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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-B&A-1989-06-28 BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE JUNE 28 , 1989 - 7 : 30 PM MINUTES PRESENT: Committee Members : Schlather, Hoffman, Killeen Cummings , Romanowski OTHERS PRESENT : City Controller - Cafferillo Deputy Controller - Thayer Acting Superintendent - Fabbroni Police Chief - McEwen Fire Chief - Olmstead Planning Department - Van Cort, Mazzarella, Jones , Chatterton Youth Bureau - Green SPCA Members/Wildlife Control Andy Sciarabba - Community Recreation, Inc. Members of Press and Public 1 . S .P.C .A. 1990 CONTRACT DISCUSSION Michael Costello , Attorney for S.P.C .A. , presented proposed agree- ments for 1990 . The first proposal for services is consistent with all other Municipalities served within Tompkins County, at $34 ,840 . The alternative would provide the current level of service at , $42 ,000 . Alderman Schlather proposed that the delivery of appear- ance tickets and routine patrols be eliminated, and the $34 ,380 proposal be considered for 1990 . Under this scenario the City would be served at the same level and charged on a proportionate shared basis with other Municipalities in the County. Mr. Costello made it clear however , that the $34 ,840 proposal did not constitute a contract offer at this point in time , further contact must be made with Town and Village Officials to insure that sufficient alterna- tive revenues can be generated to continue S .P.C .A. activities . No formal action of the Committee was taken, although the concensus to reduce the current level of service was unanimous . S.P .C.A. was scheduled for the next B&A meeting of July 27 , 1989 . 2 . SECOND HOCKEY RINK AT CASS PARK Andy Sciarabba, representing Community Recreation Center, Inc. , presented their views on a revised draft agreement prepared by the City Attorney. Under said agreement, the indebtedness issued to fund the balance of construction would be defrayed through the levy of a surcharge against users of both rinks over and above ice time fees , advertising sold, and additional fund raising activities by the organization utilizing the rink. The agreement also calls for a minimum of $500,000 to be paid over by the Community Recreation Centers , Inc. , with all construction activities to be bid, built and managed by the City. Following extensive discussion, the action on such agreement was tabled to the July B&A meeting, with several remaining questions to be explored by both parties in the interim. It was also decided that Bill Lucas of the Ithaca Youth Hockey As- sociation would be invited to the next meeting, relative to acquiring a long term commitment for use of the rink. -2- JUNE 28 , 1989 3) ITHACA CITY COURT RENOVATIONS AND/OR EXPANSION G . Russell Oec sle of the Sixth Judicial District , Office of Court Administration presented a summary of the current situation rela- tive to the facilities bill , renovations , expansion and long term City Court needs . The City must prepare a facilities plan by August 7 , 1989 , in order to prevent the Chief District Judge from intercepting funds that would otherwise be available to localities . The State Comptroller would hold state aid per capita payments , for example , until such facilities plan requirements are complied with. A number of options were discussed, such as attempting to expand existing space , with the Police Chief disclosing that no additional space could be made available by the Police Department . The possi- bility of constructing a new facility was also discussed, in con- junction with a reasonable time schedule for the implementation of said facilities plan. A meeting was suggested, no later than July 22 , 1989 for formulation of a plan of action, with a subsequent meeting with representatives of the Dormitory Authority also tentatively scheduled . No formal action taken, tabled to July meeting . 