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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-B&A-1990-01-17 l BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING 7:30 P.M. JANUARY 17, 1990 MINUTES Present: Committee Members: Peterson, Romanowski, Booth, Cummings, Golder Other Alderpersons Present: Hoffman, Johnson, Schroeder Others Present: City Attorney - Guttman City Controller - Cafferillo Deputy Controller - Thayer Acting Superintendent of Public Works - Fabbroni City Engineer - Gray Youth Bureau Director - Cohen Personnel Administrator - Walker Commissioner - Reeves Cass Park, Recreation Supervisor - John Doyle Members of the Press 1 . Overview of New B E A Committee Chairperson Bootly opened the BEA meeting by welcoming the new Committee member Neil Golder. Chairperson Booth noted that the GIAC Pool item on tonight's agenda has been resolved, the Ithaca City School District will pay for the engineer- ing consultant on their own. The item is therefore deleted from the agenda. Chairperson Booth also noted that the following items have been added to the agenda for tonight's meeting: 1 . City Attorney - possible litigation against the City by the State of N.Y. 2. D.P.W. - Town/City Sewer Agreement 3. D.P.W. - Appointment of Water Treatment Plant Chief Operator 4. Finance - City owned pay phone discussion 5. Mayor - Appointment of Administrative Assistant Chairperson Booth gave the Committee some introductory comments regarding the BEA meetings. "Chairperson Booth first noted that the 1990 BEA Committee is now comprised of one new member of Council, two new members to the Committee, and two members who previously served on the Committee, and that hopefully a fairly short learning curve will take place with the help from City staff members. Chairperson Booth also stated that because the 1990 budget discussions were a difficult task and the future budgets may be even more difficult, he would like the Department Heads to adhere to the 1990 Budget and operate within their Department Budgets to the greatest extent possible. 2. D.P.W. - Refuse Sticker Program Acting Superintendent Fabbroni, City Engineer Gray and Commissioner Reeves presented a resolution to the Committee that was previously approved by the Board of Public Works regarding the Refuse Tipping Fee. Superintendent Fabbroni noted that the Board of Public Works added to his draft resolution. The addition stated that a sheet of 12 tags will cost ten dollars. 1 BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 2 JANUARY 17, 1990 Superintendent Fabbroni noted that the City is headed toward instituting a fee per container system by March 1, 1990. The fee system is largely a result of the County's $40/ton tipping fee to begin on March 1st. The refuse fee is needed as revenue to the City to offset the tipping fee expense. (The sum of $350,000 to be collected from refuse fees has been included in the 1990 budget.) As a result of discussions with various City Department Heads and Council Members on the Refuse Fee topic, it was felt that for the short term the fee system seems to be the best solution. Superintendent Fabbroni noted that the tipping fee imposed by the County will only go up and will probably end up at $80 - $100/ton. In future years, a better system is being developed. It may include such features as a benefit assessment or a combination of a tag and benefit assessment system. The institution of a benefit assessment system takes time and many public hearings and would not be able to be implemented by March 1, 1990. Superintendent Fabbroni felt the fee system would make people aware of garbage generation and improve the recycling system currently in place in the City. If the resolution is passed tonight, the D.P.W. and the Chamberlain's office would begin a media saturation to bring the public up to date on the sticker program. Stickers will be sold at the Chamberlain's office, through the mail, and possibly through the local supermarkets. Acting Superintendent Fabbroni discussed the actual sticker and noted that it would be a two-part sticker with one half a nonremovable adhesive and the other half a removable part. The garbage collectors would collect the garbage and remove the non-adhesive portion of the sticker. The sticker would be placed on the con- tainer, and the container could have any number of bags, up to a total of 35 lbs. Further discussion on the sticker system continued. Acting Superintendent Fabbroni noted that the mailings to the public would be by address, occupant and owner. The Chamberlain's office would be the central control for the sale of the stickers. Many concerns by the Committee were made, including the following: 1. Whether the sticker system is mandated by the County. 2. Possibility of illegal dumping and burning of refuse 3. Violation and enforcement problems. 