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The City Council met on September 5, 2013 at 11:45 a.m., in the Council Chambers at
Plainview City Hall, 901 Broadway Street, Plainview, Texas. The agenda for this
meeting was posted in City Hall at 4:30 p.m. on August 30, 2013. Mayor Wendell
Dunlap presided. Councilmembers present were: Charles Starnes - District 1, Cathy
Waggoner- District 2, David Garcia - District 3, V. O. Ortega- District 4, Lionel Garcia -
District 6 and Eric Hastey- District 7.
Staff members present were: Greg Ingham -City Manager, Leslie Pearce -City
Attorney, Rusty Powers -Fire Chief, Jeffrey Snyder- Assistant City Manager, William Mull -
Police Chief, Tammy Adams - Accounting Coordinator, Sarianne Beversdorf- Director of
Finance, Vanessa Rincon- Accounting Coordinator, Todd Kennemer- Community
Development Manager and Belinda Hinojosa -City Secretary.
News Media Present: Ryan Crowe - Plainview Herald
Guests Present: David Wilder, Larry Williams, Norbert Bublis and Becky Summers
Mayor Dunlap led in the Invocation.
Mr. Greg Ingham, City Manager previewed the initial part of the Budget. The budget
document presents in financial terms the overall plan for providing municipal services
during the coming twelve months. This budget provides funds for the current level of
services and provides a basis for a higher level of services in the future.
During the 2012 -2013 Fiscal Year, the City has been dealing with a wide array of
projects and issues as follows:
a) Nearing completion of two water towers;
b) initiated the process of building another Type I cell at the landfill;
c) City's Comprehensive Plan has been adopted;
d) Adopted the Economic Development Plan for Hale County;
e) the Airport Master Plan project is moving towards completion;
f) funds have been obtained through the TDHCA HOME program to replace
substandard homes in our community; and
g) the City is nearing completion of the water line replacement program in the north
east part of town that was funded with a TCDP Grant.
The City has been actively addressing the challenges created by the closure of Cargill
Meat Solutions as follows:
a) The City has worked closely with Texas Workforce Solutions to provide job fairs
and training for the displaced workers.
b) Facilitated the development of a program with South Plains Community Action
Agency's SPARTAN transportation, the Texas Department of Transportation
(TxDOT), and Cargill to provide transportation from Plainview to the Friona plant.
c) The City worked with the Industrial Foundation, Chamber of Commerce,
Congressman Neugebauer's Office, Wayland, and the South Plains Association
of Governments to provide an Economic Recovery- Disaster Assistance Seminar
for Business Opportunities with presentations by the US Small Business
Administration Disaster Assistance Team, and the Texas Manufacturing
Assistance Center.
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September 5, 2013 Page 1
d) Looking for opportunities to help our educational partners, Wayland Baptist
University, South Plains College, and Plainview Independent School District meet
the needs of our community.
The total budgeted expenditures for all funds for fiscal year ending September 30, 2014
are $28,965,495 which is down about $2 million from last year because of last year's
capital fund projects. The total budgeted expenditures for major operating funds for .
fiscal year ending September 30, 2014 are $23,839,560; which is up about $1.6 million.
The General fund is primarily supported by tax and franchise fee. The General Fund
revenues for Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2014 are $12,179,790. Sales tax
collection is projected at $3,590,000.
Departments funded with in the General Fund are as follows:
• Unger Library — Budget $419,215;
• Streets and Traffic Safety — Budget $1,297,870;
• Plainview Hale County Health Department — Budget $390,505;
• Animal Control — Budget $151,600;
• Community Development — Budget $143,195;
• Code Enforcement — Budget $258,400;
• Main Street — Budget $103,355;
• Parks Department — Budget $740,235;
• Plainview Police Department — Budget $3,546,580;
• Fire /EMS Budget — Budget $3,317.715.
There have been some issues in healthcare. Health /Prescription Claims in 2012 -13 are
projected to exceed claims in 2011 -12 by more than 60 %; there are a high number of
participants with claims exceeding $10,000; prescription spending is running more than
60% of standard; specialty prescriptions are nearly double the industry trend; and
retiree utilization does not correlate with coverage cost. Some solutions to the
healthcare costs are interim transfer of additional funds into the program; modify
program coverage's and review and address retiree coverage issues.
