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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-09-23 (Special) Meeting MinutesI I COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO SEPTEMBER 23, 1974 SPECIAL MEETING : The City Council of the City of Englewood, Arapahoe County , Color ado met in special session on September 23, 1974 at 7 :00 P .M. Mayor Ta y l or, presiding, called the meeting to order. The invoc ation was given by Councilman Howard Brown. The Pledge of Alleg iance was led by Mayor Taylor. The follo wi ng Notice of Call was read by the Deputy City Clerk . NOTICE OF CALL BY THE MAYOR FOR A SPEC IA L SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL MOND AY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1974 7:00 P.M. The City Council of t h e City of Englewood, Arapahoe County, Colorado , is hereby ca l led to a special meeting at the City Hall, 3400 South Elati Str eet , for the purpose of considering : 1. Resolution appo inting the City Manager for the City of Englewood a nd setting a salary for said Manager. 2 . Hearing on the Proposed 1975 Budget. Isl Kells Waggoner KELLS WAGGONER Actin~ City Manager KW/SC Enclosures ACKNOWLEDG EMENT OF RECEIPT OF NOTICE The following persons , a l l Council Members of the City of Englewood , do hereby ackn owledge receipt of notice of the above special call . Isl Lee Jones Isl Douglas Sovern Isl Vernon Mann Isl Paul Blessing Isl Howard Brown Is l David Clayton Isl James Taylor Meet ing of 8e p Le mber 2 3 , 1914 2 The Mayo r asked for roll call. Upon the call of the r oll , the vol lowing were present. Council Members Jones, Sovern, Mann, Clayton, Blessing, Brown, Ta ylo r. Abs ent : None The Mayo r declared a quorum present. Also pr esent were: Acting City Manager Waggoner City Attorney Berardini Assistant City Manager Mccown Director of Parks & Recreation Romans Director of Utilities Carroll Director of Personnel Lorig Director of Libraries Lute Director of Community Development Supinger Fire Chief Hamilton Police Chief Clasby Assistant Director of Finance Lowry Deputy Clerk Johannisson • • • • • RE SOLUTION NO. 38, SERIES OF 1974 A RESOLUTION APPOINT I NG MR. ANDY McCOWN AS CITY MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD AND FIXI NG HIS SALARY FOR THE BALANCE OF THE YEAR 1974 . COUNCILM AN MANN MOVED AND COUNCILMAN CLAYTON SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE RESOL UT ION NO. 38, SERIES OF 1974. Upon the call of the roll , the vote resulted as follows: Aye s: Council Members Jones, Sovern, Mann, Blessing, Br own , Cl a yton , Ta ylor. Nays: None Absent: None The Mayor declared the motion carried. Councilman Blessing thanked Kells Waggoner for the fine job that he had done i n filling in as the Acting City Manager . City Mana ger Mc c own expressed his appreciation to the Council for the c onfidence they displayed in him. He pledged to live up to the expectations that they have for him. He g ave I I I Meeting of September 23, 1974 3 thanks to three parties, one, the department heads and employees of the City of Englewood for the fine job they have done, to his wife Je anna, and to the man upstairs. • • • • • Mayor Taylor explained that the purpose of the meeting tonight was to have a public hearing to discuss the proposed budget for the City of Englewood for the year 1975. He gave thanks to the many citizens who participated in the Budget Committee, for their time and efforts expended. He thanked the department heads in the City of Englewood for the work that they did in developing the Budget and providing the explanations of the needs of the City of Englewood. He stated that in order to meet the needs for the coming year, a tax increase may be needed. He said Englewood is fortunate in having the lowest tax mill levy of any city in the state. He did hope that this might be avoided. COUNCILMAN SOVERN MOVED AND COUNCILMAN JONES SECONDED A MOTION TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED 1975 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD. Upon the call of the roll, the vote resulted as follows: Ayes: Council Members Jones, Sovern, Mann, Blessing, Brown, Clayton, Taylor. Nays: None Absent: None The Mayor declared the motion carried and the public hearing open. City Manag er Mccown presented the Budget. The proposed budget for 1975 is $10,125,726. This is $3,700,000 below the budget for 1974. Increased revenues are proposed for the property tax, an increase that is realized through an increase in the assessed valuation of the City. Sales and use tax, the largest source of income for the City , has a small increase proposed primarily through inflation. Licenses and fees have a small increase. The increase is hoped for through better enforcement of our current statutes. Intergovernmental revenue is made up of Federal Revenue Sharing and these funds are being placed into the General Fund. There is some question as to whether these funds will be available after 1976. Miscellaneous source of funds have dropped. This is caused by the fact that Englewood realized the revenues for the Englewood- Littleton sewer co-op in the year 1974. General Fund expenditures are planned to be up about 15%, all except for the Water and Sewer. The primary causes of these increases are the employee contracts, which have an 8.9% increase plus a 2.6% fringe increase, and secondly, the inflation in the purchase of goods and services consumed. Me etinR o f September 23 , 19 74 4 Mr . Mcc own stated that this is basically a status quo budget and it is to maintain the current services which we are