Budget Workshop - 21 Aug 2025

Budget Workshop - 21 Aug 2025. Location: City Hall - Commission Chambers. Time: 04:00 PM. Agenda: Budget Workshop - 21 Aug 2025 - Agenda - Html Meeting of the City Commission Agenda - Workshop City Hall - Commission Chambers Thursday, August 21, 2025, 4:00 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/82756699771?pwd=xmcWNVu6qvZ4mSo1lNYs1Sk8nFV5I5.1 To join by phone, dial: 1 929 205 6099 Meeting ID: 827 5669 9771 Passcode: 967269 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. Review of Personnel Requests C.2. Review of Capital Improvement Projects C.3. Review of Vehicle and Equipment Requests D. PUBLIC COMMENTS E. 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 - 21 Aug 2025 - Minutes - Html Meeting of the City Commission Minutes - Workshop City Hall - Commission Chambers Thursday, August 21, 2025, 4:00 PM PROUD Heritage | PROMISING Future Members Present City Commissioner 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 Finance Officer Peter Altman Deputy City Clerk Ma-Anna Harris Community & Economic Development Director Catherine Ralston Human Resources Director Terri Dison Utilities Director Kendon Daniels IT Kevin Towne Public Works Director William Toner Police Chief Ann Starling Members Absent/Regrets City Clerk, Angelia Guy 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/82756699771?pwd=xmcWNVu6qvZ4mSo1lNYs1Sk8nFV5I5.1 To join by phone, dial: 1 929 205 6099 Meeting ID: 827 5669 9771 Passcode: 967269 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 4:02 PM B.1. Roll Call All members were seated and present. C. PRESENTATIONS C.1. Review of Personnel Requests Staff shared a PowerPoint (which is included in the minutes) with each department director giving a brief overview of their requested items. Acting City Manager vanErven shared the benefit cost for the requested employees including fringe benefits for retirement of 8% of the salary, FICA (federal insurance contributions act) 7.65% of the salary, health insurance for full-time employees at $13,383.72, and dental insurance at $120 per year. Public Works Director Toner reviewed the personnel request for the Public Works Department. Requested positions and pay scales included: Lead Forestry Worker - $43,902 - $65,852 Forestry Worker - $34,398 - $51,597 Groundskeeper II - $36,118 - $54,177 Fleet Administrative Assistant - $37,924 - $56,886 (2) Stormwater Trainee - $32,760 - $49,140 and (2) Groundskeeper I - $34,398 - $51,597 Toner requested eleven new employees for the Public Works Department. Commissioner Shive asked about the Stormwater Trainee position Toner requested. Toner confirmed what Commissioner Shive said that the employees would be used primarily for the maintenance on the culverts, ditches, etc. Shive asked about the Lead Forestry Worker position. Toner explained this position was to preserve and properly maintain the trees. This position would also work with the City's arborist. Shive asked would this position operate the City's bucket trucks. Toner confirmed yes. The job would involve tree maintenance, remove the dead, and ensure the living live oaks and historic oaks are maintained. Mayor Pro-Tem Woodard said there was a wide pay range for the Lead Forestry position from $43,902- $65,852, which was almost $20,000 difference. Woodard asked if Toner had an idea of the starting pay. Toner said this position would be working out of a bucket around powerlines. The starting pay would probably be at the lower end of the pay salary for entry level. Staff explained the pay is a minimum maximum on the salary range. Toner said they have advertised a position just for the streets division, and it has been a difficult position to fill. Woodard asked about the Stormwater Trainee position Toner requested. Toner said they are going to be brought in at entry level and their job is going to perform maintenance via small equipment. vanErven said they do currently have one Stormwater Technician, not a trainee on staff. This position would be working in conjunction with the technician who goes out and evaluates the stormwater areas. Woodard asked about the Fleet Administrative Assistant. Toner explained that position is going to be a service rider, someone to fast-track fleet requirements. The current vehicle employee, Sara Harrelson's job title is Street Sweeper. The fleet maintenance piece would become Harrelson's main job. Woodard asked Toner if he was promoting from within for this position, which he confirmed yes. Human Resource Director Dison and vanErven said Harrelson's current position is Grounds Keeper II. They would be adding the new position, recognizing the Fleet Administrative position, and looking to fill Harrelson's Grounds Keeper position. vanErven and Dison confirmed Toner would be hiring two Grounds Keeper I's a one Grounds Keeper II. Shive asked how the new positions would be advertised. Dison said they will open the positions in-house first. If they are unable to fulfill the positions, they will open it up to the outside. Dison is currently conducting a pay class study. Harrelson's current job duties fit more with the Administrative Assistant duties. Commissioner Cosentino said they really have not grown the department in a few years, which staff confirmed was correct. Cosentino asked Toner if he thought he would need more positions added for next year with the positions requested now. Toner said he did not believe so, this has been a nine-month study. Cosentino asked for Toner's most important positions on his list. Toner listed the Lead Forestry Worker, Forestry Worker, and the two Stormwater Trainee positions would be his top need. vanErven asked the commission if there were any positions they wanted to pull from the Public Works Department. The commission agreed to keep the request in at this time. vanErven shared that Utilities Director Daniels position requests are for three reclassification positions and one new position. The positions and pay rates included: Utilities Superintendent Water & Wastewater (Reclassification) - $58,832 - $88,248 Lead Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator (Reclassification) - $43,902 - $65,852 (2) Lift Station Mechanic (1 position Reclassification) - $41,811 - $62,716 Utilities Director Daniels explained part of his reclassification plan is for a succession plan. Daniels shared an organizational chart he created where he is trying to divide sewer and water. Commissioner Shive asked how many operators