FINANCE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
CITY
HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD
REGULAR
MEETING
7:30
P.M.
1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Fix were present. No members were absent. Others present were Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Linda Fersch, Tim Hansley, and others.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF August 23, 2007, Regular Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
3. FINANCE DIRECTOR:
A. Finance Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided a written report and would happy to answer any questions. Mrs. Fersch stated with regard to CORMA, it appears we will stay with them for the entire year as the MVRMA Pool has declined the offer to accept the CORMA group. Mrs. Fersch stated she had distributed to the Committee this evening a chart showing impact fees already collected and that could possibly be collected yet this year.
B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the 2006 appropriation, Ordinance 2006-164. Mrs. Fersch stated she had no appropriation requests this evening.
C. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to write off uncollectible water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater charges. Ms Gilleland stated the information requested by the Committee had been included in their packets. Ms Gilleland stated she would like to write-off the uncollectibles for everything prior to the past three years, as we are working with a collection agency and they will not go back any further than three years. Ms Gilleland continued she needs an official action so we can mark these off and move on. Ms Gilleland stated the Committee had received a listing all of the uncollectibles for the period of 1990 through 2004, and these amounts range from $1,000 to $11,000 during those years. Mr. Fix clarified this would require action by Council by ordinance. Mr. Sabatino stated in looking at the listing, in 2001 we had one account for approximately $1,300, in 2002 one for $2,467, and in 1996 one for $1,668. Mr. Sabatino inquired if anyone had looked at these three accounts to see how they got to be that large to see if it is something that we can correct so it doesn’t happen again. Mrs. Fersch stated some of this has been corrected because we used to do a quarterly billing, and some were also bankruptcies and we cannot collect those. Mrs. Fersch stated she would have to check on the three specific accounts that Mr. Sabatino was referring to. Mr. Smith stated he would like to recommend this be sent forward to Council and if staff can provide the information on these three accounts to Finance Committee members before the next Council meeting the Ordinance can be amended or tabled if necessary. Mr. Sabatino stated he would vote no this evening because he did not know what caused these large amounts, but if he can be provided with the information that would justify writing them off he would be happy to vote for it at Council. Mrs. Hammond clarified that this would clear the backlog and then a process for handling this in the future will be discussed after the first of the year. Mr. Smith moved to approve draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to write off uncollectible water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater charges to Council; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino voting “Nay,” and Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-1.
D. Review and request for motion to approve the two-year renewal option for Active Deposits with Fairfield National Bank as provided for by Resolution 2004-28R. Mrs. Fersch stated our contract with Fairfield National Bank was for three years with the option to renew for two additional years. Mrs. Fersch stated the terms of our contract will remain in effect for this two-year period and as we have an excellent relationship with Fairfield National Bank, she would request Finance Committee approve this two-year extension. Mr. Smith moved to approve the two-year renewal option for Active Deposits with Fairfield National Bank; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
4. PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT:
A. Personnel Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided a written report and she would be happy to answer any questions. Mrs. Fersch stated there were 43 applicants for the police officer, 39 individuals took the test, and 32 individuals passed the test. She stated the next stage is the physical fitness exam. She further stated the AFSCME negotiations will begin on October 2nd, and she hoped it will be completed in three days or less.
B. Employee Manual.
(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance adopting a new Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual. Mrs. Fersch stated Council reviewed the new manual at the work session on September 18th, and made some recommendations for additional changes or corrections. She stated if there are no additional changes she would request a final copy from our consultant. Mr. Smith stated he had received no additional comments or suggestions from any council members. Mr. Smith moved to approve the ordinance adopting the new Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
5. DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:
A. Development Director’s Report. Mr. Hansley stated he had provided a written report to the Committee and would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Hansley stated for the most part the Drug Mart project is complete and we did receive a check for $27,000 last week. Mr. Hansley stated there was a snag on the Equity project, however, he and Ms Gilleland met with all of the parties and arrived at a temporary solution so construction can go ahead and he believes Max and Erma’s is still on schedule to open in mid-November. Mr. Hansley stated Sonic was held up by an access issue, but that is very close to being resolved and construction on the Sonic should begin late this year or in the spring. Mr. Hansley further stated he had provided a packet of information on the Fairfield Development Alliance, which is the new name of the Route 33 Corridor Study Group. He stated that would give everyone an idea of where they have been, where they are headed, etc. Mr. Hansley stated he would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have on that information.
