Brent
06-02-2004, 10:11 PM
Answers from Scott Fogleman, budget director for Town of Cary. I have to say that I am quite impressed with these answers, especially with respect to some that we had received in the past.
Delete Reply/All Forward/Inline Open Report Spam Inbox 22 of 30 Inbox Draft Sent Trash account CaryPolitics CitizenBudgetComm GenesisWebSite misc Nations schools Scouts VFP
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 10:42:45 -0400
From: <Scott.Fogleman@TownofCary.org> Add To Address Book
Subject: Re: Questions from the Citizen Budget Review Committee
To: brent@posmoroda.com
Cc: Karen.Mills@TownofCary.org, Bill.Coleman@TownofCary.org, Ben.Shivar@TownofCary.org
Responses included below. Please let me know if you have any additional
questions or need any clarification.
Thanks,
Scott Fogleman
Town of Cary
Budget Director
316 North Academy Street
Cary, NC 27513
Phone (919) 462-3911
Fax (919) 460-4929
scott.fogleman@townofcary.org
www.townofcary.org
"Brent A. Miller"
<brent@posmoroda.
com> To
Scott.Fogleman@townofcary.org,
05/29/2004 08:20 Karen.Mills@townofcary.org
AM cc
Subject
Please respond to Questions from the Citizen Budget
brent@posmoroda.c Review Committee
om
Scott & Karen,
As you may know, Council member Michael Joyce recently launched a Citizens
Budget Review Committee. More than two dozen Cary citizens have volunteered
to participate, and we have been making progress.
Our mission statement has been developed; it is: "This volunteer citizen
group will examine the Town budget (2004/2005) in an objective manner and
offer advisory input to Cary Town Staff and Town Council about fiscal
issues, including revenue and spending priorities, individually and
through group consensus."
To help us reach conclusions, we have of course been examining the FY '04
budget and we have developed some questions. I have been asked to present
the questions to Town Staff on behalf of the group, so that (we hope) you
aren't peppered with questions from many individuals.
Several questions that I believe you may be able to address are:
________________________________________
· Do we have anyone who is a grant writer on Staff?
There is no one person on the Town of Cary Staff that is dedicated to grant
writing activities 100% of the time. Grant research, application, and
ultimate management activities are spread throughout the organization based
on the need and applicability within each department. For example, the
police department pursues public safety related grants like the video
camera grant recently awarded jointly with Chapel Hill.
________________________________________
· How much did we spend on consultants in FY ’04? How much is budgeted in
FY ’05?
The Town of Cary has $211K planned for consultant spending in FY 2004 and
$156K in FY 2005. These amounts do not include design services related to
capital projects as they are included in each respective capital project
budget.
________________________________________
· What explains the "other/contingency" line item and the general fund
transfers in the Utility fund (would like more details)?
Assuming you are referring to line items referenced in the following
link...
Utility Fund Revenue and Expense Graphs
"Other/contingency" = $928K cost in FY 2005 Recommended Budget
This line item is a catch all which includes several different items:
1. departmental allocation accounts ($50K included as a cost reduction in
FY 2005 for anticipated budget underruns that will be spread to
departmental budgets during the year as underruns occur)
2. transfer to capital projects ($1M transfer to the open space
acquisition project)
3. self-insurance fund allocation ($75K for FY 2005 to cover utility
related costs)
4. proceeds from sale of assets ($20K in revenue anticipated for the sale
of utility assets throughout the year which typically occurs in concert
with the state surplus auction)
5. Other transfers ($75K in revenue to account for the utility services
that general fund departments use throughout the year)
General Fund Transfers = $6.3M cost in FY 2005 Recommended Budget
The general fund transfers, or costs coming into the utility fund, cover
the operating costs necessary to run and operate the utility system. The
following related costs are currently included in the FY05 Recommended
Budget:
Public Works Operations $4,056,558 (see detailed work scope below)
Administration $746,318 (PW/UT Management and planning)
Indirect Costs $1,500,000 (General Government indirect support allocation)
Total $6,302,876
The Operations division costs cover the following utility system related
activities:
Wastewater Collection Systems & Maintenance
1. Responsible for sewer line cleaning, vacuuming, and preventive
maintenance programs. Total system includes approximately 600 miles of
sewer lines.
