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Admin Committee Minutes 2000 02-13-00 i UNITED CITSc OF Y ORKVILLE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE 1tZEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2000 6:30 P.M. In Attendance: Art Prochaska Paul James \Mike Anderson Rose Spears Valerie Burd Bob Allen Jim Nanninga J.T. Johnson Tony Graff Guests Sue Swithin John Bradstreet Mike Englehardt David Cathey PROPOSED DENTAL/VISION PLAN: MIKE ENGLEHARDT N ike Englehardt, representative of the City of Yorkville insurance program, began by stating that he had discussed the proposed plan with Mr. Nanninga, and Kim. The numbers have been put together for this, and there is $1000 to $1500 offered at a maximum for dental. A -vision proposal has been set up also. We could offer a fully insured vision and dental program, with a $1000 per year benefit per employee and dependants. The plans are set up as 1) preventative care (10090), 2) Basic care (80% after deductible), and 3) Major care (50 %). Blue cross offers an HIN-IO!PPO program, which will save the City money. Mayor Prochaska asked what the co -pays are now with the IR-IO plan. Mr. Englehardt stated that this is very similar to the 80/50 plan. Alderwoman Spears asked if there are IiN-10 dentists within this area. Mr. Englehardt stated that they are mostly in Aurora. There are not a lot of providers in this area. We need the employees' feedback on this. Mayor Prochaska stated that we need to decide on a feasible direction. He then asked what is budgeted for this. Mr. Nanninga stated that $30,000 is budgeted for this year. Next year $32,000 is budgeted. 11:Iayor Prochaska asked what the A.ision costs would be. Mr. Englehardt stated that for office - visits; there would be a $5.00 co -pay. Alderman James stated that the employees would have a choice now. 1 I i Mr. Englehardt stated that the choice would be either the IRUIO or the PPO. He then stated that the employees should be asked about the choice. Chairman Anderson asked what the annuals based on. Mr. Englehardt stated that the highest would run $29,634, if everyone went with the PPO. The issue is that we need immediate coverage, and Blue Cross and Delta Dental will take us over with no pre - existing conditions. Mr. Allen asked if the City has looked into this before. Mayor Prochaska stated that it has been looked at a couple of times, but it wasn't as valuable then as it is now. Vision would be the biggest benefit. NIr. Englehardt stated that it would be very inexpensive for the City. The entire group is less that $500 per month. He then stated that most dentists do not get into the HX40 programs. It is usually the PPO. Chairman Anderson asked if there were any questions on this. 1\.•ir. Englehardt stated that if anyone would like network information on this, they could contact •,:�;�;;;•�: °:.:f::.:!: �_:. ;� >•�. Chairman Anderson asked if this should go to the Council before it is discussed with the employees. Mayor Prochaska stated that we need to find out by consensus first. We could go to the employees, and look at a benefit outline. We need to make it available. We need feedback first, and then we will go to the Council. Let's bring this to COW, and then get the information back to the employees. Alderwoman Spears stated that the employees need complete information on this. Chairman Anderson stated that Mr. Englehardt should be there at the meeting. Mayor Prochaska stated that Mr. Englehardt should discuss this before a decision is made. 1\4r. Englehardt stated that he would get a booklet together, and provide outlines for both vision and dental. EMPLOY YEE 1I.4NUAL ITEMS i i Mr. Nanninga opened by stating that the changes had been made regarding the allowance per day for food and lodging, as well as \-lartin Luther King holiday, and the -vision/dental plan. EARLY RETIREMENT Mr. Nanninga stated that there had been a memo put together on this. It will cost the City money, but what you will save will more than offset the costs. There are six employees involved in this. They are: Mrs. Pfister, 1Ir. Nanninga, Mi—. Johnson, 1\-jlr. lt- tikkelson, Mr. Kramer, and X1r. Price. The replacements for these are outlined in the chart, which shows a savings of $161,000 in the first year. We are recommending a five -year payback !' with the I1vIRF. Mayor Prochaska asked that if we go with this, then what would the timeframe be. Mr. Nanninga explained that it would be one year, and the employees have a 60 -day 6. window to notify IMRF. They have to file within the first 60 days after it