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Administration Minutes 2008 02-14-08 1 APPROVED 3/13/08 WITH CORRECTIONS UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE 800 Game Farm Road Yorkville, IL 60560 ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING City Hall, Conference Room Thursday, February 14, 2008 — 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Chairperson Munns, Committeemen Golinski, Spears and Werderich ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Brendan McLaughlin, Assistant City Administrator Bart Olson, Finance Director Susan Mika, Treasurer William Powell, Police Chief Harold Martin, City Attorney Kathleen Orr, Mayor Valerie Burd GUESTS: Tony Scott of The Record Chairperson Munns called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room of City Hall. PRESENTATION: None MINUTES FOR CORRECTION /APPROVAL: Committeeman Spears noted that on page 2, item #6, bullet point #3 should read "rental" of the building rather than "maintenance ". Page 3, paragraph 1 should read "Fox Valley Older Adult Center in Sandwich and Oswego Meals Program ". Also, page 4, paragraph 2 should read "Wyeth" not "White" and "Kramer" not "Cramer ". NEW BUSINESS: 1. ADM 2008 -07 — Monthly Budget Report for December, 2007 Chairperson Munns noted that he felt the City was in good financial shape as the budget is at 57.9% and we are past the mid -year point. Treasurer Powell noted that expenses are over the target and revenues are under the target. City Administrator McLaughlin stated that all state revenues are lagging, however, the amounts are on target, with the exception of sales 1 2 tax. Additionally, revenues are expected to be short by $1 million, but expenses will be short by $1 million or more as a result. This item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 2. ADM 2008 -08 — Monthly Treasurer's Report for December, 2007 Treasurer Powell stated that there was a beginning balance of $14,960,856 with revenues of $3,167,058 and expenses of $3,715,857 for an ending balance of $14,412,058. This item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 3. ADM 2008 -09 — Monthly Vehicle Report for December, 2007 This item is informational only. 4. ADM 2008 -10 — Monthly FOIA Report for January, 2008 Committeeman Werderich asked if the City gets feedback as to why attorneys request information. While most requests are sent via fax or email, City Administrator McLaughlin stated that sometimes it is due to subcontractors not being paid by contractors. Assistant City Administrator Olson added that the Clerk brings these matters to their attention. 5. ADM 2008 -11— FY08 /09 Budget City Administrator McLaughlin asked to move this item to the end of the agenda. Chairperson Munns agreed. 6. ADM 2008 -12 — Draft Ordinance Amending City Code regarding Participation of Alderman by Video or Audio Conference Attorney Orr stated that the City had an ordinance in place that allowed participation via telephone. This draft ordinance includes state legislation regarding this matter. The majority of those in attendance at the meeting have to approve the participation. There are no limits as to the number of times this can occur. Discussion took place regarding this matter. It was determined that the ordinance would move forward as drafted and if there are problems in the future, it will be brought back to include a limit. Committeeman Golinski asked that a listing of Committeeman names, including their vote (ayes and nays) be included at the bottom of ordinances. Attorney Orr will change the format. With no further discussion, this item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 7. ADM 2008 -13 — Indemnification Ordinance Attorney Orr stated that while reviewing current ordinances, she noted there was no ordinance regarding indemnification. It is necessary to have this in place. Attorney Orr stated that Council members would be covered when acting on behalf of the City even if it occurs outside of City Hall, however, written commentary would not be included. Attorney Orr stated she would change the format as stated in the previous item. 2 3 City Administrator McLaughlin stated that section 1.6.10a should be changed to state "elected or appointed"; additionally item C should be corrected to state "defense of such ". Once the changes are made, this item will be moved to the Consent Agenda. 8. ADM 2008 -14 — Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Cooperative Finance Director Mika stated that the City joined a Co -Op last year. This matter is ready to go to bid and she is requesting that the Council give authority to City Administrator McLaughlin or herself to move forward. Mayor Burd asked if Assistant City Administrator Olson looked into the information that she sent him, to which he replied that he did. This item will be moved to the Consent Agenda. OLD BUSINESS: 1. ADM 2007 -86 — Plan Commission Roster Composition Committeeman Golinski stated that all surrounding communities have limits and residency requirements for their Plan Commission. Sugar Grove, however, has 1 non - resident as a member but the Chairman is required to be a resident. It was noted that the Human Resources Committee and Parks Board members must all be residents. Attorney Orr stated that the Attorney General's opinion regarding this matter is that state statute says the authority to make these decisions is that of the City Mayor's, not the City Council's where statutory authorization is in place. Mayor Burd added that she feels she needs to safeguard this j authorization to be sure that she does not take away any of the responsibilities for future Mayors. Councilman Golinski stated that he disagrees in that the Mayor would still make the appointments, he is simply asking that the qualifications be changed. He feels that City Council has the right to alter or abolish the duties. Attorney Orr will look into this matter. After lengthy discussion regarding other towns regulations and the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, it was determined that the City could set forth guidelines regarding a preference for residents. Attorney Orr will amend the ordinance to match state code. This item will be brought back to the next agenda for further discussion. 