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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-16 Personnel and FinanceOFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK PERSONNEL & FINANCE OCTOBER 10, 2016 4:10 P.M. Committee Members Present: Karen White, Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams- Preston, John Voorde Committee Members Absent: None Council Members Present: Tim Scott, Randy Kelly, Oliver Davis, Jo M. Broden, Dr. David Varner Council Members Absent: None Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Joseph Molnar, Alkeyna Aldridge Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand, Adriana Rodriguez Agenda: Substitute Bill No. 58 -16: Increased Parking Fines & Amnesty Program Bill No. 16 -81: A resolution approving parking rates, charges and rules for publicly owned facilities Bill No. 64 -16: Parks Department Re- Organization Bill No. 56 -16: 2017 Common Council Salary Bill No. 57 -16: 2017 City Clerk Salary Bill No. 62 -16: 2017 Mayor Salary Bill No. 63 -16: Fixing salaries and wages for non - bargaining City Employees for 2017 Bill No. 44 -16: Appropriating monies for defraying Departmental expenses and Civil City funds for the fiscal year Ending 12 -31 -17 Substitute Bill No. 46 -16: Levying taxes and fixing the rate of taxation to meet City expenses for the fiscal year ending 12 -31 -17 455 County -City Building • 227 W. Jefferson Boulevard • South Bend, Indiana 46601 Phone 574- 235 -9221 • Fax 574- 235 -9173 • TDD 574- 235 -5567 • www.SoutliBendIN.gov JENNIFER M. COFFMAN ALKEYNA M. ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/ CHIEF OF STAFF DEPUTY/ DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK Bill No. 47 -16: Appropriating the TRANSPO budget and levying and fixing the taxation rate to fund TRANSPO for fiscal year ending 12 -31 -17 Committee Chair Karen L. White called the meeting to order with ten (10) items of business on the agenda. Committee Chair White informed the Committee that there are sets of the questions and answers that have been asked throughout the budget process for each of the Councilmembers. She began by thanking the Councilmembers for their participation in the budget process. We received feedback from the citizens to look at ways we can make this process more open and engaging, and to make sure that citizens are able to be more involved earlier on in the budget process. She received an email from John Murphy regarding the salary ordinance and other information as well, so the Council won't have time to look at that yet. The Council is not taking action on that tonight, it is just information that was requested by the Council. Committee Chair White requested that Mr. Murphy get an organizational chart of the City in terms of the current organizational structure so when we begin to look at the proposed changes for Parks and Innovation, we can see what the impact is. Substitute Bill No. 58 -16: Increased Parking Fines & Amnesty Program Bill No. 16 -81: A resolution approving parking rates, charges and rules for publicly owned facilities Committeemember Gavin Ferlic motioned to accept the substitute version of Bill No. 58 -16, Committeemember John Voorde seconded, and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to hear Bills No. 58 -16 and 16 -81 together for purpose of public hearing, Committeemember Voorde seconded and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Aaron Perri, Executive Director of the Parks Department, offices at 321 E. Walter Street, presented the parking study that was done over six (6) months looking at our parking supply, current demand, projecting future demand, turnover rates, comparable rates, and doing interviews with stakeholders. DTSB and others have been holding meetings with stakeholder groups to make sure they all understand what the changes would mean. We've also been looking at the legal groundwork as well as the technology upgrades that would be needed to put these changes in place. Mr. Perri explained the company found that South Bend has sufficient parking supply but some individual blocks are deficient. There is a large amount of reserved spots in the garages, which doesn't allow sufficient turnover and hurts us on the supply side. There are inconsistencies on 2 street parking times when it comes to one (1) hour versus two (2) hour spaces, and the garages also have inconsistent grace times. The rates in South Bend are too low to sustain current capital needs and the operational needs of the garages, and they are also significantly lower than other municipalities. Other opportunities were identified for decreased rates. On- street parking citation fines are too low to encourage the type of behavior we want to see on these streets, and the collection rates are too low. We have some ideas of how to address those. Mr. Perri showed the rates of other cities, which are significantly higher than those in South Bend, and explained that parking rates were last increased in 2008. Before that it was about every five (5) years for the last forty (40) years, so this will be the longest South Bend has gone without a rate increase. His Power Point presentation is available in the City Clerk's Office. About $4.75 million worth of capital needs were found in the garages. The break -even rate would be about $125 per parker. We won't go that high but