CITY OF PICKERINGTON

                                           FINANCE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

                                               CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

                                                   THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2004

 

                                                          REGULAR MEETING

 

                                                                      7:30 P.M.

 

1.         ROLL CALL.  Mrs. Riggs called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Hackworth, Mrs. Riggs, and Mr. Wright were present.  No members were absent.  Others present were:  Michael Sabatino, Mitch O’Brien, Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Linda Fersch, Susan Crotty, Greg Stype, Tony Dill, and others.

 

2.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF July 15, 2004, Regular Meeting.  Mr. Hackworth moved to approve; Mr. Wright seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski abstaining, and Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Wright, and Mrs. Riggs voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 3-0. 

 

3.         FINANCE DIRECTOR:

 

A.        Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending appropriation ordinance 2003-97.  Mrs. Fersch stated the Committee had received a draft appropriation ordinance. She stated in the General Fund she was requesting an increase in the Street Lighting Fund, an increase in the Building Department to cover plans review, an increase in Category B for the engineer, and a decrease in the Manager’s Administrative Assistant.  Mrs. Riggs stated from now on Finance Committee will receive a print out of the engineer’s Category B invoices so they can review it as they do the Law Director’s services.  Mrs. Fersch continued she was requesting an increase in Transfers/Reimbursements to cover some work at the Simsbury entranceway and to cover the purchase of a salt spreader, and some traffic signal repairs, and there is a requirement for a December interest payment on some bonds that were issued in June, so that was incorporated in this increase.  Mrs. Fersch continued under the Street Department she was appropriating out funds for the salt spreader, traffic signal repairs, and the Simsbury project.  She stated the Computer Fund is a court related fund and can only be spent for certain things for the court, and she was requesting an increase in that Fund.  Mrs. Fersch further stated under Fleet Maintenance she was requesting an increase for the purchase of gasoline, under Debt Service an increase for the December Street Fund interest payment and also the legal fees and the bank trustee fee that was rolled into the borrowing for the bond issue.  Under the S.R. 256/204 Fund, the TIF Debt Fund, and the Cover Debt Fund, she was requesting an increase to cover the interest payment for these funds.  Mrs. Fersch stated under the Cycle Way Fund she was requesting a transfer to Debt Service that will help make the interest payment in September, and under Windmiller/Diley, she was requesting an increase for construction inspection services for that project.  Mr. Wright clarified the majority of the increase in the Building Department was for plans review and the remaining was for plumbing inspections, so they are all pass through.  Mr. Wright moved to approve and forward the appropriations to Council; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Wright, Mrs. Riggs, and Mr. Hackworth voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 4-0.  

 

B.         Finance Director’s Report:

 

            (1)        Health Department.  Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided a written report to the Committee and she would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

            (2)        CORMA.  Mrs. Fersch stated our casualty insurance will be going down 30 percent overall, and we have not received a premium notice on the property insurance.  She stated, however, our property has increased in value, so while costs have gone down our premium may go up due to the added property.  Mrs. Fersch stated we will not know the cost until the first part of September, but because the renewal date is October 1st, we need to have the legislation started.  Mrs. Fersch stated she would request the draft legislation be forwarded to Council for a first reading with a blank where the amount will be filled in.  Mrs. Fersch stated by the time the legislation is sent out, she hoped to have the figure to fill in.  Mrs. Fersch stated she would like to have the insurance company provide a history of the past few years showing what our property values and premiums were based on.  Mr. Wright moved to forward the draft legislation to Council with the premium amount to be filled in when it is obtained; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. Wright voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 4-0. 

 

            (3)        Investments.  Mrs. Fersch stated bonds and agencies are slighting rising.  She stated Fairfield has raised the rate on our checking account to 1.33 percent, up from .8 percent, so that will help on the funds we have in the bank on a day to day basis. 

 

C.        Review and discussion regarding obtaining Moody’s Rating.  Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided Mrs. Riggs with a copy of a report that Seasongood and Mayer had prepared to present to a bond rating company, and that is similar to what they would be doing for us.  Mrs. Fersch stated the cost of preparing this report for us would be approximately $7,500, and evidently Moody’s is coming to the Columbus area in September and if they stop by and we take them around and show them everything, it would be cost effective as it would mean we would not have the cost of going to Chicago.  Ms Gilleland stated she felt it was much more advantageous to have them come to our City because they will get a better feel for where we are, what we do, etc.  Mrs. Fersch stated further it would be more advantageous for us to take the water plant note that is due in October and have it mature in the spring and roll it in with two other water issues either into a bond issue or take part of it in notes and part of it in a bond issue.  Mrs. Fersch stated at that time we would have a rating and we should get a pretty good rate on it.  She continued she has spoken to Fairfield National Bank, who holds the issue right now, and they would be happy to extend it to May 15th, and approximately two weeks before it is due in October they would give us a rate.  Mrs. Fersch stated she has programmed to pay $195,000 principal payment on this, and that will drop it below $3 million.  Ms Gilleland stated Mr. Hackworth had inquired about other rating companies, and after speaking with other entities, Moody’s is still considered the foremost in the municipal rating market.  Mrs. Riggs clarified that if Moody’s does come to Pickerington, Seasongood and Mayer will prepare the presentation, guide us through the process, etc.  Mrs. Riggs ascertained by utilizing Seasongood and Mayer it would be to our advantage in receiving a rating.  She further clarified the cost of obtaining the rating would be approximately $15,000. 

 

Mrs. Fersch stated with regard to the bank depository, we are reaching the fifth year in the agreement.  She stated she would be putting together a request for proposal for the various banks and was requesting authorization from this Committee to solicit proposals for the City’s active funds.  She stated she was going to include the possibility of electronic payments for Mayor’s Court, utilities, parks, etc., in the proposal request.  Mr. Wright moved to authorize the Finance Director to solicit proposals; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Wright, Mrs. Riggs, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 4-0.  

 

D.        Review and request for motion to approve draft Resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Fairfield County Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the County Auditor.  Mrs. Fersch stated she had received the Resolution from the Fairfield County Budget Commission and this needs to be adopted and filed by October 1st.  She stated this was for the 2.3 inside millage and 5.5 mill police levy, and gives the County Auditor authorization to collect the money for us.  Mrs. Fersch stated this was an annual requirement.  Mr. Wright moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Wright, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Hackworth voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 4-0. 

 

Mrs. Riggs stated she would like to move forward on the agenda and come back to item 3.E. at the end of the agenda. 

 

E.         Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with the Pickerington Local School District to resolve disputes over various City-created Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) project. 

 

F.         Review and request for motion to authorize the Finance Director to solicit proposals for the City’s active funds.  Mrs. Riggs stated this had been dealt with earlier in the meeting. 

 

4.         PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT:    No Report. 

 

5.         DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:  Ms Crotty stated she had provided a written report on all of her topics and she would answer any questions.   Ms Crotty stated there has been some discussion on if the Committee would like her report on the listed items or if there were other items they would prefer to be briefed on.  Mr. Wright stated he would like to see what is going on in talking with people coming into the community, what prospects there were, what she has been discussing, etc.  Mr. Wright stated he felt the current items were important and should be included in her written report, however, he did not feel they needed to be addressed at each meeting unless there was something important going on.  He further stated that he would like to know what was going on with the different pieces of property, such as what is being looked at and what is not, and what we are having success with and what we are not having success with.  Ms Crotty stated her only concern would be that before a company commits to locating, they typically do not want it announced to everyone in public, so she would just have to pay attention to that, but she would be happy to provide a summary or general idea of what is going on with development.   Mr. Hackworth stated he agreed with Mr. Wright, and he also would be interested in receiving feedback on why something did not happen so we can see if there is something we can do to improve our chances of accommodating businesses, etc. 

 

A.        Development Director’s Report: 

 

            (1)        Chamber of Commerce Report. 

            (2)        Rt. 33 S.E. Regional Growth Alliance Report. 

            (3)        Fairfield County Visitor’s and Convention Bureau Report. 

            (4)        Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Report. 

 

B.                 Project Updates

 

            (1)        Business Retention and Expansion Study.     

