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2014-05-27 (2)Regular Meeting Page 1 of 3 Beverly Meeting Minutes From: Kathy Connolly [kconnolly @beverlyma.gov] Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 9 :25 AM To: councilors @beverlyma.gov; minutes @beverlyma.gov; BETTERGOV1@aol.com Subject: may27,2014 Special Meeting Beverly City Council 6:00 PM May 27, 2014 Roll Call: Councilors: John P. Frates Jr., Scott D. Houseman, David J. Lang, James F. Latter, Donald G. Martin, Estelle M. Rand, Matthew J. St.Hilaire, Paul M. Guanci Councilor Jason C. Silva was absent Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: Mayor Cahill #140 Call for Special Meeting Communications from His Honor the Mayor: #141 2015 Budget Refer to Finance & Property BUDGET MESSAGE Dear Honorable Council: It is my sincere pleasure to present to you my administration's proposed fiscal year 2015 municipal operating budget for the city of Beverly. Our goals for this budget are twofold: 1) Deliver outstanding core city services efficiently and effectively in the coming year 2) Invest our resources to sustain these critically important services and improve people's lives throughout Beverly and the surrounding region for years to come. By investing in water, sewer, and other city infrastructure and improving our roads, by updating our zoning and better staffing our Planning and Economic Development Department to bring the smart economic growth our city needs, by providing our public school children rich and varied learning opportunities, by protecting our natural resources and the character of our neighborhoods, by strengthening our public safety capacity, and by providing needed services to our seniors and veterans, we can meet our budget goals: to deliver needed services now, and ensure our municipal government's ability to deliver outstanding services and promote opportunity in Beverly well into the future. As Beverly and our region rebound from the Great Recession of 2008, we are benefiting from steady residential development, particularly in our downtown, as well as continued business investment throughout our community, all of which help to create a healthy, balanced tax base. We as city officials must work to ensure a diverse tax base, thus best positioning Beverly to weather future tough economic times and thrive in better times. Although the budget before you represents an increase of 3.7% when compared to the originally approved FY 2014 budget, it is a mere 0.8% above the revised FY 2014 operating budget. Contract settlements, insurance premium increases, veterans benefit increases and a number of other unforeseen expenses required supplemental appropriations in FY 2014 by both the prior administration and my administration to provide a funding level that could support the needs of our city. These areas when fully funded in FY 2015 account for a 6/2/2014 Regular Meeting Page 2 of 3 significant amount of the increase over the originally approved FY 2014 budget. The remaining increase coupled with some one -time cost savings initiatives will allow the city to make significant investments in the areas of road and sidewalk repairs, public safety and education, while enhancing existing services. As noted above, my proposed budget calls for a robust investment in the City's water, sewer and road infrastructure. These projects are long overdue and are necessary to ensure consistent and appropriate service levels in the provision of clean drinking water, safe and comfortable passage over our roads, and proper sewage flow. Significant reductions in our South Essex Sewer District assessments over the next three years will allow the city to afford debt payments related to the sewer projects, and despite performing a significant level of work in both our water and sewer systems, we are proposing the lowest combined water /sewer rate increase in six years. We are also able to take advantage of roughly $600,000 this year in one -time health care contribution savings, which we propose be invested into our roads and sidewalk budget. We propose investing nearly $3 Million in roads and sidewalks in FY 2015 alone, and hope that FY 2016 will provide similar opportunity. Upgrading our roads to an acceptable level will require a sustained level of investment. We can take a strong step in that direction this year. For many reasons, public safety is an important priority for our community. In FY 2014, we launched a Community Impact Unit to place more police officers on the street, particularly in the downtown area, and it has proven successful. In this budget, I propose three new positions in the police department. This will increase capacity within the Community Impact Unit as well as in traffic enforcement; the majority of this cost will be offset by an estimated $200,000 reduction in overtime costs. While our municipal workforce excels at delivering high quality services to the citizens of Beverly, there is more that we can do. Specifically, as a community, I believe we can better identify and secure grant funding, which will allow us to take additional steps to increase opportunities and strengthen services to Beverly residents. I propose a Grant Coordinator position. This person will coordinate and support grant writing efforts across city departments, the Beverly Public Schools, and in partnership with our many wonderful community based organizations. This person will lead a more deliberate proactive citywide grants effort that will empower us as a community to provide critically important services that we currently lack capacity to deliver. One first year priority for this position will be to help secure funds for a summer learning initiative for at -risk Beverly school children to be launched in summer 2015. 1 believe that this position will pay for itself many times over with the resources it will bring to our city. I propose a restructuring of our budget for employee buyouts upon separation. Historically, the city has included Budget lines within departmental budgets for these buyouts. These amounts tend to be speculative and remain within department budgets if under spent. I have removed these budgets from the departmental level and consolidated them into a reserve account in the general government section of our proposed FY 2015 budget. This will allow for distribution to departments based on actual costs incurred. As with any reserve account, council approval will be required. This will provide more transparency for those costs and more stringent allocation of those resources. While this budget represents the twelve months that comprise Fiscal Year 2015, 1 want to highlight that the decisions and priorities outlined in the budget have been developed with an eye towards the future. In coming years, we will need to fund the middle school project and modernize our public safety and public services facilities. All of these require planning now. That is why this Honorable City Council and my administration recently established formal policies regarding our municipal stabilization fund. That is why my administration has been extremely thoughtful with the modest cost increases we recommend in this proposed budget. It is why we collectively need to manage responsibly, maintain our capital assets wisely, and secure the appropriate economic growth necessary to ensure our children are able to enjoy Beverly and all it has to offer for decades to come. Sincerely yours, Michael P. Cahill, Mayor Communications from other City Officers and Boards: Communications, Applications and Petitions: Reports from Committees: #141 The Committee on Finance and Property / Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of 2015 Budget have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Submit the accompanying order and recommend its adoption 6/2/2014 Regular Meeting Page 3 of 3 Ordered: That the City Council of the City of Beverly hold a Public Hearing on Monday, June 16, 2014 at 7:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers, Third Floor, 191 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA relative the 2015 Budget First Passage: May 27, 2014 Public Hearing: June 16, 2014 Final Passage: June 19, 2014 Order read once and adopted 8 -0 Vote Unfinished Business: Motions and Orders: Meeting Adjourned: 6:05 PM Attest: Kathleen P. Connolly, CMC City Clerk 6/2/2014