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2021 08 18 WS Minutes (Budget)MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL BUDGET WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN August 18, 2021 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Special Budget Work Session on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, at 5:40 P.M., in the Council Chamber, Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Laura Alvarado Mayor Pro Tern Chris Presley Council Member Charles Johnson Mayor Pro Tern Heather Betancourth Council Member Jacob Powell Council Member Brandon Capetillo Mayor Rick Davis City Manager Karen Horner City Attorney Angela Jackson Acting City Clerk Mayor Capetillo convened the August 18, 2021, City Council Special Budget Work Session with a quorum present at 5:40 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Member Mike Lester, who was absent. 1. DISCUSSIONS a. Discuss the City of Baytown Fiscal Year 2021-22 Proposed Budget. Mayor Capetillo introduced the item by providing a brief summary of his perception of the proposed budget. He noted that he wanted to handle this discussion a little bit different than in the past as there a few topics that he would like to obtain feedback from the Council. First, he would like for them to provide input regarding the headcount, as this is probably the largest headcount he has seen in many budgets. Second, regarding the reduction of the tax rate, which is the third or fourth year in a row that there has been a reduction, but overall, the water and sewer remain the same, except for a slight increase on the stormwater fee. He would then like for them to provide individual comments or concerns on any individual line items in the budget. Council Member Alvarado initiated the discussion in regards to the headcount by asking staff to elaborate on the City Management Coordinator position under City Management. City Manager Davis noted that currently, they had been utilizing an Intern to help them keep up with some of the citizen constituent requests that they receive in their office, which generally run between 40 to 60 requests at one time and that requires some coordination. Some of the other duties consist of different studies, the collection of data, and right now, they are formatting an organizational analysis and benchmarking initiative with about 14 other cities. There have also been other things that have cropped up in terms of their intergovernmental relations, their City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 2 of 11 activity in the Houston area, the Council of Mayors Association, and other associations and groups that this person would allow them to keep up with some of those obligations. However, the Intern they currently utilize will be graduating and they will be losing that internship in the near future. Mr. Davis noted that he would like to make that position permanent and really try to enhance their responsiveness to some of the constituent requests. Council Member Alvarado expressed that the Assistant to the City Manager Brian Moran had been doing a tremendous job in providing the Council the requests from their constituents and even created a Google spreadsheet on which they can see requests or tasks in terms of completion, and she felt that perhaps the duties Mr. Davis mentioned could be added to his roles. Mr. Davis noted that it was actually Pamela, the Intern, that put together the Google Sheet but it takes the three of them to be able to deal with constituent requests and stay on top of that, which includes himself, Brian, and Pamela. Council Member Alvarado noted that she would rather wait on this hire to see if the new system that they are capitalizing on for self-service for our residents will succeed. Council Member Presley stated that he shared the same position in that he is not in favor of growing government, in a sense, but specifically, of growing the Administration department, regardless of how high or low of a tier that position, the City Management Coordinator, would be. It is an Intern Program, therefore, once the position is vacated, they have the opportunity to hire another Intern. He asked that if the Intern position was to become a permanent position, would the intern program be eliminated. Mr. Davis answered that the City had not had a very structured internship program; therefore, they are actually trying to move away from that, and provide opportunities to people that are serious about careers in public service, particularly municipal management. Mr. Davis further noted that their objective in the future is that when they do hire an Intern, they would like them to be more focused on specific projects that expand their understanding of local government, and prepare them for a career in Municipal Government. As Council can perceive, they have not seen a decline in the number of constituent requests that they receive and at their last Retreat, it was clear that the Council wanted to continue to see an elevation of the level of