren system to the

Council.



Orientation of Budget Books:

Assistant Finance Director Angela Cole briefly reviewed the new additions to

the Budget Book. She pointed out that the proposed budget book is on the

Internet, on the Columbus Consolidated Govt website.



Budget Overview:

City Manager Cavezza provided an overview of the budget. He briefly

highlighted the following areas and commented on each:

- More than 160,000 Georgians lost their jobs.

- No State employees or teachers would be receiving pay raises.



In Columbus

- Growth of digest in FY04 is projected to be 2.75%; Rate of growth is down 47%

since FY01.

- This is the first year that the City has not had to subsidize the Trade

Center.



City Manager Cavezza briefly explained the different pots of money and

which ones could not intermingle.



Finance Director Kay Love provided an overview of the ?Fiscal Check? by

mentioning the following: Strong bond rating, Strategic Plan/Financial Plan,

Adequate Debt Service Coverage, dependence of single revenue sources

percentage, number or percentage of Elastic Revenue Sources and dependence on

User Fees, Expenditures ? Budget vs. Actual, Capital Expenditures and Ratios

and Trends.



City Manager Cavezza reviewed the following information regarding the FY04

recommended budget:



- Recommended Operating Budget - $174,439,682



Lion?s share of the expenditures and source of revenues

o Expenditures.

? General Fund ? 67.25%



o Revenue Sources for the operating budget.

? Ad Valorem Taxes ? 32.92%



o Expenditures by Services

? Public Safety ? 39.47%



o Budget by Category- Operating

? Personnel ? 61.47%

? Operations ? 34%



o Budget by Category- General Fund

? Personal Services ? 75.31%



- FY04 Recommended Operating Budget



? Health Insurance $4,700 per employee

? 2% pay raise for employees on anniversary date

? 1% pay increase for retirees - $104,452

? $767,030 subsidy for E-911

? $150,000 subsidy for Oxbow Meadows

? $376,766 subsidy for Bull Creek Golf Course

? $320,074 subsidy for Civic Center

? $14.00 garbage fee stays the same

? 2.75% projected growth in digest

? Economic Development Levy - .25 mill $800,872

? Value of one mill (Operating): $3,203,489

? .41 mill increase for Debt Service

? .25 mill increase for General Fund

? (.04) mill decrease for Metra

? .62 mill Total increase

? .25 mill paving ? consider .50 mill



Chairperson Turner Pugh requested to be provided with a listing of the

streets that could be resurfaced with this money.



City Manager Cavezza provided an overview of the Impact on Taxpayer of

Millage Increase:



Finance Director Kay Love advised that we started this year with 112 days

of fund balance ($31.4 million) on July 1, 2002. She projected we would use

approximately $4.5 million to balance the budget. She advised that this would

leave us with an ending fund balance of $29.6 million on June 30, 2003. She

continued to explain this concept for subsequent years through 2007.



An Analysis of Fund Balance:



? Calculated on General Fund

? 2.75% growth in the digest

? .1% average annual increase in total revenues

? .3% reduction of target budgets required in FY04

? .2% average annual increase in expenditures, with exception of FY04

which had an overall 0.91% increase over FY03 adopted budget

? Average salary is $31,975 based on 2002 actuarial report



Proposed Fee Increases:



? Landfill Tipping Fees

? Municipal Waste - $25 per ton to $25.50 per ton

? Commercial Waste - $27 per ton to $27.50 per ton



? Burial Fees

? Adult (6 and older) With Vault Without Vault

Monday ? Friday $300 to $450 $500 to $700

Weekends $400 to $550 $600 to $800



? Fire Department

? Radio Box Fees ? Discontinue Service with Notification

? Haz-Mat Permit Fees - $50 to $50 per chemical with $500 max per site

? Beer & Wine Permit - $50 to $100

? Mixed Drinks - $50 to $100

? Sprinkler Plans Review - $110 to $150

? Change process to be paid with Code & Enforcement Fees.



? Hydrant Plans Review - $50 to $50

? Change process to be paid with Code & Enforcement Fees.

? Burn Permit - $50 unlimited time to $50 valid two weeks





? Parks & Recreation (Non-Resident Fees)

? Daily Seasonal Pool Fees

? 11 & under - $1.00 to $1.25

? 12 to 17 - $2.00 to $2.50

? 18 & over - $3.00 to $3.75

? 55 & over - $2.00 to $2.50



? Cooper Creek Daytime Court Fees

? Adult - $2.50 to $3.00

? Juniors/Seniors - $1.50 to $1.75



? Cooper Creek Nighttime Court Fees

? Adult - $3.00 to $3.75

? Juniors/Seniors - $2.00 to $2.50



? Parks & Recreation (Non-Resident Fees)

? Senior Classes (New Programs)

? Yoga - $25.00

? Ballroom dancing - $31.25

? Aerobics - $25.00

? Cake Decorating - $50.00

? Arts & Crafts - $6.25

? Ceramics - $6.25

? Water Aerobics - $37.50



? Cultural Arts

? Children (All classes) - $25 to $32

? Adult Membership (Monthly) - $25 to $32

? Adult Membership (Three Month) - $60 to $75



There was some discussion regarding the age requirement to be considered

for senior citizen discounts. After responding to questions from the members

of Council, City Manager Cavezza suggested a brief recess for lunch with the

time being 12:05 p.m.



