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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2021-08-25CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. August 25, 2021 PRESENT: Alderperson Mohlenhoff – Chair Alderpersons (3): Gearhart, Kerslick, McGonigal Mayor (1): Myrick EXCUSED: Alderpersons (1): Nguyen OTHERS PRESENT: Alderpersons (2) – Brock, Fleming Transportation Engineer – Cuddihy City Attorney – Lavine Deputy Controller – Andrew HR Director – Michell-Nunn Controller – Thayer 1. Call to Order 1.1 Agenda Review. None. 1.2 Review/Approval of Minutes: Alderperson McGonigal made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 28, 2021 meeting of the City Administration Committee. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. Motion carried unanimously. 1.3 Statements from the Public. None. 1.4 Statements from Employees. None. 1.5 Council Response. None. 2. Consent Agenda Items 2.1 YB – Amendment of 2021 Budget Moved by Alderperson Kerslick. Seconded by Alderperson Gearhart. WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau contracts with Cornell Sailing to provide a summer sailing camp; and WHEREAS, additional sessions were offered to accommodate increased interest this summer; and WHEREAS, received more than the projected revenue; and WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau will need to pay more than the projected contractual expense to honor the contract, now, therefore, be it City Administration Committee Meeting August 25, 2021 Page 2 RESOLVED, That the 2021 Youth Bureau Budget shall be amended as follows: Increase Expenses: A7310-5435-01569 $23,000 Increase Revenues: A7310-2001-01569 $23,000 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3. Action Items 3.1 DPW - Authorization of a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Application – Black Diamond Trail Moved by Alderperson Kerslick. Seconded by Alderperson Gearhart. WHEREAS, the New York State Department of Transportation has noticed the availability of the federal Transportation Alternatives Program; and WHEREAS, a project to design and construction the remaining city segment of the Black Diamond Trail is eligible for funding under the TAP program and Title 23 U.S. Code, as amended; and WHEREAS, completing the Black Diamond Trail in the City would connect West Hill, South Hill and many downtown city residents to a regional trail network with destinations such as Taughannock State Park, Allen H. Treman State Marina, Buttermilk Falls State Park, Cass Park and the Ithaca Children’s Garden, Inlet Island and the West End business district, the Farmers Market, waterfront development sites, and Stewart Park; and WHEREAS, this trail segment is a portion of the Black Diamond Trail, as planned and approved by the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation on September 23, 2009; and WHEREAS, Common Council is interested in applying for a Transportation Alternatives Program grant in order to design and construct the remaining segment of the Black Diamond Trail in the City and making the connection with the Town of Ithaca’s Gateway Trail; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Mayor of the City of Ithaca, is hereby authorized and directed to submit an application for funding to the New York State Department of Transportation in accordance with the provisions of the Transportation Alternatives Program, in a amount not to exceed $2,750,000, and upon approval of said request to enter into and execute a project agreement with the State for such financial assistance to the City of Ithaca for design, right-of-way acquisition, construction and construction inspection of a project as described above; and be it further RESOLVED, That contingent upon award of the Transportation Alternatives Program funds, the Common Council hereby authorizes the establishment of Capital Project #888 to pay in the first instance City Administration Committee Meeting August 25, 2021 Page 3 100% of the federal and non-federal share of the cost of all phases of the work for the Project; and be it further RESOLVED, That contingent upon award of the TAP funds, the sum not to exceed $550,000 is hereby appropriated from serial bonds and made available to cover the cost of participation in the above Project in the first instance; and be it further RESOLVED, That the total project cost shall not exceed $2,750,000 with the understanding that the breakdown of funds to be approximately $2,200,000 in federal Transportation Enhancement Program funds, and $550,000 in City of Ithaca serial bond financing, to be administered by the Superintendent of Public Works; and be it further RESOLVED, That in the event the full federal and non-federal share costs of the project exceeds the amount appropriated above, the City of Ithaca Common Council shall convene as soon as possible to appropriate said excess amount immediately upon the notification by the NYSDOT thereof; and be it further RESOLVED, That the Mayor of the City of Ithaca be and is hereby authorized to execute all necessary Agreements, and that the Superintendent of Public Works is hereby authorized to execute all certifications or reimbursement requests for Federal Aid and/or Multi-Modal Program Funding on behalf of the City of Ithaca with NYSDOT in connection with the advancement or approval of the Project and providing for the administration of the Project and the municipality's first instance funding of project costs and permanent funding of the local share of federal-aid and all Project costs that are not so eligible; and be it further RESOLVED, That a certified copy of this resolution be filed with the New York State Commissioner of Transportation by attaching it to any necessary Agreement in connection with the Project; and be it further RESOLVED, That this resolution shall take effect immediately. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.2 Attorney’s Office - Amend 2021 Personnel Roster Moved by Alderperson McGonigal. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, the City Attorney’s Office previously contained two 40-hour Assistant City Attorney (“ACA”) positions (in addition to one 20-hour ACA position); and WHEREAS, one of those ACA positions was reduced to 32 hours at employee request approximately five years ago; and WEHEREAS that employee will soon depart City employment, and the Office is hiring a new employee to fill the resulting vacancy; and City Administration Committee Meeting August 25, 2021 Page 4 WHEREAS, the City Attorney recommends filling this vacancy as a 40-hour position; and WHEREAS, the City Attorney’s Office is additionally filling a new, 20-hour ACA position in the Office (in addition to the other, longstanding 20-hour ACA position), as previously funded and authorized in the 2021 budget, and the City Attorney will seek to create overlap between this new hire and the departing ACA; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Personnel Roster of the Attorney’s Office shall be amended as follows: Fund: One (1) Assistant City Attorney (40 hours), effective September 30, 2021 Defund: One (1) Assistant City Attorney (32 hours), effective September 30, 2021 and, be it further RESOLVED, That such additional funds as required for this change in 2021 shall be derived from within the approved Attorney’s Office budget. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.3 Adjustment of the Managerial Compensation Plan, New Wellness Program, and Updated Sick Leave Buyout Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, on January 1, 2015, the City of Ithaca implemented a new management compensation plan, which sought to address internal equity concerns, the City’s ability to attract and retain quality talent, and compression issues that resulted from a lack of salary increases in multiple prior years; and WHEREAS, it is necessary to periodically update the management compensation plan to ensure that the compensation plan remains competitive and equitable, and WHEREAS, Common Council authorized funding in the 2020 City budget to update the management compensation plan as recommended by the Human Resources Department effective December 31, 2020, and approved the adoption of a new management compensation plan; and WHEREAS, Common Council subsequently revoked the adoption of the December 31, 2020 management compensation plan due to the financial uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic; and WHEREAS, the federal stimulus payments have improved financial stability in the face of those financial uncertainties; and WHEREAS, in the face of the pandemic in 2020, the City changed health insurance options for management and confidentials to establish the Platinum Plan as the standard health insurance option for those employees; and City Administration Committee Meeting August 25, 2021 Page 5 WHEREAS, in summer 2021 the CSEA Administrative Unit likewise agreed to a labor contract establishing the Platinum Plan as the standard health insurance option for its membership, and in support thereof the City agreed to provide all employees in that bargaining unit (and confidentials) who are enrolled in the Platinum Plan the opportunity to receive substantial financial incentives for successful participation in the Platinum Plan’s wellness program; and WHEREAS, Management should receive not only the burden of organization-wide shifts in the City’s labor contracts, but also the benefits, such as the same wellness program opportunities as under the CSEA contract, including up to $2,000 per year in wellness incentives paid directly to the employee; and WHEREAS, because confidentials shifted with management in 2020 to a standard of the Platinum Plan, they should receive the benefit of the wellness incentives effective to the same July 1, 2021 date as management; and WHEREAS, the City faces an estimated $182 million in post-retirement liabilities, driven in large part by the retiree health insurance provided via sick leave buyout, which recently figured a prominent role in the downgrade of the City’s bond rating, in turn increasing the City’s annual borrowing costs; and WHEREAS, in the new labor contract that the CSEA Admin unit recently ratified, said post-retirement liabilities resulted in a change to sick leave buyout policies, limiting that amount of sick time that can be used in retirement (i.e., to cash out or purchase retiree health insurance) to 75 days of sick leave, but not as to sick leave that employees have already accrued (through 7/1/21); and WHEREAS, as a matter of fiscal prudence and internal equity with other bargaining units, it is necessary that management sick leave buyout policies adjust in parallel with the CSEA-Admin contract; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the current management compensation plan be amended by deleting the entry level (step one) and adding a new step five (5) that produces a 20% spread, effective July 1, 2021, as reflected in the spreadsheet included herewith entitled “2021 Managerial Employee Grade Plan - effective July 1, 2021”, and be it further RESOLVED, That on July 1, 2021, all managerial staff who were on step 5 of the 2019 Management Compensation Plan on June 30, 2020, shall move to step 5 of the 2021 Management Compensation Plan, and be it further RESOLVED, That on July 1, 2021, all managerial staff who were below step 5 of the 2019 Management Compensation Plan on June 30, 2020, shall be slotted into the salary step that most closely reflects their current salary, and shall continue to move one salary step annually on their respective anniversary dates, in accordance with the existing procedure; and be it further RESOLVED, That the “Fringe Benefits for Managerial Personnel” policy shall be amended as included herewith, thereby implementing a Wellness incentive and sick leave buyout limitations in the same manner as reflected in the new CSEA Admin contract; and be it further City Administration Committee Meeting August 25, 2021 Page 6 RESOLVED, That in keeping with the July 1, 2021 effective date of other portions of this resolution, and in light of the inability to administer Wellness testing in the short remainder of 2021, all management employees who were enrolled in the Platinum Plan as of July 1, 2021 shall receive applicable wellness amounts in 2021 prorated at 50% value without any need to satisfy wellness targets in 2021 (i.e., $1,000 for family plan participants, and $375 for individual plan participants), but in succeeding full years at 100% value subject to achieving applicable targets as provided in the “Fringe Benefits for Managerial Personnel” policy and associated implementation of the Wellness Program; and be it further RESOLVED, That in keeping with the July 1, 2021 effective date of other portions of this resolution, in light of the unique circumstance caused by the pandemic that resulted in confidential employees shifting to the Platinum Plan as their standard health insurance much earlier than did the CSEA-Admin contract, and further due to the inability to administer Wellness testing in the short remainder of 2021, all confidential employees who were enrolled in the Platinum Plan as of July 1, 2021 shall, in lieu of the 2021 wellness program benefits provided by the CSEA-Admin contract, receive applicable wellness amounts in 2021 prorated at 50% value without any need to satisfy wellness targets in 2021 (i.e., $1,000 for family plan participants, and $375 for individual plan participants), but in succeeding full years at 100% value subject to achieving applicable targets as provided in the CSEA-Admin contract to which confidential compensation and benefits is standardly tracked. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.4 Authorization to Amend Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Plans Moved by Alderperson Kerslick. Seconded by Alderperson Gearhart. WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca (“City”) sponsors a dependent care flexible spending account (“DCFSA”) plan in which employees of the City may elect to participate on terms as set forth in the plans and governing laws and regulations; and WHEREAS, recent federal legislation allows amendments to be made to DCFSA plans to make their use more beneficial to employees and dependents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and WHEREAS, the City desires to continue to allow employees to avail themselves of the relief provided by CAA Section 214; and WHEREAS, an additional amendment of the terms of the City’s DCFSA plan terms is necessary to accomplish the foregoing; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the terms of the City’s DCFSA plan are amended, effective January 1, 2021, to allow employees eligible to participate in the DCFSA plan who have not made two changes in their plan elections during 2021, including elections to participate, increase or decrease contributions, or to cease to participate, without regard to whether a qualified status change has occurred, may elect to increase their dependent care limit up to $10,500 for a household filing jointly, and for single head of households, or $5,250 for a household filing separately for 2021 expenses; and be it further City Administration Committee Meeting August 25, 2021 Page 7 RESOLVED, That the City’s Mayor, Director of Human Resources, and Comptroller shall take such actions as they deem necessary or desirable to document and communicate, or to cause the administrator of the City’s DCFSA plan to document and communicate this plan amendments to employees eligible for participation in the plan, and to implement the foregoing amendment and make the amended plan features available to employees as promptly as practicable. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 4. Discussion 4.1 Draft City Manager Legislation City Attorney Lavine gave an update on the changes to the City Manager draft legislation. After discussion, the Attorney’s Office will return to this Committee with the legislation for Common Council approval. 5 Meeting Wrap-up 5.1 Announcements. None. 5.2 Next Meeting Date: September 22, 2021. 5.3 Review, Agenda Items for Next Meeting: On September 22, 2021, there will be a Committee of the Whole meeting for 5G, which would include a public hearing, followed by the City Administration Committee. 5.4 Adjourn: With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Kerslick, the meeting was adjourned at 7:29 p.m.