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Minutes from the Finance Committee meeting on February 17, 2005.
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CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING FEBRUARY 17, 2005
The Jonesboro Finance Committee met Thursday, February 17, at 4:00 p.m. Present were: Alec Farmer, Darrel Dover, Jim Hargis, Ann Williams, John Street, Mayor Forman and Brian Wadley.
No minutes from the previous meeting were approved.
Paul Copeland and John Easley discussed a resolution approving change order # 2 with Knish Corporation for 2002 downtown sidewalk improvement which increases the contract by $59,134.65. Councilman Street moved, seconded by Jim Hargis to approve the resolution. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members were: Dover, Hargis, Williams and Street.
A resolution concerning policies and procedures to reimburse employees for personal vehicle use in the city when a city vehicle is not available. The mayor must approve and the rate will be set at a later date. Councilman Jim Hargis moved, and seconded by John Street to approve the resolution. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams and Street.
Paul Copeland presented a resolution amending the CDBG advisory board to include 6 council members, seven citizens selected by the mayor with terms of three years and no more than two consecutive terms. Councilman Street moved, and seconded by Jim Hargis to approve the resolution. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams, and Street.
Suzanne Hackney informed the committee a city newsletter was in the process of being developed.
Alan Young discussed the progress of the new software being installed with July being a target date for the financial part to be finished. The program will allow the city to move toward being more paperless.
Alan Young discussed the proposed information systems acceptable use policy. The city has no official policy at this time. Section four was a concern to some members of the committee. Section six was very important relating to remote access. Phillip Crego suggested this policy should be part of the employee handbook.
Mayor Formon recommended promoting three fire personnel to driver positions. These drivers are already trained. This would not require hiring any new personnel. The cost would be approximately $12,500.00. Councilman Street moved, and seconded by Williams. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams and Street.
Larry Flowers and Suzanne hackney discussed the service of the non-uniformed pension plan and if the committee recommended re-bidding the plan. Councilman Jim Hargis moved, and seconded by Street to re-bid the plan for next year. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams, and Street.
Larry Flowers discussed the position of internal auditor and stated this would be looked at later in the year.
Alec Farmer reminded the committee about the property insurance for the city.
Cindy Wright, city employee chairperson, brought attention to the committee that our current non-uniformed pension plan has no survivor benefit if the employee dies before they retire. The fire and police plan allows for survivor benefits. The multiplier was discussed for pension plan. An adjustment from 1.5 to 1.17 was discussed. Councilman Dover moved, and seconded by Hargis to include the survivor benefit to the non-uniformed pension plan immediately and to review the multiplier in the bid. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams, and Street.
Suzanne Hackney advised the committee about the possibility of developing a sick bank for city employees.
Suzanne Hackney stated the new employee assistance program was working well. The pre-paid legal program was still in the development stage.
Suzanne Hackney recommended dividing the planning and inspection department with four positions in the inspection department and three in the planning department. Councilman Street moved, and seconded by Williams to approve the recommendation. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were: Dover, Hargis Williams, and Street.
Paul Copeland recommended amending the CDBG Budget for 2005 by reducing the amount for administration by $11,300.00. Councilman Williams moved, and seconded by Hargis to approve the amendment to the budget. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams and Street.
Paul Copeland discussed major changes to the CDBG program in future years. This program could be eliminated in future federal budgets. Paul encouraged the members to lobby for the CDBG program when the go to Washington.
Paul Copeland discussed a change to the procedures in securing grants for the city. Any grant requiring a city match must be reviewed by the city attorney. Any pre-application must be reviewed by grant department.
David Gates, representative from Lenders Title Company discussed the cities expectation from his company in the identification of property owned by the city. He wanted to clear any misunderstanding about what Lenders could and could not do.
A discussion was held concerning the possibility of lease purchase of fire trucks for the city. Larry Flowers was to develop a RFP to several companies about their programs.
Larry Flowers informed the committee about the status of our franchise fees and their comparison to other cities. A discussion was held about the telephone services in the Jonesboro area and the equity in franchise fees for all those companies.
Alec Farmer informed the committee of the progress between the city of Jonesboro and Craighead Solid Waste Authority concerning the relocation of the landfill. A resolution was introduce to proceed with the finalization of the agreement between Jonesboro and Craighead Solid Waste Authority for the new landfill. Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Street to proceed with the planning of the relocation of the new landfill. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams, and Street.
Councilman John Street moved, and seconded by Hargis to adjourn. A voice vote was taken with all members voting aye. Those members were Dover, Hargis, Williams, and Street.
These minutes were submitted by Councilman Dover.