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10-20-80SpMtg OCTOBER 20, 1980 A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, was held in the Council Chambers at 5:00 P.M., Monday, October 20, 1980, with Mayor Leon M. Weekes, presiding and City Manager J. Eldon Mariott, City Attorney Roger Saberson, and Council members · Malcolm T. Bird, Charlotte G. Durante, James H. Scheifley, and Willard V. Young, present. Mayor Weekes called the meeting to order and announced that this meeting has been called for the purpose of considering the 1981-82 Municipal Budget for the City of Delray Beach. He realizes that this is very early for such a discussion but Council wanted to give the Admini- stration ample time to investigate and report back on certain matters which are of concern to the members of Council, the Financial Advisory Board and others. 1. Mr. Bird stated that he delivered to Council members and to the City Manager a message in the form of a news item, Delray Beach, January 15, 2000. Mr. Bird read the message. (See attached). Mr. Bird stated that he doesn't propose that any of that should come about; he wrote it as a method of demonstrating that there are some significant changes that are going to occur in government. The reason they are going to occur was very clear in the budget sessions which were held. It was sufficient for him to stand before the public and say that the budget, as presented by the City for the upcoming year, represented the best they could do with what they had; however, he does not say that it is the best that can be done. Council, the Financial Advisory Board and the City Administration have an absolute obligation to investigate every possibility toward a more efficient operation of the City financially. Mayor Weekes stated that the things Mr. Bird suggests in his message are not beyond the realm of possibility. One of the reasons they are here today is to investigate alternatives to some of the ways they have been doing things. At the time the budget was presented to Council, Council expressed concerns. They are here today to again voice those concerns. Mayor Weekes summarized the concerns of Council. The first concern of Council was the format in which the budget was presented; the consensus of Council is that the budget should have more notation, more footnotes and more explanation so that all of them may better understand the changes that come about from year to year in the budget without having to go to the Finance Director or the City Manager to ask specific questions. It's not reasonable to expect Council or the Financial Advisory Board to understand substantial changes for the same services from year to year without some notation as to what brings those changes about. The second concern of Council is the City's vehicle fleet. Several months ago Council had asked that the use of City vehicles be studied and a report be given to them. (By "Council" he means a consen- sus of the Council). Council believes they are not getting the best utilization out of their vehicle fleet; the assignment and the usage of vehicles could be streamlined and the kinds of vehicles they are using could be changed to effect substantial savings in that area. They are looking forward to, again, going to bidding or the possibility of con- tract services for trash and garbage collection; the consensus of Coun- cil is that they need to move forward with preparing specifications and receiving bids for that. The only question is whether the possibility of change in the quality of service is worth the savings; they need to address that. They also need to address the possibility of contracting out the maintenance of the cemetery and landscape maintenance services. These are the kinds of things that prompted Mr. Bird to ask for this meeting so early in the year; to give the Administration sufficient time to bring these matters to Council. Mr. Young stated that he has obtained a copy of Boca Raton's proposed budget. It's in two booklets; very complete with descriptions of items that they need and items that they wish they could have. It has a complete record of the vehicle equipment; it is not only listed by type, it is also listed by make, year, mileage and intended use. Anyone could understand this budget. If the City has an increase in its budget in proportion to the cost of living increase, he thinks that should be so noted in the budget. He feels that budget workshop meetings should be held more often and he would like to see a bid process done for the trash and garbage pickup in the City and for the cemetery. 232 Mrs. Durante stated that Mayor Weekes hit on the major points that Council is concerned about. She suggested taking those points, starting with the City's vehicle fleet, and discussing what they want to see; such as an inventory of vehicle fleets, where they are assigned and how a motor pool can be set up and maybe set a time as to when they want this kind of information. The City Manager stated that a few months ago he told MICA that the City would probably want a vehicular utilization study made when they finished the work that they had been hired to do. A few days ago they had a staff meeting on this subject. He drafted a memorandum officially authorizing them to go ahead and proceed; they have already collected some data they will use in connection with their study. Council will get a copy of that memo within a few days and will see that it is their intention that everyting in connection with utilization