2008 0911 Special City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting September I I, 2008 First Budget Hearing Sunny Isles Beach, Florida time frame as opposed to making drastic cuts, you will still maintain a certain level of service and use the Fund Balance to balance the budget. Mayor Edelcup said that we should also keep in mind that the $2,362,300 is after transferring $5 Million of funds from our Operating Account to our Capital Account. Historically, when he and Commissioner Goodman first became Commissioners, they never made those transfers, and that is how they allowed the $17 Million to build up, and now we want to get those projects funded, and that is why you are seeing that we are dipping into it, not by the full $5 Million but by $2,362,300. City Manager Szerlag also went through a Budget Comparison of Revenues and Expenses Bar Chart ofthe General Fund. He indicated under the Expenses, the HR cost that we had initially was $14,825,135. What happened was the intermittent employees were not in the final calculation, and his instruction to staff was to find a way to keep that number just about commensurate with what we are going to have for a final submittal. Assistant City Manager Haag's letter indicated which positions were cut that were vacant to accommodate this, and it also went from essentially a 5% increase for employees to a 4% increase, it could be more or less depending on an employee's performance. There was also a handful of employees that were going to get extra compensation this fiscal year as a result of trying to keep them between the minimum and mid-point, in accordance with the Mercer Study. He said he was also asked to identify what it would cost if there was to be an additional I % raise to employees making less than $50,000 a year, and that cost in salary would be $33,000 to $35,000 including related benefits. He now has is a budget document that has a 4% payroll for all full-time employees, and for intermittent employees where applicable. He said he was also asked what the cost would be to the budget if he were to take 5% for employees making less than $50,000 a year and again, that cost would be $35,000, and that amount is just about commensurate to the initial amount that the Commission was given back in July. City Manager Szerlag said for the first time we are going to computerize our Performance Evaluations to make it easier, and also to avoid some mathematical calculations. There is going to be a scale of 1 to 4, and depending on what someone's performance is, based on their evaluation, they will get anywhere from 0 to a percent that is greater than 4%. The most a rater can give is 4% but after the Evaluation Forms are turned in, the Department Head can make a recommendation to give certain employees within their purview of authority, more than 4% based on exceptional performance, however, each Department cannot exceed 4% of payroll. A percentage increase for someone that makes under $50,000 a year is less than the same percentage increase for someone that makes $100,000 a year, it is half that amount. If the Commission wants to give up to 5% for that category of full-time employee, it would cost an additional $35,000 over what he articulated and still less than what he indicated initially. Commissioner Scholl said then that those over $50,000 has to average 4%, and those under $50,000 has to average 5%, and he explained that some of the Commission took exception to where some of the cuts were made, and that City Manager Szerlag is trying to be pragmatic about trying to balance that out. Vice Mayor Thaler asked why you need the increase of $35,000, if you take the whole pot and you give 5% to those who are under $50,000, and to get the 4%, all you will be taking is a few cents away from those earning over $50,000, and City Manager Szerlag said it would be about 12%. Mayor Edelcup said you also have the problem that not every employee making under $50,000 is deserving of a 5% increase. 3