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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes-02/08/2017COUNCIL WORK SESSION February 8, 2017 4:00 p.m. Harold E. Getty Council Chambers Members present: Morrissey, Powers, Lind, Amos, Schmitt, and Welper. Mr. Jacobs arrived at 6:16 p.m. Moved by Schmitt seconded by Lind that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Voice vote - Ayes: Six. Motion carried. At 4:00 p.m. the proposed Legal Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Mr. Lind questioned out of what budget the lawsuit settlements are paid from. Dave Zellhoefer, City Attorney, explained that settlement is paid through liability insurance. Mr. Schmitt questioned why the city attorney is not full time. Dave Zellhoefer explained that he is not full time due to flexibility. Mr. Schmitt questioned when the last time outside counsel was bid out was. Dave Zellhoefer explained the role of the assistant city attorney. Mr. Lind questioned if the legal assistant was shared with the police department. Dave Zellhoefer confirmed. Mr. Schmitt questioned if they looked at other cities for how they structure their legal departments. Dave Zellhoefer explained that other cities of similar size have larger departments. Mr. Lind thanked Mr. Zellhoefer for doing more with less in his department and for paying some of his own dues. Michelle Weidner Chief Financial Officer provided an overview of the legal department and code enforcement budgets. Mr. Schmitt commented that the complaint he hears the most is about the shortage of staff for the department and questioned if it would be good to add staff and increase citations. Dave Zellhoefer explained the process for issuing citations. Maria Downing, Code Enforcement Foreman, further explained the citation process. Mr. Morrissey questioned the cost to add an additional code enforcement officer. Michelle Weidner explained the cost would be $82,000. At or before 4:53 p.m. following the prior discussion the proposed Human Resources Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Jim Rodemeyer, Interim Human Resources Director, provided an overview of the Human Resources Department. Mr. Lind questioned the advertised salary for the Human Resources Director. Jim Rodemeyer explained that the position is advertised at $85,000-$95,000. Mr. Schmitt questioned if the Human Resources Director was previously shared. Page 2 Jim Rodemeyer confirmed. Mayor Hart explained that meetings did take place about sharing a full time Human Resources Director with the county. Jim Rodemeyer explained that he believes the city needs a full time Human Resources Director. At or before 5:11 p.m. following the prior discussion the proposed Human Rights Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Mr. Lind questioned travel for the department. Abraham Funchess, Human Rights Director explained travel needs for the department. Mr. Amos questioned if the department continues to see a backlog of investigating complaints. Abraham Funchess explained improvements to claims investigation and education outreach. Mr. Schmitt commented that the previous director would report that cases were decreasing. Abraham Funchess explained the previous director would send open cases to Des Moines for investigation and consider them closed. The cases are now investigated in house. At or before 5:41 p.m. following the prior discussion the proposed Library Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Mr. Lind asked for clarification on the number of employees in the Library. Steven Nielsen, Library Director, explained the number of full time employees, part time employees, and volunteers. Mr. Lind questioned how closing the library for one day would impact the budget. Steven Nielsen explained that closing for any amount of time would help with staffing. Mr. Powers thanked the library for the services they provide to the community and asked if the Library has a grant writing position. Steven Nielsen explained that the Library does not have a grant writing position and he is working on securing funds to replace the computers in the library. Michelle Weidner explained that Library is asking for a $63,000 budget reduction. Mr. Morrissey thanked Mayor for the opportunity to be the council liaison to the Library. He expressed concern for the Library coming close to losing accreditation due to the lack of funding increases to materials and community outreach. Steven Nielsen explained that not increasing the budget for materials has a large impact. He further noted that he would either need grant funding or an increase in city funding. Mr. Morrissey questioned if the third floor could be used for conference rooms. Steven Nielsen explained that the third floor would need to be remodeled for conference space but believes the second floor could be utilized if remodeled. Mr. Amos questioned what the ramifications would be for losing accreditation. Steven Nielsen explained that the state would withhold funding. Page 3 Mayor Hart questioned if with the proposed budget the library will lose accreditation. Steven Nielsen explained that they would not lose it this year because they are currently accredited for three years. Funding would need to be increased in the future. Mr. Schmitt questioned if the library currently has an endowment. Steven Nielsen explained that the library has a foundation but does not currently have an endowment built up. Morrissey/Welper Motion to recess for seven minutes. 