of City vehicles be addressed. MICA told him that they should have that - study completed in about four months. He feels that all is being done that can be done right now on the fleet program. In response to comments from the audience, Mayor Weekes explained that MICA's expertise may be beneficial to the City and may give them ideas that they would not be able to come up with themselves. Their fee is based on a percentage of the annual savings. Upon question by Mr. Bird, the City Manager replied that MICA recently requested that their annual maximum fee be increased. It was agreed that they would leave that on hold until they finished the work they are now doing. The City Attorney explained the contract with MICA. The contract provides a framework for work to be done; it's similar to the contract they have with Russell & Axon, that in the event Council wants a project reviewed, that authorization has to come from the City. They have no authority to work on a project that comes from the City Manager; it has to be specifically authorized in writing by the City. Once it has been authorized, they perform their services and they are entitled to compensation based on 90% of the first year's savings up to the maximum. Mr. Bird stated that he has seen nothing which demonstrates a savings of the amount of their first year's maximum. He would move to sever that cOntractual relationship until such time as a year's produc- tivity is proven. He is not satisfied with the contract and he feels that four months is excessive for the vehicular study. Mr. Bird moved that they not extend the MICA contract beyond this anniversary date. Mayor Weekes asked if this action would enable MICA to complete the work that they've been assigned. Mr. Bird replied that he doesn't know because he has seen very little from these people since they came here a year ago. He questions their efficiency, and he ques- tions the outcome and the basis of the only study of theirs that he has seen concerning a cemetery employee. The City Attorney recommended having this action deferred over to the next regular meeting; the regular anniversary date of this contract has already passed. Also, he would like to study the contract before Council acts on it. Mr. Bird withdrew his motion and asked that it be put on the agenda, as a matter of business, for the meeting of October 28th. The City Manager stated that if there is some indecision on the part of Council as to whether or not they are going to have MICA do the vehicle study, he will have to hold up his correspondence to them. He got the distinct impression during budget workshop that Council wished to have MICA do this vehicle study as soon as possible. Mr. Bird stated that it was his intention that the study be done in March and the information be available to them in August, at budget time. The City Manager replied that he didn't know that Mr. Bird had the full fleet utilization study in mind. - 2 - 10/20/80 233 Mayor Weekes stated that the kind of study he is looking for is going to require expertise by someone, whether it be MICA or some other firm. It was the consensus of Council to defer this until the October 28th meeting, at which time they will make a decision as to how that study will proceed. Mayor Weekes added one more item to the list of concerns; newsprint recycling. They have a study from Bob Gance indicating that he doesn't think it is economically feasible for the City to undertake the collection of newsprint, but he did say that they might contract with Durbin Paper Company and receive some nominal income from that. The City Manager stated that this is still a live issue. He went to Public Works with several questions. When he receives that information, they can then bring this item to a workshop meeting. Council asked the City Manager to supply the Financial Advisory Board with a copy of the paper recycling study from Public Works. Mrs. Durante stated that she is eager for Council to hear proposals from private firms in regard to the contract for trash and garbage. She would like to hear proposals for backdoor pickup as well as curbside pickup and she would like some additional information as to where and how they would realize the savings. Mr. Bird stated that when they do receive the proposals, he would like to see the amount offered for the equipment separate from the service charge. Upon question by Mr. Bird, the City Manager stated that they could write their specification that way; saying that certain areas would have front yard pickup and certain areas backyard. This is one of the items on workshop tomorrow night and Paul Myers, a leading expert in that field, will be here. Mr. Bird moved that a request for a proposal on trash and garbage collection be prepared no later than the 20th of January, 1981, seconded by Mr. Young. Upon roll call Council voted as follows: Mr. Bird- Yes; Mrs. Durante- Yes; Mr. Scheifley- No; Mr. Young- Yes; Mayor Weekes - No. Said motion passed with a 3 to 2 vote. Before roll call, Mayor Weekes stated that he would like to have the benefit of the discussion with Paul Myers and since it is scheduled for tomorrow night, he doesn't think that poses any undue delay on what they are trying to do. For that reason, he will vote no on the motion until after tomorrow's workshop meeting. At this point the roll was called to the motion. Mrs. Durante suggested that they set a time frame to come back and discuss all of the items brought up tonight. Mayor Weekes concurred with the