Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2004-06-01DRAFT CITY ADMNISTRATION COMMITTEE Regular Meeting June 30, 2004 Members Present: Alderperson Berry, Alderperson Coles, Alderperson Zumoff, Alderperson Townsend (arrived at 8:20 p.m.), Alderperson Cogan Council Members Present: Alderperson Tomlan, Alderperson Taylor, Mayor Peterson Staff Present: Duane Twardokus (IT Director), Brian Wilbur (Fire Chief), Leslie Moskowitz (Mgr of OD), Larry Fabbroni (Asst Supt.), Debra Parsons (City Chamberlain), Marcia Fort (GIAC Director), Patricia Dunn (Asst City Attorney), Tim Logue (Economic Development Plnr), Scott Andrew (Deputy Controller), Schelley Michell -Nunn (HR Director), Denise Malone (Administrative Secretary) Others Present: Gary Wilhelm, Guy Gerard, Members of the Media, Members of the Public Chairperson Berry called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. A. Chairperson Greeting & Opening Statement Chairperson Berry welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the evacuation procedures. B. Agenda Review and Amendments, Approval of Minutes & Announcements There were no announcements, additions or deletions to the agenda. The Committee reviewed the minutes from the May 2004 meeting. After discussion, Alderperson Zumoff made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 26, 2004 meeting. Seconded by Alderperson Coles. Motion carried 4 -0. (Alderperson Townsend was absent from the vote.) City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 2 C. Statements from the Public Chairperson Berry invited members of the public to speak before the City Administration Committee. Mr. Guy Gerard of Ithaca spoke against raising fines. Mr. Gerard stated that this is not a good time to raise fines since construction work is being done on a number of streets and garages. Raising the fines now would keep commuters from shopping downtown. D. Employee Comments & Common Council Response There were no comments from employees. Alderperson Coles responded to the comment about the increases in fines. Alderperson Coles stated that there are no changes for overtime fines. The increases in fines are in conjunction with far more serious infractions. Alderperson Zumoff stated that the increases in fines would be discussed in more details later. The increases are safety factors (i.e. parking in front of hydrants, etc.) This is a serious safety issue. The increases in these fines are to discourage people from doing unsafe things. E. Affirmative Action Advisory Committee Update. None. F. Common Council 1. Request to Transfer of Funds for Third Quarter Funding for Southside Community rpritor Common Council requested to transfer an amount not to exceed $17,000 from Restricted Contingency Account A1990 to the Southside Community Center and that an additional amount of $5,341.25 shall be issued to Southside Community Center from the 2004 Sales Tax Agreements Fund. After discussion, Alderperson Zumoff made a motion to approve this request. Seconded by Alderperson Coles. Amendment: The Committee continued to discuss the request and to make amendments after which Alderperson Coles made a motion to amend the resolution to read as follows: City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 3 WHEREAS, the Southside Working Group formed in November 2003 to address the future relationship among the Southside Community Center, Inc., the City of Ithaca and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), Inc. and WHEREAS, the Southside Working Group is formulating options for the successful collaboration among the Southside, the City of Ithaca and GIAC, and WHEREAS, the Southside Community Center, Inc. and GIAC, Inc. are committed to further collaboration, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Common Council has placed $68,000 for the Southside in Restricted Contingency Account number A1990 in order to encourage such collaboration, and WHEREAS, The City, through the County Sales Tax Agreement, has an additional $21,365 established for Southside Community Center funding producing a total 2004 funding amount to Southside of $89,365, and WHEREAS, at their regular meetings on January 7, 2004 and March 3, 2004, Common Council approved funding $34,000 for Southside Community Center from Restricted Contingency for the first and second quarter operations of 2004, and WHEREAS, the Southside Community Center will not be able to operate without funds from the City of Ithaca, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Common Council needs further information before it considers the appropriation of the remaining $44,682.50 held by the City for the Southside; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby approves an amount not to exceed $17,000.00 be transferred from Restricted Contingency account #A1990 to the Southside Community Center account #A7312 -5435 for third quarter operations of 2004, and be it further RESOLVED, That an additional $10,682.50 shall be issued to Southside Community Center from the 2004 Sales Tax Agreement funds, which represents the balance of the allocation for 2004, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Southside Community Center use these funds to maintain operations and programs through September 30, 2004. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff. Motion carried 4 -0. (Alderperson Townsend was absent from the vote.) City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 4 Main Motion: A vote on the main motion resulted in a 4 -0 vote. Motion passed as amended. (Alderperson Townsend was absent from the vote.) G. Reports 1. Director's Report. HR Director Michell -Nunn reported on the following: Safety Grant: The City received a Safety Grant in the sum of $32,000 +. Employee Health and Safety Coordinator Andy Olmetti spearheaded this effort. The grant will allow the HR Department to provide mandated training and will pay for apart of Mr. Olmetti's salary. CSEA Classification Study: HR Director Michell -Nunn reported that today- June 30, 2004 - was the deadline date for appeals for the Classification Study. Employee Picnic: The employee picnic will be held on September 10 or 24 of this year. Ms. Michell -Nunn will confirm the date at next month's meeting. Training: The City is involved in a collaborative effort with Tompkins County, the Town of Ithaca, and the Workforce Development Office in providing training at no cost to our employees. Over the last six months, there have been twenty (20) training sessions that City employees have attended and have had an opportunity to gain experience and meet with others outside of the City workforce. The evaluations of the training sessions were positive. This group is looking at being able to offer these courses in the future. Topics covered included conflict management, team building, time management, communications, succession planning, stress management, etc. Executive Session: HR Director Michell -Nunn requested that an Executive Session be added to the Common Council agenda to discuss collective bargaining. 2. Controllers' Report. Deputy Controller Scott Andrew reported on the following: State Budget Update: The State would not be meeting again until early August. Retirement Incentive Program: There is no information available yet regarding an early retirement incentive program. City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 5 State Report - General Fund (2003): This is the general fund (operating fund) for the City. This is a small part of the entire State report that gets submitted to the State on an annual basis. The City showed a positive end of year increase of about $115,000, which represents revenues over expenditures for the year. Union Contracts: The City is negotiating a number of contracts, which could result in some substantial liability to the City in terms of salaries and retro - payments. There are two lawsuits pending in the near future with a potential high price tag. Funding in the 2004 budget has been set aside for one lawsuit but not for the second lawsuit. 2005 Budget: The Mayor distributed the outline for the 2005 budget. The Controller's Office is working on a five -year budget projection. Fiscal Viability Team: Is in the process of improving the budget document to make more reader /user friendly. Please direct feedback of the document to Deputy Controller Andrew. Sales Tax Revenue: Continues to come in at budget, approximately plus 6% over last year. The positive outlook earlier in the year has been tempered by some adjustments made by the State in terms of their submissions to the City. Hopes to improve more as the development in the Southwest improves. Parking Rates: The potential need to increase the rates for 2005, especially in connection with the construction of Cayuga Green Garage and the repairs of the Green Street Garage. This would also be an issue for both employees and downtown shoppers. County Sales Tax: The County approved the sales tax holiday for a week in August. Nothing definite at the State level. The City will also consider approving its portion. 3. Special Department Budget Reports a. Human Resources Department Ms. Michell -Nunn stated that another word for Human Resources is Personnel. She is representing the HR Department; the people department. People are the City's greatest assets. While we would not want to exist City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 6 without equipment and without technology, we could. It would take a lot of time to get work done. But, if we did not have the people, we could not exist. The organization would not exists. That is why the people of this organization are our greatest asset. The HR Department's primary focus is people and the people processes. People are found in every department, so whatever we do or don't do impacts every department in this organization. It is important for the HR Department to partner with the Mayor, Common Council and the departments to work toward creating an environment where all of our people can maximize their full potential in this organization. The HR Department believes that valued individuals result in effective employees. Employees are valued, or perceived to be valued, when they have the necessary resources to do the work that they are hired to do. If you have valued individuals, which result in effective employees, then the result would be a highly effective organization. The output is received from the residents who we are here to support. If our goal is to have satisfied residents in this community, then we have to start with our employees. Maslow's theory is that human beings cannot achieve full level of self actualization or satisfaction until they have gone through this pyramid, which shows the basic survival needs. Basic survival things are food, clothes, shelter. If humans do not have these things, all the other things further up the pyramid are irrelevant. To move up, you cannot have a deficiency at any level. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs gives you the priority of how things move up (i.e. basic survival, need to know and understand, esteem (approval, competency, recognition), then self actualization (when one realizes his /her potential. The "Employee Hierarchy of Needs" explains what the priorities are in the HR Department. The key priorities are at the base or first level (i.e. salary, benefits, health & safety, basic skills, training, work space, staffing levels.) The ultimate goal is to have positive employee morale. We can't achieve that until we build our way up this pyramid. Once needs of the first levels are met (good salaries, working conditions that are conducive to the work they do, the tools that they need), then, the employee can go to the next level. The ultimate level being employee morale. City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 7 For the HR Department staff to perform their responsibilities, the basic needs have to be addressed. The HR Department will work with the Mayor, Common Council and department heads to address many of these issues. There are units in this organization where the salaries are low. Common Council should look at those salaries and improve that situation within what is feasible and what the City can do financially. As budget season nears, there is a classification study that has been completed and the compensation study will be underway. Therefore, what the City needs to do is to set aside money in restricted contingency for salary adjustments. HR Director Michell -Nunn asks Common Council, if at all possible, to reconsider funding staff development. The concerns that we have with staff development is that when you have three -five years go by and there is no staff development, it really has a major impact on the ability of individuals to work effectively in this organization. They do not have the opportunity for enrichment, professional development and that comes back to the organization. HR Director Michell -Nunn asks Common Council to look at operational izing the current Safety Program and to focus on employee health and wellness. The City has a significant number of employees out on work - related injury. In some causes the injuries could have been avoided if the City had paid closer attention to our own well- being. The City needs to institute a performance management system. They Mayor is currently working with the HR Department on performance evaluation for Department Heads. Performance Management System goes beyond performance evaluation. It gets into succession planning, developing standard operating procedures, etc. The City needs to look, particularly, at succession planning because in the next couple of years there will be more than 20% of the workforce able to retire. The City does not have standard operating procedures in all cases. Individuals have intellectual knowledge that they carry around in their heads. When they leave /retire, if we don't have a good succession plan in place, we will be starting over. Ms. Michell -Nunn stated that it is going to be extremely important for the City to cultivate an environment where respect for each other is the norm. This can be achieved by seriously looking at the Workforce Diversity Plan. Adopting it and expecting that what it states happens in this workforce. This plan is about respect for all individuals. City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 8 The big challenge for the HR Department is convincing employees that they are valued when the basic needs are not met and, at the same time, continue to move forward. It is important to address the basics first. The items on the other levels still need to be in place but the City will not get workforce to fully appreciate them until the basics are in place. What does the HR Department need in order to be successful in what we do and why we exist? We need the employees to have what they need in order for them to be effective and competent. Until that happens, all the training programs will not be viewed as a priority. If the basic issues are not dealt with such as salaries, benefits, etc., it won't matter. It is important to the HR Department for the workforce to have what they need to do their jobs. We are not a stand -alone department. We support the organization. We are a resource. Alderperson Cogan asked why the safety program has not been implemented. HR Director Michell -Nunn stated that money is needed and that it needs to be sanctioned by the Mayor and Common Council. The Safety Committee members should be appointed by the Mayor. Mayor Peterson stated that the Safety Program should be rolled out to department heads first and then put on the City Administration Committee agenda. The Committee thanked HR Director Michell -Nunn for her report. b. Information Technology (IT) Department IT Director Duane Twordokus stated that the mission and motto of the IT Department is to "enhance the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the City by continuously improving, through cooperative endeavor, the exchange of information and the delivery of services." Accordingly, the IT Department feels that they should "do it once and do it right." Mr. Twardokus stated that IT's mission and motto clearly express the attitude and spirit that guides them in fulfilling their duties to the City. The IT Department serves as an internal support role only and currently provides maintenance and support to a sizable quantity of hardware and a large number of software applications. The equipment and software are installed in 15 different buildings located around the City. In addition, the City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 9 IT Department provides a range of support services, such as the help desk, to assist the City workforce. The IT Department will soon take on the responsibility of the City's phone system, which would include 12 phone switches and over 