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Home My WebLink About2005 03 01 Finance Seminar Summary Minutes CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CITY COMMISSION FINANCE SEMINAR SUMMARY MARCH 1, 2005 CALL TO ORDER The Finance Seminar Summary of Tuesday, March 1, 2005 of the City Commission was called to order by Mayor John F. Bush at 12:15 p.m. in the East Training Room of the Municipal Building (City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida 32708). ROLL CALL: Mayor John F. Bush, present Deputy Mayor Michael S. Blake, present Commissioner Robert S. Miller, absent Commissioner Donald A. Gilmore, present Commissioner Sally McGinnis, present Commissioner Joanne M. Krebs, present City Manager Ronald W. McLemore, present City Attorney Anthony A. Garganese, absent INFORMATIONAL AGENDA INFORMATIONAL 300. Office Of The City Manager Consultant To Provide The City Commission And Staff, Information Pertaining To Municipal Finance. The following Department Directors were in attendance: Ms. Joanne Da1ka, Director, Information Services Department; Ms. Michelle Greco, Director, Finance Department; Mr. Daniel J. Kerr, Chief of Police; Mr. Timothy J. Lallathin, Fire Chief; Mr. Kipton D. Lockcuff, P.E., Director, Public WorkslUtility Department - Acting Director Community Development Department; Ms. Andrea Lorenzo-Luaces, City Clerk; Mr. Chuck Pula, Parks and Recreation Department Director. Also present from Staff was Ms. Eloise Sahlstrom, AICP, AS LA, Senior Planner, Community Development Department. City Manager Ronald W. McLemore presented his opening remarks and introduced the speaker, Mr. Ken Small with the Florida League of Cities. Mr. Ken Small, Technical Services Manager, Financial Services Department, Florida League of Cities, 301 South Bronough Street, Suite 300, Tallahassee, Florida: addressed those in attendance. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CITY COMMISSION FINANCE SEMINAR SUMMARY - MARCH 1,2005 PAGE20F5 Discussion. Mayor Bush left the Training Room at approximately 12:21 p.m. Mr. Small referred to a document entitled "Total Reported Municipal Revenues" and discussion ensued. Further discussion. Mayor Bush returned to the Training Room at 12:24 p.m. Much discussion. In discussing the "Save Our Homes" Constitutional Amendment, Mr. Small referenced a document entitled "Homestead Exemption & Save Our Homes". Deputy Mayor Michael S. Blake inquired, "Is there any way to capture this - one of the main differences between these two - Homestead Exemption never recaptures, it is just always there on a per-unit basis; government properties happen to be homesteaded. On 'Save our Homes Act', you do actually recoup those values at some point, whenever there is a transaction, or whenever that property no longer becomes - it needs to be homesteaded, you don't recapture that portion that is lost in the past, but you reset your values. Is there any way to measure how many of the dollars are being recouped each year..." Mr. Small stated, "...There probably is, but I haven't seen those numbers." Deputy Mayor Blake added, "It is not that hard to get to; and it would be an excellent planning tool, in terms of going forward - especially for capital replacement projects." Further discussion. With discussion on Sales Tax and Internet Sales, Mr. Small spoke for the record on the completion of possibly related paperwork. Additional discussion ensued on this issue, when Mr. Small stated, "They feel that the majority of the - untaxable sales or more in the commercial end than they are on the individual end." Commissioner Sally McGinnis inquired of Mr. Small, "To your knowledge, has any State carried that to the final conclusion where they are implementing it?" Mr. Small explained, "I believe that it is a Federal issue - that precludes a State from being able to require someone in another State that has no physical or legal nexus in our State to require them to give us the tax monies." Discussion. Tape 1/Side B Further discussion. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CITY COMMISSION FINANCE SEMINAR SUMMARY - MARCH 1,2005 PAGE30F5 The Communication Services Tax was addressed next. Discussion. Deputy Mayor Blake left the Training Room at approximately 1:24 p.m. Mr. Small then advised those in attendance that regarding "Opportunities that I have identified for you locally." Mr. Small explained, "What you haven't done, and I am not really sure if it requires anything administratively other than a change in the way you do your water bills, but Reclaimed Water is taxable under the Utility Tax on Water Service." Mr. Small continued, "But it says the purchase of Water Service is taxable; well, the Statute in your Ordinance doesn't say that it is Potable Water that is taxable - it is Water Service. So in the same manner, you provide Water Service with your underground pipes to the water meter to people's homes, you provide Reclaimed Water for irrigation purposes, with an underground pipe, soon to be metered to many - residences or businesses in your City." Regarding reclaimed water, Mayor Bush said to Mr. Lockcuff - "We give it to the Tuscawilla Country Club?" Mr. Lockcuff said, "The golf course." Mayor Bush then said to Mr. Lockcuff, "How about Winter Springs Golf Course - we give it away." Mr. Lockcuff said, "You can revisit that - next year and [20]'07 for both." Mr. Small noted, "But in the meantime, you are collecting at this point about one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00) with sales to reclaimed water