Budget Workshop - 28 Jul 2025

Budget Workshop - 28 Jul 2025. Location: City Hall - Commission Chambers. Time: 02:00 PM. Agenda: Budget Workshop - 28 Jul 2025 - Agenda - Html Meeting of the City Commission Agenda - Workshop City Hall - Commission Chambers Monday, July 28, 2025, 2:00 PM PROUD Heritage | PROMISING Future CITY COMMISSION Scott Black, Mayor Normita L. Woodard, Mayor Pro Tem Kristin Church, Commissioner Ann E. Cosentino, Commissioner James D. Shive, Commissioner CITY OFFICIALS Marieke vanErven, Acting City Manager Angelia Guy, City Clerk Patrick Brackins, City Attorney Peter Altman, Finance Officer A. MEETING PROCEDURES A.1. The City Commission will be meeting in person. As an alternate option, the public may attend virtually. The virtual meeting will be in “watch/listen mode” only; no public comments will be taken virtually. To join the Zoom Meeting by computer or smart device: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88142360819?pwd=3aSRsWeSf6o5bmd9qZcLiZXcYzoVj2.1 MEETING ID 881 4236 0819 Passcode 848387 To join by phone, dial: 1 929 205 6099 Public Comment: If you are present in the Commission Chambers, you will be limited to three minutes to make your comments as is the usual rule of procedure for City Commission meetings, except for matters heard in a quasi-judicial capacity. Public comments will not be taken virtually. Submission of Presentations: For security purposes, the City cannot accept jump drives or other USB devices. Please contact the City Clerk for more information. B. CALL TO ORDER B.1. Roll Call C. PRESENTATIONS C.1. Budget Overview and Presentation D. ADJOURNMENT ADDRESSING THE COMMISSION: Any person desiring to address the Commission shall secure the permission of the Presiding Officer to do so. MANNER OF ADDRESSING THE COMMISSION: TIME LIMIT: Each person addressing the Commission shall step up to the podium, shall give their name and address in an audible tone of voice for the records, and unless further time is requested and granted by the Commission shall limit the address to three minutes . All remarks shall be made to the Commission as a body and not to any member thereof. No person other than the person having the floor and the Commission shall be allowed to enter into any discussion either directly or through a Commissioner without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No question shall be asked a Commissioner except through the Presiding Officer. APPEALS: Any person desiring to appeal any decision made by the City Commission with respect to any matter considered at any meeting or hearing will need a record of the proceedings and may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made which includes the testimony and evidence upon with the appeal is based. DISABILITY: If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled at no cost to you to the provision of certain assistance within two (2) working days of your receipt of this notice. Please contact the Dade City Clerk’s office, P.O. Box 1355, Dade City, FL 33526-1355; (352) 523-5052 for further assistance and information. Document: Budget Workshop - 28 Jul 2025 - Minutes - Html Meeting of the City Commission Minutes - Workshop City Hall - Commission Chambers Monday, July 28, 2025, 2:00 PM PROUD Heritage | PROMISING Future Members Present Mayor Scott Black Mayor Pro Tem Normita Woodard City Commissioner Kristin Church City Commissioner Ann Cosentino City Commissioner James Shive Staff Present Acting City Manager Marieke vanErven City Clerk Angelia Guy Finance Officer Peter Altman Community & Economic Development Director Catherine Ralston Public Works Director William Toner Captain Robert Tungate Members Absent/Regrets A. MEETING PROCEDURES A.1. The City Commission will be meeting in person. As an alternate option, the public may attend virtually. The virtual meeting will be in “watch/listen mode” only; no public comments will be taken virtually. To join the Zoom Meeting by computer or smart device: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88142360819?pwd=3aSRsWeSf6o5bmd9qZcLiZXcYzoVj2.1 MEETING ID 881 4236 0819 Passcode 848387 To join by phone, dial: 1 929 205 6099 Public Comment: If you are present in the Commission Chambers, you will be limited to three minutes to make your comments as is the usual rule of procedure for City Commission meetings, except for matters heard in a quasi-judicial capacity. Public comments will not be taken virtually. Submission of Presentations: For security purposes, the City cannot accept jump drives or other USB devices. Please contact the City Clerk for more information. B. CALL TO ORDER 2:00 p.m. B.1. Roll Call All members were seated and present except for Commissioner Shive. B.2. Invocation The invocation was given by Mayor Black. C. PRESENTATIONS C.1. Budget Overview and Presentation The item was presented by Acting City Manager vanErven. Finance Director Altman shared the proposed rolled back millage rate of 6.62 and also gave the commission an update on the Florida DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) request. Altman explained that DOGE was hunting for a chance to show how they can slice up budgets, in particular, if the property tax on homestead is removed. It is up to them, as a City, to tell DOGE what revenue sources the City is using to pay and the kind of services. One thing that concerned Altman was the public safety expenditures. Altman took 75% of the property taxes and put them towards the police services. He then took the other 25% and divided it among the basic employment general fund services. The other concern, which they have discussed before, were the reserves. Altman said he had to match up the revenue. If it was impact fees, they did not use any sewer/ water impact fees back in 2021 and 2022. Altman had to go back to show that each year, all the money is coming in, but it is showing it going to reserves. They have a solid argument that they need the sewer plant. Soon the commission will see a proposal on which firm to select to build a building. With the CRA, Altman thinks they have a good budget coming up. Altman explained reducing the rate to the roll back rate does two things for them. The statutes require them to choose one of two ads to put in the