City Council

Wednesday, May 24,2006
Minutes



ST. GEORGE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
BUDGET WORK MEETING
MAY 24, 2006, 5:00 P.M.
ADMINISTRATION CONFERENCE ROOM

PRESENT:
Council Member Larry Gardner
Council Member Suzanne Allen
Council Member Rod Orton
Council Member Gail Bunker
Council Member Bob Whatcott
City Manager Gary Esplin
Deputy City Recorder Judith Mayfield

EXCUSED:
Mayor Daniel McArthur

OPENING:
Council Member Whatcott served as Mayor Pro Tem since Mayor McArthur was not present at the meeting.

BUDGET PRESENTATION:
Director of Public Works Larry Bulloch used a Power Point presentation to review some of the goals included in the 2006-2007 budget. He said there are over 20 major capital projects and 12 other smaller projects included in the budget. He explained that they had received the results of the EIS for the airport and are encouraged about moving ahead with necessary studies and financial plans. Mr. Bulloch stated that he had requested additional Equipment Operator positions for the Streets Division in order to get the repair schedule back to five days. He said that there is a request for two buses for the Transit Division in order to go to ? hour service. He explained that since the City has been responsible for SunTran, ridership has gone up 50% each year. He stated that they are anticipating a 100% increase in fuel costs if they go to the ? hour service. Mr. Bulloch explained that he had requested an additional Fleet Mechanic position. He said that the Fleet Division is responsible for over 700 vehicles/units. He stated that there is a request in the budget to use $690,000 from the Capital Project Fund to expand the Fleet Maintenance Building to accommodate SunTran buses.

Director of Energy Services, Phil Solomon gave an overview of the Energy Department budget. He stated that over 73% of the budget is for power purchases. He reviewed project needs for the new budget year and requested several new personnel. Mr. Solomon stated that there would be no rate increases proposed.

Director of Water Services, Barry Barnum stated that he had requested 15 people for the upcoming budget year. He explained that the Water Department budget is $28,400,000, the Wastewater Collection budget is $8,900,000, and the Regional Wastewater System budget is $8,700,000. Mr. Barnum reviewed the capital improvement projects that had been requested in the budget.



Director of Legal Services, Shawn Guzman briefly reviewed his request for an $18,000 increase over the 2005-2006 budget. He said that he had requested an increase to part-time funds for additional secretarial help.

Director of Finance, Phil Peterson gave a brief review of the 2006-2007 budget. He explained that he had requested $50,000 to purchase an updated mail processing system that would electronically enter check and remittance amounts. Mr. Peterson stated that there are 34,025 active utility accounts.

Director of Development Services, Matt Loo briefly reviewed the budget for golf. He made a recommendation that the City enter into a one year contract with the Golf Pros for the next fiscal year. Mr. Loo was asked to provide the Council with additional information on the cost differences between having the Golf Pros on a contract and having them become City employees. Mr. Loo reviewed the requested budget for Development Services. He stated that he had requested a Structural Engineer position to help with the commercial plans. He reviewed a draft of a web site and showed a flow chart for plat reviews. He stated that Building Inspections would have a similar site. He explained that he had requested $35,000 for notepad computers for the field inspectors and $25,000 for remodeling to meet staffing needs.

The meeting adjourned.



________________________
Judith Mayfield, Deputy City Recorder