Worksession Minutes
march 1, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, MPT Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison and Wilkinson. Also present were TA Murphy, Clerk Harper and resident Jeff Gourley.

1. Mayor

Announcements: Prince George's County Municipal Association (PGCMA) Executive Director Johnnie Clark, Esq. resigned.

Calendar: Director Coleman will discuss his budget request at the March 8 or March 22 budget worksession. March 19 was approved as a potential date for a Public Works potluck. The Historical Committee (BHHC) plans to hold a Memorial Day event on May 22.

Mayor Calvo said that the BHHC should coordinate any planned event with the Recreation Council. As a committee appointed by the Town Council and receiving Town funds, it needs to become a member of the Recreation Council to qualify for event funds. This was laid out by the Town Council during the last budget process and conforms to the provisions of Ordinance 113. CM Dennison noted that the BHHC sends a representative to Recreation Council meetings for Berwyn Heights Day planning but declined to become a regular member of the Recreation Council. Mayor Calvo requested that CM Dennison ask the BHHC chair to come to a worksession to discuss the matter. MPT Lofgren said that it is important for Town events to be coordinated so that they do not coincide with one another. If events are planned well ahead of time for a yearly calendar, they could also be published in County and State events calendars.

Minutes: On a motion by CM Ahrens and second by MPT Lofgren, the February 16 minutes were approved 5 to 0.

Department reports: CM Ahrens said that there was an exchange of e-mails with CM Wilkinson about snow removal, which will be discussed as a separate item later. In other news, the Code Department collected $400 in fines. CM Dennison reported that she invited all Town organizations and the Public Works Department to attend the next Recreation Council meeting to plan Berwyn Heights Day. She also attended an education forum at Parkdale High School, at which Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) plans for high school restructuring were discussed. MPT Lofgren said that he has just returned from an out-of-Town trip and does not have a detailed report. Public Works quickly caught up with trash collection after the snow storms. CM Wilkinson reported that TA Murphy spent most of his time working on the budget.

Mayor Calvo reported that there was a serious incident occurred on Osage Street last week, in which a man visited his estranged wife's family, got into an altercation and fired several shots from a handgun, one of which pierced the walls of a neighboring home. He commended Officers Mulroney and Thompson, who responded quickly, and Detective Antolik for following up with an investigation that led to arrest of the perpetrator. County Councilmember Olson now chairs the Transportation, Housing, and Environment Committee of the County Council. He is sponsoring legislation to change regulations on feral cats to allow spaying of cats without adoption. The first report on the deployment of SWAT teams in Prince George's County was published, following the legislation adopted in the wake of an errant raid on Mayor Calvo's home. It showed that SWAT teams were used 195 times in the last 6 months period, the most of any jurisdiction in Maryland. The majority of the deployments were for Part II offenses. The Courts also denied the motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Mayor Calvo and his wife against Prince George's County Police regarding the raid.

Citizen comments: CM Wilkinson received a number of e-mails on snow removal, especially snow not removed from sidewalks leading to the school. He also received complaints about the hockey rink, which is used as a place to party at night. Residents would like to see more vigorous enforcement, possibly with the help of a motion-detecting light. Two children at play signs recommended for Cunningham Drive and 63rd Avenue have not been installed yet. TA Murphy was asked to follow up. Several residents commented that they liked the Nixle public safety communications system. However, some did not receive a message that the Osage Street shooter was apprehended after receiving a prior message about the shooting.

Mayor Calvo said the Council received a complaint about the Town performing snow removal at the Berwyn Presbyterian Church parking lot. Mayor Calvo replied to the resident that snow removal in the parking lot is a low priority and that the Town charges a fee for the service. Also, the Presbyterian Church serves as a backup emergency shelter when there is no power at the Town Center and requires a cleared parking lot. MPT Lofgren said he received many comments about snow removal during and after the storms. Public Works was asked to assist with freeing cars from snow banks with a front loader but declined to do so. Public Works will make an inventory of downed branches and trees in the public right of way and remove them.

Berwyn Road resident Jeff Gourley asked if the Council intends to reduce staff if it switches to once-a-week trash collection. Mayor Calvo said that there is a vacancy, which may not be refilled. A final decision will be made during the budget process. Mr. Gourley stated for the record that he would like the Police Department to transition to smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles, which would reduce the cost of the take-home car program. He also suggested attaching snow plows to refuse trucks, which can push larger amounts of snow more easily. This was done when his brother worked for the Public Works Department. He commented that the Town should have looked into hiring outside contractors to help remove snow from the streets in a more timely manner.