At 12:25 the Budget Review Committee Meeting reconvened, at which time,

City Manager Cavezza went into his review of personnel by providing the

following information



~ Personnel Breakdown of full and part time employees

~ Full-Time personnel per capita

~ Personnel Breakdown General Government & Public Safety

~ Employee/Retiree Benefits

? 2% pay raise on anniversary date

? 1% pay raise for retirees

? Veteran?s Day added to Holiday Schedule

? $5 per pay period increase for Health Insurance per employee and retirees

(monthly) to begin Jan. 04

? $2 per pay period increase for Health Insurance for dependent and family

coverage to begin Jan. 04



Capital By Fund:



? General Fund $0

? Sewer Fund $93,600

? Paving Fund $80,100

? Integrated Waste Fund $1,208,500

? Emergency Telephone (E-911) $377,649

? Transportation Fund $786,119

? Trade Center $353,136

? Bull Creek Golf Course $12,500

? Oxbow Creek Golf Course $10,000

? Civic Center $99,000



Total Capital Outlay - $3,220,604



Capital Improvement Program (CIP):



? General Fund Supported $990,000

? Sewer Fund Supported $552,083

? Paving Fund Supported $800,872

? Integrated Waste Fund Supported $1,762,132



Total - $4,105,087



1999 SPLOST Allocation - $19,998,582



General Fund Supported CIP Contingency:



? Exhaust System for 5 Fire Stations (Fire Department) - $200,000

? Zero Radius Mowers (Parks & Recreation) - $19,500

? Heavy Duty Washer & Dryer (Jail) - $50,400

? Bobcat 873 (Parks & Recreation) - $27,500

? Glock 45 cal. Weapons (Sheriff) - $30,000

? Smith & Wesson 45 cal. Weapons (Police) - $3,612

? Forensic Evidence Drying Cabinet (Police) - $15,285

? Kamatsu Rubber Tire Attachment (Parks & Recreation) - $22,000

? Myraid Printer ? Print Shop - $12,000

? Duplo Book Maker ? Print Shop - $15,000

? Quint Station #12 (Projects initiated in FY03) - $630,000

? Roof Renovations @ Pop Austin (Projects initiated in FY03) - $145,000



The following item will be funded from Paving Fund Supported CIP

Contingency:

- 7 Yard Dump Truck (Public Services) - $63,800



Finance Director Love provided an overview of healthcare financial

considerations for short-term goals and Assistant Finance Director Angela Cole

provided an overview of the long-term benefits. Councilor Suber asked to be

provided with the comparison in the City?s contribution for healthcare per

employee versus the amount of contribution from the private sector.



HEALTHCARE:



Pension



Finance Director Love advised there is a significant increase in the

minimum required contribution from $7.5 million to a little over $10 million.

She explained that one reason for the increase was that we changed the interest

rate return investment assumption from 8% to 7.5%, which is based on the

actuaries looking at what the current funding level is in comparison to actual

return. She explained the other things were the actuary report has to be based

on history. She said that $1.1 million of that increase is due to actual

market performance.



She said effective July 1, 2003; we are proposing 1 ? accrual rate for new

hires. She explained that right now, employees accrue 2% per year of service.

City Manager Cavezza emphasized that this is a significant change, but this

would not affect anyone that is currently working for the City government.



Finance Director Love stated we are also proposing a contributory plan,

which would allow the opportunity for an employee to buy up to a greater

percentage depending on how we structure the plan. She pointed out that many

governments have contributory plans or a matching of deferred comp. She stated

that we have asked the actuaries to look into the calculations on our

population with the average age being about 42 years and we would have to take

that into consideration as to what it would cost somebody. She said the other

component that we have heard about is the ?30 years and out?, but there is a

cost associated with that and we must determine what that is and how much the

employee would need to pay in order to have that privilege. City Manager

Cavezza added that we went to the employees with the 1 ?%, which was widely

misunderstood and very unpopular, but when we stated that with the 1 ?% and the

employee could retire in thirty years regardless of age, we received a lot of

attention. He explained that we don?t know if this concept is affordable,

because we don?t know the numbers, but it is something to look into.



There was continued discussion on this matter with Finance Director Love

responding to various questions. She then concluded by providing the following

Pension Statistics:



? 2,566 Active Participants

? 1,533 General Government

? 1,033 Public Safety



? Average Age and service

? 43.97 age and 10.09 years of service - GG

? 41.90 age and 12.68 years of service - PS



City Manager Cavezza advised that there are no changes in the life

insurance.



Projections For FY05:



City Manager Cavezza briefly discussed providing quality service to our

customers and meeting the customer?s expectations by recognizing the changing

demand. He also outlined some of the challenges for FY05.



Finance Director Love responded to various questions regarding the

insurance for city vehicles, which would cost approximately $1,000,000. Deputy

City Manager Hugley responded to questions regarding vehicle accidents by city

employees.



There was some brief discussion regarding the LOST that was not approved

by the State.



City Manager Cavezza provided some short-term solutions and are listed as

follows:



? FY04 & FY05 will be same base budget

? FY05 ? need to increase USD2 rates to USD1 (based on new fire stations)

? FY05 ? Get enabling LOST legislation (or need to lift 9 mill cap)

? Implement Hiring freeze effective July 1, 2003 (exceptions approved by City

Manager

? Increase Paving Fund millage by .25 mills to be used exclusively for paving

projects. (prefer .50)

? Look for grants, public private partnerships, ways to reduce expenditures,

continuous improvement

? Work with other agencies to get more bang for our buck (Columbus Water Works,

Muscogee County School District, RDC, and other municipalities)





In conclusion, City Manager Cavezza went over the Budget Review Schedule

with the committee members.



There being no other business to discuss, this meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.







________________________

Sandra T. Davis

Deputy Clerk of Council

Council of Columbus, Georgia