suggestion. Mr. Scheifley commented on Mr. Bird's memo and outlined the changes that have been made in the City over the last 18 years. He feels that the quickest way to get action is to face reality and to bring to actual cost every user fee that they can identify. This will be better than setting deadlines and asking for studies. The best and most effective way to do it is to charge what it costs. He feels that all these fees should be raised so that there are no subsidies on any user services on advalorem taxes. Mr. Bird stated that he thinks that the two things have to be done simultaneously. There's no reason to hold off a study because they're going to raise fees, if fee raising is necessary. Speaking as a private citizen, he would be concerned if the government was raising costs without simultaneously studying some way to keep those costs within bounds. - 3 - 10/20/80 2,3 4 Mayor Weekes stated that he thinks they have given the Administration a clear direction as to what they want to see happen. He thinks they should call another meeting similar to this one in about 90 days and see where they stand. Mr. Bird suggested that they hold a meeting every two months from now until the end of the productive philosophy portion of the budget session and he would like to have a budget workshop meeting during each intervening month. Mr. Fred Blaser, Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board, outlined the concerns of that Board as to the City budget. He inquired as to how Council proposes to workshop this. Mayor Weekes stated that it has been made clear that Council is looking for something more expansive than what they've had in the past. He asked the City Manager to get them a sample format which the Administration might consider using. They will try to set a time that' convenient to the members of Council and the Financial Advisory Board for the next budget meeting; it will be approximately one month from now. Mayor Weekes declared the meeting adjourned at 6:05 P.M. City Clerk ATTEST: MAYOR The undersigned is the City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach and that the information provided herein is the minutes of the meeting of said City Council of October 20, 1980 which minutes were formally approved and adopted by the City Council on ~ ~-~,'~ /~'; ..-~ ~' . City Clerk NOTE TO READER: If the minutes that you have received are not completed as indicated above, then this means that these are not the official minutes of City Council. They will become the official minutes only after they have been reviewed and approved which may involve some amendments, additions_ or deletions to the minutes as set forth above. - 4 - 10/20/80' 235 PALM BEACH POST TIMES Delray Beach January 15, 2000 The Mayor's State of the City Message was delivered yesterday to an appreciative andience of citizens. The text of the speech follows: My fellow citizens: Today marks an historic occasion. As of 2 PM today ownership of City Hall passed to Gold Coast Executive Offices, Inc.. Your city administration will continue to occupy space in the buildin'g through a long term lease. Many of you are new to Delray Beach and will be interested tn how this reduction of government came about. It started 22 years ago when the City purchased the Municipal Golf Course on a vow that it would be self supporting. This philosophy was extended during the next 2 years to other activities. In 1981 the increased Homestead Exemption forced other economies and many city functions were contracted to private enterpriSe at a considerable savings. The first contract was for trash and garbage collection and saved the citizens 40% in direct costs and reduced the city work force by 54 employees. L~ter the same year the contract was modified to include street sweeping and operation of the transfer station. In a s~milar action the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Board contracted the operation of the sewer plant to private enterprise. The savings of 10% in direct costs w~s passed on the the consumer in the form of reduced sewer fees. The city work force declined by 18 employees. Also in 1981 the Council contracted the city cemetery to South Florida Perpetual Care, Inc.. The City collects an annual fee equal to 5% of the net revenues. Permission was also given for the building of a mausoleum on the site. The perpetual Care ~und has been growing and a recent evaluation indicates that tax revenues will never be required to maintain the facility. 1982 saw ~ crime increase while the high personnel turn over continued to plague the police department. As a result of citizen pressure the Sheriff's Dep~rtment came in to coordinate ~law enforcement. The improvement in service which resulted in reduced crime statistics so pleased the City that the temporary system was expanded and made permanent. 84 people were removed from the city work Force and the Police Station was sold. The new owner, the provider of the city sanitation services ~Me it the headquarters for all of State of the City Message Page 2 their South Palm Beach County contracts. New tax roll money and expanded local employment resulted. In the mid 80's a suit brought by dwellers in county pockets required that emergency medical services must be available on a uniform basis. The City and County selected a private contractor. The result being uniformly good service and payment on a user basis, i'Additior~l services offered included a silent summons system and a dat~ link with doctor records at a modest a~L~nal charge. The city work force reduced by 25. In 1987 due to reduced building activity and the difficulty of finding qualified employees the function of building inspection was contracted to a firm already providing a similar service in Deerfield Beach, La~e Worth and Lantana. The savings was not significant, but the larger work force, com- puter scheduling, and more highly skilled employees reduced complaints from users and delays in obtaining inspections. 