M-NCPPC chair appointment: Mayor Calvo explained that, in February, County Executive Jack Johnson summarily dismissed the current chairman of the Planning Board, Samuel Parker before his term expired and nominated his deputy administrative officer David Byrd to replace him. As the chair is appointed to a 4 year term, this would deny the next County Executive, who will be elected this November, the opportunity to appoint a chairman. The replacement is opposed by County Councilmember Samuel Dean, the PGCMA and a number of cities. A hearing on the appointment will take place tomorrow and a decision may be made by next week. He would like Berwyn Heights to take a position against the appointment.

CM Wilkinson said that, according to a Gazette article on the dismissal, Parker's term was expired and Jack Johnson is within his rights to appoint someone else. Mayor Calvo said that, while this is true, the purpose of opposing the appointment is to protect the options of the next County Executive. He believes it would be better to have the next County executive choose his own chairman at the beginning of his term and implement new policies. On a motion by CM Dennison and second by CM Wilkinson, the Council voted to oppose the appointment of David Byrd 5 to 0.

At 8:05 p.m., the Council took a 10 minute break.

Town Administrator proposed budget: Mayor Calvo said that this budget is going to be worse than anticipated. In addition to a substantial decline in real property tax revenues and the loss of Highway User Revenues (HUR), receipts from income taxes, personal property taxes and interest income are down as well. On the other hand, personnel costs are up. The Town's aging workforce could put the Town into a higher health insurance bracket. Contributions to the Maryland State Pension System have been raised to make up for low interest earnings on pension funds. Hence, TA Murphy has proposed to make some difficult decisions to make ends meet.

TA Murphy gave an overview of the important changes in the FY 2011 budget. When he began putting the budget together, there was a $235,000 deficit resulting from a $129,000 loss in HUR and $106,000 decline in real property taxes, a 9.1% decline in revenues over this year's budget. Additionally, there is likely to be a $9,000 to $14,000 drop in income taxes and an as of yet undetermined drop in personal property taxes because Verizon seems to be appealing its valuation. Further, interest earned on the $1,003,000 in reserves is ½ %, resulting in a drop in interest earnings of about $40,000. Information on police grants for FY 2010 has not been received yet but police grant money is like to be lower next year. On the other hand, business license revenues have exceeded their budget by $5,000 this year and projections for FY 2011 have been raised. Police fines will meet budget and are projected to go up slightly for next year. The picture on code fines is mixed. Direct payments to the Town have declined in the last years, while payment via liens has increased. At this point, the Town is due $10,000 in outstanding liens.

• To make up for revenue losses, TA Murphy is proposing the following revenue changes for FY 2011:

• $10 increase in recycling tax from $60 to $70 per year per residence, in part to cover anticipated maintenance & repair costs for Public Works vehicles.

• $80 increase in rental license fee from $220 to $300; based on Code Department cost estimates of administering rental properties.

• $3,000 increase in business license fees budgeted.

• $2,000 increase in police fines budgeted.

FY 2011 expenditures are down $128,000 overall, excluding the capital budget. The requests of $157,000 for a larger trash truck and $117,000 for a dump truck were not included. However, there is enough money in the vehicle reserve now to pay for the dump truck. Purchase of the trash truck would require appropriation of additional funds this year. The following changes are proposed under expenditures.

• No cost of living (COLA) increases.

• 3% decrease in Administration budget.

• 5% decrease ($57,000) in Police budget from cutting 1 police officer position.

• 1% decrease in Code compliance budget.

• 3% decrease in Public Works budget from cutting 1 position, which is currently vacant. Temporary help budget increased by $10,200 to compensate for loss of 1 full time staff;
  Recycling  maintenance & repair appropriation increased by $8,000 in case of repairs to old trash truck.

• 6% decrease in Parks & Recreation budget due to savings from switching to I-Net;
  $720 were switched from Historical Committee and youth services to the Recreation Council appropriation

• Cable budget has been held to FY 2010 levels. Spending is revenue dependent.

• 2% increase in Miscellaneous budget (insurance and employee benefits);
  Workers compensation expenses increased by $5,000 because 2 claims were filed;
  Pension benefits expenses increased by $20,300 due to State pension plan 3.4 % contribution increase. Health insurance increased by 8.5% but final quotes for next fiscal year not due until May.

• 2% decrease in debt service budget; next year 1995 bond issue will be paid off.

• Capital expenditures/operating budget was held to last year levels; 1 police car funded; fence for BHES field not funded.

• $53,000 transfer to Capital Budget/equipment & projects; Vehicle Replacement fund has sufficient reserves for new 1 ton dump truck; purchase of a 25 cubic yard trash truck would require transfer of additional funds into reserve in FY 2011.