paper when it is time for the taxes. One ad reads the City has a tax increase. The other ad doesn't say they have a tax increase; it is a smaller ad and doesn't require as much documentation. The reason they have a roll back rate is because they are looking at how much a person was taxed last year, would have to be taxed this year. Altman pointed out an item on the commission's handout that shows the current value of the new taxable construction, which represents all the houses and any commercial property that has been put in. Almost 94 million dollars in new value, for new homes, for higher per house value than the average of the old homes. The Planning Department also have maps they were going to share, showing them where all the growth is. Mayor Black wanted to make sure if DOGE came in and checked them, the numbers would be accurate. Altman said he made sure the expenditures that he listed on tab four are within the current perimeters of how much money they spend in those departments. Commissioner Church asked Altman if he had a way to submit the information about the City's needs for upcoming projects and what the savings were for. Altman said he thinks that leads to a potential conversation or a call from somebody. Altman said there really wasn't a space for them to advocate, it was just sending them all the numbers and DOGE would decide if they were going to talk with them. Mayor Black asked if the tax rate of 6.62 would do the same thing as last year's 6.93 rate. vanErven confirmed yes. vanErven reviewed the next items included in the budget handout. Human Resource Director Dison is working on a pay class study, which is something the commission has asked to be done for years. She has partnered with Pasco County and is working very hard to do an in-house pay class study. Within the next 20-30 days Dison will have information about salary and raise changes. Job descriptions will also be updated matching titles, and the work employees are doing. They are also waiting for additional quotes back on the lighting for the alley way. Overall, they are looking at are a rolled back tax rate of 6.62, which is a 4.4% reduction from last year. The proposed COLA for this year is a 3% increase. Other municipalities plan on offering a 3%- 5% increase, with most being at the higher end of 5%, and do not have the merit increase. The City takes advantage of each, a merit increase would be the same as last year with 0- 5% increase. Staff is asking for $50,000.00 for tuition reimbursement. The policy was drafted; however, the money was not in the previous year's budget. Something they saw in the employee surveys was employees wanting additional training in areas of their job including leadership, development, working with the community, de-escalation, etc. Staff is asking for funding for this. Current open positions are the City Manager, four open Police Officer positions, Police Captain, one Street Maintenance Worker, five Public Safety Informational Officers (dispatchers at the police department), four Utility Service Workers, one Utility Field Manager, and two Storm Water Trainee positions that are currently unfilled. vanErven shared the list of new positions they were requesting including the following, Deputy City Manager position, in addition to the Executive Assistant position. The Police Department was asking for the addition of four Police Officers. The Public Works Department was asking for a Lead Forestry Worker (streets and a forestry worker), Lift Station Mechanic, and an additional Grounds Keeper. The Utilities Department was asking for a Utilities Superintendent and a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator. The Information Technology Department was asking for an Information Security Specialist and an IT Systems Administrator. Also, per the commission's request, they are looking to bring back the Fire Inspector position. The Community and Economic Development Department was asking for a CRA Redevelopment Specialist to work under Ralston. The commission also asked for on-site legal support. The Finance Department asked for an Accountant position. Commissioner Shive asked when they would get numbers to go with the request. vanErven said Dison was working on the numbers. Pizarro had basic numbers in the budget. Shive asked vanErven to explain the Information Security Specialist job. IT Director Towne reviewed with the Commission. Shive asked Barthle about the Fire Inspector position. Barthle reminded the commission that they adopted the same fees that Pasco County charges. In the past, they did not charge any fees for annual inspections on businesses. Cost wise, the City is probably coming out better now. Commissioner Cosentino asked Barthle if he reviewed the inspections that the Fire Inspector has done on the businesses; when they have been done, and how often they have been done. Barthle said that it was not caught up yet. Barthle said they send all the inspections in, and they are documented, but they are not caught up with every business yet. Cosentino said her concern with having a Fire Inspector on staff was them having to outsource everything to the County. Shive asked about the inspection schedule. Barthle said the inspections would run a year from the inspection date. Mayor Black said there have been inspections happening because he has been getting some businesses that have never been charged for it before. There has been pushback from some of the businesses because some landlords were paying the fee covering the building, but the fees are now being charged to business owners. Shive asked about the Utilities Superintendent, and he thought that was Daniels job. vanErven said Daniels oversees the department. They are looking for a number two/ backup, for succession planning or to cover if Daniels was out of town. Daniels' request for this position would help keep a second set of eyes on things. Mayor Pro-Tem Woodard said everything looked good for her. However, they need to have all the information, including cost, when they are having conversations. Cosentino said she doesn't have the expertise to decide what staff does and doesn't need. What would be helpful to her is if staff let her know what really is needed. Cosentino was happy to have