4) POLICE DEPARTMENT COMPUTER SOFTWARE CT_i_eT McEwen presented the current situation at the Police Depart- ment relative to computer usage of existing equipment and software applications . It was his feeling that existing computer processes are seriously under utilized, due to the fact that software appli- cations currently in use do not permit timely retrieval and evalu- ation of data. Additionally, the existing system does not presently allow for the current collection or retrieval of necessary infor- mation for the effective management of the department. A study and draft RFP have been prepared by Charles Gabriel (also present) , a law enforcement specialist under contract with NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services . The estimated cost of system upgrade is disclosed as follows : New Software 64, 000 Additional Hdwe 18 ,000 Consulting Sery 10 ,000 Total 92 ,000 Following a presentation by Mr . Gabriel , and additional information by Chief McEwen, the Committee agreed 5 - 0 to allow the Chief to circulate the request for proposals . No commitment was made at this point in time in relation to authorizing funding , such deter- mination shall be made pending receipt and evaluation of said proposals . -3- JUNE 28 , 1989 5) COMMUNITY GARDENS Representative Francesca Verdier proposed a possible cap on the amount of water to be provided annually, beyond which the gardens would pay the cost thereof. . The Committee members requested a proposal from the Community Gardens Association suggesting possible remedies to the water usage problem. No formal action was taken. The proposal was requested on or before September 1 , 1989 . 6) YOUTH BUREAU ROSTER CHANGE Alan Green requested that the Youth Bureau roster be amended as follows : Delete : 1 Youth Worker Position - 20 hours Delete : 1 Youth Worker Position - 17 . 5 hours (which position is currently vacant) Add: 1 Youth Worker Position - 35 hours There is no proposed change in funding for said positions . Request was approved by a 5 - 0 vote of the Committee . 7) YOUTH BUREAU BUDGET AMENDMENT Alan Green also requested that the 1989 Budget be amended to re- flect a New York State Education Department Grant . Said Grant would cover the period July 1 , 1989 through June 30 , 1990 . Upon receipt of written confirmation from the State , the Youth Bureau roster would be increased by one 26 hour youth worker position @ $5 ,525 . 00 through the balance of 1989 . Related appropriations and offsetting revenues would be recorded as follows : A7310-120 Hourly - Seasonal - Parttime $5 ,525 . 00 A7310-445 Travel and Mileage 100 . 00 A7310-440 Staff Development 100 . 00 A7310-460 Program Supplies 275 .00 Total $6 ,000 . 00 A3820 State Aid - Youth Programming $6,000 . 00 Following discussion, and an assurance that this resolution was contingent upon actual receipt of the Grant from the State , and secondly, that the roster position was approved for the period of existence of said Grant . Motion was approved 5 - 0 . 8) CITY ATTORNEY - LEASE OF FIRE STATION PROPERTY A proposed lease with the Town of Ithaca for a period of 30 years (The period of probable usefulness of the two new fire stations) , was presented by City Attorney Ralph Nash . The lease would permit the City to borrow the moneys necessary to finance the construction of said stations which are to be located on westhill and southhill in the Town of Ithaca, in accordance with the fire protection -4- JUNE 28 , 1989 8) CITY ATTORNEY - LEASE OF FIRE STATION PROPERTY (continued) agreement currently in force . Additionally, the execution of this lease would permit such stations to remain tax exempt , whereas , if the City had taken Title to the land, absent special State Legis- lation, the two fire stations would have been taxable for all Town, County, and School District General purposes . A motion was made , that , subject to the Town of Ithaca' s agreeing to the deletion of paragraph 2S in the proposed agreement , the Committee would authorize the execution thereof. Following discussion, the motion was approved 5 - 0 . 9) CITY ATTORNEY - CABLE FRANCHISE FEE REFUND The City has received a request from ATC (American Television and Communications Corporation) for a refund of .4% of the 5% Fran- chise fee paid to the City retro-active to February 1988 . ATC contends that between February 1 , 1988 and March 31 , 1989 , $9 ,279 . 83 was paid in excess of that required by New York State Executive Law 88 817 and 818 of Article 28 . Chairman Schlather requested that the City Attorney explore the possibility of not refunding such moneys , and further proposed , that should ATC choose to withhold said moneys from future payments to the City, that we pursue legal action to recover same . No formal action was taken, item to appear on July B&A agenda. 