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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-B&A-1992-05-21 BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING 7 : 30 P.M. MA� 21, 1992 PRESENT: COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Booth, Berg, Daley, Romanowski, Johnson (late) OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor - Nichols City Controller - Cafferillo Deputy City Controller - Thayer Building Commissioner - Eckstrom Superintendent of Public Works - Gray Director of Water & Sewer - Shimer Building Department Staff Member - Radke Police Chief - McEwen Deputy Planning Director - Sieverding Youth Development Coordinator - Green Members of the Media 1 . Opening Comments Chairperson Booth made the following changes to the Agenda: A. Add a Personnel item for the Personnel Department. B. Add a request for increased Authorization to the City Court/Police Facility Renovation Project. C. Defer the Carpenter Business Park - DigiComp lease proposal item until next month. D. Defer the Planning Department request for GIAC Construction Supervisory Services . E. Add a request by the Mayor for funds for the Community Relations Task Force. F. Add an executive session dealing with Police contract negotiations . 2 . The Committee to Proceed Into Executive Session The Committee voted, 4-0, to move into executive session to discuss two requests for employee incentive awards . 3 . Report from Executive Session Chairperson Booth reported that the following actions were taken during the executive session: A. Building Department - Request for Employee Incentive Award Chairperson Booth reported that the Committee voted on two possible resolutions regarding the request to approve an employee incentive award. He stated that these resolutions will be forwarded to the Committee -of the Whole meeting. BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 B. DPW - Water & Sewer Departments - Request for Employee Incentive Award Chairperson Booth reported that the Committee voted to approve a merit increase award in the DPW Water and Sewer Division. The motion passed 4-1 . Alderperson Johnson voted against the motion. It will be forwarded to the Committee of the Whole. 4 . Youth Bureau - Request to Amend the 1992 Youth Bureau Budget Youth Development Coordinator Green presented a request to amend the 1992 Youth Bureau Budget by $2, 950 for a NYS Grant passed through the Ithaca City School District for the Access to College and Employee (ACE) Program. Green explained that the City has received a $2,950 grant from New York State to expand the Access to College and Employment (ACE) program. He stated that the ACE program serves middle school students and students who are about to make the transition to high school. After a brief discussion, the following motion was made: WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau has received a proposal from the Ithaca City School District to expand the access to College and Employment (ACE) Program to serve students in the Ithaca area, and WHEREAS, the School District has received confirmation of funding from the New York State Education Department, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the 1992 General Fund Budget for Youth Bureau purposes be amended as follows: APPROPRIATIONS A7310-420 Gas & Oil $ 200 A7310-440 Staff Development 350 A7310-445 Travel & Mileage 400 A7120-470 Rental of Equipment 2,000 REVENUE A3820 Youth Programs $2,950 The motion passed 5-0 . 2 t BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 5. Planning Department - Request funding for Zoning Map/Chart Deputy Planning Director Sieverding presented a request to fund the layout, drafting and printing of the Ithaca Zoning Map and Chart. Sieverding explained that the zoning map and chart were last printed in December 1987 . He stated that many changes have occurred to both the chart and zoning map since that time. Sieverding explained that in the past these type of expenses were absorbed in the Planning Department Budget. However, because of the cuts in the 1992 Budget, the Planning Department Budget cannot pay for the expense for this item. The estimated expenses are as follows: Layout/Drafting of Chart $ 450.00 Printing 650 .00 Computer Software 500 .00 Total $1, 600 .00 The funds were requested from the unrestricted restricted contingency account. After a discussion regarding the zoning map, the following resolution was made: WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Zoning Map and Chart was last printed in 1987, and WHEREAS, there have been numerous changes to both the map and chart since that time, and WHEREAS, the Planning Department cannot fund the printing of this map and chart within existing budget appropriations, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that $1,600 be transferred from account A199O, Unrestricted Contingency, to account A8020-425, Office Expense, for the layout, drafting, and printing of said map and chart. The motion passed 5-0 . 6. Mayor - Request to Fund Community Relations Task Force Alderperson Johnson presented a request, recommended by the Human Services Committee, that $2,000 be approved for funding of a Community Relation Task Force to improve police and minority community relations in the City. Johnson stated that this funding would support staff and materials for the established task -force. 