we'll identify something that works for our market. The two (2) things the Council will vote on this evening deal with on- street citations, which is the ordinance, then the parking garage rates which comes to Council in the form of a resolution, which has also been approved by the Board of Public Works. We're looking at increasing the fine for on- street citations to $20 per ticket from $10 per ticket. The late fee would continue to be an extra $10 after fourteen (14) days. We also want to remain a hospitable place to do business. We want to have a kinder, gentler approach where we allow one (1) warning ticket per calendar year. The second ticket would be the one where parkers are being charged $20 rather than $10. These only apply to time violations. It does not apply to other illegal parking in front of fire hydrants or in handicap parking spots. The City Clerk suggested having the ability, at the Clerk's discretion, to introduce an amnesty day every year. It would be one (1) day per calendar year that would be advertised to come in and pay tickets with the late fee waived so the people can clean the slate. Court fees would still need to be paid by the parker if their ticket has gone to collections. In the parking garages, there would be a $10 increase in the subscription. That has not increased since 2008. We would be looking at a much larger increase in the premium spot upgrade. Currently it only costs $10 to upgrade, but that will be raised to a $35 upgrade. Right now it is pretty affordable to pay for a block of spots that might not be needed, so we are trying to encourage people to really take a look at what they need. So if you want the same spot that is reserved for you every day, it is going to be at a significant premium. There will also be options for people who park in the garages for twenty -five (25) hours or less, which will make it cheaper for part-time employees to have a place to park downtown. We are also introducing a $15 discount for downtown residents. There will be an increase in the daily rate maximum. Right now it is $5, but it will change to $10, after the first two (2) free hours. The two (2) hour free parking will be standardized in all 3 three (3) garages, too. Nights and weekends will also remain free, and special events will remain at $5 in the closest garages. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked if there was any consideration about making the parking slanted on Michigan Street. He asked if there is a benefit or if it is safer. Mr. Perri stated that would be a great evolution of the on- street parking program. He thinks that Michigan Street is slated to be done next year. There was no one present from the Department of Public Works to answer the question. Councilmember Davis asked if there is a list of all of the upcoming fee increases. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler stated that she would distribute it in an email. Councilmember Scott stated he agrees with Councilmember Davis about back angled parking. Councilmember Jo Broden M. asked a question about the part-time parking. Mr. Perri explained that the new rate would be a $25 discount off of the full -time parking pass. Committeemember John Voorde asked what direction the spaces would be slanted in. Mr. Perri stated that you would generally park on the right side of the road. Committeemember Regina Williams- Preston thanked Mr. Perri for all of the examples of being responsive to our community. Councilmember Randy Kelly thanked Mr. Perri and stated that the majority of the business owners that would be affected are in favor of this rate change. Mr. Perri explained that this would go into effect on January 1, 2017, so most of the construction will be out of the way before the change is made. Councilmember Davis asked if parking meters are used by any of the cities they looked at. Mr. Perri stated that they explored the idea of using parking meters, but we aren't quite ready for the more advanced parking meters yet. Committeemember Voorde asked if they are looking at new machines, since the current machines are not supported anymore. Mr. Perri stated that the new machines are part of the technological upgrades he discussed. Committee Chair White asked if there would be an overview of the amnesty program before they go to the public portion. Kareemah Fowler, South Bend City Clerk with offices on the 4th floor of the County City Building, stated that the amnesty program allows residents to pay past parking violations at the initial cost of the ticket. This is a win -win opportunity, because it gives residents the opportunity to clean the slate, and it gives the Ordinance Violations Bureau the opportunity to collect tickets outside of the statutory limit. Right now, if the ticket is over two (2) years old, we cannot actively go after the individual for collections. We currently write about $1.1 million worth of parking tickets, but we haven't been able to actively collect on all of them because we did not have access to the BMV information. We gained access to that information on May 1, 2016. Since then, we have worked on over 8,000 tickets, and we've collected on 2,000 of those tickets. The Office of the City Clerk will work in collaboration with stakeholders, City departments and DTSB to determine a mutually convenient date and approach. Amnesty day will be advertised through press releases, the City website, the Clerk's Office's distribution lists and social media. Right now, we don't have a projection of how much this will bring in because there is not enough historical data. Chicago has been very successful. Last year they saw a forty percent (40 %) increase in collections, and brought in $7 million for the City. That included parking tickets and all City violations. Councilmember Voorde asked if it costs anything to use the BMV search, and Clerk Fowler explained that it costs $1 per license plate search. Most people are repeat offenders, so the same license plates get the same tickets over and over. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to send Substitute Bill No. 58 -60 to full Council favorably, Committeemember Voorde seconded and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to send Bill No. 16 -81 to the full Council favorably, Committeemember Williams- Preston seconded and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Bill No. 64 -16: Parks Department Re- Organization James Mueller, 141h floor of the County City Building, this ordinance officially names the new umbrella department to bring parks, city venues and parking garages together, and it also establishes the new department of Innovation and Technology. You can find the organization charts before and after in their budget presentations which are on file in the City Clerk's Office. This will make the organizations more efficient and provide better outcomes. Due to some complications with the state code that governs park departments, there is a new line that says "we do not forfeit any rights or privileges due to this name change ". We also cleaned up a lot of positions in the municipal code. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand stated that there is a scrivener's error under Section One (1) that needs to be amended, in the title it should be section two dash thirteen (2- 13) as opposed to two point thirteen (2.13). Committeemember Ferlic motioned to make the correction, Committeemember Voorde seconded, and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Councilmember Broden asked about changes in Administration and Finance, Community Investment, and Code Enforcement and whether or not any of those need to be reflected in the title. The changes also were not referenced in the statement of intent. 5 Aladean DeRose, City Attorney, stated the title does not typically reflect those changes. Secondly, there is a line in the statement of intent that says there are minor updates included. Councilmember Dr. Varner asked if golf courses would be included in recreation, and if it should be spelled out. Councilmember Broden also requested that pools be included. Committeemember White asked that the golf courses be included. Committeemember Voorde moved to add the golf courses to the language of Bill No. 64 -16, Committeemember Ferlic seconded, and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to send Bill No. 64 -16 as amended favorably to the full Council, it was seconded by Committeemember Williams- Preston, and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Bill No. 56 -16: 2017 Common Council Salary Tim Scott, 711 Forest Avenue, we're proposing a two percent (2 %) raise for the Common Council, which will increase the salary to $19,030. No one from the public spoke in favor of the bill. Those wishing to speak in opposition: Jim Bognar, 807 West Washington Street, believes that the two percent (2 %) increase is too low. He finds that in 2015, the City of South Bend had 1,704 employees, and the public has the right to vote on eleven (11) positions, and individuals only have the ability to influence six (6) of those positions. In an effort to look positive, the mayor, clerk and council are diminishing their worth. The City of South Bend in 2013 spent over $3 million on not - for - profit support. It is people that we believe are important, jobs that we thought were significant. We rely on these people and have to be able to continue to pay them. We have to look at where we are and where we are going. Mr. Bognar asked how we are going to empower the next generation of elected officials. There has been an explosion of work that the council, clerk, and mayor and their staff does, but they haven't moved forward on salary increases. If you want people to come in to public service, you are going to have to pay more. It is an easy target for the media, and they do a poor job of reporting it. He is concerned for all of the elected positions. It should not be tied to the employees that are hired, because anyone can run for your positions, and we need to incentivize people to come in. While I reject the two percent (2 %),1 believe it should be more, and I would also like to attach that to the Mayor's Office and the Clerk's as well. Councilmember Scott stated that he ran for this position as a calling to service to his City, and he will vote against this. He does not believe they should get an increase. He acknowledged that if they stay at the same rate, five (5) years down the road it will not have kept pace. He appreciates everyone's input on it. C Councilmember Dr. Varner thanked Mr. Bognar for his comments, and agreed with Councilmember Scott. We do this as a service, but as the exploding demands continue, it might be appropriate for the Council to become full -time in order to do their job well. Leading by example is very important, and if we were to ask for extraordinary raises for the Council, we would expect that extraordinary raises for everyone else would be in order. He hopes that we are all doing this for a worthwhile reason rather than just for greater compensation. Committee Chair White stated that people need to remember that the Council does a lot of work outside of the meetings every other week. A lot of preparation goes into the work they do at each meeting, and they respond to the community at all hours of the day and night. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to send Bill No. 56 -16 to the full Council favorably, Committeemember Williams- Preston seconded, and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Bill No. 57 -16: 2017 City Clerk Salary Kareemah Fowler, South Bend City Clerk with offices on the 4th floor, stated that requesting a salary adjustment is a very difficult decision. Any time one asks to place a monetary value on a job, it is very uncomfortable, especially when you are an elected official and in the spotlight. I do not take this request lightly, and to simply consider it a pay raise would be to diminish the Office of the City Clerk and its dedicated staff. As a long -time public servant, I am very aware of the need to respect both public and taxpayer dollars. This decision would be considered and based solely on the position of the City Clerk, and not about any personality. If one looks at the organizational chart, which is available in the City Clerk's Office, the Office of the City Clerk is one -third (1/3) of our foundation of government. It not only serves our citizens, it is the fabric that mends the connection between the other two- thirds (2/3) of our government: City Council and the Mayor. In addition, the City Clerk is the second highest elected position, only the mayor is higher. This position is historically underfunded. Over the last decade, the salary increases have been connected to the general percentage of yearly raises for hired City employees, who have detailed job descriptions and a certain level of education and experience, which is required to qualify for those jobs. Because the position is elected, there are very few requirements to become City Clerk. I believe that the elected nature of this j ob and the unique way it is funded has worked against the proper increases for several decades. The position represents one -third (1/3) of all City government, yet based on the 2015 payroll data, thirty -one percent (31 %) of all City positions are paid above the level of the City Clerk. The 2017 payroll adjustment would bring the position into parity with all other executive level positions within our City. The presented flow chart shows the yearly percentage level changes for the position over a forty -four (44) year period. From 1972 to 2016, increases have been flat, and sometimes decreased. Clerk Fowler provided other graphs which show other Cities levels of compensation. It shows the pay discrepancies between other city clerks in Indiana and their pay discrepancies with other executive level positions. Currently the City Clerk's salary is the lowest paid executive level 7 position in the City of South Bend. The average City director makes approximately $10,000 more than that of the Clerk's position, and the average department head makes approximately $30,000 more than that of the Clerk. This request to increase the salary level of the City Clerk is to place it in a competitive range that respects the overall responsibility of the position. I cannot and will not allow personal attacks to compromise my view of this office. My vision is that we cannot and will not retreat from searching for more innovative advancements to serve the City Council, the Mayor's office, and more importantly, the members of the public. I also must consider the future of this position. No one knows what the future holds, but when the time comes, and I leaves this position, it is my fundamental job to make recommendations that will encourage highly qualified individuals to seek this public office. I further intention to make sure that the innovative advances that our office has made, and continue to make, move forward. I am also proud of the highly talented staff in this office and their dedication to public service. I must be clear that this proposed increase is about the position, not the person. It is an executive level job that has been historically underfunded, and has been treated as an employee position rather than an elected office. I thanked the Council for your time and consideration, and I ask for your favorable vote. Committee Chair White stated that an email was received from Derek Dieter that he would like to be read into the record at tonight's meeting during the public hearing. Councilmember Davis stated just for clarification, the Mayor doesn't have the highest rank. It's the Mayor, Clerk, Council, we're all equal when it comes down to it. Sometimes people think that, and even how it was campaigned with the Mayor and the Clerk, because when you ran together it was like you were one (1) and you were all over us. People say how is your boss doing? No, I tell them that my boss is the people of the 61h district. City Clerk Fowler stated that if you look at