CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

MEMORANDUM

CM09-183

DATE:                        August 12, 2009

TO:                 Honorable Mayor and City Commission

FROM:            D. Mike Good, City Manager

SUBJECT:     Discussion of City Programs

PURPOSE:

To discuss the elimination and modification of certain existing City programs and services. 

DISCUSSION:

In the preparation of the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year budget every program and service provided to the community by the City was evaluated for its effectiveness, efficiency and need.  After a complete evaluation of all programs and services, the following programs and/or services are recommended to either be eliminated or modified. 

Street Sweeper Program

Several years ago, the City operated the street sweeper program in-house.  In 2004, that program was privatized.  This fiscal year the City has budgeted to expend $90,000 for a private company to perform that service.  As typically seen in the privatization of services, initially privatization appears to be a cost savings; however, the street sweeping program is a prime example of a service that was privatized and after several years has not proven to be cost effective to outsource.  As part of the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year Recommended budget, the City will purchase the necessary equipment and hire a part-time employee to operate the equipment.  After the initial start-up costs for equipment are expended, the cost to operate the program will be approximately $35,000 a year, saving the City approximately $55,000/year.  The part-time worker assigned to the program can only be utilized for this project. Operating the program in-house will additionally allow the City to expand the street sweeping to areas not previously cleaned at no additional cost. 

Marine Patrol

The Hallandale Beach Marine Patrol Unit is operated and funded by the City with the assistance of the Enhanced Marine Law Enforcement Grant (EMLEG).  This program provides grant money to offset the cost of personnel at the rate of $40.00 per hour.  The total cost to operate the Marine Patrol is $78,665.19, of which $39,680.00 is reimbursed by the County and the City expends $38,985.19. The amount covered by the County grant portion includes 102 daytime patrols, to be used exclusively on weekends, and 22 nighttime aggressive patrol operations by two officers which must be conducted after 4 pm.  Any other expenditures or patrolled hours such as fuel, oil, repairs, supplies, personnel (overtime) are funded by the City.  Should the Marine patrol continue to operate, the City would need to purchase a new vessel at an approximate cost of $135,000.  This fiscal year, only two citations were issued by the Marine Patrol. 

As directed by the City Commission, staff researched establishing a full time Marine Unit and funding options for such a unit, such as special assessment.  Staff recommends against a full time Marine Unit as it would cost the City approximately $235,000 not including the purchase of a new vessel.  Additionally, the City Attorney’s Office advises that the City cannot assess the properties along the waterways.

Minibus

After offering years of a successful public transportation program, the planned expansion of the minibus service will have to be delayed due to the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) withdrawal of funding needed to establish the minibus’ fourth route.  Our Transportation Fund took a significant hit over the last year resulting in a $1.5 Million deficit for the FY09-10 budget.  This deficit was as a result of capital projects, increased operational costs beyond the City’s control, and funding for the planned expansion of the fourth route.  By reducing capital projects and services such as the minibus program fourth route the Transportation Fund’s Budget was balanced.

Bi-weekly Yard Waste

Like the free minibus program, the bi-weekly yard waste collection program is a City program not offered by many other Cities.  The bi-weekly yard waste collection program, utilized by 846 residents out of 4,258 sanitation accounts, with an additional nine multi-family accounts, is recommended to be eliminated.  The total annual cost to operate the bi-weekly yard waste collection program is $94,433, with approximately $28,960 of revenue received annually.  Elimination of this program will save the City approximately $65,473 in FY09-10.  As part of the review of the Division’s programs and services, it has been determined that the offering of this program is inefficient and cost prohibitive.  More often than not, the service is utilized by landscapers rather than the residents of the properties.  As an alternative, the City will be offering twice year yard waste collection instead of once a year. 

RECOMMENDATION:

The City Commission considers and approve the elimination and modification of the above discussed programs.