Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-22-17 Work Session Hillsborough Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes 7 p.m. May 22, 2017 Town Barn, 101 E. Orange St. Present: Mayor Tom Stevens and commissioners Mark Bell, Kathleen Ferguson, Evelyn Lloyd, and Jenn Weaver Staff present: Town Manager Eric Peterson, Budget Director Emily Bradford, Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell, Human Resources Director/Town Clerk Katherine Cathey, Acting Finance Director Phillip Cordeiro, Assistant to the Town Manager Jen Della Valle, Police Chief Duane Hampton, Assistant Town Manager/Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Attorney Bob Hornik, Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel, and Public Information Specialist Cheryl Sadgrove Absent (excused): Commissioner Brian Lowen Open the Workshop 7:01:15 p.m. Mayor Stevens opened the workshop. 1. Agenda Changes & Agenda Approval Mr. Hornik added potential litigation to the closed session as Item 9C. Ms. Hauth informed the board that Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell was delayed by another meeting and advised that the board discuss Item 6 before Item 5 to give her time to arrive. 7:02:18 p.m. Commissioner Ferguson moved to approve the amended agenda. Commissioner Weaver seconded. The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 4-0. 2. Committee Updates and Reports Commissioner Lloyd reported the meeting of the Orange Rural Fire Department may be moved to another date in May. Commissioner Ferguson reported that the budget of the Triangle J Council of Governments had been approved. She reported that the Tourism Board’s logo and collateral materials subcommittee was meeting this evening. Commissioner Weaver reported that the Upper Neuse River Basin Association has been lobbying to get dates amended. She explained state legislation has been proposed with a deadline that would make it difficult for municipalities to do what they need to do on time. She reported good conversations are happening, and she added that showing forward momentum and good faith effort would probably work out better for all parties than a random deadline. May 22, 2017 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: June 12, 2017 Page 1 of 6 3. Miscellaneous budget amendments and transfers 7:05:23 p.m. Commissioner Ferguson moved to accept budget amendments and transfers as presented. Commissioner Bell seconded. The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 4-0. 4. Request for town board approval of a street or greenway event where the attendance is expected to exceed 100 people on a public greenway This was discussed after Item 6. 8:09:14 p.m. Ms. Campbell said this event — a run from River Park to Gold Park and back as part of Hog Day — was held last year but was limited to 99 people. It would take place early in the morning. The organizers did not have capacity issues last year. Ms. Campbell is requiring that the event be listed on the Hog Day organizers’ liability insurance. Mayor Stevens suggested it be supported. 8:11:32 p.m. Commissioner Ferguson moved to approve the event. Commissioner Weaver seconded. The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 4-0. 5. Public hearing to collect public comment on the proposed Fiscal Year 2017-18 budget There were no public comments. 7:06:15 p.m. Commissioner Ferguson moved to close the public hearing on the budget. Commissioner Lloyd seconded. The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 4-0. 6. Budget Workshop a. General Fund Mr. Peterson said town staff was projecting a 20-percent increase in health insurance. Blue Cross came back with a 54-percent rise. The town’s broker negotiated 18 percent. Town employees have given feedback that they like Blue Cross and like the coverage they have, so staff is trying to keep the same insurance. Human Resources Director Katherine Cathey said this is the first overall increase in premiums in several years. Mr. Peterson said it is always good to have a Plan B or Plan C, so staff will start exploring other ways to tweak the plans to keep costs down for future years. Mr. Peterson also said the City of Raleigh just raised police salaries. The starting salary for that department is now $42,000. It is continuing to be a challenge nationally to recruit officers. Also, Mr. Peterson said, town staff is aiming to create lean concepts by the fall to identify and cut wasteful spending. In this year when the county has reassessed property values, Mr. Peterson said the calculation of the town’s revenue neutral rate is 62.16 cents. Boards sometimes round up or down. Mayor Stevens said he wants to have a discussion with the board about the revenue neutral rate and the options. He is concerned about how thin the budget is. He asked for questions or May 22, 2017 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: June 12, 2017 Page 2 of 6 comments from the