Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-06-2018 regular meetingCity Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes Thursday, December 6, 2018 6:30 p.m. The Mayor and Council of Peachtree City met in regular session on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Mayor Vanessa Fleisch called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Others attending: Terry Ernst, Kevin Madden, and Phil Prebor. Mike King was absent.. Announcements. Awards, Special Recoanition Fleisch recognized Police Lt. Mark Brown for 25 years of service and honored former Municipal Court Judge Stephen Ott. Public Comment Charles Wilson told Council he moved to Peachtree City in 1978, moved away, and returned upon retirement. One of the City's attractions was that it was a planned community, but he said he was concerned when he read about a proposal for the area along SR 54 around City Hall and the Aberdeen Village Shopping Center. Wilson believed it would take down two of the oldest churches in the City, one of which he attended. He was appalled by this plan and noted there were other commercial areas nearby that could be developed instead, such as the intersection of SR 54 and 74. Wilson said if people wanted to live in a high-rise community, they would have moved to Atlanta. He wanted to verify that no Council members had a financial interest in this development. Wilson remarked that his pastor said he was asked to keep this quiet, and Wilson wondered why that was so. He felt discussion in government should be open. Minutes Ernst moved to approve the November 15, 2018, regular meeting minutes. Madden seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Consent Agenda 1. Consider Sole Source Purchase of Amphitheater Seating - Contour Seats, Inc. 2. Consider Acceptance of SAFEbuilt Donation for Christmas Luncheon 3. Consider Tower Lease Renewal Prebor moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1, 2, and 3. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. New Aaenda Items 12-18.01 FY2019 Year -End Fiscal Analysis (unaudited) City Manager Jon Rorie said the following items would be presented in a team approach led by Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore and himself, along with administrators from Human Resources, Public Works, Recreation, and the Police and Fire Departments. The year-end analysis would be discussed, followed by discussion of a cost of living adjustment and a budget amendment. Salvatore offered basic facts about the budgeting process, saying the fiscal year (FY) ran from October 1 to September 30, and staff was currently preparing for the FY 2018 financial audit. The audits must be submitted to the state within six months of the fiscal year end, which would be March 31. Auditors would arrive shortly after the first of the year to begin their fieldwork, Salvatore noted, and staff had already compiled a lot of figures for them. He said these unaudited numbers would be used in this presentation to show how FY 2018 ended compared to the projections in the five-year financial model used during the budget discussions. Topics to be covered included City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 2 salary and benefits impacts, budget amendments and rollovers, capital improvement plan (CIP) amendments, and the impact on the City's cash reserve. The City's projected revenues for FY 2018 had been about $35.8 million, Salvatore noted, but the unaudited numbers showed that the actual intake was about $36.9 million, a favorable variance of more than $1 million. The biggest surplus came from motor vehicle taxes. Salvatore said they were hard to predict and usually came in under projections, but were higher than anticipated in 2018. Sales taxes were $206,000 more than anticipated. Sales taxes were the City's second largest revenue source, and the overage, while large, was only about 2% or 3% more than what was projected. Salvatore went on to note that the insurance premium tax came in ahead of projections. Golf cart registration fees were slightly higher than projected, as were building permit fees. Salvatore noted that the more building permits that were issued, the more the City paid to SAFEbuilt to service them, so the extra revenue had an offsetting expense. Court fees and fines were a little lest than projected, but were higher than last year. Hotel/motel taxes were higher than anticipated. Salvatore said interest revenues were higher than anticipated because interest rates had increased, and the City had increased cash reserves. He noted that higher interest rates also meant the overall cost of living would increase, such as for interest on home and car loans. The final items were one-time anomalies, Salvatore explained. The City received a one-time reimbursement for storm expenses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There was also the transfer of Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) employees to the City's payroll. Both of these included corresponding expenses. There