300 phones; the new Institutional Network (I -Net), which maintenance and support would be brought in house; and the support for the Accounts Receivable software, which would include new master customer database, a master property database, two new servers and four new applications. To meet the maintenance and support challenges presented by the current and upcoming responsibilities, the current budget provides only for minimal resources; allows replacement of one -fifth of the equipment; and provides for the repair of broken equipment, maintenance of software licenses and the renewal of contracts for the network connections and the City's Internet connection. A significant gap exists between what IT's current budget allows them to do and their responsibilities. The item most at risk is the help desk. Despite best efforts, the help desk is unable to complete an average of 78% of its daily workload. The percentage would increase as more work is taken on. Opportunities presented by the new I -Net will increase the kinds and amounts of network activity. This will then increase the operational dependency the City has on its networking services, some of which will require 24/7/365 support. The IT Department is not adequately staffed to provide this level of support. The current budget does not provide the resources to develop and support a centralized rational database management system. Currently, the City has a number of independent databases housed in multiple departments with no single person responsible for management of these databases. The City's Web site does a reasonably good job of providing static information to the public. But the public expects a website that would allow them to interactively provide and retrieve information and to perform much of their business with the City online. The City workforce would like to have a Web site that provides work - related information such as employee benefits, policies, upcoming events, project updates, meeting schedules, etc. City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 10 To close the gap, the IT Department needs to hire another help desk support person. This person would make sure that the City's IT resources will be readily available to the workforce. The responsibilities of the help desk support person would be expanded to include supervising help desk activities, assisting with the administration of the new I -Net, and managing the City's phone system. These new responsibilities would require a promotion to a position commensurate with them. The IT Department would also need to hire a person to serve as the City's database administrator and Web developer. The responsibilities would include developing and supporting a centralized City relational database management system. This person would develop and support a custom Web site that provides interactive functions and online services. By creating these two positions, the City would considerably improve the IT experiences for its citizens and its workforce. Future projects of the IT Department would include a citywide wireless Local Area Network (LAN). This means that throughout the City, the City's workforce could remotely access the City's computer and phone resources from the field using handheld devices such as Palm Pilots or cell phones. The IT Department would install kiosks around the City that would make it possible for citizens disadvantaged by the digital divide to access the City's online resources from designated locations. The IT Department also encourages the City to move forward on entering the age of E- government. As online services become woven ever tighter into the fabric of our economy, our citizens will increasingly expect that they can interact with their government in a similar manner. Alderperson Zumoff stated that he has been very pleased with the staff of the IT Department. The Committee thanked IT Director Twardokus for his presentation. C. City Chamberlain's Office City Chamberlain Debra Parsons stated that the mission of the Chamberlain's Office is to "courteously and efficiently collect and safeguard City revenues; to record those revenues in a timely and accurate manner, and to provide information to the public and to other city departments about the City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 11 collection and disposition of those revenues." The duties of the Chamberlain's Office are divided into: ■ Tax collection. The Chamberlain's Office collects and enforces current year City taxes and prior year school taxes on City properties; initial collecting of County taxes, etc. • Water & sewer billing. The Water & Sewer Department personnel record meter readings for 1/3 of the properties in the City each month. These readings are entered into the billing files and bills are created, zip code sorted and mailed from this office. Payments are received at the counter or through the mail; • Parking violations. About 55,000 parking tickets were issued in 2003. Tickets issued are electronically transferred or manually entered into Complus Data Innovations. Parking ticket payments are received at the counter or through the mail; • Cash management. The Chamberlain's Office maintains records for and reconciles twenty -four bank accounts. Interest accruals and investment balances are maintained for approximately 400 capital trust and operating funds; • Miscellaneous sales. The Chamberlain's Office sells trash tags, parking permits and bus passes; and collects fees for tax searches and for copies of tax receipts; • Support for other departments. The Chamberlain's Office handles the outgoing mail, verification