HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnnual_Report 2003 to 2004Most visible projects of 2003 The new budget continues the program ofreplacing the City's aging infrastructure.
Instead of issuing bonds to pay for capitalprojects, the City budgets the work on a pay-as-you-go basis. During FY2002-2003, thecity expended $6.7 million on capital proj-ects. Some examples include:
Curb and Gutter and Concrete Repairs
$1.2 million
Boedecker from Hanover to Southwestern Shenandoah from Armstrong to Roland St.Windsor Parkway from Preston to Westchester
McFarlin from Preston to WestchesterNormandy from Armstrong to Lomo Alto Windsor from Armstrong to Lomo Alto Turtle Creek Boulevard at Caruth
Water, Sanitary Sewer Improvements,
and Alley Paving Projects $0.6 million
Lovers Lane/Amherst alley, fromTurtle Creek Blvd west to Tulane
Amherst/Stanford alley, from Tulane and Preston RdPurdue/Stanford alley, from Tulaneand Preston RdHanover/Bryn Mawr alley,
from Tulane and Preston RdTurtle Creek Lane, from Lovers Laneto Turtle Creek BlvdTulane, from Lovers Lane to Bryn Mawr
Water, Sanitary Sewer Improvements
and Alley Paving Project $1.6 million
Marquette/Colgate Alleyfrom Turtle Creek Boulevard to Airline RoadHillcrest Road from north of Southwestern Boulevard to north of Marquette StreetAirline Road from the Colgate/Marquette Alley
to Northwest Parkway
Water, Sanitary Sewer Improvements
and Alley Paving Project $0.3 million
Glenwick/Emerson Alleyfrom Westchester Drive to Preston RoadEmerson/University Boulevard Alleyfrom Westchester Drive to Preston Road
Geographical Information Systemprojects implemented in 2002-2003:
Continued work towards federalcompliance for 911 GPS location reports.
Assisted in GASB 34 requirements, identifying and assigning valuationto certain assets, to reportdepreciation on the City’s infrastructure.
Developed fire hydrant maps and
helped analyze effectiveness of UPEarly Warning System.
Developed Sanitation Departmentmaps for collection zones to
analyze the cost of special services.
permits
$1,347,228
2,166
1,097 tons
16,023tons
4,753
11,182
368
45
73
815
124
FINANCE
City Budget
The University Park City Council approved a
$32.05 million operating budget for 2004, withan increase of $1.43 million, or 4.67%, fromlast year's total $30.62 million. As in pastyears, personnel-related costs are the pri-mary reason for the increase ($1.14 million),
followed by capital project transfers($250,033) and supplies/other ($151,802).
Utility Rates
Unlike last year, the FY03-04 budget did not
include a rate increase. The Utility(water/sewer) and Sanitation Departmentsreceive no tax revenue and are designed torecover their costs through user fees. The
new Sanitation Fund budget is 5% higher
than last year, and the new Utility Fund budg-et is 3.7% higher than FY03. City officials donot believe that rate increases are needed forthe Funds to break even.
Ninth Consecutive Tax Rate Decrease
The property tax rate decreased 1%, from
$0.32932 to $0.32601, the ninth consecutivetax rate decrease. The tax levy for an aver-age single-family home, valued 1.7 % higherthan last year, increased by $12.35 (0.7%).
Government Finance Officers Association
Award
FY2002 Comprehensive Annual FinancialReport: Certificate of Achievement for
Excellence in Financial Reporting
Employees Kent Austin, Judy Martin and TomTvardzik
National Purchasing Institute Award
The National Purchasing Institute honoredthe Purchasing Division with the City’s thirdconsecutive Achievement of Excellence inProcurement Award.
PARKS
Park Maintenance
Snider Plaza fountain received a face lift afteryears of inclement weather. Park employeesstripped the aggregate and plaster finishes tobegin the process of renovating this ParkCities icon. Astone finish was installed to the
fountain pedestals, the interior was painted,
and a stucco finish was applied to the exteri-or ring. In addition to the face lift, the fountainreceived a new circulation pump and newlight fixtures.
Although park beautification changes with theseasons, maintenance of the parks requiresdaily effort. Maintenance of the city pool,light fixtures, and landscape are all ongoingprocesses.