all the positions if they are able to afford it. Shive said he does not want to see the City hire an assistant, to the assistant, to the assistant. Looking at the list, Shive saw they needed some Public Work Grounds Keepers. He wants to see people who are in key critical positions doing their job. He has a problem with the Utilities Superintendent job. Shive suggested the need for Utility Mechanics. Commissioner Church said Towne raised an interesting point about help with compliance. Compliance could fill the onsite legal support gap if they are doing compliance reviews across the City. vanErven discussed the police request for jobs needed. The intent is to make sure they have two people present at all times for the dispatcher position. Discussing onsite legal support, vanErven liked the idea of a Compliance Specialist. Brackin's firm would be providing the City a quote for one of his employees (who has a law degree). The former person that was in the accountant's position was making just under $52,000.00 a year, which is now the base salary for this position. Woodard asked if Altman needed the position now. vanErven said Altman was comfortable waiting until October 1st for this position. He reclassified the position to the Utilities Billing Department. Altman was also requesting consultant help, that vanErven has to review contracts for. vanErven will have one-on-one discussions with the commission to review with them. vanErven reviewed Public Works job asks in greater detail. For the Lift Station Mechanic, they estimated the pay to be $47,000.00- $50,000.00 as a starting salary, not including benefits. Shive asked if they were down an operator at the wastewater treatment plant, which vanErven confirmed. The current open position includes the recent City employee death. There are five open positions in the Utilities Department. vanErven shared they are asking for an increase of the Youth Council's budget to $5,000. Cosentino said they have significantly grown the program every year and they are looking to do that again this year. vanErven and Cosentino shared the good works the Youth Council has been doing for the community. vanErven reviewed the Christmas Stroll and a budget increase of $3000.00 to make the new budget $10,000.00. vanErven added the Michael Penix Football Camp would now be an annual event. HR onboarding portal through Tyler Technology that would allow digital applications and digitizing HR records. vanErven believes this is budgeted above the requested $6,000.00. During the Dreaming Session, the commission discussed making the parks and playground more ADA accessible. They will also look at grants, but they did want to also have a number in the budget for this. Black asked about match requirements, which vanErven said some of the grants did have match requirements. Police Department overtime has been increased from $50,000.00 to closely match what is actually being spent. The Police uniform budget was also shared. Daughters of American Resolution (DAR) asked to see if the City would contribute to the America's 250th birthday that they are planning for July 4, 2026. Woodard asked for the details which vanErven said there would be an upcoming meeting, but she shared a brief vision DAR had on the event. Shive said he recently had a conversation with Rose from Public Works. He would like to know the budget for the commission's decorations. Toner said $75,000 to include the north end of town and to replace a tree and wreaths. Black said at a previous meeting there was a conversation about changing out street signs along Church Avenue. Black thought that was a great idea. The commission had a brief discussion including funding and other possible locations in the City that may benefit from lighting and wreaths. Woodard said she did not see anything in reference to Veteran's Day. Shive said he thinks the Community Park would be a good area to have something for that. vanErven said she will add funding to the budget for Veteran's Day. Guy said they have been reaching out for sponsorships for Wreaths Across America. Guy went into further detail and discussed where they were in the process. Woodard asked if the amount for the Youth Council included help facilitating uniforms for the Color Guard training for some of the Youth Council. Woodard said Color Guard training to the City would be free of charge. Woodard asked Tungate if they had fake rifles for them, which he said he would have to see. vanErven invited Woodard to the next Youth Council meeting on Monday at 4 p.m. vanErven reviewed additional items in the presentation that were previously reviewed with the commission. A building at the City yard will be split between the Utilities and Public Work's Departments at $75,000.00 each. Shive asked if that included buildout material or if that was just the building. Shive said he would like to see more money allocated to the building if that did not include the buildout, for the finished product. Cosentino asked what the fire hydrant testing and replacement included at $65,000.00. vanErven said they have a renewal fund that they currently use to test and replace hydrants. What they would like to do is annually test, inspect, exercise, and replace any broken parts. Reviewing the handout, Mayor Black wanted to ensure that additional benches and trashcans would be placed all the way to Whitehouse, covering the entire CRA. Cosentino asked for the park's fees of $100 per new home, be increased. The Police requests were reviewed with the commission. Woodard asked for the location where the flock cameras would be placed. vanErven said they would look at targeted locations. Ideally, they would have one at the north end of the 98 Bypass by Lock Street, one on the south end near Clinton. Also, on the east and west sides of the City. Tungate explained this item more in depth. Discussing the audio in the commission chambers, Woodard felt that there is a cheaper option for the audio. Closing the workshop, vanErven shared her goal to have a full draft budget to the commission by Thursday that have the numbers added. She will be scheduling one-on-one meetings with the commission to further review the budget. D. ADJOURNMENT 4:00 p.m. Scott Black, Mayor Angelia Guy, City Clerk