10) MENTAL HEALTH CENTER PROPERTY TRANSFER George Hascup of Downing Hascup Associates presented the situation requiring the acquisition of a portion of land which is currently Tioga Street , south of Green Street , for construction of the new County Mental Health Facility. A proposed "agreement for the sale of said land to the County for $1 .00" was discussed. The required action involves the abandonment of the road bed for that purpose by the Board of Public Works , and the designation of such land as surplus property. A resolution was moved, requesting that the Board of Public Works abandon the road bed in question in order to allow steps to be taken to transfer the necessary land to the County. A further resolved was added, requesting prompt and com- plete resolution of outstanding parking issues . It is hoped that this action will expedite negotiations with regard to the County share of constructing a parking facility. The vote was 5 - 0 . 11) PUBLIC WORKS SECRETARY SALARY ADJUSTMENT Request of Board of Public Works to aa-just Lisa Cornell ' s salary by 4% to $17 ,159 in conjunction with her permanent appointment to the position of Administrative Secretary. This represents Step 2 on the applicable 1989 compensation schedule . Approved 5 - 0 . -5- JUNE 28 , 1989 12) REQUEST TO RELEASE CAPITAL RESERVE #23 MONEYS Larry Fabbroni requested the release o 20 ,000 in Capital Re- serve #23 funds for the acquisition of four pieces of equipment : Sign Machine $12 ,500 Pressure Sensitive Sign Application 2 ,250 Graffiti Remover 4 ,500 Puller & Push Pullers 750 20 ,000 Request was approved by a 5 - 0 vote of the Committee. 13) APPOINTMENT OF ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN Larry Fabbroni requested that Robert J. Tinker be appointed as an Engineering Technician at an annual salary of $22 ,960 , which is Step 7 on the CSEA Administrative Unit Compensation Plan. Following discussion on the -qualifications and experience of the candidate, the request was approved 5 - 0 . 14) INCREASE CAPITAL PROJECT #206 STREET CURBING Larry Fabbroni, Acting Superintendent, presented a proposal to utilize existing encumbered funds and available CHIPS moneys for 3200 ft . of granite curbing on Hillview Place and Mitchell Street . The request would allocate $48 , 000 in CHIPS and $16,000 in unneeded encumbered funds to complete the total project . Transfers from A5111-700 of $16,000 and $48 ,000 from A690-2 to Capital Project #206 would provide necessary funding. Approved 5 - 0 . 15) EVALUATION OF CITY OWNED LAND Charles Barber provided an update on his evaluation of all City owned property. He reported that the $3,000 appropriated at the June Common Council meeting should be adequate to complete the second phase of the study. He was requested to return to the July B & A meeting to give a further progress report . No formal action taken. 16) HYDRO CONSULTANT Helen Jones presented a proposal for consulting services to be performed in connection with the review and evaluation of RFPS for the VanNatta Dam Hydro Project . She suggested that Veitch Associates be engaged for an amount not to exceed $2 ,600 to perform such eval- uation. Following discussion, motion was approved 5 - 0 . Funds to be derived from Unrestricted Contingency. 17) HYDRO LEGAL SERVICES - VAN NATTA DAM PROJECT Funds were also requested for legal services relative to prepara- tion of an agreement with prospective developers at the Van Natta Dam site . Action on this item was tabled pending receipt and pre- liminary review of RFPS received. Place on July B $ A meeting Agenda, no further action taken. -6- JUNE 281? 1989 18) NOLAN PROPOSAL Kathe Evans presented a request for consulting services in connec- tion with the preparation of an Environmental Impact Mitigation Study. An amount not to exceed $13 , 500 was moved ($11 ,500 for contract services and $2 ,000 for related expenses) , approved by a vote of 5 - 0 . Funds to be derived from Restricted Contingency for said purpose. 19) FIRE DEPARTMENT ROSTER AMENDMENT Chief Olmstead presented information relative to increasing the Roster by 1 fire fighter in order to replace Juddson Leonard who has been placed on permanent disability status , and assigned to light duty. In that Fire Fighter Leonard can no longer perform fire fighting duties , the Chief requested a replacement until and if a permanent disability retirement is obtained. Additionally the Committee requested that wording pertaining to notifying the Town of Ithaca and requesting an amendment to the Fire Protection Contract be made a part of said resolution. Both enactments shall be subject to formal approval by the Board of Fire Commissioners . Approved 5 - 0 . 