Administration Minutes 2012 05-17-12
APPROVED W/ CORRECTIONS
6/12/12
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.
City Hall Conference Room
COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
Chairman Rose Spears
Alderman Carlo Colosimo
Alderman George Gilson
Alderman Marty Munns
OTHER CITY OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE:
Gary Golinski, Mayor
Bart Olson, City Administrator
Rob Fredrickson, Finance Director
Meghan Ostreko, Human Resources Manager
Kathleen Field Orr, City Attorney
GUESTS:
Lisa Peterson, Yorkville Resident
Bob Pfister, Veolia
Scott Greiter, Veolia
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairman Rose Spears.
Citizens Comments:
None.
Minutes for Correction/Approval:
Minutes from the April 19, 2012 were approved.
(next items moved forward on agenda)
Old Business:
ADM - 2012-19 Countryside Development Discussion -
Mr. Olson said there are not any refinancing
schedules to talk about this time, but since the City attorney is present he wanted to open it up for any
outstanding questions regarding the agreement. Mr. Olson stated he hopes to have refinancing
schedules within a week. Alderman Colosimo said the original agreements square footage requirements
the city is willing to be more lax on to get other businesses to come in.
Mr. Olson said some development groups have expressed some interest. Mr. Olson said being able to go
online and listen to minutes has been a big help. Alderman Gilson asked what the price is that is being
asked for the property. Mr. Olson said he doesn't know if they want it to be public or not, but they did
set a price and it was right where it should be, so it shouldn't be a problem.
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Alderman Spears stated residents have been asking about the potholes. Mr. Olson said they are private
roads. The city has communicated closing the roads to the property owner and he said he will talk to
the property owner again and suggest they close them because they are too dangerous and undrivable.
ADM 2012-40 - Employee Manual Revision -
Ms. Ostreko stated there were two outstanding issues
after the last discussion. Ms. Ostreko stated the first being additional information regarding random
testing from the labor attorney. She said under the 4th amendment public employees are protected from
unreasonable search and seizures, which municipality conducting random testing falls under that and that
being the reason for the city not being able to do that.
Ms. Ostreko said the other issue was unused sick leave and the debate whether or not we should allow
employees to cash out sick leave once they retire. Alderman Colosimo asked about the gifting bans
section 2.1.2 he stated it talks about different relatives and the fiancé is included and he stated he doesn't
like the fiancé being included and he feels it is ambiguous. Alderman Colosimo said it is worrisome to
him. Mr. Olson said he will check on that if it is required by the state ethics act the city will leave it, but
if not the city will remove it.
Alderman Colosimo said under Section 2.20 Dissemination of Information it talks about the Alderman of
Yorkville has the right to request and receive information on all areas of business for the city, but there is
no mention of the mayor. Mr. Olson stated under state statute it is an explicit right the Mayor has access
to every document the city creates. Mr. Olson said this particular section was created in 2007 as a result
as a perceived withholding of information to Alderman.
Alderman Colosimo asked about the jury duty section leave. Ms. Ostreko stated that section was
changed in the clean copy.
New Business:
(next item moved forward on agenda)
ADM 2012-32 - Solid Waste RFP - Vendor Selection -
Mr. Olson said there is a summary memo with
a bid schedule and four detailed proposals in their packet and asked if there were any questions. Mr.
Olson stated Veolia seems to be the cheapest and the city has an existing operating history that has been
good, so that is the city's recommendation. The Committee was in agreement the contract was good.
Alderman all stated that the residents have been happy with their service. Mr. Olson said this will go to
the June City Council meeting for approval.
Lisa Peterson stated she likes the sticker program. The Alderman stated there are some huge
disadvantages to the sticker program and they stated most residents like our current program and didn't
want any changes.
(resume order of agenda)
ADM 2012-25 Monthly Budget Report for April 2012 -
There were no questions or comments.
ADM 2012- 26 Monthly Treasurer's Report for April 2012 -
There were no questions or comments.