6:18 p.m. Welper/Schmitt Motion to reconvene at 6:30 p.m. At or before 6:30 p.m. following the prior discussion the proposed Central Garage Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Mr. Lind questioned if the need for an additional for a fire mechanic position would be charged back. Mark Rice explained how the funding for the position could work. Mr. Lind questioned the amount of pay for the potential new employee. Michelle Weidner explained that the cost would be approximately $83,000. Mr. Jacobs questioned if other efficiencies could be looked at prior to hiring another employee. Mark Rice explained that some work is charged back to some departments. Mayor Hart clarified that Central Garage does outsource some work and further clarified the difference between cost savings versus finding efficiencies. Mr. Morrissey questioned if other areas that have lagged behind outside of fire equipment. Mark Rice explained that vehicles are aging and require more man-hours for maintenance. He further noted that this is an immediate need and it is up to council to determine whether or not to fill the request. Mr. Powers commented that he is amazed that central garage services 400 vehicles with eight mechanics. Mr. Amos commented that he believes the preventative maintenance program is a beneficial program and that adding a mechanic would help execute that program effectively. Mr. Schmitt questioned if Central Garage has looked at taking vehicles to local dealerships for service. Mark Rice confirmed that some vehicles are taken to local dealerships for service. Mr. Jacobs questioned how many cars a mechanic could service in one day. Mark Rice explained that they could service four vehicles in one day because they do visual inspections and several levels of service. At or before 6:57 p.m. following the prior discussion the proposed Fire Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Page 4 Mr. Lind questioned if the SAFER Grant could be extended for an additional year. Pat Treloar, Fire Chief, explained the SAFER Grant. Mr. Lind questioned if it would be better for fire equipment to be serviced outside of the city. Pat Treloar explained that he would be comfortable with service work being handled outside of Central Garage. His preference is for vehicles to be serviced at Central Garage. Mr. Jacobs questioned how many calls are actual fires. Pat Treloar explained that fire calls are broken down into different categories; fires not able to be put out with an extinguisher amounted to 100. Mr. Jacobs questioned what the department's response time was in 2016. Pat Treloar explained that the department strives for a response time of six minutes. Mr. Lind questioned where cuts would fall if changes happen to the roll back. Pat Treloar explained that everything is stretched thin so cuts would be assigned to personnel. Mr. Morrissey questioned how many staff would be needed to run all stations effectively. Pat Treloar explained that optimal staffing would be 35 per shift. He further explained that his request is to fund the SAFER Grant once it expires in October. Mr. Jacobs questioned if other efficiencies have been looked at to resolve staffing issues. Pat Treloar explained that he is in contact with other large city fire departments in Iowa and is not aware that they are using part time fire fighters. Instead, they are looking at cutting assistant chiefs and education/outreach and Waterloo has already taken those steps. Mr. Schmitt commented that he sees two fire calls printed in the paper when he looks at the courier's published calls and the rest are for other services. Pat Treloar commented that Fire has made changes to their operations over the years to increase efficiencies and cut costs. Mr. Schmitt questioned if part time fire fighters could be an option for the department. Pat Treloar explained that he does not believe a part time force would work for the department. Mayor Hart questioned if volunteer opportunities are available in the community. Pat Treloar explained that he meets with members of the community regarding becoming a fire fighter but they currently do not utilize volunteer fire fighters. Mr. Lind questioned overtime and bonus pay. Pat Treloar explained the different types of pay. Mr. Morrissey questioned staffing levels over time. Pat Treloar explained historical staffing levels. Mr. Powers commented that Waterloo runs a fire based EMS system while other cities do not run an EMS system but have similar or more fire staffing. Page 5 At or before 7:52 p.m. following the prior discussion the proposed Airport Department budget for FY2018 was discussed. Mr. Lind questioned if the maintenance of the streets was part of the city budget. Mayor Hart commented that it is scheduled in 2023 but knows that council wants to move this forward. Mr. Schmitt questioned if additional airlines would be added in the future. Keith Kaspari, Airport Director, explained that he would like to increase ridership on American to Chicago. Mr. Lind questioned if the additional $90,000 violates the ordinance. Michelle Weidner explained that the ordinance was approved by prior councils. Mayor Hart commented that they have been having conversations about moving additional funds to airport for enhancements. Mr. Jacobs commented that he has heard good things from community members about his management of the airport. Mr. Schmitt commented that he has also heard good things from community members about his management of the airport and questioned if other communities have been approached about contributing funds to the airport. Keith Kaspari explained that he is not aware conversations. Mr. Morrissey questioned the total amount of additional requested funds. Michelle Weidner explained the additional request. Schmitt/Welper that the meeting adjourn at 8:20 p.m. Voice vote -Ayes: Seven. Motion carried. Kelley Felchle City Clerk