September 9, 2013 - Workshop
The Town of Glen St. Mary held a Workshop on Monday, September 9, 2013 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall with Council Members Davis, Foster, and Reneau present. Councilman Rhynehardt was unable to attend due to work schedule. Mayor Padgett presided over the workshop.
The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the budgets and several other issues the Town needs to address.
Mayor Padgett began with the 2012/2013 Proposed Amended General Operating Budget. She went down the item lines and pointed out further changes that were made to revenues and some last minute expenses.
The 2013/2014 Proposed General Operating budget will remain the same as the 2012/2013 Proposed Amended General Operating Budget, minus the ATM funds.
Council has always said the Town needs one year of operating funds in reserves. We have $100,000 in CD’s. We have another $65,000 CD, but it is restricted for Water/Sewer Bond repayment. Mayor Padgett told Council we need to establish a Water/Sewer replacement fund. She is getting a form together to keep track of equipment. This will help get a schedule set up to purchase new equipment.
Mayor Padgett then handed out a trash notice. She told Council it can be put in the water bills. She asked for their input. Councilman Reneau felt if the people hired someone to clean up, they should have the sense to know they should also haul it off. Councilman Foster mentioned the crepe myrtles in front of his house, stating the Town does not keep them cut. He asked if it is ok to put the clippings from them on the curb to be picked up. He feels the older people of the Town do not have a way to haul off their yard debris. Some changes were suggested to the notice. A comment card can be put in the water bills. Council was concerned the limbs will be difficult to keep picked up if the Town has an employee retire and the Town does not hire another employee.
Councilman Reneau asked about the classes the Town has paid for to get a licensed employee. He asked if there is anything in writing that restricts the license to only be used by the Town. Mayor Padgett replied it had not been addressed.
The next item to be discussed was sick/annual time. Mayor Padgett handed out a sheet that shows our current policy as well as how the County and the City of Macclenny earn sick/annual leave time. Councilman Foster told Council he felt it should stay the same at one week’s time. Both Councilman Reneau and Council member Davis also agreed it should remain the same. Council was in agreement to increase the maximum number of accumulative hours from 240 to 480.
Council briefly discussed the lack of policy addressing the pay at retirement of any unused sick/annual time. The bottom of the Sick/Annual Leave form Mayor Padgett had given out shows the policy the County and City of Macclenny have in place. Council was in agreement to use the County policy of paying 25% with the maximum of 480 hours.
Mayor Padgett briefly discussed the 2012/2013 Proposed Amended Water/Sewer Budget. She told Council the revenues were higher partially from the CDBG Grant closing out.
The 2013/2014 Proposed Water/Sewer budget will remain the same as the 2012/2013 Proposed Amended Water/Sewer Budget with a few changes. The grant money was deducted and the new Davis Travel center will be hooking up, but we aren’t sure when, so it hasn’t been figured into the revenues. The expenses were adjusted down from the high repairs we had for 2012/2013.
Mayor Padgett then addressed the need to add a tap fee to new connections to our water/sewer system. She told Council the Town’s current capacity fee for a new home is $2,750. There is also an equipment cost of $200. The City of Macclenny charges for the meter, a water tap fee of $1,200, a sewer tap fee of $2,750, and there could be additional fees if there are more than eleven fixtures. Mayor Padgett asked Council if they felt the Town needed to charge a tap fee. The Town has an expense of $338 for equipment when putting in a new water meter. A tap fee would cover the equipment and machinery costs as well as the employee’s time of four - six hours. Councilman Reneau said the Town is going to have to go up on the fees to cover workers comp insurance and their labor. Mayor Padgett used the house she was just involved in building. She said based on the fees the City of Macclenny charges, she would have paid $7,082. The difference would be $2,832 for the tap fees. She told Council the Town does not have to use the same fees, but asked if the Town needs to charge for the tap fee. Council member Davis felt the Town should to cover the cost. Councilman Reneau agreed, but felt $600-700 will not cover the expense. Mayor Padgett asked Council to set that aside for a few minutes.
She addressed a question about directional drilling, jack and bore, and water jetting. The Town’s engineer, Tim Norman sent an e-mail explaining the difference of four ways to install water lines under roadways. Mayor Padgett then asked for Council’s opinions on the matter. Councilman Foster stated water jetting is fine if you have a plumber that knows what they are doing. Councilman Reneau did not like the idea of water jetting under a roadway. If a line is jetted and comes up too high on the other side, you will mess up the roadway if you try to take it back out and re-jet it. You would have to leave the pipe in and go further down the roadway three or more feet and try again. He suggested saw cutting the roadway, setting your pipe, then repaving. He estimated asphalt to cost about $85, rent a tamp plate and a saw. The Town would need to go at least two feet down and would want to put in a larger line for future use. After looking at the expenses of repairing the roadway, Councilman Reneau told Council it would be better for the Town to just have the line directional drilled.
Mayor Padgett then went back to the discussion of tap fees. Council discussed the fees to drill the water line, and the other expenses discussed earlier for equipment and labor. By the time all these things are added up, the cost is right at $1,200, which is the tap fee charged by the City of Macclenny. Mayor Padgett asked if the Town should also charge $1,200 for the sewer. Council discussed for a new service, the cost should be passed on to the customer. The material cost for a force-main is about $55. The material cost for gravity flow is $160. Mayor Padgett asked for suggestions for the sewer tap fee. Councilman Reneau responded by saying he felt a lot of people couldn’t afford these fees. Mayor Padgett replied the Town doesn’t have the money to pay for it. She added it would be cheaper for the people to connect to the Town’s sewer lines than to fix their septic tank. The current capacity fee for an existing home is $750 and a new home is $1,750. Councilman Foster suggested keeping the costs as low as we can. Mayor Padgett suggested cutting the tap fee in half to $600. Councilman Foster was ok with that price.
Mayor Padgett told Council they should try to take a look at the budget next year to open a replacement account. The Town’s engineer, Tim Norman suggested a rate increase. Councilman Foster stated he did not see that as an option. He added most of the residents are elderly and on fixed income. Councilman Reneau was in agreement and wants to keep the rates the same this year. Mayor Padgett will keep this matter on her to do list.
Mayor Padgett briefly mentioned the Town needing to get a replacement/renewal account set up. She asked Council what they thought about going to a postcard bill. Postage is currently $.46 and we bill about 3,000 bills a year. It would be about a $400 savings for the year. The post office is trying to get a $.03 increase per stamp. Another option is to set up to send bills out by e-mail. This would cost $500 and then a recurring fee, but we would have to see if it is a monthly or annual fee of $50. Mayor Padgett has also spoken to someone about paying online. She hasn’t met with them yet.
The workshop was adjourned at 8:44 P.M.