2. Perform televised underground inspections of sewers and creates
databases with digital images.
3. Provide support for major sewer line rehabilitation/installation
construction projects.
4. Responsible for easement maintenance and line obstruction clearing to
reduce sanitary sewer overflows and/or stoppages. Total system includes
approximately 180 miles of sanitary sewer easement.
5. Respond to trouble calls from both internal and external crews for sewer
line problems.
6. Perform utility location services for Town-owned wastewater collection
system and components.
Water Distribution Systems
7. Responsible for the installation, replacement, and maintenance of
commercial and residential water metering devices throughout the Town.
Total system includes approximately 34,500 such devices.
8. Responsible for preventive and ongoing maintenance of water hydrants.
Total system includes approximately 5,364 hydrants.
9. Provide support for major line rehabilitation/installation construction
projects.
10. Perform preventive maintenance on reclaimed water system lines and
appurtenances.
11. Responsible for leak detection and leak correlation services for the
water distribution system. Total system includes approximately 617 miles of
distribution lines.
12. Gather water samples to ensure water quality throughout the
distribution system. Approximately 120 samples collected monthly.
13. Inspects, operates, and maintains water distribution system valves.
Total system includes approximately 18,000 valves.
14. Locates water and reclaimed water system lines and appurtenances.
Up until the mid 1990's, there were two distinct operations related
divisions - each with their own management structure. The utility
operations division was accounted for in the utility fund and the general
government operations division was accounted for in the general fund. It
was decided in the mid 1990's to combine these two Public Works and
Utilities divisions into one Public Works division to help streamline
management activities and to gain workload efficiencies. The work itself
is accounted for by task all within the general fund, and the utility
related cost is transferred by journal entry to the utility fund so that
the utility rates can pay for the utility system related work being
performed.
________________________________________
· Do the graphs in the FY '04 budget document, especially projected debt,
reflect $130 million road bond and $30 million Parks & Rec bond that were
recently approved?
Short Answer: Not all of it - debt service is shown based on debt already
appropriated at the time the related debt service payments are expected to
start
Long Answer: The schedule referred to above only includes the debt for
projects that have received appropriations (been funded). It does not
include provisions or impacts for any future debt that may need to be
issued beyond the budget year. Thus far, only $26.5M of the street authori
ty and $4.3M of the park authority have actually been appropriated to
projects. While general fund debt service is expected to be roughly the
same as FY 2004 in FY 2005, a significant increase is expected in FY 2006.
This large increase is due to the projects that have already been approved
in prior budgets. Based upon Council's feedback during this year's budget
process, the Bartley Park project ($3.2M in bond funding) has been delayed
to FY 2006, and we are currently reviewing options related to the $1M in
funding needed for the White Oak Creek Greenway construction so that no new
general obligation debt would be needed to execute the FY 2005 budget.
Without these two projects included, the debt service projected in this
schedule should drop by about $430K in FY 2006, to about $15M. This would
bring the expected increase in general fund debt service from FY 2005 to FY
2006 to about $4.5M.
________________________________________
What is the projected price of the new Waste Water Treatment Facility?
The plans and options for the ultimate scope, location, and timing of this
regional facility are still under development. For planning purposes, the
first phase, which is expected to be complete in time for use in the summer
of 2011, is expected to cost $77M for a 10 MGD plant. See page 26 of the
capital improvements plan. A great deal of the specifics are still to be
determined as part of the ongoing study regarding the ultimate scope,
capacity, and cost sharing related to this facility, so many of these
numbers are subject to change in future planning years.
________________________________________
Is there a graph or chart that factors in these items.
No. The future use of voter approved bond authority is subject to approval
during each year's budget process.
________________________________________
Just because a bond was passed, does it mean we have to spend it?
No. The voter approved bond authority is valid for seven years, and
through an approval process through the NC Local Government Commission, the
authority can potentially be extended an additional three years, for a
possible total of ten years.
________________________________________
How much more debt can Cary maintain and still keep its AAA bond rating
(without raising taxes)?
