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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-B&A-1989-12-28 i BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING 7:15 P.M. DECEMBER 28, 1989 MINUTES Present: Committee Members: Schlather, Killeen, Cummings, Romanowski Committee Member Excused: Hoffman Other Alderpersons Present: Booth, Nichols Others Present• City Controller - Cafferillo Deputy Controller - Thayer Police Chief - McEwen Personnel Administrator - Walker Personnel Associate - Patz City Attorney - Nash Youth Development Coordinator - Green Representatives from CDSM, CPA's Charles Barber 1 . Charles Barber - Final Report After a brief executive session, Charles Barber presented his final report on the City-owned land project. Charles Barber noted that he had found, during the second phase of his project, 110 deeds, right-of-way's and easements that were not listed on the City's records. The second phase of the project spanned from 1930 to 1966. The amount of deeds found that were not accounted for on the City's records from 1930 to August 1989 totaled 185. A discussion on the project continued. Alderperson Cummings asked Mr. Barber about land in the watershed area. It was noted that in some cases the City took possession of the land in that area for tax purposes only and then sold the property back to the original owner. Because of this procedure the City has some property in the watershed area that we do not own, but we are maintaining. Mr. Barber presented a map showing the properties in question. Chairperson Schlather asked the City Controller to give the Six Mile Creek/ Watershed Committee a copy of Mr. Barber's report and a copy of the Minutes because of the involvement of watershed property. Mr. Barber gave a copy of his report to the City Controller and recommended that further work be done in the area of right-of-ways. A continued discus- sion on properties and Mr. Barber's report took place. The Committee thanked Mr. Barber for his work on this project. 2, 1988 Independent Audit Report - Approval A partner, Jack Little, from the Accounting Firm Ciaschi, Dietershagen, Schaufler and Mickelson, and Dennis Jones, the Audit Manager for the city's 1988 audit presented the City of Ithaca's 1988 Audit Report. B & A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 2 DECEMBER 28, 1989 Mr. Little noted that the 1988 audit was very successful and there was only one area of concern for the City. Mr. Little noted as in prior years the City did not maintain a system of Fixed Assets for 1988. This has been a recurring problem for many years. It was noted that by January 31, 1990 the City is expected to have a system of Fixed Assets. Mr. Little continued his discussion on the remaining portion of the 1988 audit report. Mr. Little noted that the City's fund balance in relation to the City's budget could be increased, but at the same time the fund balance is not too low. Mr. Little noted that there were no other problems noted during their audit for the year ending 1988. A brief discussion on the fund balance and the fixed assets followed. After the discussion the following resolution was made: Resolved, that the 1988 Audit Report prepared by the Accounting Firm of Ciaschi, Dietershagen, Schaufler and Mickelson, C.P.A.'s, be accepted to comply with all of the City's applicable federal single audit and related audit requirements. Said resolution passes 4-0. 3. Recycling Program A discussion on the proposed recycling fee program was to take place, however Mr. Guy Gerard and members of the D.P.W. were not present to discuss the recycling program. The B E A Committee briefly discussed the recycling issue. It was the consensus of the Committee that further discussions on the recycling program must be made early on in 1990. No action was taken on said topic. 4. Mayor-Elect Nichols discussion Administrative Assistance/Staff Attorney Mayor-Elect Nichols discussed the appointment of his administrative assistant. Mayor-Elect Nichols wanted to discuss the procedure in which this appointment was made. It was noted that the position would be compensated for the amount that was included in the 1990 budget ($19,793) . Personnel Administrator Walker noted that in prior years the Mayor just announced the appointment of this position and no resolution was needed. A question came up from the B 8 A Committee as to whether a resolution was needed because the salary level was greater than the minimum for this position. It was the consensus of the Committee to discuss this item in tonight's executive session. Mayor-Elect Nichols also requested that the City Attorney's budget position for $32,000, 35 hours be split into two positions, one attorney at 20 hours and one attorney position at 15 hours, both compensated on a