HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2007-10-01CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting
October 24, 2007
Members
Present: Alderperson Coles, Alderperson Zumoff, Alderperson Townsend, Alderperson
Tomlan, Mayor Peterson
Members
Excused: Alderperson Gelinas
Council
Members
Present: Alderperson Clairborne, Alderperson Dotson
Staff
Present: Karen Friedeborn (Youth Program Administrator), Dan Hoffman (City Attorney),
Brian Wilbur (Fire Chief), Steve Thayer (Controller), Scott Andrew (Deputy
Controller), Denise Malone (HR Executive Assistant)
Others
Present: John Kelley, David Fleming, Members of the Public, Members of the Media
Chairperson Coles called the meeting to order at 10:45 p.m.
1. Chairperson Greeting & Opening Statement
Chairperson Coles welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the evacuation procedures.
2. Announcements. None.
3. Agenda Review and Amendments. None.
4. Approval of Minutes
Alderperson Zumoff made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 25, 2007 and the
August 29, 2007 meetings. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. Motion carried 4 -0.
5. Statements from the Public. None.
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 2
6. Employee Comments. None.
7. Common Council Response. None.
8. Workforce Diversity Committee. None.
9. Safety Committee. None.
10. Communication Committee. None.
11. Fire Department
1. Amend Personnel Roster to Upgrade Executive Assistant to Office Manager
Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Tomlan.
WHEREAS, during the spring and summer of 2007 the opportunity occurred for
the Ithaca Fire Department to conduct a thorough review of administrative office
structure and staffing; and,
WHEREAS, as a result of the retirement of the Executive Assistant in August, the
actual duties performed by the Executive Assistant were compared with available
job descriptions; and,
WHEREAS, it was ascertained that the duties needed to be performed fit more
closely to the title of Office Manager than the duties performed by the Executive
Assistant; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council of the City of Ithaca hereby amends the
authorized Ithaca Fire Department roster as follows:
Delete: 1.0 FTE Executive Assistant (Confidential) (40 hours)
Salary range: $27,355 - $31,462
Add: 1.0 FTE Office Manager (40 hours)
Salary range: $26,683- $32,987
and, be it further
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 3
RESOLVED, The funds for this change shall be derived from existing
appropriations.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
2. Amend Personnel Roster to Increase Hours of Financial Management Assistant
Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Tomlan.
WHEREAS, at the September 2007 Common Council meeting, and to address
immediate needs, the Ithaca Fire Department was authorized to change a 1.0 FTE
Financial Clerk (40 hours) position to a 0.5 FTE Financial Management Assistant
(20 hours) position; and,
WHEREAS, the ongoing review of the administrative office structure and staffing
now recommends the Financial Management Assistant position be increased from
0.5 FTE to 1.0 FTE (20 hours to 40 hours); now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, The Common Council of the City of Ithaca hereby amends the
authorized Ithaca Fire Department roster as follows:
Delete: One 0.5 FTE Financial Management Assistant (20 hours)
Salary range: $13,419 - $15,433
Add: One 1.0 FTE Financial Management Assistant (40 hours)
Salary range: $26,838- $30,866;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, The funds for this change shall be derived from existing
appropriations.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 4
12. Building Department
1. Revise Personnel Roster to Reclassify Building Inspector Position
Moved by Alderperson Tomlan. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff.
WHEREAS, the Building Department currently has a Building Inspector who cannot
perform housing inspections and the Building Department's needs wo9uld be served
best if the Building Inspector were able to do both housing inspections as well as
building inspections, and
WHEREAS, the job duties of a Building Inspector do not include housing
inspections, but the job duties of a Code Inspector do include both building
inspections and housing inspections, and
WHEREAS, the New York State Department of State Codes Division has mandated
through State law that all rental dwellings in the City be inspected every three
years and all student housing be inspected every year, and
WHEREAS, due to vacancies in the Building Department the current Building
Inspector has been required to do Housing Inspections of student housing at
Cornell University and is being paid out -of -title as a Code Inspector, and
WHEREAS, in order to meet the State mandates, the Building Inspector will be
required to continue to work as a Code Inspector doing inspections of student
housing as well as building inspections; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2007 Authorized Building
Department Roster as follows:
Add: One (1) Code Inspector
Delete: One (1) Building Inspector
and, be it further
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 5
RESOLVED, That the position be assigned to the CSEA Administrative Unit at
salary grade 16, and, be it further
RESOLVED, That funds needed for said roster change are available in the existing
2007 Building Department Budget.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
13. Youth Bureau
1. Amendment to Youth Bureau Budget - Recreation Mainstreaming Services Program
Moved by Alderperson Townsend. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff.
WHEREAS, the Ithaca Youth Bureau's Recreation Mainstreaming Services Program
(RM5) has received $4,560.00 in new funding from an anonymous donor, and
WHEREAS, this funding is needed to cover the additional costs that were incurred
this past summer due to an extraordinary demand for Mainstreaming Assistants
for children with disabilities at Cass and Stewart Park day camps; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2007 Youth Bureau budget
as follows:
Increase Revenue Account:
A7310- 2070 -1601 Recreation Mainstreaming Services
Increase Expenses:
A7310- 5120 -1601 Part time /Seasonal
A7310 -9030 FICA /Medicare
A7310 -9040 Workers Comp
$4,560.00
$4,000.00
$306.00
$254.00
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 6
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
2. Amendment to Youth Bureau Budget - Recreation Mainstreaming Services Program
Moved by Alderperson Townsend. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff.