The City will continue working with the County and the Airport Board on a major
Rehabilitation /Reconstruction project that will see $4,300,000 in improvements made to
the airport during this period as we move closer to the actual reconstruction work. The
City's portion of the cost is 5 %, the County will pay 5 %, and the Federal Aviation
Administration will pay 90 %.
The General Fund revenues are basically flat. City staff is eliminating an assistant
engineer position in addition to cuts made last year.
The budget includes a 2% cost of living adjustment for all employees. The individuals
who work for the City are the heart of this organization. It is because of their
commitment that we have been able to control overall costs. City staff will come back
with an amendment to the budget to propose a flat increase instead of a percentage
increase. The health insurance costs will affect everyone the same; so City staff will
bring a proposal with a flat increase. This will be basically the same costs as projected
in the budget.
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With the loss of Cargill Meat Solutions it is imminently clear that if Plainview is to rebuild
its economy, the City must work with the County, the Industrial Foundation, and its other
community partners to move forward. In this budget, we have established a $1,000,000
line item for economic development, and another line item that would increase the
amount of revenue the City will provide to the Industrial Foundation by $72,500 a year
(this is equivalent to what one cent on the City's property tax generates).
Services Paid for by the General Fund are as follows:
a) 24 Hour Police Protection
b) 24 Hour Fire Protection
c) 24 Hour EMS Service
d) Maintenance of all Public Streets and Alleys
e) Park Facilities including Baseball, Softball, and Soccer Fields
f) Animal Control Services
g) Environmental Health Services — including Restaurant Inspections
h) Public Health Services
i) Building Inspections and Permitting Services
j) Code Enforcement Services
k) Emergency and Disaster Management
I) Economic Development and Grant Administration
m) Main Street Program
n) General Administration, Legal, and Finance Services
Not included in the budget are three police department dispatchers at an estimated cost
of $118,115; three new Fire /EMS personnel at an estimated cost of $151,420 and a
10% pay adjustment for Fire /EMS.
The General Fund expenditures for fiscal year ending September 30, 2014 are
$13,369,075. The budget includes a proposed tax rate of $0.6185. The rollback rate
for 2013 -2014 Fiscal Year is $0.6380 and the effective tax rate for 2013 -2014 is
$0.5800. The average home value is $80,530 and this would impact the homeowner
$2.58 per month.
Mayor Pro Tem Waggoner moved to open a public hearing on the proposed tax
increase. The motion was duly seconded by Councilmember David Garcia and carried
by unanimous vote.
Mayor Dunlap asked for public comment.
David Wilder of 3009 W. 7 Street expressed concern that the tax base would drop
once unemployment pay is gone. The City needs to look at reducing expenditures and
should have done an industrial park a lot time ago. He stated that nobody wants to
build because of city code and code enforcement. He also said that the City needs to
adopt regulations to force people to recycle.
Norbert Bublis of 906 Houston Street stated this is the worst time to increase taxes. He
sees a lot of working people barely getting by. He suggested the City eliminate several
city positions. He also suggested that the City needed to give a pay raise to police, fire
and parks department.
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Teresa King of 409 Mesa Circle expressed concern over giving raises in every
department. She suggested attention should be given to certified fields. She agrees
with spending $1 million on economic development project but does not agree with
increase in salaries.
Councilmember Lionel Garcia moved to close the public hearing. The motion was duly
seconded by Councilmember Ortega and carried by unanimous vote.
Mayor Dunlap closed the public hearing at 12:25 p.m.
A second public hearing will be held on September 10, 2013 at 7:00 pm in the City
Council Chambers at City Hall, 901 Broadway. A vote on the first reading of the
Ordinance to adopt the proposed tax rate will be held on September 19, 2013 at 11:30
a.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 901 Broadway. A vote on the second
and final reading of the Ordinance to adopt the proposed tax rate will be held on
September 24, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 901
Broadway.