Surplus available is approximately $500,000. The Council will need to prioritize which items to purchase.

Mayor Calvo commented that adjustments will need to be made to the surplus figures. TA Murphy has laid out the surplus available but made no recommendations on how to spend it. The Council has used the surplus to set up reserves with the goal to eventually pay for all vehicles out of the operating budget. Money has also been set aside in the infrastructure reserve for street renovations. But these have been put on hold because the State canceled HUR payments. The Council may want to consider purchasing a snow plow and equipment other than the vehicles budgeted.

Mayor Calvo continued that TA Murphy produced a balanced budget but made some painful cuts. The Public Works staff reduction is less of a problem because there currently is a vacancy, which will not be filled. More money in the temporary workers appropriation gives the Public Works director the flexibility to hire additional people when needed. Cutting a police officer position is the last thing he wants to do but he does not see better way to balance the operating budget apart from raising taxes. The remaining 7 officers are sufficient to provide 24 hour coverage, albeit with less flexibility for vacations and sick leave. The budget gap could be narrowed marginally by raising permit and license fees or by deleting merit increases. But it would not raise enough revenue or save enough money to close the gap.

CM Wilkinson suggested that $28,000 could be saved by not purchasing a police car this year. Instead the Council could budget $5,000 to cover any repairs that might be needed. Mayor Calvo said that this could be done but would only produce a one-time savings this year. A reduction in staff would also make the purchase of a new car unnecessary, because less cars are needed. CM Wilkinson asked if any revenue has been budgeted for speed camera tickets. TA Murphy said it was not because the revenue is too uncertain. CM Dennison asked how much the tax rate would need to be raised to pay for 1 police officer. Mayor Calvo said property taxes rates would need to be raised by 2 cents. MPT Lofgren noted that, with the number of rental homes up, trash collection and code enforcement costs may rise.

Mayor Calvo asked Councilmembers to familiarize themselves with the budget and identify questions and items that can be changed. In the coming budget worksessions, there will be a department by department, line by line review of the budget, as well as exploration of larger issues, e.g. health insurance, restructuring of trash collection, capital budget, staff reductions, the shared administrative assistant and others that Councilmembers might suggest. TA Murphy will update the estimates of expenditures and prepare background for special topics.

2. Public Works

Refuse Ordinance revision: Mayor Calvo said that the Council will introduce the proposed amendments to the Refuse Collection Ordinance at the March Town meeting. He asked to explain a new format for presenting amendments to the Ordinance. Clerk Harper said that the document shows the original Ordinance and the amended Ordinance side by side so that the two versions can be compared more easily. The latest version includes MPT Lofgren's proposed changes.

3. Administration

Sidewalk snow removal: CM Wilkinson explained that from speaking with parents of school children and his own observations, he became very concerned about the lack of snow removal from sidewalks. Well after a week of the back-to-back snow storms in February, sidewalks around the school remained impassable, and children were forced to walk in the streets. This was made more dangerous because the roadway was still icy and travel lanes still narrow from snow piled up at the curbside. Director Solomon provided the Council with background. There is nothing about snow removal in Town ordinances. But a County ordinance requires snow removal from sidewalks in commercial districts. He would like the Town to adopt a regulation that requires residents to remove snow from public sidewalks in front of their home within a reasonable amount of time. Without such regulation and fines for non-compliance, the Code Department cannot enforce snow clearing.

Mayor Calvo said he agrees that sidewalks used by school children should be cleared. Ordinance 118 – Roads & Public Rights of Way, which requires residents to maintain the rights of way in front of their residences, would be the logical candidate for such a regulation. He would support a fine of no more than $25 for a violation. However, regulations should address typical storms, not exceptional weather events, like this year's 100 year storms. MPT Lofgren commented that sometimes already cleared sidewalks were buried with snow pushed to the side of the streets by the snow plows. He suggested that Public Works invest in 1 or 2 heavy duty snow blowers to clear critical sidewalks. Mayor Calvo said that these storms raised good questions about whose responsibility it is to clear snow from around the school (PGCPS, Park & Planning, the Town or residents) and what the best equipment is to remove snow. He would like to take up the issue in the summer after the Refuse Collection Ordinance is amended.

Bulletin cover: The following items were approved for the front of the April Bulletin cover: Easter theme, announcements for budget hearing and candidates night, jumps for Berwyn Heights Day, tax filing information, stream cleaning information, Mock Town Council meeting.

Nothing was discussed under 4. Code Compliance, 5. Parks & Recreation, and 6. Public Safety.

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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