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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2012-04-01CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Regular Meeting April 25, 2012 Members Present: Alderperson Brock, Alderperson Fleming, Alderperson Kerslick, Alderperson Proulx, Alderperson Clairborne, Mayor Myrick Staff Present: Allen Green (YB Director), Liz Vance (Deputy YB Director), Tom Parsons (Fire Chief), Bill Gray (Supt of Public Works), Steve Thayer (Controller), Scott Andrew (Deputy Controller), Schelley Michell -Nunn (HR Director), Denise Malone (HR Executive Assistant) Others Present: Joan Spielholz, Members of the Public, Members of the Media Chairperson Clairborne called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. 1. Chairperson Greeting & Opening Statement Chairperson Clairborne welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the evacuation procedures. 2. Announcements 3. Agenda Review and Amendments Chairperson Clairborne made the following changes to the agenda: Remove the approval of the minutes from the agenda. The minutes will be approved at next month's meeting; Add item as 13.1 — Department of Public Works - Amendment to Capital Project Budget — S &F Salt Storage Building — CP 710 (Note: all other agenda items will shift down.) 4. Approval of Minutes This item was removed from the agenda. The minutes will be approved at next month's meeting. 5. Statements from the Public. None. 6. Employee Comments. None. 7. Common Council Response Information Session (Bike Pathway): The Department of Public Works - Engineering Dept will have a meeting on Thursday — April 26, 2012, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Southside Community Center to talk, and make suggestions, about bike pathways, pedestrian modification and traffic changes. Hip Hop Tribute: There will be a Hip Hop Tribute on Thursday — April 26, 2012, at CSMA Community School. The tribute will be put on by Ithaca College students and will include some local talent. City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 2 Community Conversation with Dr. Brown: Ithaca City School District's Superintendent, Dr. Luvelle Brown, will be at the Ithaca Fire Department on Thursday — April 26, 2012, at 12 noon and at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center on Thursday — May 3, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. Dr. Brown will be hosting a series of Community Conversations to offer the public an opportunity to share visions of success for the school district. Redistricting Committee: This Committee has made a decision on the redistricting of the wards. This decision will go to Common Council and can be viewed on the City's website. Safe Medication Disposal: There will be a Safe Medication Disposal Day on Saturday — April 28, 2012. Chairperson Clairborne expressed condolences to City employees, acknowledged that 2012 so far has been difficult due to the tragedies that have happened that involve a number of employees and thanked the HR Department for providing assistance for staff. 8. Workforce Diversity Advisory Committee (WDAC) Update. None. 9. Mayor's Report Mayor Myrick reported on the following items: Construction: There has been a lot of construction happening in the City causing delays and re- routing of traffic. The State is currently working on the eastern portion of Green and Seneca Streets and will be finished before Ithaca College graduation. The City will close the Clinton Street Bridge. Regular updates on the construction can be found on the DPW Facebook page. Dredging: The City has received $13 million dollars from New York State for dredging of the flood control channel. The City will work with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Canal Corporation to decide on how this money will be portioned. A meeting will be scheduled with the County, DEC and the Canal Corporation to see how projects can be combined. 2013 Budget: In the next two weeks, the Mayor will send out the budget guidelines to department heads, telling them what will be projected for 2013 and what he expects in terms of a budget request. The first draft of the departments' budget will be due by July 1St to the Mayor. The final budget draft will be due by August 1St to the Mayor and Common Council. In August and September, the Mayor will work with department heads and Common Council to adjust each department's request. Then, the Mayor will make his recommendation to Common Council in October. The budget meetings /hearings for October are already scheduled. With the budget guidelines, the Mayor will also send out the guidelines for Capital Projects. Budget Forums: The last budget forum for employees was held on April 2nd with great recommendations from staff. Manager of Organizational Development Leslie Moskowitz compiled the information, summarized them in a newsletter and will distribute the newsletter to employees this week. One suggestion employees made was to look at who takes home City vehicles. After looking at this suggestion, the Mayor will clarify the policy on City vehicle usage and will update the Committee on how many cars were going home, how many miles were involved, how much gas that cost the City and how many cars will be going home. The Mayor announced that his Office will schedule public budget forums around the community in the next 1 -1' /z months. City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 3 Alderperson Fleming asked about the role of the City Administration Committee in developing the budget. The Mayor explained the current process and mentioned his plans to revise the budget process so that Common Council would be involved from the very beginning. Alderperson Proulx asked whether or not there would be an opportunity for the Common Council to give input in preparing the 2nd draft. Mayor Myrick responded that he will think about the process to see if that could happen this year. 10. 