This question entails two different topics that are not directly related
and cannot be answered together. For this reason, the question has been
broken into its component parts for response below:
Topic 1) How much more debt can Cary maintain and still keep its AAA bond
rating? The amount of debt and debt service are only two of the many
factors that are considered when an organization is evaluated by one of the
bond rating agencies. The primary aspects of consideration include the
national economy, the local economy, a community's ability to pay (wealth
level of residents), employment rates, tax rate relative to those of its
neighbors, the amount of fund balance available, how well a community is
planned and managed, the future growth potential in the area, etc. No one
of these factors will ultimately determine a community's bond rating as
they are considered together as a package. The key measurable agencies
typically look at in regard to the level of debt is the percentage of debt
service relative to all general fund expenditures. In the FY 2005 budget,
that figure is expected to be about 13%. When organizations hit the 15-20%
range, they usually are looked at a little harder in terms of debt planning
and long term affordability. However, there are AAA municipalities with
debt service around 25%. As long as there is a plan in place to afford the
debt service and many of the other factors mentioned earlier are healthy,
bond rating agencies do not consider the level of debt service an automatic
disqualification for a renewed AAA rating.
Topic 2) How much more debt can Cary maintain without raising taxes?
Unfortunately, there is no one answer to this question. The decline in
revenue growth in recent years has coincided with a substantial increase in
the level of general debt being taken on by the Town of Cary. While
leverage of debt capacity with historically low interest rates is
considered a smart business move, the rate at which the Town has taken on
new debt simply cannot be sustained in the face of declining revenue growth
forever, regardless of the interest rate. The option of raising taxes and
to what degree will depend upon when and the extent to which one or more of
the following options are chosen, some of which we have seen already in the
development of the fiscal year 2005 budget: minimizing the number of new
positions being added, delaying capital investments (eg. no new street
projects funded with debt, Bartley park project delayed one year),
reallocating existing resources to higher need areas (eg. elementary SROs
to high school, weekend patrol, and juvenile investigations), raising fees
to recover a greater percentage of the related costs (PRCR fees being
evaluated), evaluating program alternatives (evaluation of automated solid
waste collection underway), and/or cutting back service levels in a variety
of areas.
________________________________________
· When can we get the 2004 actuals?
The audited financial report for FY 2004, which is a part of the
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be submitted to Council through
the Operations Committee on Wednesday December 1, 2004. It will be
available for review at the same time that Operations Agenda is made
available to the public, which is typically one week or so prior to the
meeting.
________________________________________
· When can we get the 2005 budget?
The Recommended Capital Budget and Capital Improvements Plan was available
on the date of Council's capital worksession, May 12, 2004. The
Recommended Operating Budget was available on the date of Council's
operating worksession, May 25, 2004. The complete recommended fiscal year
2005 budget is currently available online as well.
________________________________________
· Have we looked at doing a special census in FY ’05 or FY ’06?
No. A special census is sometimes requested when it is suspected that a
community's population is growing faster that the Office of State Planning
estimates reflect. Because this officially population figure is used for
many revenue sources distributed on a per capita basis (such as sales tax,
Powell bill, wine and beer tax, etc.), it can make a substantial difference
if the Office of State Planning annual estimate is significantly lower than
the population determined by a special census. Because of the significant
growth during the 1990's and the population differential suspected, a
special census was ordered in 1998. The cost of that census was
approximately $330K an resulted in a net gain for the Town of at least
$870K over two years. The 2000 Census reset the bar for all jurisdictions
in terms of population count and allowed all jurisdictions to be measured
in the same manner. With Cary's meager growth rate since 2000, Cary's
resulting population differential between the Office of State Planning and
that attained from a special census would not be expected to differ
substantially enough to recover the cost of having another special census
performed.
________________________________________
· How frequently are the Town finances audited, and by whom?
The Town's financial statements are audited annually. The firm of Cherry
Bekaert and Holland has conducted the audit for the last three fiscal
years, and we have extended our contract with them to continue with the FY
2004 audit. The audited financial report for FY 2004, which is a part of
the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be submitted to the Local
Government Commission by the Commission's due date of October 31, 2004 and
will be submitted to Council through the Operations Committee on Wednesday
December 1, 2004. The Town's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports have
earned a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the
Government Finance Officers Association for the last 19 consecutive years.
