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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.10.2025 - City Council Meeting City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 CALL TO ORDER The City Council met in a budget workshop session on Tuesday, July 10, 2025, in the Clermont City Council Chambers. Mayor Murry called the workshop to order at 9:00 am with the following Council Members present: Council Members Howard, Strange, Myers and Petersen. Other City officials present were Interim City Manager Van Wagner, Deputy City Manager Matthys, and City Clerk Howe. Interim City Manager Van Wagner gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA ITEMS Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Discussion Fire Department Fire Chief Ezell presented the Fire Department budget. He provided a department overview to include staffing and statistics. He also reviewed major capital projects which included fire stations, fire apparatus, training facility, fire boat and trailer, a drone and the implementation of an EMS program. Assistant Fire Chief Hoey provided information on the rescue one fire boat,zodiac and trailer they are requesting. Fire Chief Ezell spoke about the status of the Fire Station 2 expansion including the current easement with Kings Ridge community and that they eliminated need for underwater storm drainage. Assistant Fire Chief Cassler spoke about the department's training goals and the need for a Public Safety Training Facility. There are requests in the budget for personnel which include a Fire Lieutenant, three Battalion Chiefs for the EMS program and reclassifying a Fire Inspector to Deputy Fire Marshal. Discussion ensued regarding response times as well as EMS service, the cost and the County's assistance with that program. Assistant Fire Chief Hoey provided information on the rescue one fire boat, zodiac and trailer they are requesting. Fire Chief Ezell spoke about the status of the Fire Station 2 expansion including the current easement with Kings Ridge community and that they eliminated the need for underwater storm drainage. Assistant Fire Chief Cassler spoke about the department's training goals and the need for a Public • Safety Training Facility. 1 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 Council Member Howard spoke about the request for three Battalion Chiefs; he would be comfortable adding Battalion Chiefs over time and not all at once. Discussion was held regarding the chain of command within the Fire Department and need for additional personnel. Council Member Strange inquired if all personnel will start at the beginning of the fiscal year or if they will be phased in over time. Assistant Fire Chief Cassler explained that they prefer to start everyone at one time to maximize orientation. Fire Chief Ezell stated that the Battalion Chiefs need to start at the same time. A discussion was held regarding the plans for Fire Station 5,which include the use of a temporary structure. This structure would serve as a functional facility during the expansion of Station 2 and would subsequently be relocated to Wellness Way to serve that area while Station 5 is under construction. Discussion moved on to the expansion of Fire Station 2 and the cost of housing personnel during the remodel. Interim City Manager Van Wagner stated that staff have also looked at the cost of renting hotel rooms during that time. Council Member Strange said that Council needs to provide direction on which Fire Stations are a priority. Mayor Murry recessed the workshop at 11:00am; Mayor Murry reconvened the workshop at 11:11am. Interim City Manager Van Wagner explained that the Fire Department staff were looking at ways to limit costs and be able to spread funds over multiple sites to build and expand stations. Discussion ensued regarding purchasing the temporary structure as well as the need for new and expanded stations. Mayor Murry said he felt that it would take a couple years to outfit Fire Station 5 and questioned the length of time it would take to have an engine and apparatuses. Fire Chief Ezell stated that they could have an engine as soon as Fire Station 5 is ready. Council Member Strange stated that she would not be in favor of waiting years to construct Fire Station 5. Council Member Howard told the Council that he spoke with Fire Department staff during the break and believed there was a solution that works for everyone and that he supports. The plan would be to fund the EMS staff now, fund the Battalion Chiefs in April, and, with the help of the SAFER grant, move forward with all of it and break ground on Fire Station 5 next year. Council discussed the EMS program which included the amount the city currently pays to Lake County for the service, the revenue generated, and the amount Lake County will reimburse Clermont if we have our own program. 2 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 Council Member Howard expressed his support for the EMS program as well as Fire Station 5. His only concern was to find a way to do it over time and make it affordable. Discussion ensued regarding the financial uncertainty, the supplementing of services for other services and cities, and the projected timeline from inception to potential self-sufficiency of EMS services. Council requested that staff return with detailed cost estimates for the EMS program and the construction of Fire Station 5.Additionally,they asked staff to have discussions with Lake County to determine the actual costs and potential reimbursements associated with the EMS program Discussion ensued on the fire boat and zodiac. Council Member Howard is in support of purchasing the correct boat for the fire department,he is not sold that a double-decker trailer is the correct solution. Fire Chief Ezell stated that they have private locations that allow the department to launch a boat. Mayor Murry expressed his support for the boat, zodiac and trailer. Mayor Murry recessed the workshop at 12:00pm. Mayor Murry reconvened the workshop at 1:00pm. Mayor questioned the AEDs in government