HomeMy Public PortalAbout2004-09-09 First Budget HearingCOIINCIL MINUTES
FISST BUDGET HEARING — SEPTEMBER 09. 2004
The First Budget Hearing of Bal Harbour Village was held on Thursday, September 09,
2004, in the Council Chamber at Bal Harbour Village Hall The meeting was called to order
at 5 15 p m by Mayor Roth The roll was called and those present were
Also present
Mayor Seymour "Sy" Roth
Assistant Mayor Peg E Gorson
Councilman Howard J Berlin
Councilman Joel S Jacobi
Alfred J Treppeda, Village Manager
Ellisa Horvath, Acting Village Clerk
Richard J Weiss, Village Attorney
Tara L Gould, Village Attorney
As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced
2. ANNOUNCEMENT: Mayor Roth announced that the Bal Harbour
Village rolled -back millage rate is 2 5263 mills The proposed millage rate is 2 902 mills,
which is 14 87%greater than the rolled -back rate
3. DISCIISSION OF PROPOSED TAX MILLAGE RATE
AND DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED BUDGETS: Mr Treppeda conducted a
Powerpomt presentation reviewing the Proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year
2004/2005
Mr Treppeda reviewed the Tax Base and explained that the taxable property values
increased by $204,828,894, which is 15 39% He advised that the proposed millage rate for
2004/2005 is 2 902, which is the same as last year and is 14 87% above the rolled -back
rate of 2 526 Mr Treppeda compared the Village's millage rate to other municipalities in
Miami -Dade County and advised that the Village's is the fifth lowest in the County He
reviewed Bal Harbour's millage rate since 1974 Mr Treppeda illustrated a $500,000
taxable value property, which shows that for Bal Harbour taxes, the homeowner would pay
$27 57 more than last year (owners are entitled to a discount if they pay early) He
reviewed a pie chart showing expenditure percentages by department (law enforcement is
the largest) Mr Treppeda reviewed expenditure increases/decreases by department He
advised that Law Enforcement is the largest increase at $572,617 00, but explained that is
skewed a bit high because of the way it was budgeted last year Mr Treppeda explained
that the Village was waiting for a permit fee from the One Bal Harbour project, which was
very large, so that was budgeted for in one line item, so the Village would hold off on
spending certain items until that came in He stated that there were three officers last year
that weren't shown in the law enforcement line item, which are now shown Mr Treppeda
stated that the reason the General Government is decreasing $661,183 00 is for that same
reason, there was a large line item of $900,000 00+, which was a contingency line item for
the One Bal Harbour permit fee He reviewed the largest expenditure increases and
decreases Mr Treppeda stated that Police Department is hiring two additional police
officers, along with the three that are showing for the first time, since they weren't on the
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 1
155
line item last year, salary increases (including a 3 3% cost of living based on the consumer
price index), pension contribution of $180,000 00+ required for the Police Pension Plan,
13% increase in health insurance, and costs related to additional personnel and
equipment He advised that the Building Department shows an increase because the
Building Official will require additional help for the One Bal Harbour project and there will
also be fees for additional inspections that are required Mr Treppeda reviewed that the
General Government decrease is due to the large line item that was previously shown,
which was a contingency line item for the One Bal Harbour permit fee He advised that the
Legislative litigation line item has been increased and engineering has been increased for
the Comp Plan Evaluation & Appraisal report, which is due this next fiscal year Mr
Treppeda noted that the Police increase appears higher, due to the three police officers
from last year being budgeted in the One Bal Harbour contingency, in the General
Government Department He reviewed a pie chart showing who gets Bal Harbour's tax
dollars, which shows all of the other taxing authorities (School Board 37 3%, County
Millage 28%, Bal Harbour Millage 13%, etc) Mr Treppeda explained the table comparing
the 2003/2004 tax bill to the proposed 2004/2005 tax bill He stated that there is a
decrease of 2 11 % in the total taxes, but the reason that the taxes go up is because the
property values most likely have increased Mr Treppeda illustrated an example of a
$500,000 taxable property, which shows that the homeowner would pay $210 45 more
than last year, with only $27.57 of that going to Bal Harbour He reviewed a pie chart
showing the Village's revenue sources by percentage of the total budget (Ad Valorem
54 19%, Licenses & Permits 13 43%, FPL Franchise & Utility Tax 12 63%, Contributions
