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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