4. Lack of public awareness of the sticker system A member of the public discussed another possible system to pay for the tipping fee. A unit system was proposed. The unit system would bill households on a quarterly basis based on useage. It was the consensus of the Committee that the bag tag system should be implemented for 1990 only. However, education programs on the system should be done, especially for the students. The education process for the students must be an ongoing process. BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 3 JANUARY 17, 1990 Further discussions on the tag system, enforcement of that system, and accounta- bility for the system took place. Alderperson Cummings made a motion to go forward with the tag system for 1990 only with mailings two times a year to the students. Chairperson Booth felt that the following three points should be added to the motion: 1. D.P.W. will make clear this system is for 1990 only and may change in future years . 2. If outside merchants purchase the tags to sell - they can't sell the tickets for more than the City sells them for. 3. Only the City Chamberlain's Office will accept money for the tags. If tags are sold at other places they must be bought . up front. The Controller noted that the possibility of a Sales Tax on top of the other fees for the tags is a question and that the Controller's Office would look into the possibility of a sales tax. It was also the consensus of the Committee that though this system may have problems, currently it is the best system for the short term. Alderperson Romanowski stated that he will vote this system on to Council, but that he still has many problems with the system. op Alderperson Hoffman stated that the City should delay the system for one month and investigate alternative systems further. He felt that the public needs to be more involved with the selection of the system. The consensus of the Committee was that the City should not delay the tag system for one month. The following motion was voted on: WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Board of Representatives has resolved that all refuse haulers in the County begin paying a $40 per ton tipping fee on March 1, 1990 and WHEREAS, Tompkins County has also strongly recommended that a fee per container system be instituted to recover the cost of the new tipping fee while encouraging recycling and overall reduction of waste generation and WHEREAS, the City has budgeted for $350,000 revenue for offsetting tipping fees and administrative expenses in the approved 1990 City Budget, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has voted to authorize the Department of Public Works to proceed with implementation of a fee per container system in coor- dination with the City Chamberlain, City Controller, Tompkins County DPW, and other interested parties within the general guidelines of public information, sales, and distribution as described in a January 8, 1990 memo by Acting Superintendent Larry Fabbroni (with the added provision that a sheet of 12 tags will cost $10.00) ; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that, subject to the following conditions, Common Council endorses the institution of the fee per container system approved by the Board of Public Works: BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 4 JANUARY 17, 1990 1 . The fee per container system is being adopted for the balance of 1990. This system and other alternative systems will be studied in order to determine their feasibility for time beyond the end of 1990. The Board of Public Works and the Department of Public Works will make clear to all interested persons that this fee per container system is being adopted for 1990 and is subject to future change. 2. No private person or entity that purchases any garbage disposal tags from the City for purpose of sale to other persons shall resell those tags .for more money than that person or entity paid the City of Ithaca for them. 3. The details regarding the locations of sale, collection, and handling of money from the sale of garbage disposal tags shall be worked out to the mutual satisfaction of the City Controller, the City Chamberlain, the Department of Public Works, and the City Attorney. Presently only the office of the City Chamberlain is authorized to accept money from the sale of garbage disposal tags. The motion passed (4-1-1) . Alderperson Golder abstained for lack of background information (Golder was recently appointed to Council and the B&A Committee) . Alderperson Hoffman, who ys temporarily serving on the Committee, dissented. The Committee voted to go into executive session to discuss a number of issues. 3. Report from Executive Session Following a brief executive session Chairperson Booth noted the following items were acted on during the executive session: A. Appointment of Administrative Assistant - Mayor's Office Resolved, that Theresa F. Alt be appointed to the position of Administrative Assistant - Mayor's Office, at an annual salary of $18,311, that being Step 5 on the 1990 Compen- sation Plan for Confidential Employees, retroactive to January 2, 1990. Said motion passed 5-0. B. Appointment of Confidential Secretary to the City Attorney Resolved, that Annette Finney be appointed to the position of Confidential Secretary to the City Attorney at an annual salary of $17,061, that being Step 7 on the 1990 Compensa- tion Plan for Confidential Employees, retroactive to January 2, 1990. This will be budget neutral on the 1990 Budget by moving Staff Attorney benefits unneeded to the Attorney Benefits line. Said motion passed 5-0. C. Lawsuit settlement The following motion regarding the settlement of a lawsuit between the City of Ithaca and the State of New York was passed 5-0: BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 5 JANUARY 17, 1990 WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca entered into an agreement with the State of New York for the construction of Bridge Number 2210420, the Six Mile Creek bridge and by resolution dated March 3, 1983 endorsed the Ctiy's participation in the said project, and WHEREAS, the bridge construction project was substantially completed by private contractors on or about November 15, 1984, and the Department of Transportation finalized the work in March of 1987, and WHEREAS, the total share that the City of Ithaca was obligated to remit on behalf of the Six Mile Creek bridge construction project was $41,793.35, and WHEREAS, the City deposited $19,774.00 with the State before construction of the bridge, which deposit earned $1,302.07 interest, for a total of $21,076.07 paid to the State by the City for the cost of the Six Mile Creek bridge project, and WHEREAS, on June 19, 1987 the State demanded payment on the balance of $20,717.88 and upon the City's failure to remit said amount commenced a lawsuit against the City demanding judgment in the amount of $20,717.88 together with interest thereon from June 19, 1987 together with costs and disbursements, and WHEREAS, there have beer} negotiations between the City Attorney and the Attorney General's Office and as a result of said negotiations the State of New York is pre- pared to accept the sum of $18,717.88 in full satisfaction of the said claim and is prepared to discontinue its lawsuit against the City; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the City pay to the State of New York the sum of $18,717.88 in full satisfaction of the State of New York's claim against the City of Ithaca with respect to the construction of bridge number 2210420, the Six Mile Creek bridge, and be it further RESOLVED, that the sum, of $18,717.88 be transferred from A1990, Unrestricted Contingency funds, to account A1420-430, the City of Ithaca Fees line. The Committee voted to return to regular session. 4. Youth Bureau A. Amendment to Personnel roster - Youth Bureau Youth Bureau Director Cohen presented information requesting the deletion of one Senior Stenographer and the addition of one Administrative Secretary. This request was initiated at this time because a vacancy has occurred in the Senior Stenographer position. Director Cohen noted the position change is needed because the Senior Steno- grapher position demands the skills and qualities of an Administrative Secre- tary. Also, the low salary of the Senior Stenographer makes it difficult to find qualified individuals. A necessary allocation to cover the differences in salary between the two positions for 1990 was also requested. The amount would be approximately $1,000. BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 6 JANUARY 17, 1990 Chairperson Booth noted that the 1990 Budget does not have much room for increases in expenditures and he noted that the lawsuit settlement previously mentioned exhausted nearly 20% of the 1990 Unrestricted Contingency. Chair- person Booth would like all Department Heads to work within their 1990 Budgets. Controller Cafferillo felt that these items should have been requested at the B&A Budget discussions back in November. Further discussions on the 1990 Budget continued. Chairperson Booth suggested that the request be approved as long as it is within the 1990 Budget. The following motion was made: RESOLVED, that the Youth Bureau's personnel roster be amended by deleting one Senior Stenographer (35 hours/week) and adding one Administrative Secretary (35 hours/week) and be it further RESOLVED, that $890 be transferred from Account A7310-205 Furniture and Fixtures, to Account A7310-110 Staff Salaries, to fund said reclassification for the balance of the 1990 fiscal year. Said resolution passes 5-0. B. Request to Amend Youth Development Roster Youth Bureau Director Cohen presented a request to amend the Youth Develop- ment roster by the addition of one part time Administrative Assistant or 17 hours a week. Director Cohen stated the total personnel change of approxi- mately $13,000 could be absorbed by shifting funds within the Youth Bureau's 1990 Budget. Again, a discussion on the 1990 Budget and the fact that these requestsshould have been presented during the 1990 Budget discussions followed. Chairperson Booth and the remainder of the Committee felt that at this time they could not allow the addition of another position. If it was budget neutral, the Committee may consider it. At this time, the Committee suggested that this item be sent back to the Youth Bureau to be reworked. No action taken. C. Request for Additional Funds to Support Wage Increases Youth Bureau Director Cohen and REcreation Supervisor John Doyle presented a request for additional funds to be provided to the 120 Accounts for the Cass Park account. Director Cohen noted that effective April 1, 1990, the minimum wage will increase from $3.35 per hour to $3.80 per hour. Director Cohen added that in order for the following programs to continue: Cass Park Pool (Program 1305) , Stewart Park Concession (Program 1340), and Cass Park Ice Rink (Program 1304) , as they exist now, a total of $7,875 is needed in the part time seasonal salary accounts. Director Cohen is asking for a $.45 wage increase across the board for the three areas mentioned above. A discussion on the 1990 budget, the minimum wage, and hours for the affected positions followed. Chairperson Booth stated he felt that the Youth Bureau should go back and rework this request with the following points explained: • BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 7 JANUARY 17, 1990 1 . What is the significance of the federal minimum wage increase on the total $7,875 requested by the Youth Bureau. 2. Where the $11,000 in salary increases in the 1990 Budget were allocated. 3. What the impact of the increase in revenue generated by the increase in user fees would be. It was the consensus of the Committee to send the request back to the Youth Bureau to rework the request and include points two and three noted above. No action was taken. D. Request to amend the Youth Bureau Roster Youth Bureau Director Cohen presented a request to add p Account Clerk/Typist position at Cass Park. The total cost of the position would be $17,678. The cost would be funded by a variety of increases in user fees at Cass Park. A discussion on the Cass Park Pool fees followed. Again, the question was raised, why wasn't this addition to the roster and increase in user fees addressed during the 1990 budget discussions. Chairperson Booth urged the Committee not to support this request because he could not jusitfy this request in terms of what the City has to spend money on. After a brief discussion on the 1990 budget and the requests of other depart- ments, the Committee voted on the said request. The said request fails 0-5. The Committee moved into executive session to discuss various personnel issues. 5. Report from Executive Session Chairperson Booth noted the following items were acted on during the executive session: A. Appointment of Youth Worker - Youth Bureau Resolved, that Ann Calvert be appointed to position of Youth Worker at an annual salary of $16,086, that being Step 2 on the 1990 CSEA Administrative Unit Compensation Plan, effective February 13, 1990. Motion approved 4-0-1 . Alderperson Golder abstained based on lack of background information (Golder recently appointed to Council and BEA) . B. Amendment to Personnel Roster - DPW Resolved, that the Personnel Roster of the Department of Public Works be amended by adding the position of Assistant Supervisor of Refuse and Recycling, and be it further Resolved, that the Assistant Supervisor of the Department of Public Works be amended by adding the position of Assistant Supervisor of Refuse and Recycling, and be it further Resolved, that the Assistant Supervisor of Refuse and Recycling position be assigned to the City Executive Association at a 1990 salary range of $23,500 - $28,662, and be it further BUDGET AND ADMINSITRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 8 JANUARY 17, 1990 Resolved, that the position of Working Supervisor-Sanitation will remain vacant until the Civil Service examination process for the Assistant Supervisor position is completed, and then be deleted from the Per- sonnel Roster once a permanent appointment from a Civil Service eligible list is made to the Assistant Supervisor position, and be it further Resolved, that the above actions are contingent upon the approval of the Ithaca Civil Service Commission. Said motion passes 4-0-1 . Alderperson Golder abstained for reasons stated previously. This resolution was proposed in order to provide a merit increase for Jim Kelly, who has served the City very well as the Working Super- visor-Sanitation. C. Salary Adjustment - D.P.W. Whereas, Mr. Frank Gardner has rendered the City 31 years of untiring and dedicated service and responsibility and Whereas, Mr. Gardner is presently compensated at a level that is only $60 above the entry-level salary for a DPW Supervisor and Whereas, a Salary adjustment is in order based on performance, re- sponsibility, reliability, knowledge and service, now therefore be it Resolved, that the annual salary of Frank Gardner be increased to $33,050 effective February 12, 1990. Said motion passes 4-0-1 . Alderperson Golder abstained for reasons stated previously. D. Salary Adjustment - D.P.W. Whereas, Mr. James Miller was asked to assume special technical duties to expedite a number of in-house projects such as, the new Cass Park Maintenance building, the Southside addition, and the Chemical hand- ling additions at the Cass Park pool, during the temporary appointment of Mr. Fabbroni as Superintendent of Public Works, and Whereas, he performed these added duties in a thorough, professional, and timely manner, now therefore be it Resolved, that Mr. Miller be awarded a one-time $1,000 payment for these additional duties performed from June 16, 1989 through January 19, 1990. Said motion passes 4-0-1 . Alderperson Golder abstains for reasons stated previously. E. Appointment of Chief Water Treatment Plant Operator Resolved, that Charles Baker be appointed to the position of Chief Water Treatment Plant Operator at an annual salary of $32,000 effective February 26, 1990. Said appointment passed 5-0. 6. West Hill Fire Station Sanitary Sewer City Engineer Gray and Commissioner Reeves presented information requesting the establishment for the construction of the West Hill Fire Station Sanitary Sewer. The sewer project would be paid for by the City's Water and Sewer funds and would not affect the City's General Budget. BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 9 JANUARY 17, 1990 A discussion followed between the City Controller, Acting Superintendent of Public Works and the BSA Committee on the determination of the fund that the project would be funded from. The City Controller stated the funds for this project will properly come out of the sewer fund as negotiated by the related parties to the contract. After a brief discussion on the sewer system and the related Fire Station, the following motion was approved 5-0: RESOLVED, that a Joint Capital Project be established for the construction of the West Hill Fire Station Sanitary Sewer, with the Town of Ithaca acting as lead agency, at a maximum authorized cost of $60,000, and be it further RESOLVED, that the financing plan for such project be authorized as follows: Town of Ithaca $28,000 Cornell University 25,000 City of Ithaca 7,000 Total $ 60,000 and be it further i RESOLVED, that pursuant to agreement, the Cornell University share of $25,000 shall be advanced by the City and Town, at their proportionate shares of in- volvement, with the repayment thereof to be made over a twenty year period at 7% interest, based on an established amortization schedule. 7. Error on Tax Roll for 1990 The City Controller presented information relating to an error on the 1990 Tax Roll. After a brief discussion the following motion was approved 5-0: Whereas, the 1990 Tax Roll for the City of Ithaca included property described as Tax Map Number 87-1-16.41, owned by Fred and Bodil Somkin, and Whereas, pursuant to Section 554 (Sub. 4a) of the Real Property Tax Law, the Director of Assessment has investigated an application for correction of a error in essential fact filed by Bodil Somkin, and Whereas, said investigation revealed that a Veterans Exemption in the amount of $7,240 was omitted on the first and second installments, and Whereas, the Director of Assessment has requested that the City amend the first and second installments to reflect the corrected taxable value of $63,760 and a corrected tax amount of $607.72 for each installment, now therefore be it Resolved, that City Chamberlain be authorized and directed to make the appro- priate changes to the Tax Roll as requested by the Director of Assessment. 8. City-Owned Payphones City Controller Cafferillo presented information regarding the City's current City-owned payphones. Currently ATT is providing the City with service for the pay phones with a current commission of 5%. The City has been approached r, r BUDGET AND ADMINSITRATION COMMITTEE PAGE 10 JANUARY 17, 1990 by RCI with a proposal to increase the commission to 15% with a total annual amount of approximately $3,500 paid to the City by RCI. The current service would not change by the switch in Companies. It was the consensus of the Committee to have the Controller obtain more information on the payphone service and report back at the February meeting. No action was taken. 9. Resolution for the Acting Superintendent of Public Works Alderperson Cummings noted that because Acting Superintendent Fabbroni did such a good job during his time as Acting Superintendent of Public Works that a resolution. should be drafted to reflect his excellent job. The Committee con- curred. A motion was made to add a resolution to the B&A Committee's section of the upcoming Common Council meeting, for Acting Superintendent Fabbroni's good work. Motion passes 5-0. It was noted that the B&A Committee will now meet every third Wednesday of the month. Meeting was adjourned at 1;:25 A.M.