Mr. Sabatino stated he had sent Ms Gilleland some information regarding the Meals on Wheels program and Mr. Hansley stated that agreement was signed on July 24th.
(1) Review and discussion regarding Paratransit Service. Mr. Hansley stated the City has a new contract with the Fairfield County Board of Retardation and Development Disabilities (MRDD) for the operation and maintenance of the paratransit vehicle. He stated the main change was the responsibility of the establishment of a fee schedule and the maintenance of the vehicle shifts from the City to the County agency. He stated the main change is that FairCats was subsidizing some fares, and that subsidy has been discontinued. Mr. Hansley stated the result has been a fare increase, and the County is hoping that the social service agencies the riders are a part of will step up and give their clients more money for their transportation needs. Mr. Hansley stated in the meantime, we are hearing that no-one can afford to ride the bus. Mr. Sabatino stated Meals on Wheels has started an in-house transportation program and the executive director has stated they are interested in the City participating in that. Mr. Smith stated he felt this was something the County Commissioners should work on to come up with a county-wide solution. Mr. Sabatino stated he understood ODOT is looking at potentially funding this through Lancaster transportation. Mr. Hansley stated all of the agencies are looking for the best way to provide the service at the lowest cost to the most people. Mr. Hansley stated the City’s subsidy is capped at $25,000 by our agreement. Ms Gilleland stated this makes us realize how small our organization is, we have our Director of Development working on this project because the Grant came under the Development Department, but it really does not fit under any of our organizational departments. She stated this could be a large time consumer, we do not own the bus we simply subsidize it for the benefit of our senior citizens and disabled residents in town. Ms Gilleland stated this is a nice thing that we do, but it is a losing program for the City. Mr. Smith stated that was why he felt the County should take a county-wide leadership to represent everyone. Mr. Sabatino stated if that was possible, our $25,000 could probably do a lot more for our citizens. Ms Gilleland stated from the information Mr. Sabatino had forwarded regarding the Meals on Wheels program there is nothing we can do right now, we are waiting on ODOT. Mr. Sabatino stated that was correct, and if the program does not work with the Lancaster transit then perhaps the City and Meals on Wheels can talk about something.
6. CHAIRMAN:
A. Review of budget work session schedule. Mr. Smith stated all of Council had received a proposed schedule. Ms Gilleland stated she would just request all council members put these dates on their calendars. Mr. Smith stated Mrs. Fersch has requested an extra week in October before first work session. Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Sabatino stated they did not have a problem moving the work session and the October Finance Committee meeting back one week. Mr. Smith stated then the first budget work session would be at 6:00 P.M. on October 25th, with the regular meeting following at 7:30 P.M. on October 25th.
7. OTHER BUSINESS:
8. MOTIONS:
A. Motion for Executive Session under Section 121.22(G)(1)(b), Matters involving an employee’s or public official’s employment, Section 121.22(G)(2), Purchase or sale of public property, Section 121.22(G)(3), Conference with law director regarding pending or imminent court action, and Section 121.22(G)(4), Matters involving bargaining sessions with public employees. Mr. Smith moved for executive session under section 121.22(G)(1)(b), Matters involving an employee’s or public official’s employment; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
Finance Committee adjourned into Executive Session at 8:10 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 8:29 P.M.
9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Sabatino voting "Aye." Motion carried, 4-0. The Finance Committee adjourned at 8:30 P.M., September 20, 2007.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
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