HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity-Town Joint Study Group - January 17, 2007 City-Town Joint Study Group— Consolidation and Shared Services
Minutes of January 17, 2007
Present: Lois Chaplin, Paul Eberts, Nathan Fawcett, Tom Niederkorn, Peter Stein (Town
liaison), Mary Tomlan (City liaison), David Gelinas (4th Ward Alderperson)
Excused: Constance Thompson, Stuart Stein, Randy Haus
Temporary Chair Mary Tomlan opened the meeting and introduced David Gelinas, 4th
Ward Common Council member.
Approval of Minutes of December 14, 2006 Meeting
By Paul Eberts: Seconded by Tom Niederkorn
RESOLVED, That the minutes of the December 14, 2006 meeting be approved as
published.
Carried Unanimously
Ms. Tomlan noted that the City and Town representatives are searching for a new
member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Wendy Skinner.
STAFFING: Ms. Tomlan reported that Town Supervisor Valentino is investigating the
availability of interns to staff the committee. Supervisor Valentino would like a job
description to use when recruiting for the position.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHAIR: Ms. Tomlan explained that she has spoken with Mr.
Niederkorn regarding accepting the position of Committee Chair. Mr. Niederkorn noted
that he had a few concerns and asked committee members to share their thoughts on
the committee's charge. Discussion followed on the floor regarding consolidation,
shared services and the politics involved with each option. After hearing from
Committee members, Mr. Niederkorn agreed to serve as Chair with Mr. Peter Stein
volunteering to be become the Vice-Chair.
PROCESS: Mr. Fawcett suggested that the Committee focus on analyzing the cost
benefits of each of the options so that the elected officials would have data to base their
decisions on. Ms. Tomlan noted that the 1952 Study Group was a fact-finding
committee and did not offer a recommendation to the governing bodies. She noted that
it would be the prerogative of this Committee to offer a recommendation or not.
Mr. Peter Stein distributed a financial questionnaire that he has prepared for the Chief
Financial Officers of each municipality. The answers they provide would offer a
comparative view of the financial situation of each municipality. Discussion followed
regarding the benefits of having this data for the Village of Cayuga Heights as well. It
was noted that the Mayor of Cayuga Heights is not interested in the concept of
consolidation. Mr. Niederkorn recommended that personnel rosters be gathered from
each municipality so that positions could be sorted by function.
Ms. Chaplin stated that she would like to see a set of tasks and a timeline established so
that a work plan could be developed.
Mr. Peter Stein noted that it would be helpful to have someone read through the
historical data and report on the findings of previous committees.
Ms. Tomlan reported that Mayor Peterson has offered to contact representatives from
the New York State Comptroller's Office or Conference of Mayors who may be able to
come to Ithaca and speak to the group on topics related to consolidation.
Mr. Niederkorn suggested that the following data be collected:
1. Histories: previous projects with similar objectives; State experience; other
communities experiences
2. Financial
3. Personnel
4. Existing State laws related to the possibilities and responsibilities of
government at the State/City/Town/Village levels
5. Process by which programs (budgets, equipment, personnel) could be shared
or merged
Mr. Gelinas noted that he is a student at Cornell University and is very interested in this
topic. He stated that he is considering writing his thesis on this topic, and expressed an
interest in working on the data collection tasks that have been identified, if he can obtain
academic credit. He explained that it may take a few weeks before he could give the
Committee a definite answer.
JOB DESCRIPTION FOR INTERN(S): The Committee identified the following
responsibilities for an intern: conduct research as identified by the Committee; attend
and take minutes of meetings. This work should be completed in approximately 5-8
hours per week.
ASSIGNMENT OF TASKS:
Mr. Niederkorn:
• Ascertain whether Randy Haus is still interested in serving on committee; if not,
have nomination committee fill the vacancy.
• Talk to Mayor of Cayuga Heights to explain the purpose of the committee and to
obtain financial and personnel data.
• Provide Intern job description to Supervisor Valentino
Mr. Peter Stein:
• Gather personnel data for the Town of Ithaca
• Present Town and City financial data at the next meeting
Ms. Tomlan
• Work with the City Controller and Human Resources Director to obtain City
financial and personnel data
Ms. Chaplin recommended that a future assignment should be to speak with employees
currently filling specified positions to see what their opinions and ideas are regarding
consolidation and shared services.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2007 at 2:30
pm at Town Hall.
ADJOURNMENT: On a motion, the meeting was adjourned at 4:25 pm.
Respectfully Submitted by: Julie Conley Holcomb, City Clerk