from Other Funds 7 94%, Telecommunications Tax 3 66%, etc) Mr Treppeda explained
the largest revenue sources (Bal Harbour Ad Valorem Tax $4,242,664 00, Licenses &
Permits $1,051,479 00, FPL Franchise & Utility Taxes $988,552 00, Contributions from
Other Funds $621,873 00, Telecommunications Tax $286,668 00) He reviewed the Water
and Sewer Fund and explained that the Village is not proposing any increases and the
rates will remain at $1 85 per 1,000 gallons of water and $2 84 per 1,000 gallons of
sewage Mr Treppeda advised that the County is keeping their wholesale water rates the
same and Miami Beach is charging the Village the same amount as last year
Councilman Berlin complemented Mr Treppeda on including the year to date column He
questioned if it's possible when a year to date is done, if an estimate can also be given of
what the annualized number would be, because sometimes expenses get shifted in
different quarters He stated that the Council is looking at nine months of actual, as
opposed to twelve Chris Wallace, Finance Director, stated that a forecast can be done
towards the end of the year for the budget, for both revenue and expenditure Councilman
Berlin requested that column be added next year
Councilman Berlin reviewed 511 230 (Health Insurance) and questioned if that is for
additional employees, or if the Village is being charged more Mr Treppeda explained that
Section 511 is for the Village Council Councilman Berlin questioned how many of the
Village Council are drawing insurance Mr Treppeda stated that the Village pays 100% for
Councilmember coverage and 55% for their Dependents He explained that the amount is
to cover five Councilmembers Councilman Berlin requested that someone look to see
what the amount is for Mr Treppeda will check that and stated that it's possible that
enough wasn't budgeted in the previous year He stated that if the bills are less, then that
amount will not be spent
Councilman Berlin reviewed Litigation budget proposal (511 310) and questioned why it
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 2
was increased substantially Mr Treppeda explained that when the amount was budgeted,
they didn't know about the dog lawsuit coming to a close and there is one lawsuit in the
Security District He advised that the amount was based on possible litigation and what has
been spent so far Councilman Berlin questioned how much Mr Treppeda estimates will be
spent in litigation this year Mr Treppeda doesn't know, but based it on the year to date (9
month) expenses of $57,934 Mr Weiss explained that the money spent this year has
almost all been on the dog litigation, including the appeal He advised that is over, unless
they appeal again Councilman Berlin questioned if the amount is based on the litigation for
the Security District Mr Weiss stated that is primarily being handled by insurance counsel,
which the Village doesn't pay for He explained that Village Attorney David Wolpin has
been monitoring it Councilman Berlin questioned why $75,000 is being budgeted, if the
lawsuit with the dogs is over and the insurance is handling the other matter Mr Weiss
stated that the Village could put nothing in the budget and then if it gets sued, the money
would have to be pulled out of contingency He advised that experience has been that
things have become more litigious Mr Weiss stated that it wouldn't be expended if the
Village isn't sued
Councilman Berlin questioned the Engineering budget (511 313) increase Mr Treppeda
explained that is for the Evaluation & Appraisal Report, as well as One Bal Harbour
Councilman Berlin reviewed 512 493 Election Expense and questioned if that is primarily
for mailing Mr. Treppeda explained that Mrs Horton came up with that amount before she
left Councilman Berlin requested that they find out what $25,000 is budgeted for Mr
Weiss believes that the Village pays the County for conducting the Village's municipal
election Councilman Berlin questioned how many people voted from Bal Harbour at the
August election Mayor Roth thinks a lot of people voted by absentee ballot
Councilman Berlin reviewed 519 450 General Government Insurance, which is going up
$70,000 Mr Treppeda stated that Hilda Rodriguez has spreadsheets on what is needed
for each department for insurance Councilman Berlin requested that Mr Wallace make
notes on all of these items
Councilman Berlin reviewed 521 Law Enforcement and stated that the first page shows
$1,960,846 for salaries and the second page shows $2,055,882 for salaries He
questioned the discrepancy Mr Treppeda stated that the second page includes the salary
for the Police Chief
Councilman Berlin reviewed 524 Building Department and questioned the Building Official's
salary of $10,000 Mr Treppeda explained that there was a requirement of the County
where part of his salary had to be shown as an employee He advised that the $10,330 is
