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Admin Committee Minutes 2004 05-13-04 Page 1 of 7 APPROVED WITH REVISIONS 6/10/04 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2004 6:30 PM City Hall Conference Room In Attendance: Alderman Paul James Chief Harold Martin Alderman Larry Kot City Administrator Tony Graff Mayor Art Prochaska (arrived 6:50pm) City Treasurer Bill Powell Guests: Drs. Tim and Victoria McGrath, McGrath Consulting Barbara Chevalier, Speer Financial, Inc. The meeting was called to order at 6:35pm by Chairman Paul James. PRESENTATION Victoria McGrath o McGrath Consulting 1. Job Description Presentation by /' g Drs. Tim and Victoria McGrath gave a half hour presentation regarding a Strategic Plan they formulated for the City of Yorkville. Dr. Tim McGrath stated that he recently completed a study for the Bristol- Kendall Fire Protection to determine future station location and impact fees. He then gave an overview of his credentials and background. The presentation was turned over to Dr. Victoria McGrath. Ms. McGrath shared her multi - faceted background and credentials with the committee also. A review of their proposal was then discussed. Ms. McGrath stated that she had met Alderwoman Spears last year and they briefly talked about Yorkville's strategic plan and performance evaluations. Ms. McGrath also met with Laura Brown prior to this meeting. A handout of McGrath Consulting's Strategic plan was given to the committee members. Dr. Victoria McGrath explained the major phases and the steps to accomplish each: 1. S.W.O.T. analysis, i.e. determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and decide on future goals, purpose -- prioritize -- determine direction 2. Formulate mission statement - -work with department heads to develop i -- develop long/short range projects Page 2 of 7 3. Determine necessary accomplishments and "how to get there" - -set long/short range plans -- develop strategies to get there - -what is object, who will do? -- financial impact An additional service the McGrath's could provide is development of performance evaluations. They would develop a plan to hold employees accountable for job performance, develop a communication plan and hold employee meetings to establish communication. Department heads would also be instructed how to mentor and provide guidance to employees. Dr. Tim McGrath stated that the ultimate goal is what the City wants, taking into consideration, recommendations from department heads. Alderman James said he felt the City has a very good comprehensive plan, however, the City has no Human Resources Department at this time. He feels it is important to focus on how the staff will implement the plans to make sure everyone is heading in the right direction. Alderman James would like the department heads to do the S.W.O.T. analysis with Council members as observers. Alderman Kot said that 2 months ago, goals and objectives were established. He asked how that process was different from the procedure the McGrath's proposed. Dr. Tim McGrath replied they want to insure all involved clearly understand the goals and objectives. An example given by Dr. Victoria McGrath illustrated how people have different ideas of the definition of "controlled growth ". Both Mr. Graff and Mr. James agreed that the City Council is not present for the day -to- day operations of the City and that it is important for the staff to know the Council approves of the long -range plans. Mr. Graff feels that the staff is now reactive rather than proactive due to daily stresses, challenges and being overworked. He further stated the staff works very well with Mayor Prochaska and now the next step of good communication is needed. The discussion turned to job descriptions. Ms. McGrath said the present job descriptions were good, however, ADA requirements were missing. She recommended changing the list of job duties to job expectations, i.e., expectation: superior customer service. The example of behavior to achieve that is: answer the phone by the third ring. By changing to expectations it empowers employees to make decisions to meet City objectives. Alderman James asked if the McGrath's would be evaluating the salary structure. Ms. McGrath would review the salary structure, but would not change the salaries. She also recommended meeting with employees and asking for their input on compensation and evaluations. Further, she recommended evaluation forms be reviewed every two years. Page 3 of 7 Dr. McGrath felt the evaluation number rating system should be replaced with "met /exceeded ". Cross training was also recommended. Administrator Graff asked if the McGrath's could provide reports of other plans they have completed, to show to the Council. They will provide these. Mr. Graff reported that Greg Kuhn of the PAR Group would give a presentation at the June I& meeting. The Administration Committee will then make a recommendation to the Committee of the Whole. Mayor Prochaska left the meeting at 7:30pm. 2. Water Works System (Financial Analysis) Presentation by Sneer Financial Overview: Administrator Graff stated the City Finance Director Traci Pleckham had requested Speer Financial to formulate a suggested financial plan regarding radium compliance. This plan would be an alternative to an IEPA loan. The City would not know their loan eligibility for 6 -9 months. The