were also transfers from the capital fund to p the General Fund. Salvatore pointed out again that these were one-time revenues; the City could not count on having an extra $1 million every year. The on-going impact would be more like L $350,000. The projections for the expense side were closer to the actual figures, Salvatore noted. The projected spending was about $36 million; expenses came in at about $35.7 million, which was approximately $370,000 to the good. Most of the savings came from departmental operating budgets, with a small portion from general administration and interfund transfers. The variance in revenues and expenditures totaled $1,447,359. Salvatore said they had anticipated that the fund balance would drop by $183,000; instead, it went up by $1.2 million. Likewise, they expected the ending reserve balance to be about $13.6 million, but it ended up being around $15.1 million. He reminded Council that this included carryover expenses, which were funds that should have been spent in 2018, but were not. These were expensed early in FY 2019. Removing this $321,000 in carryover expenses brought the fund balance to about $1.125 million. When factored with the expenses, which were $370,000 to the good, these carryover expenses caused them to drop to about $50,000 to the good. Ongoing adjustments to the financial model included a conservative addition of $350,000 to revenues in the General Fund. On the expense side, staff was proposing $250,000 in one-time expenditures, which would be discussed later in the presentation. Salvatore showed a summary of the five-year financial model that displayed the reserves and ending balance projections and the cash reserve as a percentage of the total budget. The model for FY 2018 showed the use of $183,000 in cash reserves, leaving an ending cash balance of $13.6 million, which was 38%. The unaudited actual figures showed that instead of using the $183,000 in cash reserves, the City wound up with an additional $1.2 million, ending up with the $15.1 million he mentioned earlier, which was 42%. In the FY 19 adopted budget, the carryovers of $250,000 City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 3 would add about $176,000 to the cash reserves, but the use of cash reserves would drop that total to about $275,000. He said the total revenues would still increase, with the model showing an anticipated ending point of $13.8 million; the new projection was $14.7 million, or 39%. There was about a I% difference. Rorie took over to delve into how those figures impacted issues such as CIP amendments, salary cost of living adjustments, and budget amendments. The key was to look at the figures for the end of FY 2018, he said, noting that the budget was composed of projections, with decisions made based on priorities, service level impacts, and capital level impacts. By the time he had presented the manager's proposed budget, Rorie remarked, he had already cut a number of items based on those standards. He asked Council to recall that the goal was to balance revenues and expenditures. Salvatore had said department heads were always asked to come in under budget, but Rorie said that was difficult to determine. The budget was established with an expense of 100%; Council assumed that all the money would be spent because a budget was a spending plan, not a savings plan. However, department heads were encouraged to execute their budgets at about a 97% or 98%. That led to the concept of rollovers. Rorie asked Salvatore to give an example of a budget item that was rolled over from FY 2018 to FY 2019. Salvatore said they were waiting on delivery of a simulator for the Fire Department at the end of the fiscal year. It was ordered for delivery prior to year-end, but arrived after September 30, so it could not be included in FY 2018. Salvatore pointed out that Tourism Product Development (TPD) money from the hotel/motel tax had to be spent on certain things, and much of it was rolled over to FY 2019. Rorie noted that some things could not be controlled, and that was part of the process. 12-18-02 Consider Budgeted Cost of Living Adjustment Rorie explained that Human Resources Director Ellece Brown had laryngitis, so he would be presenting information on the cost of living adjustments. Madden had a question for Salvatore, asking how money collected for building permits was paid to SAFEbuilt. Salvatore said SAFEbuilt got 75% of the money for handing services associated with inspections. The money left for the City covered administrative costs and overhead. Permits, by law, could not be a profit-making operation. Prebor noted that $22,000 of the $88,000 in permit fees went to the City. Fleisch said it was also important to note that the amount of money spent on permits upped the value of property or created new buildings that positively impacted the tax base. City Attorney Ted Meeker said the City was only allowed to cover its costs through permits, and he was not sure,the building department ever covered all of its expenses through permits. Rorie said there was about a 7% subsidy. Prebor asked about the FEMA reimbursement listed on the revenue side. Assistant Finance Director Kelly Bush told him that covered cleanup from Hurricane Irma, which took place at the end of FY 2017, but the money was not received until FY 2018. Madden noted there was a cost associated with this money, and Salvatore confirmed the City had to offset it dollar for dollar. Prebor asked what was meant by the term "subsidy" on Salvatore's five-year model. Rorie said that was money pulled from cash reserves. Tonight, he would be proposing that $250,000 be pulled from cash reserves, which would affect the balance. Salvatore said it would still be ahead of where it was projected during budgeting. Rorie returned to the topic of salaries and benefits. He pointed out that the City's roadway assets were valued at $206 million. Through General Fund and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars, the City invested about $5 million into the roadways, including signs and City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 4 maintenance, in FY 2018. This was the first year during his tenure the City had been able to do this, and the investment amounted to 2.43% of the total budget. That asset was not just paving; it included 192.8 miles of pavement, valued at nearly $40 million, and 353 miles of curb and gutter, valued at about $65 million. Stop bars cost $75 apiece, and there were 308 in the City, with a total value of $23,100. He said he would budget about $27,000 to re -paint all the stop bars in the City. The largest asset the City maintained was its roadway network, and Rorie said resurfacing and maintaining that asset had been a constant topic ever since he came to the City in 2011. This year was the first time the City had been able to invest $5 million into that asset. Rorie showed an engineering chart with the cost impact of delaying road maintenance. A two- inch mill and pave that cost $152,000 a mile would, if delayed and the road condition got worse, require full -depth reclamation that cost more than $200,000 per mile. This was the engineer's version of saying "a stitch in time saves nine:' Prebor asked if this chart could be put up on the City website, and Rorie said the entire presentation could be, but he thought it had been posted in the past. Prebor said it was good information. More than 15,000 residents left the City each day to go to work, Rorie noted, while about 16,000 people who lived outside the City commuted to it to work each day. About 31 % of people working in the City drove 25 to 50 miles to get to their jobs. Of those who drove into the community, 18% drove 25 to 50 miles. He said the chart did not show where they worked or why they were willing to commute, It was an economic decision people made, Rorie said, noting that he would not commute to Atlanta for $10 an hour, but might for a higher figure. Rorie explained why he presented these statistics. There was an asset in the City that needed to be maintained, and there were decisions people made every day as to where they lived, worked, and played, with work being a big part of that. Any discussion of the City's salary and benefits package had to look at these concepts. Rorie read from City policy: "The City Manager or designee may make or call to be made such comparative studies as he or she deems necessary of the factors affecting the level of salary ranges prior to the preparation of the annual budget, as well as at other times during the year. On the basis of information derived from such studies, the City Manager may make recommendations for changes in salary ranges as necessary to maintain the fairness, adequacy, and competitiveness of the overall salary structure." He summarized this as saying that maintaining the pay and compensation plan for Peachtree City sat on his shoulders. He had to analyze the data, even though it was a public policy decision. Rorie stated that a formal evaluation was needed every five years, and the last evaluation of the compensation plan was in 2014, meaning another was due in 2019. Rorie's recommendation was for a 3.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA) across the board for all City employees. In the budget, they established a 2.5% increase as a placeholder, based on the estimated range of the consumer price index (CPI). Rorie recommended an additional 1%, bringing the total cost to $389,997. Rorie described the 2014 compensation study as determining whether the City's salary and benefits were competitive in the local labor market. Local labor market was defined as the area where people could change jobs without having to change residences. That was why it was important to know about the length of commutes. There was a balance between time and distance. Peachtree City was part of a larger labor market that included the broader Atlanta region. They often looked at other nearby Class B cities, such as Alpharetta and Kennesaw, but also considered the local