HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-08-2009 Clericl CommitteeCLERICAL COMMITTEE
Tuesday December 8t", 2009 - 6:30 p.m.
Historic Depot, 50 North 4t" Avenue, Canton, Illinois
Aldermen in attendance: Jim Hartford, Craig West1 Larry Sarff1 Rick Reed, Jorge
Rivero, Eric Schenck, Gerald Ellis. Others in attendance: Mayor Kevin Meade, Deputy
City Clerk Diana Tucker, City Attorney Chrissie Peterson, City Treasurer Aaron
Anderson, City Administrator Jim Snider, Police Chief Dan Taylor, Public Works
Director Clif O'Brien, SRPED Mark Rothert, Joe Ginger Video Services. In the audience
was Daily Ledger John Froehling, Journal Star Kevin Sampier, Dustin Pollitt, Lee Puleo,
Jim Hocker and John Fry
Finance
Alderman Eric Schenck, Chairman
Bills.
Alderman Sarff questioned the item on page 201isted as the payphone. Jim Snider stated
he did some research on this item, and discovered it was for a payphone at the lake, and
we are mandated to pay for it- in the amount of $118.00 per month. A letter was received
from the Department of Health that mandates the City to have the payphone. Jim Snider
is going to continue to research to see if this is required since we do not have ayear-
round campground.
Motion and second was made by Aldermen Sarff/ Rivero to send the bills to Council for
consideration. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous.
Treasurer's Report.
City Treasurer Aaron Anderson highlighted the treasurer's report with the following:
First- as of the end of November, we are currently running a General Fund deficit of
($14,769). This is in contrast to the $231,285 surplus at the end of October. The number
one reason for this drastic turnaround is linked to State revenue streams. Due to the
budgetary crisis at the State level, payments to the City for certain revenues have been
severely delayed. This is most apparent in terms of income tax revenue. Income tax
revenue has been the City's second largest General Fund revenue source in the past and
the State Comptroller's Office has indicated that they are behind as far back as July 2009
on some payments. The feeling at the State level is that this situation will worsen before
it gets better. As you can see in the report, General Fund revenues were $330,257 for the
month. This is the lowest-earning month in the General Fund in this fiscal year by nearly
$100,000. This is caused mostly by State revenues dropping nearly $225,000 from where
they were in October. Therefore, the General Fund lost approximately $246,000 in
November.
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The impact of this large loss can be seen in the available cash section of the report. Total
cash and investments are down approximately $767,000 from October. Last week, as you
are all aware, several people spoke out about the increase in property taxes. There was
some suggestion that the General Fund should foot the bill for the recent losses in the
City's pension funds. Due to the problems in the State revenue streams, I do not see this
as a viable option. Although we still have investments of approximately $2.3 million, I
believe we will need these reserves to make up the cash flow shortfall associated with
slow payments from the State. As Jim Snider stated last week, the pension issue is not a
one-year problem and when coupling these issues with slowing revenue streams, General
Fund reserves could be exhausted at a rapid rate.
Also, the bill to the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association for the 2010
insurance premium was paid last month. To take advantage of a 2% discount, it was
decided to pay the full amount of $491,279 out of General Fund reserves. The funds
impacted by this expense are the Liability Insurance Fund and Workmen's Compensation
Fund. These funds are showing negative cash balances on this month's report due to this
expense. However, since the entire 2010 insurance premium has been paid, I do not
expect to see much, if any, activity in either of these two funds until the end of next
calendar year. By then, we will have received our 2010 property tax extension.
On another note, as of the end of November, we have received 100% of our
approximately $1.5 million property tax extension for 2009.
Alderman Schenck stated that we need to continue to be prudent about dipping into our
reserve funds.
Motion and second was made by Alderman Sarff/Rivero to send the Treasurer's report to
Council for approval. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous.
2009-2010 Budget Amendment
City Administrator Jim Snider gave a report to outline the 2009-2010 budget amendment.
The vast majority of the adjustments relate to simple clarification of items that were not
set up correctly in the original budget. We have several account line items that function
as both revenue and expenditures. The actual cash effect on the finances is limited to
basically the following two accounts. The balance of the changes where anticipated and
accounted for -just not properly budget for:
General Fund: <$105,085>
Civil Defense: < 3,000>
Jim stated he would name a few of the amendments:
Dental Cobra: Increased $300.00 due to the item not originally budgeted.
Fireworks Donation: Increased S$2740.00 due to item not originally budgeted.
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Vol. Workers Fund: Revenue increased $2000.00 due to item not originally budgeted.
