Town Commission
Budget Workshop
The Town Commission of the Town
of Melbourne Beach, Florida held a budget workshop on
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In attendance were Mayor William Stacey, Vice-Mayor Sandy Wilson, and Commissioners Donnie Price and Steve Walters. Also present were Town Manager Jim Bursick, Municipal Accountant Jane Antonsen and Interim Town Clerk Karan Rounsavall. Commissioner Paul Guglietta was absent due to a death in the family
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Mayor Stacey called the meeting
to order and announced its purpose was to review the proposed budget for Fiscal
Year 2006/2007. Prior to proceeding with
budget review, Mayor Stacey advised that the Commission’s
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Mayor Stacey recognized Fire
Chief Seth Stark who presented the Fire Department’s proposal to purchase a new
fire pumper truck at a cost of approximately $343,000. This new apparatus would
replace “Engine 258” which was 30 years old, having been acquired by the Town
of Melbourne Beach in 1977. The current vehicle did not meet National Fire
Protection (NFPA) guidelines for automotive fire apparatus and its ongoing
reliability was questionable. Should it fail to operate properly in critical
situations, there was increased potential for property loss, exposure to liability,
as well as injury and loss of life for citizens and firefighters. The proposed
replacement vehicle was a second-run pumper which was a baseline duplication of
the existing first-run engine. The commonality simplified operations and
reduced operator error. The quoted price of $343,000 was good through
Commissioner Walters asked for statistics on the number of fire calls and the dollar amount of fire damage associated with each call within the town’s jurisdiction. Chief Stark advised that this information was available.
Speaking from the public present, Dean Darling asked what created the need for the new engine. Chief Stark responded that the current vehicle did not meet current safety standards and exceeded the age for recommended replacement. Mr. Darling stated that NFPA was a guideline and wondered if the cost would come down, because of technological improvements, if the town waited to make this purchase.
Vice-Mayor Wilson clarified that
the town already had one pumper engine that was only a few years old. In fact,
$31,000 was included in the proposed budget as payment on same. The proposed
replacement vehicle was the back-up engine. He did not feel that the Fire
Department needed two state of the art fire apparatus for a town the size of
Commissioner Walters suggested
that the Fire Department consider the purchase of a smaller apparatus that
could access the driveways on
Given the pricing deadline of
August 31st, the Town Commission agreed to place further discussion
and action on the proposal to purchase a new fire pumper on its
Mayor Stacey voiced his support of the Fire Department in its endeavor to do the right thing.
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The Commission continued its review of individual department budgets. The Legislative budget included the Town Commission and the Town Clerk. Town Manager Bursick advised that several items common to all department budgets such as electricity, telephone, security system, custodial services, etc. were moved to a single department, that being General Services. The Town Manager also noted that the budget included $40,000 as the starting salary for a new town clerk.
Commissioner Price asked whether individual town commissioners were covered by the town’s life insurance policy. The cost was minimal and he felt that it was appropriate for the town to provide this benefit for its elected officials. Town Manager Bursick was directed to investigate what other municipalities did along this line.
Town Accountant Antonsen advised that the $8,000 travel budget for the mayor and town commissioners was based on an earlier agreement to allocate $1,500 in travel funds for each commissioner and $2,000 for the mayor. Vice-Mayor Wilson asked if one commissioner did not use their $1,500 quota, whether or not these funds became available for another commissioner.
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Other department budgets were reviewed: Executive, Finance, Legal Counsel, Comprehensive Planning, and General Services. There were no suggested changes to any of these budgets. Town Manager Bursick noted that the Planning budget of $45,500 included professional services for the new planning consultant and $20,000 for a visioning process. The General Services budget included $5,000 to rework the Town’s web site such that changes could be made by staff and a $93,000 contingency to handle expected increases in insurance costs for which projections had not yet been received.
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The next budget workshop was
scheduled for
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Commissioner Price moved to adjourn. Vice-Mayor Wilson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at
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William G. Stacey, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Karan J. Rounsavall
Interim Town Clerk