buildings. Fire Chief Ezell explained that the Fire Department took responsibility for all AEDs and have updated them with the same model and are now compatible with the monitoring system. Discussion was had on the use of impact fees on renovations. Council moved to the Capital requests and spoke about the RFP process, staff vehicles, water heater replacement as well as the possibility of natural gas at the Fire Stations and their drone request. They requested staff to get an estin'iate for natural gas and bring it back for final budget. Council Member Strange informed council that she spoke to Police and Fire regarding collaborating on equipment such as drones if possible. Fire Chief Ezell stated that their request for a drone is in addition to what they have. If the drones are used during storms when teams are called out the city can file with FEMA for reimbursement rates for the usage. Finance Director Borror made council aware that the personnel policy that was previously tabled had proposed language that would enhance the city's ability to get fully reimbursed from FEMA related to call outs. The current policy hinders our ability to get fully reimbursed. Assistant Fire Chief Cassler spoke about the capital requests for items to outfit a new ladder truck. Council Member Strange stated her understanding is that the need for brush trucks stems from the City's borders with Lake and Orange counties, which do not provide adequate protection along those areas. She requested that Interim City Manager Van Wagner have discussions with both counties regarding potential funding support for the City's efforts to protect these shared borders. 3 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 Council Member Howard stated that if we annex the conserve and wild land properties, we may want an ordinance that requires them to burn their underbrush periodically to maintain their property and help decrease brush fires. Reimbursement for servicing another jurisdiction was discussed. Fire Chief Ezell said that staff have reviewed the cost of providing service for south Lake County and believe they can do it at a lower cost than Lake County. Council Member Strange stated that Lake County received$1 million from the State of Florida for the design of a public safety facility. She spoke with Representative Yarkosky and suggested using those funds to construct a facility, she was told to put information together and he will present it. She requested Interim City Manager Van Wagner as well as Fire Chief Ezell to speak to the other cities in south Lake County to come up with a concept and location and we can coordinate with Lake County to see if they will redirect those funds towards it. Council discussed possible locations around the city for a public safety facility. Discussion ensued on the difference between an ambulance and a rescue vehicle as well as the timeline for starting the EMS program which would be in January due to adding personnel and training. Mayor Murry asked if the Fire Department has a wish list that is not included in the budget. Fire Chief Ezell stated their only wish would be a Master Plan for the 12th Street facility. Interim City Manager Van Wagner asked council if they would like to add an additional budget workshop.Mayor Murry suggested reviewing the smaller departments for the rest of the afternoon and starting with the Parks and Recreation department on Tuesday. Mayor Murry recessed the workshop at 2:21pm. Mayor Murry reconvened the workshop at 2:31pm. City Council Council Member Strange questioned if Council Members are allowed to refuse the salary. The consensus from the rest of the Council Members was to continue with the salary and the City Attorney would have to review them being able to refuse the salary. City Clerk budget The council discussed staffing within the department and the current status of cemetery plot sales and availability. Council Member Strange asked if using plain paper for the Code of Ordinances updates might help reduce costs. City Clerk Howe explained that only the pages with updated language are replaced, not the entire book. 4 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 Council Member Strange asked what the travel and per diem funds were used for.City Clerk Howe explained that the funds cover expenses related to attending classes and conferences relevant to the City Clerk profession, including training on records management. City Manager Council Member Howard suggested consolidating the City's social media efforts under a single entity for all departments,whether managed in-house or through an outside agency. He expressed the view that the City's social media presence could be improved and recommended eliminating the Public Information Officer and Communications positions in favor of contracting with an external agency, which he believed would result in cost savings. Council Member Strange noted that each department currently operates independently and suggested that centralizing functions such as grant writing and social media across all departments could improve efficiency. She would like to see if there is a benefit to centralizing the functions. Mayor Murry stated that the Public Information Officer and Communications Coordinator coordinate with all departments on their social media. Council Member Strange stated that the city needs a brand manager to keep continuity of the vision throughout the city. Council spoke about the website and the need to make it more user-friendly and easier to navigate. Council Member Strange spoke about the need for a dedicated grant writer, someone whose primary responsibility would be to actively seek out and apply for grant opportunities on behalf of the city. She suggested keeping a media position in-house to assist outside companies. Council Member Howard stated that the city spends$220?000 to fund both the Public Information -Officer and'Communications Coordinator and he feels the funds could tnbve to Information Technology to put together a program. He believed that an outside company could perform the