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Minutes for the Finance Committee meeting on January 22, 2004.
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Finance & Administration Committee Minutes
Thursday, January 22, 2004
4:00 p.m. - Huntington Building
Members Present: Alec Farmer, Darrel Dover, Jim Hargis, Ann Williams and Harold Perrin Members Absent: Dave Young. Others present were: Keith Inman, Jonesboro Sun , Donna Jackson, City Clerk and others (Attendance Sheet Attached)
MINUTES
Councilman Hargis moved, seconded by Councilman Williams for approval of the minutes for December 18, 2004. All voted aye. Copies were made available to those in attendance.
SUB-COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Hargis to accept the following sub-committee assignments:
• Overall Chair - Alec Farmer
• Finance Committee - Darrel Dover
• Audit & Special Projects - Alec Farmer
• Grants - Jim Hargis
• Records & Legal - Ann Williams
• Industry - Dave Young
• Information Systems - Harold Perrin
• Personnel, Insurance, & Pensions - Harold Perrin
All voted aye.
PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR
Councilman Farmer provided a brief history and flow chart of the creation of the position of Public Safety Director. The following action was taken by committee members in order to restore the position of Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Assistant positions:
• Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to recommend to the full council, an ordinance to amend Ordinances 3040 and 3051 by deleting the position of Director of Public Safety and replacing it with the position of Chief of Police, and placing the ordinance on the February 2, 2004 agenda. All voted aye.
• Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council a resolution amending Jonesboro’s Classification and Compensation Plan by changing the positions of Director of Public Safety, Chief of Police and Fire Chief to read Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police, and Assistant Fire Chief respectively, and placing the resolution on the February 2, 2004 agenda. All voted aye.
• Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council a resolution amending Jonesboro’s Classification and Compensation Plan by establishing the position of Fire Chief, and placing the resolution on the February 2, 2004 agenda. All voted aye.
RESOLUTION AND CONTRACT REVIEW - QUAIL RIDGE DETENTION POND
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council a resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter a contract to purchase Lot 10, Block B Quail Ridge 3rd Addition for an amount not to exceed the appraised value of $83,000.00 for the purposes of developing a regional detention pond, and placing the resolution on the February 2, 2004 agenda, contingent on receiving a response from Attorney Ralph Ohm. All voted aye.
STREET SURVEY - BKD
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to appoint the following committee to review street audit documentation once it is received from BKD: Attorney Phillip Crego; Finance Director, Larry Flowers; and Finance Committee Chair, Alec Farmer. All voted aye.
AMENDMENTS TO PURCHASING MANUAL
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 3379, the Purchasing Manual, and placing it on the February 2, 2004 agenda. All voted aye. The following amendments were recommended:
• Provisions of the current Purchasing Manual, “Initiating a Purchase - Purchase Requisition” shall be amended by the addition of the following language: “Purchases exceeding $500 in value shall not require a Purchase Requisition for purchases initiated by the Purchasing Agent; such purchases to include, but not limited to, monthly purchase orders, bulk fuel purchases, purchases made through formal bidding procedures, and purchases authorized by official action of the City Council. All other purchases exceeding $500 in value shall require the submission of a Purchase Requisition by the requisitioning department.”
• Provision of the current Purchasing Manual, “Formal Bid Process” shall be amended by the addition of the following language: “Formal bids shall not be required for purchases from other public entities, as allowed by State statute. Formal bids shall be required for all other purchases exceeding $10,000 in value.”
• Provisions of the current purchasing Manual, “City Ordinance, Section 2-3.3. (2) (a) - (C) shall be amended as follows: “A minimum of three telephone or fax bids, as applicable, shall not be required for purchases exceeding $250, but less than $10,000 in value, for purchases from sole providers, for emergency situations, and for other purchases where the required number of bids is not obtainable. In these instances, documentation of the circumstances shall be provided on the Purchase Requisition submitted by the requisitioning department.
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP - FUND SELECTION SERVICE PROPOSAL
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend the Fund Selection Service with the city paying directly from the assets on a quarterly basis. All voted aye. The decision was made to have Councilman Perrin and Finance Director Larry Flowers to meet with Principal Financial on a quarterly basis and report back to the full committee.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Extended Medical Leave - Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover authorizing a 30 day medical extension to Bob Andrews. All voted aye.
Comp Time Policy - Proposed Resolution - Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend a resolution to the full council for February 2, 2004 agenda, establishing a comp-time policy for the City of Jonesboro. All voted aye.
