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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09- September 27, 2011 2nd Budget Hearing Meeting Minutes CITY OF OPA-LOCKA "The Great City" CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES SECOND BUDGET HEARING September 27,2011 5:01 P.M. City Commission Chambers 777 Sharazad Boulevard Opa-locka,FL 33054 1. ROLL CALL: The City Commission of the City of Opa-locka, Miami-Dade County, Florida met for the Second Budget Hearing on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 5:09 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers, 777 Sharazad Boulevard, Opa-locka, Florida. The following members were present: Commissioner Rose Tydus, Vice Mayor Dorothy Johnson, Commissioner Timothy Holmes, Commissioner Gail E. Miller and Mayor Myra L. Taylor. Also in attendance were: Interim City Manager Bryan Finnie, City Clerk Deborah S. Irby and City Attorney Joseph S. Geller. 2. INVOCATION: The Invocation was delivered by Mayor Myra L. Taylor. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison. 4. SECOND READING ORDINANCES/PUBLIC HEARING: Attorney Geller asked if he should read all items because he believed that's what he did last time. Mayor Taylor said it was okay, but the Commission will discuss them one at a time. A. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA ADOPTING A FINAL MILLAGE RATE FOR THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA, PURSUANT TO SECTION 200.065,FLORIDA STATUTES, FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011-2012, COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2011 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2012; SETTING PUBLIC HEARING DATES; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ALL PRIOR ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING Second Budget Hearing Minutes—09/27/2011 1 FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE (first reading / public hearing held on September 6,2011). Sponsored by C.M. B. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2011-2012, COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2011, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2012; PROVIDING FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS ESTABLISHED BY THE BUDGET, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS; PROVIDING FOR APPROPRIATION OF ALL BUDGET EXPENDITURES; PROVIDING FOR FEES CONSISTENT WITH APPROPRIATION AND AMENDMENT; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT AND REPEALER; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE (first reading / public hearing held on September 13, 2011). Sponsored by C.M. C. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE CITY'S PROPRIETARY AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUND BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2011-2012, COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2011, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2012; PROVIDING FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS ESTABLISHED BY THE BUDGET, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS; PROVIDING FOR APPROPRIATION OF ALL BUDGET EXPENDITURES; PROVIDING FOR FEES CONSISTENT WITH APPROPRIATION AND AMENDMENT; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT AND REPEALER; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE (first reading/public hearing held on September 13,2011). Sponsored by C.M. The above ordinances were read by title by Attorney Geller. Vice Mayor Johnson expressed her concern with the City Attorney reading all items at once as oppose to individually. Attorney Geller explained that he believed this was how it was done the last time and he thought the intent was so that the public hearing would allow the speakers to speak on any of the items; and that is why he asked the Mayor before he did. Vice Mayor Johnson stated that the attorney must get the consensus of the whole Commission. Second Budget Hearing Minutes—09/27/2011 2 Mayor Taylor added that she would allow the three items to be separately discussed. Even if the City Attorney wanted to read all ordinances, Vice Mayor Johnson said he would have to get the consensus of the whole Commission. Attorney Geller stated that all three items have to be discussed by the Commission and voted on separately. Mayor Taylor opened the public hearing on ordinances 4A, 4B, and 4C. 1. Nathan Mallory of 1820 Ali-baba Avenue, Opa-locka, Florida came forward in support of the Community Empowerment Team (CET) located in the Cultural Arts Center and urged the Commission to do whatever possible to allow the CET program to remain to provide services. Vice Mayor Johnson stated that the Weed & Seed program will continue providing some of the same services provided by CET to the citizens of Opa-locka. 2. Prophetess Celeste Fitzpatrick of 2523 Opa-locka Boulevard, Opa-locka, Florida, appeared before the City Commission and expressed her budgetary concerns relating to the police department. Additionally, she made mention of a Code Enforcement concern at 2527 Opa-locka Boulevard where there are numerous churches in a warehouse operating without the proper licenses. 3. Arthanial Mohammad of 1815 Ali-babe Avenue, Opa-locka, Florida, came forward in support of the Community Empowerment Team (CET). He said that the CET program has assisted many residents, especially in the Triangle area. He requested that the Commission include monies in the budget to extend the shuttle bus operating days to include weekends and extend the route. Additionally, he requested additional lighting on Ali-baba Avenue east of NW 22nd Avenue and increased police visibility in aforementioned area. Vice Mayor Johnson recalled requesting a feasibility study on the shuttle bus schedule to find out what days the shuttle is being used the least. In previous conversations with staff, she said she was told that even if the shuttle bus went to Wal-Mart, it couldn't stop along the way. She suggested that the shuttle bus travel directly from Walgreens to Wal-Mart. She reported an incident when the shuttle bus was traveling at a high rate of speed. Manager Finnie recommended that the Commission report the speeding immediately to him so that he can call the company who will utilize the GPS tracking device to monitor the location and speed of the buses. He reported that he had begun discussions with the company regarding the expansion of services. Second Budget Hearing Minutes-09/27/2011 3 Vice Mayor Johnson asked that the City Manager look into including bus benches in some of the areas for the shuttle bus routes. Manager Finnie informed the Commission that a memorandum would be forthcoming on the bus bench issue. 4. Steven Barrett of 633 Sharar Avenue, Opa-locka, Florida, appeared before the City Commission and suggested that they hire a financial advisor to monitor every department of the city for at least the next six months. The financial advisor should only answer to the Commission and this would provide information as to where the city is financially. 5. Mr. Fritz of 1316 Dunad Avenue, Opa-locka, Florida, came forward in support of the Community Empowerment Team (CET). He submitted a petition with signatures requesting that the city allow the CET program remain open. There being no further persons to speak on the public hearing, the public hearing was closed. It was moved by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Miller to pass Ordinance 4A. There being no discussion, the motion passed by a 5-0 vote. Commissioner Tydus Yes Commissioner Miller Yes Commissioner Holmes Yes Vice Mayor Johnson Yes Mayor Taylor Yes It was moved Commissioner Miller, seconded by Commissioner Holmes to pass Ordinance 4B. Vice Mayor Johnson made reference to the section in the charter which provides how the budget should be outlined. According to the charter, the city must provide an itemized budget. She has continuously, even during the last meeting, asked staff to provide an itemized budget. However, the budget is not itemized and it does not justify any amount or where the amount originated. After being contacted by a citizen of Opa-locka who referred her to a Director of Finance from a municipality in Broward County, she spoke to the individual and the City Manager. She said she was told the city's numbers are generated from the historic numbers and that is very hard to digest. She expressed her disapproval of staff continuing to provide the Commission with numbers without justification. The city is in need of an independent individual to look at the city's numbers because it is her opinion that accurate information is not being provided. Second Budget Hearing Minutes—09/27/2011 4 She further requested that the Commission allow Ms. King to address them relating to her experience in budgeting. She said that Ms. King managed a 15 Million Dollar budget and she was not looking for a job. Additionally, Ms. King was providing the information pro bono. Kaola King, Ex Finance Budget Director of the Town of Lauderdale by the Sea appeared before the City Commission. Mayor Taylor asked for the consensus of the Commission to allow Ms. King to speak. There being no objections from the Commission, Mayor Taylor asked that Ms. King proceed with the presentation. Vice Mayor Johnson asked for Ms. King's professional opinion after reviewing the city's budget. Upon reviewing the city's budget, Ms. King said that her first thought was the justification in the numbers to show what the numbers consist of. Without having that documentation, there is no real reason to vote on the budget without having the knowledge of knowing what it represents. She stated that the budget reflect lump sum amounts and are not itemized to provide justification of the amounts for accountability purposes. Additionally, she observed that in the police budget (pages 119 — 121) reflects what was adopted for this fiscal year and that was carried over for FY 2012. When working on a proposed budget, the city is proposing what was spent, the expenditures for the current fiscal year and not as oppose to just forwarding over what was adopted for the current fiscal year. For the record, Vice Mayor Johnson asked if the advisement provided was pro bono or was there a cost? Ms. King stated that the information she had provided was pro bono. There being no further discussion, the motion passed by a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Miller Yes Commissioner Holmes Yes Vice Mayor Johnson No Commissioner Tydus Yes Mayor Taylor Yes It was moved by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Miller to pass Ordinance 4C. There being no discussion, the motion passed by a 4-1 vote. Second Budget Hearing Minutes-09/27/2011 5 Commissioner Holmes Yes Vice Mayor Johnson No Commissioner Tydus Yes Commissioner Miller Yes Mayor Taylor Yes 5. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the City Commission, it was moved by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Miller to adjourn the meeting at 5:40 p.m. M / OR ATTEST: CITY CLERK Second Budget Hearing Minutes—09/27/2011