HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-16-13 City Administration Committee Agenda1CA Meeting
City Administration Committee
DATE: December 16, 2013
TIME: 6:00 pm
LOCATION: 3rd Floor,
City Hall, Council Chambers
AGENDA ITEMS
Item Voting
Item?
Presenter(s) Time
Allotted
Chair, Chris Proulx
1. Call To Order * Note: We will review the number of 15 Min*
1.1 Agenda Review No cards received at the beginning of each
1.2 Review and Approval of Minutes Yes meeting and adjust time if needed.
1.3 Statements from the Public No
1.4 Statements from Employees No
1.5 Council Response No
(6:15 p.m.)
2. Standing Sub-Committee and Staff Reports
3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.1 YB – Creation of Recreation Program Asst. Yes Liz Vance, YB Director 5 Min
.2 HR – Amend Various Departmental Rosters Yes Schelley Michell-Nunn, HR Director 5 Min
.3 HR – Amend Various Departmental Rosters Yes Schelley Michell-Nunn, HR Director 5 Min
.4 PB&E – Amendment to Personnel Roster Yes Schelley Michell-Nunn, HR Director 5 Min
.5 Transfer of Function for Information Yes Schelley Michell-Nunn, HR Director 5 Min
Technology Departmental Consolidation
.6 Ordinance Revising Chapter 232 of the City of Yes Ari Lavine, City Attorney 5 Min
Ithaca Municipal Code
.7 Attorney – Policy to Allow Chamberlain’s Yes Ari Lavine, City Attorney 5 Min
Office to Refund Up to $500 for Errors in
Sidewalk Assessments (6:50 p.m.)
4. Finance, Budget, and Appropriations
.1 Amend Capital Project #768 for Ithaca Falls Yes Nels Bohn, IURA Director 5 Min
Overlook Investigation and Remediation Project (6:55 p.m.)
5. Committee Discussion Items
6. Meeting Wrap-up
7.1 Announcements No All 5 Min
7.2 Review Agenda Items for next meeting No
7.3 Adjourn Yes
(7:00 p.m.)
Committee Charge: The CA committee will:
Review financial and administrative issues pertaining to the City, along with items relating to the City of Ithaca workforce environment, intergovernmental relations
and human resource
If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you to fully participate in the
meeting, please contact the City Controller’s Office at 607-274-6576 at least 48 hours before the meeting.
3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.1 Youth Bureau – Creation of Recreation Program Assistant
WHEREAS, as part of the Authorized 2014 City of Ithaca Budget, the position of Recreation
Program Assistant at the Youth Bureau was established, and
WHEREAS, no additional funding is needed for any of these requests in the approved 2014
budget; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2014 Authorized Roster as follows:
Add: One (1) Recreation Program Assistant – 20 Hours
Decrease: One (1) Recreation Program Specialist from 35 to 20 hours per work week
Increase: One (1) Recreation Program Coordinator from 20 to 35 hours per work
week
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the position of Recreation Program Assistant shall be assigned to the CSEA
Administrative Unit at Salary Grade 5, and be it further
RESOLVED, That for the sole purpose of determining days worked reportable to the New York
State and Local Employees’ Retirement System, the standard workday for this position shall be
established at seven (7) hours per day (thirty-five (35) hours per week).
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Ithaca Youth Bureau
1 James L. Gibbs Drive
Ithaca, New York 14850
Phone: (607) 273-8364
Fax: (607) 273-2817
“Building a foundation for a lifetime.”
To: City Administration Committee
From: Liz Vance, Acting Director
Re: 2014 Roster amendment
Date: 11/15/13
The Youth Bureau is requesting amendments to the 2014 Roster. We would like to add
the position of Recreation Program Assistant (20 hours). We have worked with the
Human Resource Department to create this position and anticipate formal adoption by
the Civil Service Commission after their review in December. Funding for this position is
part of the approved 2014 budget.