WHEREAS, the Ithaca Youth Bureau's Recreation Mainstreaming Services Program
(RM5) has received $1,559.00 in new funding from the NY State Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and
WHEREAS, this funding is needed to cover additional costs for part time /seasonal
staffing; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2007 Youth Bureau budget
as follows:
Increase Revenue Account:
A7310- 3820 -1602 Recreation Mainstreaming Services $1,559.00
Increase Expenses:
A7310-
5120 -1602
Part time /Seasonal
$1,368.00
A7310 -9030
FICA /Medicare
$ 105.00
A7310 -9040
Workers Comp.
$ 86.00
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 7
3. Amendment to Youth Bureau Budget - Communities Mentorina Program
Moved by Alderperson Tomlan. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff.
WHEREAS, the Ithaca Youth Bureau has been advised by the U.5 Department of
Education that they have been awarded a $169,395 Safe and Drug -Free Schools
and Communities Mentoring Program grant,
WHEREAS, the federal fiscal year is October 1st - Sept. 30th, and said funding
will be expended during both the 2007 and 2008 City of Ithaca fiscal years,
WHEREAS, the goal of this funding is to provide long -term mentoring and
academic support for 50 middle school youth through the Youth Bureau College
Discovery Program and Paul Schreurs Memorial Program; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2007 Youth Bureau Budget
to account for said new funding as follows:
Increase Revenue Account:
A7310- 4820 -01240
Increase Expense Account:
A7310-
5405
-1200
A7310-
5405
-1400
A7310-
5460
-1240
A7310-
5460
-1206
A7310-
5225
-1401
A7310-
5120 -1240
$ 212
A7310-
5120 -1206
FICA /Medicare
A7310
-5437-
1400
A7310-
5445
-1221
A7310-
5445
-1240
A7310
-9030
A7310
-9040
College Discovery Program $20,112
Telephones
$ 450
Telephones
$ 345
Program Supplies
$4,634
Program Supplies
$ 625
Computers
$3,603
Part time /Seasonal
$5,497
Part time /Seasonal
$1,238
Merchant Services charges
$1,700
Travel & Mileage
$ 212
Travel & Mileage
$ 866
FICA /Medicare
$ 515
Workers' Comp.
$ 427
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 8
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
14. Attorney's Office
1. Approval of Additional Exemption from Real Property Taxes and Provision for In-
Lieu Payments, With Regard to City of Ithaca Tax Map Parcel No. 98 -1 -7.1 (West
Village Apartments), Pursuant to Section 33 of the Private Housing Finance Law of
the State of New York
Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend.
WHEREAS, Ithaca -Elm Maple Houses, Inc. ( "IEMH "), a housing company organized
and existing under and by virtue of Article 2 of the New York State Private
Housing Finance Law ("PHFL "), together with Abbott Associates, is the current
owner of a 233 -unit rental housing project (the "Project ") located on Tax Map
Parcel 97 -1 -7.1 in the City of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, New York (the
"Property "), which Project is commonly known as "West Village apartments" and
which Project is intended to provide affordable rental housing to qualified persons
or families of low income, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to PHFL Section 33.1(c), as a state urban development
corporation project, the Project has been entitled to and has enjoyed an initial
exemption from real property taxes (subject to certain required payments in lieu
of such taxes), since its construction in the early 1970s; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to a certain Purchase and Sale Agreement by and between
IEMH and Abbott Associates (hereinafter jointly referred to as the "Seller "), and
Ithaca -West Village Apartments, Inc. (the "Housing Company "), a limited- dividend
housing company formed pursuant to Article 2 of the PHFL (which Housing
Company will hold title to the Project for the benefit of Ithaca -West Village, L.P.,
a New York limited partnership, hereinafter referred to as the "Owner "), which
Housing Company and Owner are hereinafter jointly referred to as the "Buyer,"
the Seller has agreed to sell the Property to the Buyer (which transaction is
hereinafter referred to as the "Sale "); and
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 9
WHEREAS, the Buyer intends to acquire, rehabilitate and modernize the Project,
through the investment therein of an estimated $8,000,000 or more, and to
preserve it as affordable housing, and
WHEREAS, the impact of the Sale, rehabilitation and any additional, local tax
exemption, upon the rents to be paid by tenants of the Project, appears to be
relatively slight, in comparison to the benefit of renovation and modernization of
the 35- year -old housing units, and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that the rehabilitation of the Project and its
long -term preservation as affordable housing is beneficial to and in the best
interests of the public; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition and rehabilitation of the Project are to be financed
through the issuance by the State of New York Housing Finance Agency of tax-
exempt bonds; and
WHEREAS, as a means of assisting the rehabilitation of the Project and its
preservation as affordable housing, the Owner has requested from the City and
the City desires to extend to the Owner certain tax abatements which have
historically been enjoyed by the Project and Property; and
WHEREAS, the Housing Company is a corporation established pursuant to the
Business Corporation Law of New York State and Article 2 of the PHFL; and
WHEREAS, the Housing Company and the Owner have each been formed for the
purpose of providing residential rental accommodations for persons and families of
low income; and
WHEREAS, following the Sale, the Housing Company shall hold legal title to the
Property and the Project for the benefit of the Owner; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to PHFL Sections 33.1(a) and 33.6, upon the consent of the
local legislative body of a municipality in which such a project is located, any such
project which received an initial tax exemption under PHFL Section 33.1(c) may
receive an additional exemption from local and municipal taxes on the same terms
and conditions as the initial exemption received by the project under PHFL Section
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 10
33.1(c), for a period of up to fifty (50) years, or until such time as the project is
no longer operated under the restrictions and for the purposes set forth in PHFL,
Article 2; now, therefore be it:
RESOLVED, That the Common Council of the City of Ithaca (the "City "), pursuant
to PHFL Section 33.6, hereby grants to the Property (Tax Map Parcel No. 97 -1-
7.1), upon the Sale, such additional exemption from real property taxes levied by
the City of Ithaca, and by other local taxing authorities, in replacement of the
initial exemption and upon the following conditions:
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection "(b)," below, said additional exemption
from real property taxes (other than assessments for local improvements) shall
apply to 100% of the assessed value of the Property and the Project (including
both land and improvements) which represents an increase over the assessed value
as of the date of acquisition of the Property by IEMH, and shall commence upon
the date that the Housing Company acquires legal title to the Project (the
"Effective Date ") and shall terminate on the date which is forty (40) years from
the Effective Date (the "Expiration Date ") or on the date that the Property ceases
to be operated under the restrictions and for the purposes set forth in PHFL
(currently, in Article 2 thereof) (or, in the absence of applicable State legislation
or regulations at such time, then under pertinent, comparable restrictions
established by the City or other local legislative body) or upon the breach (and
failure to cure, upon notice by the City) by the Owner of any substantive term of
the agreement between the parties, whichever date first occurs; and
(b) Commencing upon the Effective Date and during each year thereafter until the
Expiration Date, the Owner, as beneficial owner of the Property, shall make
payments in lieu of real property taxes, to the City of Ithaca in an amount equal to
ten percent (10 %) of the shelter rent actually received by the Project (which
payments shall then be allocated proportionately, by the City, among the local
taxing jurisdictions affected by this exemption); and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Mayor, upon the advice of the City Attorney and the City
Controller and on behalf of the City of Ithaca, is hereby authorized and requested
to execute and deliver to any pertinent party an agreement between the City and
the Buyer incorporating the terms set forth hereinabove and setting forth as
necessary the details of the in -lieu payments, and to take any and all other actions
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 11
necessary and /or required to effectuate or verify such tax exemption and in -lieu
payments.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
15. Public Information Officer Team
1. Authorization for Release of Public Information Restricted Contingency Funds
Moved by Alderperson Tomlan. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend.
WHEREAS, the Common Council set aside $15,000 in the 2007 budget in a
restricted contingency account for the purpose of public information projects, and
WHEREAS, the Public Information Officer Team (PIOT) has been meeting every
other week during the year to evaluate initial steps toward improving
communication with the public, and
WHEREAS, the following steps have been identified and will be implemented by
the City Clerk and the Information Technology Departments within their existing
budgets:
• Update and improve the city website look and functionality through
our current contractor Gov Office
• Implement static links to the website
• Implement a URL manager and other navigational tools
• Purchase and institute new services to the website commencing with
an email subscription service and improved calendar service, and
WHEREAS, $983.98 have been expended toward the salary of an intern
researching job descriptions for a public information officer, and
WHEREAS, the remaining funds are recommended to be used for certain
contracted services, now therefore be it
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 12
RESOLVED, That an independent contractor be hired who will work with the PIOT
committee and through the City Clerk's office to, among others,
• Assist the Clerk and IT Departments in the website improvements
• Develop and maintain department FAQs
• Create a bi- weekly newsletter in partnership with the Mayor's office
including gathering information, determining the elements of the
newsletter, and recommending its design
• Maintain the calendar
• Maintain subscription lists
• Assist in keeping the website up to date
and be it further
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby authorizes the transfer of an amount not
to exceed $14,340 from Account A1990 Restricted Contingency to Account A1316-
5435 Clerk's Office Contracts for the purpose of hiring a contractor to work with
the PIOT Committee to develop said items.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Passed unanimously.
16. Finance /Controller's Office
1. Controller's Report. Due to the lateness of the hour, the Controller stated that he
would make his report at the Common Council meeting.
17. Reports
1. Mayor's Report. None.
2. Sub- Committee Updates. None.
3. Council Members' Announcements. None.
4. Next Month's Meeting. November 28, 2007.
City Administration Committee Meeting
October 24, 2007
Page 13
17. Adjournment
With no further business and on a motion by AIderperson Zumoff, the meeting was adjourned at
11:40 p.m.