Report of the Montpelier City Council's Citizen Budget Review ...

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In the 2009 National Citizen Survey, Montpelier residents identified the CJC as thenumber one area to cut city costs, if cuts were necessary. It was named by 53% ofthe respondents. While we understand that the CJC is doing good work, thissuggests that some Montpelier residents have concerns about costs that couldbenefit from a broader discussion of the CJC.5. We recommend the City Council review how IT services are provided and the costof those services. Comparison towns in this report all use contract services.Budget Process Subcommittee RecommendationsThe following recommendations support Goal 1 of the City Council’s Goals for 2012-2013 and the Finance Recommendations [7.1 (1) through 7.2 (7)] of the Matrix Report:1. The BPSC recommends that the Council provide the City Manager with cleardirection and specific goals before the budget process begins.2. The BPSC recommends that the City Manager’s performance related to the specificbudget development goals and assignments should be included in the CityManager’s annual performance review.3. The BPSC recommends that the City Council first understand and then focus on the“gap,” or difference, between the projected available budget year revenues - withoutany tax or fee increases - and the projected expenses, which should be adjustedfor known increases or decreases (changes in union contracts, health plan, debtservice, etc.).4. The BPSC recommends that the City Manager and Council should focus on realisticefficiencies, cost savings and/or program changes that could mitigate or resolve anynegative “gap” (deficit), as well as important uses for any positive “gap” (surplus) tofurther the Council’s fiscal goals before considering tax increases.5. The BPSC recommends that the City Council should require the City Manager toprovide a Budget Worksheet, or “gap” analysis (see Attachment 3), or similarlyformatted document, for the total projected municipal budget, including revenue andexpenses for all funds and capital improvements, for the upcoming fiscal year, atthe first City Council Meeting following Labor Day. This Worksheet is intended tobe a summary level document (not line item detail or narrative) showing changes bymajor revenue and expense categories.6. Budget related instruction memos from the City Manager’s Office to departmentheads, and to the Mayor and City Council, vary from year to year. Clear, conciseand consistently formatted budget instructions improve reader/user understandingand timely decision making. The BPSC recommends the adoption of standardizedcontent and format. Improvements in format and measurement should beincorporated to best serve the City Council.7. In the context of the above recommendations, the BPSC recommends additionaltraining on budgeting methods and processes for City department heads, which isPage 8 of 88
available through VLCT. This will support department heads’ full participation inand responsibility for their department’s financial operation and budget control.8. The BPSC concurs with the City Council’s plan to increase and maintain a sufficientGeneral Fund balance (reserve) for fiscal stability and the ability to respond toemergencies. (Matrix recommendation 7.2 (5)).9. The BPSC supports Matrix recommendation 7.2 (1) for the development of a fiveyearfinancial plan (Plan). This plan should be a living document, reviewed andrevised annually.Data Subcommittee RecommendationsThe City should take measures to create a system in which inter-city/towncomparisons sought by the Council could be made with some confidence and urgethe League of Cities and Towns to consider establishing such a system.Debt/Capital Planning Subcommittee RecommendationsA. Make the Capital Plan a top priority in the budget.We recommend that the state of the city’s infrastructure be raised as a top budgetpriority and that the 6 year Capital Improvement Plan be adhered to as closely aspossible. After our interviews with Bill Fraser and Sandy Gallup it was clear to usthe monies for emergencies and other urgent needs were disproportionately takenfrom the Department of Public Works over a period of years. This may partiallyexplain why our roads and sidewalks look the way they do. In order to catch up andto create a better mixture of maintenance, repair and replacement, otherdepartments and programs should also be considered as a source of emergencyfunds when these situations arise and a re-balancing of our spending should beconsidered with all aspects of the budget on the table.B. Look for savings throughout the budget.Given the scope of the work to be done on our infrastructure in the future, additionalbonding may be necessary. We recommend that the council look for savings in thecurrent budget to offset the cost of new bonds that would otherwise raise the annualdebt service, taxes and the overall budget. Any monies saved could be re-directedto our most urgent needs like fixing our neglected infrastructure and reducing theamount of borrowing the city ultimately has to do. Additionally, we recommend nottaking money from normal maintenance or repair of roads to fund any new projectsor to pay for emergencies because over the long run it costs more to do so.C. Implement the following Matrix Report recommendation.The Matrix report says “Greater detail should be provided regarding the specificfunding source for each capital program” and recommends that “The City providedata demonstrating the impact on capital expenditures for the adopted CIP andEquipment Replacement Program on the operating budget”.Page 9 of 88
Page 2 and 3: Table of ContentsTRANSMITTAL LETTER
Page 4: 1. EXECUTIVE S UMMARYa. Charge from
Page 7: f. Summary of RecommendationsThe BR
Page 11 and 12: 2: View City and staff responses to