contract basis. After a discussion on the City Attorney's position and the prior history of this position, there was no motion put on the floor to split the Staff Attorney position into two positions of 20 and 15 hours respectively. The concern of the Committee was to be sure a knowledgeable City Attorney would be available when needed. The B 8 A Committee could not recommend this split in positions. A motion to go into executive session was made. Passes 4-0. B & A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 3 DECEMBER 28, 1989 5. Report from Executive Session Following a lengthy executive session, Chairperson Schlather made the following reports: A. Mayor's Administrative Position With respect to the Mayor's Administrative position the Committee has given direction to the Personnel Administrator with respect to establ- ishing a salary line and requests for the Mayor-Elect concerning procedure. No vote was taken. B. Youth Bureau - Personnel Item Resolved, that Marcia Fort be provisionally appointed to the position of Activities Center Coordinator at a 1990 annual salary of $26,574, effective January 8, 1989. Said resolution passes 4-0. C. Youth Bureau - Personnel Item Resolved, that the Personnel Roster of the Youth Bureau be tempor- arily amended from June 16, 1989 to May 24, 1990 as follows: Delete: 1 Youth Program Coordinator (Full-time) Add: 1 Youth Program Coordinator (17 hours/week) Said resolution passes 4-0. D. CSEA Administrative Unit Contract Resolved, that the Agreement between the City of Ithaca and the CSEA Administrative Unit for a new three-year contract commencing January 1, 1990 and expiring on December 31, 1992, be approved as recommended by the City's Negotiator, and that the Mayor and City Clerk be author- ized and directed to sign and execute the contract on behalf of the City under its corporate seal. Said resolution passes 4-0. E. 1990 Compensation for Confidential Employees Resolved, that for the period January 1, 1990 through December 31, 1992, all employees not covered by a form of labor contract, excluding positions designated as management, be granted salary increases and fringe benefits in accordance with the provisions of the CSEA Administrative Unit Contract. Said resolution passes 4-0. F. 1990 Compensation for Managerial Employees Resolved, that management employees not covered by a formal labor contract be granted a 5.5% increase across the board for the year 1990, effective with the first pay period of 1990, and be it further Resolved, that Common Council reaffirms its policy of comprehensive performance evaluations for all Department Heads and recommends that the Mayor implement the Department Head Performance Evaluation procedure fully. Said resolution passes 4-0. G. CSEA Pay Equity Proposal Resolved, that, as recommended by the Labor-Management Pay Equity Committee, the salaries of the operators, Operator Trainees, Assistant Chief Operators and Laboratory Director at the Water Filtration and L B 6 A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 4 DECEMBER 28, 1989 5. G. (continued) Wastewater Treatment Plants be increased as follows: $1,200 for employees holding a Class II-A license $2,400 for employees holding a Class I-A license and be it further Resolved, that said salary increases be retroactive to the date of the original Pay Equity requests, or the date the employee received his/her license, whichever was more recent. Said resolution passes 4-0. H. Personnel Roster - Finance Department Resolved, that the following positions be assigned to the 1989 Management Compenstion Plan as indicated below: Asst. Superintendant of Public Works $33,340 - $49,352 City Engineer 33,340 - 49,352 Dep. Dir. Planning & Development 31,087 - 46,017 Resolution passes 4-0. Note this resolution does not change any of the above position's salaries. 6. City Buyer Position After a brief discussion on the creation of the City Buyer position, which was approved with the 1990 Budget, the following motion was made: Resolved, that the Personnel Roster of the Finance Department be amended as follows: Delete: Senior Stenographer - Purchasing (Grade 9 - 35 hours/week) Add: City Buyer (Grade 17 - 35 hours/week) and be it further Resolved, that Etta Gray be provisionally appointed to the position of City Buyer at a 1990 annual salary of $21,332, effective January 1, 1990. Said resolution passes 4-0. 