just his employee portion and his corporation portion ($41,320 00) is listed under the
Professional Services line item (524 316)
Councilman Berlin reviewed Revenue (300) and questioned what Mr Treppeda anticipates
that the base line license and permit revenue would be, since there have been two years
with a lot of building permits being issued from substantial construction Councilman Berlin
questioned if the Village is due to receive any substantial portions of the fees between now
and the end of the fiscal year Mr Treppeda responded no, that they should come in after
October 1, 2004. He thinks that the last base line year was around $300,000 - $400,000,
according to 2002/2003 figures Councilman Berlin wants the Council to be aware that next
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 3
157
fiscal year that number has to be made up, or people are going to be looking at an
increase He stated hopefully that will come from ad valorem Councilman Berlin stated that
hopefully if the Bellini is on line by then, it will make up a substantial portion of that, but that
will be a big hole
Councilman Berlin stated that under Revenue, the Village is drawing $532,000 from fund
balance, and questioned what amount will be left in fund balance Mr Treppeda stated a
lot will be left because there was a $900,000+ fee which a lot was spent Councilman
Berlin questioned what the surplus will be this year He wants to know if the contribution
from fund balance is going to be greater or less than surplus He questioned if the Village
will be net positive or net negative Mr Treppeda thinks that the Village will be net positive
Councilman Berlin requested answers to all of these questions in advance of the second
budget hearing Mr Treppeda explained that he wouldn't have proposed taking $532,000
out of fund balance, if he wasn't comfortable that the Village was going to have a very good
amount in the general fund balance Councilman Berlin also wants to know what the net
fund balance is going to be
Mayor Roth advised that he received his proposed property tax and in any of the proposed
budgets that will be passed, his taxes will be lower than last year He thinks everyone will
be in the same category, if they have Homestead Exemption
4. RESOLUTION — ADOPTION OF THE TENTATIVE
MILLAGE BATE: A resolution was read by title, by Mayor Roth, adopting the
tentative millage rate for fiscal year 2004/2005
Mayor Roth opened the meeting for public discussion
Dina Cellini, resident — 211 Bal Cross Drive, stated that her comments and questions
will be directed to the budget that applies to the Security District Mr Treppeda thinks that
would be addressed at the Equalization Hearing at the next Council meeting Mr Weiss
questioned if there are any Security District items included in the budget Mr Treppeda
stated that they're in the document, but they're not being approved today Mr Weiss stated
at the next meeting, they will have the Equalization Board for the Security District, at which
time the assessment method, etc will be reviewed Ms Cellini questioned if it will be
approved at that time so if she had questions, it would be too late to get responses Mr
Weiss suggested that she speak with Mr Treppeda, before the meeting, to have answers
to her questions
Ms Cellini discussed the litigation expenses under General Fund ($75,000) and the
separate litigation expenses under Munisport (environmental attorneys) She advised there
are also Attorney and Legal Fees (511 312) budgeted and questioned how that differs from
the Litigation line item (511 310) Mr Treppeda advised that the Attorney and Legal Fees
are the general legal fees that come in each month and the Litigation is for actual litigation,
while Munisport Litigation is specifically for the Munisport items from another law firm Ms
Cellini clarified that the Attorney and Legal Fees have nothing to do with the lawsuits that
are pending with the Village Mr Treppeda advised those are regular legal fees for ongoing
matters Ms Cellini stated that $93,500 was budgeted last year and only $53,298 has been
spent year to date (as of 7/31/04) She questioned why $100,000 is being budgeted for the
2004/2005 fiscal year, because she thinks that is more than what is necessary Ms Cellini
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 4
i
158
questioned why the budget is being increased, when the amount budgeted for the present
year hasn't been spent Mr Treppeda stated that the former Finance Director budgeted
that amount shown He stated that legal fees are increasing Mr Weiss stated that the
Comprehensive Plan review is coming up, which involves a lot of the attorneys' time, and
he will be requesting a cost of living increase (3 3%) at the next meeting, and whatever
else comes up He explained that the attorneys bill monthly Ms Cellini clarified that the
discussion about the hourly rate for legal fees will be made at the October meeting. Mr.