is passed. The City cannot offer this again for six years. Alderman James asked if there are any employees close. Mr. Johnson stated that the employee would have to be at least 50 years of age. Chief Graff stated that there is an early retirement plan with the Police Pension Fund. Mr. Johnson asked about buying out military time, and asked if anyone had looked into this. s Mr. Nanninga stated no, not as of yet. R Alderman James asked who decides the retirement dates. Mr. Nanninga stated that the employee will. There is some flexibility on the City to help the employee decide. Mayor Prochaska stated that we should pick a year to offer it. Mr. Johnson added that this has been adopted by many cities. This brings in new people. � Alderwoman Spears asked in regards to the 18- months-COBRA plan. Mayor Prochaska stated that you would have to buy it. He then added that if someone takes the early retirement, then they can no longer come back to work for the City. I 3 Chairman Anderson stated that he sees no major problems with this, and asked to look at this at the nest COW. Mayor Prochaska stated that we would take this to COW on March F". PROPOSED HOLIDAY— NLARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Mayor Prochaska stated that lie had asked Kim to look at the cost to the City for the Martin Luther King Holiday. Kim stated that regarding the Police, there would be a $2100 increase, and the only other cost is if we would call out employees for snow removal. We received a letter from the Governor's wife, about Martin Luther Ding Day on 'kind acts'. It is observed through the state, federal, and county. We are in the minority on this. A/Ir. Nanninga asked if there are 11 holidays. Mayor Prochaska stated _yes. Chairman Anderson stated that we are establishing 12, with one floater. Alderman James stated that it is up to the employee to pick his holiday. 1 Alderman Anderson stated that this was something to look into. Alderwoman Burd asked if the employees should be poled. Mayor Prochaska stated that they wanted that holiday, but not to give up any of the floaters. Mderwoman Burd asked if we should honor volunteers, or if we could honor an 'act of kindness' by someone in the comrnunity. Mayor Prochaska stated yes. Chairman Anderson stated that this should be started in the budget year. Alden-voman Burd asked if we give the Police the extra holiday. Mayor Prochaska stated that the contract is set for three years. He then asked if we could check on the '13' to see where this f1lls. Mr. Nanninga stated that he would check on that. I i I 4 I I Mayor Prochaska stated that this is not a large financial issue; it is more of a policy issue. It would be more money if there was a snow issue, and with regards to police issues. He than asked about the monitoring of the wells. llr. Nanninga stated that the wells are checked every day. There is one person on overtime for thus. Aldei woman Burd stated that this would also be an incentive for recruitment. Mayor Prochaska agreed, and stated that he wants to find out all of the costs involved. I Chairman Anderson stated that this would then come back to the next meeting. Mr. Nanninga agreed. LONGEVITY PAY Mr. Nanninga opened by saying that we went from an hourly rate to a lump sum. This becomes difficult for Kim, and we would like to go back to the hourly rate for those who are just hourly. Chief Graff agreed, and stated that this is a management decision. Mayor Prochaska asked if it was custom -made software. i Chief Graff stated _yes, and the employees had brought it up. This is an issue, and there is a disadvantage here. Mayor Prochaska asked how it would be done, then. Chief Graff stated that we would need to wait until the next fiscal year, which would be approximately six months. Mayor Prochaska added that the hours put into this are costly. Chief Graff stated that he would look into the employee manual, and stated that Mr. Kramer might draw up an amendment to this. The language would be given from Kim on thus, and we might end up changing the employee manual. Chairman Anderson then asked if this should go to COW on March 1 5 ` Chief Graff stated yes. UTILITY T.A-X/,N-kTLTRAL GAS 5 i Chairman Anderson asked if the committee had any information on this subject. Mr. Nanninga stated that NICOR had been contacted, and that we could not be billed on the therms used. Without the State Statutes, we cannot do this. Mayor Prochaska stated that there would be a letter sent to Tom Cross in regards to the legislation on this. 1 PROPOSED BUDGET 1x r. Nanninga stated that the