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City Council Minutes 2009 03-24-09 Special Meeting MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE, KENDALL COUNTY. ILLINOIS. HELD IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS. 800 GAME FARM ROAD ON TUESDAY. MARCH 24.2009 Mayor Burd called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Clerk Milschewski called the roll. Ward I Allen Present Werderich Absent Ward II Golinski Present Plocher Present Ward III Munns Present Sutcliff Present Ward IV Besco Absent Spears Present (arrived 6:03) Also present: City Clerk Milschewski, City Treasurer Powell, City Attorney Orr, City Administrator McLaughlin, Finance Director Mika, Public Works Director Dhuse, Police Chief Martin, Lieutenant Hart, Interim Director of Parks & Recreation Olson, Community Development Director Miller and City Engineer Wywrot. OUORUM A quorum was established. BUSINESS Proposed FY 2009/2010 Budget Mayor Burd reported that as it now stands the city has a balanced budget. She asked Director Mika to prepare a memo showing the reduction each department made during the FY 08/09 budget along with the amounts they cut for the proposed FY 09/10 budget. She went over the March 24, 2009 memo from Director Mika (see attached). Mayor Burd reported that there was good news. Raging Waves has sold 400% more passes this year as compared to last year. This will net the city approximately $150,000.00. Also, the Illinois Municipal League insurance will cover the Aspen Ridge litigation fees so this decreases the amount needed in the budget for litigation. Administrator McLaughlin added that the city will be reimbursed for the amount already spent and there also may be coverage for the LayCom litigation. The Council went over the following: Revenues The proposed General Fund Revenues are $11,488.253.00. Alderman Golinski commented on the following: • Building Permits - was the projected amount of permits realistic. Director Miller went over the amount of permits issued in the previous year versus the few issued this year. He stated that he felt that 100 permits was a conservative projection. • The $70,000.00 transfer from Land Cash, 50% to be used for the park planner's salary and 25% to be used for the park supervisor's salary. He felt this was an inappropriate use of the funds and opposed the transfer. Alderman Spears questioned the following: Real Estate Tax - is the amount of $431,504.00 justified with the number of foreclosures? Director Mika and Attorney Orr explained that real estate taxes are still paid by the bank in the event of foreclosure. ° Liquor licenses- are more business applying for them? Assistant City Administrator Olson explained the estimate was based on existing licenses and additional restaurant and package liquor licenses. He stated that the city has not seen a decreased in the amount of licenses and that turnover in businesses brings in new applications, ° Development Fees increased 80 %. Director Miller explained that these fees are separate from building permit fees. Development fees include engineering and administrative review fees which are due at subdivision platting. He felt this was a conservative number based on expected projects. The Minutes of the Snecial Meeting of the Citv Council — March 24, 2009 — nage 2 • Beecher Lease Agreement — this hasn't been a line item on any previous budget: where are the funds going? Director Mika explained that the funds were going into the Building Fund however everything was switched to the General Fund and a line item was created. She never recorded the income to the line item but has corrected the mistake. • Ordinance Fees increased 229% - due to Administrative Adjudication. Director Mika stated that this was broken out of the Administrative Adjudication line item and perhaps she should have removed the comment. Alderman Spears stated that funds are being taken out of the Police Department to pay for staff for the Administrative Adjudication process. She asked how the revenue from the process would be coded. Director Mika explained that after the budget is passed, she will issue a number to track. Alderman Spears asked if the revenue went to the Police Department and Mayor Burd stated that it did not; it goes into the General Fund. Alderman Spears was concerned that the Police Department reflected the expense but not the revenue. Director Mika explained that all revenues collected in the city go to the General Fund. Alderman Spears asked why the expense was not reflected under the Administration Department and Director Mika stated that she decided to put it under public safety. Chief Martin explained that the expense is paid out of the Police Department however their money comes from the General Fund. He noted that the revenue from traffic fines is similar. He stated he was comfortable with the budget this way. Mayor Burd commented that Oswego is projecting an income of $80,000.00 from this process next year. They also put the income in the General Fund. She noted that the City Council always tries to comply with Chief Martin's request for the budget and the Police Department's needs come out of the General Fund. • Investment Income — does this include the $130,000.00 the city is expecting to receive from Kendall County? Director Mika stated that the $130,000.00 was collected last year. • Land Cash — Alderman Spears shared Alderman Golinski's concern about the use of these funds for salaries. There was a discussion regarding the use of Land Cash for salaries. Mayor Burd explained that the park planner was hired with the use of this fund for the salary in mind. Alderman Golinski noted that currently the city isn't developing any parks and this employee is in the Community Development Department. Mr. Olson stated he wasn't aware of any current park designs but he hadn't had time to discussed upcoming parks with Park Planner Haake. He stated that from a construction perspective there were two maybe three parks being planned in the budget. Mayor Burd added that the Recreation Department cannot support the Park Planner at this time and that she believed it is more expensive to contract out for these services. Director Miller explained that Ms. Haake also prepares construction documents for the Community Development Department instead of using an outside source. Alderman Golinski stated that the use of Land Cash for salaries could be challenged by a developer for instituting a hidden tax. Land Cash is supposed to be used for the development of parks that are attributable to a subdivision. He stated that if Ms. Haake is planning parks, document the time and charge it to Land Cash but to say a blanket percentage comes out of Land Cash is wrong. Administrator McLaughlin stated that her time could be tracked this year to confirm that the percentage of time is correct. He stated he spoke with both employees affected by this and they both felt the percentage of their jobs reflected from Land Cash was fair. Mayor Burd thought this documentation was being done. Mr. Olson stated that he put it on his list of things to be done when it was mentioned two weeks ago. Alderman Spears asked if Alderman Golinski would be more comfortable waiting until tracking has been done and then address this at the six month review of the budget. Alderman Golinski stated he would be more comfortable with waiting if the Council agreed to tit. Mayor Burd stated that she did not think Alderman Golinski was in the majority on this matter. Alderman Spears suggested they find out and the City Council present was polled. Aldermen Plocher, Sutcliff, Munns and Allen were comfortable leaving the budget as is, tracking the hours and reviewing it in six months. Alderman Spears reminded the Council that this use could be challenged and she would rather they be on the safe side. Administration Alderman Golinski noted that last year the projected year end amount for legal expenses was $385K but now the budget looks different as far as the breakdown. He asked Director Mika to explain. Director Mika stated that Corporate Counsel is Attorney Orr's fees, Litigation Counsel is Attorney Gardiner's or any other legal fees for litigation and Special Counsel is for legal fees for specialized attorneys such as the labor attorney. Alderman Spears stated that at the February budget meeting it was decided that $200,000.00 would be placed in the Special Counsel and Litigation Counsel line items. She asked why this was changed. Mayor Burd explained that the Illinois Municipal League insurance will cover the Aspen Ridge litigation so this line item was decreased. There is also the possibility they will cover the LayCom litigation. She added that I1%IL was going to allow Attorney Gardiner to stay on the case. Also, Attorney Orr's fees were reviewed and it was determined that the city paid her $150,000.00 so the Corporate Counsel fees were reduced. Alderman Spears stated that she would feel more comfortable allocating more funds to these accounts. She asked if it was a sure thing that the LayCom litigation would be covered. Attorney Orr explained the recent lawsuit that required insurance carriers to The Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Citv Council — March 24, 2009 — page 3 cover this type of litigation. She stated that Attorney Gardiner was feeling confident that this will be covered. Alderman Spears asked if the I IL would deny coverage if confidential documents were released and Attorney Orr stated they would not. Alderman Allen asked if the Facade Program was designed to improve the appearance of the downtown and Mayor Burd explained it was and $10,000.00 was placed in the fund again to help encourage the program. Alderman Golinski questioned the273% increase in Office Cleaning. Administrator McLaughlin stated that staff is looking at outsourcing the cleaning in City Hall alone however a cleaning service for all city buildings is being investigated. Alderman Golinski commented that outsourcing should save money and Administrator McLaughlin explained that there will be a staff reduction to coincide with the increase. . Alderman Spears asked for clarification; $7,500.00 was in the FY 0809 budget and now $28,000.00 was being proposed for the FY 0910 budget because the city was going out for bids for a service for all the buildings. Administrator McLaughlin explained that the $28,000.00 was strictly for city hall alone. He stated that currently there is a full-time employee and contractual staffthat cleans the building and the city is spending an excess of $60,000.00 for cleaning the building. W. Olson added that there is an increase in this line item however there is a decrease in another line item. Alderman Plocher asked if someone was being let go and Administrator McLaughlin stated that this was possible. If another position is available in the city the employee will be moved but that wasn't reality. Alderman Spears questioned the flowing: • Dues — what does this include? Mr. Olson explained that this includes things like the city's membership to Metro West, the Chamber of Commerce as well as for professional organizations that the City Clerk, Administrator McLaughlin and other staff belong to. • Training and conferences — the note indicates that is for the B4L conference for elected officials only. Alderman Spears asked what it covered. Director Mika stated that it covers the $110.00 /person E\4L registration fee plus meals and lodging for two nights. • Office Supplies - she questioned that $1,000.00 increase. Mr. Olson explained that this line item went over this year so it is being increased_ ° Computer Equipment and Software — Alderman Spears stated that she thought equipment was not going to be automatically replaced. Mr. Olson explained that this line item could be decreased because staff rotated a vacant computer to one that crashed. Director Mika stated that the funds could remain in case another computer crashes or she could transfer it over to the computer line item under Finance. It was the consensus to move the funds to the finance line item. • Polka Parry Funds — she questioned where the funds were and if they will go back to Senior Services. Director Mika stated that the funds are under Parks and Recreation. Alderman Spears asked that the funds be moved to the administration budget. Mayor Burd stated that the transfer of the funds back to Senior Services needs to be place on a City Council agenda. She asked for documentation to show who is to get the donation. It was the consensus of the Council to place this on the bill list once documentation is received. • NICOR — is this line item being increased enough? Director Mika explained that because the city is a government entity it gets a break in its gas cost and she was confident in the increase of 1%. Alderman Munns questioned what the city was getting for spending $14,000.00 /year on a grant writer. Mr. Olson explained that he would prepare a memo for the City Council to show that the city is getting a return for its money. Alderman Golinski listed the amount for the different grants the city has received and felt it was money well spent. Alderman Plocher stated he would not like to see the cleaning service changed because he did not see where the city would be saving. Alderman Sutcliff commented that she did not see the need for $10,000.00 for a legislative attorney. Alderman Allen agreed. Alderman Golinski noted that Mayor Burd brought forward this idea when she was an alderman and that it had never been used. He supported leaving it in the budget as a safety net. The Council was polled — Aldermen Allen, Plocher and Sutcliff wanted it removed from the budget while Aldermen Spears, Golinski and Munns wanted it to remain as a safety net. Mayor Burd noted that it was on the agenda of the regular City Council meeting later in the evening that a majority approval was needed to spend the funds. Alderman Sutcliff questioned the change in the Kendall County paratransit line item. Mayor Burd stated that the county originally gave the city a higher figure but this has been reduced. The Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Citv Council — March 24. 2009 — pa 4 Finance Alderman Golinski asked who put the commented in the budget and Director Mika stated that the department heads did. Alderman Golinski commented that more comments would be useful, would help alleviate questions and would make the budget more transparent to the public. Alderman Golinski questioned the sales tax rebate increase. Director Mika explained that more stores came on line at Kendall Marketplace late in the year. Alderman Spears has the following questions: • Salaries — Over -time — she thought that all overtime was being cut out. Administrator McLaughlin stated that certain departments such as the Public Works Department need to have overtime funds available. Director Mika noted that the Finance Department is down two positions which won't be filled. Staff may need overtime to cover the loss of these employees. • Health Insurance decreased_ Director Mika explained that the health insurance for the water and sewer employees will be reimbursed from their fund not finance's. • Cellular phones — line item increased. How many phones did this cover? Director Mika explained it was for her and the IT person's phones. • Postage increased 150% and printing and copying increased 100 %. Director Mika explained the increases are due to the adjustment made by breaking out the cost from the Administration Department's budget. • Computer Equipment and Software — was this for a computer replacements? Director Mika stated that the amount reflected the expense for the entire city. Alderman Spears noted that it was 7 :00 p.m. and time for the regular City Council meeting to begin. She asked if another meeting was going to be scheduled to finish going over the budget. The Council discussed that the budget had to be approved by April 30, 2009 and it had to be displayed for thirty days. The public hearing was scheduled for April 14, 2009. Administrator McLaughlin stated that there was nothing that precluded the current draft from being the working document. Attorney Orr agreed and explained that the City Council could make any amendments at the time of approval. Alderman Golinski commented that he questioned if there would be enough time at this meetings to go over the budget and he requested another meeting so the City Council could get its questions answered. It was decided to display the current draft but no date for an additional meeting was determined. Alderman Spears asked one last question on the budget; were replacement vehicles addressed in the budget. Director Dhuse stated that he had one pick -up truck and Chief Martin added he had a few. Alderman Spears requested information on the vehicles being replaced and their mileage. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Burd entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Spears. Motion unanimously approved by a viva voce vote. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Jacquelyn Milschewski, City Clerk City of Yorkville, Illinois