Loading...
Admin Committee Minutes 2004 04-08-04 I Page 1 of 11 APPROVED MAY 13 2004 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2004 6:30 PM In Attendance: Alderwoman Valerie Burd Chief Harold Martin Alderwoman Rose Spears Finance Director Traci Pleckham Alderman Paul James City Treasurer Bill Powell City Administrator Tony Graff The meeting was called to order at 6:35pm PRESENTATION None OLD B USINESS 1. Minutes for AvprovaUCorrection: October 9, 2003 and February 12. 2004 The following corrections were noted for the minutes: February 12 minutes: In the "Guest" area, page 1, "Art" should be placed on next line October 9 2003 minutes: page 4 of 13, last full paragraph, "Bart's" last name is Olsen The minutes were then approved. 2. Monthly Updates: a. Planning Coordinator's Fees Spreadsheet The Zoning Coordinator Monthly Report for February was addressed. Alderman James asked if the City paid for the items under "Admin" and about the 17 hours spent on reports. He felt if the 17 hours was reports for the committee, it needs to be re- j evaluated. Ms. Pleckham will look into these hours. In the March 2004 detail for the Zoning Coordinator Monthly Report, the time management note on March 30/31 was questioned by Mr. Powell. Ms. Pleckham will also research this. Mr. James noted that the billable time to the City should be reduced and options for reduction will be explored pending the findings of Mr. Pleckham. This item will be brought back to committee next month Page 2of11 b. Past Due Invoices Worksheet Alderwoman Spears noted that the figures were the same on the February and March invoice worksheet. She liked the format of 'the previous month's report showing the invoice and payment receipt on the bottom of the worksheet. Mr. Powell stated he would like to see all the old reports from 2002 "cleaned up ". This item had been discussed at the previous meeting and it was noted that Norton was no longer in the area. The committee also desired that the report be balanced. This item will come back to committee in May along with the revised worksheet. c. Billing/Accounting Software Alderwoman Spears stated this procedure seemed to be running smoothly. All personnel will be trained at the same time on the software and Police Department personnel will join other City staff for training on the cash drawer according to Finance Director Pleckham. She also stated that Plano and Oswego use this type of software. d. Website Status The meaning of "Unique Visitors" on the Web Site Information report was discussed. Mr. Powell thought it might refer to a first time viewer or that a viewer may have continued to the next page, which can be tracked by email addresses. Ms. Pleckham said she received a letter informing her of a site that can track hit information. It was noted that the site is switching to a Linux server, which is more up to date and makes the site more accessible. e. Revised Project Financial Tracking Worksheet Mr. Powell commented that this is a good worksheet and asked if payments are tracked on this document. Ms. Pleckham stated that the payments are tracked on this worksheet for each development and there is an even more detailed ledger with the same information. Alderman James asked if macros were utilized so that information only needed to be entered once. Ms. Pleckham stated that the program is set up with formulas in Excel. In addition, invoices are kept in the system and manual logs are also maintained. Since the same information is input more than once, Alderman James feels the data entry procedure needs to be changed. Prior to the next committee meeting, Finance Director Pleckham will determine if the data can be entered just once. Treasurer Powell said the computer program, Access, is equipped to do a "query" by various categories. He further stated that Excel can handle this type of information, however, it is more difficult. It was noted by Mr. Powell that one Excel spreadsheet can easily be imported into Access, however, at least one column needs to match if the data is i Page 3 of 11 being imported into more than one report. Alderwoman Burd asked if knowledge of Access is a requirement for new hires. Alderman James suggested bringing in a summer intern familiar with these programs, to set up a system for this procedure and to train employees. It was noted that the Deputy City Clerk uses Access to track ordinances. L Department Vehicle Reports It was noted that mileage totals would be sufficient for these reports to the committee. The high mileage on the car driven by Joe Wyrot was mentioned and there was brief discussion that he would not be re- assigned a vehicle when the present one is due for trade -in. Three vehicles will be added to the police fleet in the 2004 budget — 2 new ones and 1 from the Parks Department. The committee recommended against Crown Victorias due to the recent problems with them. Instead, an Impala and a van will be purchased. Administrator Graff joined the meeting at this time. 3. Review Costs for Handicapped Access to Citv Hall Alderman James suggested that the additional money to install an automatic door was not warranted at this time since the handicapped access requirements are being met. In addition, maintenance costs for the door and electric power for the door would be needed. Alderman Burd stated she had asked for fans to be installed in the Council Chambers 2 years ago and would like to see those installed before the automatic door. Chief Martin stated that reversible fans would be installed in the next few weeks at a cost of $200 -$300 apiece. To conclude this discussion, it was noted that there is a button at the front door, which can be rung for assistance. This rings at both the Police Department and in the other side of City Hall. It was decided to monitor the number of times this button was used before spending money for an automatic door. Alderwoman Burd also suggested that a bench be installed outside the front door for both people waiting for access and for esthetics. This item will be brought back on the July agenda. 4. Nextel Phone Service In a memo to department heads, Finance Director Pleckham proposed converting the present phone plan to a National Team Share Plan at a cost of $37.99 per month rather than $39.99. There are five phones which can be placed on direct connect for emergency situations, without using any cellular minutes. The current plan is no longer offered. Alderwoman Spears handed out a cost comparison of the current and proposed phone plans. I Page 4 of 11 When a city employee dials 9 -1 -1, a direct connect call is first routed to KenCom and KenCom notifies the Police Department. Employees are encouraged to dial 9 -1 -1 (rather than the Police directly) so that the nearest squad is dispatched. Graff noted that there is a 40 cent per minute charge on direct connect cellular calls. Alderwoman Spears favored the direct connect plan and Alderman James added that he felt Eric Dhuse and Laura Brown should be added to this plan. Chief Martin stated that his officers would use the Nextel phones for calling KenCom directly rather than using radio air time. Officers also use phones to make calls directly to family members following accidents and to call other agencies, etc. Nextels can also be used when the radio tower is not functioning. Currently, KenCom does not have Nextel phones. Chief Martin favored all officers have these phones (currently have 8 or 9 phones and need 21). Having the phones helps to keep officers on the street. Additionally, the paging system will be discontinued. Alderman James asked how this phone plan would impact the Parks, Public Works and Engineering. He asked if they could have only the Direct connect and not the phone portion. It was noted that it can take 15 minutes for Engineering to drive to a work site. Additionally, Mike Robinson, who does JULIE locates, may need phone access. Mr. James suggested that city employees who need a phone should be identified and this item be brought back to the committee. Mr. Graff will issue a memo to department heads to determine who needs phone access. New employees would begin with Direct Connect and then be granted more phone privileges as job responsibilities increased. A memo was issued 2 months ago warning employees about using phones for personal long distance calls and it was noted that one employee was dismissed due to abuse of phone privileges. 5. Historical Street Naming Proeram Alderwoman Spears began the discussion by stating the difficulty in nominating and justifying a potential street name honoring a particular individual. This is due to the interview process necessary. It was suggested that more of the responsibility should be placed on the person making the nomination. The nominating person cannot suggest the use of just the first or last name and it was also felt that using both first and last names would become too cumbersome. Alderman James said that any potential names should already be well known in the community, so that less justification would be necessary. Page 5 of 11 Ms. Spears thought that just one individual should be in control of the list of potential names. She stated that 1 -1/2 years was spent on organizing this process. Chief Martin stated that checks are being done on the potential name list so that nominees would not have police records, but it was also noted that builders choose names without police checks. In addition, the nominee or surviving family members are required to approve the naming process. In order to keep the process moving, Alderwoman Spears said that postcards should be sent to a nominee /family members for their approval. Because of the tremendous population growth, it was suggested that this concept be placed on the website so nominations can be made on -line. Alderwoman Burd favored naming some streets after early settlers and said that Stephanie Todd, President of the Geneaology Society could assist. Mr. Graff said the potential name list is being updated by Jennifer Woodrick for the Council. A strikethrough will be put on the portion of a name which has been used. A checklist has also been implemented to prevent duplication of names. It was