Comp Time - Clean Up Appropriation Ordinance - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to recommend an ordinance providing for all employees with compensatory hours over 40 to be monetarily compensated for those hours, for a total amount of $ 5, 959.43. All voted aye.
Condrey Job Descriptions - Proposed Resolution & Contract - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to recommend a resolution entering in to a contract with Condrey and Associates to review and produce an updated job description of all city jobs for a fixed fee of $7,500.00. All voted aye. The proposed legislation was originally in the form of an ordinance, however it was later determined that it needed to be in the form of a resolution since no funds were being appropriated.
Appeal Process - Salary Survey- Questions were asked about the proper appeal process with the salary survey conducted by Condrey and Associates. Ms. Hackney explained all appeals should be sent directly to her and she would forward them on to Condrey and Associates. Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover that should the appeal find merit with a discrepancy it shall be corrected and be retroactive beginning January 1, 2004. All voted aye.
Both Detective Rick Elliot and Fire Fighter Nathan LaRue thanked committee members for their efforts in reviewing salaries and taking steps towards improving compensation levels.
FINANCIAL SOFTWARE
It was reported that information had been received regarding the requested functions for financial software and a trip to other cities was being scheduled. Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to appoint the following individuals for the trip: Mayor Brodell, Councilman Perrin, Councilman Farmer, Finance Director Larry Flowers, Information Systems Director Alan Young, and Human Resource Director Suzanne Hackney. All voted aye.
ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFER
Discussion was held regarding a transfer of funds from the ½ cent sales tax to Administration because of the street department budget. City Attorney Crego had given an opinion earlier that it would be an inappropriate expenditure to pay salaries from the tax, so Mr. Flowers questioned the transfer of $175,000 in the 2004 budget. Attorney Crego recommended getting an Attorney General’s opinion, and stated he would obtain one and report back to the committee.
GRANTS
Requirements included in Grant Contracts - Proposed Resolution - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Hargis to recommend a resolution establishing requirements for grants applications, contracts, and funding to be placed on the February 2, 2004 agenda for review by the full council. All voted aye.
Revision to CDBG Grant Project - Proposed Resolution - Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council a resolution to revise the 2004 CDBG program by cutting an estimated $18,000 from Runway Park making the project $27,000 instead of $45,000. Mr. McKinnon stated he would provide the resolution. All voted aye.
Mr. McKinnon stated the bid for Parker Park would have to be re-bid since HUD felt the scope of work had changed, but they would not have to revise the program in order to accept the proposed bid. Mr. McKinnon provided a written report regarding Grants and the current status of each.
EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE
Ms. Becky Sharp, Department Representative, requested a review of the non-uniform plan concerning surviving spouses with regard to a spouse being able to get the final pay check of the deceased. City Attorney Crego was asked to research the policy and state provisions.
Ms. Becky Sharp, Department Representative, questioned the policy of being able to accrue more than 60 hours sick leave. Discussion followed regarding employees being offered short term, long term and critical care options in the insurance plan.
GASB 34 & CITY PROPERTY
Mr. Flowers reported progress had been made on entering the Infrastructure data which is being maintained by Mr. David Eagle. He explained the data entered so far has been the bridges and streets. Councilman Farmer provided information which was attached to the APERMA Insurance Contract that identified approximately 21.4 million dollars of insured city property. He explained they were trying to develop a list of city owned property in order to satisfy legislative audit findings, and that Councilwoman Furr had been collecting data from County Offices. Mr. Flowers stated Mr. Steve Kent has created a list based on information provided by Mayor Brodell, and the copies provided by City Clerk Donna Jackson in hopes the auditors will not write us up again. Mr. Flowers provided a list of revenue bonds.
2003 FINANCIAL REPORT
An overview of the 2003 Budget was provided by Finance Director Larry Flowers along with an explanation of a budgeting dilemma. He explained the 2003 operating budget anticipated a $2.7 million dollar deficit, but instead ended with a $3.3 million dollar surplus, with departments only spending 77.5% of their appropriated funds. It was explained on January 1, 2003 the ending balance was predicted to be $11.66 million, but instead was $10.5 million leaving over a million dollars they did not expect to have. Mr. Flowers sited capitol improvements as the reason for the difference in the predicted ending balance. He stated the way the 2004 budget is constructed there should not be the wide variations.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Hargis to adjourn.