presently using . The Budget does not include the 13 new firemen wh i ch wo u l d cost $167,000 for the year 1975. The Water Enterprise Fund is down becau se the Ranch Creek Project has been completed. The Sewer Enterprise Fund is down because of the Bi-City Sewer I Plant bet ween Engl ewood and Littleton was budgeted for the last . year . Wh i le Rec reation shows zero in the budget, this may be amend e d if schoo l funds are received. Currently the Recreation will b e g oing int o the General Fund. The Transit Budget has been elimi nat ed be cau se of the proposed purchase by RTD of our system. The Senior Su r rey , which was in the Transit budget is going to be absorbed by Public Works. The Public Improvement Fund is not really an accurate fi g ure for an annual budget. This is because the Public Im p rov e ment Fund is budgeted on a running six quarters and , therefore, chang es during the year. Councilman Bl essing asked if the Firemen and Contingency Funds will need a mill levy to cover their costs. City Manag er Mccown stated that a 1.75 mill levy increase would cover the cost s o f the Fireman and Contingency Funds. Councilman Blessing stated that the 3.97 mill levy which Englewood presently h as seems to be a magic and long-standing number , and that t he citizens of Englewood are fortunate to receive the many services the y do at such a low cost. If citizens do want expanded services , an increase in the mill levy may be required. City Manag er Mccown stated that a mill levy must be determined by the City Co u ncil. Councilman Brown stated that the City of Englewood is fortunate in having such fine employees, and in order to maintain the high quality em ploy ees they have, they must pay a fair salary to be competitive with surrounding communities. Coun c ilman J o n es asked what the average increase in tax levy per homeowner wo u ld be if there was a 1-mill increase. City Manager Mccown stat ed that with an average valuation of $6,000, a 1 -mill increase woul d cost $6 per home owner. Councilman Blessing reiterated that a mill increase may be needed in order to fulfill the budget, even though the budget has been decreased . It must be pointed out that the decrease in the budget has been realized because projects which will be completed in the fu ture have been paid for during the past year. Jean Carl berg , 3568 So. Grant Street, who had served on the Budget Comm ittee, expressed her concern about putting the Revenue Sharing Fund into the General Fund. She stated that the Revenue Sharing has been put to great beneficial use in the past and she does not wa nt to s ee that forfeited in the future. 'I I Meeting of September 23, 1974 5 Councilman Clayton also expressed his concern. City Manager Mccown stated that this has been done because salaries are rising, goods and services have been affected by inflation, and revenues are not equalling the expenditures. Mr. Maurice Merlin, 3688 So. Sherman Street, explained his feelings that Council's first duty is to insure that the City of Englewood was safe. This is only possible by having an adequate fire and police department. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for the City Council to ask for a mill increase. He also expressed his concern about the fact that the public hearing was not sufficiently advertised. City Manager Mccown answered that the meeting was announced at the Council meeting of September 3rd and that each one of the newspapers was notified of the special meeting for the public hearing. Mayor Taylor expressed his concern about the seeming lack of interest shown by the citizenry in the workings of the City. The City Council meetings are not well attended, the Councilmen have attempted to have neighborhood meetings, these have not been well attended, and the Mayor's coffees have not had good turnouts. He indicated that it is unfortunate that this type or public apathy exists. Arvon Hegna, 3295 So. High Street, asked if the Mayor's coffees could be held at night. Mayor Taylor stated that this might be possible, but also that the Councilmen have been holding meetings in the evenings to answer the citizens' questions. John Zady, 4033 So. Grant Street, stated that he disagreed with the views of the Englewood Sentinel, which has stated that "the Council is a bunch of robots". He appreciates the work that the Council has done and realizes that they are a hardworking group of men who are serving our community. Councilman Sovern stated that the Council must develop good workable programs which will develop good habits within the City. In this way, we might be able to induce citizens to be better participants of their government. Councilman Blessing stated that one good way to invite public participation is to raise the tax levy by 20 mills, then the City would definitely get some sort of reaction. COUNCILMAN SOVERN MOVED AND COUNCILMAN BROWN SECONDED A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED 1975 ENGLEWOOD CITY BUDGET. Upon the call of the roll, the vote resulted as follows: ·352 Meeting of September 23, 1974 6 Ayes: Council Members Jones, Sovern, Mann, Blessing, Brown, Clayton, Taylor. Nays: None Absent: None The Mayor declared the motion carried and the public hearing closed. • • • • • COUNCILMAN SOVERN MOVED AND COUNCILMAN BLESSING SECONDED A MOTION TO ADJOURN. Upon the call of the roll, the vote resulted as follows: Ayes: Council Members Jones, Sovern, Mann, Blessing, Brown, Clayton, Taylor. Nays: None Absent: None The Mayor declared the motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 P.M. Clerk I I