market, including Fayette County, Fayetteville, Newnan, and Coweta City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 5 County, when making decisions. Rorie said it was clear the City competed for employees who were willing to commute outside the County. The 2014 compensation study also showed that the benefits offered by the City were competitive with the benefits offered at the cities and counties examined in the study. The result of the 2014 compensation study was that Council repealed the 2000 Employee Job Classification and Compensation Plan and adopted the 2014 Employee Job Classification and Compensation Plan to remain competitive for recruitment/retention of talent in the local labor market. They had done nothing for 14 years to evaluate the compensation plan. Rorie referred to his "stitch in time" adage, noting it would be better to evaluate the situation periodically to avoid incurring major costs if a longer time elapsed between evaluations. He said this year they sent out a request for salary and benefits information to 12 nearby jurisdictions and received six responses from fire departments and five from police departments. Rorie pointed out that it looked like they were competitive with the beginning salaries offered to firefighters, and he wanted to focus on Peachtree City, Fayette County, and Fayetteville. The starting salary for a Peachtree City firefighter/emergency medical technician (EMT) was $38,652 a year. The total compensation package, which included health insurance and other items, came to $69,825, which was competitive. He mentioned that Fayetteville's was $72,488. The difference came from health insurance and starting pay, which was $42,851 in Fayetteville. He said Fayetteville had only recently implemented that starting salary. In Peachtree City, the starting salary for a police officer was the same as in the fire department, $38,652, because, as Rorie explained, there should be parity in pay scales between the two departments. The starting salary for a Fayette County deputy sheriff was $38,604, which was competitive. Fayetteville Police Officer II's starting salary was $40,725, which seemed good if you looked only at salary. However, total compensation for a Fayetteville Police Officer II was $69,536 compared to Peachtree City's $69,983. It was an apples and oranges comparison when talking about the total compensation package, Rorie noted. Health insurance for a Peachtree City officer amounted to $18,382, while a Fayetteville officer would see $17,686 paid on his or her behalf. That amount was a question of how much of d percentage the City or the insured must pay, plus co -pays, deductibles, and so on. Rorie felt Peachtree City had a very competitive health insurance plan and could not be compared to Fayetteville's, regardless of the starting salary. The next big piece of the puzzle was the defined benefits (DB) pension plan. Peachtree City paid $6,441 for every police officer, while Fayetteville, with a higher starting salary, paid less. That was because DB plans were set up differently. Rorie explained that an employee from Peachtree City had a 2.5% pickup cost deducted from their salary to contribute to the DB plan. A Fayetteville employee saw 2 percent deducted from their salary. Rorie said it might look like the Fayetteville employee was getting the better deal, but the real question was what it looked like in the end. A Fayette County deputy had a total starting compensation package of $64,343, but they must choose between a DB and a DC (defined contribution) pension plan. The DB plan called for a 2.5% employee deduction, and the County added another 3.8% on the employee's behalf. At least 10 years employment was required to invest. Upon retirement, the employee would get a multiplier for their benefit, and the benefit would be at 1.5%. In Peachtree City, it was 2%. If a Fayette County employee chose the DC plan, they did not contribute, and the County would contribute the 3.8%. Rorie also pointed out that Fayette County's starting salary covered all hours up to about 2,200 a year. In Peachtree City, the salary covered up to 2,080 a year. Overtime kicked in after 40 hours in a week for a Peachtree City officer, but a Fayette County officer would have to work 86 hours over a two-week period to qualify for overtime. That affected the hourly rate, Rorie noted, saying City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 6 this showed that looking at a compensation plan required examining all aspects of salary and benefits. At the end of the day, of course, there would be employees who would looked only at salary,Rorie remarked. Prebor asked why the City's worker's comp payment was so much higher than other areas. Rorie consulted with Brown, who said she was unsure. The payment was $2,188 in Peachtree City. Bush stepped in to note that there were different levels depending on the type of job performed. She said there were several formulas used and noted this was the amount budgeted, not necessarily what was