availability of the money is also in question. The City staff is recommending the Debt Service Schedule, rather than risking eligibility for the IEPA loan. The 25 -year back weighted plan is- favored so that the current water rate can be maintained and new growth can pay the debt. Ms. Chevalier of Speer Financial presented a handout detailing the various financial options. Alderman James asked if interest only could be paid. He also asked if the IEPA loan could be applied for as well. Administrator Graff replied that the City would not apply for both. Mr. James suggested paying off the Debt Service Schedule with the IEPA loan if the loan was applied for and approved. However, Ms. Chevalier stated there would be a penalty for an earlier call for the Debt Service Schedule and that this suggestion should be discussed with the City Engineer to verify if the EPA would even allow this procedure. Administrator Graff felt the IEPA loan would be denied if the other plan were already in place. Administrator Graff stated he prefers the IEPA loan. But, he explained there would be a delay of 7 -8 months before the loan decision would be known, the City would not be compliant until 2007 and no water increase would be incurred with the IEPA loan. The uncertainty of the EPA loan process stems from a combination of many applicants and Yorkville's higher ability to pay. There are 20 -30 projects pending for this year and there was $50 million available last year. Yorkville has uncertain eligibility at this time, however, in November the City will be compliant due to new wells being dug and will then have the ability to serve a 10,000 population. Page 4 of 7 Treasurer Powell estimated there is less than a 50% chance of obtaining the EPA loan. He recommended moving forward with the plan presented by Speer Financial to save $300,000 over the life of the bond. He recommended a 5 -year callable rather than a 7 year callable loan. Alderman James felt that a decision should not be made by this committee and that it should be forwarded to C.O.W. with a recommendation. It was noted by Mr. Graff that since Yorkville now has a bond rating, the State would view that as having the ability to pay, while more rural areas would be viewed as having a greater need for the loan money. After much more discussion, Alderman James summarized that the committee must either make the decision to proceed now or wait until November and then determine financing if the EPA loan is not available. He suggested finding out how many other towns this size were also seeking the loan and their funding capability. Administrator Graff will go on -line to get this information. Ms. Chevalier was asked to provide a further breakdown showing 3, 4 and 5 -year interest programs and provide them to Traci Pleckham. This item will be placed on the C.O.W. agenda for Tuesday night. OLD BUSINESS 1. Minutes for Anoroval/Correction: April 8.2004 Alderman James would like to use a master binder to incorporate minutes, which can then be reviewed by each committee member prior to the next meeting. Each member would do a red -line markup or make comments /corrections on the master copy. A due date for all comments would be specified. Mr. Graff will implement this process. 2. Monthly Updates a. Planning Coordinator's Fees Spreadsheet In the previous meeting, the 17 hours of time for reports was questioned. Administrator Graff spoke with Bill Dettmer who stated there were numerous requests for variances and inquiries about zoning. It was determined that Anna Kurtzman had been asked to do more administrative duties and she is paid $75 per hour for her services. In the future, Bill Dettmer will be addressing many of the issues Ms. Kurtzman was being asked to review. The remaining monthly updates items were then addressed as a whole. I Alderman Kot asked if it was necessary for this committee to address the vehicle reports since Public Safety already does this review. Administrator Graff stated that the I I �I Vehicle Policy states that all vehicle reports would be brought to the Administration Committee. Page 5 of 7 Discussion turned to delinquent water reports. Administrator Graff reported that such a list had not been done in a while. He further stated that there was some discussion that reporting of such names in a public meeting might not be proper. Many delinquent accounts have been shut off and in the future, landlords will be required to pay before a new tenant moves in. Mr. Powell reported that he had met with Traci Pleckham and Kelly Kramer regarding overdue bills and proposed ordinance changes. This item will be reviewed at a later time. Past due invoices for developers were discussed next. Mr. Graff stated that when plats are coming before City Council, they can be excluded from the agenda if invoices have not been paid after a follow -up notice has been sent. The Past Due Invoices Worksheet is used to track delinquent invoices. This procedure also helps to send a message to future developers. In addition, occupancy permits can be withheld for non - payment. 3. Nextel Phone Service — Direct Connect Only Plan City Administrator Graff recently met with the Mayor and department heads and did an analysis of job functions for potential phone service. Two test questions were reviewed to determine if a city employee needed a phone: 1. Does the department head need to communicate with field people? 