CEDAR KEY COMMISSION
RESETS MILLAGE
DISCUSSES RECORDS MANAGEMENT, COMPUTERS
IN BUDGET MEETING
July 30, 2014
The Cedar Key City Commission met on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at 6pm in City Hall for its third in an extended series of budget workshops and meetings. In attendance were Mayor Dale Register, Vice Mayor Sue Colson, and Commissioners Tina Ryan and Royce Nelson. Not in attendance was Commissioner Nettie Hodges.
Staff members in attendance were Police Chief / Public Works Director Virgil Sandlin, City Attorney Norm Fugate, City Clerk Teresa George, and Staffer Lisa Fine. Not in attendance were Fire Chief / Building Department Manager Robert Robinson and CPA Robert Beauchamp.
In the audience were Allison Nelson, Matt Chatowsky, Bob and Jeri Treat, and Frank and Mandy Offerle.
AUGUST 5 MEETINGS ALTERED
Mayor Dale Register suggested and gained approval to change the Tuesday, August 5, 2014, schedule of meetings to the following.
- 5:15pm Audit Committee Meeting. The committee membership, at the suggestion of Royce Nelson and agreement of Tina Ryan, was changed from Mayor Dale Register, City Clerk Teresa George, and Commissioner Royce Nelson to Register, George, and Ryan.
- 6pm CRA / City Commission Meeting
- The Fourth Budget Workshop will commence after the 6pm CRA / City Commission Meeting which is expected to be short. Register suggested that this Budget Workshop occur on a Tuesday as newly-elected Commissioner Nettie Hodges will be unable to attend all Thursday evening meetings (the evenings already scheduled for budget workshops) because of commitments made before her election to the Commission. This rearrangement will assure Nettie Hodges the opportunity to take part in two of the approximately eight 2014-2015 budget meetings.
- 5:15pm - Audit Committee Meeting
- 6pm – CRA / City Commission
- A fourth budget workshop will follow the Commission Meeting
PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE RESET
City Clerk Teresa George prepared the evening’s budget worksheets, as directed, based at the rollback millage rate of 5.4950. Commissioner Sue Colson made the motion to set the proposed rate at 6.0, instead of the rollback rate. All commissioners expressed their understanding that the Florida Department of Revenue dictates that the proposed millage rate set now may not be increased at a later date.
Discussion ensued as to the advantages and disadvantages of setting the rate at either 5.4950 or 6.0. Ultimately Commissioner Tina Ryan seconded Colson’s motion to set the rate at 6.0. The 6.0 rate was approved: Register, Colson, and Ryan voted yes; Nelson voted no.
INSURANCE CHARGES’ LOCATIONS RESET
City Clerk Teresa George prepared the evening’s budget worksheets, as directed, with the specific insurance costs located in the departments from which they are generated. After comparing several departments’ 2013-2014 and proposed 2014-2015 figures with some difficulty, commissioners redirected George to disaggregate the figures again. George will relocate the insurance figures, now in the departments, in the City Hall part of the budget.
CITY CLERK PROPOSED BUDGET ALTERED
Commissioners altered two line items in the proposed Clerk’s Office budget: Unemployment Insurance was decreased from a proposed $7,000 to &6,000; Advertising was decreased from proposed $2,500 to $1,500.
Two significant items were discussed at length: records management and disposal and the status of computers in City Hall.
Records Management:
George reported that a schedule for the retention and disposal of municipal records exists and must be adhered to according to law. She further reported that currently the City’s records of many years are stored in the City Hall attic; they must be sorted, organized, and retained or disposed of as per the schedule and the commission’s wishes. George sees it as a problem that will take some time and labor to solve and a task that must be done without significant delay.
City Hall Computers:
Currently City Hall maintains computers, some of which are MAC- and others that are PC-based. They are not networked. Both Fire Chief and “acting-IT-most-knowledgeable-on-site-problem-solver” Robert Robinson and Teresa George understand that they need the services of a professional to assess the City’s needs and offer a reasonable, manageable solution to the situation. All agreed that this, too, is a problem that needs to be solved without significant delay.
PUBLIC WORKS BUDGET DISCUSSION BEGUN
Police Chief / Public Works Department Director Virgil Sandlin was given only enough time to introduce his proposed budget. Two significant items were discussed at length: City versus CRA dollars spent on Public Works Department tasks; Public Works Director position.
City and CRA Dollars:
Understanding the propinquity between City and CRA dollars in maintaining CRA properties, Commissioner Sue Colson offered to confer with Chief Sandlin and Clerk Teresa George to produce an approximate percentage of time spent by City employees on the maintaining CRA projects and properties.
Public Works Director Position:
Shortly after his initial remarks, Mayor Register asked Chief Sandlin how he felt about the Public Works Director position he now holds while acting as police chief. Sandlin replied that the demands of both positions vary daily, he is comfortable doing both, and that he will do whatever the Commission opts to do, retain him or hire a new Public Works Director. Both Commissioners Colson and Nelson expressed the desire to have a Public Works Director who can spend much time in the field directing and working alongside the Public Works crew caring for the City properties.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30pm.
The next meeting is scheduled for August 5, 2014:
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5:15pm - Audit Committee Meeting
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6pm – CRA / City Commission
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A fourth budget workshop will follow the Commission Meeting
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