2012-02-27 Regular City Council session

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at 7:00 p.m. She noted the Mayor and the City Manager would be making the presentations. Ms. Glickert said the Sutter-Meyer Society (which is the oldest house in University City) th th located at 6826 Chamberlain Court open house was March 10 and 11 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. She said that both of the events are free and open-to-the-public. I. PUBLIC HEARINGS J. CONSENT AGENDA K. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT 1. Budget 2012 – 2013 Presentation Mr. Walker submitted the Draft Fiscal Year 2012 – 2013 Budget. He noted there will be several public meetings and Council Study sessions at which each department will give their presentation for discussions. Mr. Walker presented an overview of the budget, focusing on the General Fund. He noted the new format consisted of fewer pages, easier to read and has more information. Mr. Walker noted that there is no reduction in City services, no increase in real estate taxes, no proposal for sales tax increase, no cost-of- living increase for employees for the fourth year, but there was an increase in funding for both the Police and Fire Departments. He said that 48% of the City’s budget goes toward Police and Fire. Mr. Walker said the City will be sharing the cost of a dedicated grant writer with the University City School District, as both the City and the School District have a need for outside funding. He also said the City proposed an increase in funding for U City in Bloom and also will also fund the Youth Employment Program for its second year. th Mr. Walker said the dates of the budget public meetings were: Monday, March 19 at th 6:00 p.m., at the McNair Administrative Building, 8136 Groby Road and Monday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m., at Mount Gideon Baptist Church, 6505 Etzel. He said the Charter’s required th Public Hearing for the FY 13 Budget will be Monday, May 14, 6:30 p.m., at City Hall. Mr. Walker said that while preparing the City’s budget, they went through an extensive process with a series of public meetings, seeking public input prior to putting the budget document together. He said according to Charter, the FY 13 Budget will be adopted in early June. Mr. Walker noted that one of the challenges this year was the 5.5 percent reduction in residents residing in University City according to the 2010 Census, resulting in a loss of $400,000 a year loss in sales tax revenue. The City Manager said another concern was the possibility of making University City a point-of-sale city, which will result in a significant loss in revenue. Mr. Walker next spoke of the Capital needs of the City’s aging infrastructure and how much it will take to bring it back to where it should be. In a PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Walker explained in detail the budget estimates in the General Fund. Mr. Walker said the Draft Budget would be online and was showing a surplus of approximately $441,000; but he noted this figure could change with suggested and approved additions. 2. Financial Management Review of Finance Department Mr. Walker said that based upon the State of Missouri and the City’s Internal Annual Audit reports, it became apparent that he would have a financial consultant prepare a report as to what was needed to correct the problems in the Finance Department. He said the Financial Operations of the City have not been managed properly for many years. The consultant’s report included 47 recommendations and Mr. Walker said staff will proceed to comply with them. He said he will be hiring a new short-term Director of Finance and will then start to reorganize the department to ensure that Council and the residents attain the services they deserve. 2