7. Youth Bureau A. Personnel Item Youth Development Coordinator Green presented a request to combine two part-time recreation specialists positions into one full-time recreation specialist position. The reason behind the combination of the positions is to attempt to attract a staff member who can make a increased commitment to the job. After a brief discussion, the resolution to amend the Personnel Roster of the Youth Bureau as reflected above, passed 4-0. B. Personnel Item Youth Development Coordinator Green presented a request to change B 8 A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 5 DECEMBER 28, 1989 7. B. Personnel Item (continued) the Youth Development roster by the following: Delete: 2 Youth Workers (full-time) - Grade 18 1 Youth Worker (20 hours/week) - Grade 18 Add: 1 Volunteer Coordinator (full-time) - Grade 18 1 Development Program Leader (full-time) - Grade 18 1 Administrative Assistant (20 hours/week) - Grade 18 The reason for the change in the roster was to correctly title employees. Coordinator Green noted that there will be no change in salary and no additional staff with this request. It was resolved to amend the Youth Bureau roster as stated above. Said resolution passes 4-0. C. Amendment to Youth Bureau Program Budget Youth Development Corodinator Green presented a request to amend the Youth Bureau Program Budget by adding a full-time Youth worker for the Youth at Risk and Community Partnership program and adding a fifteen passenger van. Funding for these amendments is to be received by the New York State Education Department. A discussion by the B 6 A Committee took place on possibly getting the New York State grant to pay for the additional workers fringe benefits. It was the consensus of the Committee to approve this request as long as it was budget neutral. The following resolution was made: RESOLVED, That the Youth Bureau 1990 Roster be amended by the addition of one full time Youth Worker position for the period of a State Education Department Grant, to expand the Access to College Education Program, and be it further RESOLVED, That the authorized 1990 Equipment List for the Youth Bureau be amended to include 1 - fifteen passenger van at a cost not to exceed $18,000.00, and be it further RESOLVED, That the 1990 Budget be amended by increasing appro- priations by $33,467.00, the amount of the State Education Department Grant, and conversely increasing revenues by the same $33,467.00, and be it further RESOLVED, That this Grant can only be accepted and that the related Budget Amendments can only be made, provided that overall impact on the 1990 Budget including fringe benefits is budget neutral. Said resolution passes 4-0. 8. Police Department - Adjustments to 1990 Equipment List Police Chief McEwen presented a request for approval to amend the 1990 equip- ment list without the need for additional funds. The Chief noted that in the Office Equipment account he would like to replace the laserjet computer printer with a Facsmile Transceiver and Video Cassette Recorder. In the Motor Vehicle account, the Chief would like to replace the six police cars with four police vehicles-sedans, one police vehicle-station wagon and two police vehicles-motor- cycles. In the Other Equipment account, the Chief would like to add one uninterrupted telephone power supply. The net total for the changes noted is -0-. B & A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 6 DECEMBER 28, 1989 8. (continued) After a brief discussion the following motion was approved 4-0: RESOLVED, That the 1990 Authorized Equipment List for the Police Department be amended as follows, with no additional funding required: Current Proposed Net 1990 List 1990 List Change A-3120-210 - Office Equipment 3 Electronic Typewriters $1,851 $1,851 $ 0 1 Laserjet Computer Printer $1,900 $ 0 $-1,900 1 Facsimile Transceiver $ 0 $1, 500 $+1, 500 1 Video Cassette Recorder ,$ 0 400 +400 . . . .ACCOUNT TOTAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,751 $3,751 $ 0 A-3120-215 - Motor Vehicles 6 Police Cars $88,740 $87,200 $ -1, 540 Change Description to: 4 Police Vehicles - Sedans 1 Police Vehicle - Station Wagon 2 Police Vehicles - Motorcycles . . . .ACCOUNT TOTAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . $88,740 $87,200 $-1, 540 A-3120-225 - Other Ecquipment Radio Equipment $29, 553 $29,553 $ 0 16 Hand Guns $ 4,000 $ 4,000 $ 0 16 Holsters/Ammo Holders $ 1, 600 $ 1,600 $ 0 Closed Circuit TV Equipment $ 1,300 $ 1,300 $ 0 Diving Equipment $ 730 $ 730 $ 0 1 Uninterrupted Telephone Power Supply (Funds Transferred from A-3120-215 Account) $ 0 1,540 $+1, 54-0 . . .ACCOUNT TOTAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . $37 , 183 $38 ,723 $+1, 540 Net Additional Funding Required $ 0 9. City Attorney - City Hall Annex City Attorney Nash and Charles Schlough presented a request for extension on the purchase of the City Hall Annex. Charles Schlough noted he needed an extension because two days ago his guarantor failed to fund the loan. The Bank requires that there be a guarantor on the loan. B E A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 7 DECEMBER 28, 1989 9. (continued) Mr. Schlough stated that he would like to be