spent. Prebor said there were modifiers that went by the number of claims and said it would be good to work on getting the number of claims down. Rorie agreed, noting that every dime counted. Rorie said he had shared all of this information to show how they looked at compensation in terms of recruitment and retention strategies and how to balance it out across the board. As of two weeks ago, he reported, there were 24 current full-time vacancies, including five firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics. Fire Chief Joe O'Conor said there were three new positions, plus vacancies where two people had left for other agencies. There were three openings for police officers, and five for maintenance workers for the rights -of -ways. Rorie said they had been advertising to fill those maintenance positions since July. Rorie went on to note that the 12 -month CPI was 2.5% through October 2018. That was where they got the figure for the COLA increase. Other data said U.S. salary budgets were projected to reach about 3.2% in 2019. There were increased job openings across the U.S., with a low unemployment rate. People were moving within the system. Rorie displayed a recruitment advertisement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The minimum qualification for an officer was completion of a bachelor's degree. Anyone hired could become a Special Agent I at $48,592 or a Special Agent II at $58,276 or a Special Agent III at $70,000. Rorie said the ranges depended on years of experience and other requirements. Peachtree City and the GBI were in the same labor market, and Rorie asked Police Chief Janet Moon if this had impacted her department. She responded that two employees left in September to join the GBI. The City of Fayetteville was also hiring police officers. Rorie pointed out that they paid $40,425 for an Officer II position, while Officer I made $36,000. Officer I was uncertified, meaning they did not have arrest powers. Fayetteville would hire them at $36,000, and then pay them while they were training to become certified. Moon said Peachtree City hired uncertified officers, as well. Officer II in Fayetteville started at $40,000. Officer III required intermediate certification and two years of experience, while a Master Officer must have advanced certification and four years' experience to start at $45,000 in Fayetteville. Rorie noted that he was showing this for a reason. The City of Alpharetta had a similar set-up for its police department. A certified officer could start at $41,435, and one with an associate's degree would get an extra $1,000. A bachelor's degree hiked the starting pay to $43,500, while a graduate degree raised the starting pay even higher. Rorie noted that at the end of five years, an Alpharetta officer could make $45,000, as would a Master Officer in Fayetteville with four years of experience. This was a representation of the market, and these salaries were determined through compensation studies, he remarked. Rorie wondered what the impact of these vacancies was on service levels. In some cities, they had to implement brownouts and rolling closings of stations. He also asked about the impact on budgeting, noting that vacancies sometimes resulted in overtime in order to fulfill the duties of the open positions. City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 7 Rorie again stated that it was his recommendation to do a 2.5% COLA, plus an additional 1 %. He showed how this would impact the salary for a starting certified police officer or firefighter. It would adjust the starting salary to $40,000, as well as adjust everyone's salary throughout the salary scale. He said the scale was set up to show minimum, first quartile, mid -point, third quartile, and maximum. The starting salary for a certified officer would go from $38,652 to $40,004. Anyone who hit the first quartile would be at $45,000. Alpharetta advanced its new hires to the first quartile through a combination of training and experience in four or five years, while in Peachtree City there was no mechanism to do that. That was known as progression, or, in the public service field, as career development programs (CDP). It rewarded officers for advanced training, which enabled them to become better officers and provide advanced service capacity throughout the community. He said the City was working on a mechanism to do that, but did not have it yet. Rorie also noted that a 3.5% adjustment across the board would take the salary of a starting certified officer to $40,584, which was almost the same as the salary for an Officer II in Fayetteville. It would put the City in the range associated with recruitment. Another chart, which Rorie admitted he had not updated since June, showed that of 69 police officers, six were at the minimum salary or below. Between the minimum and the first quartile, which represented about $45,000, were 35 officers, which was 50%. The numbers for the Fire Department were worse, Rorie stated, showing that 68.3% were between the minimum and the first quartile. The average years of service for the 50% in the Police Department was 4.9 years. It was 7.5 in the Fire Department. Rorie again noted there was zero mechanism to move them from beginning salary to the first quartile. The COLA only moved the line; it still kept them in the first quartile. Rorie asked O'Conor about the high percentage of his personnel in the first quartile, and he replied that it was because so many had been hired since 2008 due to growth in the department. Until the pay study in 2014, they were hired at minimum salary, and that was where they remained. The City opted out of COLAs for several years, and the merit system went away. The 2014 plan brought them up to market, but left them essentially at starting pay. He said the merit program was the only thing moving people within the scale, and it was a flat $1,200, regardless of salary. It amounted to about a 3% salary increase for firefighters, O'Conor noted. When COLA was approved, it just slid the scale upward. Last year, when COLA was instituted, they did not move the bracket all the way in order to provide a 1% separation between more experienced employees and those hired in the last 12 months. Nearly 70% of the deportment was in the first quartile, which would end at about $43,500. Just getting them to that first quartile was the goal. O'Conor noted that 32% of the department was here when the City was growing and new development was pumping money into the system for COLAs and to fund the merit system. That accounted for many long -serving people who had been there a long time. O'Conor mentioned that Battalion Chief Ron Mundy had just announced his retirement after 36 years of service. O'Conor said when he took over as Chief in 2012, one of the challenges he found was that they could only recruit at starting pay. Unlike other departments that could negotiate, he had too many people at starting pay, leaving no margin to add an extra 1 % or 2% to a recruit's salary. Rorie said that was called internal equity, which meant they could not bring a new hire in at higher pay than existing employees in the same position. Ernst brought up that if you were hired in 2008, when the economy was down, and there were no salary increases for six years, you would be making the some as someone who was hired yesterday. Rorie said his dad had been a shift lieutenant in the town of Southern Pines. His father had been with the fire department for 16 years and left because only $1,000 separated him from City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 8 a new hire. That was the impact of doing nothing for the people who were already employed, Rorie noted. Rorie returned to a chart he showed last year that highlighted the impact of COLA and CPI. He said it was not about making employees whole, but it was about evaluating salaries. In 2014, they implemented market rate adjustments to bring salaries to a competitive rate. He said they would assume that the 2014 plan was fair and competitive. In 2015, the argument was that a salary adjustment would be dangerous because the economy had not recovered. The CPI was not even I%. That year, they did not do a COLA. Rorie stated that the CPI was not entirely accurate, but was just a way to express the buying power of a dollar. In 2015, the value of $100 became $98.20. There was no COLA. In 2016, the CPI was 2%; the City did no COLA. He said there was a $300 performance incentive that ended up being $180 take-home. In December 2017, the CPI was 2%, which was budgeted as a COLA, although they recommended 2.5%. This was to inch that purchasing power back up because nothing had been done for several years. The $100 was now worth $96.70 instead of $96.20. Rorie summarized by saying what was before them required looking of 2019 numbers. For 2019, the CPI was 2.5%, and a 2.5% COLA was included in the budget. He also showed what the cost of a 3% and a 3.5% COLA would be, pointing out that there were adjustments throughout the year for things like health insurance. It was not just about salary; it was about the total compensation package. The difference between 2.5% and 3% was the total compensation range, while recruitment and retention came into play at the 3% to 3.5% range. Rorie said how the pieces were put together led to recruitment and retention changes. He mentioned again the need to move salaries for current employees. 1 Rorie told Council that in their agenda packet was his recommendation for a COLA of 3.5% that I had a total FY 2019 impact of $389,000. Additionally, the City would be looking at the possibility of another compensation study. It would not include job classifications, but would examine the labor market. He again stated that if this were not done incrementally, the City would face huge increases because they failed to act. He remarked that the $389,000 represented a 1.8% investment in the $21 million asset that was personnel. Rorie stated that $21 million was about 58% of the total budget, and all he was asking for was a 1.8% investment. Rorie concluded by saying it was always his intent to be thorough and ensure,that everyone understood what he was talking about. 