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Admin Committee Minutes 2003 09-11-03 Page 1 of 11 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE APPROVED ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING WITH CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM REVISIONS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 12-11 -03 7:00 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Art Prochaska (arrived at 7:27 p.m.) Alderwoman Rose Spears Alderwoman Valerie Burd Alderman Paul James Alderman Marty Munns CITY MEMBERS PRESENT: City Administrator Tony Graff (arrived at 7:08 p.m.) Police Chief Harold Martin (arrived at 7:15 p.m.) City Attorney Kelly Kramer (arrived at 7:15 p.m.) Finance Director Traci Pleckham City Treasurer Bill Powell This meeting was called to order at 7 :00 p.m. OLD BUSINESS Minutes for ApprovaUCorrection: There were no minutes for approval at the time of this meeting. Water Billing Accounts Due - Update: Alderwoman Spears raised the question that, if someone's meter is stuck, and they are filling their swimming pool, how is a proper estimation done? Traci Pleckham's response was that they do estimate higher in cases of unsuccessful access to a meter. Alderwoman Spears questioned if it will be a policy to continue to estimate at higher increments with each unsuccessful attempt at accessing the meter. Alderman James inquired how to handle those listed on the sheet that have not picked up their certified letter. It was agreed by the Committee to keep increasing estimates until a response is received. City Treasurer Bill Powell suggested that certified letters also go out to those with stuck meters that are over six months old. He requested that action be taken on those with dates over six months past due which are reflected on the handout, specifically dates of 2/12/02, 2/11/03 and 1/6/03. Traci Pleckham indicated that she did not know why these were so old. Alderwoman Spears requested that she look into it. Alderwoman Spears acknowledged that the list was considerably shorter than it has been in the past, confirming that much progress has been made. This list will continue to be reviewed every month. Water Billing Software - Update: Alderwoman Spears asked Traci Pleckham to give an update on the water billing software. Ms. Pleckham's response was that there was not, much to report, other than Page 2 of 11 there had been training on the "Fixed Assets" portion of the program since the last meeting. She also indicated that with respect to audit, they are still awaiting final numbers. Training on the accounting software for this portion will also be required. With respect to the billing, they have made considerable progress to fix the "quirks" with the accounting program. She is anticipating a response from a sales manager at MSI in regards to a reduction in fees. New Entry Way Sign - Update There are two signs on order. Alderman James stated that Mayor Prochaska indicated that the Grand Reserve Development were thinking about having landscape placed around one of the signs, and another sign would be placed near Plano to match the landscape there. Web Site Training - Update Traci Pleckham stated that Andy Clements would be coming in the following Wednesday to begin training with department heads on how to update the site, starting with the Clerk's office. Mr. Clements would be handling the web site maintenance, the reporting of hits from the site and promotions. Mr. Powell asked Traci Pleckham to confirm a previous statement she made with respect to having the ability to forward emails without disclosing email addresses. He wanted to know if these email messages forwarded from the website would indicate that it came from the City. Her response was that it would not. Mr. Powell then asked, with the multiple "junk email' messages he deletes, how will he know when an email comes through from a citizen? His concern is that if he does not recognize the email address, he could inadvertently delete the email. Traci stated she would ask Mr. Clements to look into adding something to a field within the email to serve as a "flag" that it was forwarded from the City's website. Review Revised Project Financial Tracking Worksheet Alderwoman Spears asked Treasurer Powell if the worksheet containing those items he previously requested, such as having the worksheet reflect the percentage of the total that has been collected. Administrator Tony Graff stated that they are waiting for MSI to be sufficiently working to be able to code this information on the system. Once this change over to the new system occurs, they will be able to revise the spreadsheet. Treasurer Powell inquired why some entries on the spreadsheet had fees that were waived. He refers to line item 23 on this sheet, for Go -Tane Service Station. Mr. Graff? s response was that this was a case of forced annexation, where fees are waived. With reference to line item 33 on the spreadsheet for Kendall General Store, whereupon the City requested them to annex for contiguous business zoning, only $250.00 of the annexation fee is waived. Mr. Graff explained that there is only one fee for annexation rezoning for business. With respect to line item 53, the