service on how staff responds to the constituent requests that they receive. Mr. Davis affirmed that he is fine with not moving forward with this position and staff will continue to do their very best to field the myriad constituent requests that Council receives. Council Member Johnson noted that he was happy to see that they have four new positions for Animal Control, since that mean they are heading in the right direction in staffing the new facility. In regards to the Intern position, he noted that he would not necessarily consider them cheap labor since he interned when he was working for his counseling degree and took a lot of pride in the work that he did. He suggested that perhaps they could partner with Lee College to see if they would have some students with majors in public administration, or government, or political science, that would like to come in and be a part of our intern program. Council Member Betancourth inquired as to whether the scope of work or workload for Brian and Jason had changed as a result of this position or is it more about giving the Intern an opportunity to come onboard. Mr. Davis noted it was a little of all of the above since he felt that when you invest two years in somebody, with that familiarity in our organization and our departments, they establish relationships, and there is value to that, which you do not get from a City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 3 of 11 new intern, it takes time. As it relates to Brian, his position has definitely evolved, particularly with his grant coordination, and in some of the federal programs that they never anticipated, the CARES Act, and he has been very instrumental in coordinating for us on that side. However, Mr. Davis alluded to the fact that the Council could assist them by triaging some of the requests that they receive from their constituents and refer them directly to a department, and for Council to be understanding that it may take additional time to address or resolve some of the issues that may involve multiple departments, including law enforcement, to which Council Member Betancourth noted that she is content with the current turnaround time on constituent requests and felt the current process is working. Council Member Powell commented on the increase in headcount in general, since 39 new positions definitely caught his eye and the amount of growth of our government is concerning as you rarely see positions go away once you add them. He understands that part of that is due to the fact that last year there were not any new hires. A few of the positions that caught his eye were: 1) the City Management Coordinator, which they have discussed at length, 2) the Community Engagement Specialist since that Community Engagement program is a newer program yet they are already seeing a need for another person; 3) the Permit Case Specialist, which the justification there is that the EnerGov program continues to be implemented, yet the new program is supposed to be more efficient, however, it needs an additional person to help oversee it, and 4) in regards to the increase of the stotmwater fee, comes a completely new Ditch Maintenance Crew to help get some of those projects completed, but most of the budget is eaten up by additional personnel. Mayor Capetillo noted that it was the consensus of the Council to wait on the hire of the City Management Coordinator position, and expressed reservation on the Community Engagement Specialist as well. Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery addressed their concerns in relation to that position by noting that when Ms. Sabrina Martin came onboard under the Library Director as the Community Engagement Coordinator a few years back, the role was not clearly defined; however, the program has really evolved and has been very successful, as several of the Council Members have witnessed, especially over the past year. The question then becomes if the Council wants more of that success, more engagement with neighborhoods, and more coordination of volunteer activities. Library Director Jamie Eustace indicated that the Community Engagement Coordinator has various duties that can be divided into five buckets, which are: 1) Public Art, 2) Volunteerism, 3) Civic Engagement in terms of the Civic Academy and the Youth Advisory Committee, 4) Participatory Decision Making, which is really the Baytown Engage website, the surveys, facilitations that they do with neighborhoods, and finally, 5) Neighborhood Outreach, which includes the grant program. They are really proud of the things they do and she had some numbers and metrics as to how many people have done surveys, how many neighborhoods they visited, and how many volunteer projects they have done, but the opportunity to increase capacity, as Mr. Woolery said, kind of expand, would really be in the areas of volunteerism, neighborhood outreach, and the neighborhood grant program. Ms. Eustace pointed out that they are requesting for the Neighborhood Grant Program to be increased