requested that Ms. Woodrick attend a Human Resources meeting to clarify some of the issues. A report was requested from either Jennifer or Human Resources for the May meeting. NEW BUSINESS 1. Exemnlary Emplovee Award A letter was presented from Laura Brown recommending the establishment of an Exemplary Employee Award. This proposed award would reward an employee monetarily. The committee agreed that if the program were adopted, it should be open to all city employees, not just the Park District. The Mayor joined the meeting at 7:35pm The following points were discussed: • What amount would be given • Should the program be adopted • Who would determine who receives the award • Could supervisors receive an award • Program not a good idea since it is taxpayer money • How is "exemplary" defined • Should the program be one which rewards employee only if taxpayer money is saved • Award should not be based on abstract measure • Would be a morale booster • Should employee receive award if within their normal line of duties i Page 6 of 11 • Could cause resentment among fellow employees • Employees may not want to get involved if too difficult to achieve • Should not be a popularity contest • Who would make recommendations for nominees? • Noted that the County Board had contributed their personal money for an award to person who implements a cost - cutting suggestion • How often should award be made • Should department head budget money for award and keep low -key Examples of award programs which some of the committee members are familiar with, were discussed. Privileged parking spots and complimentary dinners were also discussed as potential awards. After a lengthy discussion, Mayor Prochaska and other committee members felt the proposal needed more consideration. He recommended it be sent back to the Parks Department for: 1. Revisions to be made to include all city employees 2. Guidelines to be determined for a "measurement tool" for the award This item will be brought back to committee in June. 2. Shred -co Customer Service Agreement Mr. Graff reported that a presentation had been made by Shred -co regarding their services to shred city documents. He noted that the Police Department alone spends approximately one hour per day performing this task. Mr. Graff stated the annual cost of Shred -co's services is $3,276. They also provide the security consoles for storing the unshredded documents. In addition, the shredded material is recycled and the City receives a receipt for this. The contract is one year in length with the cost being $21 per console. The consoles are tamper -proof and would be stored in secure areas. A key to open a console would be required if an item is mistakenly put into a console. The company would not charge for traveling from building to building since all the containers would be close together. At present, there is another company, Accurate Documents of Elk Grove Village, who does shredding. Mr. Graff will contact this company. Committee members agreed it would be wise to contact this company for details /costs as well. Shred -co's agreement can be cancelled with 30 days notice. By signing this agreement, the prices are locked in and a 4% cap is placed on any increase. Mr. Graff recommended an agreement be signed soon. This item will be moved forward to C.O.W. on April 20 if the quotes are received by that time. I Page 7of11 3. Water Works Svstem Improvement Proiects & Updates on Radium Compliance According to Mr. Graff, the City was instructed to review the IEPA loan for the radium compliant portion of the water improvement project, which is approximately $4.2 million for 2 wells. There would be an initial expenditure of $42,000 just to have the documents prepared for the loan program. The actual EPA loan would be 4.5 to 5 million dollars. A new law enacted by the Governor's office requires all IEPA loans to be reviewed by the Governor's office and 90 -120 days must be allowed for approval. The City would be very close to the 30 -day compliance schedule. At this time, many cities are requesting funding for radium compliant projects and the State anticipates about 30 loan requests. Because of the many requests and limited funding, the City risks being approved for this loan. At this time, there is only $35 million available for these loans. Because of the loan approval risk, Mr. Graff recommends the purchase of bonds to fund radium compliance. If the City does not become compliant, there are possible penalties. Mayor Prochaska stated that due to the large growth of the City, the City could actually be compliant because of the volume. In addition, he stated that the City might not be eligible for loans because of the developers paying for expansion. Administrator Graff stated the City is eligible to apply for the loan, though Yorkville may be scored lower, because of the development/expansion and the "A minus" bond rating. Mr. Graff and Ms. Pleckham will explore the options and costs. They also noted that administrative costs, audit costs and legal fees can not be deducted from the loan. Notification of loan approval would be received in November, but the amount of money would not be known until January. Alderwoman Spears also posed the question of which would require the most legal cost, the bonds or a loan. I The disposal of the radium was also discussed. There is only one company that handles this and only one disposal site. Oswego's test program was discussed in relationship. 