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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2009-06-01CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Regular Meeting June 24, 2009 Members Present: Alderperson Coles, Alderperson Zumoff, Alderperson Rosario, Alderperson Cogan, Alderperson Schuler, Mayor Peterson Council Members Present: Alderperson Tomlan, Alderperson Clairborne Staff Present: Debra Parsons (City Chamberlain), Donna Este -Green (Asst City Attorney), Marcia Fort (GIAC Director), Khandikile Sokoni (Asst City Attorney), Philly Desarno (Deputy Economic Director), Phyllis Radke (Building Commissioner), Steve Thayer (Controller), Scott Andrew (Deputy Controller), Schelley Michell -Nunn (HR Director), Denise Malone (HR Executive Assistant) Others Present: Steve Locey ( Locey & Cahill), Sue Kittel (IURA), Nels Bohn (IURA), Leslie Spurgin of Ciaschi, Dietershagen, Little and Mickelson, Members of the Public, Members of the Media Chairperson Coles called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 1. Chairperson Greeting & Opening Statement Chairperson Coles welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the evacuation procedures. 2. Announcements. None. 3. Agenda Review and Amendments Chairperson Coles stated that a new agenda item for DPW regarding sidewalks has been added after Item 15. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 2 4. Approval of Minutes Chairperson Coles stated that the approval of the minutes will be postponed until next month. 5. Statements from the Public Bob Nobles of Ithaca spoke about the security in City Hall. He served in the military and was a prisoner of war (POW), having to be searched everywhere he went. Mr. Nobles stated that every time he comes into City Hall he feels like a POW. Mr. Nobles stated that he fought for freedom and hates to see it taken away. 6. Employee Comments. None. 7. Common Council Response Alderperson Rosario thanked Mr. Nobles for his service to our country and for attending the meeting to comment about the security. Mr. Rosario stated that there will be a discussion about security on a future agenda. Alderperson Schuler thanked Mr. Nobles for his service to our country and stated that the Safety Committee has been looking into security measures for City buildings for quite some time. Alderperson Cogan thanked Mr. Nobles for attending the meeting and voicing his concerns. A number of people in his ward have commented on this recently. Mr. Cogan expressed his concerns about the security measures and looks forward to a more in depth discussion about this item. Alderperson Zumoff stated that there is a proposal to hire a private security firm. The Safety Committee is looking into this and will make a recommendation on what to do about the security measures in City Hall. Chairperson Coles stated that the State of New York asked municipalities to address safety concerns in their agency. The City hired a firm that conducted an assessment of the various City buildings and made recommendations to the City regarding security issues. The Safety Committee reviewed the recommendations and was in the process of putting security in place. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 3 8. Workforce Diversity (WFD) Committee Update WFD Committee Chairperson Marcia Fort reported that the WFD Committee spent time at the last meeting talking about the outreach /hiring process. The WFD Committee revised the language about the notification of participation in the interview process by a representative of the HR Department, the WFD Committee or its designee. The outreach /hiring process, with a letter from the Mayor, will go out shortly. The Mayor shared the draft with department heads. The plan will come before the City Administration Committee. The WFD Committee will continue to talk about the hiring process and ways to encourage employees and members of the community to participate in the interview skills training. The WFD Committee is trying to encourage people who might be interested, whether it is employees or community members, in participating in that training so that they could be on a list of people who could be representatives on a selection/ interview committee. In 2004, the WFD Plan was adopted. This year is the fifth (5t") year anniversary of the WFD Plan. The WFD Committee will look at the plan. They will discuss the progress that has been made, how to market the plan, how to let employees know about the kinds of changes that have happened over the five years and to get a sense from departments about what work has already been accomplished and what's in future plans. 9. Safety Committee Update. None. 10. Communication Committee Update. None. 11. Regular Reports from Departments Reporting to CA - Chamberlain's Office City Chamberlain Debra Parsons reported on the Water Meter Change -out Billings, Sidewalk Assessments, Tax Collection, Credit Card Processing and the Budget. Water Meter Change -out Billings: The Chamberlain's Office is working on a few appeals that should be concluded by next month's Board of Public Works (BPW) meeting. The Chamberlain's Office continues to work with Water & Sewer to ensure the accuracy of the data and to make sure that all of the records that they are getting are correct and that the meters are calibrated correctly. They understand better the information they get from the new meters. They can identify leaks more quickly or when water is running 24 hours /day and provide this information to customers. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 4 Sidewalk Assessments: The Chamberlain's Office works with the Engineer's Office on outstanding sidewalk assessments and, once the work is done, getting the new bills recorded and billed. Notification to property owners of the need to repair sidewalks is being added to the City's property records so that it appears on all tax searches for affected properties. Tax Collections: The City Chamberlain distributed a table that showed a number of tax collection figures in relation to the total warrant for the corresponding year. Based on this data the tax collections may be trending downward, but if so, at a very slow rate. Credit Card Processing: The Request for Proposal has been issued to companies that process credit card transactions. The deadline is July 1St. From the preliminary information, a vendor will be chosen that will provide that service to the City at no cost to the City. Any fee that would be applied would be borne by the person using the card. Budget: To date, the Traffic Violations expenses are slightly under budget, the Parking Violation collections are on target and the Penalty and Fee revenues are ahead of budget. Interest earned on City investment ranged from 5% in early 2008 to 2.5% in late 2008. Chamberlain's Office expenses are under or at budget. The Committee thanked City Chamberlain Debra Parsons for her report. 12. Building Department 1. Request to Increase Housing Inspection Fees Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. WHEREAS, New York State requires all towns, villages, counties, and cities to conduct housing maintenance inspections on intervals determined by the residential building's occupancy, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Housing Ordinance further requires that when a residential building is in compliance with all applicable housing maintenance regulations a Certificate of Compliance be issued, and City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 5 WHEREAS, the Building Department has been looking into all the components involved in the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance due to the fact that New York State requires housing inspections to occur at more frequent intervals than what the Building Department staff can accomplish, and WHEREAS, in order to cut down the time it takes to complete a housing inspection, the Building Department had a housing software program created and the Building Department investigated all other processes involved in the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance in order to eliminate inefficiencies as well as reviewing how it charged for housing inspections, and WHEREAS, The Building Department discovered that the process it has been using to charge for a Certificate of Compliance is antiquated, that it is based on an hourly rate, that the charges for the work include but are not limited to inspections, property file research, correspondence, record upkeep, travel, and supervisory work, and WHEREAS, the cost of a Certificate of Compliance can not be easily determined since it may depend on the inspector's experience, the inclusion of all supplementary work needed, how many violations are observed, and how many special systems are in the building, and WHEREAS, the Building Department is striving to create a system for charging for a Certificate of Compliance based on predictable fees for property owners, based on rewarding compliance, based on punishing scofflaws, based on covering Building Department's costs, and bringing and keeping more rental buildings into compliance with the City's Housing Ordinance, and WHEREAS, the inspections of fraternities and sororities can only be conducted through time consuming factors not encountered in the inspection of dormitories, one and two - family dwellings, nor in multiple dwellings, and WHEREAS, these factors have a significant effect on the actual cost for inspecting fraternities and sororities, and WHEREAS, said factors that increase inspection costs are in part the result of having to: City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 6 1) Inspect commercial kitchens with associated hood and suppression systems, 2) Inspect assembly spaces and coordinate findings with the Ithaca Fire Department, 3) Inspect or having independent inspection agencies inspect more numerous mechanical and suppression systems, 4) Inspect loft spaces for compliance and special rooms that are not always accessible, 5) Often finding new violations upon re- inspections thus causing months to pass before a Certificate of Compliance can be issued, and WHEREAS, in order to meet New York State inspection requirements with regard to inspection of fraternities and sororities the Building Department invariably has to use staff overtime, and WHEREAS, the Building Department believes that it is essential that the City of Ithaca operate a system which will result in more properties coming into compliance, reducing delays and inducing more property owners to keep their buildings in compliance, and WHEREAS, the Building Department has concluded that inspection fees will be based on the occupancy of the building, the number of rooms in the building, and will have an escalating fee for those violations that continue to be un- addressed and un- repaired because these factors cause an inspector to spend more time and effort in issuing a Certificate of Compliance, now, therefore, BE IT ORDAINED AND ENACTED by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 2009- So.rtinn 1 Section 210 -43(F) (regarding fees for a certificate of compliance) as well as Sections 210(I) and 210(J) of Chapter 210 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code entitled "Housing Standards" are hereby amended to read as follows: § 210 -43 Certificate of compliance. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 7 A. All single - family or two - family rental dwellings shall be required to hold a valid certificate of compliance. Such certificate shall be valid for a period of not more than five years. Before the expiration of the certificate of compliance, it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the rental property to schedule a housing inspection with the Building Department in order to obtain a new certificate of compliance. All rental dwellings with three or more units or rental dwelling units with five or more unrelated persons shall also be required to hold a valid certificate of compliance. This certificate of compliance shall be valid for a period of not more than three years. Prior to the expiration of the certificate of compliance, it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the rental property to schedule a housing inspection with the Building Department in order to obtain a new certificate of compliance. All dormitories, fraternities and sororities shall be required to hold a valid certificate of compliance. Such certificate shall be valid for a period of not more than one year. Before the expiration of the certificate of compliance, it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the rental property to schedule a housing inspection with the Building Department in order to obtain a new certificate of compliance. B. A certificate of compliance shall be issued upon verification by inspection that no violations of the Building Code, Energy Code, City of Ithaca Municipal Code, City of Ithaca Zoning Ordinance, New York State Multiple Residence Law and any other applicable codes and ordinances exist. C. Certificates of compliance shall not be issued to: (1) Any rental unit that is in violation of any applicable City or state code. (2) Any rental unit located on a property for which there is an outstanding warrant for a violation of any section of Chapter 178. (3) Any rental unit which is not in compliance with all orders of the Building Commissioner. D. Failure of an owner of any rental unit to hold a valid certificate shall be deemed a violation of the Housing Code, and such dwelling unit may be ordered by the Building Commissioner to be vacated until the property is brought into compliance with this chapter. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 8 E. Verified over - occupancy will result in the immediate revocation of the certificate of compliance. .R..... ...,RIi•.� The Fees for a Certificate of Compliance shall be a combination of the following charges: 1) The basic inspection fee which is determined by the cost of the room times the number of rooms in the building excluding closets. The cost of the room is shown below under "charge of room per occupancy." 2 Administrative costs associated with a re- inspection. 3 Costs for each violation. This fee escalates when upon each re- inspection the same previously cited violation has not been repaired, 4) Charge of Room per Occupancy. The charges for room occupancy shall be assessed as follows: (i) One and two family homes and multiple dwellings ... $7 /room Fraternities and sororities .. $10 /room Dormitories .. $1.50 /room (ii) An administrative fee of $40 is charged each time an Inspector has to return for a re- inspection. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 9 iii) A fee of $5 will be charged for each violation found at the initial inspection. This fee will be doubled if at the re- inspection, a violation cited at the initial inspection has not been repaired. At each re- inspection thereafter, an additional $5 will be added to a violation that has not been corrected. When all the violations have been corrected, the fee for violations can be determined by adding the violation and fee cost at the first inspection, the violation and fee charges at the second inspection, the violation and fee charges at the third inspection, etc. (iv) After 30 days and every 30 days thereafter, each and every violation not corrected will be charged an additional fee of $5. (v) A property owner is allowed one extension of 30 days to prepare for an inspection or to fix violations. G. Upon the issuance of a certificate of compliance or when the accumulated fee pursuant to Subsection F is $300 or more, the property owner shall be billed for services rendered at the rates established pursuant to Subsection F(1) This fee shall be paid to the City Chamberlain within 30 days of the billing date. If the required fee is not paid within 30 days of the billing date, the City Chamberlain shall enter the some as a lien against the premises as provided in § C -54 of the Charter of the City of Ithaca. The Chamberlain shall add the same to the next assessment roll of general City taxes and shall collect and enforce the assessment in the same manner and by the some proceedings, at the same time and with the some penalties as the general City tax and as a part thereof, except that, in addition to the penalties provided for in the aforementioned provisions, interest shall accrue from the date of billing to the date of actual payment at 12% per annum or $3 per month, whichever is greater. H. The owner of a property that has had an initial inspection but where violations remain so that a certificate of compliance cannot be issued within the intervals specified in Subsection A shall be billed for the filing fee and all associated costs listed in Subsection c(" and F(" F(4) and a new filing fee shall be assessed. I. When a property is sold without a current certificate of compliance, any unpaid fees for services pursuant to Subsection F(44) at the time of the sale shall be due and shall be billed pursuant to Subsection G. Such fees shall be the responsibility of the new owner. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 10 J. The exclusive administrative remedy for a property owner wishing to appeal the amount of the bill which has been established pursuant to Subsection G(1) and (2) is to file a notice of appeal with the Building Commissioner within seven days of the mailing date to the property owner of the bill for the inspection services. When a notice of appeal is filed, the Building Commissioner, using the regulations of the Housing Board of Review, shall schedule the matter at the next possible regular meeting of the Housing Board of Review. The property owner then has the responsibility to perfect the appeal to the Housing Board of Review, by submitting three copies of the appeal and detailing the reasons why the property owner believes the fee is not justified. The property owner bears the burden of establishing that the accounting submitted by the inspector of the time spent for initial inspection, correspondence, review of the appropriate files, transportation, further inspections or other time spent is inaccurate. The Housing Board of Review shall have the authority to approve or reject such appeal in whole or in part. Section 2. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions of this ordinance. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately and in accordance with law upon publication of notice as provided in the Ithaca City Charter. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 13. Chamberlain's Office 1. Reauest for Amendment to Personnel Roster Moved by Alderperson Cogan. Seconded by Alderperson Schuler. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 11 WHEREAS, the Office of the Chamberlain is staffed by three (3) Customer Service Representatives and one (1) Administrative Assistant, and WHEREAS, in order to provide adequate counter and phone coverage, the Administrative Assistant spends the majority of the time acting as a Customer Service Representative; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That the personnel roster for the Chamberlains Office be amended as follows: Add - One (1) Customer Service Representative Delete - One (1) Administrative Assistant and be it further RESOLVED, That this change shall take effect on July 6, 2009, and be it further RESOLVED, That this personnel roster amendment shall be made within the existing 2009 authorized budget using existing personnel. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 14. Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) /DPW 1. Request to Amend Capital Project #499 GIAC Renovations Moved by Alderperson Rosario. Seconded by Alderperson Schuler. WHEREAS, the city's Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), built in 1922 and 1923, has long been the place chosen by residents of all ages and races as the place for learning, playing and for meeting neighbors, thus rendering GIAC the place where community is built; and WHEREAS, support for GIAC in the community is strong as demonstrated by comments expressed in various city civic associations' listservs, in numerous city meetings, and in letters to local papers; and City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 12 WHEREAS, a firm hired by the city of Ithaca, La Bella Associates, conducted a structural analysis of the GIAC building and on January 4, 2008 issued a report which finds the GIAC building to be structurally sound, and WHEREAS, La Bella Associates further reported on January 4, 2008 on the conditions of various other aspects of the GIAC building including the roofs, the mechanical systems, the plumbing and fire protection systems, the electrical system, the asbestos survey, and the analysis of the building's compliance with the current New York State Building Code, and WHEREAS, the La Bella Associates concluded that the GIAC building is in a considerable state of disrepair, a state which resulted in a list of recommendations of thirty -eight items of renovation that would keep the building viable for future years, and WHEREAS, GIAC is a local institution expected by the community to fill vital needs such as: providing programs for pre - school age children, providing free meals for children attending various programs; providing after - school programs for the children of poor and working families, providing guidance and leadership training for teens and young people, providing programs for the elderly, employment assistance for underrepresented and disenfranchised populations; and is home to the BOCES English As A Second Language program, and WHEREAS, bids were received and opened on May 26, 2009 for renovations to the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) building, and WHEREAS, the bid package consisted of multiple prime bidders for the general construction work, electrical, plumbing and the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and cooling system (HVAC) with two of the contracts having alternate items to be awarded at the discretion of the City, and WHEREAS, staff has reviewed the bids received and will make recommendations for awarding the base bid for all contractors with the exception of "alternate #05" to replace the skylights in the gym (at a cost of $13,556), which is part of the general construction contract, and City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 13 WHEREAS, award of the project with the recommended "alternate" item will exceed the budgeted amount for this Capital Project by $540,000, and WHEREAS, this project is currently authorized in partnership with the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds as follows: $506,000 from the City for outstanding repairs that have been incorporated into this project $2,000,000 from City for the renovations $2,000,000 from IURA for the renovations, and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency will continue to share equally the renovation expenses, and WHEREAS, there are compelling reasons not to redefine the scope of work and rebid the project among which reasons are: (1) The need to maintain the current schedule which is designed so that the summer camp program does not have to be closed or relocated in 2010; (2) It would be difficult to impossible to house the GIAC summer program in any other location; (3) The program is essential for the many Summer Camp working families who see the GIAC Summer Camp as a safe, educationally rich, affordable camp which, in providing child programs, allow parents the time to work, etc., and WHEREAS, the revised budget has been reviewed in detail by the design firm for the project, City of Ithaca Engineering, DPW and GIAC staff and others to identify any possible cost savings; now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca amends Capital Project #499 to increase the budget by an amount not to exceed $540,000 for a total project authorization of $5,046,000, for the purposes of awarding said GIAC renovation project, and be it further City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 14 RESOLVED, That the $540,000 amendment is contingent upon the allocation of $270,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds leaving a City net amendment cost of $270,000, and be it further RESOLVED, That the project funds shall be advanced by the General Fund and later repaid by the issuance of Serial Bonds. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 15. Common Council 1. Approval of City Participation in the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium Moved by Alderperson Cogan. Seconded by Alderperson Rosario. WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Council of Governments ( TCCOG) is comprised of all the municipalities in Tompkins County, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca is a member of the Tompkins County Council of Governments ( TCCOG), and WHEREAS, in 2007 the County, on behalf of TCCOG accepted an incentive grant award under the New York State Shared Municipal Services Program, and WHEREAS, the grant's purpose is to assist the municipalities in Tompkins County create a local municipal health insurance consortium, and WHEREAS, the Health Insurance Consortium will develop health benefits coverage for all participating municipalities with the intent to provide a net savings to the taxpayers of Tompkins County, and WHEREAS, TCCOG encourages the signature of an inter - municipal agreement by TCCOG members; now, therefore be it City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 15 RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor to execute the inter - municipal agreement effective January 1, 2010 with the Greater Tompkins County Health Insurance Consortium for the New York State Shared Municipal Services Program. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2. Proposal to Support Continuation of IURA Work on City /IURA Projects Nels Bohn, Director of Community Development for Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA), wrote a letter to Mayor Carolyn Peterson proposing continuation of support of IURA Work on City /IURA projects. Mr. Bohn explained that a beneficial interrelationship has existed between the City and IURA since 1965. IURA implements several City initiated community development and economic development initiatives. Currently, IURA receives some indirect services, but no direct funding from the City General Fund and relies on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funding, loan repayments and rents to cover staff and operational expenses. IURA projects are related to funding that comes to IURA, has a staff assigned to it, and is tracked and followed. Beyond the many IURA duties there are many crossovers between the Planning Department and IURA. IURA staff has been doing a lot of work on behalf of the City on a variety of projects. The list, which is attached to his letter, shows examples of IURA Staff work on City /IURA projects that are not billed to the HUD entitlement programs. The Mayor and the Planning Department believe that this is a very valuable and important relationship to maintain for the success of the City's planning and economic development work that IURA does. One way to support IURA is by direct revenues. An example of the way the support would work is with the Cayuga Green projects. Repayments of loans from purchase of the property underneath the Cayuga Apartment project start in September. IURA and the City could work out a way in which the City's projection for revenues for Cayuga Green would still be met but also share some of those revenues with the IURA so that IURA could cover some of these costs that don't fit into HUD expenses. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 16 The Committee discussed the IURA's request. After the discussion, the Committee thanked IURA for all of the work that they do for the City and expressed support of the request. The Mayor stated that a resolution with the details will be forthcoming. Mr. Bohn acknowledged all of the work the agency gets from the City and thanked everyone for their support. 16. DPW 1. Approval of Contested 2005 Sidewalk Assessments - Group 1 of 2 Moved by Alderperson Rosario. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff. WHEREAS, Notice of defect, public hearings and notices of assessment were provided to property owners prior to the installation and repair of their sidewalk in 2005; and WHEREAS, Some owners protested their notices of assessment to the Board of Public Works; WHEREAS, The Board of Public Works has reviewed each protest, related events and documentation and has passed resolutions documenting their decision; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That Common Council approves the finalization of the attached list of assessments, and that the City Chamberlain collect such assessments. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 17. Human Resources (HR) Department 1. Director's Report. HR Director Michell -Nunn reported on the following: City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 17 Conference: Last week, HR Director Schelley Michell -Nunn and Assistant City Attorney Donna Este -Green attended a workshop in Syracuse. A portion of the workshop was on legal updates. They received information on newly passed modifications to existing laws. For instance, in regards to retaliation, individuals who file sexual harassment or discrimination claims are protected against retaliation. This law was expanded to also include individuals who may have been witnesses to the incident. Another update given was information about COBRA, the continuation of insurance after employment other than retirement. Because of the economic situation and as part of the stimulus packet, employees who are laid off may be eligible to receive assistance with payment of health insurance. Instead of eligible individuals having to pay the full amount of the health insurance they would pay 35% and the municipalities or employer would pay 65 %, which would be reimbursed at some point. Information was given about the importance of protecting private and confidential information. There was information around investigating complaints and how critical it is to have very good documentation with any personal or disciplinary matter. Information received from this conference was shared with Senior Staff. They not only received /heard good information, they were also able to network with legal and HR people. 