board. Commissioner Ferguson said she is nervous about some of the things the town board is deferring. She appreciates the care and caution in avoiding raising taxes, but she is a little nervous the town board may be cutting too close to the bone. Commission Lloyd said she prefers to be cautious. Mayor Stevens said the board needs to talk about possible rate increases. He believes the tax rate was raised one time in the last 12 years and that was when the town had a major shortfall due to the state’s restructuring of the sales tax during a recession. He said the town has become really good at tightening its belt. It concerns him that the town does not have enough staff to meet the town’s needs and the town board continues to delay facilities that are desperately needed. He said he recognizes the town board may have other options going forward, such as a bond fund. He suggested that raising the rate to 63 or 64 cents per $100 would give the town a small cushion. I also do not take that lightly, he said. He acknowledged that would hurt commercial businesses. He recognized this is an election year, too. He said he and the rest of the town board need to do the right thing. Mr. Peterson said there tends to be concerns from the public when the assessments go up and the tax rate increases. He is hopeful the county’s projections on the town’s income are conservative. The town will know more in February. Mr. Peterson did a quick calculation of the rate per penny and informed the board that the .16 cents on the tax rate would equal $15,400. Mayor Stevens said the rate would go from 68 to 64 cents with the revaluation. If not this year, then in the next year or two, I think we are going to need to be prepared to make some revenue adjustments, he said. Commissioner Ferguson said she is concerned. Commissioner Weaver said she feels so unsure about what is the right thing to do. She noted the state raised taxes for small businesses last year or the year before. She hears that it is expensive for people to live here. We have our tax burden, the county has its tax burden, so I do not want to add to that unless it is really important, she said. Commissioner Ferguson said there are citizens who it would hurt. Mayor Stevens said we are getting a lot of new development that is giving us some revenue growth. Commissioner Ferguson said there is a gap, and she is concerned about state mandates that are unfunded. Commissioner Ferguson asked Ms. Hauth whether her department can work effectively without the geographic information systems planner position that she requested. Ms. Hauth answered if development at Waterstone is completed just as development at Collins Ridge is starting, staffing in the Planning Department is probably OK. If someone buys and redevelops May 22, 2017 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: June 12, 2017 Page 3 of 6 Daniel Boone Shopping Center soon, then she does not have enough staff to closely monitor the redevelopment to be sure that the town gets what the board would have approved. Mayor Stevens asked if there is flexibility in six months to accelerate hiring someone if the Planning Department needs to. Mr. Peterson answered yes and that staffing discussions take place throughout the year. b. Water and Sewer Fund Mayor Stevens asked if the reservoir expansion would affect tax rates. Mr. Peterson answered the town will spread out the financing of the reservoir expansion over 20 or 30 years. He expects water and sewer rates to be raised two and three years from now. c. Stormwater Fund There was no discussion. Ms. Hauth reviewed she had sent an email to the board about changes to event permits that sets up a tiered fee structure. She said the financial impact is insignificant, but it is a change in how things are done. She said she, Mr. Cordeiro, and Ms. Campbell agree on these changes. Commissioner Weaver asked whether the town will charge groups like churches, the Exchange Club, and the Masonic Lodge for a special event permit even when those groups do not need town support for their events. Ms. Hauth answered yes and said right now about 20 nonprofits a year pay the town $20 for the package of off-site signage. Instead of that fee, the nonprofits would file an application for a special event permit so that town staff can share expertise on how to run events smoothly. The signage package will be rolled into that fee. The fee would be $20 for the smallest events. Ms. Hauth said there is already a town event fee of $50. She could not say whether groups holding events — like the Exchange Club holding a fish fry fundraiser — had been paying the $50 event fee and the $20 signage fee each time. Ms. Hauth thinks, overall, organizations will pay less in fees. Ms. Campbell said $50 is a lot for the Exchange Club but not for Hog Day. Ms. Hauth said an issue to consider is the nonprofits that come to the board for sponsorship. She is thinking