Runge property, Administrator Graff stated that approximately 2 to 2 -1/12 years ago, the Mayor sent letters out to businesses along Route 47 up to Kendall County line requesting that those who wanted to annex, these fees would be waived. Mr. Powell asked Mr. Graff to explain what the concept fee is, as this is also indicated on the spreadsheet. Mr. GraTs response was that it is actually a $500.00 credit toward other fees in the future. Thus, this gets recouped later by the City. Item number 60 of the spreadsheet, the Valentine property, was a result of a letter sent Page 3 of 11 approximately three years ago. This fee was also waived due to annexation in the Amurol area, since he was rezoning as commercial. Mr. Powell pointed out the last item, number 74, the York Hill Landscaping Company, which, he indicated, was self - explanatory as it contained the same footnote of "annexation/zoning ". Recruiting Meeting Transcribers - Update Alderwoman Spears stated that this item was to be tabled due to the fact that City Clerk Milschewski did not have sufficient time to contact people. There is no urgency to this issue at present time. This will be discussed at the Administration meeting next month. Review Draft of Policy - Employees Attending Out -of -State Meetings /Seminars Mr. Graff indicated that there has not been a draft created on this policy to date. He did ask the labor attorney via email if feedback could be provided with respect to the travel policy that is to be incorporated in the Employee Manual. This will be reviewed at the next Committee of the Whole Meeting scheduled for September 16, 2003. Mr. Graff stated that he delivered a memo to department heads that indicated if there are any out -of- state training sessions, conferences or seminars, that travel would only be allowed to those places closest to Illinois without exceptions. After Chief Harold Martin reviewed the memo with its proposed language, he brought up the following concern and requested a provision be made: that conferences which may not be closer may still be more cost effective to attend due to cheaper airfares and cut -rate hotel packages. Chief Martin requested that Mr. Graff replace the "no exception" rule with a provision indicating "that the most cost effective destination" be pre- approved by the department head. Review of Grant Status Spreadsheet Administrator Graff stated that the Police Department has numerous grants. Mr. Graff requested that Police Chief Martin provide the information regarding his department's grants which will be added to this new format to report for next month. Alderwoman Spears requested that the police grant information be kept separate. Ms. Pleckham and Administrator Graff explained the necessity of having that information contained on one report. First, the Finance Department would be able to track all grants. And more importantly, this conglomeration is necessary for annual reviews and annual reports. Alderwoman Spears was concerned that various grants are reflected on many different formats. Administrator Graff stated that this spreadsheet serves only as a summary report that will be utilized for tracking all grants. Council will still get different formats reflecting the various grants that are currently in process, since each may have different requirements. As Chief Martin pointed out, only co ies of the Police Department's grants are provided to the Finance Department as was previously mandated. Alderwoman Spears also asked to have the spreadsheet revised to indicate whether or not the grant was actually awarded and the date of the award, as the sheet does not currently reflect this information. Administrator Graff indicated that the new grant writer was hired on May 1, 2003. She is working on bike trails and recently completed the paperwork for the Illinois Tomorrow Corridor. Notification of the completed grant process is expected in November. Page 4 of 11 It was decided by the Committee, that the reporting of the status of grants will be done quarterly and will remain on the Administration Agenda only. Administrator Graff clarified that once the grant has been awarded, that information is deleted from the spreadsheet at the end of the fiscal year. Review Draft of Resolution Regarding Council Member Phone -in of Votes when Out of Town Attorney Kelly Kramer stated that the Attorney General has issued an opinion letter stating that telephone conferencing does not violate the "Open Meetings Act" as long as all the provisions of the act are complied with. One particular requirement is that the meeting would still need to be open to the public and both sides must be able to hear each other's comments. This can be accomplished with a speaker phone. Administrator Graff stated that one was ordered to be placed in the new council chambers. Attorney Kelly Kramer also looked into ordinances from several other communities, and found they have adopted certain provisions that she would like to have the Committee review, such as the vicinity requirement. This states that if you are outside of pre- determined mile vicinity, the telephone conference is acceptable as long as one or more Aldermen are present. The person on the telephone must identify