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Admin Committee Minutes 2005 10-06-05 Page 1 of 6 APPROVED 11/3/05 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2005 6:30 PM City Hall Conference Room CITY OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Art Prochaska (7- 7:30pm) Alderman Paul James Treasurer Bill Powell Alderwoman Valerie Burd Benefits Specialist, Denise Kasper Alderwoman Rose Spears Finance Director Traci Pleckham Alderwoman Wanda Ohare GUEST: Joe Besco, Alderman The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Chairman Paul James. PRESENTATION: None OLD BUSINESS: 1. Minutes for Approval/Correction: August 4, 2005 (revised) and September], 2005 The corrections were made to the August 4 minutes and both sets were approved as submitted. 2. Salary Survey: Mayor, Aldermen, Clerk and Treasurer Ms. Pleckham said that it had been difficult for Bart Olson to obtain new salary information from other towns as it was hard to relate all towns in the same way. The committee members were directed to refer to the salary survey from November 2004 that Mr. Olson had compiled. Chairman James said he was satisfied with the current salaries, however, it will be moved to the October 18th C.O.W. upon Ms. Spears' suggestion. This will allow input from all other Council members before a final decision is made. Treasurer Powell asked if a decision had been made on whether the Treasurer would be an elected position. It will be an elected position along with the office of the Clerk. He thought that Administrator Graff had found information that did not require an election until the population reached 100,000. However, Ms. Pleckham noted that specific document had not been found. It was also stated that there was no consistency about this requirement for neighboring towns i i Page 2 of 6 Mr. Powell said he did not think a Treasurer was needed since the staff could fulfill the duties. It was discussed whether State Statute required a Treasurer. After some thought, Mr. Powell said since the Statutes require Treasurer's and monthly reports, the position must be kept. Alderwoman Burd said the Statute says a Treasurer is needed when the population is over 10,000 and that it must be an elected position. Alderwoman Spears suggested contacting a municipal attorney for a final determination. 3. Audit Update Ms. Pleckham reported that she spoke with the auditors and a draft of the audit is expected in the next - one - and -a -half weeks. She said the City filed for an extension since the deadline for the State is October 31 She did so to comply with time requirements. and she said this is a formality with no ramifications for the extension. Due to the extension request, Alderman James noted that the audit will not be able to be presented until November. Ms. Pleckham said that she would like to bring it to the November 1 St C.O.W. meeting if it is completed and present it before the Council. She also said she must write a management letter showing the trends. The audit structure has changed for different fund types resulting in a more in -depth report and the audit will have a different appearance due to GASBY requirements. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Quarterly Department Vehicle Reports Alderman Spears noted that a previous request had been made for uniformity on these reports. The Engineering Department will be asked to re- submit their report in the standard format. It was noticed by Alderwoman Ohare that the Police Department did not provide detail of any vehicle maintenance. However, Alderman James and Alderwoman Spears said that they concentrate more on the mileage and view these reports as a tool to determine when vehicles need to be replaced. A recommendation was made by Joe Besco to install hour meters on City vehicles to measure engine idle time. He noted that squad cars and sewer trucks could potentially have many hours where the engines are running, but not many actual miles. He added that the meters are very inexpensive and are mounted in the dash. Mr. Besco will talk with Eric Dhuse about the installation. i After more discussion, the committee decided that only major repairs should be noted on the vehicle reports and this detail will begin with future reports. This item will be brought back to the Administration committee in November. Discussion of the hour meters will be moved to the Public Works Committee. 2. Monthly Budget Reports for August 2005 The revenues are on track at 35% and the expenses are reported at 18 %. Alderman James asked if the City is still on track with the projections of building permits and revenue received. Ms. Pleckham suggesting looking at the capital accounts with development Page 3 of 6 fees and to note the percentage of the fees received. She said the permits would increase in the Spring. Other items discussed from this report: 1. Ms. Spears questioned the "Miscellaneous Income" on page 19 of the budget report. This was revenue just received from a grant from 1998. She also complimented Mr. Powell on the investments and the interest rate being earned. 2. The negative $14,000 shown on page 2 is switching revenue to the correct fund. 3. Page 3 Legal Services, up 53 %: fees for labor and in -house attorneys. Ms. Pleckham will research what the actual services provided were. 4. Ms. Pleckham will ask department heads to provide greater detail for their budgets. This would also assist with the next budget. 5. Page 28, Engineering General Services up 119 %. Some of these costs may be recapturable from development fees. 6. Page 36, Sewer Maintenance, Contractual Services up 143 %. An outside agency was needed for repairs. The part time expense was up 104 %, however, that is seasonal help. 7. Page 41, Capital Outlay for Whispering Hills, up 345 %. It was thought that a grant had been received for the park. 8. Page 53, Operations, Builder Development Fees up 127 %. This is partially for Library architect fees. 9. Page 55, Administration fees up 517% in expenses. This was regarding fees paid from MFT for Fox Industrial 3. Monthly Treasurer's Report for August 2005 Treasurer Powell noted that the "Transfer" of $31,189.68 will be completed in September and the amount will be "a wash" at that point. The combined Fund Balance is currently at 28 %. Ms. Ohare asked how the current figures compare to one year ago. It is hoped that this information will be added in the future by adding columns for "last month" and "last year ". Mr. Powell also said he would like to track the min/max balances on a monthly basis and increase interest rates by investing money from savings into a short term CD. He said he may use the "CDRS" program that would allow the funds to remain liquid, but earn higher interest rates. In addition, collateralization would disappear. This item will move forward to C.O.W. on the consent agenda. 4. Annual Treasurer's Reports Ms. Pleckham said this report correlates with the audit and she gave an overview of the report. She noted that Special Revenue" is up due to the Countryside TIF. Mr. Powell noted that the money on this report is not "Fund Balance Reserve ", but rather the money not spent over the course of the year in all the Fund Balances. Page 4 of 6 This report must be published before November 1 St and Ms. Pleckham recommended moving it to C.O.W. on the non - consent agenda. Discussion turned to the salary and benefits for the attorneys. Mayor Prochaska said that Attorney Wyeth receives the same benefits as Attorney Kramer. Ms. Spears stated that a copy of the attorney contract had previously been requested and asked if that was available. The Mayor said there is an agreement rather than a contract and Ms. Burd said there should be a firm contract. It was also noted that the hours worked by the attorney were going to be tracked to determine how many hours were actually worked. Attorney Wyeth is now also tracking those hours. Alderwoman Burd said that the $9,000 salary in the City Code is misleading for the taxpayers since he is also paid $150 per hour in addition. The salary is mainly for meeting attendance and some of the money paid to him is from developer fees. Attorney Wyeth will bring a report to the November or December meeting regarding the hours worked. At that time, there will be further discussion. The Treasurer's report will be moved to C.O.W. S. Tuition Policy Two documents presented at the meeting summarized Bart Olson's research regarding tuition reimbursement. His first memo identified six topics of discussion from previous meetings and he also presented comments regarding those topics. His second memo contained a chart summarizing the tuition policies for towns he surveyed for information. Alderwoman Spears said that other benefits provided by other towns should be examined as well when considering the tuition policies. Mr. James said the question that should be asked is whether or not the City wants to pay for education and how much. Ms. Burd added that the education should benefit the job. It was suggested that a column be added (on the chart showing job titles and salaries) that would suggest the maximum education that would be reimbursed for that job. After much discussion it was agreed that the City could pay for a degree that is one step beyond the required education for a given position. Master's Degrees would be reimbursed for department heads only. It was also decided to omit certifications from the reimbursement policy. Any exceptions must come before City Council. It was suggested that any exception should benefit the City as well and be directly related to the employee's current job. It was also agreed that the degree sought should be relevant to the position. If an employee desires an Associate Degree, it was noted that this is more general and the City should not specify the course of education. The committee decided that applicable books would not be reimbursed. It was also decided that there would not be a 2% increase upon receiving a degree. This item will be removed from the current policy. The current policy will not be changed for any employee currently enrolled in classes. i I Page 5 of 6 Alderwoman Burd suggested the employees should choose the most cost - effective schools when enrolling in classes. After more discussion it was decided to specify the reimbursible amount be equal to or less than that of U. of I. Any greater cost would be paid by the employee. It was also noted that occasionally a class may only be offered during the day. The policy will be revised and brought back to the November Administration meeting. 6. Schoppe Design Associates Scope of Service Proposal for McKenna Property 7. Schoppe Design Associates Scope of Service Proposal for Conover /Fisher Property Ms. Pleckham said the City would not be paying for these services, but that the property owners would. Schoppe Design wants to ascertain that the City is aware that these projects are being done by Schoppe and that there is no conflict of interest. It was decided that it would be more ethical to have someone else review these plans for the Plan Commission when Schoppe does the design work. Attorney Wyeth will be consulted for his legal opinion and this matter will be brought back to the Administration Committee and then moved to C.O.W. if there is a reason to do so. 8. Bristol Bay SSA Resolution Declaring Official Intent Chairman James noted that when the Council approved the PUD, the SSA was also approved and this resolution is a formality. This resolution will move to C.O.W. for discussion. 9. Raintree Village II SSA Establishing and Bond Ordinance This is a proposing ordinance and does not contain the establishing and bond ordinance. Committee members noted that the bond ordinance need not be included each time since they are always the same except for the dollar amount. This item moves to C.O.W. 10. Rob Roy Creek Bond Ordinance Ms. Pleckham said this is an alternate revenue bond not to exceed $12 million and the bond sale is scheduled for October 25 She hopes to have the detail of revenue streams available at the next C.O.W. This ordinance moves to the next C.O.W. for discussion. 11. Nextel Second Line Option Some staff members had requested a second line on their Nextel phones to be used as personal lines so that they would not need to carry two phones. The City does not have to be locked into a contract and there is no cost to the City. It was questioned whether the time spent on personal calls is tracked. If a supervisor finds abuse, it will be suggested that the employee obtain their own phone. i i Page 6 of 6 This will move forward to C.O.W. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS: Alderwoman Spears asked if a survey could be done detailing what benefits are offered (such as types of insurance, cars, retirement etc.) and the percent paid by other municipalities. A policy for historic preservation was requested by Alderwoman Burd. It was recommended to have that discussed at EDC. The historic street naming policy will be discussed at Administration next month. Glory Spies will be asked to attend and Ms. Spears said that Human Resource committee members would also want to be present for discussion. As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker