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2019-10-23 Finance Committee Minutes - Open SessionFinance Committee Meeting Open Session October 23, 2019 MINUTES — OPEN SESSION FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING OCTOBER 23, 2019 AT 5:15 PM 8t" FLOOR COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBER (LUDLOW ROOM), CITY HALL Present: Mayor D. Darling Councillor D. Merrithew Councillor S. Casey Councillor D. Reardon Councillor G. Sullivan Absent: Councillor G. Norton Also Present: City Manager J. Collin Deputy City Manager N. Jacobsen Commissioner of Finance and Treasurer K. Fudge Comptroller Finance C. Graham City Solicitor J. Nugent Commissioner Saint John Water B. McGovern Commissioner Transportation & Environment Services M. Hugenholtz Deputy Commissioner Administrative Services I. Fogan Deputy Commissioner Saint John Water K. Mason Senior Financial Manager J. Forgie Senior Financial Manager C. Lavigne Senior Financial Manager D. Arbour Fire Chief K. Clifford Administrative Assistant K. Tibbits 1. Meetiniz Called To Order Councillor Merrithew called the Finance Committee open session meeting to order. 1.1.1 Approval of Minutes—July 18, 2019 Moved by Councillor Sullivan, seconded by Mayor Darling: RESOLVED that the minutes of July 18, 2019 be approved. LTA IQ1[47►[4L1:k]k]1if91 1.1.2 Approval of Minutes —September 18, 2019 Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Casey: RESOLVED that the minutes of September 18, 2019 be approved. MOTION CARRIED. 1.2 Police Commission Resolution Finance Committee Meeting Open Session October 23, 2019 Mr. E. Keyes, Saint John Board of Police Commissioners, presented a request to transfer money from the 2019 Police Force budget to a reserve account for the purchase of four Ford Explorer Interceptors. In addition, a request was made to pre -approve funds from the 2020 Police Force budget for the purchase of five marked vehicles. The vehicles are not being manufactured until January of 2020. It is necessary to update the current fleet of vehicles and the force is moving away from Dodge Chargers due to exceptional maintenance costs. Staff has been very diligent and looking for savings where possible. Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Sullivan: RESOLVED that the Finance Committee recommend to Common Council that it approve the purchase of four (4) marked 2020 Ford Explorer Police Interceptors in the amount of $297,339 out of the 2019 Saint John Police Force budget and that this amount be put in a reserve account for the purchase of the vehicles which will take place in 2020. MOTION CARRIED. Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Sullivan: RESOLVED that the Finance Committee recommend to Common Council that it pre -approve $371,675 from the 2020 Saint John Police Force budget for the purchase of five (5) marked 2020 Ford Explorer Police Interceptors. MOTION CARRIED. 1.3 Universal Metering Analysis Mr. McGovern stated that a Universal Metering Analysis was undertaken by Hemson Consulting, experts in the field of rate setting and universal metering. One of Council's priorities, fiscal responsibility, prompted the study to investigate options to allocate water cost among rate payers. Mr. Andrew Mirabella, Hemson Consulting, reviewed the submitted report and commented on the advantages and disadvantages of universal metering, rate structure considerations, the impact on a typical user, differing metering approaches, implementation options and the cost of universal metering. Universal metering involves installing water meters on every residential property and measuring water consumption. It is a user -pay approach rather than the current flat -rate structure approach. Mr. McGovern commented on financial options, noting that Common Council stated in 2017 that the utility would no longer borrow money for capital and instead fund capital from the operating budget. That being said, the following options could be considered: • The utility could borrow money and finance it over 20 years. This would add to the debt load of the utility and cause additional upward pressure on rates by approximately $20 per year. • The City could use capital from operating to fund universal metering. This would reduce re -investment into the infrastructure deficit and impact extreme risk category assets. It would impact the City's ability to deliver reliable service and meet regulatory requirements. There are benefits to universal metering but there is also a need to balance the infrastructure renewal needs of the community while balancing the pressure on rates. Common Council could revisit the concept of universal metering in approximately five years, once more investment has been made to the extreme category of infrastructure. In response to a question, staff noted that grant opportunities to support universal metering may be available, but it would require further investigation. 2 Finance Committee Meeting Open Session October 23, 2019 The committee discussed the pros and cons of universal metering and suggested staff explore the potential for infrastructure funding programs to help subsidize the cost of universal metering. The committee was reluctant to wait five years to address Universal Metering. Moved by Councillor Sullivan, seconded by Councillor Reardon: RESOLVED that the Finance Committee direct staff, having considered feedback provided at the Finance Committee meeting of October 23rd, report back on Universal Metering in early 2020, on recommended models for implementation and the consideration of grant opportunities and/or alternative funding models. MOTION CARRIED. 1.4 New Solid Waste Model Business Case Mr. Hugenholtz stated that the material handling process under the current solid waste model is challenging and there have been a number of physical injuries to workers, resulting in many days of work lost to injury on the job. The frequency and severity of claims within this workgroup is considerably higher than other employee groups. Staff has been researching options to address this challenge. Staff is recommending a pilot program which consists of a mechanized cart collection system and moving away from the material handling aspect of the current solid waste service. The process is expected to achieve additional savings and generate revenue opportunities, and also allow staff to gather data that could support a larger roll-out of the program. By imposing a cap on solid waste pickup to what can fit in the cart, and by adding charges for additional bags, the City can incentivize recycling and other waste diversion. The resulting savings and additional revenue can allow the City to potentially offer curbside recycling pickup. Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Sullivan: RESOLVED that the Finance Committee recommend that Common Council approve the addition of the cart purchase to the 2020 General Fund Capital Budget and submit to the November 4t" Common Council meeting for approval. MOTION CARRIED. 1.5 Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) Initiative Chief Clifford stated that the proposals under consideration address gaps in emergency preparedness, employee safety and the ability to protect the community. One of the proposals will help address emergency response challenges before they occur. The Fire Department is asking that the Fire Service 2019 budget surplus be re -directed to address these proposals. Referring to the submitted report Fire Chief Clifford commented on the Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) initiative. The latest budget surplus is projected to be in the range of $360 to $370K. The Fire Department has suspended a number of items from its goods and services budget with an aim of supporting the requests. The budget impact of both proposals is $290,744. Mr. Collin noted that the CAER initiative is expected to generate revenue opportunities, but the amount has not yet been quantified. This study is expected to occur in the sustainability initiatives/revenue generation opportunities currently being investigated. Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Casey: RESOLVED that the Finance Committee make the following recommendation to Common Council: 3 Finance Committee Meeting Open Session October 23, 2019 Given the projected 2019 operating budget surplus of $326,000 within the Fire Service, the Finance Committee recommends to Common Council to approve the transfer of $195,244 from the Fire Department's 2019 Operating Budget surplus to a Capital Budget reserve account for the purpose of advancing the Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) Level 1 initiative; and further support the associated relocation of Fire Prevention and Investigation division. MOTION CARRIED. 1.6 Industrial Hygiene— Firefighter Training Centre Initiative Chief Clifford stated that there is an opportunity to advance safety of the Fire services operation and to support revenue at the training academy through a Firefighter Hygiene program. The proposal includes the lease -to -own of an Alantra Trailer which would be connected to the existing training facility at Grandview Avenue. It would allow dirty bunker gear to be stored in a separate location away from the firefighters. The lease -to -own option of the Alantra Unit would come from the Fire Department's existing training budget. Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Casey: RESOLVED that the Finance Committee make the following recommendation to Common Council: Given the projected 2019 operating budget surplus of $326,000 within the Fire Service, the Finance Committee recommends to Common Council to approve the transfer of $95,500 from the Fire Department's 2019 Operating Budget surplus to a Capital Budget reserve account for the purpose of supporting the Industrial Hygiene Firefighter Training Centre Initiative; and, support the City entering into an agreement with CanLease for the lease -to -own of a custom built Alantra Unit, on terms and conditions acceptable to the City Solicitor or his designate. MOTION CARRIED. Adjournment Moved by Councillor Reardon, seconded by Councillor Casey: RESOLVED that the open session meeting of the Finance Committee be adjourned. MOTION CARRIED. The Finance Committee open session meeting held on October 23, 2019 was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. 4