Treppeda stated it will be at the September 21st Council meeting
Ms Cellini discussed Item 521 400 (Law Enforcement Travel & Per Diem), in which
$22,500 was budgeted for the Chief to attend some conferences She questioned who
monitors those expenses Mr Treppeda reported that contain funds for the Chief to attend
State and Local Conferences ($5,000), funds for Captain Jay Smith to attend Accreditation
School ($2,OOQ), Honor Guard Washington DC Police Memorial ($6,000), Honor Guard
Tallahassee ($3,000), Hurricane Conference ($1,500) and Miscellaneous Business Travel
($5,000) He advised that those all go through his office, before the funds are expended.
Ms Cellini clarified that includes other people attending conferences other than the Chief.
Mr Treppeda responded it's also for other staff members Ms Cellini stated that under
Management Expenses (line item 401) there is another $7,000 budgeted for Chief
expenses Mr. Treppeda advised those are separate and are for lunches, to conduct
supervisor meetings, etc. He explained that Chief Hunker keeps him advised whenever he
needs to use those funds
Ms Cellini discussed the Special Assessment (300 004) at the bottom of the Security
District and requested that Mr Treppeda let her know, prior to the Equalization Meeting,
what that item is for Mr Treppeda advised that the $47,797 listed is the revenue that
comes in from collections for the new guardhouse
There being no additional comments, Mayor Roth closed the meeting for public discussion.
A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Gorson seconded by Councilman Jacobi to approve the
resolution adoptinxi a tentative millaxie rate for fiscal year 2004/2005. The motion carried with the
vote as follows: Mayor Roth ave; Assistant Mayor Gorson aye; Councilman Berlin ave;
Councilman Jacobi aye. Thus becominxi:
RESOLUTION NO. 662
A RESOLUTION OF BAL HARBOUR VILLAGE, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A
TENTATIVE MILLAGE RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004/2005; PROVIDING FOR
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
5. O1LDINANCES FIRST READING/PUBLIC HEARING:
An ordinance was read by title, by Mrs Horvath, adopting a Budget for All Village Funds for
fiscal year 2004/2005
The public hearing was opened by Mayor Roth There being no comments, Mayor Roth
closed the public hearing
A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Gorson and seconded by Mayor Roth to approve the
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 5
COIINQL MINUTES
S
\ FIRST BUDGET HEARING — SEPTE ER 09, 2004
The Fir Budget Hearing of Bal Harbour Villag was ► -Id on Thursday, September 09,
2004, in t Council Chamber at Bal Harbour Village - all The meeting was called to order
at 5 15 p m • y Mayor Roth The roll was called a ► dpthose present were
Mayor Sey ► our "Sy" Roth
Assistan ayo"r Peg E Orson
Counc an Howard J Berlin
Cou ilman Joel S Jacobi \
fredrJ Treppeda, Village Mana er
pp � g 9t
llisa Horvath, Acting Village/Clerk+t
Richard J Weiss, Village Attorne
"Tara L Gould e Attorney
Villa
g � y
As a quoru • esent, the meeting co enced
Also present
was d ete rm i
2. O
Village rolled -back
which is 14 87% gr
a
SCI\S
�
ayor Rot/
Y
i is The p
k ate
i.