ADM 2012-27 Cash Statement for March 2012 -
There were no questions or comments.
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ADM 2012-28 Quarterly Comp Time Report -
Mr. Olson stated this is an informational item. There
was a discussion of a couple employees with high hours and how things are calculated.
ADM 2012-29 Water Infrastructure Fee Re-authorization -
Mr. Fredrickson stated the water
infrastructure fee has sunsetted into the fiscal year 2012 and it is the recommendation of staff that we re-
institute it. Mr. Fredrickson stated there are two attachments showing the water fund as budgeted which
includes the fee and the other attachment showing no fee and the deficits without the fee.
Alderman Gilson asked how long is it anticipated the city will have to go on with this fee. Mr. Olson
stated that is an economic question. Mr. Olson said 200 permits is the city's benchmark. When the city
can get 200 permits, the city could scale it back or remove it completely. Mr. Olson said the city is
already half way there and if the trend continues next year, the city could be up around the 100 mark.
Mr. Olson said it is possible if things get better, we could be able to remove or decrease this fee.
Alderman Munns asked if this is the same fee the residents have been paying all along. Mr. Olson stated
yes it is $8.50 and it shows up at $16.50 on the bill. Alderman Gilson said he opposes this fee and he
opposed it when it was instituted. Alderman Gilson said he will oppose the sewer fee too. Alderman
Gilson said the city can't keep taking fees out of the residents pockets.
Mayor Golinski asked Alderman Gilson what ideas he proposes to cover this. Alderman Gilson said
maybe other infrastructure fees to developers. Alderman Gilson said the city can't keep throwing these
fees to the residents. He stated the city needs to be proactive on changing this. Alderman Colosimo
said he agrees with Alderman Gilson, but when you look at the numbers without this fee, how does the
water fund sustain itself. Alderman Colosimo said developers are not here and if they are not coming in
how can we get these fees.
Alderman Colosimo said the city has an obligation to the residents to run the water, so if the revenues
don't meet the obligations and there are not developers to charge do we stop services, Alderman Gilson
said the revenues have not been meeting expenses for sometime now and if year after year the revenues
are not meeting expenses, something has to change. Alderman Gilson said he would rather see
developers pay for that. Alderman Gilson said the more fees we make the more people will move from
Yorkville and the more foreclosures the city will see.
Mayor Golinski stated that same statement can be true with developers if the city add fees to them.
Alderman Gilson stated that might be true, but he would rather take that risk. Mayor Golinski stated
what the city is doing with the B.U.I.L.D. program and the uptrend in housing sparked some interest in
Westbury and there are a lot of fees they owe the city and it could be used to offset it.
Mayor Golinski stated he would like this fee to be gone too. Mayor Golinski asked can the city state
once we hit 180 permits or 200 permits can the fee be removed. Mr. Olson stated that is something the
city could look at. The committee had a discussion on how these infrastructure fees can be changed to
relieve fees to the residents. There was a discussion on how many permits would be needed to offset the
cost. The committee agrees the city needs to look at doing something to get this fee removed.
There was discussion about how many of the subdivisions are locked in on a previous permit fee and
many of the alderman opposed that when that was put into place. Mayor Golinski asked what other
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recommendations the committee has to take this money from. Mr. Olson said it would be general fund
that has any cash and it barely has any. Alderman Gilson asked how much money was saved on salt.
Mr. Olson stated that is in MFT and can't be used for this. Alderman Gilson said maybe some of the
surplus can go toward it to bring the fee down for the residents.
Mayor Golinski said the entire point on building up a surplus was for the city to be able to do projects
like Game Farm Road, which has been put off for years. Alderman Gilson said the city should be using
the surplus to pay for infrastructure and lessen the burden on the residents. He asked the city is doing fix
the gap between revenue and expenses so the city is no longer coming up short. Mr. Olson stated the
city is trying to lure businesses to town and people to move to the city. He said the infrastructure is built
for 100,000 someday and that is how to get the fees to go down.
Alderman Gilson stated that works with a good economy, but I don't see that happening for quite
sometime. Alderman Gilson stated he wants to discuss what to look at in our budget to lessen the
burden on the residents. He stated there has to be line items. Mr. Olson said there are two things the
city just put into place, the garbage contract and the electric aggregation both things will save the
residents. This item will go to June City Council.
ADM 2012-30 Verizon Cell Phone Proposal -
Mr. Fredrickson said the city did an analysis between
Sprint and Verizon to compare the rates. Verizon is significantly less than Sprint for the smart phone
plans. Mr. Fredrickson stated the city is proposing to change our contract to Verizon. Alderman Gilson
asked if the city has looked at any other carriers.
Mr. Olson stated Verizon won the state bid, so the city can purchase through them, which enables the
city not to have to sign a contract to do this. Mr. Olson said there is not an out clause or termination
fee. Mr. Olson said that enables the city to change if another carrier is found to be less. Alderman
Munns asked if the city changes to smart phones will that increase the equipment costs.
Mr. Olson stated it would and each department would have to budget for that, if that is something they
think they should be doing. Rich stated he doesn't want all the employees to have smart phones. Mr.
Olson said if they have the money in your budget and can rearrange costs to afford it, then go ahead.
Alderman Colosimo asked about text messaging issues. Mr. Olson stated city employees email instead
of text message.
Alderman Spears asked if no contract is signed can the carrier up the fees at anytime. Mr. Olson stated
no because the city is under the state for two years. Alderman Gilson asked about the prices and the
average monthly bill for smart phones and the committee discussed the different plans and prices.
Alderman Gilson stated he doesn't feel it is that great of a deal and suggested that the city look into
different carriers and business plans. The committee agreed to have a complete analysis done. Mr.
Olson agreed to look into it and get the committee an update.
ADM 2012-31 Summer Schedule Bill List -
Mr. Olson stated this is an informational item that there
will be an increase in automatic debits because of a different schedule. Alderman Gilson asked if this will
create any difficulty tracking. Mr. Fredrickson said it will actually be easier. The bills will still be mailed
to us and saves time of having to cut manual checks. Alderman Spears said the bill list will then come to
us after that payments are already made.
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Mr. Fredrickson said it will be itemized and still be presented to council so council is aware the charges
that are taking place. Alderman Colosimo said it shouldn't be set up to be paid before council approves
it. Mr. Fredrickson said actually it is paid prior when it appears on the bills list because it has to be paid
by a certain date. Alderman Gilson asked then what is the point of approving a bills list. Mr. Olson said
staff has authority to purchase things up to a certain dollar amount.
Mr. Olson said the bills list is to itemize what the staff has spent and done and it is a formality. Alderman
Gilson said he opposed that he thinks the committee should approve them before they are paid, but if the
city is going to continue to do that, then don't put us through all that work. The Alderman stated they
are not worried about debt service that is a bond that council approved. Alderman Colosimo stated he is
talking about monthly bills. Mr. Fredrickson said these are items like Com Ed, Nicor, these are utilities,
gasoline etc.
Mr. Olson said this is how municipalities are run. Alderman Spears stated sometimes the council pulled
things off we didn't approve. Mr. Olson said those things have been rectified. Alderman Munns asked
where the city is purchasing their gasoline. Mr. Olson said several places and different places offer
different discounts and we encourage them to go to the cheapest place.
Alderman Gilson asked how to change or curb spending if the council sees the staff is spending money in
ways we don't like. Alderman Gilson asked if we can set it up so that discretionary spending is approved
by City Council before monies are spent. Mr. Olson said anything over $20,000 has to be approved.
Alderman Gilson asked if that number can be lower. Mr. Olson said yes that can be looked at, but there
are some things that come up day to day the city needs to be able to authorize to be able to operate.
Alderman Gilson stated in emergency situations the city needs to look at other options and it could save
the city money.
ADM 2012-33 Business Registration -
Mr. Olson said the survey of surrounding towns are included in
the packet and the fees are listed in there. Mr. Olson said some of them are home rule municipalities and
some are not. Non home rule cannot require this and if the municipality is home rule it can require it.
Mr. Olson said the city is not really allowed to make money on this. Mr. Olson said the city has to
decide why the city wants this, for example, for a list of business.
Alderman Munns said if the city breaks even, why would the city do this. Alderman Gilson asked if the
city had to hire someone. Mr. Olson said probably a part-time person to handle this and some operating
costs. Alderman Munns said it breaks even so what is the point. Alderman Colosimo stated the city is
not that big and he doesn't like it and what is the city's benefit. Alderman Gilson said if there is not
revenue, there is not a benefit besides a list of business.
Lisa Peterson asked if the city has the businesses register. Alderman Colosimo said no. Lisa Peterson
said even for $25.00 mail the business a form and they register for a year and then there is a list for
consumers and it protects them if something goes wrong. Alderman Munns said the city can't enforce
anything. Alderman Colosimo said it is work for the city without any benefit. Lisa Peterson asked why
would the city have to pay someone part-time to manage it.
Alderman Gilson asked why would the city have to hire someone to do that. Mr. Olson said the city
simply doesn't have the man hours to handle that between the increase in permits at the front desk, there
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is not an employee who has time to handle this. Alderman Munns stated there is not a point if the city
can't enforce it anyway. Alderman Colosimo stated the residents can go online and find out anything
about all corporations. Lisa Peterson stated the city is missing revenue by not registering contractors.
She stated the fees don't have to be much, but it is a protection for the homeowners. Lisa stated other
cities charge contractors anywhere from $25.00 to $100.00. Alderman Gilson stated those fees are then
passed right back to the consumer to pay for that city fee.
Lisa stated she likes the measure of protection for the homeowners. Lisa stated the city then has all the
information on that contractor. Alderman Colosimo said he disagrees because if we have to hire
someone to administer the program, there is not a revenue. Lisa said she doesn't understand why
someone has to be hired to handle this - it shouldn't be that complicated. The committee agreed to look
into the contractors being registered. The committee agreed not to register businesses.
ADM 2012-34 Employee Recognition and Reward Program -
Alderman Spears said this topic was
discussed in the public safety meeting. Alderman Colosimo stated discussion came up about how to
recognize employees that go above and beyond. The committee discussed what the city could do to
recognize employees. Mr. Olson said public recognition is a great thing at city council meetings.
Alderman Munns stated an annual dinner or plaque would be nice. Alderman Gilson stated there is a cost
involved in dinners. The committee agreed times are hard and dinners could be expensive and Alderman
Spears said several employees stated they wouldn't attend a dinner. Mr. Olson said no money needs to
be spent to recognize employees. Alderman Colosimo said something does need to be done when
someone goes above and beyond. Alderman Gilson said recognize them in front of the community is
good enough. Mr. Olson said it is up to the department heads to let us know and the committee agreed
it needs to be made known they can nominate someone.
The committee agreed that recognition in front of the community, a certificate and a picture in the paper
is good at this time.
Additional Business:
Alderman Spears said she liked Lisa Peterson's suggestion about contractor licenses and thinks
committee should bring this item back to the June meeting. Mr. Olson is going to do some research on
it. The committee discussed having Yorkville's own list of contractors that are reliable to use.
Alderman Gilson asked about YEDC voting stake discussion update. Mr. Olson said he is not sure if it
was received favorably or unfavorably. Alderman Munns said we did not attend last time because of a
conflict. Alderman Gilson asked this to be addressed with the Mayor and get his opinion and if he
doesn't like it and is not going to do it, it needs to come back to committee.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:34 p.m.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by:
Lisa Godwin
Minute Taker
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