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2013/08/27 Th i s W e e k i n H u n t s v i l l e City news, features and updates Photo of the Week: First-time home buyer Antonia Scott Antonia Scott (center) participated in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) as a first-time home buyer. The program, facilitated by the City of Huntsville Community Development Office, assists residents with the entire pur- chasing process. Above, Scott participated in a special ribbon cutting cere- mony with Council members Ronald Allen and Keith Olson in August. August 27, 2013 Budget season underway: New strategies at work See Budget, continued on page 2 The Huntsville City Council is expected to adopt the fis- cal year 2013-14 budget and tax rate during its regular meeting on September 17, the first meeting after the first public hearing on the budget held on September 3. The adoption of the budget and the tax rate will come after several months of intensive work by the City’s Di- rectors, the Finance Department, the City Manager and the Council as a whole, and is projected to pass without a tax increase. According to Mayor Mac Woodward, this is in light of the tax rate increase applied in fiscal year 2012-13 and the ability to reach a balanced budget without repeating the measure in fiscal year 2013-14. “On Thursday, August 1, the City received property valu- ations from the Walker County Appraisal District, figures which allow for the calculation of the effective rate and the rollback rate for the coming fiscal year,” Woodward said. “Based on those calculations, the effective rate for fiscal year 2013-14 was set at .4562 cents per $100 valuation, with a rollback rate of .4503 cents per $100 valuation. “While the Council could legally adopt the rollback rate without voter approval, we are continuing the process of constructing the fiscal year 2013-14 City budget with the current tax rate of .4206 cents per $100 valuation.” Budget timelineBudget timelineBudget timelineBudget timeline Planning for the 2013-14 annual budget began in April 2013, with policy-setting workshops between the City Council and City administration and the initial develop- ment of departmental budgets. Work continued on de- partmental budgets through July 23, when a workshop was conducted to discuss major revenue and ex- penditure trends and other significant issues. On August 16, per City Charter requirements, City Manager Benoit presented his recommended budget to the City Council, which included an estimated $58,506,964 in expenditures and $60,298,640 in revenues, not including fund balance appropriations. One of the key elements of the City Manager’s budg- et is the inclusion of potential new positions, new programs and restored programs to be included in the coming fiscal year. The document also includes recommended uses of fund balance dollars from the City’s six primary funds. The budget is primarily comprised of the General Fund, the Water Fund, the Wastewater Fund, the Sol- id Waste Fund, the Street Fund, and the Hotel Occu- pancy Tax, Tourism and Visitors Center Fund. Critical elementsCritical elementsCritical elementsCritical elements According to Steve Ritter, Interim Finance Director, significant items in the fiscal year 2013-14 budget include new positions, program adjustments and increased Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues. “In the General Fund, the Police Department was able to get three patrol officers back into the Public Safety budget, and we also have four new firefighters being funded by SAFER grants,” he said. “However, the City is preparing to keep the firefighter positions in the budget after the grant funding has been fully utilized by allocating $100,000 of their cost through non-grant revenues.” City Manager Matt Benoit said he is very grateful to have critical public safety positions in the fiscal year 2013-14 budget. “Any time you’re looking at a municipal government budget, one of your top priorities is the safety of your community,” Benoit said. “Both the additional fire- fighters and the reinstatement of police officers will contribute in this capacity. Having the police officers back in the department will enable the restoration of a traffic enforcement unit, and dedicated traffic offic- ers generally result in increased traffic contacts and reductions in collisions.” With respect to the City’s utility funds – Water, Wastewater and Solid Waste – Ritter said the only fee increase would be applied as part of a 20-year rate study in the water fund. “In 2011, a water rate study was conducted in an effort to generate revenue for expansion to the Trinity River Authority water plant and other elements of the City’s water infrastructure,” he said. “The rate in- crease for 2013-14 – which will be a little bit over five percent – is part of a 20-year effort to raise those funds gradually. As described in the rate study, future rate increases will take place in smaller amounts.” Two City initiatives – adjustments to existing Texas Municipal Retirement System benefits and the con- tinued implementation of Step and Grade salary in- creases – impacted all of the City’s funds that sup- port personnel costs. Thoughts from City Manager Matt Benoit Behind the Scenes savings TML-IRP participation yields long-term benefits Since the 1980s, the City of Huntsville has been an active mem- ber of the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool (TML-IRP), whose purpose is to provide Texas municipalities with a stable source of risk financing and loss prevention services at the lowest cost consistent with sound business practices. TML-IRP assists the City with risk management, insurance pro- gram review, bid proposals and comparisons and more. The or- ganization also provides worker’s compensation coverage, liabil- ity insurance, property coverage and special risk handling. The partnership has resulted not only in lower insurance rates for the City, but also in $315,725 in equity returns since 2005. “The staff of TML-IRP is more aware of the laws that pertain to local governments than other organizations, so they can more readily assist us with risk management concerns,” said Steve Ritter, Interim Finance Director. “As well, the insurance rates as- sessed by TML-IRP are lower than what you can find on the open market, so not only are we gaining equity with long-term member- ship, but we save money in day-to-day operations as well.” As I conclude my first budget preparation season for the City of Huntsville, I find myself very appreciative for the bright and creative people who work for the City of Huntsville. My appre- ciation stems from the reality that preparing the 2013-2014 fiscal year budget presented some difficult decisions. I’ll elaborate on those decisions later, but through the guidance, encouragement and leadership of the City Council and sup- port from great Department Heads and very qualified and effective Finance Department, we solved a lot of tough prob- lems without raising taxes, and only a slight, planned in- crease in water rates. I believe the 2013-2014 budget puts the City of Huntsville on a path of sustainability. We are working to relieve pressure in places where, without attention, the pressure would have caused problems for future City Councils. A few examples: (1) The entire City staff and City Council worked very hard on employee benefits this year, both in terms of health insur- ance and retirement programs. We have made adjustments to help ensure those programs are responsible and well- managed. Like many cities, we have to track our unfunded liabilities for these costs, and have made, and will continue to make, modifications to ensure we can attract and retain high- qualified employees without allowing liabilities to grow. “While we did make adjustments to some of the fringe bene- fits offered to our employees and retirees, we took great care to keep our core benefit package costs as low as possible, and we feel this strategy will be of the greatest benefit to the majority of our staff.” (2) We have made recommendations to make different busi- ness units in the City more self-sufficient and cost- effective. Examples of some of these difficult decisions are in the Streets Department where we will be asking out Street De- partment to find ways to deliver their services with approximate- ly $300,000 less revenue from our General Fund. (3) The City of Huntsville undertakes capital improvement pro- jects every year. These projects repair, improve and sometimes extend our infrastructure. We do these projects so that our residents, businesses and visitors don’t have to think about it when they use our services. They’re “just there.” The General Fund has traditionally paid for capital projects out of savings from previous years. This year, we’ve incorporated them into our regular budget, recognizing that we’ll always have to do them. (4) The City Council has also recognized some things that need- ed to be restored that are important to our community. One of them is a traffic unit for the Police Department. In order to limit the tax increase from last year, the difficult decision was made to take out three Police Officer positions. This year, we made the decision to bring them back. This will restore the traffic unit of the Police Department which should make our streets saf- er. As well, we’ve restored fire works for our Fourth of July Fes- tival. In all, I think the City Council has shown great leadership and done an excellent job of steering staff through the budget pro- cess this year. The Council will be considering the proposed budget at two Public Hearings on September 3 and 17. The Council always enjoys hearing input, and I’m sure the budget is no exception. Budget, continued from page 1 “Throughout fiscal year 2013-14, the cost of continuing our Step and Grade plan, as well as the rate increase required with TMRS adjustments, will affect all of our major funds,” Ritter said. “The TMRS costs will be applied January 1, while Step and Grade costs increases are applied based on em- ployee review schedules. We have, however, budgeted an increase of over $45,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue, which represents a significantly higher number of people staying overnight in Huntsville.” Benoit said he was grateful to the Council, the Directors and the staff for their work on the 