from $30,000 to $40,000; however, the one place that they are limited in capacity is managing the projects since they City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 4 of 11 manage everything from start to finish, so by adding that additional staff member, it would allow them to improve in that aspect. Mayor Capetillo noted that if they can come up with some kind of criteria, he would like to expand the Neighborhood Grant Program because when they invest in the City's neighborhoods, it really presents well since the neighborhood associations or groups and the residents appreciate it as well. Mayor Pro Tern Alvarado commented that during their past retreat, Council did proactively state that they wanted more monies to go towards this grant program. In working closely with Ms. Sabrina Martin on various neighborhood projects this past year, she can see where it would be beneficial to add a staff member that can go step by step, really pushing the neighborhood groups on timelines in order to get things accomplished since some neighborhoods may not have one person that will be willing to take the lead. however, she would like for them to flush out the exact role of this individual in order to be able to expand on the volunteer component of the Neighborhood Grant Program. Ms. Eustace proceeded to elaborate on the proposed role of the Community Engagement Specialist. Mayor Capetillo then inquired on the proposed additional headcount for the new Animal Control Shelter facility, and Assistant City Manager Troller noted that with that new shelter comes a lot of expectations, high expectations that is. The four positions are: 1) Veterinarian, 2) Vet Tech who would support the Vet, 3) Animal Care Specialist that will support the Volunteer Coordinator because that is important, and a 4) Foster Specialist to help support the Social Media and Outreach Coordinator, who will try to create more avenues to get some animals out, to be fostered. Also, open up opportunities for the volunteers since the shelter will have so much more space. Mayor Capetillo emphasized that overall, he would like the percentage of animals that leave the City's shelter to be as healthy as possible, which obviously they rely on the feedback from the adopters. Assistant Director of Health Jimmy Garcia noted that one of the biggest things that they have with their survivability rate is heartworms and currently, they do not test for heartworms since they would need a Veterinarian to provide that treatment. Also, he noted that survivability has gone up tremendously with the ordinance passage of vaccinating on intake. There was a brief discussion in regards to the salary for the Veterinarian position as well as the roles of the different positions within the shelter. Council Member Presley requested clarification on the Permit Case Specialist position under the Planning and Community Development Division and Mr. Troller noted that this position would be like a liaison or case manager to contact the various reviewing departments for permits when an individual has a question or issue in regards to obtaining a permit. In regards to new headcount, Mayor Capetillo requested that in the future Staff needs to indicate the proposed time period for which the salary is being added, whether it is annual, or pro -rated for nine months, six months, etc., because Council gauges the value of a position based on that information. Mayor Capetillo reiterated the importance of having a good maintenance program for all of the City's vehicles, especially the Fire and Police vehicles, since the City of Baytown definitely has the financial resources to ensure that, and certainly, as they rebuild the whole campus of public safety on North Main Street, which City Manager Davis agreed that their commitment is exactly as stated. City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 5 of 11 Lastly, Mr. Woolery pointed out that out of the 39 total new headcounts, 22 minus 1 now, 21 are being funded in the General Fund, as there is a little different mechanism for funding some of the other positions. Mayor Capetillo then had Mr. Woolery provide a brief synopsis of the proposed $1 increase in the storm water fee in an effort to be as transparent as they can be with all the new programs and funds, and explain why the fee increase is occurring and the benefit of it. Mr. Woolery explained the structure of how the storm water fee works. He noted that the funding for the additional Ditch Maintenance Crew could be covered under the existing fee amount. The increased fee is based primarily on the four capital improvement projects recently discussed at one of their previous Council meetings. Director of Public Works and Engineering Frank Simoneaux proceeded to provide a summary of each of the four Partnership Drainage Projects with Harris County: 1) West Texas Avenue, 2) West Baytown Area Phase 1, 3) Danubina Area Phase 1, and 4) East James Area. Council Member Betancourth inquired as to what the plan would be if the matching funding grants