about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day organizing group, which closes streets and asks for sponsorship for police presence during MLK events. That group has not been paying anything. The board would not be able to waive the fee. The MLK Day group is the one known entity that does not seem to benefit from the proposed change. Chief Hampton asked about First Amendment implications. Mayor Stevens suggested the application form ask whether the organization is requesting a First Amendment exemption. Mr. Hornik said the town needs to figure out how to define a First Amendment exemption. Mayor Stevens said the definition could be whether the primary purpose is to make a public statement. Commissioner Ferguson suggested asking that rather than asking whether the group wants a First Amendment exemption. Mr. Cordeiro suggested if there was no commercial or fundraising component, it could qualify as a First Amendment exemption. When asked about the tiered fee structure, Ms. Hauth explained a church or the Burwell School Historic Site would pay $20. An event like Last Fridays that involves closing streets May 22, 2017 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: June 12, 2017 Page 4 of 6 would cost $35. An event that involves closing a street and closing the Riverwalk greenway would have a fee of $55. After the event fee discussion, Ms. Della Valle pointed out a change she had made to the budget objective on public safety on Page 78 of the draft budget. Commissioner Weaver asked what “increased police presence” means. Ms. Della Valle answered the language has been there for quite some time. Commissioner Ferguson said it speaks to what people are asking for when they say they do not feel they have enough police presence in their neighborhoods. Mayor Stevens suggested adding “accessibility and approachability.” Commissioner Ferguson said that was a good addition. Commissioner Weaver said it is important to her that her community is safe but not important to her whether she sees an officer drive by. Commissioner Weaver said regarding the Police Department memo, she wondered whether Chief Hampton expected the cost of storing the body camera footage to increase every year. Chief Hampton answered affirmatively. He added that everyone now expects officers to wear body cameras, so avoiding this storage expense by not using the cameras is not an option. 7.Other business There was none. 8:12:08 p.m. Commissioner Ferguson moved to go into closed session. Commissioner Bell seconded. The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 4-0. 8. Closed session a.Closed session as authorized by N.C. General Statute Section 143-318.11(a)(5) to discuss and give direction to staff regarding negotiating terms for the possible acquisition of real property (the former Colonial Inn, 153 W. King St.) b. Added Item — Closed session as authorized by N.C. General Statute Section 143- 318.11(a)(3) to consult with the town attorney in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege (House Bill 2) c.Closed session as authorized by N.C. General Statute Section 143-318.11 (a)(6) regarding personnel matters 9. Adjourn 8:58:29 p.m. Commissioner Ferguson moved to adjourn. Commissioner Bell seconded. The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 4-0. Respectfully submitted, Katherine M. Cathey Town Clerk May 22, 2017 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: June 12, 2017 Page 5 of 6 BUDGET CHANGES REPORT TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH FY 2016-2017 DATES: 05/22/2017 TO 05/22/2017 REFERENCE NUMBER DATE BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET ORIGINAL BUDGET AMENDEDCHANGE USER 10-10-6600-5300-080 TRAINING/CONF./CONV. 05/22/2017 10,500.00 -4,178.00Yr-end departmental supplies/OSHA over 6496 14,721.00JDELLAVAL 05/22/2017 10,500.00 -400.00To purchase replacement printer 6502 14,321.00JDELLAVAL 10-10-6600-5300-332 DEPT.SUPPLIES/OSHA 05/22/2017 28,500.00 4,178.00Yr-end departmental supplies/OSHA over 6497 32,678.00JDELLAVAL 10-10-6600-5300-338 SUPPLIES - DATA PROCESSING 05/22/2017 2,000.00 400.00To purchase replacement printer 6503 3,489.00JDELLAVAL 30-80-8220-5300-320 CHEMICALS 05/22/2017 111,120.00 -2,000.00To fund lab supply overages 6500 95,420.00EBRADFORD 30-80-8220-5300-332 SUPPLIES - LAB 05/22/2017 11,340.00 2,000.00To fund yr-end overages 6501 17,340.00EBRADFORD 35-30-5900-5300-338 SUPPLIES - DATA PROCESSING 05/22/2017 0.00 1,500.00To purchase 2 tablets & accessories 6499 3,500.00EBRADFORD 35-30-5900-5300-570 MISCELLANEOUS 05/22/2017 6,064.00 -1,500.00To purchase 2 tablets & accessories 6498 3,609.00EBRADFORD 0.00 EBRADFORD 3:38:53PM05/17/2017 fl142r03 Page 1 of 1 Safety & Wellness Safety & Wellness Safety & Wellness WWTP WWTP Storm- water Storm- water APPROVED: 4 - 0 On: May 22, 2017 VERIFIED: ___________________ Town Clerk May 22, 2017 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: June 12, 2017 Page 6 of 6