with a ten percent (10%) Utility Tax, that's an additional fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) recurring revenue - which would grow as that particular revenue - for that particular service revenue grows over time - your Ordinance already addresses it, it is just really a point of administratively extending it to it." Mr. Small then brought up Occupational License Taxes and stated, "Back in 1995, Winter Springs City Council appointed an Equity Study Commission to review your Occupational License Tax rates; by doing that and that group of business people providing some form of recommendation back to City Council enabled you to be able to raise your Occupational License rates up to five percent (5%) every two (2) years." Furthermore, Mr. Small added, "In order to do it each two (2) years, it would require a Majority plus 1 Vote of your City Counci1." With discussion, Mr. Small noted, "If you did it this Spring, it would be in time for the Occupational License Office to get those changes prepared for them to start sending out - renewal notices first of August." Deputy Mayor Blake returned to the Training Room at 1 :30 p.m. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CITY COMMISSION FINANCE SEMINAR SUMMARY - MARCH 1,2005 PAGE40F5 Discussion. Next, Mr. Small mentioned that "By going to a Special Assessment to fund streetlighting - most cities are spending their transportation gas tax monies there and that would free up those dollars to be used for maintenance and other such; but the real big dollars is in the Fire Service area." Further, Mr. Small noted, "Just some rough calculations with the Chief and Budget, Fire Service alone is costing you an equivalency of about five and one- half (5 12) mils of property tax. Just theoretically speaking, if you switched it entirely over to a non-ad valorem method like that, you could free up two and one-half (2 Y2) mils of property tax; and that's theoretically speaking. Now within that particular parameter, some people go with a Special Assessment and they put it on the tax rolls, and - it goes on the tax bill. The City of Tallahassee decided they didn't want to go that avenue and they had it calculated in the same manner, but they divided it by twelve (12) and put it on the Utility bill and basically determined it not to be an assessment, but determined it to be a Fire Service Fee - just like a Utility Fee." Manager McLemore left the Training Room at approximately 1:34 p.m. With further brief discussion, Mayor Bush inquired, "Is this something the Commission can do or does it take the Vote of the people..." Mr. Small stated, "... The Commission can do this." With discussion, Mr. Small noted, "The reason we did it on the Utility bill and determined it to be a Fire Service Fee was so that we could put it on the Utility bill, so that the tenant would be responsible for paying for the service." Furthermore, Mr. Small remarked, "It has nothing to do with the ten (10) mil cap, because it's a service charge; it's done solely under what we call Home Rule revenues." Manager McLemore returned to the Training Room at 1:36 p.m. Mr. Small then commented that "Let's say that if you were going to let the County MSTU [Municipal Service Taxing Units] come in to the City and provide Fire Service, and the County funds it through an MSTU [Municipal Service Taxing Units], which is property tax, very likely it will be - 2.6 is what their MSTU [Municipal Service Taxing Units] is that you would pay, and that millage rate - because it's an MSTU [Municipal Service Taxing Units], will go against your ten (10) mil cap. Now, you'll be able to reduce your Property Tax levy - if you were to give it up and the County would to assume it like, say Altamonte did." Mr. Small added, "If it were a MSBU [Municipal Service Benefit Units], which would be a more fair method, in my opinion, because it's based on a fair and equitable means of calculating it, it's based on square footage and type of calls and the amount of calls by category, then it wouldn't be Property Tax based at all, and it wouldn't go against if the County converted it to a MSBU [Municipal Service Benefit Units], then it would not go against your ten (10) mil cap, because it's not Property Tax, and you could lower your millage rate by an equivalent amount." CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS. FWRIDA MINUTES CITY COMMISSION FINANCE SEMINAR SUMMARY - MARCH 1.2005 PAGE50F5 Mr. Small further pointed out that MSBU - "Is a Municipal Service Benefit Unit but it's a fancy name for Special Assessment for Counties - we have the authority through case law and in [19]'96 I amended Chapter 170.201 to give cities the authority to do it that way also - we have it both in Statute and through Home Rule authority in Chapter 166." Discussion. Deputy Mayor Blake then said to Mr. Small, "Is there a list of services that are appropriate for a - Fee charge?" Mr. Small asked, "Assessment type?" Deputy Mayor Blake noted, "Yes - either they are one of those services that have been proven in Court or likely would be?" Mr. Small said, "There probably is. I haven't got the entire list yet. I had an appointment with Mr. Nabors' folks to come up with that list, and we haven't had a chance to sit down and go through it." Deputy Mayor Blake suggested, "A Parks Fee; or an Infrastructure Maintenance Fee." Tape 2/Side A Further discussion. ADJOURNMENT The Finance Seminar Summary concluded at 1 :59 p.m. REf~F;CTFULLY SUBMITTED: \' ! il I 1\ 0'-- . ___.__.~ ~~ A L~~~-;-LUACES, CMC CITY' ~LERK