WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2009

REGULAR MEETING

7:00 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Fix called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Sanders were present. Mr. Wisniewski arrived at 7:05 P.M. Mr. Smith and Mr. Sauer were absent. Others present were Mayor O’Brien, Chief Taylor, Lynda Yartin, Linda Fersch, Lance Schultz, Greg Bachman, Tony Barletta, Tracy Langston, Eva Langston, and others.

2. A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF October 14, 2009, Budget Work Session. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF October 28, 2009, Budget Work Session. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 4, 2009, Budget Work Session. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 4, 2009, Regular Meeting. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 11, 2009, Special Meeting. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

F. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 11, 2009, Budget Work Session. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

G. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 17, 2009, Special Meeting. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

3. FINANCE DEPARTMENT.

A. Finance Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided a written report to the Committee and she would answer any questions. Mrs. Fersch stated she would add that she has been notified that the City of Bexley has opted not to join CORMA so she would not be requesting passage of a resolution approving their admission to the group.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the 2009 appropriation, Ordinance 2008-92. Mrs. Fersch reviewed the draft appropriation request and stated these were mainly end-of-year clean-up items. Mrs. Fersch stated as Finance is early this month, she would request permission to add any other end-of-year items she may find prior to the next Council meeting. She stated she would notify Council of any items that would come up that necessitated additions to this ordinance. Mr. Fix moved to approve and forward to Council with any necessary end-of-year adjustments; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

C. Review and request for motion to approve draft resolution to request advance distribution of tax monies of 2.3 mill General Operating Levy and 5.5 mill Police Operating Levy from the Fairfield County Auditor pursuant to Section 321.34, Ohio Revised Code. Mrs. Fersch stated these are annual resolutions that allow her to request advance on our tax monies which will our interest and prevent us having to advance money from income tax and the general fund for police operating expenses. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve and forward to Council; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

D. Review and request for motion to approve draft resolution amending Resolution 2008-18R, items appropriated in the 2009 budget and authorizing total amount of transfers to not exceed amounts approved, including any future amendments during the 2009 budget year. Mrs. Fersch stated although Council authorizes the transfer of monies in appropriation ordinances, the Ohio Revised Code requires that any transfer be specifically mentioned in a separate piece of legislation. Mrs. Fersch stated that is done at the time the budget is passed, and then at the end of the year she does a clean-up resolution. She stated this is the clean-up resolution for 2009. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve and forward to Council; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

E. Review and request for motion to approve draft resolution of items appropriated in the 2010 budget and authorizing the total amount of transfers to not exceed amounts approved, including any future amendments during he 2010 budget year. Mrs. Fersch stated this is the same resolution but authorizing the transfers for the 2010 budget. Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

Mrs. Yartin stated the Committee did need to take Committee action on the appropriation ordinance that Council had reviewed at the last meeting. Mrs. Fersch stated this was the appropriation ordinance that allowed for the payment of the January premium for Anthem Health Insurance. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

4. PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT.

A. Personnel Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided a report to the Committee and she would answer any questions. Mrs. Fersch stated she would be bringing the Personnel Appeals Board rules and regulations to Council for adoption in the near future.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft resolution approving the admission of Bexley as a new member to the CORMA self-insurance pool. Mrs. Fersch stated this was not needed as Bexley had decided not to join CORMA.

C. Review and discussion of proposed revisions to the Employee Manual. Mrs. Fersch stated all Committee members had received the complete manual on a CD and also a printed summary of proposed revisions. Mrs. Fersch stated it has been suggested that with regard to Section 5.03, the holidays be grandfathered for the two people that would be affected or it be left alone. She stated this was added approximately two years ago that part-time employees would get up to 40 hours of holiday pay if they were scheduled to work on that holiday. She stated if it was a Monday holiday and they were not scheduled to work on that day, then they would not get paid for the holiday. She stated vacation carryover is another issue and the suggestion is to reduce vacation carryover to 1.5 times the yearly accrual. Mayor O’Brien stated with regard to the holiday pay for part-time employees, he felt it should not be taken away from the individuals who have been receiving it, but it not be given to new part-time employees. Mrs. Fersch stated we have four new part-time positions this year, and Mr. Fix stated he felt we should either give it to everyone or no-one. Mayor O’Brien clarified the part-time dispatcher was not included in Mrs. Fersch’s numbers because the proposed union contract will include giving them holiday pay. Mr. Fix stated again if we are going to give it to one, we should give it to everyone. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that part-time employees get four personal days per year, and just two years ago it was added that they could receive up to 40 hours of holiday pay. Mr. Fix clarified that part-time employees who have been in their position for six months become permanent part-time employees. Mr. Fix clarified that should City Hall close down due to weather, etc., that employees who are sent home are paid. Mrs. Fersch stated if an employee did not come in to work and City Hall then closed, that employee would not be paid. Mrs. Hammond and Mrs. Sanders stated they agreed that if we gave this to one employee we should do it for all of them. Mr. Wisniewski stated he felt if a part-time employee had been with the City for one year or more they should receive this benefit. Mr. Fix clarified the recommendation from Finance Committee then would be that part-time employees, who have been with the City for a year or more, could receive up to 40 hours of holiday pay if they are scheduled to work on the holiday and all committee members present concurred. Mrs. Fersch stated another change would be to pro-rate personal days. She stated currently employees receive four personal days the first pay of the year and should someone leave in January they would be paid out for those days, so we will now pro-rate it per quarter. Mrs. Fersch further stated in the past you could carry over 1.5 times of what you earned per year and that was increased because we had several people that were in jeopardy of losing their vacation and they would rush at the end of the year to take vacation time. She stated when our CAFR was prepared and they calculated the liability if the City had to pay out that vacation and it came to several hundred thousand dollars. She stated she has done a survey of other communities and her recommendation is to reduce the carryover amount back to 1.5 times of what you accrue per year. She stated we do not have a policy to pay out vacation unless you leave or if there is a case where you were unable to use all vacation, but have used at least 80 hours, that you can be paid out for the portion you would lose. She stated there are some communities that allow employees to sell back a certain amount of vacation each year. Mr. Sabatino clarified that an employee who has been with the City for 15 years or more accrues 176 hours vacation time and 119.6 hours of sick leave annually. Mr. Fix inquired if anyone wanted to make any suggestions on revising the manual on this issue. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that the amount of sick leave that can be carried over is unlimited. Mrs. Fersch stated if the Committee liked she would survey other communities regarding their policies on vacation carry over, pay out, etc. Mr. Fix inquired if there was any urgency in moving this forward and Mrs. Fersch stated it would be nice to get this taken care of. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that amendments to the Manual can be made at any time, and he would like to see what Mrs. Fersch found out in her research. Mr. Fix stated then he would suggest the Personnel Manual be forwarded to Council as is and have Mrs. Fersch come back to Committee in January with recommendations on vacation, sick leave, etc. Mr. Wisniewski moved to forward the Personnel Manual to Council as presented; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

Mr. Fix stated he just noticed that individuals were present this evening to address the Committee on an Impact Fee Waiver request, and if there were no objections he would move that item up on the agenda for discussion at this time.

Mr. Schultz stated he had submitted a staff report based on the criteria we have for waiving Impact Fees. He stated this was a unique request because when they came in for development our zoning map was in error, however, it does not meet the criteria established for Impact Fee Waiver. Mr. Schultz staff cannot support the request, but the applicant wanted the ability to discuss their position with the Committee. Mr. Sabatino clarified that initially the zoning map showed the property as being zoned commercial, and when it was discovered that was an error it required a rezoning which took approximately six months. Mr. Sabatino further clarified the amount they are asking to be waived is $1,931.20. Mr. Fix then clarified that if these fees are waived the General Fund has to make up that amount.

Eva Langston stated she is the property owner and she did want to thank Council for their help on the rezoning process. She stated she knew she had a very small business, but her expenses were increased due to having to go through the rezoning process and she was asking for the impact fees to be waived because this is a small business and she was depending on everything she had to get things moving. Mr. Sabatino clarified that additional legal fees had been incurred due to the rezoning process and the architect fees had also increased. Mr. Wisniewski stated he appreciated Ms Langston’s situation, however, he could not support this. He stated Council spent a great deal of money getting the impact fees on the books and many corporations have requested this same thing. He continued that if this was granted for a reason that did not meet the criteria it would open up a can of worms with people requesting waivers for all sorts of reasons. Mr. Wisniewski stated the ordinance was adopted with very specific reasons for the waiver and owner’s expenses were not one of them. Mr. Sabatino stated he agreed with Mr. Wisniewski that this request does not meet the spirit and intent of the impact fee waiver, however, he felt the City did have some responsibility in having been at least a contributing factor to the additional cost associated with this project. He stated it was not through any inaction or whatever on the part of the applicant, it was because of information that wasn’t correct from the City and operating a small business is tough enough the way it is. He stated if we have someone that wants to invest in our community, Council should at least attempt to do the right thing. Mr. Wisniewski stated the City did the right thing, we rezoned it as requested which was against what the Board of Zoning Appeals recommended and what the neighbors wanted. Mr. Fix stated he knew his vote on the rezoning was swayed by the fact that they had gotten misinformation from the City and he felt Council had probably stepped out further than they would have given the circumstances. He further stated to come back and ask Council to do it again, when we have to make up the difference, and also to set a precedent for others to come in and ask for waivers, he could not support. Mrs. Hammond stated she agreed with Mr. Fix and Mr. Wisniewski for the most part and while she would like to help the applicant out, she could not see supporting this request. Mrs. Sanders stated she concurred with the statements made by Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Wisniewski. Mr. Fix moved to approve the impact fee waiver request; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Nay,” and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion failed, 4-1.

5. CHAIRMAN:

A. Strategic Plan Goals – Update. Mr. Fix stated as this was the last meeting under the current leadership, and it would be his hope that we can take the Strategic Plan a step further perhaps toward the end of the first quarter of next year by getting into the critical success factors for each department and things of that nature. He stated for now we have the foundation of a Strategic Plan and he hoped we could continue pushing it down the path in 2010. Mayor O’Brien stated the Strategic Plan is being well received in the community and the fact that we tied the budget to it was an important step. Mayor O’Brien stated we do have the Public Information Officer contract we can fill in January, but if everyone would take the Strategic Plan and go through it and make any notes you want, and funnel them to him he can consolidate them so we can start looking at course corrections or changes we want to make. He stated they could then be brought back to this agenda item for discussion. Mr. Fix stated he felt that by the first of April the new council members would have had time to get an understanding of how things work, and it would be good to get the facilitator back in to go a little further. Mr. Fix inquired if April would be the appropriate time to do that and Mayor O’Brien stated he could ask the facilitator that question.

B. Review and discussion regarding proposed changes to the Functional Organizational Table. Mayor O’Brien stated he would recommend this be removed from the agenda as it would probably not be something the new City Manager would be dealing with right away. Mr. Fix stated this item could be removed from the agenda.

C. Review and request for motion to create a Technology Assessment Subcommittee. Mr. Fix stated this was discussed during the budget process and it was suggested that since technology came up so many different times and we don’t know exactly what we have or what we should have, and it is a significant part of the Strategic Plan, that we put together a subcommittee of Council members who know about this to do an assessment for us. He stated it was his understanding that Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Barletta, and Mayor O’Brien work professionally in the technology industry so he would offer that these four individuals be appointed to a Technology Subcommittee of Finance. He stated he would leave it up to them to organize and determine how often they need to meet, etc., and to come back to this Committee some time in 2010 with their assessment of our technology situation. Mr. Fix moved to appoint Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Barletta, and Mayor O’Brien to a Technology Subcommittee of Finance; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 5-0.

6. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Pickerington Local School District Board Meeting – Update. Mrs. Sanders stated she had no report this evening.

B. Review and discussion regarding Impact Fee waiver request for 101 Hill Road North. Mr. Fix stated this was discussed earlier in the meeting.

7. 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. Fix stated an executive session was not necessary this evening.

8. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voted "Aye." Motion carried, 5-0. The Finance Committee adjourned at 8:00 P.M., December 2, 2009.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

________________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk