Minutes: Evansville Finance Committee: June 2006

Finance and Labor Relations Committee
Regular Meeting
Monday, June 12, 2006 5:30 PM
City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, WI

MINUTES

Chairperson Cothard called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. Present were Chairperson Cothard, Ald. Braunschweig, and Ald. Juergens. Staff present: Bill Connors, City Administrator, Eric Jepperson, Finance Director; and Jim Beilke, Clerk/Treasurer. Mayor Decker and Ald. Sornson were present in the audience.

Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved as printed

Approval of Minutes
Motion by Juergens, seconded by Braunschweig, to waive the reading and approve the minutes for the regular meeting on May 8, 2006, as printed. Motion passed.

Citizen appearances other than agenda items listed - None

Water & Light Department Bills
Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the Water & Light bills in the amount of $607,108.79 and authorize their payment. Motion passed.

City Bills
Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the City bills in the amount of $275,520.15 and authorize their payment. Motion passed.

Unfinished Business
The committee reviewed the status of insurance/collateral covering city’s deposits.

Mr. Connors reported he will attempt to have a draft of the revised Employee Handbook for the next regular meeting.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Juergens, to remove from the table the motion to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-8, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the appropriation for the youth center for equipment. Motion passed.

Regarding Resolution #2006-8, the Finance Committee is waiting to amend the budget until a final cost for the renovation at the new youth center could be determined. The Dean Community Center Advisory Committee is anticipating savings from donations of building materials and skilled labor. The Committee is requesting that savings be used to purchase office equipment for the new youth center. As of today, total costs are $20,300. There is more work that needs to be done. The city budgeted $50,000 for renovating the building at 209 S. First St. Because the project is not completed, the consensus was to keep Resolution #2006-8 tabled until final cost for the renovation at the new youth center can be determined.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Juergens, to table the motion to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-8, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the appropriation for the youth center for equipment. Motion passed.

Motion by Juergens, seconded by Braunschweig, to recommend to Council adoption Ordinance #2006-9, amending the Municipal Code relative to the Common Council’s order of business and rules of procedure (referred back from Council on May 9, 2006).

Mr. Connors reviewed the two amendments to Ordinance #2006-9 in the Finance Committee meeting packet. The basic difference between the two amendments was Amendment 1-2 allows residents to speak only near the beginning of meeting (unless there is a public hearing on an item on the agenda) and Amendment 2-2 allows residents to speak at the front of meeting and at the agenda item addressing the issue.

The Committee discussed the need to control the rights of residents to speak and time limits for public input, so that Council meetings do not become extremely long. The consensus was to allow residents to speak near the beginning of meetings and, at the discretion of the Mayor, allow interaction between Council and residents when the agenda item is being addressed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to adopt Amendment 1-2. Motion passed.

The original motion, as amended, passed.

New Business
Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council approval of the agreement between Rock County and City of Evansville designating Rock County as its agent to receive all property taxes for which the taxation district has sent bills. Motion passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council approval of the contract between Monroe Enterprises Inc. and City of Evansville for collections services.

The Committee discussed concerns they had with Monroe Enterprises Inc. when they were collecting our Emergency Medical Service (EMS) bills. The consensus was to solicit collection services from other collection agencies.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to table the motion to recommend to Common Council approval of the contract between Monroe Enterprises Inc. and City of Evansville for collections services. Motion passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-17, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the appropriations Department of Public Works building improvements and Emergency Medical Services building improvements.

Mr. Connors reported Resolution #2006-17 would appropriate $355,000 to acquire and renovate the building at 535 S. Madison St. as the new location of the Department of Public Works and Emergency Medical Service. Of this $355,000, 80% would be allocated to the Department of Public Works and 20% would be allocated to the EMS. The municipal water and electric utilities would receive $116,200 from the city to compensate them for properties that will be transferred to ADEVCO, LLC as part of this transaction.

Motion passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-18, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the appropriations for sanitary sewer construction and equipment purchases

Mr. Connors reported Resolution #2006-18 would make appropriations from the Wastewater Treatment Utility Fund for equipment and projects that were included in the five-year capital plan for 2006 through 2010 but which were inadvertently omitted form the capital project fund. This resolution also would increase the appropriation for sanitary sewer replacement in and near the intersection of Main St. and Madison St. from $40,000 to $74,500.

Motion passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-19, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the appropriation for water main replacement on Madison St.