Years of drought and flash floods caused asection of the Turtle Creek retaining wall tocollapse in 2003. Park employees rebuilt itwithout losing its rustic-historic nature.
Capital Improvement Project funds wereallocated to resurface tennis courts and
replace the lights. The first courts to be ren-ovated were Caruth, Curtis, and Williams.
Playground Projects
The University Park Civic Foundation “Put
Your Mark On the Park” program continuesto receive funds for park renovations. Todate, five of the seven playgrounds inUniversity Park have been retrofitted withnew amenities to include playground equip-
ment, benches, water fountains, grills andengraved stones.
public works
The Public Works department, located at4420 Worcola, has 94 employees that main-tain the City’s public services. These servic-es are available for emergencies 24 hours a
day. Many of the City’s master plan projects
are filtered through Public Works, whosegoal is to improve the infrastructure of thecommunity.
5
298
3,833 tons
32 tons
224 households
In January 2000, the City established a self-funded health insurance plan using a third
party claims administrator. Although premi-
ums have increased every year since then,the increases have not kept pace with rapid-ly rising health care costs. In 2004, the city’scontribution to the health care fund willincrease 20%, from $350 to $420 per
employee per month. The employee-paidportion of employee-only coverage will alsoincrease 20%, from $25 to $30 per month.Dependent premiums will increase 10% in2004, as well. Additionally, benefit plan
changes will be implemented in a continued
attempt to share cost increases with theemployees. However, even with continuallyincreasing health care costs, the move toself-funded insurance has helped lowercosts to the taxpayers while providing
access to a quality group of physicians andhospitals at a reasonable cost.
In October 2003, the City Council approvedtwo new positions, bringing the full-time
headcount total to 239. Also approved was
a market-based 3% increase in the City'ssalary plan. In the previous year, police andfire personnel received raises, but non-pub-lic safety employees did not.
Belinda Aldrete, Human Resources Asst. , was
honored in October 2003 with the Employee
Recognition Award
HUMAN RESOURCES
The City website, launched January 2003,includes the ability to pay utility bills online,register for Direct Alarm Monitoring, placeservice requests, and obtain City Council
agendas and minutes. The site has 3,500 to4,500 visits per week and logged over150,000 visits in its first year.
LaserFiche, installed in 2003, was imple-mented as a document imaging and man-agement system used for City Council min-utes, City ordinances, and resolutions.
The Finance and Utility Department installedautomatic meter reading devices and soft-ware to increase field efficiency.
The Information Services staff continues tosupport over 120 desktop systems, 20
servers, and projects relating to every
department. Among their many projects theIS staff upgraded the Police and Fire IBMAS/400 computer system, upgraded thepolice dispatch center, installed the ParksDepartment Rec Trac program for pool
passes and park-related programs, andinstalled new network switches.
INFORMATION SERVICES
environmental efforts
Waste hauled to landfill
Yard waste taken to
compost facility
White goods taken
to scrap yard
Recycled materials
Households that utilized the Household
Chemical Collection Center
Total number of
permits issued
Total permit fee revenues
Fifteen fire fighters underwent 80 hours oftraining and passed the Texas FireCommission exam for a HazardousMaterials Technician Certification.
Fire Chief David Ledbetter oversaw theinstallation of a public safety and public
works microwave system to enhance com-munications. The radio microwave systemis telephone circuit free and eliminatesweaknesses in the current system. It isexpandable and capable of operating the
City’s telephone system, eliminating addi-
tional telephone circuits. The new systemwill save the City $50,000 a year in leasedtelephone lines.
AProfessional Engineer was contracted toassist the City in preparing for an InsuranceService Office (ISO) grading which willreduce homeowner insurance premiums by10%. The results are expected to be posi-
tive, reducing the Public Protection Class
from a rating of 4 to 2.
1,260 Engine responses
1,058 Mobile Intensive Care responses
601 Inspections, 42 Actual fires
$1,026,580 fire losses
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Digital photography will be used for mugshot and criminal identification. Digital video
recording will replace the current system of
filing, storing, and dubbing of antiquatedvideo tapes.