Mr. Ingham presented information on the 2013 -2014 City of Plainview Budget. The
Solid Waste Management Fund is an Enterprise Fund, which means that it supports
itself with the revenues it generates. It does not use the Equipment Replacement fund
for equipment purchases but instead pays cash or sometimes uses the Solid Waste
Improvement Fund for the equipment or improvements that are needed. The financial
position of the Solid Waste Management Fund and the Solid Waste Improvement Fund
are tied together because the Solid Waste Improvement Fund is where major capital
projects are funded.
The Solid Waste Management department has a budget of $3,073,835. The City will be
building a new landfill cell; this will be done without issuing debt. The proposed Solid
Waste Management Fund revenues for Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2014 are
$3,045,745. The Solid Waste Management Fund Expenditures for Fiscal Year ending
September 30, 2014 are $3,073,835 in operating expenditures. There is a 2% increase
in refuse collection fees. The current fee would go from $19.08 to $19.46 for a
residential unit.
The Water Production department has a Budget of $1,649,535, the Wastewater
Collection department has a Budget of $361,775; Water Distribution System department
has a Budget of $581,675, and the Water Reclamation Plant department has a Budget
of $999,640. They are funded out of the Water and Wastewater Utility Fund. The
proposed Revenues for Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2014 are $7,225,900 and the
proposed expenditures for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2014 are $6,033,495 in
operating costs.
The most significant challenge for the Water and Sewer Fund is the fact that it lost 20%
of its water revenues when Cargill Meat Solutions closed. The revenue generated by
these water sales was a part of the overall rate structure and the loss of this revenue
stream must be addressed. Since much of the water sales that were lost were local
well water, there are no significant cost savings to offset the revenue which helped
support the overall system production, treatment, distribution, and debt costs.
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In order to fund the Water and Sewer Fund adequately and to keep the funds on sound
footing we have proposed an increase in the base water rate from $21.50 to $31.00 per
month and the rate per thousand will increase from $1.70 to $1.87, or 10% in all rate
steps. These increases will raise a basic 5,000 gallon water bill from $30.00 to $40.35.
The RSVP Fund is continuing to experience change this year as their funding sources
are cut back and their operating rules are changed. While the City sponsors RSVP and
handles their accounting, the City has not directly funded the program historically. Last
year saw the RSVP leave their offices at Wayland due to the growth of Wayland's
athletic programs and RSVP is now located in the basement of the Library. The
program was also informed recently that it's Senior/ Volunteer for Childhood
Immunization (SVCI) program has been eliminated which means they will be losing one
part-time position.
The Capital Improvement Fund includes funds to move forward with the development of
a Skate Park that has been studied and developed with input from the Vision Skatepark
Plainview group and considered in the planning process.
The Service Center provides numerous services to multiple departments and is
supported with revenues generated through the shop services it provides and direct
transfers from user funds. We are evaluating the overall structure of this function as we
move into the coming year.
Our other Internal Service Funds such as the Property Insurance Fund and Cafeteria
Plan continue to function as designed.
The Hotel /Motel Tax Fund is being stressed this year due to the water related damages
and the replacement construction that is being done to the facility. The Civic Center has
been closed for several months this year which has had a negative impact on the
overall use of the facility. The Convention & Visitors Bureau budget is $223,730.
The overall impact of this budget on an average homestead will be $10.73 in water and
garbage and a tax rate increase of about $2.58 per month.
Councilmember Starnes moved to open the public hearing. The motion was duly
seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Waggoner and carried by unanimous vote. Mayor Dunlap
asked for public comment. There was no public comment.
Councilmember Ortega moved to close the public hearing. Councilmember David
Garcia seconded the motion. The motion carried by unanimous vote. The public
hearing was closed at 12:40 p.m.
Mayor Dunlap announced that a second public hearing will be held on September 10,
2013 at 7:00 pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 901 Broadway. A vote on
the first reading of the Ordinance to adopt the budget will be held on September 19,
2013 at 11:30 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 901 Broadway. A vote on
the second and final reading of the Ordinance to adopt the budget will be held on
September 24, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 901
Broadway.
Mr. Ingham reviewed the City Council agenda items for September 10, 2013.
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There being no further business, Mayor Dunlap adjourned the meeting at 12:58 p.m.
Belinda Hinojosa
City Secretary
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