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Home My WebLink About01-10-2012 Clerical Committee Minutes CLERICAL COMMITTEE Tuesday January 10, 2012- 6:30 p.m. Donald E. Edwards Way 50 North 4th Avenue Canton IL 61520 Aldermen in attendance: Dave Pickel, Justin Nelson, Jim Hartford, Jeff Fritz, Gerald Ellis, Craig West, Jeremy Pasley, Aldermen absent: Alderman Eric Schenck Staff in attendance: City Clerk Diana Tucker, City Attorney Chrissie Peterson, City Administrator Jim Snider, Comptroller Caty Campbell, Treasurer Nikki Marter, Police Chief Dan Taylor, Assistant Chief Tom Shubert, Interim Public Works Director Bill Terry, Joe Ginger Video Services. SRPED Mark Rothert In the audience: Phil Fleming News Media- John Froehling from Daily Ledger. Finance Alderman Craig West, Chairman BILLS City Administrator Jim Snider reported: A bill reflected on this month's bill list was for optimum health solutions which offered health screenings/testing for all city employees. The cost was $75.00 per person and employees could receive a$5.00 per month discount from the insurance premium if they participated. Thirty six employees and spouses participated in the screening. Motion and second were made by Aldermen West/Pickel to send to council for consideration. The motion carried. TREASURER'S REPORT City Treasurer Nikki Marter explained that the total available cash at the end of December was $3.8 million. The schedule of investments on page two of the treasurer's report reflects the total investments at the end of December were $6.2 million. The budget comparison report ~ ~~r; reflects the general fund with a loss at the end of December in the amount of $179,295.00 with a YTD loss in the amount of $187,124. This loss is mainly due to having five pay periods in December and having larger than normal equipment expenses for the police department of $18,000.00. The water and sewer reflects a loss at the end of December in the amount of $295,116.00 with a YTD gain in the amount of $834,642.00. A payment of the 2005 Alt Bond interest expense of $515,000.00 is reflected in the YTD gain. All DCCA loans are reported as being current. Motion and second were made by Aldermen West/Pickel to send to Council for consideration. The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. BILLING/SPENDING AUTHORIZATION AND PURCHASING POLICY City Treasurer Nikki Marter reported: We currently submit bills to the Council for approval prior to paying them. With our current process, ~ it can take an average of six weeks from receipt of an invoice before payment is actually made. Because of this process and the resulting wait time, we are regularly charged late fees and we occasionally miss out on discounts for early and automatically drafted payments. However, according to Resolution No. 3905 (passed Oct. 2009), the council already agreed to allow bill payment for those bills that were due prior to council meeting dates to avoid penalties/late fees/finance charges, as well as allow bills to be paid that could obtain discounts for early payments. Though I am unaware as to why this resolution has not been followed, I will be implementing it from this point forward to eliminate as many fees as possible. Along those lines, I would like to continue to streamline the bill paying process and cut costs as much as possible. It currently takes several man-hours to process the bills, as well as costs the city additional money in printer ink, computer paper checks, checks from the bank that we hand-write, envelopes, and postage. There are a few bills the city has that are already automatically drafted from our accounts payable account as an ACH transaction, but I would like to move as many of the cit~s regular monthly bills to be drafted ACH. Doing so would be a definite cost savings, both tangible and intangible. This will pay the bills by the due dates, regardless if those dates coincide with the date of council meetings where bills are typically approved. I would also like to pay all remaining bills that have been budgeted upon receipt of the invoice. I have talked to several cities within Illinois that are on the budget system to see how they handle their bills. The majority of the cities that are on the budget system do not submit bills that have . ~.f'_... ~ e~ ~ r~ been budgeted for to the council for approval, but instead present the council with a list of bills that have been paid for informational purposes. I would recommend the City of Canton to do the same. 4 Of course, any bill that has not been budgeted for, or is