work more effectively than internal staff. Council Member Petersen spoke about the importance of advertising and encouraged the city to make greater use of social media for communicating. Council Member Howard stated that his goal is to eliminate the two positions and work with the Information Technology department to develop a plan for working with outside agencies. Mayor Murry stated that he did not support the elimination of the Public Information Officer and Communications Coordinator positions.He suggested keeping the positions while moving forward with searching for an outside agency. Council agreed to have staff move forward with an RFP from media companies in Clermont on their vision on how the city could approach public communications, social media and branding/advertising. Interim City Manager Van Wagner explained that there are many components to the Public Information Officer position, and he does not feel comfortable not having staff presence. 5 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 Council Member Myers suggested keeping the Public Information Officer position as well as hiring a Brand Manager. Council Member Howard suggested doing an RFP for a company for the social media and communication/branding components then decide what level of administration oversight is needed. Council Member Strange brought up the need for Economic Development. There is a consultant who does some economic development, but she felt there needed to be someone on staff and that position should be under the City Manager. Council Member Howard explained that the city needs a business development director who will be a liaison between businesses and the city. This position would know the demographics, job needs and integration and would be a high-level executive position. Council stated that this position would have a salary of around $200,000 all in. Council Member Strange questioned if a grant writer should be in the City Manager department. Discussion ensued on whether this should be an in-house position versus contracting out the service. Deputy City Manager Matthys informed council that staff was preparing to send out an RFQ for continuing services contract which included grant writing. Council Member Strange supported hiring a consultant. Interim City Manager Van Wagner recapped the direction from council which included an RFP for media companies in Clermont on their vision on how the city could approach public communications, social media and branding/advertising, search for a Business Development Director, and an RFQ for a grant writer. Finance Finance Director Borror provided an overview of the department's accomplishments and goals. He spoke about the request for an additional utility billing clerk due to the increase in volume in the department. With the request for additional personnel they have a space issue, they are requesting $110,000 for modifications to the 650 W. Montrose building to accommodate them. Most of that funding would be from Enterprise Funds. He requested direction from council on the long-range plan for the utility billing team. Finance Director Borror spoke about the 4/10 work schedule model and that his department is in support of that schedule. The finance department is also requesting a salary addition to reform the job descriptions and implement a tier structure to allow growth within the department. Mayor Murry stated that he would like to see utility billing in the 650 W. Montrose building. He spoke about the 4/10 work schedule model and stated that he is not interested in closing City Hall on Fridays. Council Member Strange inquired about having flexible schedules where employees can choose a schedule that works for them. 6 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 Council Member Howard requested a workshop on the 4/10 work schedule model. Council Member Strange stated that she is not in favor of having the utility billing department in the 650 W. Montrose building. She said the 4/10 work schedule along with the need for additional space are staff requests. There should be more collaboration at City Hall to work together to repurpose space to accommodate the growing department. She would like to see creative solutions to the space issue. Lastly, she stated she wants City Hall to be opened Monday through Friday. Council discussed technological solutions to assist with lowering the volume of work for utility billing as well as the cost of renovating 650 W. Montrose and looking at other options for expanding the department. Council agreed to implement the Neptune system to assist with the call volume in utility billing. Council Member Howard suggested removing the convenience fee for using a credit card which would assist with residents paying online and not coming into the office. Interim City Manager Van Wagner requested clarification from council on 650 W. Montrose, the funds for the renovation need to be approved by council for them to move forward. Council Members Petersen, Howard and Strange were against spending the $110,000 on renovations to the 650 W. Montrose building. Council Member Strange stated that there are other solutions for space. Council requested to discuss this topic further at another meeting. Legal Services There were no questions or concerns from Council. Information Technology Council Member Howard stated that he would like to see the city utilize more technology and the budget should be increasing and personnel expanding. Information Technology Director Fountain spoke about the integration of a new phone system and new software's across city departments. Council Member Strange spoke about the different systems departments use and if there was a way to integrate all departments. Interim City Manager Van Wagner stated that they will start Tuesday's budget workshop with the Parks and Recreation Department. 7 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP July 10,2025 ADJOURN: With no further comments, this budget workshop adjourned at 5:04 pm. APPROVED: Tim Murry, Mayor ATTE : Tracy Ackro d H e, MMC City Clerk � d 8