03-14-16 Personnel and Finance - Laserfiche WebLink

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PERSONNEL & FINANCE MARCH 14, 2016 5:12 P.M. Committee Members Present: Karen White, Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams- Preston, John Voorde Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Randy Kelly, Jo M. Broden, Oliver Davis Others Present: Jennifer Coffinan, Joseph Molnar, Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand Adriana Rodriguez Agenda: City Controller John Murphy, Office of Finance and Administration Chairperson Karen White called the meeting to order with one item on the agenda. John Murphy, City Controller with offices on the 12th Floor of the County -City Building, gave an overview presentation of the Administration and Finance Department. The presentation began with the senior members of the Administration and Finance staff introducing themselves to the Council and explaining their roles within the department. John Murphy went over the accomplishments of the department over the past year. They pride themselves for their AA Bond rating which last year saved the city $5.6 million dollars in refunding savings. Every report the department puts out is accessible online. Regarding human resources, the big initiative has been the Health Clinic opening this past January. The department is excited about the possibilities of cost reduction the clinic will bring and it has been a great success so far. The employee handbook was revamped for the first time in a number of years. Both the Human Resources division and the Human Rights division of the department have hosted a number of events over the past year with great community involvement. The Human Rights Commission handled over 5,000 inquiries last year and has worked with the various departments around the City, especially the Fire and Police Departments, to help them with their hiring practices. The City has one of the lowest worker's compensation cost per person in the area. Overall worker's compensation claims were reduced from 2014 to 2015 and the general trend has been down over the past ten (10) years. The department is aiming to move towards a priority based budgeting and the Council will look at that in the future. It helps budget costs by program which are perceived as more meaningful than just accounts and budgets. The department will also attempt a Popular Annual Financial report which will be more citizen friendly in the terms of readability. Chairperson Karen White thanked John Murphy for all the work his department put in during the budget process last year. This was the first year she heard no comments from the community about not having enough information or opportunity for public input. She thanked the team for responding to the questions in such a fast and efficient manner.