This program establishes guidelines for excellence in disclosure,
completeness and readability. We intend to continue to meet the program
requirements with the FY 2004 report.
________________________________________
· How much money has been spent on Council/Staff retreats in FY ’04 and
what’s budgeted for FY ’05?
The Town of Cary spent $8,553 at the 2004 Council/Staff Retreat, and the
budget for the 2005 Retreat is $12,000.
________________________________________
· How much money is spent on “perks” for Staff/council (things like dinner
at Ruth’s Chris, reserved tickets at Regency Amphitheater, etc.)?
The definition of "perks" must be independently defined based on one's own
perception of a job relative to their own experience. Only because the
question mentions specific examples can data be provided under this
question. A dinner was sponsored by the Town of Cary for Town officials to
meet with local legislative representatives for presentation of the Town's
Legislative Agenda at a cost of $1,777.68. Twenty-four people were in
attendance at this meeting which has been an effective vehicle for helping
all involved parties understand the background and best path forward on
each issue. As far as tickets to the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency
Park, the entire Town Council is allotted 30 tickets for each event. Each
Council member receives four tickets and the Mayor receives the additional
two tickets. Besides their normal compensation and travel allowances,
Town Council member benefits include the same medical and dental plans
available to other town employees. The medical plan is through a preferred
provider service and includes routine vision care and chiropractic. Mental
health and chemical dependence programs are coordinated with the town's
employee assistance program. Dental benefits are limited to $1,000 per
year. The town also offers savings programs and eligibility for credit
union membership. Council members may also request a computer, printer and
high-speed Internet access for the duration of their service. Like other
employees, council members must sign the town's "technology appropriate-use
policy." The gross cell phone allowance is $95 per month, which after
taxes comes to about $75.
If you could help us to obtain the answers to these questions (we recognize
these are quite a few questions), we would be most appreciative.
Thanks very much for your help.
Brent A. Miller
on behalf of the Citizens Budget Review Committee
Delete Reply/All Forward/Inline Open Report Spam Inbox 22 of 30 Inbox Draft Sent Trash account CaryPolitics CitizenBudgetComm GenesisWebSite misc Nations schools Scouts VFP
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 10:42:45 -0400
From: <Scott.Fogleman@TownofCary.org> Add To Address Book
Subject: Re: Questions from the Citizen Budget Review Committee
To: brent@posmoroda.com
Cc: Karen.Mills@TownofCary.org, Bill.Coleman@TownofCary.org, Ben.Shivar@TownofCary.org
Responses included below. Please let me know if you have any additional
questions or need any clarification.
Thanks,
Scott Fogleman
Town of Cary
Budget Director
316 North Academy Street
Cary, NC 27513
Phone (919) 462-3911
Fax (919) 460-4929
scott.fogleman@townofcary.org
www.townofcary.org
"Brent A. Miller"
<brent@posmoroda.
com> To
Scott.Fogleman@townofcary.org,
05/29/2004 08:20 Karen.Mills@townofcary.org
AM cc
Subject
Please respond to Questions from the Citizen Budget
brent@posmoroda.c Review Committee
om
Scott & Karen,
As you may know, Council member Michael Joyce recently launched a Citizens
Budget Review Committee. More than two dozen Cary citizens have volunteered
to participate, and we have been making progress.
Our mission statement has been developed; it is: "This volunteer citizen
group will examine the Town budget (2004/2005) in an objective manner and
offer advisory input to Cary Town Staff and Town Council about fiscal
issues, including revenue and spending priorities, individually and
through group consensus."
To help us reach conclusions, we have of course been examining the FY '04
budget and we have developed some questions. I have been asked to present
the questions to Town Staff on behalf of the group, so that (we hope) you
aren't peppered with questions from many individuals.
Several questions that I believe you may be able to address are:
________________________________________
· Do we have anyone who is a grant writer on Staff?
There is no one person on the Town of Cary Staff that is dedicated to grant
writing activities 100% of the time. Grant research, application, and
ultimate management activities are spread throughout the organization based
on the need and applicability within each department. For example, the
police department pursues public safety related grants like the video
camera grant recently awarded jointly with Chapel Hill.
________________________________________
· How much did we spend on consultants in FY ’04? How much is budgeted in
FY ’05?
The Town of Cary has $211K planned for consultant spending in FY 2004 and
$156K in FY 2005. These amounts do not include design services related to
capital projects as they are included in each respective capital project
budget.
________________________________________
· What explains the "other/contingency" line item and the general fund
transfers in the Utility fund (would like more details)?
Assuming you are referring to line items referenced in the following
link...
Utility Fund Revenue and Expense Graphs
"Other/contingency" = $928K cost in FY 2005 Recommended Budget
This line item is a catch all which includes several different items:
1. departmental allocation accounts ($50K included as a cost reduction in
FY 2005 for anticipated budget underruns that will be spread to
departmental budgets during the year as underruns occur)
2. transfer to capital projects ($1M transfer to the open space
acquisition project)
3. self-insurance fund allocation ($75K for FY 2005 to cover utility
related costs)
4. proceeds from sale of assets ($20K in revenue anticipated for the sale
of utility assets throughout the year which typically occurs in concert
with the state surplus auction)
5. Other transfers ($75K in revenue to account for the utility services
that general fund departments use throughout the year)
General Fund Transfers = $6.3M cost in FY 2005 Recommended Budget
The general fund transfers, or costs coming into the utility fund, cover
the operating costs necessary to run and operate the utility system. The
following related costs are currently included in the FY05 Recommended
Budget:
Public Works Operations $4,056,558 (see detailed work scope below)
Administration $746,318 (PW/UT Management and planning)
Indirect Costs $1,500,000 (General Government indirect support allocation)
Total $6,302,876
The Operations division costs cover the following utility system related
activities:
Wastewater Collection Systems & Maintenance
1. Responsible for sewer line cleaning, vacuuming, and preventive
maintenance programs. Total system includes approximately 600 miles of
sewer lines.
2. Perform televised underground inspections of sewers and creates
databases with digital images.
3. Provide support for major sewer line rehabilitation/installation
construction projects.
4. Responsible for easement maintenance and line obstruction clearing to
reduce sanitary sewer overflows and/or stoppages. Total system includes
approximately 180 miles of sanitary sewer easement.
5. Respond to trouble calls from both internal and external crews for sewer
line problems.
6. Perform utility location services for Town-owned wastewater collection
system and components.
Water Distribution Systems
7. Responsible for the installation, replacement, and maintenance of
commercial and residential water metering devices throughout the Town.
Total system includes approximately 34,500 such devices.
8. Responsible for preventive and ongoing maintenance of water hydrants.
Total system includes approximately 5,364 hydrants.
9. Provide support for major line rehabilitation/installation construction
projects.
10. Perform preventive maintenance on reclaimed water system lines and
appurtenances.
11. Responsible for leak detection and leak correlation services for the
water distribution system. Total system includes approximately 617 miles of
distribution lines.
12. Gather water samples to ensure water quality throughout the
distribution system. Approximately 120 samples collected monthly.
13. Inspects, operates, and maintains water distribution system valves.
Total system includes approximately 18,000 valves.
14. Locates water and reclaimed water system lines and appurtenances.
Up until the mid 1990's, there were two distinct operations related
divisions - each with their own management structure. The utility
operations division was accounted for in the utility fund and the general
government operations division was accounted for in the general fund. It
was decided in the mid 1990's to combine these two Public Works and
Utilities divisions into one Public Works division to help streamline
management activities and to gain workload efficiencies. The work itself
is accounted for by task all within the general fund, and the utility
related cost is transferred by journal entry to the utility fund so that
the utility rates can pay for the utility system related work being
performed.
________________________________________
· Do the graphs in the FY '04 budget document, especially projected debt,
reflect $130 million road bond and $30 million Parks & Rec bond that were
recently approved?
Short Answer: Not all of it - debt service is shown based on debt already
appropriated at the time the related debt service payments are expected to
start
Long Answer: The schedule referred to above only includes the debt for
projects that have received appropriations (been funded). It does not
include provisions or impacts for any future debt that may need to be
issued beyond the budget year. Thus far, only $26.5M of the street authori
ty and $4.3M of the park authority have actually been appropriated to
projects. While general fund debt service is expected to be roughly the
same as FY 2004 in FY 2005, a significant increase is expected in FY 2006.
This large increase is due to the projects that have already been approved
in prior budgets. Based upon Council's feedback during this year's budget
process, the Bartley Park project ($3.2M in bond funding) has been delayed
to FY 2006, and we are currently reviewing options related to the $1M in
funding needed for the White Oak Creek Greenway construction so that no new
general obligation debt would be needed to execute the FY 2005 budget.
Without these two projects included, the debt service projected in this
schedule should drop by about $430K in FY 2006, to about $15M. This would
bring the expected increase in general fund debt service from FY 2005 to FY
2006 to about $4.5M.
________________________________________
What is the projected price of the new Waste Water Treatment Facility?
The plans and options for the ultimate scope, location, and timing of this
regional facility are still under development. For planning purposes, the
first phase, which is expected to be complete in time for use in the summer
of 2011, is expected to cost $77M for a 10 MGD plant. See page 26 of the
capital improvements plan. A great deal of the specifics are still to be
determined as part of the ongoing study regarding the ultimate scope,
capacity, and cost sharing related to this facility, so many of these
numbers are subject to change in future planning years.
________________________________________
Is there a graph or chart that factors in these items.
No. The future use of voter approved bond authority is subject to approval
during each year's budget process.
________________________________________
Just because a bond was passed, does it mean we have to spend it?
No. The voter approved bond authority is valid for seven years, and
through an approval process through the NC Local Government Commission, the
authority can potentially be extended an additional three years, for a
possible total of ten years.
________________________________________
How much more debt can Cary maintain and still keep its AAA bond rating
(without raising taxes)?
This question entails two different topics that are not directly related
and cannot be answered together. For this reason, the question has been
broken into its component parts for response below:
Topic 1) How much more debt can Cary maintain and still keep its AAA bond
rating? The amount of debt and debt service are only two of the many
factors that are considered when an organization is evaluated by one of the
bond rating agencies. The primary aspects of consideration include the
national economy, the local economy, a community's ability to pay (wealth
level of residents), employment rates, tax rate relative to those of its
neighbors, the amount of fund balance available, how well a community is
planned and managed, the future growth potential in the area, etc. No one
of these factors will ultimately determine a community's bond rating as
they are considered together as a package. The key measurable agencies
typically look at in regard to the level of debt is the percentage of debt
service relative to all general fund expenditures. In the FY 2005 budget,
that figure is expected to be about 13%. When organizations hit the 15-20%
range, they usually are looked at a little harder in terms of debt planning
and long term affordability. However, there are AAA municipalities with
debt service around 25%. As long as there is a plan in place to afford the
debt service and many of the other factors mentioned earlier are healthy,
bond rating agencies do not consider the level of debt service an automatic
disqualification for a renewed AAA rating.
Topic 2) How much more debt can Cary maintain without raising taxes?
Unfortunately, there is no one answer to this question. The decline in
revenue growth in recent years has coincided with a substantial increase in
the level of general debt being taken on by the Town of Cary. While
leverage of debt capacity with historically low interest rates is
considered a smart business move, the rate at which the Town has taken on
new debt simply cannot be sustained in the face of declining revenue growth
forever, regardless of the interest rate. The option of raising taxes and
to what degree will depend upon when and the extent to which one or more of
the following options are chosen, some of which we have seen already in the
development of the fiscal year 2005 budget: minimizing the number of new
positions being added, delaying capital investments (eg. no new street
projects funded with debt, Bartley park project delayed one year),
reallocating existing resources to higher need areas (eg. elementary SROs
to high school, weekend patrol, and juvenile investigations), raising fees
to recover a greater percentage of the related costs (PRCR fees being
evaluated), evaluating program alternatives (evaluation of automated solid
waste collection underway), and/or cutting back service levels in a variety
of areas.
