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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-12-2010 Clerical Meeting MinutesCLERICAL COMMITTEE Tuesday January 12, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. Historic Depot, 50 North 4th Avenue, Canton, Illinois Aldermen in attendance: Jim Hartford, Craig Westl Larry Sarff2 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, Fire Chief Bonnie Cremer, Public Works Director Clif O'Brien, SRPED Mark Rothert, Keith Plavec, Joe Ginger Video Services. In the audience was The Daily Ledger John Froehling, Journal Star Kevin Sampier Finance Alderman Eric Schenck, Chairman Bills. City Administrator Jim Snider discussed the bill listed on page 16 to Merrell Brothers. He stated this is an annual contract for sludge removal in the amount of $142,430.10 listed under the WTP. This service will be sent out for bids again, and should come back to us in a few weeks. 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: Before discussing the revenue and expense items occurring last month, I'd like to point out a budget adjustment that was made to accommodate for property taxes collected for both police and fire pension funds. You may notice that revenues for the month are quite high at $991,420. However, please note that the police expenditures for the month were $450,535 (17% of the total police budget) and fire expenditures for the month were $584,836 (26.4% of the total fire budget). This is because the adjustment increased property tax revenue in the general fund while at the same time increasing expenditures in the police and fire budgets. This accounting entry does not affect the net income in the general fund nor does it affect the overall cash position. The total amount of this adjustment on both revenue and expense sides was $568,893. You can see by the YTD numbers for the police and fire department that this is a budgeted line item. As can be seen in the report, the YTD General Fund loss is ($267,057). Actual general fund revenues for the month were $422,527, which is about average when compared to the other months so far this fiscal year. To follow up on the discussion regarding State revenue streams last month, we did receive revenue for every State source in December. However, sales tax revenue, which is around $1.6 million YTD, is approximately 9% lower than at this time last year. It does 1 appear, however, that we will exceed our budget number for sales taxes this year. Income tax also continues to be an issue as it is 37% lower this year than at this time last year ($733,536 in 2009 compared to $1,006,218 in 2008). I've also noticed utility tax receipts to be 20% lower this year than at this time last year ($335,437 in 2009 compared to $401,817 in 2008). On the general fund expense side, there were a couple of items that greatly increased expenditures for the month of December. The first item was back pay to the Firefighter's Union. This amount alone exceeded $100,000. A smaller item was the council-approved purchase of two police vehicles totaling $38,827. Therefore, the loss in the General Fund for December was ($252,288). This did affect the total of cash and investments as they are now around $2.4 million compared to $2.6 million in November. The only other item I would like to point out is the large expenditures in the Water Administration budget for the month. This number is inflated due to interest expense relating to the 2002 and 2005 Alternate Revenue bonds. The amounts of interest paid in December for these two bond issues were $563,215 for the 2005 issue and $4,005 for the 2002 issue. Similar to last month, I will be reiterating all of these points during Finance Committee tomorrow night and will be happy to take any questions you may have at that time. Or, feel free to email me beforehand and I will be glad to help. Motion and second was made by Alderman Sarff/Rivero to recommend to Council to approve the Treasurer's report. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous. Fire Gear 3 sets from Towers Fire Apparatus Co $1,999.04 per set- paid from Small Equipment Grant through State Fire Marshall. Fire Chief Bonnie Cremer stated the Canton Fire Department needs to replace three sets of fire gear. Each set of fire gear includes one coat and one trouser. Towers Fire Apparatus Company has provided a quote of $1,999.04 per set. This is Morning Pride protective turn out gear which is extremely durable and provides excellent protection. Bonnie requests authorization to purchase three sets of fire gear from Towers Fire Apparatus Company at a cost of $5,997.12. The purchase will be paid for through the State Fire Marshal Small Equipment Grant. Motion and was duly second by Aldermen Schenck /Sarff to send to the Council for approval of the purchase in the amount of $5,997.12. The motion carried by voice vote, and was unanimous. 2010-2011 Tentative Budget Timeline City Administrator Jim Snider reported: As I reported to you a few weeks ago, I am currently waiting on the 2009-2010 Audit to be completed. John Fry of Hocker, Fitzjarold has been working with the City Treasurer to complete the audit. John is hopeful to have a draft copy for review in a few weeks. Work on the 2010-2011 budgets has begun. Staff has received the new budget template and we are formulating a list of capital items for the proposed strategic planning meeting on February 6"'. The new budget template is a work in progress and will have a more uniform look across all the respective departments. This is the first step in transitioning into a more streamlined budget template that will be more efficient and user friendly for everybody. I expect this process to continue to evolve each year as we find ways to improve the process. 