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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-06 - City Council WorkshopCity of Stephenville City Council Work Session Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 4:00 PM The City Council of the City of Stephenville, Texas, convened on Thursday, September 6, 2018, at 4:00 PM, in the Training Room at City Hall, 298 West Washington Street, for the purpose of a City Council Work Session, with the meeting being open to the public and notice of said meeting, giving the date, time, place and subject thereof, having been posted as prescribed by Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, with the following members present, to wit: COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Doug Svien Council Member Mark McClinton Council Member Carla Trussell Mayor Pro Tern Brady Pendleton Council Member Rhett Harrison Council Member Alan Nix Council Member Sherry Zachery Council Member Brandon Huckabee COUNCIL ABSENT: OTHERS ATTENDING: Allen L. Barnes, City Administrator Call to Order Mayor Svien called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. The original agenda order was changed to discuss the East Side Sewer Project before discussing SEDA's FY2018-2019 budget. II. East Side Sewer Jeff Sandford, Executive Director, SEDA, stated that the board had voted to fund the East Side Sewer Project at $75,000 for the next three years. The city and SEDA would sign an agreement which would be reviewed annually. Ill. FY2018-2019 Budget Mayor Svien suggested that SEDA employ a scorecard, similar to what city staff was doing, in order to help develop a budget. The scorecard would be a tool that could help set goals and objectives to increase revenue and qualify expenditures. Mayor Svien asked each council member to express any concerns regarding SEDA's proposed budget. Council member Sherry Zachery expressed concern over a 41% increase in personnel costs. She also stated that, given the amount of funds held in reserves, she thought that the contribution for the East Side Sewer Project should be around $200,000. She felt there was a generosity of spending on one side of the budget, but spending was conservative on other areas. Council member Rhett Harrison expressed concern over the amount being paid to SEDA's attorney, the amount of funding committed to the East Side Sewer Project, personnel n compensation, and expressed his desire that the funds allocated in the education line item have a "return on investment." Council member Alan Nix expressed concern over the personnel costs and requested that the two employees salaries be listed separately, rather than in a single line item. He also felt that the car allowance •..as higher than it should be and felt justification was needed for the expense. Mr. Nix stated he felt that in order to make a valid assessment of the proposed budget, he needed more information. He also requested that the information be given to council in advance of meetings so that they would have time to look over it before being asked to discuss and make decisions. Council member Mark McClinton stated that all of his concerns had been previously addressed. He did ask for confirmation that expenditures would be tied to a scorecard in future budgets. Council member Carla Trussell expressed concern over personnel costs, specifically the pay increase for the director of marketing and administration. She stated that the council felt left out of the loop because they did not approve the part-time position to go to permanently to full-time. She stated that she believed that this was in conflict with the requirement that any SEDA expenditure over $10,000 be approved by council. She felt that council should have been included in conversations regarding salaries for both employees. Council member Brandon Huckabee said that his questions had been addressed, and he appreciated the compromises that had already been reached, and hoped that the forward momentum could be continued. Mayor Svien invited the SEDA Board to address any concerns. Malcolm Cross stated that, in terms of salaries, fair market value must be taken into consideration. He said that to his understanding, the salaries for SEDA staff were market -driven, and therefore supportable. Discussion was held on whether or not job markets outside of Stephenville should be taken into consideration when determining compensation. Discussion was held regarding the job description and actual job duties of the director of marketing and administration. Mayor Svien asked SEDA, now that they have heard the council's concerns, to go back and tie their expenditures to a performance measure. He also stated that he felt the board should be held accountable for the performance of SEDA as well. The council will meet again on Tuesday, September 11, 2018 to consider approval of SEDA's FY2018-2019 budget. IV. SEDA Operations and Procedures Discussion was held regarding SEDA developing performance measurements to use for the upcoming year. V. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 5:53 p.m. City Of Stephenville City Council / Stephenville Type B Economic Development Work Session - 06 Sep 2018 Page 2 of 3 I c� F'' — Doug SvILIA, Mayor ATTEST: City Of Stephenville City Council / Stephenville Type B Economic Development Work Session - 06 Sep 2018 Page 3 of 3