granted an extension for three months, so that he can obtain the guarantor needed for the loan. Mr. Schlough noted that the purchase agreement can be left as is and, further, Mr. Schlough will be willing to pay the $70/day payment for failure to close on time for the period June 8, 1989 through the extension period March 31, 1990 unless he closes on an earlier date. A discussion on the extension and the purchase agreement followed. A motion was put on the floor for the City to extend the contract with Charles Schlough, for the purchase of the City Hall Annex, for an additional 90 days with the further modification that the $70/day will in fact be owing from June 8, 1989 through March 31, 1990 or sooner. Resolution passes 4-0. It was noted that this resolution will be acted upon by Council at the January 1, 1990 Council meeting and that it be published as soon as possible. 10. City Attorney - Extension of purchase agreement for Fire Station No. 5 Attorney Nash noted that the closing for the Fire Station No. 5 property should take place on or before January 5, 1990. Attorney Nash requested the B S A Committee to approve the referral of the extension of this purchase agreement to Common Council. After a brief discussion on the purchase agreement the motion to refer the amended purchase agreement to Common Council, per the December 6, 1989 Common Council meeting, for the sale of Fire Station No. 5. Passed 4-0. 11 . D.P.W. A. Contract-City Compliance with OSHA Chairperson Schlather stated that he had recently polled the B & A Committee in respect to the personal service contract to organize a program for City compliance with OSHA with a contract amount of $2,000, all members agreed. The request is to extend the contract to $4,000. After a brief discussion the following resolution passed 4-0. Resolved, that the Superintendent of Public Works be authorized to enter into an agreement for Professional consulting Services, for the purpose of bringing the City into compliance with OSHA standards, at an amount not to exceed $4,000, and be it further Resolved, that the $4,000 required to fund this program shall be paid for from 1989 appropriations encumbered for such purpose. B. Transfer of Highway Funds A request by the D.P.W. to transfer 1989 Highway Funds of $75,000 to a new 1990 Capital Project for Paving was presented. A discussion on the widening of Meadow Street followed. Following a discussion on Paving, Sidewalks and Capital Projects the following resolution was made: B E A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 8 DECEMBER 28, 1989 11 . B. (continued) Resolved, that Capital Project #228 be and is hereby established, for the purpose of widening a portion of Meadow Street (in front of McGuire Ford, Inc.), and be it further Resolved, that $75,000 which has been encumbered by the D.P.W. in Account 5111-487, Macine Paving, be transferred to said Capital Project #228. Said resolution passes 4-0. C. Amend Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment List A request to amend the 1989 Equipment List for the Wastewater Treatment Plant for a $1,900 hydraulic puller was presented. The following motion was made: Resolved, that the 1989 Authorized Equipment list for the Ithaca Area Waste- water Treatment Plant be amended to include a set of hydraulic pullers for equipment maintenance purposes, at a cost not to exceed $1,900, within . existing funding limits. Said resolution passes 4-0. 12. Finance Department A. Approval of 1990 Human Services Contracts City Controller Cafferillo presented a list of Human Service and Other Services contracts that need to be authorized to have the Mayor sign these contracts. It was noted that all the Human Service contracts were approved during the 1990 Budget discussions. The following is a list of the contracts that the Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to execute for the period January 1, 1990 through December 31, 1990: Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. $80,000 Tompkins County S.P.C.A. $35,000 Finger Lakes Association, Inc. $ 1,207 Tompkins County Area Development Corp. $ 7,800 Ithaca Rape Crisis $ 3, 100 Literacy Volunteers of Tompkins County, Inc. $ 3,675 Offender Aid and Restoration Services $ 3,300 Southside Community Center $ 6,501 The Learning Web $ 6,363 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service $ 4,500 DeWitt Historical Society $ 5,000 Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County $ 8,870 Task Force for Battered Women $ 7,374 Tompkins-Cortland Labor Coalition $15,000 Neighborhood Legal Services $ 3,362 Homes-Green Street Project $ 3,801 AIDS Work $ 4,034 Community Dispute Resolution Center $ 6,180 Day Care and Child Development Council of Tompkins County $ 9,800 Tompkins County Chapter of the American Red