march 23 2023 town council budget work session approved minutes

Town Council of Centreville Budget Work Session March 23, 2022 5:30 p.m.

M I N U T E S

The March 23, 2022, Town Council budget work session was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Steven K.

Kline at the Liberty Building, 107 N. Liberty Street, 2nd floor meeting room. The following members and staff were present: Steven K. Kline, President; Ashley H. Kaiser, Vice President; Eric B. Johnson, Jr., Daniel B. Worth, and Jim A. Beauchamp, Members; Charles (Chip) Koogle, Town Manager; Karen Luffman, Finance Officer; Chief Robert Hobbs, Centreville Police Department; Clifford (Kip) Matthews, Director of Public Works; Krystel Ebaugh,

Human Resources Manager; Ashley Russ, Finance Specialist; Jacki Payne, Administrative Assistant; and Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.

Citizens Forum No citizens were present to offer comments.

Discussion  Debt Schedule o Mr. Koogle distributed a debt reduction proposal for the Council’s consideration.

o Mr. Beauchamp discussed the current interest rates earned is higher than the interest rates on the loans, therefore, suggests continuing to pay down debt based on the current payment schedule to continue earning the interest.

o Mr. Kline stated he was in favor of paying down debt as outlined by Mr. Koogle.

o Mr. Johnson stated he was inclined to pay down debt but would like to see a forecast of what waiting would look like.

o Mr. Kline asked who was in favor of paying down debt as outlined in Mr. Koogle’s proposal. Mr.

Kline, Ms. Kaiser, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Worth were in favor. Mr. Beauchamp was not in favor.

 Funds Balance o The current funds balance is $7.3 million. Mr. Kline stated the Town is holding back on funding – ARPA funds and funds balance for the upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant. He stated he is becoming convinced the Town should not upgrade the plant and only upgrade what the Town currently has. He feels whatever the Council decides will tie the hands of future council members.

o Mr. Koogle stated a phased approach to the upgrade to the treatment plant and growth is what staff is suggesting. When the preliminary engineering report (PER) is complete, it will give pricing for 1 million gallons per day (MGD) and three (3) options for discharge to consider.

o Mr. Matthews stated the Town bid out the expansion of the holding pond at the farm. Mr. Kline asked if the wastewater treatment plan (WWTP) was expanded to 750 gallons per day (GPD), does the Town need another farm. Mr. Matthews stated, yes, the Town needs another farm now because the current farm cannot handle additional water.

o Mr. Kline asked if the Town buys or leases a new farm, does it matter where the new farm is? Mr.

Matthews stated it is currently $1 million per mile to run pipe to a new farm. If the Town leases a farm, as opposed to purchasing, the Town will have to request an amendment to the Queen Anne’s County Water and Sewer Plan.

o Mr. Beauchamp suggested using the funds balance directly to pay off the debt and pay off at the May 1st due date.

o Mr. Beauchamp made a motion that, given the prior decision to pay off the ARRA loan in the amount of $381,439 and the 2012 A1 and A2 bonds in the amount of $1,098,600, to use $1,480,039 from the funds balance to pay both loans. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Council Members Yes No Beauchamp X Worth X Johnson X 2023-03-23 TC-Budget WS Approved Minutes Kaiser X Kline X  Health Insurance o Ms. Ebaugh stated the Town’s insurance increased a total of 11% which is based on trend. Eight percent was from prescription rate increases and 3% was from claim costs.

o It was requested to show the increases between FY23 and FY24 broken out from each department.

 End of Service Payout o Ms. Luffman stated she typically keeps a percentage in the budget based on salaries. She stated that none is budgeted for FY24 except for A92 – Administration based on a possible retirement.

o Ms. Kaiser requested to see the following: leave liability for each department; FY22 actual comp payout, proposed comp payout for FY23.

 Department Budgets o Ms. Luffman reported that the draft budget shows a $13 public utility tax (PUT) and at 25% allocation of cost. The current constant yield is at $.5027. She will send what the proposed tax revenue would be if reduced to the constant yield rate.

o After some discussion, the Town Council decided to keep the PUT at $13.

o A10 – Legislative Services  Conventions and Meetings – reduced to $2,000  Lodging, Food, and Travel – reduced to $3,500 o A70 – Planning and Zoning  $3,000 was added for QACTV to air Planning Commission meetings o A81 – Municipal Buildings  Change title to 105 N. Liberty Building o A92 – Administration  There was discussion of the events line items and Ms. Kaiser requested they all be combined

into one line. She also discussed the possibility of not holding fireworks due to the high cost and location being out of town. Other Council Members were in favor as well.

 Mr. Johnson requested the opportunity to discuss this with the public.

 Software was discussed and the Town Council would like to see a list of the software being proposed and individual cost.

 There was discussion regarding the $20,000 budged for Safety/Education/Training. Mr.

Koogle stated he would review this line item prior to the next work session.

 The Council would like to see a staffing list to include current and proposed positions and a breakdown of health insurance by department.

 Chief Hobbs discussed Centreville’s involvement with the Drug Task Force.

o B22 – Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company  The Council discussed increasing an additional $30,000 per year for a total of $75,000.

 They asked to keep it at $45,000 until more information is received from Goodwill.

Citizens Forum No citizens were present to offer comments.

Motion to Adjourn Ms. Kaiser made a motion to adjourn the March 23, 2023 Town Council budget work session. Mr. Beauchamp seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Carolyn M. Brinkley Town Clerk 2023-03-23 TC-Budget WS Approved Minutes Action Items:

1. Approved to pay off the ARRA loan in the amount of $381,439 and the 2012 A1 and A2 bonds in the

amount of $1,098,600, to use $1,480,039 from the funds balance to pay both loans. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Council Members Yes No Beauchamp X Worth X Johnson X Kaiser X Kline X 2023-03-23 TC-Budget WS Approved Minutes