himself and be able to participate in the voting process. Attorney Kelly Kramer asked the Committee to decide on several issues: If a limitation is to be placed on the number of miles, whether one can call in while on vacation and the number of people that are allowed to phone in for one meeting. She indicated that they would have "free reign" as to what guidelines they wish to set. Administrator Graff asked if an Alderman was sick and under medication, would the validity of their phone -in vote be questioned at a later date. Attorney Kramer stated she would look into Administrator Graffs question to see if a legal requirement exists for "mental fitness ". It was decided by the Committee that the following recommendations be adopted into the ordinance and brought to the next C.O.W. meeting: 1). There will be no mile requirement; 2). There will be a limit of three Aldermen/Alderwomen who can phone in for a meeting; 3). Those on vacation can call in if they wish, but are not required to do so. Attorney Kelly Kramer will make these changes and fax to Liz D'Anna. NEW BUSINESS Review City Vehicle Policy Upon Alderwoman Spears' inquiry of the members present, it was determined that additional time was needed to review the policy and the additional verbiage that was added by Mayor Prochaska. It was unanimously agreed to bring this back to October's Administration meeting. Discuss City Staff Expenses Listed on Detail Board Report Alderwoman Spears previously requested that Traci Pleckham provide an Apparel Page 5 of 11 expense report from January 2003 to the present. Ms. Pleckham reviewed with the members the spreadsheet she created, which lists the purchase of apparel and accessories that are needed to complete uniforms, such as gloves, belts, key rings, flashlights, batons and tags. This list has further been broken down by employee name and also includes the budgeted amount by department in the far right column. This, she says, will show how much has been spent to date this fiscal year. There was a correction on page 2 of the spreadsheet for the date of 7/22/03, where only employee Bill Barkley is listed for several shirts and jackets. This in fact was supposed to include purchases not only for Bill Barkley, but Joe Wywrot and Mike Robinson. These names were inadvertently left out under the employee column, thus the amount of $345.50 is the cumulative amount spent for all three employees. Alderwoman Burd inquired if Jim Nanninga, while working for the City, purchased his own apparel or if it was paid by the City. The Mayor stated that this was part of a discussion for last year's budget, wherein $1200 was budgeted for clothing. He has requested the City Clerk, Jackie Milschewski to provide the meeting notes that covered this discussion. Alderwoman Spears stated she has no recollection of this discussion. Alderwoman Burd brought up a comment made previously by Alderman Kot who was upset that there were not enough funds for a lightning alarm. She pointed out that $1200 in clothing expenses are available, but not for the lightning alarm. The Mayor's response was that this was not an issue of lack of funds, but simply because this alarm was not budgeted as an expense. Alderwoman Burd asked if the clothing expense falls under the discretionary fund. Administrator Graff's response was that it falls under the "wearing apparel fund" that was set up in the budget last year. Alderman Munns and Alderwomen Spears and Burd did express the need to limit the funds allocated for clothing. Alderwoman Spears pointed out that in the past some people abused this program with having no monetary limits placed. Alderman Mums pointed out the necessity for those who work outside, have apparel that identifies them to area residents as city employees. Alderwoman Spears stated that City office employees do not have the same needs for apparel as the police staff who are in contact with the public or the parks department who require a uniform. Alderwoman Burd stated that, in her opinion, she would like to see the office staff dress in a more professional, business attire. Mayor Prochaska stated that he would like to have a dress code standard to ensure consistency throughout the City. It was determined by the Committee that when the Budget discussions come up, this will be reviewed again. Alderwoman Spears brought up the issue of the City supplying coffee, creamer, sugar and pop. She recommended that the expense should be shared by the employees who consume these beverages. In response to this suggestion, Mayor Prochaska asked then if employees should also be required to pay for the beverages that are offered to guests that come in to do business with the City. Page 6 of 11 With respect to the petty cash fund, Mayor Prochaska requested that a procedure be set to have on hand accessible funds for recording and filing documents with the County. In lieu of no established procedure, staff members from the Clerk's office are writing personal checks from their own account to cover these costs, since there is not enough funds in petty cash. Administrator Graff stated that in the past, Attorney Dan Kramer's office was handling the filing and recording of the documents. But since City Clerk, Jackie Milschewski would like to see all original documents remain in the Clerk's office, it was agreed that all recordings would be done by either herself or Liz D'Anna. The transition from Attorney Kramer's office previously recording documents to the Clerk's office now doing this, will necessitate these funds. Administrator Graff will check if the County accepts credit cards or if they are able to keep a running account. This, he says, is not a budgeted item, but fees that the City recoups from the developer. Ms. Milschewski is proposing the preparation of a policy for this purpose. In order to be reimbursed from the developer for the clerk's office time for recording, the fee structure will be reviewed to include a "recorder fee ". Taxing Procedures for City Owned Vehicles The auditor previously recommended that City personnel who are using City vehicles for private use should pay a vehicle tax and maintain a complete log for legal purposes. Alderwoman Spears stated this issue was again discussed in her Committee back in January of 2003, with members unaware if this procedure was actually being followed. Administrator Graff stated that this is already being done since before he started as City Administrator, over two years ago. The current procedure is that a check is created without an amount filled in and that is what is placed on the employee's W -2 as taxable income. A general log is kept by Joe Wywrot. The auditors review this annually as a part of the audit process. Hire Part -time Secretary (for City Council Members) Alderwoman Spears has raised the issue again of hiring a part time assistant to the City Council members. They are seeking a candidate with a minimum 2 -years associate's degree who has excellent research, typing and writing skills. This person would possess the ability to research requested items under consideration by the Council, be able to provide various reports and correspondences, establish contacts with professional organizations, track action requested by aldermen at meetings, review and report on budget line items when requested, review suggestion box items and complaints from the public, and possibly even assist with grants. The Mayor and Alderman Munns asked who this individual would report to. Their concern was that if there are too many people (Council members) assigning work to this one person, how would he or she assess whose work should be done first? Alderwoman Burd suggested that this assistant should report to the chairman of the Administration Committee. It was the Mayor's suggestion that the state statute be reviewed with respect to a city employee who reports to elected (non -city) Council members. Also, it would need to be reviewed to determine if one person could be hired to work for the "aldermanic group" as opposed to being assigned to one alderman or alderwoman. He believes this person's title would be that of an office assistant, to perform other office duties when not working on assignments from Council members. Page 7 of 11 Currently, agendas and packets for all meetings are prepared by Liz D'Anna. Alderwoman Spears would like to see the assistant they are requesting to hire to take over the preparation of those packets to have the information in time for Council review before voting on issues. Alderwoman Burd indicated that this is vital in order to make an informed decision before voting to pass ordinances and establishing policies. Mayor Prochaska explained that the City is in the process of hiring additional staff. In the next Budget year and several years to follow, he knows that funds will be made available for additional staffing as the workload continues to increase. He indicated that a bi- monthly newsletter was suggested in order to present a "synopsis" of the issues the council members will be reviewing in meetings and ultimately voting on. His opinion was that the overwhelming load of paperwork will still exist, which does not alleviate the member's need to review it. Alderwoman Spears referred to a specific incident wherein an ordinance was agreed to be revised by Attorney Dan Kramer with the implementation of a paragraph, which did not occur. This was caught, quite by accident by Alderwoman Spears after comparing the two documents just before voting. These types of oversights are of great concern to her and Alderwoman Burd. She stated that the proposed administrative assistant would be responsible for reviewing documents as a "check- and - balance" for the Council in order to avoid these types of occurrences. Administrator Graff responded that department -heads should be made aware of these concerns, since they are established to perform to the needs of the Administration Committee, as well as other committees and their chairpersons. This is why evaluations of department heads are done. If it is an "outside person" that Alderwoman Spears is requesting, to protect the interest of the Council, then the problem arises with allowing that person access to records without the knowledge of how to prioritize by importance. Only a department head would know which issues are critical, by the overall impact it would have upon the City. He believes that with the implementation