the chart, they are all equal. Councilmember Davis stated the chart, I'm not worried about the chart. The chart, its equal powers of the government. I understood this from back in government school, and so, the executive branch, the legislative branch, and you have because of the municipal group, really the city council is kind of a craft out of the state branch, because we really only have township and states, so the state crafted out the municipal, so out of the municipal you have the legislative, and you all are there to assist the two (2). So that's how it's set up. It is not set up in the sense that you are over, higher, it's set up like that. That needs to be clarified because it is not set up as one of the other things. That is why historically, we have looked at this thing and it has been that way, because it is two (2) branches of government. You have federal they have three (3) branches of government, state has three (3) branches of government, and municipal has two (2) branches of government with the Clerk to assist. In a sense it is a branch of the government but it is not technically speaking that when you look at the federal and state. That is why the Clerk's role has been considered more of the support role to the Mayor and to the Council. City Clerk Fowler stated that she agrees, she was talking about it in terms of them being full -time positions. Councilmember Davis stated that sometimes people will say that we are reporting to you or to the Mayor, and that is not it. Well, Mayor, the people of the City of South Bend is his boss, the people in each one of our districts, and for those at- large, the whole City has that, and there are these two (2) branches, and your role, the Clerk's role, is to support them. And that is why it has been that way historically even from the times that we see here when this was written to others. So when you look at that, it's been more of a supportive. Councilmember Scott clarified that the procedure for reading letters on the floor is that it is just submitted for the record, not read on the floor. Councilmember Dr. Varner stated that he admires the willingness to argue or fight for something you think is necessary. In the context of a request for twenty -three percent (23 %), I don't see that as being an unreasonable request if you believe that is the value of your job. Council has to consider the requests, whatever they are from everybody, in the context of the City as a whole. While I have trouble rationalizing the idea that there is a fiscal cliff and yet there is room for a twenty -three percent (23 %) raise, for anyone, that has been hammered across to us for ten (10) years now. However this plays out, I think it will be a decision where we find ourselves looking at what the possibilities are with regards to the context of the bigger picture. Personally, I'd like to see us get ten (10) or twelve (12) percent for everybody. We're told that is not in the cards, and certainly it hasn't been offered. We have remaining negotiations over the next two (2) years, which will be a difficult thing to negotiate past. That is the way I look at it, and I appreciate your willingness. Mr. Voorde will probably confirm that I did request increases at times during the last decade, and perhaps this is something that could be done over a period of time. Even a five percent (5 %) increase, I think most people would consider substantial. Councilmember Broden stated that since she comes from a not - for - profit sector, organizationally the boards have to take a look at these decisions. Typically it would be for the executive director or additional staff being brought on. Those, because of the circumstances that most of the not - for- profits I've been involved in, on the board side, we certainly had a longer space of time and information on the record in terms of the role, the responsibilities, and the justification. That is always one (1) part of a much bigger budget. My preference is that with this request, we need to get at reasonableness without more information in the record. I appreciate the extent of the information that was presented to us today, and I know that there has been considerable research, otherwise this wouldn't come forward to us. Absent of the other salary increases and information and detail across the board for the City, these types of things are major decisions. A single position should be looked at in the totality of all of the increases for our workers. When I get a packet of information that has the ordinance and the percent increase but not the supporting information, I think we can do better. Since I am here more often and I went to the IACT training, I see some of these things, and I think that the Clerk has made a terrific presentation on this tonight, and I know she has been doing the research on this, but I want to be comfortable that we are all working from the same IN fact base with more information on the record. We don't make decisions based on a ten (10) to fifteen (15) minute presentation. Committeemember Ferlic stated that with all due respect to John Voorde and the job he did, he did a great j ob as City Clerk, I think that Kareemah has come in and really done an amazing j ob with the City Clerk's office. The staff is just outstanding, the time they put in, the amount of meetings they attend and the support they