Short-Term Bond Proceeds: Increased $4,000,000 due to item not originally budgeted.
IH Site Scrap Iron Sales: Increased $10,000 due to item not originally budgeted.
Lake Development: Increased due to item not originally budgeted.
Police and Fire Pension :Increased due to item not originally budgeted.
Postage :Increased $3000.00 due to item not originally budgeted.
Advertising :Increased $5,000.00 due to item not originally budgeted
Dues: Increased $5,225.00 due to the WIRC annual dues not originally budgeted.
Contractual Services: is a significant amount of an increase of $83,400.00 to reflect
only partial amount of the dues to Spoon River Partnership, Hocker Fitzgerald
Accounting, Humane Society, City of Pekin Inspection charges and PROS Consulting .
Planning and Zoning: is another significant increase of $31,000 to reflect the
outsourcing cost of planning and zoning administrative services through Maurer and
Stutz.
IH Go Bond Debt: Increased due to item not originally budgeted.
ESDA: Increased to $5,500 to pay for ESDA director's salary of $500.00 per month.
K-9 Donation Grant: Increased to $5,500.00 due to item not being originally budgeted.
Audit Fund: Decreased $25,000 due to no 20081evy proceeds.
Stimulus Projects that were added: The first being the Ash Street Sidewalk, and the 2°d
being the North Main Street Sidewalks- Increased due to not originally budgeted MFT.
Water Plant Fund: New line item. Expense covered by W & S bond proceeds.
Liability Insurance Fund: Increased due to only half of bill with IMLRMA being
budgeted. CA recommends all of 2010 bill be paid in November.
TIF IH Fund: Increased to reflect issuance of debt certificates.
TIF Misc Expenses: Increased $20,000 due additional misc. expense and $10,000
payment to IEPA for loan repayment. 1 S` of annual installments over the remaining life
of the TIF.
Jim stated these are a lot of specific line item changes, and not a significant dollar amount
increase. I anticipate further "housekeeping" type adjustments to be made in the final
budget amendment in April, 2010.
Alderman Schenck stated that he thinks that some items in the budget could be put off as
expenditures until later in the year then reviewed at that time.
City Administrator commented that other cities have laid people off but he does not feel
we are at that point. The trends from the State of Illinois are disturbing. We have a lot of
positive things happening in Canton, We anticipate increased revenue growth in our tax
base with the Cook development and other things.
Alderman Schenck stated we are currently on pretty solid ground, but we don't want to
see this change in a negative direction.
Alderman Schenck stated the budget amendment requires a 2/3 majority vote.
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Motion was made by Aldermen Schenck /Sarff to send to the Council as an ordinance in
the first reading. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous.
Unsuitable Soil Reimbursement
City Administrator Jim Snider indicated this needs to be held over to the next Mechanical
Committee Meeting. Keith Plavec is still working on this item.
Benefit Plannins Consultant Contract
Deputy Clerk Diana Tucker gave a report on the Benefit Planning Consultant Contract
Currently the city utilizes FSA, HRA and Cobra services with Benefit Planning
Consultant.
The service agreement expires December 31St of each year- this is a twelve month
contract
We currently have approximately 15 employees that participate in the Flexible Spending
Account.
Cobra notices are sent by BPC upon notification from the City
HRA services are currently being utilized
BPC is responsible for issuing checks to employees for reimbursement of qualifying
expenses
Most business prefers utilizing third party administrators to keep the health information
confidential.
During the next year we negotiated lower rates, which are outlined in the TPA Service
Agreement received in your packets.
I will highlight just a couple
The monthly service charge was reduced from $7.50 per person enrolled in the plan to
$6.00 per person
The monthly minimum fee was reduced from $150.00 to $100.00 per month.
The cost for Cobra administration will remain at $1.00 per person on the group health
plan per month.
I received a quote from PayFlex- a company that coordinates the services with BCBS
electronically. The rates were substantially higher.
Implementation fee of 750.00
Administration fee $6.25/person
Enrollment fee $250.00
Takeover of previous plan $2500.00
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I would recommend renewing the service agreement with Benefit Planning Consultant
for the 2010 calendar year at the negotiated rates received.
Motion and Second was made Alderman Sarff/Rivero to enter into an agreement with
BPC for the upcoming year. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous.
IML Risk Management Bill.
City Administrator Jim Snider reported:
Last month, the Council approved the full payment of $491,279.58 (in order to receive
2% discount) to IML Risk Management for our annual insurance premium for city
operations. I also reported that we have an option to go with the min/max plan Option #1
in the amount of $421,026.61. We would save $70,252.97 up front but would assume the
additional risk of losing an additional $70,000 if our performance for 2010 exceeds the
120% Claim Loss Fund.