2. ADM 2008 -06 — Foundation for Senior Community Center Discussion Attorney Orr stated that there is a 2 -step process for starting a foundation. First you must apply for a non - for -profit organization through the state by applying to the IRS to achieve tax exemption status. Typically, libraries and schools have foundation status. Attorney Orr cautions that if the foundation is set up adjunct to the City and then popularity wanes, the City is still responsible for the foundation. Additionally, other groups could 3 4 come forward and request the same considerations. The next step is to file tax returns for 3 years at which time you are on probation. Then, approval may be granted. She suggests that another group besides the City start the foundation and the City simply contribute to it. Attorney Orr stated that the initial cost for start-up would be $3000 -$5000 in time alone. Then there would be costs involved in starting up the organization, as they would need seed money. After discussion regarding the cost involved, it was determined that Committeeman Spears would research how Geneva and Batavia started their foundations. It was also determined that this item would be tabled until such time as Committeeman Spears wishes to bring it forth again. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS: Committeeman Golinski — None Committeeman Werderich — None Committeeman Spears —None j I Chairperson Munns — RETURN TO NEW BUSINESS ITEM #5 — ADM 2008 -11 FY08 /09 Budget: City Administrator McLaughlin distributed a schedule for the budget review /approval process. The budget must be approved by May 1, 2008. City dministrator McLaughlin stated that the General Fund is being Y 8b g reviewed now; the remainder will be reviewed in March. He met with each Department Director to discuss revenue shortfalls in order to try to meet economic realities. Additional staff requests will be added separately at a later time. City Administrator McLaughlin stated that the Parks Department has a larger gap; therefore, Dave has asked to bring his budget back to his staff for review. Also, the Water /Sewer and MFT budgets go to the Public Works Committee for review, however, they can also come to this committee for review if that is requested. He noted that there has been a request for better description of employee packages by department so that it can be compared each year. Additionally, there are footnotes explaining increases to the budget. The following discussion took place: • Garbage has been moved to the General Fund. • Treasurer Powell distributed a memo regarding his concerns with the proposed budget. He stated there is a $1.27 million difference 4 5 between revenue and expense. City Administrator McLaughlin stated that difference is not accurate and that he feels that revenues will meet or beat expenses. Lastly, the revenues will lag past April 30 due to a delay in Springfield. o If the budget is approved as is, the fund balance reserve would be 25% or possibly higher. o Capitol has been moved out of the General Fund and placed in Citywide Capitol. o City Administrator McLaughlin would like to keep employee raises at 3% for COLA and 2% based upon work performance. He noted that poor performers don't always deserve the COLA increase, therefore, that too would be based upon performance reviews. The Committee feels that raises should be calculated at 4% and that City Administrator McLaughlin should distribute raises as he sees fit. An adjustment will be made to the budget to reflect this decision. o Discussion took place regarding sales tax from large companies such as FE Wheaton, Kohl's and Home Depot. o The Water /Sewer Superintendent's salary is split between the 2 j department budgets. o A Mechanic position remained open after an employee left. o Finance Director Mika is preparing a budget book that will include the number of positions in each department. o On page 5, Committeeman Spears noted that legal fees have increased 41 %. It was noted that the comparison is from the original budget. That figure was adjusted, however, the City has still exceeded the new budget figure of $180,000.00. o With regards to salary changes, City Administrator McLaughlin noted the following: o There was an MWII position that was not budgeted for the entire year. o There was an Engineer position where the employee works mostly in Water /Sewer. o There were 4 new Police Officer positions not budgeted for the entire year. o There was a Planner hired at a cost under the original budget figure in Community Development. o There was a Secretary moved to Community Development. o Administration and Community Relations could be split, however, you would not be able to see the comparison from FY07 /08. o On page 1, there is a discrepancy in the budget figure for Community Relations as page 12 shows that same figure but the numbers are reversed. Finance Director Mika will look into this matter. o Garbage for seniors will remain at a discount rate of $1.00 as many seniors are on a fixed income. At the present time there are 416 j � 5 6 households that get the discount. This item may be looked at in the future. o Cellular phone rates have increased. City Administrator McLaughlin and Chief Martin have Blackberry phones which are at a higher rate. o With regards to Travel / Meals on page 6, City Administrator McLaughlin and Assistant City Administrator Olson will opt out of the National Conference to save funds. Additionally, Deputy Clerk Pickering and Assistant City Administrator Olson will opt out of the IML Conference for additional savings. o Discussion took place regarding the $2000.00 for the Senior Polka Party. Finance Director Mika cannot locate any paperwork regarding this matter but offered to cut a check if asked to do so. Committeeman Spears will try to get documentation regarding the date, etc. to support that. o With regards to the Council Chambers renovations, the funds are for upgrades to audio /visual equipment and chairs. Mayor Burd noted that meetings could be held at the Library but it should be noted that they close at 8:30 p.m. It was proposed that this item be cut from the budget. o On page 10, the Parks and Recreation transfer has been changed from $1,228,233 to $1,243,233. o On page 13, the $1100 for misc. items is promotional items. o On page 13, the part-time help is for typing, graphics, and press releases of the newsletter, flyers, website, employee newsletter and event preparation. o Theatre in the Park is listed twice due to costs for advertising and costs for holding the event. o Art in City Hall costs are for publishing and advertising the event. o The newsletter is sent out quarterly. It is getting larger which also costs more. It is well liked amongst the public. o The cost for Holiday under the Stars is estimated at $12,000.00, however, there is also $12,500.00 listed in revenue for the event. Committeeman Spears suggests having Boy Scouts or other community groups man the booths and split the revenue with them. o On page 14, cellular phone costs are increased by 63% to allow for the purchase of new Nextel cellular phones equipped with cameras. This allows staff to take photos in the field and send them into the office or to contractors, etc. It is a beneficial work process. The cost for the phones is $250.00, which includes a credit for trading in the old phones. All staff members should be reminded to use the direct connect feature as much as possible to keep usage costs down. o With regards to new hires in the Police Department, Committeeman Spears would like to keep at least 2 new Police Officers in the budget to keep up with the growing population, growing crime and wider territory. She states that other 6 7 communities have a lot more officers even though their square mileage is not as large. If they are added into the budget, the costs for psychological testing, training, recruitment, and lab fees will also need to be added back to the budget. Chief Martin wanted to remind the Committee that there would be a new school and a new freshman campus. While the school does not contribute to the officer's salary, there was a grant a few years ago to help out. At this time, there is an agreement between the City and the school that the school property could be used for Community events in exchange for officers being placed in the schools. Lastly, he stated that there are 81 square miles of students that attend Yorkville schools. With the addition of the new school, it was suggested that the Police Department be allowed to keep 2 new Police Officer positions in the budget at this time and revisit this issue at a later date with regards to the other 2 Police Officer positions. Chief Martin stated that they would not hire until August so the budget should reflect a partial year of salary and benefits. o The Police Commission budget is increased by 30% due to testing for Lieutenant, Sergeant and Police Officer. At this time, the department is conducting testing approximately every 8 months for Police Officers. The last eligibility list had 44 candidates on it. The department was only able to hire 4 of those people. There is a large cost associated with this process. o The only cost for the gun range is $1000 as the cost of ammunition has increased by 5% or $1.00 for a box of 20 rounds. Additionally, the department is in good shape now with - regards to stock. o The cost of a tazer gun is $450.00. The department has 4 of them. o In Community Development, other supplies are those that are out of the scope of office supplies. The $8000 is sufficient. Chief Martin stated that the Police Department's budget for this line item is over $15,000. o In the Street Department it was noted that mosquito abatement is expensive. Mayor Burd added that if 5 or more people attend a township meeting and request mosquito control, the township has to provide it at no charge. o On page 22, it was noted that there is no budget for traffic control signals. This item was moved to Citywide Capitol. o On page 6, the cost of the website maintenance has been moved to Community Relations. o The $250,000 deficit will be higher due to the addition of new positions. o With regards to the Police Capitol account, City Administrator McLaughlin and Chief Martin agree on this matter. Chief Martin explained that the only capitol funding the department gets is for new development and new cars or equipment. o With regards to Citywide Capitol, the following discussion took place: 7 8 o Rob Roy Falls traffic signal is listed at $150,000. It is a 4- way signal. It is believed that the cost will be split 50150 with the developer and is capped at a cost of $150,000. o The issue of lead contamination at Downtown Brownfield may be resolved by moving the soil. City Administrator McLaughlin stated that revenues from grants would meet this expense. o With regards to road reconstruction, if the revenue is not there, the City will not complete the work on these roads. The roads that should receive priority are McHugh, Kennedy and Palmer Ct. o Mayor Burd suggests that the City wean itself from the dependence on permit fees, as eventually those fees will be cut back. By doing so will put the City in a much healthier financial position. ADJOURNMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING: With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m. i Minutes respectfully submitted by Margaret M. Hartigan. I I I I 8 PLEASE SIGN IN MEETING: DATE: NAME BUSINESS PHONE # i i I � i I'