provide is outstanding. There are some jobs that if you take a look at the time they involve and the skill they involve, and you compare them to jobs in the private sector, I don't see any discrepancy between the amount of work that goes on, then talent involved in that work, and the salary that she is requesting, so I'll be supporting this. Committeemember Williams- Preston stated she would like to talk to Councilmember Broden more about what she was saying. She thought she heard Councilmember Broden say that when she is ready to make a decision on something and vote on it, you really want the information in advance and time to consider it. I think that is true of a lot of things. Given the hot topic that this has been, given that it was on the front page and as public as this has been, and as many people who have been commenting, it was certainly something I wanted to know and understand more about to make sure I had a sense of where I was going. I really sought out information personally to have a better understanding of it. It does sound like a lot, and this is the only thing we are hearing about, especially when Council is only taking two percent (2 %). I think when you investigate it more, it's not hard to see at all that there is serious pay inequity, just by looking at the chart of the salary comparison. I've had lots and lots of conversations with constituents and it has been made clear to me that there is a difference between an elected position and a department head, and we could draw all sorts of arbitrary lines between this and that. But the thing is, the Clerk's position has a tremendous amount of responsibility attached to it, and most people don't know that, and so I can certainly understand the firestorm that has been raging, but as I understand the work that is being done, the expectations of that work, and that I see that the staff has been going above and beyond all hours of the night, literally, responding to texts and emails. Even outside of that, when I look at the directors and department heads together, and I see that the current salary is $59,000 and the next closest department head or director is like $79,000, I'm thinking wow, is there really a $20,000 difference between what the expectation is from the Clerk's office to any of the other department heads? To me that just says right out that maybe we need to take a look at this. This is not a personal issue, this has come to our attention now and the question is does that seem to make sense. I feel like it is really important to make sure we are looking at this in terms of j ob responsibilities, and that things are going even across the board. I also think about the directors within the departments, and even the deputies are making somewhere around six (6) figures. I want to understand that more, and I know that information is forthcoming for a decision at a later date on those salaries. Then there is the issue of comparing the workload and neighboring cities, and I think there is a lot of evidence that is just practical information about what a clerk does, and what the different salaries are when you look at a comparison with the department heads and a comparison to other clerks around. I think there is plenty of evidence there to say that we need to make a substantial lull increase at this time in order to bring it into some sort of parity, and it was interesting that in 1984 the council president was looking to do that, so somewhere along the way it was forgotten, so I think that historically we have some information about that. Again, this isn't a personal issue, but I think it is something to be talked about in terms of our Mayor's diversity and inclusion initiative. We also have to take a look at outside of everything else what is happening in terms of pay equity. I don't think that this particular issue is necessarily that, but I want it to be said that the way in which this particular position has been presented in the media, I think that is where the gender equity issue comes in. I just want to call attention to that, that that is my opinion. Possibly, outside of all other issues, if this particular person who holds the position right now were a white male, I'm not sure it would have been front page news. $13,000 is just a drop in the bucket compared to looking at the whole budget, and what is happening. So I think that taken all together, I would ask that Councilmembers think about not just the structural issues, looking at the position and if we need to bring it into some sort of equity with other departments and other clerks around, but also consider how this might fit in with our vision of being a city government that does pay attention to gender, race, disability, and all those different factors in terms of who is working in our government at all levels, not just the higher levels of pay, but again, also the lower tiers and the hourly workers. Where are people being placed? Let's pay attention to those demographics and allow that to be a part of our conversation in terms of making sure that we are conducting ourselves in a way that matches our values. So I'll be supporting this increase tonight, and I hope that other councilmembers will as well. Committeemember John Voorde stated that as everyone knows, he served as City Clerk for a dozen years, and he was on the City Council in 1984 when they