City Council Minutes 2014 10 14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes October 14, 2014 Page 6 of 23 Council member Loo made a general comment for all departments. She stated there is a percentage of change in departments and noted for example, a -36.9% change in the fleet maintenance, with no explanation. Finance Director Watson explained this is a redistribution of the cost for staff. The reduction in fleet maintenance was the redistribution and reclassification of the two fleet mechanics. 50% of their wages will be paid by the Utility Fund. Fleet maintenance is a General Fund department and there will be a decrease in the General Fund and an increase in the Utility Fund. Council member Loo asked if those large swings are from internal movement. She noted the raw water operations are up 31 %. Finance Director Watson explained each department will be different. He explained on the top of each department there is a summary on the first line. Council member Loo suggested when there is a swing over 25% an asterisk be put on the bottom of the page to explain the change. Council member Stolzmann stated if the line -item budget was tied to this it would answer a lot of questions. She provided the example of the collection of solid waste where the cost of the service has gone up because Western has raised it costs. She felt it all ties in together. PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT Council member Stolzmann stated because this department has so many tasks and responsibilities it would be helpful if it was broken up by division. This department has metrics on cost recovery and she encouraged each department to use the metric to illustrate cost effectiveness. She listed examples such as park shelter rentals and the number of visitors at the Recreation Center, but noted some of the effective measures listed are great goals. She stated it would be helpful to have a park -by -park analysis to see how the parks get funded. She felt the effectiveness measures were excellent in some areas, but noted other areas are hard to measure. Ratios of fees for cost recovery of the Recreation Center, pool and golf course would be interesting to see. She provided the following additional goals: improve weed control in open space, repair erosion in open space, reduce dog waste in open space, changing the language from Community Garden Pilot Project to establish Community Garden Pilot Project, continue to implement Emerald Ash Borer mitigation and establish a procedure for managing outlots. She had an issue over the way water is being charged to parks. She felt a marginal cost for the City is zero dollars. She felt they should make an excellent effort and establish best practices for reducing water, water waste and watering the right amount and efficiency. She did not favor the parks having to pay back the Public Works Department for water. Council member Lipton addressed the Recreation Center revenue and inquired about adding additional funds from the General Fund. He questioned the fee schedule, which patrons pay on a usage basis. Louisville residents support the Recreation Center