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april 13 2023 town council budget work session approved minutes

Minutes April 13, 2023 · 4 page(s)

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Town Council of Centreville
Budget Work Session
April 13, 2023
5:30 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The April 13, 2023, Town Council budget work session was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Steven K.
Kline at the Vincit Building, 110 Vincit Street, Planning & Zoning Meeting Room. The following members and
staff were present: Steven K. Kline, President; Ashley H. Kaiser, Vice President; Eric B. Johnson, Jr., Daniel B.
Worth, and Jim A. Beauchamp, Members; Charles (Chip) Koogle, Town Manager; Karen Luffman, Finance
Officer; Chief Robert Hobbs, Centreville Police Department; Clifford (Kip) Matthews, Director of Public Works;
Krystel Ebaugh, Human Resources Manager; Ashley Russ, Finance Specialist; Jacki Payne, Administrative
Assistant, and Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.
Citizens Forum
Tim McCluskey, Watson Road, requested the tax rate stay the same and not reduce it to the constant yield. Jeff
Kiel, 4-H Park Road, requested an increase of funds donated to the Goodwill Fire Company. Jamie Johnson,
Kidwell Avenue, requested the fireworks not be cancelled.
Discussion
 Debt Schedule/Funds Balance
o Mr. Kline discussed the constant yield tax rate and the Town’s current tax rate. Ms. Luffman stated
that the constant yield tax rate was $0.5207 and the Town’s current rate is $0.535.
o Mr. Kline asked what the funds look like at this time. Ms. Luffman stated the General Fund is in the
positive $236,388 and the Enterprise Fund is in the negative $130,000.
o There was a discussion regarding the allocation of funds between the General and Enterprise funds.
Ms. Luffman stated the true allocation should be 45% and the current is at 25%.
o Mr. Beauchamp made a motion to approve the purchase of a Vactron truck as described in the capital
budget using ARPA funds. Mr. Worth seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Council Members Yes No
Beauchamp X
Worth X
Johnson X
Kaiser X
Kline X
o Mr. Beauchamp stated there is a $236,000 surplus in the General Fund and apply $30,000 of that in
additional funding to Goodwill Fire Company and $95,000 applied to the capital budget ($10,000 for
fire hydrant replacement, $30,000 for a light tower, $58,000 for sewer collection repairs) and $120,000
for police patrol cars to keep them on pace with their replacement schedule). Ms. Kaiser requested the
expenses be broken down individually.
o Mr. Beauchamp amended the motion to approve an increase of $30,000 to Goodwill Fire Company’s
line item in the budget. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
o Mr. Kline requested a review of the capital budget requests and there was a discussion regarding the
Public Works capital requests.
o Mr. Worth asked about the $58,000 for sewer collection repairs. Mr. Matthews reported that there are
encumbered funds in the budget that will be moved for the I&I study repairs. He stated that, from what
has been found so far, $350,000 is estimated. He stated the final report is not completed but there will
need to be a lot of repairs completed, especially on the north interceptor which is much worse than the
south interceptor. He stated that anything the $350,000 does not cover, the requested $58,000 will be
put towards.
o Mr. Johnson asked Chief Hobbs about the $120,000 for patrol vehicles and how many that would
purchase. Chief Hobbs stated that is for two (2) vehicles with upfits.
o Mr. Beauchamp asked Chief Hobbs if this was part of his replacement plan and Chief Hobbs stated it
was part of the plan. Mr. Beauchamp asked if there was any salvage value on the old vehicles. Chief
Hobbs stated there was but that number was not included in with the $120,000 request.
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o Mr. Kline requested a discussion on the negative $130,000 balance of the Enterprise Fund prior to other
requests being considered.
o Mr. Beauchamp stated his understanding of the largest cost in the enterprise fund is for the contract to
run the WWTP.
o Mr. Matthews discussed the following memo with the Town Council:
o There was discussion regarding the difference between the Town to run the water/wastewater treatment
plant. Mr. Matthews stated there is a very small number of certified operators in the area to choose
from which was the issue when the Town lost the last operator to the Town of Easton.
o Mr. Johnson requested by next year’s budget sessions, to look at the turnover and how much is spent on
training that employee.
o Mr. Kline stated that a salary survey needs to be completed for the Public Works Department – Streets
and Water/Wastewater.
o Mr. Worth asked how long it takes to train an operator from the beginning. Mr. Matthews stated it
takes three (3) years for the first certification; it takes five (5) different certifications to run the plant;
and 45 hours of continuing education.
o Mr. Matthews reported the three options to run the plant:
 Maryland Environmental Service (MES) - $309,930
 Susquehanna Operational Services - $406,000 with a 1.9% escalator built in for three years
 Town of Centreville - $524,720 which would include 1 superintendent, 1 lead, and 3
qualified operators.
o Mr. Kline stated with the current debt load in the Enterprise Fund, a true allocation cannot be done.
o Ms. Kaiser asked what other recruiting options can be done. Mr. Koogle stated there has been a
discussion regarding on-call differential and take-home vehicles.
o Mr. Kline stated the Town cannot be as generous as they set out and cut taxes this year.
o Mr. Beauchamp asked why not stay with MES for a year and build the Town’s team? Mr. Matthews
stated he does not want to continue with MES.
o Mr. Matthews reported the benefits of going with Susquehanna Operational Services:
 Rewrite the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the water/wastewater/farm
 Develop a capital improvement plan and determine long range needs
 Meter reads vs. water usage at the plant
 The Principal for Susquehanna is the Principal to Cecilton and used to be the
Superintendent for Perryville
 Experience with project management
 Rewritten SOPs for North East and Charlestown
 Certified trainers
 Grants and administrative managers
o Mr. Kline made a motion to approve changing the tax rate back to $0.535. Ms. Kaiser seconded the
motion. The motion passed by a 4 to 1 vote.
Council Members Yes No
Beauchamp X
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Worth X
Johnson X
Kaiser X
Kline X
o By changing the tax rate back to $0.535, this would bring approximately $93,000 back into the General
Fund. Mr. Kline asked if the allocation could be changed. Ms. Luffman stated she would review the
numbers and determine the best allocation to bring the Enterprise Fund back into the positive. She
stated it would probably be a 6% reduction in the allocation.
o Mr. Kline asked Mr. Beauchamp if he was in favor of reducing the allocation. Mr. Beauchamp stated
he was not in favor and believes the approximately $130,000 deficit in the Enterprise Fund could come
out of fund balance. After more discussion, the Council was in favor, except for Mr. Beauchamp, to
decrease the allocation percentage to fund the $130,000 deficit in the Enterprise Fund.
o Mr. Kline made a motion to include Susquehanna Operational Services in the FY2024 budget. Ms.
Kaiser seconded the motion. The motion passed with a 4 to 1 vote. Mr. Beauchamp abstained because
he had not seen the proposal yet.
Council Members Yes No Abstain
Beauchamp X
Worth X
Johnson X
Kaiser X
Kline X
o Ms. Kaiser made a motion to use $20,000 from ARPA funds to purchase the Gator as requested by the
Public Works Director. Mr. Beauchamp seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
o Ms. Kaiser made a motion to purchase the additional FY24 capital requests from the Public Works
Department in the amount of $95,000 (fire hydrant replacement - $10,000; light tower replacement -
$30,000; and sewer collection repairs - $55,000) and pay for out of ARPA funds. Mr. Johnson
seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
o Ms. Kaiser made a motion to purchase the police ballistic vests out of the General Fund. Mr. Worth
seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
o Mr. Beauchamp made a motion to purchase two (2) police vehicles with the money made from selling
existing vehicles and additional grants. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion.
o After additional discussion, Mr. Beauchamp amended the original motion to use $110,000 out of the
General Fund to purchase two (2) police vehicles. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion, which passed
with a 4 to 1 vote.
Council Members Yes No
Beauchamp X
Worth X
Johnson X
Kaiser X
Kline X
 Fireworks
o Mr. Johnson asked if the $5,000 originally earmarked for fireworks was put into a general events line
items that could be used at the Council’s discretion.
o Ms. Kaiser requested a discussion on fireworks and stated that she is a fan of fireworks however, the
cost of the fireworks is extremely excessive no matter if it is the Town paying for them or a private
citizen. She stated that she is unsupportive of the fireworks for the value the Town is receiving for the
amount being spent. She discussed her disinterest in Facebook polls and feels that the fireworks this
year is wasteful spending.
o Ms. Kaiser made a motion to cancel fireworks for 2023. Mr. Kline seconded the motion.
o Mr. Johnson stated that he echoes Ms. Kaiser’s sentiments regarding Facebook polls and is not in favor
of governing this way however, the several hundred that messaged him did not see it as an attempt to
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govern through Facebook. He stated there were approximately 600 people that responded to the poll
(which includes duplicate Facebook pages, etc.) and 323 people said they were in favor with
discontinuing the fireworks.
o Mr. Johnson stated that his feeling on the fireworks is not whether the Town has them or not, he feels
that $6.00 a household is small in comparison to the thousands of people who attend the event and the
money the non-profit vendors are able to make during the event. He stated this is an event that is far
more than just fireworks.
o Ms. Kaiser stated that she does not feel White Marsh Park is the best location and does not feel there
would be as many people that would attend there, if they could fit. She stated the Council owes it to
the staff to decide.
o Mr. Beauchamp stated that the years the Town held the fireworks were wonderful events however, the
fact that they would not be inside the town, just does not feel as though they are the Centreville
fireworks.
o Mr. Kline requested a roll call of votes for the motion to not hold fireworks, which passed
unanimously.
Council Members Yes No
Beauchamp X
Worth X
Johnson X
Kaiser X
Kline X
Citizens Forum
Joe Brown, Concerto Avenue, offered comments regarding the tax rate and economic development and the need for
more commercial businesses.
Motion to Adjourn
At 7:29 p.m., Ms. Kaiser made a motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel. Mr. Johnson seconded the
motion, which passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn M. Brinkley
Town Clerk
Action Items:
1. Approved the purchase of a Vactron truck as described in the capital budget using ARPA funds.
2. Approved an increase of $30,000 to Goodwill Fire Company’s line item in the budget.
3. Approved changing the tax rate back to $0.535.
4. Approved including Susquehanna Operational Services in the FY2024 budget.
5. Approved the use $20,000 from ARPA funds to purchase the Gator as requested by the Public Works
Director.
6. Approved the purchase of the additional FY24 capital requests from the Public Works Department in the
amount of $95,000 (fire hydrant replacement - $10,000; light tower replacement - $30,000; and sewer
collection repairs - $55,000) and pay for out of ARPA funds.
7. Approved the purchase of the police ballistic vests out of the General Fund.
8. Approved the use of $110,000 out of the General Fund to purchase two (2) police vehicles.
9. Approved the cancellation the 2023 fireworks.
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