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CITY OF SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING A-2007-SC-04 CITY COUNCIL
CHAMBERS
I. CALL TO ORDER With a quorum present,
Mayor Raul G. Salinas called the meeting to order. II.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Raul G. Salinas
led in the Pledge of Allegiance. III.
ROLL CALL In attendance: Raul G. Mike Garza, Council
Member, District I Hector Garcia, Council
Member, District II Johnny Amaya, Council
Member, District IV Johnny Rendon, Council
Member, District V Gene Belmares, Mayor
Pro Tem, District VI Juan Ramirez,
Council Member, District VIII Gustavo Guevara, Jr., Cynthia Collazo, Horacio De Leon, Assistant
City Manager Anthony McGettrick, IV.
PUBLIC HEARING 1.
Public hearing and introductory ordinance amending
Section 1 of Ordinance 2005-O-209 of the City of Laredo and authorizing an
increase in the bridge toll rate schedule for southbound non-commercial
traffic utilizing the Automatic Vehicle Identification System (A.V.I.) and
southbound non-commercial traffic utilizing the Colombia - Solidarity Bridge
and southbound commercial traffic as further described in Exhibit “A” and
hereby repealing all conflicting sections in all ordinances currently in
effect. Motion to open the
public hearing. Moved: Mayor Pro Tempore Belmares Second: Cm. Amaya For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Luis Moreno, President of the
Nuevo Laredo Transportation Association, stated they
were not against the increase, but the 36.5% increase seems to be little excessive. He asked Council to reconsider and to stay
competitive with other ports of entry. Motion
to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Cm. Garcia Second: Mayor Pro Tempore Belmares For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction: City
Council V.
RESOLUTION 2.
2007-R-056 Authorizing the release of Lots 1, 2, & 3,
Block 2, Laredo International Airport Passenger Terminal Subdivision, from
the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, dated February 28,
2006, and recorded in Volume 2044, pp 223-244, official property records of
Webb County, Texas; and directing the City Manager to execute the amendment,
in the form attached as Exhibit I, and have it filed of record in official
property records of Webb County, Texas.
Jim Earhart spoke against
granting approval of this resolution. Danny Gunn spoke against covering
the green space at the lake to save this small piece of wetland. Cordelia Casso Flores requested
that Council take note of the request of the citizens
to preserve the wetlands. Motion to approve Resolution 2007-R-056. Moved: Cm. Rendon Second: For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 VI.
STAFF REPORTS 3.
Submission of the proposed 2008 – 2012
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) as per Article VI, Section 6.05, which
states that “the City Manager shall prepare and submit a five (5) year
capital program at least sixty (60) days before the end of the fiscal year.”
Jessica Hein, Director of
presented the Mayor and City Council a copy of the proposed 2008-2012
Capital Improvement Program. 4.
Submission
of the proposed Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Budget as per Article VI, Section
6.02, Submission of Budget which states that “At least sixty (60) days before
the end of the fiscal year, the City Manager shall present to the Council a
budget for the ensuing fiscal year with an accompanying budget message.” electronic copy in a CD of the
proposed Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Budget. Annual Budget message
that was given to the Mayor and City Council: Honorable Mayor and Members of the In
accordance with the City of Laredo Charter Section 6.02, I am pleased to
present the fiscal year 2008 City of Tax Rate §
The proposed tax rate for 2008 is projected to remain at
the same rate as 2007 at $0.63700 per $100 assessed valuation. The 2008 property values are projected to
increase by 12% over the estimated 2007 amended valuations. The total taxable value of $9.4 billion
will generate a proposed levy of $59.6 million, representing an increase of
$6.1 million or 11.5% over the 2007 adjusted levy. The proposed levy excludes an estimated
amount of $251,156 for the tax freeze approved by Council for taxpayers 65
years of age and older. §
The proposed maintenance and operations tax rate
allocation of .513745 will generate a total revenue of $46.8 million for
General Fund for 2008, signifying a $5 million or 12% increase over the 2007
estimate. §
The proposed debt service tax rate allocation of 0.123255
will generate a total revenue of $11.2 million for 2008, a $1.08 million or
10.6% increase over 2007 estimate with a proposed 97.25% collection
rate. Total collections for 2007 are
estimated at $51.9 million, representing 97.08% of the adjusted levy. Staffing and Benefits A total of
2,473 full time equivalent positions are included in the 2008 budget at an
estimated cost of $138,985,929. Incorporated
within this budget is a 2% cost of living adjustment to become effective In line with
the directive to improve basic services, the 2008 budget reflects the
creation of 6 new street sweeper driver positions for the The following table summarizes the
proposed new and deleted positions by department for 2008:
*Represents the City’s 29% contribution of total cost; 71% or
$555,000 is grant funded. General
Fund General Fund
revenues for 2007 are estimated to total $119,995,953, a $5.2 million or 4.5%
increase over 2006. Estimated
expenditures for 2007 are estimated to total $119,112,845, excluding a one
time drawdown of $1,425,000 from fund balance. This represents an increase of
$11.1 million or 10.2% over 2006. The
estimated ending fund balance of $20,547,312 represents an 16.6% of total
expenditures excluding operating transfers out. The proposed 2008 budgeted expenditures are
$128,618,687 reflecting an increase of $8.6 million or 7% over 2007. Current 2007
General Fund
receives fifty percent (50%) of bridge toll receipts. Estimated transfer for 2007 is $19,191,551,
a shortfall of $884,065 or 4.4% from budget.