 

6.         LEGAL DEPARTMENT:

 

A.        Monthly review of law director services.  Mrs. Riggs ascertained the Committee had received a copy of Mr. Mapes’ monthly report and there were no questions. 

 

7.         CHAIRMAN:  Mrs. Riggs stated she had nothing to bring forward. 

 

8.         OTHER BUSINESS:  

 

A.        Discussion regarding monthly reports.  Ms Gilleland stated she would like to discuss the budget schedule and what we can do to improve upon things.  Ms Gilleland stated she would like to go through the entire budget, the Capital Improvements Plan, and the personnel needs with Council a couple of weeks before they vote on it.  She stated she envisioned a little more discussion this year than in the past and she has established a tentative schedule that may have to be moved around just a little.  Ms Gilleland stated she would be happy to get any ideas from Council on what they would like during this process.  Ms Gilleland stated further she was working on getting a few different samples of budget documents and she distributed the one from Centerville for the Committee to review.  Ms Gilleland stated she would like to know what type of document Council would like to present to the public, and that would be different from what Council reviews that contains all the line items.  Mrs. Riggs stated she would like to see more meetings as the budget is prepared as it helps her understand the process more.  Mr. Hackworth stated he would favor combining line items as long as we had the individual line item budget available in case there were questions.  Mr. Wright stated his concern was the same as Mr. Hackworth, Finance still needs to go through the budget line by line, but he felt it was important for the public and investors to have a smaller document that we could present to them.  Mrs. Riggs stated she felt it would also be useful for Council as a quick reference.  Ms Gilleland stated we also provide funds annually to various community groups and it might be useful to have these groups come in and give a short presentation to this Committee rather than just receiving a written request.  Mr. Wright stated he agreed, and approximately three years ago we started requiring them to have some type of financial review or audit of the organization and provide it to Council.  Ms Gilleland stated she felt it was important for the group to have the interaction with Council and a presentation would be appropriate.   

 

Ms Gilleland stated most cities have some sort of financial advisor and she has discussed this with Mrs. Fersch.  She stated this would be an individual you could call for expert advice on mostly long term debt issues, but they get into a lot of different issues.  She stated Seasongood and Mayer is one option, they are an underwriter and they also do financial advising on the side.  She stated she has spoken with another firm in Cincinnati and also with an individual who is an independent contractor by the name of Bob Cramer.  Ms Gilleland stated if we were to hire a financial advisor, she and Mrs. Fersch both agreed Mr. Cramer would be the best choice as he is independent and he has a great deal of experience with municipalities.   Ms Gilleland stated Mr. Cramer would work on a retainer or another type arrangement, and she felt the best way would be to work on a monthly retainer basis.  She stated his fee is $1,250 per month or $15,000 per year, and he would assist us with budgetary issues and some of our long term debt we are looking at.  Ms Gilleland stated Mr. Cramer has provided a sample contract and it has a 30 day termination clause.  Ms Gilleland stated further she has worked with Mr. Cramer in the past, and he has worked with cities all over the State of Ohio.  Mrs. Fersch stated Mr. Cramer is also working with Grove City.  Mr. Wisniewski clarified that Ms Gilleland has the authority to enter into this contract and this committee is not required to take any action on this issue, she was just letting the Committee know what she would like to do.  Mr. Wright stated he felt during the next six months or so, while we are getting our bond rating, etc., his expertise would be very beneficial to that process.  Ms Gilleland stated she and Mrs. Fersch were confident Mr. Cramer would be a great deal of help in the next several months.   

 

9.         MOTIONS:  

 

A.        Motion for an 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. Wright moved for an Executive Session under Section 121.22(G)(2), Purchase or sale of public property, and Section 121.22(G)(3), Conference with law director regarding pending or imminent court action; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Hackworth voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 4-0.  

 

Finance Committee adjourned to Executive Session at 8:40 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 9:50 P.M.

 

10.       ADJOURNMENT.  There being nothing further, Mr. Wright moved to adjourn; Mr. Hackworth seconded the motion.  Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Wright, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Riggs voted "Aye."  Motion carried, 4-0.  The Finance Committee adjourned at 9:51 P.M., August 26, 2004.

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

________________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk