April 21, 2021 Budget Work Session Minutes  HAMLET CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS ROOM 201 MAIN STREET, HAMLET, NC: 28345 WEDNESDAY, APRIL: 21,2021 3:30PM MINUTES  Governing Body Present: Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Council Member Council Member Council Member Staff Present: City Manager City Clerk Finance Officer Public Works Director Billy Stubbs Police Chief Museum Director  Bill Bayless Jesse McQueen Eddie Martin Oscar Sellers Abbie Covington Matthew Christian Gail Strickland Jill Dickens Dennis Brown Mechelle Preslar  Others Present: Will Toler, Scotty' Wilkins and Andre Noel  1. Call to Order  Mayor Bayless called the meeting to order at: 3:30 pm. He announced Council Member Stuart was  unable to attend due to a health concern with his Mother.  2. Adoption of Agenda The vote was 4-0.  Council Member Covington motioned to adopt the Agenda. Council Member Sellers provided the second.  3. Presentation - AMI WaterMeters (Advanced Metering Infrastructure)  Mayor Bayless welcomed. Scotty Wilkins, Director of Sales, and Andre Noel, Director of Revenue Management and Metering Services with SUEZ Water Technologies to speak with Council. Mr. Wilkins provided background information ont the company and reminded Council that Utility Services, now a part ofSUEZ, has managed the City'swatertanks for 20 years. Mr. Noel offered the advantages of his company  and AMI meters as:  20-year association with the Cityi in water tank maintenance They provide a solution and offer preventative and proactive maintenance Meter reading every hour to see usage and patterns Information goes to collector and then to cloud Information accessible on any smart device Customers can create portal and see their usage City can slow water flow and cut offi from smart device Staff can alert customers of high water use quicker  Full turn-key package  City can detect tampering  1    April 21, 2021 Budget Work Session Minutes  Software can forecast revenue No physical meter reading required 15- year warranty  City owns the meters, infrastructure and software Billing can be delayed 12-18 months Payments can be spread out up to 15 years Estimated revenue increase of $4.6 million  Current water distribution employees can shift to other City projects  Mr. Noel reported, after studying Hamlet's data, they selected ultrasonic Aclara meters that have no moving parts and are compatible with North Carolina water. He advised the proposal includes 4 collectors and an acoustic leak detection system. Data indicated the City! has 35.8% non-revenued water. The cost analysis presented was $2.4- -$2.6 million with an annual maintenance fee of $56,000.00. The: study indicated the City would have an estimated increase in revenue of $4.6 million that would pay fort the  project and allow money for other projects. Council's concerns were:  Estimated revenue may not be accurate Ownership oft the meters Total cost of the 15-year period Next steps after the 15-year time frame Costs ofi individual meters Loss ofj jobs fore employees Service Charge for customers  Mr. Noel and Mr. Wilkins recommended sending meters to at third party for testing to validate the information at no cost to the City. Mr. Noel advised all meters would need to be replaced in: 15-20 years and provided an estimate of half a million dollars to do so since the infrastructure would be in place. Mr. Noel advised the Company would come back to the Cityi in approximately 13 years and provide an estimate. To answer the loss ofj jobs, Mr. Noel suggested they shift the Water Distribution Employees to Council Member McQueen calculated the total cost of the project, including the 15-year maintenance fee, as $3.1 million, requiring the City to have additional revenue of $213,000.00 annually to break even. He asked the City Manager to provide meter reading costs to Council and inquired ift the City had to followa formal bidding process. Mr. Christian answered the project does noti fall under the same parameters asa construction bid. They will place an announcement soliciting qualified firms but willl have latitude to select  other City projects.  the company.  Review of Proposed FY2021-22 Budget  City Manager Matt Christian advised the Department Heads Councit requested attend, with the exception of ChiefWhite who was ona call, were in attendance to answer Council's questions regarding their Capital Outlay Requests. He stated the information received for the Local Government Commission has accelerated the timeline to get the requested information to them. He has spoken with Staff about what is critical and they have determined they can wait another year without purchasing any vehicles. The only Capital Item Purchase listed in the Manager's Recommended Draft Budget is the required air packs for the Fire Department. Council discussed the $5,000.00 cabinet would be used as a display for Hamlet Fire and  2    April 21, 2021 Budget Work Session Minutes  Police Public Safety at the Museum and decided to leave iti int the Budget. The street sweeper was discussed extensively, but determined not to purchase ati this time; otheri items would be more necessary. The Board discussed the need to compensate the Citye employees to show appreciation and to help with employee retention. They did not receive a raise for FY2020-21 and did not receive a Christmas bonus due tot the position the City was put in with the County changing the sales tax distribution, reducing the City's revenues. The difference inj providing a bonus versus a raise was discussed; the raise would be ongoing and Council was not sure they could sustain the increase in the next few years. Ai final recommendation Matt Christian reported the General Fund is balanced with no increase in taxes. The proposed Budget has aF Fund Balance Appropriation of $343,660 a reduction of 37.9% from last year. The Budget maintains current operations. Regarding the Powell Bill, he said Council needs to consider long term management and look at ways to get the personnel expenses out and use the money for projects. The Enterprise Fund is balanced with no rate increase. The City does have the water meter needs, for more efficiency. He has another company that will provide a presentation. He stated his main concern is ouri future debt service. As of now, the City will be putting back $350,000.001 int the Enterprise Fund, money the City can use to invest in projects. When we receive the debt service for the WWTP, we will not have the same liquidity. Now is a good time to look at water meters before the 40-year service debt with the WWTP expansion. Mayor Bayless inquired on safety vests for the Police Department. Chief Brown reported the vests have not been upkept and are needed. He is identifying the critical needs of the Department and will report to Council Member Covington asked for an explanation on the decrease in investment funds. Jill Dickens explained interest rates have decreased. Mrs. Covington mentioned the Emergency Service Fees dropped. Matt Christian stated the decrease is due to the agreement withi the City. They are not reimbursing for part-time employees and the second payment is due next month.The City Manager reported the Cityi is moving forward with Option 1 in Employee Health Insurance, as discussed at the last Budget Meeting. The annual premium increase is 3.4%. Also mentioned was some oft the part time positions have been shifted. Mr. Christian informed Council his recommendation for the American Rescue Plan Funds is toi take care of employees first, and then purchase supplies, equipment, technology and special projects the City cannot Council discussed contributions to other Organizations, but determined they could not give to one and noti to all. They discussed with Chief Brown other ways the City could facilitate Crime Stoppers Fund Council Member McQueen ended the Budget Discussions by saying the Board had to cut $400,000.001 in  was not made.  the City Manager.  afford.  Raisers. The Police Chief stated they would advertise on their FaceBook page. Capital Outlay Requests, things that are needed to run the City.  5. Motion to Adjourn  At5:35 pm, Council Members Covington and Sellers provided the motion and second to adjourn the meeting. The vote was 4-0. Council set the next Budget Meeting for Thursday, May 6th at 3:30 pm.  IIIII  Respectfully: submitted, Sd-rpitlénk Gail M. Strickland, City Clerk    S NORTH