2013-14 budget. “I would like to thank the City Council for their direction, sup- port and encouragement with my first budget for the City of Huntsville,” he said. “I would also like to thank the Depart- ment Directors for their willingness to attack some difficult financial challenges and provide creative solutions for consid- eration. “Finally, I would like to provide special thanks to Steve Ritter, Interim Finance Director, and the entire Finance Department, for the insight, flexibility and hard work displayed in produc- ing this document.” The Huntsville City Council passed two ordinances in August which established the City’s portion of the Regular and Special Joint Elec- tion ballot for November 5. The Joint Election, being facilitated by Walker County, will also include state constitutional amendments, as well as potential items for consideration from the Huntsville Independent School District, the Walker County Hospital District and other entities. The City measures will include races for the Mayor at-large, four Council seats representing each of the City’s wards, and a Special Election for the vacant At-Large Position One Council seat. As well, seven proposed amendments to the City Charter will be presented to voters as part of the Special Election. Per the language in Ordinances 2013-34 and 2013-38 –adopted on August 6 and 20, re- spectively – the ballots will include the items below. Photo ID Required for Texas VotersPhoto ID Required for Texas VotersPhoto ID Required for Texas VotersPhoto ID Required for Texas Voters Voters are now required to present one of the following Voters are now required to present one of the following Voters are now required to present one of the following Voters are now required to present one of the following forms of photo ID when voting in person:forms of photo ID when voting in person:forms of photo ID when voting in person:forms of photo ID when voting in person: (1) Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) (2) Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS (3) Texas personal identification card issued by DPS (4) Texas concealed handgun license issued by DPS (5) United States military identification card containing your photograph (6) United States citizenship certificate containing your photograph (7) United States passport With the exception of the U.S. citizenship certificate, the identi- fication must be current or have expired no more than 60 days before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place. The voters name on the identification presented must match or be “substantially similar” to the name on the official list of reg- istered voters (poll list). Voters are encouraged to update their Voters are encouraged to update their Voters are encouraged to update their Voters are encouraged to update their voter registration to reflect the names on their IDs before the voter registration to reflect the names on their IDs before the voter registration to reflect the names on their IDs before the voter registration to reflect the names on their IDs before the October 7 deadline. October 7 deadline. October 7 deadline. October 7 deadline. Additional information, including material on further exemptions, is available through the Texas Secretary of State’s office at www.votetexas.gov. According to City Secretary Lee Woodward, the drawings for ballot position will take place on August 28 for the Regular Elec- tion seats and on September 5 for the Special Election seat. Charter amendmentsCharter amendmentsCharter amendmentsCharter amendments The Special Election ballot will also include seven proposed Charter amendments, to appear as follows. Voters will have the option to vote for or against each of the amendments. I. Shall Article II, Sections 2.01(a) and 2.01(b) of the existing I. Shall Article II, Sections 2.01(a) and 2.01(b) of the existing I. Shall Article II, Sections 2.01(a) and 2.01(b) of the existing I. Shall Article II, Sections 2.01(a) and 2.01(b) of the existing Charter, be consolidated into one section 2.01 to provide that Charter, be consolidated into one section 2.01 to provide that Charter, be consolidated into one section 2.01 to provide that Charter, be consolidated into one section 2.01 to provide that the City may extend its boundaries and annex and disannex the City may extend its boundaries and annex and disannex the City may extend its boundaries and annex and disannex the City may extend its boundaries and annex and disannex territory to the extent and in the manner provided by the consti-territory to the extent and in the manner provided by the consti-territory to the extent and in the manner provided by the consti-territory to the extent and in the manner provided by the consti- tution and laws of the State of Texas to read as follows?tution and laws of the State of Texas to read as follows?tution and laws of the State of Texas to read as follows?tution and laws of the State of Texas to read as follows? In the event that Proposition 1 is approved by the voters on November 5, 2013, Article Two, Section 2.01 shall read as fol- lows: “EXTENSION OF BOUNDARIES. The City Council shall have the power by ordinance to fix the boundaries