from Harris County did not come through as expected, would the City move ahead on its own, piece by piece, on the projects. Mr. Woolery stated that it was a two-part answer, as they know for sure the West Texas Avenue and West Baytown are going through since the interlocal agreements with Harris County will be considered by Council in the near future, but as far as the Danubina and East James projects, they are not quite as confident since they have not seen interlocal agreements from Harris County, but they have high expectations that they will go through. Although a lot of the funding for the projects requires a funding match, if they do not receive from Harris County then they will request federal grant money, or the City can do the projects on their own if they feel they want to do that, but it will have a longer timeline. When asked by Council Member Betancourth if the fee increase was a set deal or if it could be decreased later, Mr. Woolery indicated that the stormwater fee is based on a 20-year debt issuance and for the foreseeable future, the fee would stay at $4, which is equivalent to about $900,000 a year, but they can revisit it after the 20 years. At 7:15 P.M., Mayor Capetillo recessed the August 18, 2021, Budget Work Session for a 10- miunte break. At 7:26 P.M., Mayor Capetillo reconvened the August 18, 2021, Budget Work Session and noted that they had a quorum present. Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery proceeded to provide a high -altitude summary of the City of Baytown Fiscal Year 2021-22 Proposed Budget, with some highlights on some budgeted items to move initiatives forward: • Community Reputation and Image - Evergreen Area Master Planning, they would like to hire a consultant to do something similar to what was done on San Jacinto Boulevard, and do some land planning and get the infrastructure right from the beginning so that they can ensure the area develops nicely; • Infrastructure and Mobility - Includes the modernization of traffic signals over the next five years with enhancements at the intersections; City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 6 of 11 • Community Amenities - Touched on the Alexander Drive Revitalization Project and Russell Park Phase One; • Neighborhood Quality - Touched on the ADA Sidewalk Evaluation Project, which will ultimately lead to a better master plan for sidewalks; • Operational Excellence - Touched on the Phase I of ADA Facility Improvements, noted that after they performed a facility evaluation, they have over a million dollars of ADA improvements that the City is required to make to their facilities now and this starts that implementation; Mr. Woolery then provided a summarized overview of the various funds throughout the City, starting with the General Fund. General Fund Tax rate below the Voter Approval Tax Rate Beginning Fund Balance $ 48,376,745 $0.78500 propuved Fate Revenue Totals $126,707,665 $0.81761 voter-approvfil rUP Transfers $13.5 million for Recurring Expenditures $114,055,328 cash -funded CIP projects Non -Recurring Exp. $ 23,495,753 Begins Implementation of Expenditure Totals $137,551,081 Facilities Master Plan Net $ (10,843,416) 22 New Positions Ending Fund Balance $ 37,533,329 Fund Balance Above Council Days of Operating Exp. 120 Days Policy Council Policy 90 Days Hotel/Motel Fund Funding for Wayne Gray Sports Complex Tournament Field Beginning Fund Balance $ 5,225,493 Enhancements Revenue Totals $ 1,341,032 Continued support of the Operating Expenditures $ 1,027,786 Hotel/Convention Center Non -Recurring Exp. $ 3,581,929 project Expenditure Totals $ 4,609,715 Funding for Baytown Historical Net $(3,268,683) Museum Consulting Ending Fund Balance $ 1,956,810 Days of Operating Exp. 695 Days 0, Aquatics Fund Conservative budget to continue building back operational reserves Includes continued payback of $250,000 per year for io years to the General Fund for COVID support City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 7 of 11 Beginning Fund Balance Revenue Totals Operating Expenditures Non -Recurring Exp. Expenditure Totals Net Ending Fund Balance Days of Operating Exp. Water Et Sewer Fund No rate increase Absorbing BAWA rate increase with customer growth Transfers $7.8 million for cash - funded CIP projects Funds Enhancements to PSLIP Program 1 New Position (Customer Service Rep. Utility Billing) $16.3 million in American Rescue Plan Projects Beginning Fund Balance Revenue Totals Operating Expenditures Non•Recurring Exp. Expenditure Totals Net Ending Fund Balance Days of Operating Exp. $ 199,210 $ 4,328,600 $ 3,147,228 $ 990,633 $ 4,137,861 $ 190,739 $ 389,948 45 Days $10,984,044 $46,024,301 $30,206,451 $19,391,402 $49,597,853 $13,573,552) $ 7,410,492 90 Days Mr. Woolery indicated some of the benefits of the PSLIP Partnership Program and noted some of the options they are looking into in order to improve the program further. II PSLIP Partnership Program Private Sewer Line Inspection Program (PSLIP) started in 2007 .goal is to reduce infiilti•alion into the sanitary ~ewer systern by ensul•i ig residents repair broken private sewer lines as the City repairs its public sewer lines Since 2007, 7906 lines have been inspected a,yyl had 111rlievii4m.. (a,;;;;y hire nui(h• repairs) 6.