Cross $ 4,000 Displaced Homemakers Center of Tompkins County $ 7,650 Drop-In Children's Center $ 6,000 B 8 A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 9 DECEMBER 28, 1989 12. Finance Department (continued) The motion for the Mayor to execute the above contracts passed 4-0. It was noted that these contracts will be passed individually at the Common Council meeting January 3, 1990. B. BC/BS Stop-Loss Limit Agreement City Controller Cafferillo presented information relating to the 1989 Blue Cross/ Blue Shield Stop-loss Insurance agreement. Controller Cafferillo stated that the 1989-90 BC/BS Stop-loss insurance agreement was entered into by the City based on information provided by BC/BS. Controller Cafferillo felt some of the information provided to the City by BC/BS did not allow the City to make an accurate or appropriate determination at the time of renewal for the Stop-loss agreement (May 1989) . Because of this inappropriate determination made, based on inaccurate information from BC/BS, the City Controller is requesting the Committee to give the option to reevaluate the contract and possibly cancel the contract. Controller Cafferillo stated that with the current reserve the City has from the Health Insurance Security Deposit including the $75,000 for the Stop-loss agreement, this amount would begin to establish a reserve for Health Insurance so that the City could become totally self-funded for Health Insurance purposes. Controller Cafferillo noted that he had orally explained the situation to BC/BS with not much success, but now has drafted a letter, presented to the B 8 A Committee, that will be sent if approved tonight by the Committee. Chairperson Schlather recommended that because BC/BS gave the City bad numbers relating to the Stop-loss limit and the City bought into the program based on the bad numbers, that the City would like to get their $75,000 Stop- loss contract amount back. It was noted that the appropriate numbers that should have been used by BC/BS were substantially lower than the numbers used by BC/BS. Chairperson Schlather recommended that the letter, drafted by the Controller, be sent to BC/BS demanding that they return the $75,000 and as far as the City is concerned, that part of the Health Insurance contract is null and void. Originally, the City asked BC/BS to recalculate the Stop-loss amount, but BC/BS refused to recalculate a new amount. After discussion on health insurance and the possibility of a health insurance reserve the following motion was made: Whereas, the 1989-90 Stop-loss Agreement for Health Insurance was entered into between the City of Ithaca and Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Whereas, the numbers used by the City to enter into this Stop-loss agreement were incorrectly calculated by Blue Cross/Blue Shield; now therefore be it Resolved, that the City Controller is hereby authorized and directed to send the approved letter asking for the $75,000 Stop-loss agreement fee to be returned to the City and the Stop-loss portion of the Health Insurance contract to become null and void. Motion passes 4-0. B 8 A REGULAR MEETING PAGE 10 DECEMBER 28, 1989 13. Items Tabled from 11 /30189 B E A Meeting A. Policy of Annual Zero Based Budgeting No discussion. The Committee recommended to refer the discussion on the Policy of Annual Zero Based Budgeting to the new B & A Committee in 1990. This item should be discussed sometime prior to the 1990 budget discussions. B. Personnel Department - Vacancy Review Process No discussion. The Committee recommended to refer the discussion on a Vacancy Review Process to the new B 8 A Committee in 1990. It was noted that this was Chairperson Schlather's last B 8 A meeting and he thanked all the Committee Members for their cooperation through the years. The Committee responded by thanking Ray for his hardwork and dedication to the City and the Finance Committee. Meeting adjourned at 11 :10 P.M. BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING AMENDMENT TO MINUTES DECEMBER 28, 1989 The following represents an amendment to the Budget and Administration Committee meeting of December 28, 1989. The amendment is to the discussion and committee action on the executive session relating to the 1990 Compensation for Managerial Employees. The following will amend page 3, section 5F. This amendment will only be in addition to the minutes already presented; it will not change the information already existing. "A discussion on the vacation buy-out for Managerial Employees took place during the executive session and the following action was taken: Managerial employees not covered by a bargaining unit may elect to receive cash payment for up to two weeks of accumulated vacation time, during the month of December in any calendar year." 10/5/90