Agenda Date: 12/18/2018
Subject:
Title
An ordinance on second reading amending Ordinance No. 23 Series of 2017 known as the Annual Appropriation Bill for all municipal purposes for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2018
Body
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Presented By: |
Tiffany Hooten, Finance Director |
REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION:
Does city council support an amendment to the 2018 annual appropriation?
BACKGROUND:
General Fund - $188,000
The General Fund is proposed to increase as follows:
— Abatement and demolition of dwelling units - $40,000. The city staff has identified two properties that require abatement and demolition due to code violations and overall safety of the premises. This expenditure was not known at the time of the preparation of the budget; thus an additional appropriation is required. Assuming the demolition is completed, a lien would be placed on the individual properties in order for the city to eventually be reimbursed, typically when the property is sold.
— Comprehensive Plan - $35,000. The attached Scope of Services includes initial project activities from November-December 2018 to expedite authorization of this work while the balance of the scope is finalized for work activities during 2019. Kendig Keast Collaborative activities in 2018 include compiling and assessing a base of information on the existing conditions and outlook for Littleton, focusing especially on key influences that will shape the community’s future. This will provide background and assumptions to support needs assessment and long-range and strategic planning decisions throughout the comprehensive planning process in 2019.
This step of the Comprehensive Plan was included in the 2019 budget as part of the $400,000 that was budgeted. This request is to fund $35,000 in 2018 from the $400,000 budgeted in 2019; and, thereby stays within the overall schedule for the Comp Plan (i.e. adoption in October, 2019). Staff will be presenting additional information on the Comprehensive Plan and Transportation Master Plan at the study session on December 11, 2018.
— City Attorney - $34,000. The city attorney’s office has required outside counsel related to litigation matters ($25,000) as well as additional prosecution coverage at significantly higher costs due to staff coverage ($9,000).
— City Clerk Court division - $79,000. Due to additional juvenile court days and state mandates that became effective July 1, 2018, the city had to provide a court-appointed attorney to every defendant on their first appearance resulting in increased costs to the city ($37,000). In 2019, this mandate will be mitigated by a $33,000 grant from the State of Colorado. Additionally, security costs were higher due to additional security at the courthouse and there were increased contract costs that were not anticipated ($12,000). Due to the timing of payment of 2017 software costs, two years of software maintenance was required to be paid in 2018 with none paid in 2017 ($30,000). This is not anticipated to occur in the future.
With this additional appropriation, the 2019 estimated ending fund balance will be $11,278,143.
General Fund Transfers - $0
There are two transfers requested for the 2018 budget.
— Each year, the general fund transfers funds to the South Metro Communications Center Fund to pay its share of the fire dispatch services, along with the fire partners. This was budgeted at $404,742 in 2018 as a transfer out of the General Fund. Beginning January 1, 2018, the city contracted fire dispatch services with South Metro Fire Rescue under a separate agreement. A transfer to the South Metro Communication Center Fund is not required for the 2018 budget year; however, a budget transfer is requested to move the budget from the transfer out line item to the fire department line item to align the budget with the contracted payment of $293,790.
— The city manager’s office had a vital need for an assistant to the city manager position to assist in project management, conducting research, citizen engagement programs and supporting council and city staff. The communications department had a vacancy due to staffing changes. This request is to formally transfer the FTE and the budget from the communications department to the city manager’s department. This reclass has been reflected in the 2019 budget.
These transfers do not have a financial impact to the general fund.
Employee Insurance - $500,000
— Health insurance is included in the Employee Insurance Fund and claims can vary from year to year. The city utilizes CIGNA for health claims and is self-funded with an Individual Stop Loss (ISL) limit of $150,000. The city has recently seen four claims reach the ISL limit. With these claims, an additional $300,000 in appropriation is needed.
— Worker’s Compensation is also included in the Employee Insurance Fund. The city is self-funded for Worker’s Compensation claims with a self-insured retention limit of $500,000 per occurrence. Expenditures are trending higher as compared to the budget. An additional $200,000 in appropriation is estimated to be needed for 2018.
Staff will continue to monitor claims through the end of the year and in 2019, and adjust funding in future years as needed. With this additional appropriation and estimated additional revenues in 2018, the 2019 estimated ending fund balance will be $2,799,893.
Property and Liability - $250,000
— Property and liability claims vary from year to year. Expenditures are trending higher as compared to the budget. An additional $250,000 in appropriation is estimated to be needed for 2018. The city has received an additional $150,000 in reimbursements from insurance related claims which partially offset the requested increase. The 2019 estimated ending fund balance will be $284,993 in this fund.
PRIOR ACTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS:
The ordinance passed on first reading on December 4, 2018.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Amending the annual appropriation bill is a typical process that the city conducts every year.
OPTIONS/ALTERNATIVES:
1 - Approve 2018 budget amendment
2 - Not approve 2018 budget amendment
FISCAL IMPACTS:
The 2018 budget appropriation is recommended to increase by $938,000.
Funding for this amendment will be from fund balance in each respective fund.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the ordinance on second reading amending the 2018 budget.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve the ordinance on second reading amending Ordinance No. 23 Series of 2017 known as the Annual Appropriation Bill for all municipal purposes for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2018.