Admin Committee Minutes 2004 06-10-04 Page 1 of 7
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APPROVED WITH CORRECTIONS 718104
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2004 6:30 PM
City Hall Conference Room
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT:
Alderman Paul James
Alderman Larry Kot
Mayor Art Prochaska (left meeting at 6:40pm)
Alderwoman Wanda Ohare
Alderman Joe Besco
City Treasurer Bill Powell
OTHER CITY STAFF PRESENT:
City Administrator, Tony Graff
Yorkville P61ice Department, Lt. Don Schwartzkopf
Finance Director, Traci Pleckham (6:45)
GUESTS: None
The meeting was called to order at 6:34pm by Chairman Paul James.
STRATEGIC PLANNING PRESENTATION BYPAR GROUP
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This presentation was cancelled.
Alderman James made an announcement that the City would be sponsoring one of the
tickets in conjunction with the Economic Development, so this item will appear on the
bill list in the amount of $350. Mayor Prochaska added that this is away to invite
commercial developers to the City and that the City is a member of Economic
Development. A suggestion was made by Alderwoman Ohare that this item should be
addressed as part of the donation policy.
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OLD BUSINESS
1. Minutes for Approval/Correction: May 13, 2004
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Alderman James asked to have his comments regarding the truck traffic removed from
the minutes.
2. Monthly Updates:
These items were grouped together for discussion.
Anna Kurtzman's hours and duties were reviewed. In a previous meeting, there was
discussion concerning her 25 hours of administration time in one month. It was
discovered that other City staff had asked her to perform clerical duties, which is outside
her scope of duties. That situation has been corrected.
The Credited Payments Worksheet was discussed next. It was suggested that a minimum
balance be maintained as these dollars are subtracted as city services are used. A
minimum balance amount is dependent on the progress of the development. Money is
added to the balance at various times. Mr. Graff noted that a minimum of $5,000 must
be kept (by ordinance) for legal matters and a $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 balance is kept
depending on the acreage of the development. Legal balances may drop to $1,000 when
a final plat is finished. Jennifer Woodrick monitors these amounts. It was noted that
some of the balances were from 2002. One of those was from Alan Norton/Cannonball
Estates who claimed some of the services were not his, but were a contractor's balance.
This is being resolved.
A report will be generated reporting the number of hits to the city website. Ms. Pleckham
is still working on this.
There was discussion as to which committee should review the vehicle reports. They
currently are given to the Public Safety committee and in the future will be presented at
the Administration committee meeting.
The Project Financial Worksheet was reviewed next. It is primarily a tool for the
Engineering Department and Clerk's Office and is a check and balance sheet to insure all
fees are being paid. A final plat is not recorded until all fees are current and the Clerk's
office makes sure all fees are paid before the plat is placed on the Council agenda. Non-
payment results in being pulled from the agenda. Mr. Powell added that there are 2 parts
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to this fee worksheet: 1) to monitor payments by the developer for the buildout and 2)
monitors if money is provided for the future.
Building permit fees are not shown on this worksheet. Mr. Powell noted that the
worksheets should help show the amount of money remaining when projects are in the
final phases. He went on to say Yorkville is in a boom time now and the worksheets
should be used for projecting budgets and monitoring the remaining money. Ms.
Pleckham has a program to use this information for accounting and budgeting. Tracking
of all subdivision and capital development fees would also be beneficial according to Mr.
Graff. He also stated that it would be beneficial for this committee to see accounts
payable on this report for budgeting purposes.
Alderman Besco asked where capital purchase money would be obtained if the housing
market declined and the revenue stream stopped. According to Administrator Graff, the
funds would come from sewer, tax and water funds. Daily operation costs are not
dependent on fees at this time.
These monthly updates are for information only and do not move to C.O.W.
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3. Historical Street Naming Program
There was discussion of the use of both a first name and surname in naming streets. The
committee felt that the intent of the program was to use just one portion of the name and
then drop it from the list. Thus, a nominated person would be honored. This item was
brought back to committee to clarify the use of the full name or a portion of the name.
Alderman Kot suggested that if a "gray area" is found, that the name be brought to this
committee for resolution.
Very few names are being received at this time so it will be published in the newsletter
again. This is the procedure used for developing the list.
Mr. Graff said that the policy states that recommendations will go back to Public Works
and then to C.O.W. Then, EDC reviews developers' submittals and would approve.
Alderman Kot concluded that the spirit of this program is to honor an outstanding
individual.
4. C.H. Schrader & Associates Contract or Grant Research Consulting g Services
The contract for the grant writer is up for renewal with the salary for the consultant set at
$14,000. It was noted that a $75,000 grant was secured by the grant writer last year to
help offset the salary. Some grants are still pending. It was noted that some grants
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were applied for by C. H. Schrader and some were applied for by city staff with 20 hours
of City time being utilized. Mr. Graff noted that some of the grants are renewals and are
able to be completed by City staff. Ms. Stuart -Ross of C. H. Schrader is privy to
possible grants during her trips to Springfield and is also working on a grant for $1.2
million for the Boy Scout camp and the Forest Preserve District through Illinois Clean
Energy. These types of grants usually never exceed $250,000.
Alderman James felt there were 2 questions at issue: 1) is the City getting their money's
worth and 2) would the grants be secured without Ms. Ross- Stuart's assistance? Ms.
Pleckham stated that Ms. Ross -Stuart provided the path to the grant and also provided
valuable time that City staff would otherwise have to expend since the research time and
documentation is very time - consuming. It was decided that if city employees discover
potential grants and can easily complete the application, they should do so. City staff
will depend on C.H. Schrader to find new grants. Mr. Graff reported that many grants
available in the past are not available now. The committee would like a progress report
from Ms. Ross -Stuart similar to the one Laura Brown formerly provided.