IML Risk Management has provided me a spreadsheet showing our total experience over
the last five years and how we would have done if we were in the min/max plan. We
would have lost an additional $19,678 under the min/max plan versus the full premium
price. However, if you just look at the last three years, we would have come out ahead
by $58,947.
An additional variable to consider is that two-thirds of municipality's across the state
who are eligible ($100, 000 min insurance coverage) to participate in the min/max plan do
so.
In order to garner a cost savings, we would probably need to commit to the min/max plan
for a series of years. We would, however, have the option to pay the full premium each
year.
There is no clear cut advantage to go with the min/max plan. My recommendation is that
we go ahead and enter the plan, while budgeting the full loss potential under the plan.
Again, our limit would only be the 120% of the claim loss fund. In other words, another
$70,000 in 2010 if we have a poor experience year. This coverage is only offered to
cities with over $100,000.00 in coverage. 2/3 of the cities in the state of Illinois are in the
plan.
Alderman Sarff asked if this premium was for all of our liability coverage. City
Administrator Jim Snider replied that it is. Alderman Eric Schenck said he thinks it
would be worth trying to have the mini/max plan.
Motion and second was made by Aldermen Schenck/Rivero, to draft a resolution and
present to the Council for consideration then forward to the IML to switch to the
Mini/Max plan. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous.
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53 Week Pay Date Issue
Mayor Kevin Meade reported that every 7 years there are 53 Friday's in the year. The
problem with 53 pay checks is people are getting an extra weeks pay in the year. We will
need to decide how we will adjust the pay and not provide an extra weeks pay. The
amount for 1 weeks pay is approximately $130,000.00. Mayor Meade stated that he is
currently working with the Union's to see what the best way is to deal with the issue.
No action required.
The Finance Committee adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Legal & Ordinance
Chairman
Approval of Closed Session Minutes.
City Attorney Chrissie Peterson stated that she would recommend that the executive
session minutes be reviewed in executive session, then come back to that item for action
after the executive session.
Mayor Kevin Meade asked the Chief to remind people about the snow removal
ordinance.
Chief Dan Taylor reported that anytime we have more than 3 inches of snow, cars need to
be removed from the city streets within 12 hours. The street department needs to be able
to remove snow from the streets.
Legal & Ordinance Committee adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
Community & Industrial Development
Alderman Jorge Rivero, Chairman
Update from Mark Rothert SRPED Executive Director.
Cook Canton~ver 700 people have signed up to take the Cook Canton screening tests.
The passage rates on such tests remain high. Career Link/SRC now have a pool over 170
who have passed all five tests and are ready to fill out applications later this month.
TIF redevelopment agreement for business expansion will come up before the city
council for deliberation.
Canton Main Street held a meeting on 12/3/09. The Olde Fashioned Christmas Walk is
scheduled for December 11, 2009 from Spm to 7:30pm.
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Visited with Eilish Tuffy of Landmarks Illinois concerning historic preservation projects
in downtown Canton.
Special Events/Tourism:
Planning for 2010 open-air market
Wrap up of Muchkin Masquerade
The Big Red Christmas Stocking contest will be this Friday at the Christmas Walk
Dana submitted the calendar of events to the 2010 Peoria area visitors convention guide-
and will be printed in January.
Website Re-Design
Completed six-class schedule of Dreamweaver classes at SRC Tech Center.
Reviewed critical issues associated with using Dreamweaver to create a new website to
replace current sit hosted by GovOffice.com
Contacted GovOffice to research options for customizing current site with upgraded
template and custom graphics, at a cost of $2,000.
Reviewed other sites of large and small populations to develop a "feel" for how they
showcased their communities on the Web.
Met with Missy Towery and Mark Rothert to discuss results of the research, and to gain
their input on the development of the website.
Created areport/analysis to be presented to Mark, Missy and Rick Klinedinst at the next
regular Marketing Committee meeting comparing the risk and benefits of Dreamweaver
vs. GovOffice.com.
Business Attraction and Support:
The SRPED is working with the following business development opportunities. Please
call me if you would like to talk privately about any of these:
Talked with real estate broker concerning available properties in town for retail
expansion. Broker made site visit to Canton last week.
Conference call with local officials and potential expansion of retail business.
Talked to a business lead about the former Heilig-Meyer building.
Talked with prospective buyer/retailer for former Drow Lot, recommended that the City
Council issue another Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit interest in the property. The
committee agreed.
Mayor Kevin Meade stated we should take this back out for bids, but this would need
Council action.
Motion and second was made Schenck/Sarff to re-bid the Drow Lot. Motion was carried
by voice vote and was unanimous.
Grant Work:
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Performed grant administration and reporting for DCEO, USDA, and Hotel/Motel tax
grants.
Other:
Talked to Peoria Area Chapter of SCORE concerning development in Canton
Canton is now on Facebook with a Canton, Illinois community page. Become a "fan" to
stay up to date on events and happenings in our community.
Hotel/Motel Tax Request for Website Un~rade (Mark Rothert)
Summary
Hotel/Motel tax fund request to upgrade design of existing Canton website
Background
The current website www.cantonillinois.ora was first created in 2005 using a company
called GovOffice.com and uses one of the free templates they supply as part of their
package. This site was initially created as a web portal and one-stop online destination
for information about Canton. It has served that purpose well. Current contributors to
the website include the Spoon River Partnership, the City, the Canton Area Chamber of
Commerce, and Canton Main Street. Links to other community non-profit organizations
and resources are also listed. Because a GovOffice template is used, there is a certain
ease of updating information that is useful when multiple contributors are accessing the
site. However, a template, by nature, sacrifices customization and their have been desires
by council members and contributing website administrators to enhance its design and
aesthetics.
The SRPED recently explored using DreamWeaver to create a brand new website but the
program is not intuitive and easy to utilize without proper training and extensive use of
the program. Implementing such training and use with all administrators of the current
website would be too time and cost prohibitive.
GovOffice now offers several packages that allow for greater customization of website
design while keeping its functionality with multiple users. We can custom design a
website to better fit our needs (i.e. add more Canton area photos, a modern look, etc.) and
make it serve as a better marketing tool for information, tourism and economic
development in the Canton area. A secondary goal is to make it a site that Canton area
residents would use for local information on events, government activity, news, weather
and alerts. Attached is a summary of benefits we would receive through GovOffice with
a new upgrade of our website.
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The SRPED board has therefore forwarded a request on the City to request hotel/motel
tax funds of $2,000.00 to help with this update and upgrade under GovOffice's
"progressive solution" package.
Alderman Eric Schenck asked if we have a good collection of digital photos to use in the
creation of the design, or if we should contact local photographers. Alderman Schenck
also stated that he would like to see special interest paid to the portal, and the tourism
related areas. He also asked if this was something that could be done in-house, or if we
would need to search outside.
Mark Rothert indicated that his proposal of the $2000.00 would only cover the expenses
his outlined. It would not cover the expense of hiring an outside photographer.
Alderman Schenck suggested that Mark look into a way to bring the website to the
highest level possible, however he does not have a problem with the upgrade, he's just
not sure it will bring it to the level he hopes for.
Alderman Reed suggested offering a photo contest to the community in hopes of
obtaining photos to be used in the website.
Motion and seconded Sarff/Schenck to send to Council and approve the upgrade to the
progressive level with the Gov.office web design. The motion was carried by voice vote
and was unanimous.
The Community & Industrial Development committee adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Negotiations, Grievance & Personnel
Alderman Larry Sarff, Chairman
Workplace Harassment Training- IDHR/EEOC
Attorney Chrissie Peterson contacted the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the
EEOC to get cost estimates on training. Both can offer training on harassment in the
workplace, but the EEOC is substantially more expensive. The cost for training from the
EEOC is approximately $3000.00. The cost for training from the Illinois Department of
Human Rights is $474.00. The trainer with the Illinois Department of Human rights has
very good background, and comes highly recommended.
Attorney Chrissie Peterson recommends that the city use the training by the Illinois
Department of Human Rights for March 3, and 4th 2010.
Alderman Larry Sarff asked if this would be available for all employees. Attorney
Chrissie Peterson said the Department of Human Rights will offer four sessions of the
course, both in the morning and afternoon, so hopefully we can fit every employee in on
these sessions.
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Motion was made by Alderman Sarff/Schenck to enter into an agreement with the
Illinois Department of Human Rights and send to Council for consideration.
The motion was carried by voice vote, and was unanimous.
Alderman Larry Sarff said the committee would recess for five minutes, then return for
executive session to discuss personnel and pending litigation.
The Negotiations, Grievance & Personnel Committee adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The executive session to discuss personnel and pending litigation adjourned into open
session at 9:45 p.m.
ADJOURN
Being no further business, the Clerical Committee adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Recording Secretary,
Diana Tucker, Deputy City Clerk
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