Minutes of the Centerville City Council Work Session held Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. in the Centerville City Council Chambers, 250 North Main Street, Centerville, Utah.

MEMBERS PRESENT:
 Ronald G. Russell, Mayor
 Justin Y. Allen
 Paul Cutler
 Jack Dellastatious
 David R. Gutke
 Sherri Lyn Lindstrom

STAFF PRESENT:
 Steve Thacker, City Manager
 Blaine Lutz, Assistant City Manager/Finance Director
 Cory Snyder, Community Development Director
 Randy Randall, Public Works Director
 Neal Worsley, Chief of Police
 David Miller, Justice Court Judge
 Delbert Dillingham, Justice Court Clerk
 Connie Larson, Recording Secretary

Mayor Russell explained the purpose of the City Council work session is for the departments to voice their budget needs for the coming fiscal year, and to provide a projection for next three (3) years. 

JUSTICE COURT

Delbert Dillingham, Justice Court Supervisor, explained the mission of the Centerville Justice Court is to improve the quality of life in our community by providing fair, firm and efficient adjudication of the laws and ordinances of the State, County, and the City.  Mr. Dillingham said revenues compared to last year continue to climb slightly each year with a 4.4 % increase from the 2004/2005 fiscal year, with expenditures increasing two percent due to increase in wages paid out and an increase in medical benefits. He said the Judge is not concerned about revenues, as his purpose is to adjudicate the law and see that justice is served.  Case filings are up three percent from the previous year with 4,375 during the 2005 and warrants issued were 796, which is the second highest in four years. 

Mr. Dillingham said the court is requesting to convert a part-time clerk into a full-time position. It is possible the City will need to expand the courtroom and clerks offices to accommodate potential growth in caseload that is anticipated in the next three years if the Court becomes a Class I court.  Mayor Russell asked if it could be possible to use the Council Chambers for a court room when needed.  Judge Miller said it would be possible to use the Council Chambers with a few minor adjustments to accommodate security measures.  

Mr. Thacker asked why there is an increase in Spanish speaking defendants over the past several months.  Mr. Dillingham said it may be due to the construction taking place in this area.  Judge Miller said he anticipates the caseload will not warrant the Centerville Justice Court becoming a Class I court at the present time or in the foreseeable future.  Councilman Dellastatious asked what the priority for funding would be.  Mr. Dillingham said the most important priority at this time is the conversion of the part-time clerk.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Neal Worsley, Police Chief, said there is no request for new personnel for the coming fiscal year.  Chief Worsley said his top priority is for an evidence and record storage building with partitions and a rolling system to stack reports.  He said he has three rooms filled with records and evidence, plus records stored under the stairwell of City Hall.  Chief Worsley said the second priority is dispatch services at a cost of $30,000 per year, which is the City’s share to Davis County. Chief Worsley explained the Records Management System has not provided the service they committed to, and maintenance charges will not be paid until the promised service is provided; but he is pleased with the potential of this system.

Chief Worsley explained that four police vehicles are being requested to keep the vehicles rotated, which are rotated every three years at approximately 80,000 miles per vehicle. Chief Worsley is also requesting two digital in-car cameras and five laptop computers. He said there is not yet a large time savings with the new digital camera system, but when the new digital cameras are used exclusively, there will be a large amount of time saved. He said a new police officer will not be requested until the 2008/2009 fiscal year when the impact of Wal-Mart and other commercial and residential development is realized.

Mayor Russell asked how the Police Department is doing for physical space. Chief Worsley said he is limited with some offices currently being used for storage. Councilman Dellastatious asked about hiring a female police officer. Chief Worsley said he would like to have a female police officer, but has not been able to recruit one.  He also stated that it is difficult to recruit new officers as larger agencies are constantly enticing officers away from cities with bonuses and incentives.

Steve Thacker, City Manager, suggested further study with the architect for options on a police storage facility.  The Mayor suggested that we consider future needs and options for the City’s needs.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Cory Snyder, Community Development Director, proposed a special projects account for a revamp of the Subdivision Ordinance.  He would like to hire a consultant at a cost of $10,000 - $15,000 to study and update this ordinance.
  Mr. Snyder is requesting contract building inspector funding at $50,000+ annually to supplement the City’s in-house inspector and keep abreast with the upcoming construction of 287 new residential dwellings, and commercial construction.  Councilman Dellastatious asked about a code enforcement position.  Mr. Snyder said that currently the building inspector handles code enforcement, and a code enforcement position is not needed until enforcement patterns are done differently in Centerville.