a ounced that the Bal I-farbour
osed millage rate is 2 902 mills,
•
p
SSION3. D I SED TAX MILLAGEAND DISC! I GETS: Mr Treppeda con
Power oint osee O eratin Budget for
p p � p g . g
004/2005 t
r i
L ,
Mr , ep = and explained t * t the taxabl - property values
increas ' % He advised th the pro• • sed millage rate for
2004/2 st-year and is 141/4„ :7% - bove the rolled -back
rate of . ge's millage ra �\ : • other municipalities in
Miam e's is the fift o est in the County He
revie Mr Trepeda \ ill trated�a $500,000
taxa ,� ur to es, the homeowner would pay
$27 : iscount if ey pay early) He
• epartment(tw enforcement is
rev g - d � p
e incr ses . ecreases by department He
at $572, 7 00, but explained that is
ted last year Treppeda explained
the One BaI.�Harbou •roject;>which was
e em, so the'�Village would hold off on
tated t • there were three officers last year
ne item, whic r-.now shown Mr Treppeda
pp
ment is decreasing $661 ,1 83 00 is for that same
reason;there was a large line item of $900,000 00+, which was a contingency line item for
the Cane Bal Harbour permit fee He reviewed the largest expenditure increases and
decreases Mr Treppeda stated that Police Department is hiringtwo additional police
pp p
officers, along with the three that are showing for the first time, since they weren't on the
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 1
159
I
526
Dade Co
ed Bal Harb
le value property,
57 more than last y
ewed a pie chart show
the rgest) Mr Treppe • a review
advised that Law Enfor ement is the - •
skewed a bit high, be' ause of the way it
that the Village ,w. waiting for a permit fee fr
very large, so that was budgeted for in one
spending certain items until that came in He
that weren,'fshown in the law enforcement
stated that the reason the General Gov
esentation rev,�e
ecl to
CEME
gage rate is 2 5263
r than the rolled-ba
N of PRO
ROPOS
ng the fP
•
da reviewed the Tax Bas
by $204,828,894, which/is
2 902, which is the,s
r Treppeda corrn
and advis
is mitfa
hic
•
5
es
red the Vi
that the °Villa
e rate since '1\97 - ,
hows that for Bal HIar
(owners are entitlbd to
enditure percenta • - s
expend itu r
est increas
bud
•
•
.
•
•
icted a
cal Year
•
Ordinance adopting a Budget for All Village Funds, for fiscal year 2004/2005. The motion
carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Roth aye; Assistant Mayor Gorson aye; Councilman
Berlin aye; Councilman Jacobi aye. Thus becoming:
ORDINANCE NO.
ORDINANCE OF BAL HARBOUR VILLAGE ADOPTING A BUDGET FOR ALL
VILLAGE FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2004, AND
ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2005; APPROPRIATING REVENUES AND OTHER
FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $15,711,992; AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURES; AND
ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
6. ANNOUNCEMENT: Mayor Roth announced that the next budget
hearing date is September 21, 2004, at 5 15 p m , at Bal Harbour Village Hall
Mayor Roth announced that the Village of Bal Harbour has tentatively adopted a millage
rate for the fiscal year 2004/2005 of 2 902 mills, which is 14 87% greater than the rolled -
back millage rate of 2 526 mills. He stated that property taxes will increase by 14 87%
7. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council,
a motion was offered by Councilman Berlin and seconded by Councilman Jacobi to adjourn. The
motion carried unanimously (4-0), and the meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.
/
Attest
_.._:---------:)(_.....,t,virrt '.- i ,----
Ellisa Horvath, CMC
Acting Village Clerk
/ f
L'(/ , 4
May f r Seymour Roth
Council Meeting — First Budget Hearing 09/09/04 6