2013 Budget Updates Controller Steve Thayer reported on the following: Capital Projects: The guidelines for Capital Projects will be discussed in the next month. Budget Gap: The City is still looking at a $3 million dollar budget gap in the 2013 budget. This number will change over time as the Controller gets more details for all the numbers that generate the 2013 budget. 11. Youth Bureau Request to Renew Recreation Partnership Contract Moved by Alderperson Kerslick. Seconded by Alderperson Brock. WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca is currently a member of the Intermunicipal Recreation Partnership, an excellent model of intermunicipal collaboration that enables municipalities to jointly plan, finance, and share a diverse set of high quality recreation programs, and WHEREAS, the current Intermunicipal Recreation Partnership agreement will end December 31, 2012, and WHEREAS, the Intermunicipal Recreation Partnership agreement dated August 21, 2007, with an original five year term expiring December 31, 2012 may be renewed for an additional five years by appropriate resolutions by each of the municipal partners on or before December 31, 2012; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, On the recommendation of the Recreation Partnership Board that the 2008 -2012 Intermunicipal Recreation Partnership agreement shall be renewed for an additional five years, expiring December 31, 2017, and further RESOLVED, That by approving this resolution the City of Ithaca agrees to abide by the terms and conditions set forth in the Recreation Partnership agreement as executive by the Mayor, upon the advice by the City Attorney, and City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 4 RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby directs the City Clerk to send a copy of this resolution to the Recreation Partnership Board care of Tompkins County Youth Services Department at 320 West State /Martin Luther King Jr. Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 12. Fire Department Request to Amend Capital Project 761 - Replacement of Heavy Rescue Moved by Alderperson Brock. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, a Project for the Purchase of a Heavy Rescue Vehicle for the Ithaca Fire Department was approved by Commons Council for the Budget Year 2012, and WHEREAS, per the contract for fire service between the City of Ithaca and the Town of Ithaca, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca approved the project, and WHEREAS, the sum of $880,000 has been appropriated (Capital Project #761) and was available to cover the cost of design and construction of a Heavy Rescue Truck, and WHEREAS, the costs of maintenance of Fire Department aerial truck apparatus have been increasing over the past five years due to an aging fleet and increase number of emergency responses, and WHEREAS, repair and maintenance costs for the Fire Department's two aerial trucks were $74,700 in 2011, and WHEREAS, a 1995 aerial truck is scheduled under a fleet replacement plan for 2015, and WHEREAS, the estimated cost for continued maintenance of the Heavy Rescue will be less than that of an Aerial Truck in 2013 and 2014, and WHEREAS, the Heavy Rescue Truck replacement shall be deferred until 2014, and WHEREAS, the Fire Chief and Board of Fire Commissioners shall review and amend the current schedule for apparatus replacement, which will reflect the current usage, age of fleet, budget restrictions, and best practices for delivery of fire and emergency service, and WHEREAS, the amended project budget is projected to be $920,000 comprised o£ • Preliminary Engineering and Detail Design Cost $10,000 • Purchase Aerial/Pumper Combination Truck $920,000 Total Project Cost $930,000 City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 5 WHEREAS, the Board of Fire Commissioners recommends that the Common Council substitute the replacement of a Heavy Rescue Vehicle with the replacement of a Combination Aerial /Pumper Truck and increase the total project budget authorizations for the amount of $920,000; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council amend the Capital Project authorizations for Purchase of a Combination Aerial/Pumper Fire Truck and substituting it for the purchase of a Heavy Rescue Truck approved by Common Council and the Town of Ithaca in the 2012 Budget, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends Capital Project #761 by an amount not to exceed $50,000 giving a total project authorization of $930,000 for the purposes of acquiring a combination Aerial /Pumper Fire Truck, and be it further RESOLVED, That the funds necessary for the $50,000 amendment will be derived from the Capital Reserve #15 Fire Engine Replacement, and be it further RESOLVED, That this amendment shall be contingent on the approval of the Board of the Town of Ithaca. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2. Amendment to Fire Department Personnel Roster Moved by Alderperson Brock. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, the Office Manager Position at the Fire Department has been recently became vacant, and WHEREAS, the Fire Department has reduced office staff in an effort to bring about budget reductions, and WHEREAS, due to the reductions in office staff, it is no longer necessary for an employee in the office to have supervisory responsibilities, and WHEREAS, direct supervision of office staff will be the responsibility of the Deputy Fire Chief, and/or Fire Chief, and WHEREAS, the responsibilities of an Administrative Coordinator are similar to those of the Office Manager except that it does not require the supervision of other employees, and WHEREAS, this amendment to the Fire Department Personnel Roster will result in a reduction in budget, now therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2012 authorized Personnel Roster for City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 6 the Fire Department as follows: Delete: One (1) Office Manager (40 hrs) Add: One (1) Administrative Coordinator (40 hrs) and be it further RESOLVED, That this roster amendment shall be contingent on approval by the Vacancy Review, and be it further RESOLVED, That the funds necessary for said roster amendment will be made within the existing 2012 Fire Department Budget Authorization. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 13. Department of Public Works Amendment to Capital Project Budget — S &F Salt Storage Building — CP 710 Moved by Alderperson Brock. Seconded by Alderperson Proulx. WHEREAS, bids were received on March 23, 2012, for the construction of a new Salt Storage Building located at the Streets and Facilities complex, 245 Pier Road, and WHEREAS, Park Lane Construction and Development Corporation, 10269 Old Rte. 31 W, Clyde, NY, 14433 has submitted the apparent low bid for General Construction work of $233,404.00, and WHEREAS, Capital Project 710 — Streets and Facilities Salt Storage Building Replacement was authorized in 2007 in the amount of $220,000, and WHEREAS, a portion of the Capital Project 710 authorization has been expended upon consulting services and in preparing the foundation for the new building, and WHEREAS, there is a remaining balance of $19,768 in Capital Project 729 — Streets & Facilities Secord Building Demolition, and WHEREAS, funding of $115,000 was authorized in 2009 for Streets & Facilities Warm Storage Building, and WHEREAS, the anticipated mitigation of bird infestation at the warm storage building will not require the full amount of the authorization, now be it City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 7 RESOLVED, That an amount not to exceed $19,768 be transferred from existing funds in Capital Project 729 to Capital Project 710, and be it further RESOLVED, That an amount not to exceed $85,000 be transferred from existing funds in Capital Project 750 to Capital Project 710, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends Capital Project 710 - Streets and Facilities Salt Storage Building Replacement by an amount not to exceed $104,768 for a total amended project authorization of $324,768 for the purposes of accounting for said transfers and completing the Salt Storage Replacement Project. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 14. Common Council Novak Report — Administrative List Topics Chairperson Clairborne put this item on the agenda to update the Committee on the Novak Report and to mention what topics were assigned to the City Administration Committee. Of the 9 categories that were split between the Governance Performance and Accountability (GPA) Committee and this Committee, the topics for this Committee are Parking Management: The consolidation or clarification of the parking responsibility for public parking. There is a Parking Ad -Hoc Committee currently in place that is chaired by Debra Parsons. Members of this Committee include Alderperson Dotson, Tim Logue, the Controller's Office, the Planning Department and Gary Ferguson. The Ad -Hoc Committee wants a liaison to the City Administration Committee. Alderperson Brock will consider joining the Parking Ad -Hoc Committee; Budget Development: Revising the budget development process for both operating and capital funds and reviving the Capital Projects Committee. The planning process will look at more than just the current or next year for capital projects. This is a conversation largely with the Mayor and the Controller; Analyze fees: Assess all current fees by commissioning a fee study. This would involve all the departments and may be an extension of the Special Events Sub - Committee that is already working on fees for special events. Topics that are not necessarily a policy decision that Common Council would rely on staff to do are: • Financial Functions (Mayor's Office, Controller's Office, the Chamberlain's Office); • Review and Streamline the Hiring Process (HR Dept); • Eliminate Redundant Payroll Processes (HR Dept, Mayor's Controller's Office, Mayor's Office, Chamberlain's Office); • Automate Manual Processes (All Departments) City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 8 15. Human Resources (HR) Department Director's Report. HR Director Michell -Nunn reported on the following: Undoing Racism Workshops: The City is participating in a collaborative effort to send staff to attend the Undoing Racism Workshops with Reverend David Billings. There are 30 employees participating in the workshops; overall, there will be a total of 90 participants in the three day /3 week workshop. Diversity Smart Goals: The Mayor requested that Diversity Smart Goals be presented for each department. The majority of the goals have been submitted, which were due last Friday. The HR Department is working with a few departments on developing their goals. The expectation is that the departments would initially present their goal to their assigned Common Council Committee. Then, eight months later, the department would return to talk about their progress with their goal. The Departments that are assigned to the City Administration Committee are the Police, the Controller's Office, the Chamberlain's Office, GIAC and Fire. Contract Negotiations: The City is continuing to be involved in contract negotiations. Managerial/Executive Association Comp Study: This comp study is underway. Two weeks ago, the consultants were here to interview all Senior Staff and Executive Association members. Health Insurance Consortium: Currently, there are several Requests for Proposals (RFPs) out for the City's prescription drugs, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and the Flexible Spending Program. The HR Director sits on the Committee that will review these proposals and make recommendations. Common Council Orientation: The Common Council orientation is currently being reviewed by the GPA Committee and they will decide when this orientation will happen. 16. Finance /Controller Controller's Report. Controller Thayer reported on the following: Daily Activities: The Controller's Office had 4 audits in just over one year; two external audits and two state audits. The external audits have now been approved. The 2011 audit is due in October 2012. External audits are scheduled for August 2012. It is important to stay caught up with external audits because several of the City's funding sources (e.g. HUD, state sources, DOT, etc.) rely on these audits. 2011 Activity: The Controller's Office will close out the 2011 activity in the next couple of weeks. Currently, the City is looking at a deficit for 2011 of about $700,000 to $730,000 and had estimated using $792,000 of the fund balance for 2011. City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 9 State Budget: The State Budget has passed. The AIM funding and the CHIPS funding will remain the same. The City is still waiting for all of the details from the State for youth activities and other grants. Interest Rates: Interest rates are very low. So, this is the time to borrow or refinance. The City will refinance and take advantage of the lower interest rates for our bonding that could save about $390,000 over the next eight years and for our capital lease for water meters that could save about $212,000 over the next several years. Structural Changes: The Police Department is currently involved with changing the front desk structure and how operations are done for weekends and overnight activity. This will be a service reduction to the community, but a tough choice that had to be made. This change would save the City annually about $150,000. 2012 Activities: Sales Tax: Sales tax collections have picked up in the last month and are about 2% or $76,000 higher than 2011 collections. Fuel Prices: Fuel prices are high, so it will have a positive impact on our revenue collections relating to sales tax. Overtime: The City budgeted $930,000 for 2012. To date, the City has spent $263,000. The City is on pace to exceed the budgeted amount. The Police Department budgeted $490,000 for overtime in 2012 and has already spent $132,000. Building Permit: ermit: The City has collected $162,000 of the $385,000 budgeted amount. The City is on pace to meet this budgeted amount. Parking: The City has collected $587,000 of our $2 million dollar budget. To project out, the City will slightly be under the parking projected budget. The Engineering Department reported that the Seneca Street Parking Garage will be closed for construction for 6 -8 weeks during the summer. This will put a strain on the revenue estimates for parking. These improvements are necessary to extend its life over the next 20 years. Alderperson Kerslick suggested that the Controller's updates be e- mailed to the Committee. This way the Committee could read prior to the meeting and spend meeting time talking about the issues. 17. Reports Sub - Committee Updates Special Events Sub - Committee: Alderperson Brock gave an update from the Special Events Sub - Committee. This Committee was asked to review gathered data to potentially put together a line item for Special events so that as budget constricts departments can look and see that this City Administration Committee Meeting April 25, 2012 Page 10 item is funded in terms of supporting special events. This is an unrealistic goal. A commitment is needed from Common Council and staff to support special events as part of the City's mission. So, there have been discussions with the Mayor and staff in terms of changing how department heads manage special events. The Special Events Committee will look at charging a special events fee for use of City parks and a load in/load out fee. This fee structure needs to be consistent for all City parks. This process may follow a different time line and involve going through the Board of Public Works (BPW) via the Parks Commission. 2. Next Month's Meeting: May 23, 2012. 18. Adjournment With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Fleming, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.