Budgets – Germantown Voice

BMA in Brief June 10, 2019

To help you stay informed we will do our best to provide high level summaries for the bi-monthly Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) meetings. These summaries will be fact based with a focus on key items covered in the meetings and summaries of the votes taken. Where needed we will cover important discussions individually.

The agenda packets provided to the Aldermen can be found by clicking here.

The full video of the meeting can be found on YouTube by clicking here.

Flood Update from Germantown Fire Department Chief John Selberg. (6:30)

6. Citizens to be Heard (15:52) – There were a total of seven citizens that stepped up to speak. One spoke on sales tax, five spoke about the flood and one spoke about the flood and lack of cell coverage in the affected area.

9. Preliminary Agenda (41:40) – Alderman Massey proposed moving items b. and c. to the regular agenda. Both failed and the the preliminary agenda was approved as proposed. The preliminary agenda was Approved (4-1)

10. Ordinance 2019-1 Adoption of FY2020 Budget Second Reading and Public Hearing (44:03) – The Chairman of the Financial Advisory Commission (FAC) read a short statement into the record to document the work done by this group in helping to oversee the development of the FY20 budget. In the public hearing one member of the Financial Advisory Commission came forward to discuss the Germantown Country Club. Approved (4-1)

11. Ordinance 2019-2 Year End Budget Adjustments Second Reading and Public Hearing (2:03:34) – The public hearing did not have anyone from the community come forward to make statements on this item. An extensive list of adjustments was presented to account for changes during the year. The detailed list can be reviewed by in the Aldermen’s packets. When reviewing this list note that the changes is the total in the “Proposed Adjustment” column of the document. Approved (5-0)

12. Ordinance 2019-3 Real and Personal Property Taxes Second Reading and Public Hearing (2:17:23) – The public hearing did not have anyone from the community come forward to make a statement on this item. This Ordinance sets the 2020 tax rate at $1.95, no change from the FY19 rate. Approved (4-1)

13. Ordinance 2019-4 GMSD Year-End Budget Adjustments – Second Reading and Public Hearing (2:20:17) – The public hearing did not have anyone from the community come forward to make a statement on this item. A list of the pr Approved (5-0)

14. Ordinance 2019-12 Amendment to Fire Prevention Ordinance Chapter 10 First Reading (2:22:53) – The ordinance to adopt a new fire code based on the 2015 international fire code. The state of TN currently uses the 2012 international fire code. The proposed code added requirements for sprinklers on dead end streets over 750 feet. There are also additional items to address safety of food trucks. It includes the ability for the BMA to establish a board of appeals for rulings of the Fire Marshal. Approved (5-0)

15. Ordinance 2019-12 Amendment to Fire Prevention Ordinance Chapter 10 – Residential Sprinklers – First Reading (2:29:27) – This item supports the adoption of the 2015 fire code. The code requires sprinklers for new homes over 5,000 square feet vs. the current requirement of 7,500 square feet. It would require sprinkler systems in zero lot line homes with distances of less than 20 feet between homes. Approved (5-0)

16.Ordinance 2019-13 – Amendment to Subdivision Ordinance Chapter 17 Section 17-56 (Streets) First Reading (2:34:32) – This amendment brings the subdivision ordinance in line with the requirements laid out in the fire ordinances above. That includes requirements for cul-de-sac diameters as well as dead end street restrictions. Approved (5-0)

BMA in Brief May 13, 2019

The supporting documents provided to the Alderman for this meeting can be found by clicking here.

A video of the full meeting can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here.

Budget Work Session 5/8/19: In preparation for the proposal of the FY20 Budget a public work session was held on 5/8/19. The budget was reviewed in about an hour and twenty minutes. All of the department heads were present to answer questions however, there were only a few. Those questions included the impact of the $2.5M grant to GPAC and questions about expense in the special revenue drug fund. The City Administrator identified budget amendments that will need to be made based on the GPAC grant and FAC recommendation for school security funding.

6. Citizens to Be Heard – (7:51) Two spoke in favor of GCC Purchase. Fourteen residents spoke against the cell phone tower citing health, environmental and property value impacts, one person spoke in favor of the cell phone tower.

Note: Alderman Massey was not present for the Executive Session or BMA meeting. No notice was given as to the reason for the absence.

9. Preliminary Agenda – (1:20:21) Reviewed in executive session and questions were asked and answered. No adjustments were made or proposed and the Preliminary Agenda was approved (4-0)

10. Contract – Germantown Athletic Club Renovations Phase IV – (1:22:10) Phase IV is the addition of a Mezzanine and sitting area for a cafe. It will include a rework of the entry and check in desk. There will be additional activity space in the lower level. The funds for these improvements come from the dues generated by members and not from tax revenues. This phase totals $1,412,493. Passed (4-0)

11. Supplement No. 6 – Germantown Athletic Club Renovations Phase IV CEI – (1:29:29) This item is for the approval of the contract administration and construction inspections. This fee is $29,500 for Phase IV and brings the total for all the phases of this project to $415,000. Passed (4-0)

12. Ordinance No. 2019-1 – Ordinance to Adopt the FY20 Budget – First Reading – (1:32:14) The proposed budget is for $58.9M for the General fund and $22.5M of Capital improvements. The proposed budget does not include any impacts for the potential purchase of the Germantown Country Club. The purchase impact is unknown and would be added as an amendment when additional details would be finalized. A fifteen page summary of the budget is presented as the Ordinance which can be found by clicking here. Monday, June 10, 2019 will be set as the public hearing for the budget. Amendments to the budget were made based on the feedback for the FAC related to school security. The funds will be targeted via grants and if not successful the FAC recommends provided funds in the FY21 budget to pay in July 2020 to meet security upgrades. Additional amendments were made to funding related to GPAC to account for the $2.5M grant from the state of Tennessee. Passed (4-0)

13. Ordinance No. 2019-2 – Year-End Budget Adjustments – First Reading – (2:18:25) An extensive list of adjustments was presented to account for changes during the year. The detailed list can be reviewed by clicking here. When reviewing this list note that the changes is the total in the “Proposed Adjustment” column of the document. Second reading and public hearing will be held on June 10, 2019. Passed (4-0)

14. Ordinance No. 2019-3 – Real and Personal Property Taxes – First Reading – (2:33:08) This Ordinance sets the 2020 tax rate at $1.95, no change from the FY19 rate. A second reading and public hearing will be held on June 10, 2019. Passed (4-0)

15. Ordinance No. 2019-4 – Germantown Municipal School District Year-End Budget Adjustments – First Reading – (2:35:12) Similar to the BMA, GMSD must amend their budget for actual spending that hits throughout the year. A 31 page summary of the changes can be found by clicking here. A second reading and public hearing will be held on June 10, 2019. Passed (4-0)

16. Ordinance No. 2019-10 – Rezoning of a 15.229 Acre Portion of the Fulmer Property (South Side of Wolf River Blvd.) from “R” to “O” Office Zoning – First Reading – (2:38:30) This item is the rezoning of 15 acres of the 190 of the land known as Fulmer Farms. The section of land in question borders Wolf River Parkway with the Vineyard subdivision on the western border. The purpose of the proposed property is for medical office space which is consistent with the use of other land along this section of Wolf River. Concept site plans can be reviewed by clicking here. A second reading and public hearing will be held on June 10, 2019. Passed (4-0)

The Truth Behind Overcrowding at GMSD Schools

Getting our own municipal schools in Germantown wasn’t easy. Voters in each of the suburban towns and cities approved referendums on forming municipal school districts in August 2012. But the results were voided months later in a decision by U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays and the Tennessee state legislature responded in 2013 by passing a new law that lifted the statewide ban on the creation of such school districts. With the new law, aldermen in each of the six towns set a new election date for the same ballot questions.

After these legal battles and two votes of the citizens, the Germantown Municipal School District (GMSD) opened its doors in 2014. Since then, the district has grown, and the city has benefited from these excellent schools. Overall, the district has grown 638 (15%) resident students in its first four years according to the District’s 2017 Facilities Plan.

Achievements

During those four years, the District has achieved quite a lot.

Houston High School has the highest public high school district ACT average in the state for the third consecutive year
GMSD was named a District of Distinction in 2017 for work on Exceptional Student Education Transitional Experience
Houston Middle School counselors were recognized with the RAMP recognition from ASCA this year (the only middle school in Tennessee to meet qualifications for the counseling program award)
Memphis Business Journal recognized Houston High as both the Most Challenging High School and the #1 Best Public High School
Each year, Houston High sets new records for students in the HHS 30+ ACT club

Because of these accolades, GMSD has become a school district of choice for many young families as evidenced by how quickly sold signs replace for sale signs in Germantown. Since 2013, the average number of days on the market for Germantown homes has decreased 65% from 113 to just 40, according to statistics from the City of Germantown.

Capacity

As a result, many are concerned about overcrowding at our schools and wonder what the GMSD administration is doing about it. You may even see or hear some candidates campaigning on this topic.

In the Spring of 2017, the district hired a professional demographer to project enrollment for the district over the next ten years. If you want to read the entire study, it can be found here.

Total district enrollment is forecasted to increase by 286 students, or 4.9%, between 2016-17 and 2021-22. Total enrollment is forecasted to decline by 108 students, or -1.8%, from 2021-22 to 2026-27.

But what does this mean for our current schools’ capacity? Many are concerned that the schools are overcrowded, and students are suffering as a result. Let’s take a look at capacity.

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Screen Shot 2018-08-21 at 8.21.01 PM.png Maximum capacity is defined as the number of students that can be accommodated within a classroom. The utilization rate determines how efficiently the student population and programs operate within the available classroom space. Utilization rates are at or above 90 percent at each school. The district strives for enrollment at each school to be below the maximum capacity allowed by state standards and as such has defined optimal capacity as 2 students per teacher below the state maximums.

To achieve an optimal capacity, the district committed to various options to balance enrollment among the elementary and middle schools. Utilization rates currently above the desired thresholds and are being addressed temporarily through the use of modular classrooms at Dogwood and Farmington. This is a legacy solution inherited from Shelby County Schools. Removing portables has been a high priority item for GMSD as evidenced by the investments at Riverdale which facilitated the removal of portables there.

However, as seen in the maps above, the opening of the new Forest Hill Elementary School in 2019 will provide relief to Dogwood, Farmington, and Riverdale Elementary. Rezoning students at Dogwood, Farmington, and Riverdale will relieve capacity issues at these schools, allow the removal of modular classrooms that have been added to Dogwood and Farmington, and allow the district to explore staffing at a more optimal capacity for teacher to student ratio.

GMSD is watching closely the growth at the middle school level as well. With support from the City, they are preparing to fund a $5 million expansion at Houston Middle School as soon as fiscal year 2020. The absolute need will be determined once GMSD has carefully reviewed growth projections, the results of revising the school transfer policy and the effects of zoning changes planned for the 2019-2020 school year.

Support from the City of Germantown

In fiscal year 2019, the City of Germantown’s general fund budget allocates $6.9 million to directly support GMSD. This includes $2.5 million in maintenance of effort funding required by the state.

What is maintenance of effort? If you remember our previous post The Truth About School Funding and Sales Taxes, we explain the term “Maintenance of Effort” (“MOE”) generally refers to a requirement placed upon many federally funded grant programs that the State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) or school districts, demonstrate that the level of State and local funding remains constant from year to year.⁽¹⁾

Our public schools are mostly funded by revenue generated primarily from state sales tax and county property tax. Each county in Tennessee is required to operate and contribute funding for a public system of education. In order for a municipality to operate its own separate and independent district, the municipality must provide SUPPLEMENTAL funding. It is up to the municipal governing body to determine the amount and source of supplemental funding. We should all thank the administrators who crafted the wording of the resolution because they understood this and thus worded the referendum accordingly.

This is why the fiscal policy of tying school funding to a variable revenue source is dangerous. When sales tax revenues drop the only other source to pay that obligation is your property taxes. In a recession, not only would you have the negative impact of a down economy, the city would be in a position to be forced to raise your property taxes to meet the MOE requirements.

Additionally, the City of Germantown provides an additional $4.4 million to cover costs related to student safety and continuing the improvement of our school facilities.

More specifically:

$1 million for replacement of the failing boiler system at Riverdale School with an additional $1.5 million included in the fiscal year 2020 budget to complete the work
$1.36 million in debt service payments for the new elementary school currently under construction
$560,000 for school resource officers and crossing guards at each school
$500,000 for safety and security improvements at each school
$440,000 in debt service payments for the Riverdale addition
$355,000 court-mandated annual payment to Shelby County Schools
$200,000 each year for the next five years to help fund Houston Arts and Athletics Foundation field house construction and auditorium renovation projects at Houston High School.

As we head toward the November election, remember that your city government and the GMSD School Board actually has been planning for overcrowding in our schools and for any scenario growth in our city may throw at us.

Reference

(1) Maintenance of Effort: The Basics