As of December 1, 2013 two positions in the recreation department are vacant. We are
requesting to decrease the hours for the Recreation Program Specialist position from 35
to 20 hours and to increase the hours of the Recreation Program Coordinator position
from 20 to 35 hours. No additional funding is needed for this request. This new
staffing configuration will save us approximately $4,000 in 2014 and will allow us to
potentially bring in more revenue.
3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.2 Human Resources - Request to Amend Various Departmental Rosters
WHEREAS, as part of the authorized 2014 City of Ithaca Budget, several employee work week
schedules were adjusted; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2014 Authorized Roster, effective
January 1, 2014, as follows:
Increase in Hours:
Office Assistant (Planning, Building & Economic Dev.) from 35 to 40 hour work week
Decrease in Hours:
Administrative Coordinator (GIAC) from 35 to 17 hour work week
Youth Program Leader (Youth Bureau) from 22 to 17.5 hours work week
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3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.3 HR – Request to Amend Various Departmental Rosters
WHEREAS, as part of the authorized 2014 City of Ithaca Budget various positions were added or
deleted; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 2014 Authorized Personnel Roster be hereby amended, effective January 1,
2014, as follows:
Delete: One (1) Office Manager (Building Department)
One (1) Director of Information Technology (IT)
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the following position be added to the 2014 Authorized Personnel Roster,
effective March 1, 2014:
Add: One (1) Deputy Police Chief (Police Department)
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3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.4 Department of Planning, Building and Development - Amendment to Personnel Roster
WHEREAS, the Building Department was incorporated into the Department of Planning and
Development on January 1, 2013, thereby creating the Department of Planning, Building and
Development, and
WHEREAS, the merger of the two departments resulted in staffing changes at the managerial
level, and
WHEREAS, the Civil Service Commission classified the position of Director of Code
Enforcement and adopted the job description for the position at their December 11, 2013 meeting;
now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Personnel Roster of the Department of Planning, Building and
Development shall be amended as follows:
Add: One (1) Director of Code Enforcement (40 hours)
Delete: One (1) Deputy Building Commissioner (40 hours)
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the position of Director of Code Enforcement shall be assigned to the
Managerial Compensation Plan at salary grade 4, and be it further
RESOLVED, That for the sole purpose of determining days worked reportable to the New York
State and Local Employees’ Retirement System, the standard workday for this position shall be
established at eight (8) hours per day (forty (40) hours per week).
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3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.5 Transfer of Function for Information Technology Departmental Consolidation
WHEREAS, the Common Council enacted on November 12, 2013 a Local Law entitled “City of
Ithaca Local Law to Consolidate the Department of Information Technology Into the Department
of the City Clerk”, and
WHEREAS, the above-referenced Local Law did, effective January 1, 2014, create a Department
of Public Information and Technology, headed by the City Clerk, and containing, among others,
those positions previously contained in the Department of Information Technology , and
WHEREAS, a transfer of function pursuant to Section 70.2 of New York State Civil Service Law
provides the most administratively efficient manner of transferring positions from one department
of the City to another; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that effective retroactive to January 1, 2014, all functions of the Department of
Information Technology and all employees who were as of December 31, 2013 employed by that
Department in a manner that did not otherwise terminate on or before January 1, 2014 shall be
transferred to the Department of Public Information and Technology, pursuant to Section 70.2 of
New York State Civil Service Law.
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3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.6 Ordinance to Revise Chapter 232 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code
ORDINANCE __-2013
An Ordinance Revising Chapter 232 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code
WHEREAS, Section 232-29 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code currently prohibits persons
engaged in the business of purchasing or selling secondhand articles from purchasing items from
individuals less than 16 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Section 232-25 of the Code requires such dealers to keep a record of certain
information relating to each purchase of a secondhand article, including but not limited to the
seller’s name, address, age, identification shown, and signature acknowledging the sale; and
WHEREAS, individuals less than 16 years of age may possess appropriate means of identification
of their identity and address, such as a passport or non-driver photo ID; now therefore
BE IT ORDAINED AND ENACTED by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows:
Section 1. Findings of Fact. The Common Council finds that, in light of the identification
requirement, the minimum age requirement is unnecessary.
Section 2. Repeal of Section 232-29. Section 232-29 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code is
hereby repealed and reserved for future use.
Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect immediately.
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M E M O R A N D U M
To: City Administration Committee
From: Jared Pittman, Assistant City Attorney
Date: December 4, 2013
Subject: Revisions to Junk and Secondhand Articles Dealer Ordinance
Section 232-25(A) of the Municipal Code requires junk and secondhand article dealers to
maintain records showing, for each item purchased, “an account and description of the articles so
purchased, the name address and age of the seller, the identification shown by the seller, the price
paid for the article or articles, the date of the sale and the signature of the seller acknowledging
said sale.” This section and other regulations in the Article are aimed discouraging the sale of
stolen goods in the City, as well as providing the Ithaca Police Department with adequate records
to track the movement of any such goods.
An individual seeking to open a secondhand article business in the City recently brought
to the Clerk’s attention Section 232-29, which prohibits these businesses from purchasing items
from individuals less than sixteen years of age under any circumstances. It is our understanding
that this provision of the Code is not enforced regularly, and that the minimum age requirement
may be unnecessary, given the identification requirement contained in Section 232-25(A) and
that a person less than sixteen years of age may nonetheless have a valid piece of identification
(such as a passport or non-driver photo ID). A review of secondhand article ordinances in other
municipalities revealed that some of those ordinances do not have a minimum age requirement.
The proposed ordinance would eliminate the minimum age requirement.
CITY OF ITHACA
108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850-6590
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
Aaron O. Lavine, City Attorney Telephone: 607/274-6504
Robert A. Sarachan, Assistant City Attorney Fax: 607/274-6507
Krin Flaherty, Assistant City Attorney
Jared Pittman, Assistant City Attorney
Jody Andrew, Executive Assistant
"An Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to workforce diversification."
3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy
.7 Attorney – Policy to Allow Chamberlain’s Office to Refund Up to $500 for Errors in
Sidewalk Assessments
WHEREAS, Local Law No. 4-2013 assesses each property in the City located in one of five
Sidewalk Improvement Districts (each an “SID”) for the benefit received by the property from
sidewalk construction and repair occurring in the district;
WHEREAS, the data on which the assessments are based is possessed and maintained by the
Tompkins County Department of Assessment;
WHEREAS, the sidewalk assessment fees will be included as a separate line item on the tax bills
mailed by the City;
WHEREAS, due to incorrect data or other clerical error, from time to time an incorrect assessment
may be entered with respect to a parcel;
WHEREAS, Section 556 of the Real Property Tax Law authorizes a governing body to delegate
the payment of benefit assessment refunds due to these errors;
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Director of Assessment has requested that the City designate
the City Chamberlain as the official to whom such delegation is made;
WHEREAS, it is the opinion of the Common Council that the delegation to the City Chamberlain
would be more efficient in processing said refunds and therefore beneficial to the public; now
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the City Chamberlain shall review and discuss refund recommendations with
the Tompkins County Director of Assessment; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the City Chamberlain is hereby authorized to make payments of any refunds of
less than $500 as if the Common Council had performed an audit in compliance with Paragraphs
1-7 of Section 566 of the Real Property Tax Law; and be it further
RESOLVED, That any refund of $500 or more must be approved by the Common Council
pursuant to Paragraph 8(b) of Section 556 of the Real Property Tax Law; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the City Chamberlain shall transmit on or before the 15th day of each month a
report to the Common Council of all the refunds processed during the previous month; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That this resolution shall only be in effect during the calendar year 2014.