they currently had at the wastewater treatment plant. Daniels said they have four operators and a chief on 8-hour shifts. Shive asked how many operators check lift stations during the day. Daniels said none, they have two people checking 43 lift stations. Daniels explained the current job titles, certifications and degrees of employees aligning with his request. Daniels said there has been a lot of employment turnover in recent years within the department. Daniels was trying to make sure there was more than one person who knew everything and could do the jobs. Commissioner Cosentino clarified that Daniels was only looking for one additional position and reclassification for the other positions. Cosentino wanted to know the reclassification cost. vanErven reviewed the price increase for each position. Woodard asked if Daniel's new setup on his employee chart put the City in a good position to begin running the new wastewater treatment plant. Woodard understood that having employees that are dual certified help allow additional coverage if someone is out. Daniels said for the new wastewater treatment plant, they will be staffed with five operators and a chief. Also, they have more than one person on the water side, which will provide backup. vanErven said in the future fiscal years, after the construction of the wastewater treatment plant, when they look at 16-hour shifts, they will likely look at increasing staff. vanErven shared the Police Department was looking at four new officers with a starting pay of $52,500. Police Chief Starling shared the department is looking for four officers, with an increase of two. They have to manage the City's growth by increasing the number of officers they have. Starling would like to see more specialty units, traffic enforcement, traffic crash investigators, police officers to control the new areas, K-9 officers, and SROs. Starling would also love to see a community engagement unit. Shive asked Starling how she saw the City growing. Starling said her goal right now was to get a handle on their calls per service. Starling said what she needed to do was look at their calls per service, how they are going to expand, and what they think they are going to expand to. Then look at what the commission would like to see from the police department. Cosentino said when they bring a new neighborhood in, they have safety fees that are built into the impact fees. Cosentino asked what that covered. vanErven said a public safety impact fee is something they had on their radar for some time now. This fee is low like the like the parks impact fee. They will look at increasing this. Finance Officer Altman said they use the funds for vehicles and all the other extra devices. Starling added the funds are used for flashlights, body armor, etc. Starling was also looking at grants for body armor. Starling highlighted it takes about one year to fully train an officer to be on their own. Discussing the Finance Department, vanErven said they are asking to add Accountant I position back into the budget. The large salary range depends on the employee's qualifications and experience. Finance Director Altman reviewed the personnel request for the Finance Department. Two years ago, the position was in the City Manager's budget. This was City employee Gigi Pizarro's position. Pizarro was seated by former City Manager Porter, managing all the invoices coming in. Altman said the department is currently overwhelmed. Part of that was due to keeping track of the utility service agreements (USAs). That work is now being shifted to the position they reclassified in Utilities. vanErven introduced the Information Technology employee requests to the commission. Information Technology Manager Towne reviewed the personnel requests for the department including the following jobs and pay rates: Information Technology Director (Reclassification) - $71,511 - $107,266 Information Security Specialist - $50,822-$76,232 and Information Systems Administrator - $58,832-$88,248. Commissioner Cosentino asked Towne to refresh the commission on his additional employee request. Cosentino wanted to know what the employees were going to be doing, where they would be sitting, their duties, hours worked, etc. Towne said the structure he would like to have was one Director, one end user support person (which is currently City employee Luke Komons), one security person (mainly cyber security), and one systems administrator. Cosentino asked Towne what position he would cut if he had to pick one. Towne said he would hire the Security Specialist and cut the administrative position if there had to be a cut. vanErven introduced the request for Community and Economic Development Department. Community and Economic Development Director Ralston reviewed the personnel request and pay rate for a Redevelopment Specialist - $37,924-$56,885. Ralston said she envisioned the specialist would be helping to implement the programs that they were going to be doing in the redevelopment district. Ralston would be working on creating the programs while this person would have boots on the ground and get the programs running. Ralston said getting the Planning Department up, running, and straightened out has been quite a task for her. Woodard asked Ralston about her succession plan for growing within the department. Ralston said for the Redevelopment Specialist, they would probably have to hire people from outside the department. This position would be a lower pay position than the Planner I position. Woodard asked for the growth plan in the department. Ralston said at this point for the department, she thinks they are good. The main thing is to get everyone properly trained and up to speed. In the four months Ralston has been with the City, she has seen a lot of growth in staff. Woodard asked if there was potential for Ralston to be back in front of the commission next year requesting six more employees. Ralston said she did not foresee that. vanErven introduced the City Clerk's request for a Records and Administrative Coordinator, with a pay rate of $37,924-$56,886, and explained this position would be split by three departments, 50% City Clerk, 25% Utilities Department, and 25% Finance Department. The City has seen a great increase in public records requests and a growing need for contracts tracking, inventory updates, and other needs. Finance Officer Altman provided further insight regarding the requested position. vanErven shared this