proposed budget would be responsible for explaining the manpower, equipment, projects, etc. Mayor Prochaska asked what the timeframe would be on this. Mr. Nanninga stated that the Public Hearing would be on March 15. Mayor Prochaska stated that issues would be brought up here, in the first run. Mr. Nanninga stated that himself and Kim went through the budget impact, and where we're going to be. We are positive in all departments. It shows V6,437 to the good, and this is conservative. Our receipts were totaling $393,000. We will miss two months of business, but the NICOR bills would make this up. Alderwornan Burd asked if that was a deficit from the precious year. Alderman James added that the high gas bills upset this. Mr. Allen inquired about the Illinois Commerce Commission and asked if we could take a position to allow us to recoup this. Could we get a letter from IVIr. Kramer on thus. We need to explore some different avenues on this, and I would like the details in front of me. Aldei woman Burd asked what the requirements are for this. Mayor Prochaska stated that it is included in the State Statutes. Mr. Allen stated that he wanted a copy of the ordinance, and that he would notify AIr. Kramer and get a letter of explanation. Mayor Prochaska stated that there are two different amendments to this, possibly three. Mr. Allen stated that with the Police Grants, we are still good, but we need to stay conservative. 6 Mayor Prochaska stated that everything would stand the way it is for now. Mr. Nanninga has stared conservative. GAS BILLS— THERXIS I\•-lr. Nanninga stated previously that NICOR had been contacted regarding this, and that the information was that we could not bill on the therms used. Without the State Statutes, we cannot do this. i .L & D PROPOSAL — INDUSTRIAL BONDS Mr. Nanninga stated that we don't have an account to give anything. Mayor Prochaska stated that he had spoken with N Kramer, and we don't have much on this. We get some individual revenue bonds. We gave ours to F.E. Wheaton. Mr. Nanninga stated that he thought this went into a lottery. Mayor Prochaska stated that lie was not sure. L& D is requesting that we allot this to them. This is similar to the request that F.E. Wheaton made. The money that they still owe the City is the issue. They were given a three -year tax. The City has a lien against their property. There is an outstanding balance of $33,000. I have difficulties with this. Chairman Anderson agreed. Chief Graff stated that there could be a legal requirement on that, and it could be a challenge on the State Statute. j I Mr. Allen asked if himself and Mr. Nanninga should work on a letter of response to this. Chairman Anderson and Alderman James stated yes. i i JOB DESCRIPTIONS — PUBLIC WORKS DEPART1\4ENT, PARKS DEPARTMENT, RECREATION DEPARTMENT Mr. INTanninga opened by stating that there is a Parks position, Public Works Director position, and an Assistant Public Works Director position all included in the packet. Mayor Prochaska stated that with the Public Works, we need to find out where the responsibility will fall. We want to put together a set of job description, a system, so that they know these responsibilities. For the Parks and Recreation departments, they are two separate areas. The parks maintenance was considered Public Works. With the g omh of the City and ParL -Rec programs, we will need to see more coordination. We are looking at grants for trails, etc. We want one person to oversee both parts. This may 7 i mean a possible foimation of a district. This would also free up Public Woks for tlus. We have discussed a Parks!Rec Director, a 'chief administrator' person, just like the Chief of Police. This person would meet with developers, write grants, have direct access to the Park Board, and would be responsible for coordinating both parts. The next step down would be a working supervisor, or a head person for scheduling. For the Parks, it would be a 'working foreman'. Both would be equal in stature on the organizational charts. Mr. Bradstreet stated that between a salaried-hourly position, this would be a problem. Mayor Prochaska stated that this would be discussed with the labor attorney. Even salaried people should receive some kind of pay. Chief Graff stated that whether you're exempt or not exempt, it is under 'municipal'. 