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4. Finance, Budget, and Appropriations
.1 Amend Capital Project #768 for Ithaca Falls Overlook Investigation and Remediation
Project
WHEREAS, on March 2, 2011 the Common Council established Capital Project #768 Ithaca Falls
Overlook Investigation & Remediation in an amount not to exceed $778,000 to account for project
expenses to be reimbursed through the Environmental Restoration Program grant (ERP) from New
York State, and
WHEREAS the 0.95 acre City-owned Ithaca Falls Overlook site adjoins the former Ithaca Gun
factory building and extends from Lake Street north over the raceway to an overlook of Ithaca
Falls in the approximate area of 121-125 Falls Street, and
WHEREAS, capital project funding has been used to conduct an investigation to determine the
nature and define the limits of contamination both on-site and off-site and devise alternative
strategies to remediate environmental contamination for a future public park use and facilitate
private-sector redevelopment of the adjoining former Ithaca Gun factory site, and
WHEREAS, the project is anticipated to include three interim remedial measures to remove
existing sources of subsurface lead contamination, of which interim remedial measure #1 on the
western accessway of the site was completed, and
WHEREAS, on September 5, 2013, the City of Ithaca was awarded a $200,000 reimbursable grant
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Cleanup Program (EPA BCP) to
conduct environmental remediation activities at the Ithaca Falls Overlook site, and
WHEREAS, on December 2, 2013, the City of Ithaca’s application for $500,000 in additional ERP
funding was approved by New York State (ERP Amendment), and
WHEREAS, the ERP provides 90% reimbursement for eligible on-site expenses and 100%
reimbursement for eligible off-site expenses, and
WHEREAS, the EPA BCP provides 80% reimbursement for eligible expenses, and
WHEREAS, the redeveloper of the adjacent former Ithaca Gun factory site, IFR LLC, has pledged
to the City per agreement executed on September 25, 2007 to pay the 10% local match on the
initial ERP grant (up to $77,800), and
WHEREAS, a projected additional local match of $40,000 is needed to match the on-site portion
of the additional $500,000 in ERP Amendment funding, and
WHEREAS, IFR LLC managing member, Frost Travis, has pledged pay up to $15,000 of the local
match on the ERP Amendment, and
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WHEREAS, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) is reviewing a proposal at their December
19, 2013 meeting to fund the remaining $25,000 local match on the ERP Amendment from
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and
WHEREAS, $40,000 of ERP funding may be used to meet the 20% local match for the EPA BCP,
and
WHEREAS, to account for new funding, capital project #768 should be increased from $778,000
to $1,518,000 as shown in the following summary funding table:
Ithaca Falls Overlook – Capital Project #768
Funding Award Amount Local Match Match Source Total Project
Cost
ERP $700,200 $77,800 IFR LLC $778,000
ERP Amendment $500,000 $40,000 IFR LLC: $15,000
IURA: $25,000
$540,000
ERP Subtotal $1,200,200 $117,800 $1,318,000
EPA BCP $200,000 $0 ERP ($40,000) $200,000
Totals $1,400,200 $117,800 $1,518,000
WHEREAS, the investigation phase of the ERP qualifies as a Type II action under the City of
Ithaca Environmental Quality Review Ordinance at §176-5(C)(17):
“Information collection, including basic data collection and research, water quality
and pollution studies, traffic counts, engineering studies, surveys, subsurface
investigations and soils studies that do not commit the agency to undertake, fund or
approve any Type I or unlisted action”, and
WHEREAS, any interim remedial measure to remove source contamination shall undergo a
separate environmental review; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That City of Ithaca Common Council authorizes the Mayor, subject to review by
the City Attorney, to execute an amendment to the State Assistance Contract to increase the
Environmental Restoration Program funding amount awarded to the City of Ithaca from $700,200
to $1,200,200 and extend the schedule for completion to 12/31/15, and be it further
RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council hereby amends Capital Project #768
Ithaca Falls Overlook Investigation & Remediation in an amount not to exceed $740,000 bringing
the total authorized amount not to exceed $1,518,000, and be it further
RESOVLED, That funds necessary for the said capital project amendment shall be derived from a
General Fund advance with later repayment from the issuance of Serial Bonds and ERP Grant
funds.
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