above the budgeted amount, will still be brought to council for approval prior to paying. v_` „tt SPENDING AUTHORIZATION City Treasurer Nikki Marter reported: I have been reviewing spending authorization limits for the mayor and department heads since it hasn't been reviewed since 2005. The city currently has authorization limits of $1,500.00 for the mayor and $1,000 for department heads. These amounts are fairly low, so I have been researching appropriate limits. ~ N* $ I have contacted several cities based upon population size, and some based on location. Spending limits vary, but the average authorization limit is $13,500 for the mayor/city administrator and $3,000 for the department heads. I am making a recommendation that the spending limits be raised to $10,000 for the mayor and $5,000 for department heads. PURCHASING POLICY City Treasurer Nikki Marter reported: ` I have been reviewing the current purchasing policy for the City of Canton, and I have been comparing our policy to other purchasing policies of various cities in Illinois. As an FYI, I will be making some recommendations in the future of potential changes to assist in streamlining processes and provide a higher level of accountability in the expenditure of public funds. I will also be working with Comptroller, Caty Campbell, to devise an accounting manual which will encompass the current purchasing policies and any potential changes. ~ ` Alderman Nelson explained that the City should have a purchasing policy in place and approved with any changes prior to the spending limits being adjusted. Further discussion took place regarding the spending limits and the reasons the limits should be adjusted. City Administrator Jim Snider explained that the primary reason to adjust the spending limit is to t~~:, bring the policy more in line what other municipalities operate with. The expenses occurring are all part of the budget and ultimately a report of every expenditure is presented to the council. . Alderman Pasley expressed concerns about moving forward with the proposed increase and does ~ not feel it would be in the best interest of the City to raise the increases as proposed. a E . s~:..e.~~'*. ~ b }9 1 ~a~. . ~~,~:`~„v,~ ~ 3 a;. t~~~~E e ~~~~3~ i PY§IM~" : r;:: Alderman Fritz suggested having a draft purchasing policy brought back to councii next week for ~ further review. APPLE IPAD II PURCHASE City Administrator Jim Snider is working with IT firms and will bring further information to next month's meeting. ~ S ~7E FY 2011-2012 BUDGET REPORT ~ J p,~; «i y.~. City Administrator Jim Snider reported: As you know, for the first time in a few years, we completed the annual audit process in a timely matter. The FY 2010-2011 Audit Report was submitted for council review by Philips, ;v Salmi & Associates on October 11, 2011 and approved by Council on October 18, 2011. City z ~ V' Comptroller Caty Campbell is to be commended for her efforts in accomplishing this task on a timely basis. Work on the 2012-2013 budget has begun. Staff has received the budget templates for the new year and we are formulating a list of capital items for the proposed strategic planning meeting on February 4th. The new budget template is a work in progress and will have a more uniform look across all the respective departments. I expect this procedure to continue to ,t; evolve each year as we find ways to improve the process. The December, 2011 budget comparison analysis shows Genera) Fund revenue at 63.6% YTD. Eight months into the fiscal year we anticipated the amount being at 66%. Overall General ."z~7=;: Fund expenditures are at 58.9%. So even though revenue is running below forecast, expenditures are also tracking below estimates. Water and Sewer Fund revenue are at 62.8%, while associated expenditures are only at 48.1%. The department heads are doing a good job of managing their expenditures overall. With an anticipated 15% increase in health insurance costs for next year and with sales tax f`; receipts not quite keeping up with this year's forecast, we will have a more difficult time ~ balancing our FY2012-2013 budget than last year. These factors could be offset by an increase ~z~r.;; in the Ameren franchise fee and utility tax revenue from the new Cook Polymer Plant, which is due to come on line later this year. Either way, this next fiscal year looks to be a difficult year for the City to fund much in the way of capital expenditures. r'~~ Taking an austere approach in the budget process as in FY2010-2011 allowed us to maintain services and employee staffing levels. At the end of that fiscal year we were able to close the xx~ r:~.'