4. Senior Housing Facilitv /Senior Service Center Alderwoman Spears recommended the City consider setting money aside for senior housing. She suggested the following means of funding such a project after legal review: 1. Set aside money from developers for future senior housing 2. Create budget line item 3. Set up foundation with tax deductible contributions 4. Set up a 501 c non -profit charter The housing would not be city -owned but, available to attract seniors. She also favors some type of senior center /coffee bar (upcoming trend) in conjunction with the housing. Mayor Prochaska recently spoke with a developer who is exploring a senior development. Tax credits are available to developers for senior housing. Page 8ofIt The committee agreed funding should possibly come from impact fees, not taxpayer money. The impact of the development would need to be justified in order to impose this fee. Mayor Prochaska stated research is needed for the housing, but funding for a senior center would be less difficult. He felt there is a need for input from seniors for a center. Mayor Prochaska also suggested senior housing might be part of a downtown redevelopment plan. That plan could be presented to developers who might be willing to make donations for a senior center. Grant programs could also be explored. He stated the attorney should be spoken with to identify a possible revenue source in the budget. Ms. Spears will research the legal aspects of setting up a foundation. 5. Citv Donations /Contributions Mayor Prochaska reported that a question regarding donations arose from a recent department head meeting. He asked Ms. Pleckham to compile a list of donation requests along with a contact name and noted that most requests of this nature arrive in the Mayor's office. Alderman James felt no donations should be made to any organizations because it is taxpayer money. The Mayor and Mr. Graff made reference to a new ethics statute for all communities whereby a city is mandated to disclose all gifts /requests for donations. In addition, the "gift ban act" will be updated. Ms. Pleckham will meet with Tim McCann to discuss these issues. When the statute is passed, all such donations will be tracked. By disclosing this information, there is a check and balance system. Ms. Spears stated she felt a larger donation should have been given to the senior center and she asked what amounts of donations were given to other organizations. The Mayor stated he favored donations to senior services, because seniors give back to the community. One such reciprocal service is the Citizens Police Academy. Alderman James compiled internet research of other towns and how donations are handled. The donation guidelines were explicitly spelled out. Mayor Prochaska said city staff would like to see a policy in place to remove pressure for certain donations. Currently, donations are shown in the public relations area of the budget. Alderman James asked for the list for review. It was noted that two memorial donations were made on which there is a $50 limit. There was also discussion on advertising that the City receives for some of the donations. The $250 donation to Senior Services was also discussed. For this $250, the city was acknowledged for their support. The $250 helps the senior meal program. Mayor Prochaska said it was important to note that Yorkville's senior center serves all of Kendall County, not just the City since there is no other such service in the County. It was suggested that the City ask for support for this program, from the County and i I Page 9 of 11 towns served by the center. The Mayor suggested talking with the senior center about their budget and also obtaining a count of Yorkville residents who frequent the center. Then a dollar amount could be calculated and assistance requested based on that number. Ms. Spears also noted there are more programs offered to the youth than to seniors. The Mayor suggested talking with Laura Brown about publicizing senior programs in the Parks newsletter. Senior information on the front cover of that newsletter could also be beneficial. Mayor Prochaska noted that such information has been published in the city newsletter. Committee members will bring ideas back to the meeting next month. 