7 employees were hired away from the City and one retired. In a subsequent renewal of that contract all of the fee collection and clerical functions were contracted for as well as code enforcement. The city work force reduced by 5 and a small savings was effect- ed through standardization of procedures. In 1989 South Palm Beach Recreation contracted to operate the marina, tennis courts, golf course, Miller Park and Sarah Cleason Park. The fees from the golf, tennis and marin~ and beach parking fees helped offset oper- ating losses at the Robert Miller and S~rah Gleason facilities. In 1991 the Texas Rangers signed a long term contract with South Palm Beach Recreation which resulted in the expansion of the facility to finally accommodate all the youth teams in little league and the soccer programs. The City reduced the work force again, this time by 52 employees. As a part of the new contract the City receives a rental fee each year for these facilities. Late 1992 saw 2 severe problems. The first, a firefighters strike which lasted for 3 months. Of course such a thing could not have occurred except for the constitutional amendment which was narrowly approved by the voters in March of that year. During the strike Palm Beach County provided services In an effort to provide the most r~pid service city facilities were used by county personnel. The study conducted in conjunction with this service resulted in a proposal to integrate into a regional service ~hich, under control of Palm State of the City Message Page 3 Beach County, provided superior service to all citizens at lower cost. The CitY lost 59 employees and closed one fire station which was sold to a private ambulance service. The same year was the second OPEC boycott and the results included the elimination of the private auto as a regular means of transportation. The City reacted quickly by encouraging jitney vehicles for in city transport. The private sector responded and within weeks Delray enjoyed a fine residential and downtown transport system at modest cost to the user and no cost to the City. Another consequence of the oil embargo was the 40% inflation rate and the collapse of the retiree economy. The Federal Government encouraged self help programs through the private sector and encouraged, through grants to municipalities, the hiring of these groups to augment work forces. The first contract for playleader soon expanded into building maintenance and other city functions. The program became so successful that the City soon found itself with 16 fewer employees, obtaining those services from the Silver- ha~red Workers, Inc.. That same year another federal program assisted in the creation of the Delray landscape System. They offered to take the remainder of the city parks employees and provide maintenance to the city parks and medians. The work force reduced by 20 over all. With the loss of this equipment the central garage was leased out to a private contractor who, you will recall, purchased the site 2 years later. 2 fewer city employees and another piece of land back on the tax rolls. 1994 saw a dramatic increase in salt water intrusion in the city wells. D.E.R. entered into the picture and regionalization was again the answer. The 3 he~ded monster created by the equal representation given the western urban areas and the cities of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach ended in an impass over who should provide the services. A subsequent lawsuit resolved the question and created a franchise service which took over all of the cities water facilities and transmission lines. The city work force transferred to the franchise holder, a quasi public corporation, 45 employees. Two employees retired. The Council decided at that point to contract for streets and side- walks thus eliminating in that year two departments. 1997 saw the south Florida conversion to laser operated traffic control. State of the City Message Page 4 Rather than retrain employees the Council contracted for ~-f utenance. That left only street lighting and FP&L agreed to provide that service at a reasonable fee. With little building and the severe reduction in traffic it was proposed that the City join forces with Boca Raton and Boynton Beach and share services for a city engineering staff which was provided by Boca Raton. This trend continued into the next year when the Palm Beach Municipal League offered a fully computerized finance operation. Since the City had by this time only 14 employees remaining including the new position of Contract Review Officer and the 5 finance employees it was decided to accept this service. So here we are in the year 2000 with a millage rate which has been system- atically reduced to one half of the 1980 rate with a staff of 16 city employees and services second to none for a city of our size. Upon concluding the Mayor joined the other members of Council in a monthly budget review session and a discussion of how best to return to the taxpayers the surplus in the City's pension plan.