- v g~_ A ~E~~" ~ ~S4 y ~ r ~ ~ ~~H~W ~,~i~. `'~r L, X}~:. '4 d!'f ,)'F x~. r' ii M1 n year in the General Fund with a$600,000 surplus since our revenue improved and additional cost savings were garnered with lower liability and workman's comp insurance costs by joining M I CA. A complete list of the requested capital items for FY2012-2013 will be reviewed at the strategic planning meeting on February 4th. One option for the Council to consider in funding future ~ r..: capital items is the use of the surplus balance from FY 2010-2011 which stands at $370,000 (Total General Fund surplus as of December, 2011 is $1,675,019). K;.. ,x . ~i,~` { , r~; Outlined below is a tentative schedule for our upcoming budget process: January 27, 2012 - Department Heads provide CA draft Expense Budget & ~ Sp'' _ Capita) Requests > $ February 4th - Strategic Planning Session (Graham Hospital) ~ February 29th - Draft Budget Delivered for Council Review ~ ~'y~. March 6th - Budget Work Session: Reviewing Revenue Projections in al) Funds and Expenses in the General Fund Sy' ~4:~' March 20t" - Budget Work Session: Reviewing Remaining Expense Items ~j'' April 3rd - First Reading of Proposed Budget s.,=: . April 17th - Public Hearing and Final Reading of Proposed Budget i f; i The finance committee adjourned at 6:55pm ~ . ........k:,~ r ' b 4Ky! ."L;' M'~~'3 ~+qx 5 ~ _ ~ ,M.„Sn~.'t :..i~ Z~k: k~.A' + ~s ~•~e +T f .1 ~ a A r ~e 4~Y; j .y ~`v; ~.k,;°' j4,t r ~,ri; 4. i~.~ ~ a~: ~ Legal & Ordinance 4 q, tt~~ A/derman Jeff Fritz, Chairman ~ f i CANTON LAKE FARM LEASE Fy:; ~ ;r~ : Attorney Peterson was asked to make one change to the lease regarding sludge appiied by the City and compensation to Mr. Krulac if damage was made to the crop land. A few other issues need to be addressed with the council re ardin the cash rent for this g g piece of ground. A r;; question came up regarding paying taxes on this land. The City would be exempt from paying income tax on the property, however the City may possibly lose the property tax exemption and have to pay property taxes. x ~ ~ Interim Public Works Director Bill Terry explained that the City currently does not have the ~ ~~y~ 4 equipment to mow the property and currently the City leases three smaller mowers. If the City ~f fk would decide not to rent to the farmer the City could potentially have additional expenses to purchase equipment to take care of the property. The annual cost if the City would have to do the mowing would be approximately $9600.00 per season. If the City purchases a new tractor the cost would be approximately $30,000.00. Alderman Pickel explained that he feels it's best to have the tenant farmer mow and take care s ~w of the property. x ~ ~r ~r~ Motion and second were made by Aldermen Pickel/Pasley to send the draft lease to council for ,~,t ~ consideration. ~ UPDATE ON ANIMAL CONTROL AGREEMNT City Administrator 1im Snider is currently working on numbers on usage and the actual cost of r:` the shelter. He is currently waiting on feedback from the County Administrator. Once the County provides the feedback it will be sent to council for further discussion. ~ „ay`~;~" The legal and ordinance committee adjourned at 7:03pm r~,~' ~ ~c~4N~ ir,"~ z 7 R~a c ~ ~ ~ k i~ ~i3't F l~yy . ~ ~ 5.~,~>~~ ~.,z.:.r,;t~ F. + q " ~J ~FS r i.. ~ ~ Gk ~l. ~ ~ Community & Industrial Development Alderman Jeremy Pasley, Chairman F,"+ } ~i UPDATE FROM MARK ROTHERT SRPED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR o- E - Mark Rothert reported: o Assist Davis Sand & Gravel, Country Kennels and BT Interiors with TIF incentive funding ,3.~<• o Working two leads of major national retailers X'`` o Incubator feasibility 11~!5, ; ,,,r; o Dana Smith working on Canton information to be at the Lewistown Visitor center o Glacial Golf miniature golf tournament on 1/21/12 starting at 11am-7pm o Building Code and Fire Inspection meeting with the Chamber and City ..t o Heartland Partnership Economic Development Summit on 1/31 at Gateway Building in ` Peoria o Chamber Dinner is 2/6/12 The Community & Industrial Development Committee adjourned at 7:10p.m. ~ z:, ~ r;~ ~ ~ ~ Negotiations, Grievance & Personnel g ~ ` Alderman Dave Pickel Chairman ~ a ~ ~ ~ ~ : : s ADJOURNMENT Motion and second were made by Aldermen Hartford/Pickel to adjourn with no need for executive session. tio carried by voice vote and was unanimous. ~ a Tucker x ~ City Clerk ~ ;::p r~;Yti'. 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