of the City of Hunts- ville. Without limiting the previous sentence, this power in- cludes the ability to annex and to disannex territory, when per- mitted, to the extent, in the manner, and subject to any re- strictions or limitations, provided by the constitution and laws of the State of Texas. Section 2.01(a) REPEALED. Section 2.01(b) REPEALED. II. Shall Article IV, Section 4.07 of the existing City Charter relat-II. Shall Article IV, Section 4.07 of the existing City Charter relat-II. Shall Article IV, Section 4.07 of the existing City Charter relat-II. Shall Article IV, Section 4.07 of the existing City Charter relat- ing to where city council meetings are held be amended to read ing to where city council meetings are held be amended to read ing to where city council meetings are held be amended to read ing to where city council meetings are held be amended to read as follows? as follows? as follows? as follows? “All meetings of the council shall be held at the City Hall of Huntsville or at such other public place within the city as may be approved by Council and, except as otherwise permitted by law, all meetings shall be open to the public and closed or exec- utive meetings or sessions shall only be permitted as author- ized by law.” III. Shall Article IV, Section 4.12, of the existing City Charter that III. Shall Article IV, Section 4.12, of the existing City Charter that III. Shall Article IV, Section 4.12, of the existing City Charter that III. Shall Article IV, Section 4.12, of the existing City Charter that allows an employee who is not appointed by the City Council to allows an employee who is not appointed by the City Council to allows an employee who is not appointed by the City Council to allows an employee who is not appointed by the City Council to appeal a decision on a grievance of that employee to the City appeal a decision on a grievance of that employee to the City appeal a decision on a grievance of that employee to the City appeal a decision on a grievance of that employee to the City Council be deleted?Council be deleted?Council be deleted?Council be deleted? IV. Shall Article XI, Section 11.02 (f) of the City Charter be IV. Shall Article XI, Section 11.02 (f) of the City Charter be IV. Shall Article XI, Section 11.02 (f) of the City Charter be IV. Shall Article XI, Section 11.02 (f) of the City Charter be amended by striking the sentence “Such audit shall be on a amended by striking the sentence “Such audit shall be on a amended by striking the sentence “Such audit shall be on a amended by striking the sentence “Such audit shall be on a nonnonnonnon----certified basis.”?certified basis.”?certified basis.”?certified basis.”? V. Shall Article XI, Section 11.13 of the existing City Charter, V. Shall Article XI, Section 11.13 of the existing City Charter, V. Shall Article XI, Section 11.13 of the existing City Charter, V. Shall Article XI, Section 11.13 of the existing City Charter, relating to the sale of bonds issued by the City be amended to relating to the sale of bonds issued by the City be amended to relating to the sale of bonds issued by the City be amended to relating to the sale of bonds issued by the City be amended to read as follows? read as follows? read as follows? read as follows? “No bond, other than refunding bonds issued to refund and in ex- change for previously issued outstanding bonds, issued by the City shall be sold for less than par value and accrued interest. All bonds of the City having been issued in conformity with the laws of the State of Texas, and having been delivered to the purchaser thereof, shall thereafter be incontestable, and all bonds issued to refund and in exchange for outstanding bonds previously issued shall, after said exchange, be incontestable.” VI. Shall Article XI, Section 11.17 of the existing City Charter, that VI. Shall Article XI, Section 11.17 of the existing City Charter, that VI. Shall Article XI, Section 11.17 of the existing City Charter, that VI. Shall Article XI, Section 11.17 of the existing City Charter, that relates to the issuance of new debt by the City be amended by relates to the issuance of new debt by the City be amended by relates to the issuance of new debt by the City be amended by relates to the issuance of new debt by the City be amended by deleting the last sentence “A favorable majority of all votes cast at deleting the last sentence “A favorable majority of all votes cast at deleting the last sentence “A favorable majority of all votes cast at deleting the last sentence “A favorable majority of all votes cast at the City election is required for approval.” and inserting as the last the City election is required for approval.” and inserting as the last the City election is required for approval.” and inserting as the last the City election is required for approval.” and inserting as the last sentence “A favorable majority of the qualified voters voting on the sentence “A favorable majority of the qualified voters voting on the sentence “A favorable majority of the qualified voters voting on the sentence “A favorable majority of the qualified voters voting on the proposed issuance of new debt is required for approval.”? proposed issuance of new debt is required for approval.”? proposed issuance of new debt is required for approval.”? proposed issuance of new debt is required for approval.”? VII. Shall Article XIV, Section 14.18 of the existing City Charter, VII. Shall Article XIV, Section 14.18 of the existing City Charter, VII. Shall Article XIV, Section 14.18 of the existing City Charter, VII. Shall Article XIV, Section 14.18 of the existing City Charter, that requires the reading of all reports made by the State of Texas that requires the reading of all reports made by the State of Texas that requires the reading of all reports made by the State of Texas that requires the reading of all reports made by the State of Texas concerning the City be deleted?concerning the City be deleted?concerning the City be deleted?concerning the City be deleted? November 5 Regular and Special Election information Please visit www.huntsvilletx.gov www.huntsvilletx.gov www.huntsvilletx.gov www.huntsvilletx.gov and www.co.walker.tx.us www.co.walker.tx.us www.co.walker.tx.us www.co.walker.tx.us and see future issues of “This Week in Huntsville” for more election information. Where’s Waldo? The City’s Emergency Man- agement Coordinator, John Waldo, is pictured to the left at a Huntsville facility - can you guess where? The first citizen to call (936) 291-5413 and tell us where Waldo is pictured will get the chance to suggest the location of the next Where’s Waldo? photo shoot. We’ll give you a hint: Waldo gave his hat to a very lucky boy or girl in each shot. Last issue, Waldo was standing at the top of the Palm Street Hydra Pillar, a two-million gallon, 118-foot elevated water tank. The platform was accessible only by ladder. Expert in Every Office Title:Title:Title:Title: Support Services Supervisor/Administrative Coordinator Time employed with City of Huntsville:Time employed with City of Huntsville:Time employed with City of Huntsville:Time employed with City of Huntsville: 32 Years Education: Education: Education: Education: Texas A&M University - Bachelor of Arts and Applied Sci- ence - Graduate Cum Laude Job description: Job description: Job description: Job description: Gann is responsible for leading and supervising the administrative, financial, and operational activities of the City Permit Center. She also works with property owners, contractors, and devel- opers to provide information regarding permit policies and applica- tion procedures, verify and coordinate permit documentation, pro- ject information and contractor licensing information in preparation of projects for permit issuance. She also manages call center opera- tions. Certifications/Memberships/Activities:Certifications/Memberships/Activities:Certifications/Memberships/Activities:Certifications/Memberships/Activities: Certified Public Manager, State of Texas; International Code Council Certified Permit Technician; Allied School of Business - Customer Service Specialist; and Texas Water Utilities Association Customer Service Professional. Gann has also served as a member of multiple City of Huntsville committees, serving as Chair on the Scholarship Committee for the last nine years. Recent training:Recent training:Recent training:Recent training: In addition to the continuing education units required by the Texas Water Utilities Association to serve as a customer service specialist or as a permit technician through the International Code Council, Gann has also worked to complete her continuing education as a permit technician and in the construction field. Unique contribution to City of Huntsville:Unique contribution to City of Huntsville:Unique contribution to City of Huntsville:Unique contribution to City of Huntsville: “I have been with the City for 32 years, and in that time, there have been countless changes not only to our permitting pro- cesses, but also to the software we use to complete them. I was here during the transition between physical note taking to software documentation in our call center, played an active role in the process of streamlining our permitting process to allow for a more user-friendly environment, managed the integration of new permitting software applications and initiat- ed numerous permit types to align with updated policies and procedures in the department. Colleague perspective: Rob McCaffety, McCaffety ElectricColleague perspective: Rob McCaffety, McCaffety ElectricColleague perspective: Rob McCaffety, McCaffety ElectricColleague perspective: Rob McCaffety, McCaffety Electric “The first item that comes to mind is when Tammy decided that the City permitting office needed to go online. This ser- vice has saved us hundreds of dollars and loads of time. Be- fore she had this put into place, I had to go by the City and hope that the owner or general contractor had pulled their permits and that the City had released them for permitting so that I could pull our documents. Now, we can go online and track the projects without having to call or guess if the job has been permitted and inspected. Tammy has helped me numer- ous times, but this one item really stands out for the contrac- tors.” Tammy Gann (936) 294-5700 Offices at the City of Huntsville Service Center