________________________________________
· When can we get the 2004 actuals?
The audited financial report for FY 2004, which is a part of the
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be submitted to Council through
the Operations Committee on Wednesday December 1, 2004. It will be
available for review at the same time that Operations Agenda is made
available to the public, which is typically one week or so prior to the
meeting.
________________________________________
· When can we get the 2005 budget?
The Recommended Capital Budget and Capital Improvements Plan was available
on the date of Council's capital worksession, May 12, 2004. The
Recommended Operating Budget was available on the date of Council's
operating worksession, May 25, 2004. The complete recommended fiscal year
2005 budget is currently available online as well.
________________________________________
· Have we looked at doing a special census in FY ’05 or FY ’06?
No. A special census is sometimes requested when it is suspected that a
community's population is growing faster that the Office of State Planning
estimates reflect. Because this officially population figure is used for
many revenue sources distributed on a per capita basis (such as sales tax,
Powell bill, wine and beer tax, etc.), it can make a substantial difference
if the Office of State Planning annual estimate is significantly lower than
the population determined by a special census. Because of the significant
growth during the 1990's and the population differential suspected, a
special census was ordered in 1998. The cost of that census was
approximately $330K an resulted in a net gain for the Town of at least
$870K over two years. The 2000 Census reset the bar for all jurisdictions
in terms of population count and allowed all jurisdictions to be measured
in the same manner. With Cary's meager growth rate since 2000, Cary's
resulting population differential between the Office of State Planning and
that attained from a special census would not be expected to differ
substantially enough to recover the cost of having another special census
performed.
________________________________________
· How frequently are the Town finances audited, and by whom?
The Town's financial statements are audited annually. The firm of Cherry
Bekaert and Holland has conducted the audit for the last three fiscal
years, and we have extended our contract with them to continue with the FY
2004 audit. The audited financial report for FY 2004, which is a part of
the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be submitted to the Local
Government Commission by the Commission's due date of October 31, 2004 and
will be submitted to Council through the Operations Committee on Wednesday
December 1, 2004. The Town's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports have
earned a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the
Government Finance Officers Association for the last 19 consecutive years.
This program establishes guidelines for excellence in disclosure,
completeness and readability. We intend to continue to meet the program
requirements with the FY 2004 report.
________________________________________
· How much money has been spent on Council/Staff retreats in FY ’04 and
what’s budgeted for FY ’05?
The Town of Cary spent $8,553 at the 2004 Council/Staff Retreat, and the
budget for the 2005 Retreat is $12,000.
________________________________________
· How much money is spent on “perks” for Staff/council (things like dinner
at Ruth’s Chris, reserved tickets at Regency Amphitheater, etc.)?
The definition of "perks" must be independently defined based on one's own
perception of a job relative to their own experience. Only because the
question mentions specific examples can data be provided under this
question. A dinner was sponsored by the Town of Cary for Town officials to
meet with local legislative representatives for presentation of the Town's
Legislative Agenda at a cost of $1,777.68. Twenty-four people were in
attendance at this meeting which has been an effective vehicle for helping
all involved parties understand the background and best path forward on
each issue. As far as tickets to the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency
Park, the entire Town Council is allotted 30 tickets for each event. Each
Council member receives four tickets and the Mayor receives the additional
two tickets. Besides their normal compensation and travel allowances,
Town Council member benefits include the same medical and dental plans
available to other town employees. The medical plan is through a preferred
provider service and includes routine vision care and chiropractic. Mental
health and chemical dependence programs are coordinated with the town's
employee assistance program. Dental benefits are limited to $1,000 per
year. The town also offers savings programs and eligibility for credit
union membership. Council members may also request a computer, printer and
high-speed Internet access for the duration of their service. Like other
employees, council members must sign the town's "technology appropriate-use
policy." The gross cell phone allowance is $95 per month, which after
taxes comes to about $75.
If you could help us to obtain the answers to these questions (we recognize
these are quite a few questions), we would be most appreciative.
Thanks very much for your help.
Brent A. Miller
on behalf of the Citizens Budget Review Committee