made the step up for the City Clerk at the time. It could be argued that it shouldn't even be an elected position, because it is an administrative position, not a policy position. That would require a change in state law, and I lobbied for that through my organization. There are only eight (8) or nine (9) city clerks in the State of Indiana that do not have courts to administer. That would be a significant addition to a workload if there was a city court, but we don't have one anymore. The County Clerk's workload is measurably more. While we can't put blinders on to the world around us, this is not a gender or racial issue. If I had asked for a $14,000 increase during any one (1) of the twelve (12) years I was in there, I bet it would have been a headline. You bet I would have liked to have made more money. I think you can argue a case that the job has taken on more duties and responsibilities and expanded hours over the years. This particular position has had hours over and above the norm in these past nine (9) months, because of choices that were made. We've got a whole new staff, and I applaud her for the people she's brought in, because by everything that I see, it's an upgrade in skill level and potential to take on more duties than the one (1) that I left. Compared to other city employees, city clerk staff people are pretty well compensated for what they do, so I was always proud of being able to get them more money. The City Clerk's job itself, because it's not policy, I did not think that it warranted for me, I could hang out credentials like anyone else. There is a League of Municipal Clerk Treasurers in the State of Indiana that 11 provides educational opportunities and certifications. You can go to these classes and achieve a Certified Municipal Clerk designation or a Master Clerk designation. I think when these kinds of things are done, that would probably warrant additional pay. I never got the Masters, but I got the Certified Municipal Clerk for taking the classes, and I would encourage any City Clerk in office to take advantage of the networking and the educational opportunities offered by the league. Having said all of that, I am the one who hired the current City Clerk into the City Clerk's Office, promoted her to head the Ordinance Violations Bureau, promoted her to Chief Deputy, replacing someone who had been with me for almost two (2) dozen years, as recognition of her ability to get the job done. I was never disappointed in any of those choices. However, given the financial climate that the City is in, the fact that negotiations went on for nine (9) weeks with the Teamsters, just got out of negotiations with the F.O.P., we have a tentative agreement we can't talk about, but it isn't anywhere near twenty -three percent (23 %) all in one (1) fell swoop. I am all for taking a look at a reorienting of the baseline for a City Clerk's position, but I think that ought to be phased in, and I intend to make a motion tonight for a $4,000 increase with the intention that there would be adjustments down the line each year. Unless it is phased in, I think twenty -three percent (23 %) is almost egregious and I cannot support it. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated that in 2012 and 2013 when we had to talk about the increasing of the attorneys and the Public Works, I was not for that and whether they are black or white, Democrat or Republican, that isn't an issue for me and I don't even want that out there. I believe in phasing in. You cannot talk about all of these fees and at the same time have jumps in salary. Public perception is that we have all of these fees we're voting on, then we have high rates. Five percent (5 %) is good, I did not like when they came in and he jumped all the key salaries up. The fact that we work over all over the place, that's what we should do. Some Councilmembers may serve on a whole bunch of committees, and others may not. That's their call. With all due respect, when I pushed for committees, I didn't receive pushback from the Clerk's Office in the past years, and they say I am overworking their department this year. He would come to all of the committee meetings with all of the issues. Every time I called or did any of this, he worked overtime. This year I didn't receive that. I can argue the fact that I got more support from last year's than this year's, so I have to personally look at those things. Councilmember Randy Kelly concurred with Committeemember Gavin Ferlic and Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston. He counted sixteen (16) requests for raises that are in the twenty percent range or more, so I want to keep it in perspective with regard to the fact that this one (1) request is getting a lot of press. So I want to point that out because it is not necessarily out of line with what is being asked around the City. I want to concur with Mr. Bognar's comments. The reality is that if we are going to attract and retain quality talent, we have to pay for it. I think this is the time to do it because we should do these things so that we can attract and retain the kind of talent that our City deserves, and learn to live within those means before.the fiscal cliff, so I'll be supporting. 