6. Developing Procedures No discussion 7 Health Insurance Renewal Ms. Pleckham provided a chart detailing the upcoming health insurance costs and the percentage of increase. Though health insurance is already in the budget, this item was placed on the agenda because the agent overseeing the plan has left his company. The policy will remain with BlueCross B1ueShield, however, the City has the right to choose who will administer the plan. Caywood and Associates recently indicated an interest in overseeing the City health insurance. It was noted that Zeiter Dickson does not deal with this type of plan. Administrator Graff recommended awarding this business to a local company such as Caywood. The rates would remain the same and the renewal is automatic. Tony recommended opting out of the self - insured dental plan due to wide fluctuation in costs and the City having to manage the plan. He felt this was an important issue and the City should secure a plan and lock in the costs. A legal opinion will be obtained in relationship to the collective bargaining unit and a future dental plan. Alderwoman Spears noted that previously, employees had difficulty with the lack of dentists participating in certain plans. It was noted that Delta Dental includes about 90% of all dentists in Illinois. In relationship to the health and dental, Mr. Graff stated there is vision coverage in the BlueCross B1ueShield plan Alderwoman Spears asked to extend the current plan a month to allow time to explore all aspects. In continued discussion, suggestions were made regarding the possibility of employees absorbing some of the health insurance costs. Suggestions were: employees paying $1 towards the costs, free for the employee or some costs for family coverage. i Page 10 of 11 Chief Martin stated the insurance is an important matter for the Police Department because it helps offset the lower salary. He further stated the good insurance plays a strong role in retention of employees. After further discussion, it was decided that since the insurance costs were in the budget, there would be no cost to the employee at this time. If there is a budget crunch, it will be re- examined. The Mayor made a recommendation to allow Caywood and Associates to handle the City policy. He will meet with them and provide a report at the next C.O.W. meeting. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS Alderwoman Burd noted that the February minutes reflected that the committee had approved the employee manual and a reference was made to changing city code. She noted that only an ordinance and City Council can change a city code. Administrator Graff reported that Attorney Kelly Kramer will meet the codifiers to further discuss. In other additional business, Mayor Prochaska reported a letter had been received from a production company, Champion Industry 300, who works with various media. This company pre - selected Yorkville as one of the top 50 small communities in which to live and work in America. Yorkville was selected because the population is under 10,000 and Yorkville is a growing community. A questionnaire was received regarding local information and there is a cost of $28,000. Mr. Graff has spoken with some developers who are interested in sponsoring Yorkville. If Yorkville is not selected there is no cost. If the town is selected the followin g value would be realized: 1. A 2 minute ad on CNN in a documentary (a 3.5 hour tape is made of the City to help make this documentary) 2. A 5 minute trailer (which also runs on the CNN website), follows the documentary 3. The 3.5 hours of film is given to the City on VHS tape which also could be put on website. (The agreement also states the tape cannot be put on the internet which is in conflict with placing it on the website. Attorney Kramer will be asked to clarify with the company) 4. Would receive a listing/story in Forbes magazine Mayor Prochaska said the Economic Development Director Lynn Dubajic thought this would be most helpful as a commercial to present to potential businesses. Champion Industry 300 has asked the City to move quickly in agreeing to this filming. Mayor Prochaska stated that he would sign the agreement with the stipulation that it would be subject to ratification by the City Council. In addition, he would suggest the Page 11 of 11 j I Council approve the agreement predicated on procuring donations to cover the costs. These steps would allow Champion to move forward. The company also asked about upcoming events as they wished to film in June and July, to be aired in September. Administrator Graff also stated there would be some indirect costs such as manhours to assemble the pre - production materials He also stated some City beautification would be necessary. He would like to see donations reach $50,000 (up from the $28,000) in order to cover expenses prior to filming. IDOT will be spoken with regarding permission to place flower boxes on the bridge. Also, the fence near the river nears repair. Alderwoman Burd reiterated her idea of a park bench in front of City hall. Adminstrator Graff wants to encourage volunteer groups such as the Garden Club, Lions, j Scouts, Moose and others to assist with the beautification. Other suggestions were to call companies for donations and in return they would receive credit or publicity for their business. Mayor Prochaska views this documentary as an opportunity to attract industry and commercial business and he will bring this before City Council. The meeting was adjourned at 10: l Opm. Minutes by Marlys Young i i