-,2 pending rernirs (ti'h,) Proposed Program Enhancements increase eligibility for low -moderate income homeowners lAplore low -interest loan options City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 8 of 11 In regards to the American Rescue Plan, Mr. Woolery noted that the projects that made the most sense for the proposed project plan were related to water and sewer, and this was really an opportunity for them to do enhancements to the Water and Sewer System that otherwise they would not be able to do. American Rescue Plan , • Baytown has been allocated $ t6.3 million 50 % received; 50% provided ill 202_ • Proposed Project Plan $30O,000 for Utility Bill Assistance $16 milliot► for Water & Sewer System Lnhanceinents �1'41"I'P & Wtiler Well �4'intcriiutic�n .�ncd�r.i.ti & Design �V1�r1'PS('Al)A install and 1 pµrodes l3uilding UI)grcuies 1?quilmeiii mid operations I ffic iemN Ili ujec t Sanitation Fund No Rate Increase Transfer in from General Fund Beginning Fund Balance S 524,100 maintained at $250,000 Revenue Totals $ 7,125,651 Year 5 of Waste Management Operating Expenditures $ 7,055,802 solid waste and recycling Non -Recurring Exp. $ contract Expenditure Totals $ 7,055,802 Net $ 69,848 Ending Fund Balance $ 593,948 Days of Operating Exp. 31 Days Street Maintenance Sales Tax Assumes passage of SMST re- { ' authorization election in Beginning Fund Balance $ 1,592,004 November Revenue Totals $ 3,977,753 Funds a Concrete Crack Seal Expenditure Totals $ 5,569,757 Crew Completion of large-scale rehab Net S(1,592,004) projects on Ward Road, West Ending Fund Balance $ Road, South Road, McKinney Road and Britton Road Implementation of new 5-year pavement preservation plan City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 9of11 In regards to the Capital Improvement Project Overview, Mr. Woolery proceeded to only touch on the new projects and those that significantly changed from the previous year. He also mentioned some of the facility and park projects that were either in construction or in the design phase. Facilities , S In Construction .ink Renovation Public Safety Facility Bayland Island hotel and Convention Center Animal Services and Adoption Center In Design Preliminary Engineering for City Facilities Parks Et Recreation In Construction Ro%eland Pavilion Goose Creek Trail Phase 7 Newcastle Park Improvements Wayne Gray Sports Complex Tournament field Enhancements 'Gown Square Greenspace Improvements In Design Russell Park Site Work, Phase i and Yquestrian PER American Little League Park Improvements PER U' ergreen Bluff PER Jenkins Park / filue Heron Parkwav Connecti%ih Proiect As it pertains to Transportation, obviously, the City has a lot that is either under construction or will be under construction here in the near future, which Mr. Woolery elaborated on a few. Transportation In Construction Rollinghrook Street Rcc4mstruction Bay Oak-: Harbor Street Reconstruction Flamingo, E.grel, Itluchill, Angelfish Allenbrook Lard Edgchr(iok Street Reconstruction Narcille and Colby Street Reconstruction Fairway Street Reconstruction Savell Street Reconstruction Ilarriis Cc)unty Transit Sidewalk Partnership Garth Road Reconstruction & Widening City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 10 of 11 Transportation In Design Laintern Park Street Reconstruction Market Street Revitalisation Cedar Bayou Lynchburg Reconstruction & Widening • Cedar Bayou Crossing Alignment Study • [-to Intersection Improvements • W. linker (Decker to Garth) PER o W. Main / Lee Drive Reconfiguration PER Wastewater Treatment In Construction Fast District WW1'P - Phase i Harvey Rehabilitation In Design Last District WWTP - Phahe 2 Harvey Rehabilitation Wastewater Treatment Plant Winterication Wastewater Treatment Plant SCADA Install & Upgrades West District LiW1,1' Building Improvements Central District WW['P t;quipment & Operations 14ficiency Lastly, Mr. Woolery briefly went over the budget timeline. Budget Timeline Budget Work Session (August 18) t una Summaries New Programs and Per,_.... — Better Baytown Cl P Council Ouct tions & Peedhack Budget Work Session (August 19); If Needed Budget Adoption August 26 t_ _est Possihic Date; September 23 (bast Possible Date Set Tax Rate & Adopt Fees (September 9) ee & ►% &S Rates for Out -of -City i Mayor Capetillo opened the floor for comments and questions on behalf of Council. City Manager Davis noted that an additional opportunity for discussion of the budget will be on the August 26th City Council Work Session agenda. City Council Special Work Session Minutes August 18, 2021 Page 11 of 11 2. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Capetillo adjourned the August 18, 2021, City Council Special Budget Work Session at 8:15 P.M. Angela JacMon, Acting City City of Baytown �,pYTGIa�Q eaeey a©eii g