3 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 Mayor Nichols explained that meetings have already taken place between the police and the minority community and that many suggestions have been made as a result of those meetings . Nichols suggested that this Task Force would develop recommendations for improving police and minority community relationship of the City. He stated _that the $2, 000 amount was a rough estimate on costs needed to operate this program effectively. Mayor Nichols stated that some people have signed up for this Task Force but that a coordinator has not been chosen at this time. Clayton Hamilton, an involved member of the community, spoke to the committee and urged that this resolution be passed so that a solution to the problem of police and minority community relationships can be found. Committee membership expressed their hope that the staff for this Task Force would be mostly volunteer. After a brief discussion the following motion was made: WHEREAS, the Human Services Community has recommended the establishment of a Police Community Relations Task Force to improve police and minority community relations in the City of Ithaca, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that $2,000 be transferred from account A199O, Unrestricted Contingency to account A1210-425, Office Expense, to pay for support staff and material expenses of the Police Community Relations Task Force. The motion passed 5-0. 7 . Planning Department - Request to Increase City Court Facility Capital Project Deputy Planning Director Sieverding presented a request to increase the City Court Facility Capital Project by $500, 000 . Also in attendance for this discussion were Terry Laconte from Lehrer McGovern Bovis, Construction Consultant; Brad Perkins from Perkins, Eastman and Partners; and Russ Oechsele from the New York State Court Administration. Sieverding explained that the bids for the project were opened May 7 and the low bidder for construction, among four prime contractors, came in at $2,466, 630, not including construction contingency. Sieverding explained that the original project construction budget for the City Court Facility was $3,496, 854 . He stated that revisions to the project by the Client Committee resulted in a prebid construction budget of $2,505, 825 and a prebid total project budget of $2, 999, 360 . Sieverding stated that the prebid budget numbers were very close to the project bid amounts of $2,589, 962 and 4 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 $3, 100,000 . He stated that this shows that the architect' s budget estimates were accurate. It was noted that the current authorized amount for this project is $2, 600,000 . The following represents the new project budget based on the low bids received: Construction $2,466, 630 Construction Contingency 123, 332 Total Construction $2,589, 962 Furniture, Fixtures 80, 000 Telephone 34,700 Design Fees 237,500 Testing 11,500 Construction Management 59,835 Interest 70,000 Contingency 16,503 $ 510,038 Total Project Budget $ 3, 100,000 Total Budget Authorized by Council $ 2, 600,000 Additional Authorization Needed $ 500,000 Sieverding stated that the following items account for the $500,000 variance: (A) A need for a second retaining wall system because of the 20 foot setback requirement from the creek added $175,000 to the project. (B) The resiting and reconfiguring of the building as a result of the setback requirement increased the size of the project by 1, 100 square feet. This added $170,000 to the project. (C) The sprinkler system that was added to the project added a cost of $25, 000 to the project. (D) Building code review changes added $25,000 to the project. Sieverding stated that the Client Committee met with the low bidder and that no real cost saving estimates were made by the bidder. The Client Committee is recommending the full $500, 000 increase in the project. Alderperson Daley, who was on the Client Committee, explained that the Client Committee cut all non-essential items from this project. Mayor Nichols stated that there 5 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 were not many options and that the bids were inline with the estimates of 5/2/92 . Chief McEwen stated that he was disappointed with the bids but that the new Court Facility is mandated by law and that the Police Station is currently out of space and needs the renovations to improve the efficiency of the building. Further discussion on the building followed. Controller Cafferillo urged the Committee to authorize the increase. He stated that the Client Committee worked hard on this project to keep costs as low as possible. Cafferillo also stated that the City will receive 29% of the interest payable on the project from the State, subject to the State' s annual budget approval. This could mean as much as $541,000 over the life of the loan. Cafferillo explained that the additional $500,000 in bonds would mean $40,000 a year in capital principal. It was noted that if the City did not do the project, the State could take over the project and reduce the State Aid to the City. After further discussion, the following motion was made: WHEREAS, the bids for the new Court Facility and Police Station renovation projects opened on May 7, 1992, exceeded the existing project authorization of $2, 600,000, and WHEREAS, the revised capital project budget for the new Court Facility and Police Renovation projects, inclusive of the pedestrian bridge, and all project supervision and contingencies is $3, 100,000, reflecting an increase of $500, 000 overall, and WHEREAS, after carefully reviewing said bids and evaluating alternative courses of action, the Client Committee has recommended that the bids be accepted in their entirety, and that the project authorization be increased by said $500, 000, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that Capital Project #242 be increased from $2,600,000 to a maximum authorized cost of $3,100,000, and be it further RESOLVED, that the additional amount necessary to complete said project be derived from the issuance of $500,000 in serial bonds. The motion passed 5-0 . 6 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 8 . Department of Public Works ' A. Request for GIAC Wading Pool Repairs Superintendent of Public Works Gray presented a request to authorize funds for repairs to the GIAC wading pool. Gray explained that $2,000 would be needed to repair the GIAC wading pool for the replacement of pvc piping and other normal repairs for start up of the wading pool. He stated that these repairs will keep this pool open for the summer of 1992 . He explained that the new municipal pool will not be completed and operational until 1993. Gray noted that he will not be able to pay for the repairs out of his own budget because of the 1992 cuts. It was determined that the funds would be derived from Unrestricted Contingency. The following motion was made: WHEREAS, the new municipal pool will not be in service for the 1992 summer season, and WHEREAS, repairs to the existing wading pool will require t replacing the pvc piping in addition to the normal repairs and start-up procedures, and WHEREAS, the DPW mini-pool account was reduced by $2,000 in the 1992 Budget in anticipation that the new pool would open in the summer of 1992, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that $2,000 be transferred from account A199O, unrestricted contingency, to account A7181-483, construction supplies, for said repairs. The motion passed 5-0 . B. Various DPW Reports on Various Projects Superintendent Gray gave the Committee the following reports on various projects that may have some financial effect on the City in the near future: No action was taken on any of the following items : Odd/Even Parking Signage - Judge Sherman has made it mandatory that the City improve its signage of the odd/even parking regulations . Gray stated the Department will need to spend between $2, 000 - $4, 000 in signage to meet these new requirements . Detour Work on Spencer Road - Gray stated that because of the Spencer Road signage for the detour, the DPW is using up much of its traffic control budget. 7 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 Traffic Light at Hillview and Aurora Street - Gray explained that the Board has requested that a traffic light 'be placed at the intersection of Hillview and Aurora Streets. The total for this light may cost $5,000 - $10, 000. Emergency Repairs on Tio a Street - Gray stated that the sewer main on Tioga Street was weak and needed to be replaced soon. He explained that because the projects involving the Green Street Ramp, the City Court Facility and the Cayuga Street Bridge were were soon to be started, the sewer main should be replaced now. Gray stated that doing this project now would help to alleviate potential traffic and parking problems . The BPW declared this an emergency, and the work is currently being done. The funds will be derived from an existing sewer fund capital project. Bus Damage Report - Gray explained that the bus damage for the bus/train accident will be more like $40,000 instead of the original estimate of $25,000 . Gray noted that the bus will be fixed inhouse with $25, 000 of the cost to be derived from the capital project established for this purpose and with $15, 000 to be derived within existing budget lines . A new bus costs $200,000. 9 . Controller A. Request Approval of 1992-93 Civil Service Agreement Deputy Controller Thayer presented the annual request for the approval of the 1992-93 Civil Service Agreement with the Ithaca City School District. Thayer stated the agreement provides for the City to perform Civil Service duties for the School District, and in return the School District pays the City an amount based on actual personnel costs . This year the amount is $25,876 . After a brief discussion, the following motion was made: RESOLVED, that the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized and directed to execute an agreement between the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca City School District for performance by the City for services in connection with Civil Service matters, for the period July 1, 1992 to June 30, 1993, in an amount of $25,876.00, payable to the City of Ithaca on or before November 1, 1992 . The motion passed 5-0. 8 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 B. Request to Increase Computer Acquisition' Capital Project Deputy Controller Thayer and Controller Cafferillo presented a request to increase the authorization of the _ Computer Acquisition project by $10,000 . Thayer presented a memo to the Committee showing the total authorization for the project of $448, 345, with a total spent to date of $431, 753 and with committed funds in the amount of $25, 094 . Approximately $8,500 is needed to clean up this project, which has spanned more than six years. The project includes the DPW, Police and Finance Departments. Thayer explained that the increased funds are needed because financing costs have been booked to the project over the life of the project and never budgeted. Alderperson Johnson stated that he would like the City to move toward a more integrated computer system Citywide. A discussion on this topic followed. It was determined that this topic will be discussed at a future Department Head staff meeting. The following motion was made: WHEREAS, capital project #211 was established in 1986 and amended several times in 1989 and 1990 for the acquisition of computer equipment and related software for the Finance, Police, and Public Works Departments, and WHEREAS, a thorough review of said project has determined that an additional $10,000 is required to fund cumulative financing and other related project costs through completion, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that capital project #211 for Computer Acquisition be hereby increased from $448,345 to a maximum cost of $458,345, and be it further RESOLVED, that the additional amount necessary to complete said project be derived from the issuance of $10,000 in serial bonds. The motion passed 5-0 . Alderperson Romanowski noted that he worked with some of the modem lines connected to the computers, but still voted because there was no conflict of interest. C. Approval of 1992 Health Insurance Rates for Retirees Controller Cafferillo presented a request to adjust the 1992 Health Insurance rates the City charges Retirees for 9 y BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 Health Insurance. He stated that currently thg City is charging City Retirees $120 .24 per month for individual coverage and $276 . 69 per month for family coverage, based on 1991 health insurance rates . Cafferillo explained that the current 1992 health _ insurance rates are $166 .57 per month for individual coverage and $381 . 78 per month for family coverage. The City uses Blue Cross/Blue Shield as its health insurance carrier. Cafferillo explained that in the past the City has charged retirees half of the increase in the health insurance rates for which the City is charged. He stated that this year' s rate is a 38% increase charge to the City. Therefore, if the City were to be consistent with its action in prior years, the City would charge retirees a 19% increase. The Committee discussed the rates and .the increases . The City has felt in the past that the retirees cannot afford the full increase. Alderperson Romanowski made the following motion: RESOLVED, that the health insurance rates charged to employees remain at the 50% split as consistent with previous years, and be it further RESOLVED, that the 1992 health insurance increase charged to retirees be 19% of the total increase charged to the City. Alderperson Romanowski stated that a more than 50% split will develop problems with the Union. Voting results on the above motion were as follows : Ayes ( 1) Romanowski Nays (4) Booth, Johnson, Berg, Daley Motion failed 1-4 . The following motion was made: WHEREAS, the City currently charges City retirees and those employees on leaves of absence $120.24 per month for individual health insurance coverage and $276 . 69 per month for family coverage, and WHEREAS, the 1992 estimated cost of the City' s health insurance program for such individuals, as projected by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, have been increased to $166 .57 per month for individual coverage and $381 .78 per month for family coverage, and WHEREAS, the difference between what the City actually charged these individuals for coverage heretofore and the City' s estimated cost for 1992 is 38%, and an increase of 10 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 this magnitude could pose a serious burden for these individuals, and WHEREAS, in light of the significant increase in past years in health insurance rates and the related hardship these increases would have caused City retirees and persons on leaves of absence, the City has adopted a policy of not charging the full rate increases to these individuals, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the 1992 monthly rate of health insurance coverage for retirees and those employees on leaves of absence be established at $146.58 for individual coverage and $335.96 for family coverage, which represents the same proportionate share paid by these individuals currently, or 88% of the City' s estimated rate. The motion passed 4-1 . Alderperson Romanowski voted against the motion. D. Personnel - Request to Return to Full Time Status City Controller Cafferillo presented a request to reinstate the Personnel Department Administrative Secretary to full time status. He explained that when the 1992 Budget was passed, some of the Personnel Department' s employees had volunteered to reduce their hours on a temporary basis. Cafferillo stated that the Administrative Secretary would like to go from 28 hours per week to full-time status. After a brief discussion, the following motion was made: WHEREAS, in December 1991, Common Council approved a request by the Personnel Department to temporarily amend their personnel roster by reducing the hours of certain full-time staff members to accommodate employee schedules, and WHEREAS, the Personnel Administrator has not requested to reinstate the Administrative Secretary from twenty-eight (28) hours per week to full-time status, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the personnel roster be amended to reinstate the Administrative Secretary to full-time status effective June 22, 1992. The motion passed 4-0 . Chairperson Booth was out of the room at the time of the vote. 10 . Committee to Proceed into Executive Session The Committee voted 5-0 to move into executive session to discuss the current status of police negotiations . 11 BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5/21/92 11 . Report From Executive Session i Chairperson Booth reported that the Committee took no action regarding the police negotiations. The Committee agreed to have the next meeting on _Thursday, June 18, 1992 at 7 : 30 P.M. The meeting adjourned at 11 : 15 P.M. Note: In many cases the actual texts of the resolutions presented in these minutes were prepared following the Committee ' s deliberations and decisions on the matters involved. The resolutions presented here are in complete accord with decisions made by the Committee. 12