The 2008 proposed transfer of $22,287,269 will be realized by the toll
rate increase proposed by the Bridge Department. Revenue will increase by $3,095,712 from
2007. General Fund
expenditures increased $9.1 million from the 2007 original budget. The categories which will have a
significant impact (increase) are as follows: Personnel $4,052,690 Materials
& Supplies $ 793,621 Contractual
Services $1,290,837 Other
Charges
$2,512,442 Investing in Our Infrastructure On
Drainage,
water and wastewater system enhancements continue and will allow for the community
to prepare for and maintain its prosperity in the future. Current challenges with drainage and
flooding during significant rain events will be addressed and solved on a
short and long-term basis. Projections
remain on a positive level and the community is expected to see continued
investment from outside firms as well as additional population
increases. With this comes the need to
expand current systems to be able to meet the needs of these new consumers. Some of those projects include the expansion
of the current water and wastewater treatment facilities and the replacement
of and installation of new water distribution and wastewater lines. Quality of Life Parks
and Recreational Facilities
The development
and creation of park and recreational amenities continues to top the list of
priorities with $5.7 million budgeted in FY2006 and an additional $16.05
million in FY2007. This includes
projects such as the construction of a municipal golf course, Police Providing
for the public safety of residents and visitors remains a top priority with 420
police officers budgeted for FY2008.
During FY2007, nine additional police officers were added to the
General Fund. We are proposing to add
and additional 33 police officers in January 2008 at a cost of $1.5
million. This is contingent on the
approval by City Council to increase bridge toll revenues the latter part of
FY2007. A total of
27 officers are being transferred to General Fund after completing their
third year with the COPS Universal Hiring grants. Total cost for these officers is $1.8 million
of which $1.4 million will be funded through the current match; $433,198 is
the cost to the General Fund. The
Police Department’s budget of $44.3 million represents 34.4% of the City’s
total 2008 General Fund budget, excluding the 1.5 million for the 33
additional officers. Fire The City of Organizational infrastructure The firm of Waters
Consultant Group was contracted to conduct a feasibility study of the City’s
organization during June and July 2007.
A comprehensive report of their observations, findings and
recommendations will be presented to City Council during the annual budget
workshops on August 13, 14, 15, 2007.
Recommendations include consolidation of departments, upgrading of
positions as well as the elimination of positions to streamline the City’s
organizational structure and enhance operations. Plans are to implement these
recommendations on Economic Prosperity During
FY2007, hotel accommodation and tourist offerings increased with the addition
of three new hotels adding a total of 287 rooms to the current inventory. These included the Holiday Inn Express,
Comfort Suites and Value Place Inn.
With the recent hotel expansion there are a total of 4,081 rooms in
the market and 44 hotels. From 2003-2007, this market saw a significant
increase of 1,181 total rooms constructed. This is an average of about
3 hotels constructed per year, signifying major capital investment from
industry sources. Major brand names came with the expansion from Hilton
and Marriot. Of
significant importance to our community is the recent announcement that the
Eagle Copper Tube Company will be constructing a manufacturing plant on a 75
acre tract at Legislative Issues The City set
out to make its priorities known to In January
2007, the Mayor and Members of the Laredo City Council, together with staff,
attended a three-day schedule of back-to-back meetings with individuals from
the Governor’s Office, Lt. Governor’s Office, Speaker of the House,
chairpersons of committees and state agencies such as Texas Department of
Transportation, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas
Department of State Health Services, among others. Of significance,
during the trip to Closing Comments Sincerely, City Manager VII.
EXECUTIVE
SESSION The City Council hereby
reserves the right to go into executive session at any time during this
public meeting, if such is requested by the 5. Request for executive
session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.071 (1) (a) for
consideration of a temporary extension by agreement of the court’s order of
temporary relief in the case of Laredo Town Center, L.P. v. City of Laredo,
Cause No. 2007-7CVQ000972D1 in the 49th District Court, Webb
County, Texas; and return to open session for possible action. Motion to go into
executive session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.071 (1) (a)
for consideration of a temporary extension by agreement of the court’s order
of temporary relief in the case of Laredo Town Center, L.P. v. City of
Laredo, Cause No. 2007-7CVQ000972D1 in the 49th District Court,
Webb County, Texas; and return to open session for possible action. Moved:
Cm. Garza Second: Cm. Amaya For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 |