Page 13 and 14: Building Inspector, half the depart
Page 15 and 16: should undertake this analysis prio
Page 17 and 18: Equipment, Streets, and Wastewater
Page 19 and 20: 2. INTRODUCTIONa. History and Backg
Page 21 and 22: Administration and Finance Subcommi
Page 23 and 24: • Barre: City Clerk/Treasurer als
Page 25 and 26: Key Questions:• What is the FTE s
Page 27 and 28: Population 2010Total Admin/Fin Budg
Page 29 and 30: Budget Process Subcommittee ReportD
Page 31 and 32: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS:The p
Page 33 and 34: Attachment 1Budget Process Subcommi
Page 35 and 36: Attachment 3NOTE: The following cha
Page 37 and 38: committee under a short deadline. T
Page 39 and 40: Total Long Term Debt per Capita:Lat
Page 41 and 42: Five City/Town Comparative Chart- D
Page 43 and 44: Department of Public Works over a p
Page 45 and 46: Health Benefits Subcommittee Report
Page 47 and 48: The following graph looks at change
Page 49 and 50: Matrix Subcommittee ReportJean Olso
Page 51 and 52: Planning Subcommittee ReportJane Ka
Page 53 and 54: Notes from Each Community:Much of t
Page 55 and 56: • Barre City: The Planning Depart
Page 57 and 58: Planning Departments by Town Exhibi
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and the City Manager should identif
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Public Safety Subcommittee ReportBo
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Recommendations:1. Time did not all
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nights, the shift coverage is only
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Significant Fall Hazards (SigHAZ):
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Further rationale for the above sug
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3. Roughly what is the percentage o
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Recommendations for DPW1. If Montpe
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[END PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE REPO
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According to the 2009 National Citi
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Table of Montpelier Recreation Depa
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during the school year. The Public
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Montpelier Barre Brattleboro Middle
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RECOMMENDATIONS• Other cities and
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Tax ComparisonsAppendix AMunicipal
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City/TownMedianMunicipalTax BillMun
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available for circuit breaker reduc
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2). PROPERTY TAX TARGET: Do you hav
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considering the adoption of a Capit
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, · 1deductible, combined with a H
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Appendix Budget - 41/1DATE:TO:FROM:
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Other Employee-related increasesHea
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City of Montpelier 2012-13 Goals an
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Date Subcommittee Montpelier Growth
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Data Subcommittee Nine (9) City Fin
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Data Subcommittee - Montpelier Five
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Montpelier 20.1 2/ Annual Report /
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Montpelier 2012 / Annual Report / 2
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DireCt Debt Service Ratios - Debt P
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• In order to make the assessment
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The Center Director conducts betwee
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The Department has initiated the co
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SECTIONRECOMMENDATIONENTITY /INDIVI
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SECTIONRECOMMENDATION8.1 (5) The Fi
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City of Montpelier - Department of
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City of MontpelierUSER: TPROVENCHER
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Asset Value & DepreciationAsset 10P
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REGULARLaboratory Preventative Payr
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City of MontpelierUSER: TPROVENCHER
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Work Order SummaryLabor Part Other
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Work Order SummaryWO#W/SMAINT24902
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Work Order SummaryWO#MHS24899 [COOL
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SCOPE OF WORK PERFORMEDDuring JUNE
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October 2012 Work, StreetsCulvert r
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RIDGE STREET RECONSTRUCTIONMONTPELI
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(0 C4.March 8, 2012I acknowledge th
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APPENDIX Rec 1FEBRUARY 2012 CITY CO
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those together.Mayor Hooper said th
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Council Member Timpone said they ha
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on, so they can perform their fiduc
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in terms of understanding the impli
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