After lengthy discussion, it was decided that department heads should provide Ms. Ross -
Stuart a list regarding priority funding. The following areas of concentration were
suggested by committee members
1. Public safety /public works
2. Road improvement
3. Storm water management issues
4. Senior citizen issues
5. Arts and cultural grants
Alderman Kot noted that grant money will be forthcoming for county -wide mobile data
terminals. The Board then recommended renewal of a one -year contract.
This item will move forward to C.O.W.
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NEWBUSINESS
1. Tuition Reimbursement — Request by Joe Wywrot
A request for tuition reimbursement was received for Jennifer Woodrick, Engineering
Assistant. The committee discussed whether the City should pay for all classes needed
towards a degree or just those directly related to her job description. Her current job
duties were discussed and it was noted that her salary would increase by 2% when she
received a Bachelor's degree. It was noted that the Police Department has a policy in
place which provides for tuition reimbursement for officers' degrees.
There was discussion of reimbursement if she were to leave her position. Alderman
James stated he would like to see a minimum employment time after receiving a degree.
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It was noted that some companies set a dollar limit per year on tuition. Mr. Graff
suggested a budget review would need to be done each year to account for increases in
tuition. The employee manual would also need to be updated based on the decision of
this committee. Mr. Graff also suggested a selection process of eligible employees
should be implemented before approval and that a limit be set on the number of
employees who could be enrolled in a college program at a given time. It was noted that
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Joe Wywrot's request is for approval of her program and any reimbursement would then
be contingent upon the budget. Mr. Graff added that her first request for reimbursement
was denied since she was still on probation at that time.
In addition, Ms. Woodrick may need to leave work early to attend some classes. This
time is viewed as training time and she would be paid during that time.
After a lengthy discussion, the item was tabled. Ms. Woodrick will be advised that her
request is being considered and the following issues will be revisited at the next meeting:
1. Length of employment required after classes are complete
2. Junior college is recommended for the first 2 years, then completion at state
school where possible
3. Type of degree and required classes are to be specified
4. Number of employees already enrolled in college programs
Mr. Graff will verify the cost of the classes, have the labor attorney review the request
and will forward his findings to the committee prior to the next meeting. Mr. Powell
added that if the full funding is not available, the funding should be prorated on the
amount available and number of employees already enrolled. It was agreed that once the
candidate is approved for the program, there is no need to reapply to the committee.
3. Renewal Contract for EAP (New Contract & Old Contract)
A 4% increase ($1 per employee) is being requested for this contract. The contract is
currently held with Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. Alderman Besco asked if
the City had ever compared prices from other facilities. Administrator Graff said this
program has worked very well and is a good tool in the absence of a Human Resource
coordinator. The program is used for both internal and external employee problems and
also serves elected officials. It was suggested that prices be obtained from Rush Copley
Hospital which Mr. Graff will request. $4500 was budgeted for this year for this EAP.
Provena will honor the present contract until they are notified otherwise and approval of
the present contract was recommended. In the meantime, other quotes will be obtained
and the scope of service compared with other providers. If a more competitive program
can be found, the present contract can be cancelled.
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4. Road Improvement Program —Financing
Administrator Graff stated that short term financing for the initial phases of road
improvement will be needed and long term financing will be needed at a later date.
There was a recommendation to sell debt certificates in the amount of $650,000 to cover
the Speers budget amount. The total for this improvement project is approximately $2.4
to 2.6 million. This amount includes the storm sewer work for this year only. Next year
storm sewer work will be completed south of the river and street work north of the river.
Ms. Pleckham believes this will require two debt certificates. Eventually these two can
be consolidated into one.
Administrator Graff recommended moving forward with debt certificates in the amount
of $650,000. Ms. Pleckham will obtain the schedule which shows the life span of this
project. Engineering has already been completed and the work is slated to begin mid -
July. Alderman Kot asked Adminstrator Graff about the source of revenue for these
projects. The funds will come from new growth, utility taxes and sales tax.
This item will be moved to C.O.W.
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ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
Alderman Kot noted that the 3 ring binders to hold items for review, are now available.
It was decided that since there are many policy issues to be resolved, the committee
would attempt to finalize at least a couple per meeting. Next month the tuition issue,
wearing apparel and gifts /donations will be addressed.
Treasurer Powell gave a reminder that the fund balance policy also needed to be
addressed. He also suggested that the vehicle reports be reviewed quarterly rather than
monthly. This will be discussed next month.
Ms. Pleckham stated that IMRF sent her a notice that a new authorized agent needed to
be appointed. Appointment needs to be made by adoption of a resolution. This item will
move on to C.O.W. The appointee needs to be either Ms. Pleckham or the accounting
clerk.
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Alderman James asked about the cancellation of the first item of the agenda which was
Strategic Management Consulting (Par Group) /Gregory Kuhn. Mr. Kuhn is currently out
of town and would not be able to give a presentation until at least August. Mr. Graff felt
the committee should not wait until that time and recommended McGrath Consulting be
hired for the Human Resources aspect of strategic planning. Victoria McGrath would
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write job descriptions and set up orientations, but the City labor attorney would still
review the descriptions. A Human Resource Coordinator will be hired in November.
However, it was decided that Mr. Graff would speak with Greg Kuhn again and ask him
to give a presentation earlier.
This item will be brought back next month.
As there was no additional business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by
Marlys Young, Minute Taker