12-18.03 Consider FY2019 Budget Amendment • Recreation - Machinery & Equipment • Public Works - Vehicle Purchase • Public Works - Small Tools & Equipment • Engineering - Professional Services • City Manager - Professional Services • City Manager - Departmental Contingency Rorie said budget amendments always consisted of multiple moving pieces. He mentioned the 54 Gateway East Management Plan, saying he wished the citizen with the comments earlier in the meeting had stayed to hear about this. Redevelopment feasibility access planning was another topic Rorie wanted to discuss, along with Public Works building improvements and capital equipment, restrooms for Recreation Department special events, and a City Manager contingency. City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 9 The City's SPLOST list included $1 million dedicated to the SR 54/74 intersection for additional projects and matching funds for grants. This would allow the City to leverage SPLOST dollars for improvements along that corridor. Rorie recalled that there was the potential for additional development on SR 54 around City Hall, with private investment at Aberdeen Village and Willowbend. There were churches in this area that could remain integral parts of this development plan, Rorie said, noting that this was just a concept at this point, but concepts led to conversations, and conversations led to thoughts. Execution of those thoughts led to consequences, among them, traffic. Rorie reminded Council of the Gateway Coalition that looked at traffic management along SR 74 North. In November, Council heard about the Countywide Transportation Plan. The Gateway Coalition looked at ways to balance and maintain access and mobility, and Rorie proposed doing the same type of study for SR 54 East. He noted that 36,000 vehicles a day traveled that stretch of road, and that was predicted to increase by 60% over the next 20 years. The last thing they wanted to do was make a decision today for a solution that could become tomorrow's problem. He said he had approach Pond & Company, the consultants who worked on the Gateway Coalition, to conduct a similar study on SR 54 East and make recommendations. Rorie said he estimated the cost at around $35,000. Public Works Superintendent Scott Hicks showed a small building similar to what was at Drake Field that could be used as an office for Keep Peachtree City Beautiful (KPTCB). He then said the City was looking at a cardboard compactor that would lessen the number of pulls required for cardboard recycling. He was also requesting money for a F350 stake bed dump truck and a Billy Goat leaf vac system that would reduce the trips crews had to make to the compost site. Recreation and Special Events Director Quinn Bledsoe explained that a portable restroom trailer was needed for use at Drake Field, the Peachtree City Athletic Complex, and at public events. It consisted of four stalls, with a ramp making an additional stall wheelchair accessible. There were men's and women's stalls on one end, and the handicap -accessible stall on the other that also included a baby -changing table. The capacity allowed for 450 to 550 flushes. The electrical hookups could be custom-built to fit the City's needs. Both compartments were air-conditioned. If ordered before January, the lead-time was six to eight weeks; after January, it could be as long as 15 weeks, Bledsoe noted. Rorie said he had worked on this issue since 2012, and he was glad to be able to elevate it as a priority. The main advantage was it had running water, he remarked. Prebor asked Hicks about the need for a cardboard compactor. Hicks said right now they paid for five to seven bin pulls a week at Public Works for cardboard, but with this compactor, it could be reduced to two. Rorie said they took a decibel reading of one of these compactors because noise might be an issue. KPTCB Executive Director Al Yougel said he was happy to have this discussion. The combination of more online ordering generated more cardboard packaging, along with the increasing popularity of recycling. About half of the swaps, or the emptying of bins, were for cardboard. Yougel said last month, 22 pulls, at $135 a pull, were for cardboard, totaling about $2,600. The amount of money they got for the cardboard cut those costs about in half. Last month, he said, they got about $1,100 for the cardboard. The compactor could compress the volume of the cardboard equal to four or four and a half to those swaps. Last month's costs would be reduced to about $300, he said, calling the purchase of the compactor a no-brainer. Prebor asked how many times it would cycle. Yougel said it would cycle three or four times a day, but it was quick. The decibels were much lower than for a glass pull. City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 10 f Rorie said he just wanted people to be aware it was a noisemaker. He noted that cardboard was one of the few materials that brought in some money; other materials were recycled just because it was the right thing to do. Prebor asked about aluminum, and Yougel said scrap metal must be hauled somewhere to someone who handled all metals. Rorie noted that they had just recommended $250,000 of CIP and professional services expenses. Salvatore said because of the way the City favorably ended FY 2018 and the ongoing revenue impacts, the model would still be in good shape even after adopting this recommendation. He said in FY 2019, it would show a use of cash reserves. Rorie pointed out that cash reserves were only used for one-time expenses. Salvatore said there would be $350,000 of ongoing revenue that would comfortably cover the cost of the COLA. The point was to show how they did in FY 2018 before implementing the COLA budgeted for FY 2019. Rorie pointed out that the one-time cash purchase of the dump truck avoided debt service through the CIP. Of the $36 million budget, 57%went to personnel, while 33% to operations, and 9% to capital. Cash would be used to buy the dump truck, and the revenue increase of $384,000 would help cover the gas to go in it. Prebor said the intent was to make sure City employees were compensated fairly and not wait until they were so far behind that it would be a major expense to catch them up. Rorie said, all things remaining equal, they would be in a position of catch up in terms of basic salary. Still missing would be the piece of the puzzle that adjusted the salaries according to the market drive. He said a market study would show the need to adjust the starting salary and the quartile rankings for public service employees. That was why the compensation study was needed. Madden asked about progress on the plans to compensate police and firefighters for training and advanced degrees and if it would be ready in FY 2019. Madden said teachers received extra compensation for obtaining advanced degrees. Rorie fold him it was hard to distinguish between career development and experience. He needed to understand why someone should get a raise just for being there one more year and wanted to make sure there was some type of value added. Departments typically pegged those points of adjustment to some sort of value added skill they brought to the department. It was tough to progress like this in some fields, but in public safety, it was easier to establish such steps. He said they were still debating how to execute this. Ernst moved to approve New Agenda item 12-18-02, cost of living adjustment of 3.5%, to be effective with the first pay period in January 2019. Madden seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Ernst moved to approve New Agenda item 12-18-03, the 2019 budget amendment as presented. Prebor seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 12-18.04 Consider 2019 Council Calendar City Clerk Betsy Tyler presented a calendar showing regularly scheduled Council meetings and pointing out dates where there might be conflicts. July 4 fell on a Thursday, and she said Council would need to cancel that meeting. Also suggested for cancellation were the January 3 and December 19 meetings that fell close to holidays. Rorie brought up that the City offices would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday December 24 and 25. He said he was certain half of staff would try to take vacation on Monday, December 23, and many would want to take vacation on Thursday and Friday as well. He recommended an additional holiday in calendar year 2019 to consider closing City offices on Monday, December 23. Rorie said they could table it and come back later, but he hated to put it off until too late. City Council Minutes December 6, 2018 Page 11 Prebor asked why January 3's meeting should be canceled. Rorie said the agenda should be light, and there was a meeting on December 20. Ernst noted that staff would not have much time to prepare for a January 3 meeting. He said he would like to table discussion of canceling the December 19 meeting. If that meeting was canceled, they would be in the some situation as this year., with another meeting set for the first week in January, and Ernst said he did not think it was a good idea to cancel two meetings in a row. There would be time to change later on, he noted Prebor moved to cancel the Thursday, January 3, meeting and the Thursday, July 4, meeting and to adopt the calendar for the year. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Prebor moved to convene in executive session to discuss the acquisition, disposal, or lease of real estate at 8:21 p.m. Madden seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Prebor moved to reconvene in regular session at 8:55 p.m. Madden seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business to discuss, Ernst moved to adjourn the meeting. Madden seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m. k Martha Barksdale, Recording secre ary- Vanessa Fleisch, ayo