2 Outlined below is a tentative schedule for our upcoming budget process: January 1, 2010 - Revised Budget Template provided to Department Heads January 29`h - Department Heads provide CA draft Expense Budget & Capital Request February 6`h - Strategic Planning Session February 26`h - Draft Budget Delivered for Council Review March 2°d - Budget Work Session: Reviewing Revenue Projections in all Funds and Expenses in the General Fund March 16`h - Budget Work Session: Reviewing Remaining Expense Items Apri16`" - First Reading of Proposed Budget Apri120`h - Public Hearing and Final Reading of Proposed Budget Cook Medical Site Development- Kinsel Excavating Invoice for $4,925.00 Keith Plavec stated that all of the Cook invoices being presented for payment all pertain to the Cook project. It was originally thought that all of the clay and topsoil could be obtained from Ameren. The clay was received from Ameren, however the topsoil will be coming from the enterprise park. Kinsel excavating was used to get the topsoil, and Davis Sand and Gravel trucks were used to haul the soil. These invoices are all escrow eligible. Keith recommends paying these out of the TIF fund, then later reimbursing from the escrow account. Motion was made and duly seconded by Alderman Schenck/Sarff to send payment in the amount of $4,925.00 payable to Kinsel Excavating to Council for approval. The motion was carried by voice vote and was unanimous. Cook Medical Site Development- Davis Sand & Gravel for Invoice $4,095.00 Motion was made and duly seconded by Alderman Schenck/Sarff to forward to Council for payment out of the TIF funds in the amount of $4,095.00 payable to Davis Sand & Gravel. The motion was carried by voice vote and was unanimous. Cook Medical Site Development- Davis Sand & Gravel for $2,749.50 Motion was made and duly seconded by Alderman Schenck/Sarff to forward to Council for payment out of the TIF funds in the amount of $2,749.50 payable to Davis Sand & Gravel. The motion was carried by voice vote and was unanimous. Cook Medical Site Development- Davis Sand & Gravel for $5,031.00 Motion was made and duly seconded by Alderman Schenck/Sarff to forward to Council for payment out of the TIF funds in the amount of $5,031.00 payable to Davis Sand & Gravel. The motion was carried by voice vote and was unanimous. Downtown Revitalization-Community Forum Alderman Schenck stated that Canton has an unparalleled opportunity to revitalize out downtown business district using available TIF funds and leveraged partnerships. Four community forums are planned to build consensus upon future actions and priorities. Forums are scheduled for Monday evenings from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm and are open to the public Aldeman Schenck asked Mark Rothert and the partnership to help set up the meetings, and asked for feedback and ideas from the Aldermen. These would be open meetings and the Aldermen would not receive pay for these meetings. Alderman Sarff stated this is a great idea, and the format is well organized. City Administrator Jim Snider stated this would work well with the timing of the budget process. Alderman Hartford indicated he also likes the idea of the community forums. Mark Rothert stated he sees this as a positive step, and feels the business owners would like the opportunity to attend the meetings. Mark Rothert will bring back a schedule of dates and times to hold the forums. Motion was made and duly seconded by Alderman Schenck/Sarff to forward to Council and ask Spoon River Partnership to assist with setting up the forums and any reimbursement to Council be waived for attending the meetings. The motion was carried by voice vote and was unanimous. 2008-2009 Audit Progress City Treasurer Aaron Anderson stated the draft audit report was received. Some adjustments were recommended by the audit. Once Aaron completes the adjustments he will then send the information back to the auditors for a quality control review. This is the final process to complete the audit. Aaron anticipates having the audit complete in two weeks. Alderman Schenck stated that items from the management letter will be discussed in executive session. No action required at this time. The Finance committee adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Legal and Ordinance Chairman Possible purchase of 100 North Main Street from Tom Herbst Attorney Chrissie Peterson stated that this is the lot from the old Feaster's restaurant which was previously destroyed by a fire. The City expressed an interest to purchase the lot. Tom Herbst agreed offer the lot to the City for $2,000.00. Tom Herbst wanted to express that this price was available only to The City of Canton. Motion was made and duly seconded by Alderman Schenck/Rivero to draft a purchase agreement in the amount of $2,000.00 to purchase the lot at 100 North Main Street, Canton. The motion was carried by voice vote and was unanimous. The Legal and Ordinance Committee adjourned at 7:04 p.m. 4 Community & Industrial Development Alderman Jorge Rivero, Chairman Update from Mark Rothert SRPED Executive Director Downtown/Former IH Site: • Cook Canton-over 1000 people have signed up to take the Cook Canton screening tests. Interviewing for the first 30 hires took place this week. The first hires will go to Bloomington, IN for training and orientation. • The Olde Fashioned Christmas Walk was a success for our downtown with over 650+ people in attendance. • Carla and Rob Bobell report that their facade enhancement project is nearing 60% complete. Special Events/Tourism: • See attached marketing and tourism summary from Dana Smith. 