The Police Department successfully
became an accredited agency through theCommission on Accreditation for LawEnforcement Agencies. This makesUniversity Park one of nineteen policedepartments in Texas recognized as accred-
ited. The accreditation program for public
safety communications agencies is a jointeffort of the Commission on Accreditation forLaw Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®),and the Association of Public-SafetyCommunications Officials (APCO®).
After five years of operation, the PoliceDepartment has connected 1,235 homes toits Direct Alarm system. Revenues generat-
ed from this service paid for additional
personnel in dispatch and equipmentupgrades.
9,670 911 calls received
284 Burglary and breaking/entering
220 Criminal mischief
116 Miscellaneous offenses
POLICE DEPARTMENT
LaserFiche aka e-government
Automated Meter Reading
Continued Support . . .
Most visible projects of 2003
HazMat Training
Microwave Radio System
Insurance Service Office Grading
water main repairs
Sanitary sewer
main repairs
Fire hydrant repairs
Fire hydrant
installations
Water meter installations
Barrier-free
ramp installations
Alley repairs
Total completed work orders
Total completed customer service
requests
www.uptexas.org
Digital Photography/Video
Accreditation
Direct Alarm Monitoring
Infrastructure Management
2002-2003
University Park, with its population of 23,300 residents, occupies less than four square miles in
what use to be considered prairieland. Bordered by Dallas on three sides and Highland Park
on the south, the City is only five miles north of downtown Dallas. There is no mistaking when
you have arrived within the University Park city limits. The city and its residents have carved out
a home to beautiful parks, numerous churches, and a university whose history chronicles the
development of the community.
2003 was an exciting year for University Park. Both the Police and Fire Departments completedevaluations by outside agencies that recognized them among the elite in the United States. Of 17,500police departments in America, University Park is one of only 550 that are accredited. The FireDepartment is awaiting word on its new protection class rating. We anticipate it will improve and willsave our residents approximately $2 million a year on homeowners insurance. The launch of the City'swebsite has created a powerful tool to communicate with our residents and the ability to offer many serv-ices 24/7, which were formerly available only when City Hall was open.
In May of 2004, I will complete my third and final term as Mayor of University Park. I am veryappreciative of the opportunity to work with you, our City Council, and the over 100 residents who serveon various committees. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve our wonderful City.
Mayor Harold F. Peek
Homeland Security
University Park received approximately $99,000 in state grants. These fundswill be used to purchase protective clothing and training costs associated withHomeland Security issues.
Stormwater Utility Management
The City will implement a six year, $4.9 million stormwater management plan.Like many other Texas communities, the City is now required to comply withthe Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Phase II programfor Municipal Separate Storm Systems (MS4s.)
Public Works Asset Management
The Public Works Department plans to implement Cartegraph’s AssetManagement system to support infrastructure data relating to water, sewer,streets, signs, and signals. This program will be cross managed with the City’sgeographical information system and city maps.
Public Safety Solutions
The City’s wireless mobile data environment will be upgraded to a faster and
more reliable delivery system.
Building Security
To increase security at City Hall a new identification system will be installed.It will include employee identification, time management, and keyless entry.
SOLUTIONS FOR 2004
INFRASTRUCTURE
MANAGEMENT
2003-2004 Capital
Improvement Projects:
Lovers Ln Reconstruction
Hillcrest to Central
Lovers Ln Utility
Improvements
Water/Sanitary Sewer
Thackeray to
Willard Street
Various Curb and Gutter
Repairs
Water/Sanitary Sewer
and Alley Improvements
Greenbrier to Southwestern
Colgate to Caruth
Marquette to Centenary
The City prides itself on
providing prompt and personal
service.
Our primary goal is to provide and
maintain a secure residential
atmosphere. The City of University
Park has maintained crime rates
among the lowest in the metropoli-
tan area.
The location of University Park in
north-central Dallas provides easy
access to a broad variety of cultural,
recreational, and business activi-
ties. Adiverse range of 8,600
homes supports a unique popula-
tion base. Seventy-Two percent of
residents over 25 have college or
advanced degrees, making
University Park among the most
highly educated cities in the Nation.
City of University Park, TX
Annual Report