Miniutes; Finance: September 2011

City of Evansville
Finance & Labor Relations Committee

Regular Meeting
Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 4:30 pm
City Hall, 31 S. Madison St., Evansville, Wisconsin

MINUTES

I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm by Chair Mason Braunschweig. Present: Alderpersons Mason Braunschweig and Jim Brooks. Absent: Todd Culbertson. Also present: Mayor Sandy Decker, Finance Director Lisa Novinska, City Administrator Dan Wietecha, and City Engineer Dave Sauer.

II. Approve Agenda. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to approve the agenda. Motion approved unanimously.

III. Minutes of August 4, 2011. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to waive the reading of and to approve the minutes as presented. Motion approved unanimously.

IV. Citizen Appearances. None.

V. Water & Light Bills. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to accept the Water & Light bills in the amount of $799,774.05. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.

VI. City Bills. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to accept the City bills in the amount of $236,899.59. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.

VII. Unfinished Business:
a. 2012 Budget. Novinska noted minor adjustments she’d made to the budget proposal based on FLR comments in August.

b. Discipline & Grievance Policy. Wietecha gave an overview of the proposed discipline and grievance policy. The goal was to have a policy consistent with the requirements of Act 10 while preserving flexibility for management and providing a fair means to resolve issues. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to recommend to Common Council adoption of Discipline and Grievance Policies (grievance procedure). Motion approved unanimously.

c. 535 East Main Street. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to approve an extension of the purchase offer on 535 East Main Street (former police station) to September 30, 2011. Motion approved unanimously.

VIII. New Business:
a. City Engineer Service. Wietecha explained that other professional services – attorney, assessor, planner, and auditor – had all been put to proposals in the last few years; from a due diligence standpoint, engineering service should also. The idea of requesting proposals for city engineer had been discussed during the budget process last year; it had been turned down as untimely due to construction on the wastewater treatment facility, the East Main Street bridge, and drainage for Southgate pond. These and other projects are mostly behind us now. From a pure timing standpoint, we have a window in between projects making it convenient to consider our engineering service.

Sauer proposed having Cedar Corporation principals sit down with city officials to discuss their expertise and staffing. He personally has a lot invested in the community over the last thirteen years and would prefer to maintain the ongoing relationship.

Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to place request for proposals (RFP) for city engineering service on the Common Council agenda. Motion approved unanimously. Braunschweig noted his vote was simply to bring the matter before the entire council.

b. Position Description: Water & Light Superintendent. Wietecha noted the proposed updated position description had been based a series of conversations he’d had with Scott George over the last couple years as well as recommendations from the Water & Light Committee. FLR discussed the proposal and decided against including a residency requirement. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to approve the position description for Water & Light Superintendent. Motion approved unanimously. Wietecha gave an overview of the hiring process and timeline.

c. Market Analysis. No discussion.

d. Online Utility Bills. Wietecha noted ongoing contract negotiations.

IX. Adjournment. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to adjourn the meeting. Motion approved unanimously at 5:50 pm.