20) FIRE DEPARTMENT - EQUIPMENT LIST AMENDMENTS Chief Olmstead requested the following amendments to the Depart- ment ' s 1989 Authorized Equipment List : A. Add 1 lot of SCBA Equipment 1 ,386 .30 B. Add 2 Chain Saws 1 ,626. 00 C . Add 1 Rescue Mannequin 350 . 00 D. Add 1 Vacuum Cleaner 663 . 76 Funding was proposed, $663 . 76 to be transferred from A3410-477 to A3410-225 with the balance to be paid from available unneeded funds already budgeted in Account A3410-225 . Resolution was ap- proved by a vote of 5 - 0 . 21) PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE SESSION - SALARY ADJUSTMENT FOR HELEN JONES Subsequent to an executive session on personnel items., Chairman Schlather disclosed that , the salary of Helen Jones be increased to $26 ,388 , effective July 10 , 1989, which represents Step 7 on the Planner II line of the CSEA Administrative Unit Compensation Plan. Such action was approved 4 - 1 . 22) PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE SESSION - SALARY ADJUSTMENT FOR LESLIE CHATTERTON Subsequent to an executive session on personnel items , Chairman Schlather disclosed that, the salary of Leslie Chatterton be in- creased to 25,373 effective July 10 , 1989 , which represents Step 6 on the Planner II line of the CSEA Administrative Unit Compensation Plan. Such action was approved 4 - 1 . - 7 - JUNE 28 , 1989 23) HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR 1987 RETIREES Personnel Administrator Val Walker presented information relative to three employees , Robert Breene , James Diamond and Richard Ellis , all of whom had filed for retirement prior to the July 1 , 1987 deadline date of holding their premiums at a fixed level , but had not received that benefit because the effective dates of their retirements was significantly beyond such date . Subsequent to discussion, the Committee approved by a 5 - 0 vote margin to allow said retirees to hereafter receive the fixed incentive rates , and to credit them with all prior payments made in excess of the fixed incentive program rates . 24) RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR DEPARTMENT HEADS AND - MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL Val Walker presented a draft procedure relative to the search pro- cess for Department Heads and managerial personnel . . Following significant discussion and several amendments thereto , a motion was made to send said procedure forward to Common Council for adoption. The vote was 5 - 0 approving such resolution. 25) BOND RESOLUTIONS A. New Fire Station construction bond resolution for the issuance of $2 ,185 ,000 in serial bonds was offered by the City Controller and approved 5 - 0 . B. Reconstruction of existing fire stations bond resolution for the issuance of $950 ,000 in serial bonds was offered and ap- proved 5 - 0 . C . Stewart Avenue Bridge reconstruction bond resolution for $430 ,000 was also offered and approved 5 - 0 . 26) APPOINTMENT OF ACTING DEPUTY CITY CLERK The Committee approve 5 - 0 the temporary appointment of Connie J. Holcomb to the position of Acting Deputy City Clerk at an annual salary of $19 ,399, effective July 24 , 1989 . 27 ) FAX MACHINE City Controller presented a request to authorize an amendment to the Finance Department Equipment List to add one Fax Machine for City-wide use . The funds for such acquisition would be derived as follows : A 1990 Contingency $700 Trust & Agency/Building and Fire Code Aid 300 F8311-425 300 G8111-425 300 J8150-425 300 Acquisition was approved 5 - 0 . -8- JUNE 28 , 1989 28) BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD RENEWAL City Controller presented the proposed renewal contract with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. An 18 month contract is proposed, in order to allow a January l to December 31 contract as opposed to the current July 1 to June 30 fiscal year agreement . This adjustment in contract year would permit more accurate budgeting of health insurance cost , in that the City is self funded. Ad- ditionally, the $322 ,000 Surity Bond currently in force at a cost of $6 ,500 could be replaced by the establishment of an equal designated fund balance escrow account with one of our official depositories . All interest earned on said account would be retained by the City and would further negate the $6 , 500 expenditure . Following discussion, the overall renewal program was approved 5 - 0 . Meeting was adjorned 1 : 12 A.M.