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. A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 15, 2007, Regular Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 20, 2007, Special Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. fix, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 29, 2007, Special Meeting. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith abstaining, and Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF December 4, 2007, Special Meeting. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith abstaining, and Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
3. FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
A. Finance Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated we received from the Fairfield County Auditor our new taxable real estate evaluation for the City and it increased 12 percent, so we are up to $422,555,000. She stated she also received a notification that Kohl’s had appealed their property evaluation and it was reduced from $8 million to $6 million, and as a result we need to refund somewhere between $62,000 and $63,000. She stated because this is in a TIF area, it is the TIF money that we will be giving back.
B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the 2007 appropriation, Ordinance 2006-164. Mrs. Fersch stated she had two items; the Cover TIF construction which is the refund to Kohl’s she just talked about, and a decrease of $643,570.64 in the Diley Road Widening Fund because we estimated our reimbursements at the beginning of the year and now we know more what the actual figure is, so this is an end of year adjustment. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
C. Review and request for motion to approve nine draft ordinances to authorize the issuance of (1) not to exceed $200,000 Park Land Acquisition Bond Anticipation Notes, Third (2008) Renewal, (2) not to exceed $255,000 Building Improvement Bond anticipation Notes, Third (2008) Renewal, (3) not to exceed $1,850,000 Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Bond Anticipation Notes, Fifth Series, Second (2008) Renewal, (4) not to exceed $2,070,000 Street Improvement Bond Anticipation Notes, Twelfth Series, Fourth (2008) Renewal, (5) not to exceed $2,600,000 Water System Improvement Bond Anticipation Notes, Second Series, First (2008) Renewal (6) not to exceed $265,000 Police Building Bond Anticipation Notes, Ninth (2008) Renewal, (7) not to exceed $260,000 Traffic Signal Bond Anticipation Notes, Second (2008) Renewal, (8) not to exceed $395,000 Real Estate Acquisition Bond Anticipation Notes, Second (2008) Renewal, (9) not to exceed $700,000 Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Bond Anticipation Notes, Sixth Series, First (2008) Renewal, and (10) not to exceed $830,000 Street Improvement Bond Anticipation Notes, Thirteenth Series, as a consolidated Various Purpose Note issue for sale purposes. Mrs. Fersch stated these are our note renewals and the final ordinance is to consolidate the issues into one borrowing. She stated she has provided a history of each of the notes that shows what we are paying in principal and she would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino stated one of the note issues does involve the purchase of property owned by his mother and he did not vote on the approval to purchase it. He stated he did not see it as a conflict to vote on the note issues as it would be a routine issue. Mr. Smith stated he completely agreed with Mr. Sabatino, however, if he wished to discuss it with the law director prior to voting at Council that would be appropriate. Mrs. Yartin stated although all of the notes can be moved out of Committee with one vote, each note issue will be read separately at Council. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
4. PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT:
A. Personnel Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated we had two meetings for employees to receive a presentation regarding the new insurance options and she has had a very good response on the Health Savings Account.
5. DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:
A. Development Director’s Report. Mr. Hansley stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Hansley stated Mr. Don Phillips is our new Chief Building Official to replace Mike Stacey and as he has served as our backup CBO in the past he is familiar with our community. Mr. Hansley stated further he would like to point out to the Committee that he had forwarded to Service Committee a draft ordinance regarding a force main issue. He stated it was sent to Service because it deals with a water service issue, however, it also involves a rebate of $39,000 previously paid tap fees.
6. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Smith stated he had nothing to bring forward this evening.
7. OTHER BUSINESS: Mr. Smith stated he had received several items to be addressed under other business this evening.
A. Review and request to approve additional appropriation request for Diley Road project. Mrs. Fersch stated she was requesting an advance from General Fund to the Diley Road Widening Fund from the 2008 Budget of up to $270,000. Mrs. Fersch stated the closing on the properties we are purchasing is scheduled for January 4th and we must spend the money before we are reimbursed our 80 percent. She stated she needs to have the $270,000 advanced until we borrow the money in March and then it will be repaid to the General Fund. Mrs. Fersch stated this will be on a separate appropriation ordinance as it is dealing with the 2008 budget. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
B. Mr. Smith stated the Committee had received a memorandum and draft ordinance from our law director regarding the enactment of Chapter 1448 of the City of Pickerington Codified Ordinances that deals with cable television systems and competitive video service in order to comply with the enacted Ohio Senate Bill 117, and a request to declare this as an emergency. Mr. Smith stated what this does is change the language of our current ordinance to bring it in compliance with Senate Bill 117. Mr. Smith stated the last few pages of the packet provide the changes in the language so we can charge fees to those cable service providers, video service providers, that come in. Mr. Smith stated without this legislation we will not be able to charge the franchise fee. Mr. Hansley stated this is a statewide issue and there is a date that this must be enacted by or we will lose the right to keep our current franchise. Mr. Fix clarified that currently the City receives approximately $16,000 annually for our franchise fees. Mr. Fix further clarified this does not include satellite services as well. Mr. Sabatino clarified that the draft ordinance does not include the required emergency language and Mrs. Yartin stated she had received the draft late that afternoon and the appropriate emergency language will be added prior to sending it to Council. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council with the emergency language; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
C. Mr. Smith stated he would like to make the Committee aware that at the next Council meeting he may remove the ordinance dealing with the impact fee waiver request of Barnyard Primitives from the table as all parties, the owner, our attorney, and the Mayor, have agreed to fairly minor language changes regarding the reason for the exemption. He stated if the amended ordinance is received in time it would be included in Council packets, however, if it is not received in time to go out in packets, it will be e-mailed to all of Council.
D. Mr. Smith stated with regard to Council’s first regular meeting of the new year, as everyone is aware, the first Tuesday in January of 2008, is January 1st. He stated he felt there were two options to consider for the first Regular Council meeting in 2008, and that would be to meet on Wednesday, January 2nd, or Thursday, January 3rd. Mr. Smith stated further as this committee is comprised of a majority of Council he felt it would be appropriate to set a date for the first meeting of the year. Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Hammond all stated they felt Tuesday, January 2nd, would be the best date for the meeting. Mr. Smith moved to schedule the first regular Council meeting for 2008 for Wednesday, January 2, 2008; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
E. Mr. Smith stated if everyone recalled, Ms Gilleland had spoken to the Committee at the last meeting regarding the Pickerington Magazine being designated as the official publication of the City of Pickerington, and the Township has already designated the Pickerington Magazine as the official publication of Violet Township. Mr. Smith stated the Committee was given a draft ordinance on this issue this evening to consider moving forward to Council. Mr. Smith further stated the City will have some editorial control over the content in the magazine. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
F. Mr. Smith stated the Committee had received a draft resolution this evening authorizing the Finance Director to request advance distribution of tax monies of the 2.3 mill police operating levy from the Fairfield County Auditor. Mr. Smith stated this is an annual resolution so we can request our money prior to April each year. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council; 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.
G. Mr. Smith stated the Committee had also received a draft resolution to authorize the Finance Director to request advance distribution of tax monies of the 5.5 mill general operating levy from the Fairfield County Auditor. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward 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.
H. Mr. Smith stated the Committee had also received a resolution amending the appropriations in the 2007 budget. Mrs. Fersch stated Council had passed a resolution acknowledging the transfers in the budget at the beginning of the year. She stated as an end of the year clean up she had to increase General Fund transfers because of the Diley Road project, and this resolution reflects those transfers. Mr. Smith stated this resolution then is where Council recognizes that the transfers occurred during 2007. Mrs. Fersch stated that was correct. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
I. Mr. Smith stated the second item was Council’s acknowledgement of the amount of transfers in the 2008 budget. Mrs. Fersch stated that was correct and she cannot transfer any more money in the fund accounts without Council approval. Mr. Smith moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
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)(2), purchase or sale of public property, and Section 121.22(G)(4), Matters involving bargaining sessions with public employees; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.
Finance Committee adjourned into Executive Session at 8:15 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 8:35 P.M.
9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hammond voting "Aye." Motion carried, 4-0. The Finance Committee adjourned at 8:37 P.M., December 13, 2007.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
________________________________