and deposits of other departmental receipts, provides support to the Controller's Office during the absence of the Payroll Coordinator and the City Buyer. Successes: The Chamberlain's Office will soon be implementing the Accounts Receivable software. This software will be able to consolidate billing and collection in the Chamberlain's Office; will allow departments to enter invoice information and to inquire about the status of those invoices; and will allow the Chamberlain's Department to create and maintain one set of customer records for all of the City's bills. In October 2003, most of the work of parking ticket enforcement was turned over to Complus Data Innovations. Complus enters tickets, obtains names and addresses for unpaid tickets, and notifies NYS of the City's scofflaws and suspensions for unpaid tickets. City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 12 Challenges: To meet budget goals, a vacant position remains unfilled. Duties of the vacant position were reassigned to existing staff. Staff hours have been adjusted to cover an additional hour per day. The increased collection of Complus have increased the department's workload (i.e. processing more payments, answering more inquiries and dealing with more ticket appeals.) Once the new Accounts Receivable software has been installed, the affected departments would require training and educating of /on the new software. The Chamberlain's Office needs to fill the vacant position to help with the increased workload. Goals: To complete successful implementation, training, documentation and review process for the Accounts Receivable Software. Risks: Potential loss of revenue caused by failure to recognize revenue source, to follow -up on expected revenue collection or to maintain appropriate controls due to insufficient staffing. The Committee thanked City Chamberlain Parsons for her presentation. Alderperson Townsend arrived at 8:20. H. Attorney's Office 1. Request Approval of Revised Dispatcher MOU The Attorney's Office requested approval of the revised City- County Dispatcher Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Asst Attorney Patricia Dunn stated that the effective date to start operation was changed from July 1, 2004 to August 1, 2004 and that committee was changed to panel. After discussion, Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by the Alderperson Coles. Motion carried 5 -0. 2. Home Rule Request for Enactment of a Special Law The Ithaca Babe Ruth League, Inc. has requested permission to erect fences around Cass Park baseball fields eight, nine and the proposed field ten and to lease advertising space on those fences and in other prominent spaces around the fields in order to fund upkeep of the fields and its recreational baseball league. The Attorney's Office requested approval for the City of Ithaca to enter into a lease City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 13 with the Ithaca Babe Ruth League, Inc., for space on fences ringing the Cass Park baseballs fields for the purpose of putting advertising on those fences and using the proceeds to keep up the fields and fund league purchases. Mr. Gary Wilhelm, President of the Ithaca Babe Ruth League, gave a brief explanation of the league and the request. After discussion, Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. Motion carried 4 -0. (Alderperson Cogan was absent from the vote.) I. Human Resources Department 1. Approval of 2004 -2005 Civil Service Agreement The HR Department requested approval of the Civil Service agreement between the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca City School District for the performance of services by the City in connection with Civil Service matters for the period July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005 in an amount of $38,906. After discussion, Alderperson Zumoff made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Coles. Motion carried 5 -0. The Committee agreed that this item would be put on consent agenda. 2. An Ordinance to Enact Article VI Entitled "Workforce Diversity Plan" The HR Department requested approval of the ordinance to repeal Article VI of Chapter 90 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code entitled "Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action" and in its place to enact a new Article VI entitled "Workforce Diversity Plan." After discussion, Alderperson Coles made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. Motion carried 5 -0. 3. Establishment of City -wide Health Insurance Committee The HR Department requested approval of the Mayor's initiative to establish a City -wide Labor - Management Health Insurance Committee to develop recommendations for reducing health care cost. After discussion, Alderperson Coles made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. Motion carried 5 -0. J. Chamberlain's Office 1. Request to Approve Increase in Parking Fines City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 14 The Chamberlain's Office requested approval of the increases in parking fines and procedures. The following fines are effective August 15, 2004: Violation Overtime meter Overtime zone Parking ramp overnight Parking more than 12" from curb School zone Prohibited area Between curb and walk Bus stop /taxi stand Fire hydrant Crosswalk Sidewalk Overtime night (Odd /even) Other briveway Wrong direction Truck zone Double parking Uninspected Abandoned Handicap Yard parking Access $ Obstruction of lane /alley Current Fine $10.00 $10.00 $15.00 $10.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $20.00 $15.00 $15.00 $10.00 $10.00 $20.00 $10.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00$ $80/$105/$130 $20/$30/$50 20.00 $20.00 New Fine $10.00 $10.00 $15.00 $25.00 $30.00 $30.00 $25.00 $30.00 $ 50.00 $30.00 $25.00 $15.00 $15.00 $35.00 $15.00 $30.00 $30.00 $25.00 25.00 $80/$105/$130 $20/$30/$50 $ 50.00 $ 50.00 And effective June 1, 2005, the following City parking fines and procedures would be increased: Overtime meter Overtime zone $10.00 $15.00 $10.00 $15.00 After discussion, Alderperson Coles made a motion to approve the increases in parking fines and procedures as requested. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff. City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 15 Amendment: Alderperson Taylor expressed concern in increasing the fine for Overtime night (odd /even) parking. Alderperson Taylor stated that there is a large turnover of residents who are here due to Cornell University and Ithaca College and are not familiar with the odd /even parking. Alderperson Taylor suggested not raising this fine. Alderperson Cogan made a motion to keep the fine for Odd /Even parking at $10. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. The vote on the amendment resulted as follows: Ayes (4): Berry, Zumoff, Cogan, Townsend Nays (1): Coles Main motion: The vote on the main motion resulted in a 5 -0 vote. Motion passed as amended. K. Planning Department 1. Request to Amend Capital Project #384 bey Street Traffic Calming Project The Planning Department requested approval to amend Capital Project #384 Dey Street Traffic Calming Project in the amount not to exceed $27,000, which is the additional amount of the costs for construction, construction inspection and supervision work for the project. After discussion, Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Coles. Motion carried 5- 0. L. Department of Public Works 1. Reauest to Amend Water & Sewer Personnel Roster The Department of Public Works Water & Sewer Division requested approval to amend the Personnel Roster as follows: Delete: One (1) Principal Account Clerk (Gr 9) One (1) Data Processing Operator (Gr 10) One (1) Engineering Aide (Gr 3) Add: One (1) Office Manager (Gr 11) One (1) Geographic Information System Database Programmer (Gr 12) City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 16 One (1) Utilities Systems Location Technician (6r 11) After discussion, Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. Motion carried 5 -0. The Committee agreed that this item would be put on consent agenda. 2. Request Temporary Amendment of DPW Personnel Roster The Department of Public Works Engineering Division requested approval to temporary amend the Personnel Roster by adding one (1) Temporary Senior Engineering Technician (June 1, 2004 - November 30, 2004). After discussion, Alderperson Zumoff made a motion to approve the request. Motion carried 5 -0. The Committee agreed that this item would be put on consent agenda. M. Fire Department 1. Request to Transfer Funds The Fire Department requested approval to transfer funds not to exceed $2,400 for the purpose of hiring a temporary employee to cover a vacancy. After discussion, Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff. Motion carried 5 -0. The Committee agreed that this item would be put on consent agenda. 2. Request to Amend Personnel Roster The Fire Department requested approval to amend the Personnel Roster as follows: Delete: One (1) Administrative Assistant (FM) - 40 hrs Add: Two (2) Financial Clerks (20 hrs) After discussion, Alderperson Zumoff made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. Motion carried 5 -0. The Committee agreed that this item would be put on consent agenda. N. Controller's Office 1. Bond Resolution City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 17 The Controller's Office requested approval of any new Capital Projects, which require bonds for funding, since the City's last issuance of bonds in January. The only project, which requires such an approval, is the Green Street Ramp Reconstruction in the amount of $496,000. After discussion, Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff. Motion carried 5 -0. 2. Possible Sales Tax Holiday in August Deputy Controller Scott Andrew reported that the City has participated in the temporary Sales Tax Exemption on clothing and footwear when the County participates. The last such exemption period was January 26 - February 1, 2004. During the temporary exemption period, the State waives the 4.25% and then it's up to each municipality if they want to waive their portion of the sales tax. Based upon studies, the City would see a reduction in sales tax revenue of about $14,000 for the one -week period. The Controller's Office is recommending that the City Administration Committee put this item on the Common Council agenda to vote on a temporary exemption of sales tax on clothing and footwear. The City would need to act on this by July 16, 2004. The Committee authorized the Controller's Office to prepare a resolution. The resolution would be put and voted on at the July Common Council meeting. O. Reports 1. Mayor's Report Budget: Mayor Peterson reported that the budget request for 2005 has been distributed to department heads. The budget request asks for a 1% increase, for departments to come in with suggestions for revenues, and is due August 1, 2004. 2. Sub- Committee Updates. None. 3. Council Members' Announcements. None. 4. Next Month's Meeting: July 28, 2004 P. Adjournment City Administration Committee June 30, 2004 Page 18 With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Cogan, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.