11--1r. Johnson stated that it was under the State. Mayor Prochaska stated that this would be discussed, and the ordinance will be changed to specify the Parks and Recreation Director. There needs to be an amendment there. a 1 Mayor Prochaska then stated that the next position would be the operator, and they would be assigned to specific departments. This is an hourly position, and the Employee will be learning specific skills for their department. i Mr. Bradstreet asked if there are charts put together for the new positions. Mayor Prochaska discussed what the chart would look like. Mr. Bradstreet stated that there should be clear lines of equality throughout this. We want a team. Alderwoman Burd stated that it should begin with the wording, and that she wanted to make sure that they would both have the same title. Mayor Prochaksa stated that for the Public Works, it is divided into Streets, Water, and Sewer. There will be foremen under each department, and then under foremen are the operators. The maintenance workers 1 and 2 are not specific to any group. They will be assigned. Aldelwoman Burd stated that the Parks are confusing. Mayor Prochaska state that we are putting an assistant to the Public Works Director, and we need to work with the language on this. Mdenvoman Burd stated that we need to have this. Employees need to feel worthwhile. . i 8 � i Mr. Bradstreet stated that we want to strive for equality. This should be a standard. Chairman Anderson stated that it needs to be in the N. Ir. Bradstreet added that we couldn't be successful until we can work together. Mr. Johnson stated that the Recreation Director would go to the Parks to tell them of the schedule. This takes the argument out of the situation. The parks look good, but take up much time. In other areas, there might be a problem. The Parks and Recreation Director needs to mesh these together. Mayor Prochaska stated that the Parks,Rec Director would be able to set up ideas, also. We need something set up for this coining year. I Mr. Bradstreet added that there would be two positions to fill. Mayor Prochaska agreed, and stated that we need a person who can do this. We need to move people over to the Parks. The new Parks!Rec Director will have ideas. W, e also may change the titles on these. If the person is going in to plow, for example, then they will answer to the head of the Street Department for the time being. Mr. Bradstreet stated that organization is important, and he would like everything to be better orchestrated. The system is broken. Mayor Prochaska stated that there have been issues, and that we are working with people with no official organization. Alderman James stated that we should start with an organizational chart of the City now. i Mayor Prochaska stated that the Police are organized. Public Works falls under Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson stated that we need someone to spend time with the residents on park issues. With the expansion of the City, this will be important with the head person. There isn't enough time unless there is one person to do it full-time. i Mayor Prochaska state that he and Mr. Nanninga could sit down and look at the current organizational chart. We will put titles together. Mr. Johnson stated that it is important to make sure of the titles. Alderwoman Spears stated that the position of Parks,Rec Director would require grant writing. I � 9 i Mayor Prochaska stated yes, and we want to see this. With the Assistant Director of Public Works, this will be monitoring of the work crews throughout the day. A foreman would not be created unless there are enough workers. I Mr. Johnson stated that for the Water Dept., we would have Class A operators. I envision � that there will be an on -duty 24hrs. ./day worker. Mayor Prochaska stated that he would work on these issues with Mr. Nanninga. We s ""ill also have an organizational chart put together for the Parks. We need to have these positions setup. I want these in place by the start of the fiscal year. Chairman Anderson stated that this would come back to the committee. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS I Mayor Prochaska stated that with regards to the letter from Tom Cross on the Illinois First project, we are not sure of the funding. We will be notified of anything. i Alderwoman Spears asked if we have sent anything to Mr. Hastert. Mayor Prochaska stated yes. Chairman Anderson asked if in regards to the 3I1 agenda, should we look into a finance director. Mr. Nanninga stated that it has not been budgeted for. Mayor Prochaska stated that we could do a table for it. Chairman Anderson stated that it would be discussed on the March agenda. Mr. Allen stated that he would be very interested in this. Meeting Adjourned 9:15 P.M. Minutes by Lisa Sleezer 10