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Minutes for the Finance Committee meeting on November 16, 2006.
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Finance & Administration Committee Minutes
Thursday, November 16, 2006
4:00 p.m.
Members Present were: Darrel Dover, Jim Hargis, Harold Perrin, John Street and Ann Williams. Councilman Farmer was unable to attend. Mayor Formon and Mr. Tony Thomas from the Mayor’s Office were also in attendance.
MINUTES
Councilman Perrin motioned, seconded by Councilman Hargis, for the approval of the minutes for the October 19, 2006, regular meeting. All voted aye. Copies were provided to all those in attendance.
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
Ordinance waiving competitive bids for AVLs due to sole source provider: Mr. Bob Andrews explained the money is already in the budget. He noted the cost for the remaining AVL units would be $77,281. Councilman Perrin motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, to place the ordinance on the agenda for the November 21st meeting under new business. All voted aye. Councilman Perrin noted they looked into the $39 a month fee that had been previously questioned. He explained the fee is due to a state contract, which cannot be changed.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Health insurance renewal: Ms. Suzanne Hackney stated to keep the program the same there would be a 9% increase. Councilman Perrin motioned, seconded by Councilman Hargis, to keep the health insurance as it is. All voted aye.
Aubrey Scott contract: Ms. Hackney explained while Mr. Brian Wadley is gone the Mayor’s Office would like to hire Mr. Aubrey Scott on a full-time, temporary basis. She added Mr. Scott will be taken off his current contract and would be hired full-time. She further explained the committee does not need to take action because there is enough money in the Mayor’s Office salary account to pay Mr. Scott’s salary.
Mr. Hackney discussed services offered by Benergy. She explained they would provide the employees with real value statements of their salary and benefits. She added Benergy also has a flexible spending account plan that would replace the current flexible spending plan. Ms. Hackney stated Benergy’s flexible spending plan would make use of debit cards in lieu of having to write checks to employees when the money in their accounts is needed. Mr. Don Ray questioned whether the debit card is limited so they can be sure the flexible money is being spent towards its intended use. Ms. Hackney stated she hasn’t worked out the details yet. She asked for authorization to transfer $3,200 from her Supplies account to her Professional Services account to pay for the Benergy service. Councilman Perrin motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, to authorize the line item transfer provided the money is in Ms. Hackney’s budget. All voted aye.
Councilman Street questioned the status of the wellness programs for the employees. Ms. Hackney stated she is still working on the plan and would bring back more information later.
FINANCE & AUDIT
Financial report: Mr. Don Ray provided the committee with the financial report.
2007 budget status: Councilman Dover stated a special Finance meeting will be held on November 30, 2006, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Huntington Building. He explained the meeting is for the committee members to discuss the 2007 proposed budget before meeting with department heads. Mr. Ray stated budget that was given out at the last Council meeting was not a complete budget because it didn’t have the special funds in it. He added he should have the rest of the budget done next week.
Financial software: Mr. Ray stated training was recently held concerning Springbrook. He added the Finance Department was satisfied with the training.
Non-uniform employee pension status: Councilman Perrin stated the City currently has about 30% fixed investments that are doing pretty good. He suggested the City establish a benchmark.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Phone system: Mr. Alan Young provided the committee with a routing summary regarding calls received by each department in City Hall. He noted about a quarter of the calls into City Hall have been answered by the auto attendant. Councilman Perrin questioned whether each department’s individual phone number is being published in the phone book next year. Mr. Young stated each number is being published, but all of the calls go to the receptionist’s phone regardless of the number dialed. Councilman Perrin suggested possibly reprogramming that feature so if someone called a particular department’s number then their call would go to that department and not to the receptionist. Discussion was held regarding how the auto attendant handles the phone calls. Councilman Perrin stated they would look into the phone system further and get back with the committee.
ADMINISTRATION & GRANTS
Cemetery expansion: Mr. Jason Wilkie explained they would like to go ahead with bidding out the Oaklawn Cemetery expansion project. He further explained the project will cost approximately $820,000 and stated he would like to take the money out of the Perpetual Care Fund. Councilman Perrin questioned whether the project would zero out the balance of the Perpetual Care Fund. Mr. Wilkie stated there would be about $100,000 left in the fund. Councilman Perrin questioned what the $2,171 cost is for contract preparation and administration. Discussion was held regarding who would perform the construction inspection. Mr. Aubrey Scott stated typically the Street or Engineering Department could handle the construction inspection, but because of their large workload he recommended hiring an outside company. He added the cost for construction inspection was reasonable. Councilman Perrin motioned, seconded by Councilman Hargis, to proceed with bidding out the Oaklawn expansion project. All voted aye. Mr. Gene Vance explained the contract preparation/administration fee is more than just preparation and is a reasonable amount of money.