12 Councilmember Tim Scott stated the Council, the Mayor, the Clerk, all of their information was presented to us twenty (20) days ago, and we all had time to ask questions and do whatever we needed to do. Committee Chair White stated that the comparison they asked for and the percentage that was mentioned is that knowing that this was going to be an issue and not to focus on one (1) position, but to look at it from the total number and again just giving that information. I do .support the request, but I think that in order for us to have the level of conversation that we need as a Council, and that we are looking at apples and apples, so we are not focusing on just this position, and as we go back two (2) or three (3) years ago, we had a number of increments that were very tremendous, and we talked about all of those, and we still passed most if not all of those, so I would like to ask the presenter if she would be willing to allow the Council to look at the information that we just received at 4:10, so everyone can have the information. Councilmember Davis asked if she wants the presenter to move it to two (2) weeks from today. Councilmember Scott announced that the Mayor sent a press release this afternoon that he would be raising the minimum wage to $10.10, skipping the incremental increase. We also have the non - bargaining salaries to look at. The information is there for any of the salaries that are being discussed. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler stated that she would like to take it for a vote tonight, because the Council has the information, and if they go off of the historic information and the information that I have presented, I personally don't want to drag this out for two (2) more weeks. Committee Chair White stated that it is important though, that the media does not focus on this position alone. There are other positions, and when we put this information out it shouldn't be focused on one (1) position. The presenter has indicated that she wished to move forward. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to send Bill No. 57 -16 to the full Council favorably. Councilmember Davis asked if it could be amended. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand stated that it could be amended. Committeemember Williams- Preston seconded it, and it carried by three (3) ayes and one nay ( Committeemember Voorde). Committeemember Voorde asked if they could take the upcoming bills, Bills No. 56 -16, 57 -16, 62 -16, 63 -16, and 44 -16 and continue all five (5) of them. Council Attorney Cekanski- Farrand responded that because a motion had already been made on Bill No. 57 -16, the Council determined that they would move on. Bill No. 62 -16: 2017 Mayor Salary 13 John Murphy, City Controller with offices on the 12th Floor, stated that this is a two percent (2 %) increase, similar to the increase you will be considering for the Council. The Mayor's salary would increase to $106,579. Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to send Bill No. 62 -16 to the full Council favorably, Committeemember Williams- Preston seconded it, and it carried by four (4) ayes. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to recommend that the Council continue Bills 63 -16, 44 -16 and 45 -16 to 10 -24 -2016, Committeemember Voorde seconded, and it carried with four (4) ayes. Substitute Bill No. 46 -16: Levying taxes and fixing the rate of taxation to meet City expenses for the fiscal year ending 12 -31 -17 John Murphy, City Controller, offices on the 12th Floor, this ordinance sets the property tax rates and fixes the levy. The DLGF sets the property tax rates for the City after the final budget is adopted and after the final assessments are determined by the County. There is a calculation that is done to set the final property tax rates. We advertise these rates higher than what we know they'll come in in case there is a mathematical change that they have. Councilmember Dr. Varner asked if we budget to the maximum. The DLGF calculates the rate and it is always lower when it comes back. We budget to our expectations with regard to the amount of funds available in the General Fund, or only what we expect in taxes. Mr. Murphy responded that we budget the entire General Fund. We don't budget the maximum levy because we know that because of circuit breakers, we will never receive that amount, so we budget considerably less than what we think we will actually realize. We also only collect at around ninety -five percent (95 %) or ninety -six percent (96 %). Councilmember Dr. Varner stated that every year we budget like $53 million from the General Fund and at the end of the year we spend $72 million, and the other revenue is pretty consistent. If you can give us some detail as to where the other $11 million comes from, it would be helpful. Mr. Murphy stated that he could certainly do that. Committeemember Ferlic motioned to send Bill No. 46 -16 to the full Council favorably, and Committeemember Williams- Preston seconded it, and it carried by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Bill No. 47 -16: Appropriating the TRANSPO budget and levying and fixing the taxation rate to fund TRANSPO for fiscal year ending 12 -31 -17 No action was needed because it was sent favorably at the committee's last meeting. With no other business before the committee, Committee Chair White adjourned the meeting at 5:47 p.m. 14 Respectfully Submitted, Karen White, Committee Chair 15