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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.