of new staff over the next year, these problems brought up by Alderwoman Spears will be reduced, if not eliminated. The City Clerk is requesting that all information presented to them for packets must be in its completed form, otherwise, it will not be allowed on the Agenda. This includes information coming from all staff members, developers and Attorney Kramer's office. Jackie Milschewski is requesting the authority to be able to take off the Agenda. He indicated that weekly department head meetings have been instituted recently to address many of the concerns expressed by the Clerk's office. It was recommended that this be researched further and will be brought back again for review again next month. Internship Manual Mr. Powell suggested that the word "City" be placed in parenthesis in the beginning of this document in the first sentence of the Internship Manual, that states, "We want to welcome you to the United City of Yorkville. " This would avoid redundancy of having to write out the entire name and ensures consistency throughout the document. He pointed out that sometimes "the City of Yorkville" is referred to, and other times it's "the United City of Yorkville ". i Page 8 of 11 i Alderwoman Spears had a question as to why Police Chief Harold Martin's name is not on the cover letter. Mr. Martin's response was that they opted to have their own manual for internship, since their program runs quite differently from the one overseen by Administration and the Parks Department. The Police Department's work hours are different (which includes the weekend and evening coverage), and, their interns are not paid a stipend. Administrator Graff indicated that this manual is "generic" and contains general information for all interns. Many sections of the manual, he stated, reads like an application. He stated that there is very little policy within this manual, which then allows the University to direct their interns within their individual program. He recommended that Chief Harold Martin could actually implement their manual for the Police Department, since it does not specify a required number of hours required by interns. Alderwoman Burd expressed a concern that currently, there is no City department head with a communications or marketing background who would be qualified to give guidance and oversee the public relations intern. Further, she stated that, there is currently no public relations work being done for the City. She stressed the importance of paying the intern for their work, as many are working solely to fund their schooling. The Committee expressed different ideas as to what the intern should be paid. Administrator Graff stated that the Universities recommend an adequate stipend to match the skills of the intern, as well as taking into consideration the number of years of school they have completed. Alderwoman Burd suggested getting interns who are in their final years of school for their expertise. Administrator Graff stated that Laura Brown suggested that a great internship project would be to put together a brochure about the City of Yorkville. Administrator Graff stated that much of the material contained in the internship manual came from Northern Illinois University's public administration masters program. Expectations of the school, is that interns are made aware of how City Council works as well as knowing the functions all departments within the City. He stated that Universities usually require a midterm or final, often in the form of a report on the specific project(s) they have completed. The Committee agreed to budget for next year stipends for a minimum of four interns a year, but the amount would be determined by the position and the intern's experience. Mayor Prochaska requested Chief Martin to review this manual and give his input as to whether a separate manual is needed for his department. It was recommended by Alderwoman Spears to bring this back to next month's Administration Committee with suggestions by Chief Martin and with corrections of the typographical and grammatical errors. Grande Reserve Impact Request for Park & Recreation This issue will be tabled until next month. Page 9 of 11 a. Administrative Assistant The Parks and Recreation Department is currently working on a time study for an administrative assistant position. They will be preparing a draft for a request for this newly created position once the time study is done. City Treasurer Code Book Items #7 -6 -6 -5 Bills for Service: Delinquencies and #7 -6 -6 -7 Books & Records: Audits. As per Mr. Powell, this will be tabled for a while, as he was unaware at the time this was placed on the agenda that Kelly Kramer is working on changes for this. Draft 2002 -2003 Audit Administrator Graff has scheduled John Weber to come to a C.O.W. meeting on September 16, 2003 to review the management letter and the packet containing the audit information, with his recommendations. The only change Ms. Pleckham foresees from accounting done last year is how the property taxes were being reported. Revenues from January through the end of April for the current tax year are being included in the prior fiscal year's budget. In other words, those taxes levied are not being recorded in the right fiscal year. An accounting adjustment was done as a one time adjustment. Mr. Graff confirmed that the City is in good financial standing, as was originally projected. The reduction in revenue (approximately a $170,000 loss) this past year warranted close review with a sixth -month analysis and subsequent budget revision by the Council. The end result was less dollars spent in order to keep within the revised budget. This was also achieved by forecasting, keeping department heads abreast of the financial standing, goal setting and using a more conservative approach. Administrator Graff reported that no projects or services were cut. All revenues were identified for bond issues. It was during an upgrade of the software, that unexplained discrepancies with two journal entries were found. Traci Pleckham stated that that this discrepancy involved an increase in the sewer fund with no offset, as well as a decrease in the water fund, also with no offset. She stated though, in spite of this, everything added up appropriately. Administrator Graff indicated that the auditors are sure that there is no missing money, but that this is just an accounting error. This audit consisted of reviewing each journal entry, all bank statements, and the posting of incoming revenues. He stated that everything balanced according to the auditors. Still, there is $26,000 misplaced which needs to be reported by the auditors. This gets reported on the Standard & Poor's rating, but, a good financial asset report was documented. Another point that Mr. Graff stated that comes up every year is the issue of collateralization. Currently he is waiting for a letter from Yorkville National Bank, indicating that $631,000.00 is classified as collateralized deposits instead of uncollateralized as was reflected at the time of the audit. Traci Pleckham indicated that a large portion of that police pension dollars from Merrill Lynch, leaving only a little over $100,000.00 of that money at the local bank still classified as uncollateralized. Mr. Powell stated that after speaking with the officials at the bank back in the beginning of June, the City was considered "fully collateralized ". Currently, he is working on a Page 10 of 11 single -page spreadsheet that reflects all the account and loan balances, as well as collateralization. Mayor Prochaska inquired as to the amount of dollars which were considered as "carry over" dollars from last year, which was $600,000.00. If it was budgeted for $618,000.00, and the actual was only $289,000.00, he asked, is the difference a result of expenditures from previous years? Ms. Pleckham's response was that the auditors look at the current actual dollars that came in this fiscal year, and whatever was needed above and beyond the revenue stream that was received is considered "carry over dollars ". Thus, this accounting must be viewed as dollars received in "theory ", not actual dollars. Even though this can be thought of as reserved dollars that was put aside from last fiscal year to carry over, it was not in fact needed, therefore not needed to be taken from the fund balance. The Mayor confirmed then with Ms. Pleckham that the transfer of money was in fact done. I Administrator Graff asked Ms. Pleckham what the status was of the Fox Industrial fund which was out of balance at the end of the fiscal year. She stated that they had not yet been able to "dive into it ", however she stated her immediate plans to begin to resolve this is to review the many transfers that were done between M.F.T. and Fox Industrial. Ms. Pleckham stated that if any questions arose after Mr. Weber's draft audit has been reviewed, to please present to her, and she would be sure to in turn give to Mr. Weber prior to his presentation of September 16, 2003. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS The Mayor relayed to the Committee that he had a discussion with Moser MPI regarding two existing borders on Galena Road and Route 34 where the new signs will be placed. The sign with the letters that are a little smaller, he thought, could be placed on Galena Road. The nicer signs could be placed on Route 34 on the west side since those are both set borders. MPI has verbally agreed that they will build the landscape that will surround the signs. With respect to the old jail, the Mayor stated that he received a questionnaire requesting that it be completed by September 30, 2003. He stated that one of the sample questions was, "What amount are you willing to pay for the premises?" The Mayor will suggest that they look into the value of this building on the property. Alderwoman Burd stated that Ann Vickery did express what she believed to be a valid concern, with respect to the current business zoning of the property. Alderwoman Burd recommended that the Committee consider a special zoning for that building. The Mayor believes it is either zoned as B 1 or B2. Ms. Burd is requesting that the Committee report back to them with respect to this issue. The Committee agreed that there would be no change in their previous offer. This meeting was adjourned at 9:30 Respectfully submitted by Gail-Marie Denton. 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