TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of North Port, Florida, Amending the Non-District and Capital Improvement Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 for Law Enforcement Equipment, Sans Replacement Project IT22SR, One Additional Full Time Equivalent in Utilities, Hurricane Ian Costs, Parks Amenities Project P23PAI, Costs for an Increase in Sergeant and Police Officer Compensation, and Payment Related to the West Villages Developer Agreement Post Annexation in the Amount of $3,327,485; Providing for Findings, Providing for Posting; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; and Providing an Effective Date.
Recommended Action
Approve Resolution No. 2023-R-48 as presented.
Background Information
1. General Fund (001)
1) Public Works
On September 28,2022, the City of North Port was hit with Hurricane Ian. These requests are
related to damage caused by that event.
Currently, the total request for the Facility Maintenance Division is $1,610,118. The following
is a breakdown of these costs:
Ø $840.00 is for park facility inspection engineering consulting services.
Ø $13,285 is for camera repairs at Butler and Highland Ridge parks.
Ø $1,589,144 is for roofing, fencing, electrical, water restoration repair services at City facilities.
Ø $6,520 is for operating supplies to support janitorial supplies and address minor facility repairs.
Ø $329 is for operating equipment for cold item storage.
In addition to the items above, the Park Maintenance Operations Building located at 5455 Pan American Boulevard provides approximately 5,600 square feet of offices, shop/workspace for the Park Maintenance Division. The building sustained damages from Hurricane Ian and it has been determined that repairs are not feasible. A temporary office, shop and yard are needed to support ongoing operations until a new building can be acquired. This funding request is to support the initial set-up and site work to facilitate the temporary trailer, and demolition of the two former Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) buildings for the Park Maintenance Division offices. $150,000 was approved through Resolution No. 2023-R-42, but an additional $45,000 is being requested from the Facility Maintenance Division to support this request as the Facility Maintenance Division was operating the buildings prior to their closure.
Fund balance will be used to cover this request.
2) Parks & Recreation
The Parks & Recreation Department annually requests $50,000 to offset the replacement and addition of parks amenities, including seating, benches, swings, shade covers and the like. While capital expenses are allowed to be utilized from Surtax spending, recent requests are not capital in nature and do not qualify. These would need to come out of Parks operating funds. All Fiscal Year 2023 purchases for project P23PAI will come from the General Fund and future funding for this project will also come from the General Fund. This project will be removed from the Surtax Fund.
Fund balance will be used to cover this request.
3) Police
Approval is requested to fund agenda item 23-0764 (Approve Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of North Port and the Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association, Inc., Relating to Sergeant and Police Officer Compensation) approved by the City Commission on May 23, 2023, for $528,180. $100,000 will funded from the current Police approved budget and $428,180 will be funded from fund balance.
2. Forfeiture Fund (105)
The City of North Port sold a seized house that was used in violation of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act by being used as a marijuana grow house.
Florida State Statue (F.S.S.) 732.7055(3) states any law enforcement agency that acquires at least $15,000 within a fiscal year must expend or donate no less than 25% of the proceeds for the support and operation of any drug treatment, drug abuse education, drug prevention, crime prevention, safe neighborhood or school resource officer program or programs. The local law enforcement agency has the discretion to determine which program or programs will receive the designated proceeds.
The other funds will be used for new and additional law enforcement equipment and will not be used to meet normal operating expenses of the law enforcement agency as stated in F.S.S. 932.7055(5a).
This will be funded with an increase in the Confiscated Property Revenue of $236,855.
3. Law Enforcement Impact Fees (150)
Pursuant to the West Villages Developer Agreement (Post Annexation) Article 4 - Law Enforcement, the City will pay $4,677,720 for the Police Substation located in Wellen Park. Payments are made quarterly and $116,524.40 has already been paid in Fiscal Year 2023. $500,000 is requested to be budgeted to cover all four quarterly payments in the current fiscal year. Payments will be made according to the Agreement and may not be the entire $500,000 budget request.
$500,000 will be taken from fund balance.
4. Surtax (306)
The Information Technology Division received funding for a Capital Improvement Project (CIP) in 2022 that was funded over the previous three fiscal years. This project replaced all hardware in City Hall that stores, manages, and provides access to all City systems and servers. This CIP project also included disaster recovery at a remote location, providing redundant connectivity to critical servers. Due to the increased hardware and software costs, as well as a need for a solution with increased security, the Information Technology Division will need additional funding to complete the disaster recovery portion of this project, allowing the ability to run critical services from a remote location if City Hall is not accessible. The additional funding needed for this project is $338,680.
$50,000 will be taken from Project P23PAI which is now requested to be funded in the general fund and $288,680 will be taken from fund balance.
5. Utilities (420)
As the City continues to grow and new developments come to fruition, including the Northeast Quadrant, it has become increasingly apparent that a Development Coordinator is needed to manage and execute all the administrative tasks that go along with these developments. In 2016, the Utilities Department had a total of 15 Developer Agreements to manage and track. Currently, Utilities Department has a total of 41 Developer Agreements and will continue to increase commensurate with development activity. The proposed Development Coordinator position will have the following job duties and responsibilities:
Ø Assume the responsibility of drafting the Developer Agreements.
Ø Billing capacity and guaranteed revenues.
Ø Navigate the legal side of easement and other acquisitions as it relates to development.
Ø Manage and track pre‐paid capacity for commercial development, track dedicated assets.
Ø Fundamentally involved the development process including, drafting miscellaneous correspondence during the building and permitting process and assisting with on‐site fixture counts for commercial facilities.
These job duties and responsibilities are currently being performed by the Utilities Business Manager. However, due to the current workload of other job duties and responsibilities the Developer Agreement functions can no longer be sustained by the Utilities Business Manager. The Utilities Business Manager duties have grown, and development keeps growing at a rapid pace. This additional position is necessary to continue to support current growth as well as proactively prepare for future growth. The following are the Development Coordinator costs for August and September 2023 with an anticipated start date of August 1, 2023:
Ø Salary, Benefit and Operating Costs for the Remainder of Fiscal Year 2023: $18,652. This
will be taken from current Fiscal Year 2023 funding. One Full Time Equivalent will be added to the Fiscal Year 2023 budgeted positions.
Strategic Plan
Good Governance
Financial Impact
Ø $2,133,298 will be taken from fund balance in the General Fund.
Ø Revenues for Confiscated Property in the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Fund will increase by $236,855.
Ø $500,000 will be taken from Law Enforcement Impact Fee fund balance.
Ø $288,680 will be taken from fund balance in the Surtax Fund.
Ø The Development Coordinator position in the Utilities Department will be funded within the current budget.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 2023-R-48
2. General Fund Balance Report
3. CIP Sheet IT22SR
4. CIP Sheet P23PAI
Prepared by: Lisa Herrmann, Budget Administrator
Department Director: Kim Williams, Finance Director