Jail fees: Police Chief Michael Yates discussed the recent decision by the Quorum Court to raise jail fees for the county jail by approximately 50%. He noted several other cities around the state are also in the same situation. Chief Yates stated the county has said they haven’t raised jails fees since 1990, but they are taking in about $87,000 to $100,000 extra a year because of their fee for tickets. He added that started at the end of 2003 or in 2004 and the statute could be interpreted to read that amount should’ve been applied to Jonesboro’s jail bill. He also stated some municipalities in the county aren’t paying jail fees at all, so Jonesboro has to help pick up the slack. He noted he has filed an information request with the county asking for copies of the actual payments from other municipalities to see how much they’re paying and if they’re paying.
CITY COUNCIL INTERNAL AUDITOR
Fixed asset inventory status report: Ms. Misty Micenhamer stated she is working on the inventory report.
911/parcel development quality assurance: Ms. Micenhamer explained earlier today she met with Ms. Jennifer Worlow. She further explained Ms. Worlow came up with 100 random addresses and is researching the addresses to make sure they match up.
Real estate parcels: Ms. Micenhamer explained Lender’s Title made a list of the City’s parcels, but no one can find the list and Lender’s Title did not make a copy of it. Mr. Tony Thomas stated Lender’s indicated the list was delivered to Mr. Larry Flowers. Councilman Dover questioned whether Mr. Flowers signed for the list. Mr. Thomas stated Lender’s did not have any signature verification of Mr. Flowers receiving the list.
JETS donation fund: Ms. Micenhamer stated she found $233,500 of JETS money. She added Mr. Joel Gardner now has the funds in his account. She also explained JETS received their 2005 payment from the City but has not yet received the 2006 payment.
Sartain bill: Mr. Thomas explained Mr. Teddy Hooton signed a variance to commit a payment for the work, but they’re still trying to find out who authorized the work being done. Mr. Hooton stated he signed the variance because the work had been performed. Councilman Dover questioned how much the bill was for. Mr. Hooton stated the bill was for $5,700. Mr. Thomas stated Mr. Mike Cameron’s name was mentioned in the variance as someone involved in the project and that is how the bill got to the Finance Committee.
Hyde/JETS expenditures: Ms. Micenhamer presented the committee with a report regarding two bills for JETS advertising. She explained the first bill for $1,575 was paid from the Mayor’s Miscellaneous account. She further explained after Mayor Formon noticed the charge he had the Finance Department reimburse his account and take the money out of the Transit Expense account. Ms. Micenhamer stated it appeared the City was reimbursed the money from the 2005 donated contributions for JETS, but the funds were disbursed before the JETS Department was formed. She then discussed the second bill for $1,601. She stated the bill was paid from the Industrial Development account and there was nothing showing the account was reimbursed. She noted the 2005 City payment to JETS was also taken out of the Industrial Development account. She explained the second bill was also paid for before the JETS Department was formed. It was noted both purchase order requisitions were signed by Mr. Paul Copeland and Mayor Formon.
Ms. Micenhamer then discussed the outstanding bill from Occasions Magazine for JETS advertising. She stated there was a contract with Occasions but it was with Mr. Brad Hyde. She questioned whether Mr. Hyde was ever authorized as an agent to contract for the City. She explained if he was never an authorized agent of the City then the bill is between Occasions and Mr. Hyde. Councilman Dover questioned whether there was a contract with Mr. Hyde to arrange for advertising. Ms. Micenhamer stated to her knowledge there is no such contract. She added it appears to her that Celebrate and Occasions would bill Mr. Hyde and then Mr. Hyde would bill the City for the ads. She noted the two bills previously discussed did have purchase orders, but she was unsure about subsequent bills. She explained it appears to her that anything leftover from the two bills would be between Mr. Hyde and the magazines. Mr. Gardner explained they have received a bill from Occasions for $2,700 that he is refusing to pay because the City does not have a contract with them. Councilwoman Furr questioned whether the bills were paid to Mr. Hyde plus the cost of the ad. Ms. Micenhamer stated based on the bill all she can tell is that it is for ad placement and design, but you cannot tell who did the ad work because the bills were not itemized to show what constituted the amount. She added Mr. Hyde was paid the $1,575 and the $1,601. Mr. Thomas noted they have repeatedly asked Occasions for a copy of the contract and they have been unable to produce a contract.
OTHER
Mr. Harry Hardwick questioned Resolution 2006:62 and asked whether he needed to bring a list of what is included in increasing the purchase price of homes by 10%. He stated Mr. Crego indicated to him that the Council would have to pass another resolution allowing for the added 10% increase. Mr. Crego stated the resolution is worded so that the Council is to be provided a list showing what is included in the 10% above appraisal price expenditure. He added the Mayor will need to write an itemized letter to the Council that states what is being paid for above the appraisal price. He further explained it does not need to be in an additional resolution; rather it can be included in the resolution authorizing the purchase.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, Councilman Perrin motioned, seconded by Councilman Street, to adjourn. All voted aye.