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: • Ameren has asked for Enterprise Zone benefits (state sales tax exemption on building materials) related to approximately $1.68 million in upgrades they plan to conduct at their Duck Creek power plant. • I have worked with several small business owners and entrepreneurs to start business locally. • Worked with a national retailer presently located in Canton who would like to expand. • Forwarded information concerning the former Drow Lot property to interested parties. Grant Work: • Working with Kevin Wiedhart of the WIRC on the State of Illinois CDAP Housing grant program • On December 18, 2009, the State of Illinois awarded its Transportation Enhancement Program grants of which the City of Canton was not a recipient. If you recall the City's application was for downtown streetscaping and beautification. Fulton County, however, did receive funding for a bike trail between Maple Street (Wallace Park) and the Spoon River College Arboretum. • Performed grant administration and reporting for DCEO, USDA, and Hotel/Motel tax grants. Other: • SRPED Board meeting on January 7, 2010 • The economic impact analysis of the new Cook Canton facility was completed by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. I will have copies available on Tuesday to pass out to those who want to see it. • The SRPED has set a date for our annual luncheon for Thursday, May 6, 2010 from 11:30am to lpm with USDA's State Director, Colleen Callahan as a guest speaker. Website Re-Design • Presented reportlanalysis 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. • Recommended that the Spoon River Partnership for Economic Development purchase a $2,000 upgrade to the sight from GovOffice.com. • Began development of plan to implement the upgrade, including identifying stakeholders/end-users of the GovOffice technology from whom to obtain feedback. Alderman Sarff asked when the Cook Medical Facility anticipated opening and what the staffing plans and goals are. Mark Rothert stated they are hiring the first 30-40 employees- sending them for training, they will return to train additional new hires. The target is currently set at 150 employees- then will eventually increase to 300 employees over a period of time. Mayor Meade stated that the current date of opening is April 2010. He feels Cook will want to move relatively fast to get the facility to the top production rate. Mayor Meade stated the housing grant- if received-will be a popular program, and the Council will determine where the money will be used. Mark Rothert stated there are two different types of housing grants. The first is the Illinois housing authority and the second is the CDAP program. The CDAP program focuses on a targeted area. Western Illinois Regional Council focuses on Maple and Anderson Street. The IDHA can be used anywhere in the community. Mark Rothert is still waiting to receive information on the grants being awarded. The County was successful with obtaining the grant for a bike trail. Mayor Meade anticipates being approached for a matching contribution to help with the trail. This will be further discussed in the next few weeks. The trail will run from Wallace Park to Spoon River College. The Community & Industrial Development adjourned at 7:11 p.m. Negotiations, Grievance & Personnel Alderman Larry Sarff, Chairman Planning & Zoning Officer Position City Administrator Jim Snider reported that he received a proposal from Maurer and Stutz to outsource the planning & Zoning position and a staff member at Maurer and Stutz would perform the duties. Jim Snider asked for feedback from the Council to see if they would like to advertise for the position or outsource the position. 6 Alderman Eric Schenck indicated that outsourcing the position is only a temporary solution, and he would rather see this be a position held within the City. Alderman Sarff indicated he tends to go back and forth between outsourcing and hiring in-house. Maurer and Stutz are willing to help where they can. The past contract will be expiring, but they will draft a new contract that can be reviewed by Council. Pekin will continue to help with the inspections. The contract with Pekin will expire between March and April. Keith Plavec will contact Pekin to see if they would be willing to extend the timeframe for helping with the inspections. Alderman Sarff asked Jim Snider to come back to Council with additional information on salary comparisons and a wider advertising range. Expanding the advertising area would probably create a higher salary range. The cost and comparison would probably be higher than the proposed amount from Maurer and Stutz. Alderman Schenck would like to see a qualified person in-house with a higher level of experience. Alderman Ellis would like to see the in-house planning & zoning officer handling the inspection calls rather than paying Pekin for the service. Keith Plavec recommended having a defined scope of responsibilities for the position. City Administrator Jim Snider will prepare salary comparisons for discussion on February 6th, 2010 Public Works Management Structure Alderman Sarff asked Jim Snider to discuss with staff and alderman the structure of the Public Works area. Jim Snider will bring back further information on February 6th 2010. Census Jobs Mayor Meade reported that testing will be held at the YMCA on January 14, 21, and 28th. The times will be at 12:45 AND 3:45. The salary will range from $13.50-$15.00 per hour plus mileage. Payroll Alderman Sarff reported that the city needs to have a backup plan for payroll in the event the person processing payroll is on vacation or ill. Past practice has been to submit payroll early in the event of a vacation, however this creates any overtime during the last part of the week to be paid the following week. 7 Diana Tucker stated that due to the complexity of the payroll system she would recommend having ADP process the payroll in the event of a vacation or illness. Trying to have a backup person perform payroll duties as a "fill-in" basis would only create unnecessary mistakes. ADP would process the payroll as a back-up free of charge. Diana also stated changing from weekly payroll to every other week payroll would also help illuminate the problem of filling in on vacations or illnesses. Mayor Meade stated that the City Clerk needs to know how to process payroll and act as the backup. Alderman Sarff would like to discuss this further at next week's Council meeting. The Negotiations, Grievance & Personnel Committee adjourned at 7:30 p.m. for executive session to discuss Personnel and Pending and Threatening Litigation. Rec rdi g ecre ,-' Dia Tuck eputy City Clerk 8