2. Is the employee on -call such as a public safety employee? It was determined that 54 phones were needed. With Direct Connect, a government plan would allow minutes to be shared on the cell phones. The following phone plans are recommended for purchase: 27 Nextel National 600 at $44.99 and 27 of the $13.50 plan using direct connect. Voice mail and caller ID are extra charges, but are only needed on the cell phone plans, not on the direct connect. Ten employees will have direct connect and 17 will be sharing the cell plan. Chief Martin stated each officer will be assigned a phone with a cell phone package and will no longer need a pager. The pagers cost $5 -6 a month. The new employee manual states if that if phone use is abused, an employee may be required to pay the costs and/or receive disciplinary action. Monthly reports provide detail of calls, which Traci Pleckham will review and then report any calls outside of the norm. This would be reported to the department head. Mr. Graff reported $37,000 was budgeted for this year and the cost would be $23,000 for Nextel. He will prepare a revised report factoring in the cost savings if pagers are no longer used. Chief Martin added that the new phones display the number of minutes being used. Page 6 of 7 4. Historical Street Naming Program Alderman Kot said he felt when part of a name was used, that individual has been honored and the remainder of the name should be removed from the list. Chief Martin reported that the Human Resources Committee felt the rest of the name should remain active. In a past Administration meeting, it was decided that only the part of a name used, should be eliminated, not the entire name. Postcards are currently sent to notify those who have streets named after them, however, Alderman Kot suggested sending a computer - generated certificate. This item will be reviewed again at the next meeting. NEW BUSINESS 1. GiAlGrant Policv Mr. James reported he was unable to find any information on the internet regarding grant policies. He suggested that a policy be drafted and discussed at the next meeting. It was suggested that the policy address the "return" to the City. Alderman Kot cautioned against using money from the general fund. 2 Meeting Note Transcribers Procedures This agenda item originated from Alderwoman Rose Spears (who was absent at this meeting). Mr. Graff asked City Clerk Jackie Milschewski about this issue who stated there were some minutes overdue from previous meetings. The Clerk has spoken with the minute taker in question and has given a due date for the minutes. Mr. James suggested putting comments regarding this issue on the master copy of the minutes discussed earlier in the meeting. It was discussed whether a statute was in effect regarding the turnaround time for minutes. Ms. Milschewksi will develop a written policy for minute takers and Alderman Kot asked for a copy of the written policy as well. This item will be reviewed next month. 3. C. H. Schrader & Associates Contract for Grant Research Consulting Services A renewal contract for this agency was presented. It was noted that one $75,000 grant was obtained by C. H. Schrader and Associates. Ms. Ross -Stuart has been asked to meet with City personnel to map out a 5 -year plan and how to apply for grants. Her expertise is in parks and her presence could be instrumental with the possible acquisition of the Boy Scout Camp. She is scheduled to attend the next department head meeting. She is currently pursuing a $1.8 million grant for a forest preserve. $800,000 will be added to that amount due to her efforts. Mr. Graff recommended retaining this agency. This item will be moved to C.O.W. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS Administrator Graff reported that Chief Martin is investigating a citywide donated sick time policy with the expertise of a labor attorney. Collective bargaining must also be considered. A draft should be completed for the upcoming Mayor's report. Employees could donate to a "pool" from which an eligible employee could request time. Page 7 of 7 In additional business, Alderman Kot stated that due to a change in the Administration committee, some of the policies be reviewed for "gray" areas and questions on expenditures should not be just discussed, but also acted upon. Mr. Graff asked how much narrative should be in the budget concerning expenditures. Alderman James suggested the training policy will be reviewed at the next meeting, however, Mr. Kot felt that training issues for the Police Department could be discussed at Public Safety. Chief Martin noted that D.A.R.E. training is now held in Indiana or Missouri. He further stated that some of the officers involved in past out -of -state training have paid part of their costs, such as transportation. Alderman James nominated Wanda Ohare as vice chair of this committee. There was discussion of whether or not this position could be filled by someone other than an alderman. This issue will be reviewed next month after checking statutes concerning these positions. Mr. Graff asked if the committee was ready for an update on the fund balance policy. Mr. Powell replied there were still questions which need to be addressed. As there was no additional business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20pm I Respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker I I