Mr. Connors reported Resolution #2006-19 would appropriate $457,500 from the Water and Light Utility Fund for replacing the water main under Madison St. from Water St. to Grove St. The five-year capital plan for 2006 through 2010 included $175,000 for replacing the water main under Madison St. from Church St. to Mill St. (C626) in 2006 and $215,000 for replacing the water main under Madison St. from Mill St. to Grove St. in 2008. The adopted 2006 city capital budget inadvertently omitted the $175,000 appropriation for replacing the water main under Madison St. from Church St. to Mill St. The City Engineer and Superintendent of Water & Light recommend expanding the scope of the 2006 water main replacement on Madison St. to include replacing water main between Water St. and Grove St., which would increase the estimated cost of the project from $175,000 to $457,500, including design and construction engineering, pavement patch, and some curb patching.

Motion passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-20, amending the adopted 2005 and 2006 city budgets to carry forward and increase the appropriations for City Hall roof replacement and interior renovation


Mr. Connors reported Resolution #2006-20 would amend the adopted 2005 and 2006 city budgets to carry forward and increase an appropriation for renovating the second floor of City Hall and replacing the roof and making other exterior repairs to City Hall and would increase both appropriations. The total amount previously appropriated for these projects, less expenditures through the end of 2005, is $224,988. The updated total estimated a cost of these projects is $384,200, a difference of $159,212. The resolution is drafted to allow the Common Council to set a total budget amount for these projects, which the City Engineer would take into account in drafting a project contract for bids that would identify certain components as part of the “base” contract and other components as “add-ons.” The resolution provides that replacing the roof would be part of the “base” contract.

The Committee discussed the urgent need to fix the roof and exterior and questioned the renovation of the second floor.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to carry forward the 2005 Budget for roof and exterior repair, breaking out the exterior restorations as add on bids. Motion passed.

The original motion, as amended, passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-21, declaring official intent to reimburse expenditures from proceeds of borrowing for the acquisition and renovation of 535 S. Madison St., repair and renovation of City Hall, and Madison St. water main replacement projects.

Mr. Connors recommended amending the proposed motion to match the previous motion by eliminating the words “and renovation of City Hall” from the title and adjusting downward the amount to reflect that the renovation of City Hall would not be included.

Motion by Juergens, seconded by Braunschweig, to strike out the words “and renovation of City Hall” from the title and to adjust downward the amount. Motion passed.

The original motion, as amended, passed.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Resolution #2006-22, making a preliminary declaration of the Common Council’s intent to levy special assessments under municipal police power under § 66.0703, Wis. Stats.

Mr. Connors reported the dates in the last paragraph are the wrong dates.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to adjust the dates in paragraph number 9 to the appropriate dates. Motion passed.

The original motion, as amended, passed.

Mr. Connors led the discussion of increasing the EMS’s annual per-resident rate charged to townships that receive EMS service from Evansville EMS. Mr. Connors distributed a report showing the towns are paying $10 per resident and the City of Evansville is paying well over $20 per resident. It has been a long time since the city raised the rate for towns. Considering the large rate increase for townships, the consensus was to increase the rates to $15 in 2007 and to $20 in 2008. Additionally, the Committee requested Mayor Decker or Mr. Connors to send letters to all the townships stating the city’s intentions of increasing the EMS annual per-resident rate.

Motion by Juergens, seconded by Braunschweig, to send letters to all the townships informing them of our intent of increasing the EMS annual per-resident rate for townships, which would be $15 per-resident in 2007 and $20 in 2008. Motion passed.

Mr. Connors led the discussion regarding City Hall Capital projects. The second floor renovation and new workstations will be added to the 2007 Budget.

The Committee agreed to move past the agenda item regarding the discussion of the impending expiration of city clerk/treasurer’s extended probationary period.

The Committee discussed the departure of the city administrator. The Committee instructed staff to contact the employment agency that helped the city hire the current city administrator and research the cost for their services. The Committee also discussed the ramifications of extending the employment period of the limited-term employee. The idea is to extend employment period to cover the time when the city is without a city administrator. The Finance Committee was in favor of extending the employment period if everything could be worked out with all parties involved. The Committee instructed staff to research extending the employment period of the limited-term employee and contact the Teamsters Union regarding obtaining consent to do so.

Adjournment.
Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to adjourn at 6:51 PM. Motion passed.

Prepared by:
James Beilke
City Clerk/Treasurer

The Minutes are not official until approved by Finance and Labor Relations Committee at the next r