18. Finance /Controller 1. Request to Approve Civil Service Agreement for the Year 2009 -2010 Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. RESOLVED, That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized and directed to execute an agreement between the City of Ithaca and Ithaca City School District for performance of services by the City in connection with Civil Service matters for the period July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 in the amount of $48,413 payable to the City of Ithaca on or before November 1, 2009. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2. Approval of 2007 Single Audit Report Moved by Alderperson Rosario. Seconded by Alderperson Schuler. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 18 RESOLVED, That the Independent Auditor's Report for the period of January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007 prepared by the accounting firm of Ciaschi, Dietershagen, Little and Mickelson & Company, LLP be accepted to comply with all the City's applicable Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34 and other related audit and single audit requirements. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3. Approval of Bond Resolution Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. The City borrows funds twice a year (January and August). To borrow these funds, Common Council must first authorize the issuance of the bonds. This request is to approve the authorization of Capital Projects approved by Council since the last authorization in December 2008. The projects needed for authorization include projects approved since January 2009 and any Council previously authorized projects not yet included in a bond resolution. The total issuance for August will be $1,960,000 plus renewal of the BANS (Bond Anticipation Notes) coming due. Of the new money, $1,520,000 is General Fund bonds and $440,000 is for the Water Fund bonds. The largest amount of the $1,960,000 authorization relates to the GIAC Renovation Project ($1,300,000). The funds would be borrowed through the BANS at interest rates between 1.50% and 2.60 %. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 4. Controller's Report. Controller Thayer reported on the following: Budget (2010): The 2010 Budget guidelines have been distributed to department heads. They are due August 1, 2009. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 19 Capital Projects: The Capital Project Review Committee received a total of $9,000,000 in requests. This amount has been wheedled down to $3,000,000. The Committee's list of recommendations will be available in mid July. Hiring /Purchasing Freeze: The hiring and purchasing freeze is still in place. Sales Tax (2009): The City budgeted $12,400,000 and is currently running at 5.3% lower than the 2008 number. The most recent payment was down 11 %, overall the City is down over $200,000. If this pace continues, the City will see $800,000 shortfall. Cash Flow: As a result of the slower tax collections, the City is experiencing some tight cash flow. Cash flow periods are usually after tax collections in January and June. June tax collections and contribution from Cornell University come in July. Retirement Pension: The official date that the pension payment is due to the State is February 1St. The City pays by December 15 of the previous year to get the 1% discount. The City may not be able to make the payment this year. Building Permits: To date, the City has collected $264,000 of the budgeted amount of $380,000. Parking Revenues: To date, the City has collected $864,000 of the budgeted amount of $1,665,000. Overtime Expenses: The City budgeted $871,000 for overtime. To date, the City has spent $314,000. Health insurance Expense: Currently, the City is within the budgeted amount of $7,000,000. Audit Activities (2008): The 2007 Audit has just been approved. The Controller's Office is working on the 2008 Audit. Requests for Proposals (RFP): The RFP for security services is due back this week and the RFP for credit card acceptance and the procurement card are due back in a couple of weeks. City Administration Committee Meeting June 24, 2009 Page 20 Fire Contract (Town): The Fire Contract with the Town of Ithaca has been expired for two years. Negotiations are going slowly. 19. Reports 1. Mayor's Report. The Mayor reported on the following: Conference of Mayors Conference: This week the Mayor will attend the 100th New York Conference of Mayors Conference in Saratoga Springs. Any updates will be shared with Common Council and Department Heads. Award: The Mayor nominated the City for an award in one of four categories (e.g. public works, the SEC program, etc.) The City won first place. The award will be presented on Tuesday. Budget (2010): The guidelines have been sent to department heads for the 2010 budget. The Mayor requested that departments submit a 0% budget and a 2% budget as well as an optional budget. The proposed salary increase for department heads for 2010 is 2.5 %. Budgets are due August 15t to the Mayor and the Controller. Meetings will take place in August and early September with department heads, with Common Council seeing the budget on October 1St. The Mayor, Alderperson Coles and Deputy Controller Andrew attended a meeting to discuss ways for Common Council to get a sense of what these budgets are looking like before October 1St 2. Sub- Committee Updates. None. 3. Council Members' Announcements. None. 4. Next Month's Meeting: July 27, 2009. 20. Adjournment With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Cogan, the meeting was adjourned at 10 :25 p.m.