Councilman Cutler said some comparable cities have fewer Community Development Department employees than Centerville. He asked if it would be more efficient if Cory did the revamp of the Subdivision Ordinance rather than hiring a consultant, considering the quality of work Cory did on the West Side Plan.  Cory replied that the workload of the Planning Department would not allow him to take on this project, considering the Main Street Plan and other projects.
 
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

Randy Randall, Public Works Director, said he would like to hire temporary inspectors for UTOPIA while the project is under construction.  He would also like to hire a GIS intern over the next three years during the summer to collect information data for GIS (Geographic Information System).  Mr. Randall said the GIS specialist is currently collecting data that needs to be input into the GIS, but the collection process needs to be sped up.  Mr. Randall said the office roof of the Public Works Building is leaking and needs to be repaired, and cameras need to be installed for the outside yard of the Public Works Building and other water facilities.

Mr. Thacker explained a new Drainage Utility Supervisor has been hired and she will begin working in two weeks. Mr. Randall would like an emergency response trailer that would be used two to three times a year for emergency spills and contamination.  He said new ordinances will be drafted on storm water pollution and floodplain administration, which the new Drainage Utility Supervisor will help write and enforce. Mr. Randall is requesting a stainless steel spreader and a salt storage shed at a cost of $160,000, as the City currently does not comply with State and Federal regulations.

Mr. Randall said the Legacy Highway has constructed a fence that people can walk over, and Mr. Randall would like a chain link fence that people cannot climb over so that the Public Works Building is more secure. Mr. Randall is requesting an oil separator on the south end of the Public Works facility.  The Frontage Road pump cannot handle the load and Randy Randall will be requesting the purchase of a backup pump.

Mr. Randall explained the building that houses the City Hall well is sinking.  He said the well is a drinking water system that produces 900 gallons per minute that is chlorinated and fluoridated.  Mr. Randall would like piers constructed at a cost of $45,000 to sure-up this well, which should be a permanent solution to the problem. 
 Mr. Randall said the most important item for his department is the salt storage facility, with the subdrain pump for the Frontage Road and the City Hall well as a second and third priority.  Mr. Randall would like to purchase some property to dispose of excess dirt from projects and then resell the property. 

Mr. Thacker explained that in 2002 when the Capital Facilities Fund was approved, the City Council also adopted a rate increase for the Water Fund.  At that time it was expected the rate increase would be sufficient for five years, and a new water rate increase is now needed.  Mr. Thacker said the Drainage and Water Master Plans are being updated, and it is anticipated an increase will be needed.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT/ADMINISTRATION AND REVENUE PROJECTIONS

Blaine Lutz, Asst. City Manager/Finance Director, said that more storage space is needed for paper records, etc.  Mr. Lutz said there is a new release from Casselle called Clarity Software that handles administrative and billing functions at a cost of $54,750. Mr. Lutz would like to have this system within the next three years.

Mr. Thacker explained he anticipates recommending a more aggressive salary adjustment this year, which will hopefully retain employees. He also suggested a subsidy for employee memberships to the new South Davis Recreation Center to promote better health that should improve productivity and help hold down health care costs for City employees.  Mr. Lutz explained the City may have a 16 percent  increase in health care cost. Mr. Lutz said consideration may need to be given for employees to pay a higher percentage of premiums for health care.

Mr. Lutz explained sales tax revenues are the main source of revenue for the City, with $2,911,890 estimated revenue for 2006/2007, and estimated sales tax revenue of $3,375,000 for the 2007/2008 fiscal year.  He said during the next two to three years the sales tax revenue will continue to increase with the building of Wal-Mart and KOHL’s Department Store completed.   
 
DISCUSSION

Mr. Thacker said more analysis and information will be gathered on the priority issues discussed and presented to the City Council on April 17, 2007. 

The work session was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.