position would also help digitize and clear out documents in the CID building. Mayor Pro-Tem Woodard asked what department head would write the employees evaluation. vanErven said the majority of the evaluation would be under the City Clerk. vanErven believed the spilt employees who currently work under two department heads, the supervising department heads would get together to complete the evaluations. Altman shared he is over both departments that split the 25%, so the evaluation would be done by him and Guy. Commissioner Shive asked who was in charge of tracking the Building Department records. Shive has heard complaints in the past where original plans were lost for projects. vanErven said Ralston's Department handles the permitting and plans that come in now. That is something they can look at to change the percentage to add the Building Department. Woodard asked when they were looking to bring this person on. vanErven said the 25-26 year. There are two open cubicles, and some staff will be going down to the City yard, allowing additional space in City Hall. Altman said they talked about making additional space in the copy room, which may allow for a workspace. City Manager vanErven reviewed the personnel request for the City Manager Department. vanErven pointed out an error on the PowerPoint and said they would be looking at $6000.00 a month for the legal support position to show up one day a week. The total cost would be $72,000.00 a year for four days of work per month. Woodard asked to see more quotes. Commissioner Church said she was thinking about local attorneys in town who could do the work. vanErven said another option was an in-house paralegal to look at before they go to Attorney Brackin's firm. Church said a paralegal and a compliance officer could be another alternative. Cosentino said this was mentioned in one of the sessions that got a lot of people upset at the Florida League of Cities conference. This would bring attention in a negative way to how the City was operating. Church asked about the legal fees, costs and how prices can be reduced. Shive asked if there was a way Attorney Brackins could delegate some tasks to a person with lower pay in his office. They as a City need to realize when they need and don't need to call Brackins. Church said the major issue was the shift in the contract where they had Brackins on a yearly salary and now paying him by the hour, which raised the fees. vanErven said they do see the biggest portions of Brackins bills come from the Morningside Drive project, however, that part of the bill is reimbursable by State appropriations. A lot of the Planning items are another portion of the pie. Woodard said staff should do the things that are in their control and not call Brackins for everything. Sometimes there is also a drag in time. Commissioner Shive said he knows they are currently negotiating a contract with vanErven. Shive asked about the Admin Assistant position and the Deputy City Manager job. vanErven said they transferred her previous role. vanErven's title right now is Acting City Manager. They have not created the Deputy City Manager position. The Executive Assistant job now covers the City Manager's office as a whole, including HR. The job includes human resources, interviews, review of candidate applications, filing personnel files, digitization, scheduling items, proofreading the agendas, helping draft proclamations, ordinances, resolutions, etc. Church said having a Deputy City Manager would be like a succession plan. vanErven said they have the option to get through this year and then look at the need for succession planning and the potential for a Deputy City Manager. Woodard said she believed they provided a level of protection for vanErven's position if someone else was hired as the City Manager. Summarizing the personnel needs, the positions presented would be equal to 148 full-time City employees. The full budget with benefits would be $10,912,535.00. The 24-25 fiscal year budget for 133 full-time employees was $9,524,429.00. Altman said he would give the Commission a departmental response also. Budget Workshop (2) C.2. Review of Capital Improvement Projects While reviewing the Capital Improvements Projects, Shive said it was his understanding that they did not find much lead in the City. vanErven said that was correct, the figures may be lower, however they would rather be safe on the items. Cosentino asked about the 7th Street Streetscape priced at $250,000. Ralston said they are trying to get the final numbers, they don't have construction numbers right now, they are out to bid to get a construction company. They do have a grant from the State that will cover part of the cost and will be seeking additional grant dollars along with other funding sources. When reviewing the fire hydrant testing/ replacement cost, Shive asked if $65,000 was for them to do the testing or the replacement of the existing hydrants that were operatable at this time. Daniels said testing. Shive asked if they have a map that shows the current hydrants in the City. He has seen a lot of the hydrants missing caps and believed there could be a breach of security in the water system. Shive would like for staff to find some way to seal them. Woodard asked how much money was needed to replace the hydrants. vanErven said they have those in the current fiscal year budget, coming out the renewal and replacement funding money. Woodard asked where the holdup was for the project. vanErven said some of the holdup was due to being able to do the line stops. The County was also working with them since they have a maintenance company to help on that front. vanErven shared they just got new additional quotes for some of the newly identified hydrants. Daniels explained the line stop process. Shive said they needed to get this done. They need to get someone in there to shut down the watermain and get the things done. This is a very serious issue that they need to get fixed. The commission agreed that they would like a timetable and to make this issue a priority. C.3. Review of Vehicle and Equipment Requests Commissioner Cosentino asked staff to look into leasing the Stormwater Vactor Truck. vanErven said yes, at an upcoming budget meeting they will have a fleet leasing company coming to speak with them about leasing some of the fleet items. D. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. E. ADJOURNMENT 5:30 pm Scott Black, Mayor Angelia Guy, City Clerk