title
Minutes for the Finance Committee meeting on November 17, 2005.
body
Finance & Administration Committee Minutes
Thursday, November 17, 2005
4:00 p.m. - City Council Conference Room - Huntington Building
Members Present: John Street, Harold Perrin, Ann Williams and Darrel Dover. Other present were: Mayor Formon, City Clerk Donna Jackson, staff and media. Councilmen Alec Farmer and Jim Hargis were unable to attend.
MINUTES
Councilwoman Williams motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, for the approval of the minutes for the October 27, 2005, meeting as provided. All voted aye. Copies were provided to all those in attendance.
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
PENDING: Ordinance requiring electronic plat submission: Mr. Alan Young explained he was not able to make it to the Planning Commission’s November meeting, but does plan on attending their next meeting. He stated he’ll try to present the ordinance at the December Finance meeting.
ADMINISTRATION
Downtown Jonesboro Association Reimbursement: The DJA is asking to be reimbursed for money spent on the downtown parking lot in the 300 block of Main Street. A letter was sent to Mr. Brian Wadley and Finance committee Chairman Harold Perrin from Dr. Steve Golden in which he stated the project total was $9991.71 and they would like to be reimbursed that amount. Chairman Perrin noted that he and City Clerk Donna Jackson looked through the minutes and other related documents to find if the City Council voted on reimbursing the DJA for the parking lot, but were unable to find any such documents. Questions were raised concerning why the DJA was asking to be reimbursed for the full amount of the project when Representative McDaniel had already appropriated $5,000 for the project. Mr. Brian Wadley noted that the state has already begun to release some of the funds. It was also questioned as to why they did the work to the parking lot first and then asked for the money. It was decided that in the future, approval will need to be given before the work has begun. Questions were also raised concerning whose responsibility it would be to maintain the parking lot, the City’s or DJA’s. Councilman Street motioned, seconded by Councilman Dover, to pay the DJA $4991.71 for the parking lot. All voted aye. It was stated that money would be taken out of the Parking fund. Ms. Sara Trimarchi from the DJA added that they have not yet received the $5,000 check yet. She also stated that the DJA is looking toward a type of sponsorship program to maintain the parking lot.
PENDING: Update on deeds to City real property: Mr. Wadley informed the committee that Lender’s Title had provided the Mayor’s Office with descriptions for the lands on the deeds. They invited Mr. Vic Young from Fisher & Arnold to help them and he is putting together a proposal to get the descriptions on a map. It was asked for Mr. Wadley to update the committee at the December meeting.
APERMA/AML property insurance update: Mayor Formon informed the committee that he has nothing from the Municipal League to compare rates with since the League has not sent any kind of bid information. He added that with APERMA the City of Jonesboro has a permanent seat on their board since Jonesboro was their first member. Mayor Formon’s recommendation was to stay with APERMA. Purchasing Agent Steve Kent added that one problem with the Municipal League is that when the City sent them a list of everything the City insures, the Municipal League wouldn’t write down any figures and didn’t bid on anything. There is also no comprehensive coverage with the Municipal League, so the City would have to go to another company for comprehensive coverage. It was decided to stay with APERMA.
PENDING: Release of the position of Director of Community/Economic Development: Mayor Formon informed the committee that the position of Director of Community/Economic Development is not included in the 2006 budget. Chairman Perrin added that the Mayor and HR Director Suzanne Hackney will need to make an ordinance to abolish the position.
Sale of structures on the landfill: Mayor Formon stated he had thought about selling some structures at the landfill since several people questioned him about it. But, he was informed by Street Superintendent Teddy Hooton that they still use the structures for storage and the fuel system is still used as well. Mayor Formon decided to not pursue the sale since the City still uses the items.
HUMAN RESOURCES
PENDING: City Planner position update: Ms. Hackney informed the committee that the City Planner position is being re-advertised and the advertisement still has one more week to go.
Transfer of funds in the HR budget: Ms. Hackney presented the committee with a line item transfer. She explained that the number of advertisements that she has had to place in the Jonesboro Sun over the year has drained her advertising account. She proposed taking $3000 out of her professional services account and $1500 out of her printing account and transfer it to her advertising account. Councilman Dover motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, to allow Ms. Hackney to transfer $4500 into her advertising account.
Part-time salaries: Ms. Hackney explained the departments in the City have different part-time salary schedules. She proposed a three-tier schedule so all the departments could have the same part-time rates. It was asked for Ms. Hackney to do more research on the schedules and present more information to the committee during budget meetings.
Insurance bids: Ms Hackney explained with Blue Cross Blue Shield, for the 2006 year, the company is proposing a 14.86% rate increase. She received bids from two other companies which were both proposing self-funded health insurance, Billingsley in Forrest City and Town & Country. Ms. Hackney added that she would like to bring someone in to explain to the committee the differences with being self-funded, as well as the disadvantages. She also stated that she is unsure whether they could get the paperwork done by January 1 to be self-funded. Councilman Dover motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, to go with Blue Cross Blue Shield. All voted aye. It was also decided for Ms. Hackney to have someone in either April or May come in and talk to the committee about self-funding, so the City can consider that option for the 2007 budget year.
Ms. Hackney also presented the committee with dental and vision insurance bids. Town & Country has put in a bid for a renewal through Ameritas. They also put in a bid for Ameritas Value Source plan, which is similar to the Ameritas plan the City has now. With the Value Source plan, the dental plan would increase approximately $3 a month for the family plan. Ms. Hackney also explained that with the current Ameritas plan, 218 employees are eligible to increase their annual maximum by $250 to $1,250 because they did not use their $1,000 maximum in the 2005 year. It was stated that the employees whose maximums are increasing should be notified to make sure they remember. Councilwoman Williams motioned, seconded by Councilman Dover, to go with the Value Source plan through Ameritas as long as the $250 rollover is included with the plan. It was also asked to make sure the employees know of the changes to the plan.
PENDING: Firefighters pay: Mayor Formon informed the committee that in the Fire Department some of the supervisors are getting paid less than the firefighters because the firefighters have been there longer. For example, Captain Larry Tosh moved up to captain rank in just 7 years, but because he moved up so fast, there are several people under him who make more money than him. Mayor Formon added that once the firefighters move up to higher ranks, they should be paid more for taking on the extra risk and responsibility. Fire Chief Aaron Keller explained that it would take approximately $57,000 to make the changes in the pay rates. It was asked for Mayor Formon to look at the situation more closely with Ms. Hackney and to bring back more information at the December Finance meeting.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
PENDING: Financial software update: Mr. Young informed the committee that two trainers were recently on-site, one to work with Finance and the other to work with building permits. Customizing reports will take some time, but he noted they’re in good shape with the training. The week of December 5th, the Code Enforcement module will be ready for testing within Springbrook. At that time, it will be delivered so the users can start getting used to it.
PENDING: Fleet software: Mr. Young explained that the week of December 19, Fleet will be ready to be tested. He added that a lot of time would need to be spent in training.
TREASURER’S OFFICE
PENDING: Request from A&P Commission for an audit of 2004 tax remittances: City Collector Becky Sharp informed the committee that she has requested from the state a copy of the taxes the state collected from Jonesboro hotels and motels to make sure they are paying the City the right amount. The state told Ms. Sharp they were not able to give out individual amounts due to the Privacy Act. They will only be able to give her an overall amount of what they collected. She expressed concerns as to how helpful the records would be if they aren’t broken down to show what each individual hotel and motel paid. Mr. Larry Flowers added that Ms. Sharp might be able to visit each hotel and motel individually and ask to look at their records. Ms. Sharp has done that in the past and the hotels and motels were willing to let her look at them, even though Ms. Sharp does not have any audit authority. Mr. Flowers explained that Ms. Sharp is currently busy with putting information into Springbrook, so it would be spring before she would have the time to visit the hotels and motels. Ms Sharp added that five years ago when she did her last audit, the hotels and motels were reporting the correct amount of taxes. It was asked for Ms. Sharp to look at the information the state is sending her and get back with the committee at the December meeting.
PENDING: Actuarial study by LOPFI of the old fire pension plan: Mr. Flowers explained that some of the Fire Departments retirees are asking for an actuarial study to be done to determine whether their pension benefits can be raised. He added that Mr. Ohm is currently looking at the situation to see whether the City should continue with the current process. He also stated that he’s not sure whether there is enough money to allow for an increase. Mr. Flowers explained what the City does is take the property tax levy with the state funding to send LOPFI a combined matching contribution every month. He further explained that the CFO of LOPFI has stated the City has the same processes as other cities. Mr. Dan Melton, retired City firefighter, explained that the retirees on the old plan have not seen a rate increase since 1997, when the LOPFI started taking care of their retirement benefits. He added that some of the money that was supposed to go to the Fire Department’s pension plan has been used for other things by the City. He also stated the actuarial study will just show what money has been paid in and what can be paid out, not the figures of what the City has used that was supposed to go into that account. Mr. Flowers added that it’s basically a legal interpretation of what responsibilities the City has. It was explained that the new retirement plan has a built in cost of living increase every year, but the old plan does not have that. Questions were raised as to why the old plan has not been increased since 1997. Mr. Wadley added that the old plan did not include it because it was never requested to do that, but an ordinance or resolution could be passed to include a cost of living increase for the old retirement plan. Mr. Flowers added that the pension review board will not allow an increase unless the plan’s assets will support the increase, which is why the actuarial study needs to be done. It was asked for Larry to check into the matter and report back with Mr. Ohm’s opinion. Councilman Dover motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, to spend $1,000 for the actuarial study.
PENDING: 2006 budget: It was noted that the City budgeted for a 20% increase in health insurance costs, so the budget will need to be changed to show the actual 14.86% increase. It was asked for that change be made before the budget meeting. It was explained there is also approximately $2 million of additional fixed assets requested by the departments that are not included in the budget. Mayor Formon added the only thing that is not included in the budget is $450,000 for a new fire truck. But, he’s trying to work something out so the Fire Department can get a new truck and it wouldn’t have to be in the budget. Questions were raised as to where the $2.2 million increase in revenues was coming from. Mr. Flowers explained they projected $1 million in sales tax revenues from the sales at the new Mall at Turtle Creek, which will be opening in spring of 2006. He added that it was a conservative estimate, but decided that would be best since he does not have a history to follow to project higher tax revenues. Questions were also raised as to what the process would be for looking at the budget and how the department heads would be included. It was explained that the budget would be looked at during Finance meetings and the department heads would only be called in if something is cut or if they are needed for other matters. Discussion took place as to why the Capital Improvements fund caused the deficit. Mayor Formon noted that certain projects have priority, such as Animal Control and Fire Station #2. It was stated that had the improvements been made when they were needed, the City wouldn’t have so many repairs to make now. It was also suggested to have a retreat next year to look at least a 3-year plan to fund some of the big projects. Mr. Flowers noted that he and Mr. Young will not be available for budget meetings from December 5 to December 7. They will be going to Siloam Springs to see how they implemented Springbrook. It was decided to hold a Finance meeting on Tuesday, November 29, at 4 p.m. to discuss the budget.
OTHER
Mayor Formon proposed buying a small copy machine to keep in the conference room. He explained there are times when copies are needed to be made for the committee and there is not an available copy machine around the conference room to be used.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.