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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-26-18 Personnel and Finance ��SpUTII N x U d 'W PF,ACF. r^ 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK PERSONNEL & FINANCE FEBRUARY 26, 2018 3:50 P.M. Committee Members Present: Karen White, Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams-Preston, John Voorde Committee Members Absent: None Other Council Present: Dr. David Varner, Tim Scott, Oliver Davis, Jo M. Broden, Sharon L. McBride Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Bianca Tirado, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Aaron Perri, Jen Hockenhull Agenda: Bill No. 10-18-Venues Parks & Arts Final Reorganization Phase Update- 2018 Budget Amendment Schedule & City Wage Information Posted in Gateway-Jennifer Hockenhull, Administration&Finance Committee Chair Karen White called to order the Personnel and Finance Committee meeting at 3:50 p.m. She introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Bill No. 10-18-Venues Parks & Arts Final Reorganization Phase Aaron Perri, Executive Director of Venues, Parks & Arts with offices at 321 E. Walter Street, passed out a hand-out (available in the City Clerk's Office). He stated, Good afternoon, Council. What you see in front of you is the final phase of the reorganization we have been discussing for Venues, Parks & Arts. We discussed this ad nauseam over the past couple of years. The bottom left represents what should look very familiar to you. There are four (4) divisions within VPA. Facilities and Grounds,Recreation,and Experience have all been formed and are fully operational. The final phase is the organizing of the Venue Operations division which is the joint management of the Century Center, the Morris Performing Arts Center and the Palais Royale. At the time of last year's budget, I had said we didn't have the organizational chart fully baked. We were still 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.SouthBendfN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BIANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS working through it with a public-private partnership that we had with SMG and the Civic Center Board of Managers. Since, it has been fully approved by the Civic Center Board of Managers, on which, Councilmember Dr. Varner sits. We have slated April 2"d, 2018 as the transition date. The major moves that will happen are expressed in the Organizational chart.Primarily,everyone in the orange color will be City of South Bend employees and that represents eight (8) positions that were historically contract employees through SMG. We are moving them back to the City payroll. Those who have been around for a while know that Century Center was, at one point in time, entirely City employees. We contracted that out and we are now reversing half of that decision. We will continue to partner with SMG and those are the green colored employees on the chart. They provide food, beverage and sales services. Those are things that, I think, the City doesn't specialize in and things we don't necessarily have a desire to specialize in. The positions in orange are the things we already do in the City so we are talking about IT, accounting, general asset care, and other skill-trade type things. That is a combined team with the Morris and Palais. We still do have a contract at the Morris and Palais for food and beverage,those are the blue employees. What this really boils down to is there are eight (8) positions that will be shifting from contract labor to full-time City employees. To make that official,we have to reopen the salary ordinance and make sure they are inserted in there. Those employees are already at the Century Center but will just be moving over to become City employee on April 2"d, 2018. These are not net new positions, they already exist and have been approved as a part of the budget process. The funds are already allocated. Committee Chair White asked, So there are no new positions at all? Mr. Perri replied, They are new to the City but not new to the budget. Committeemember Regina Williams-Preston asked, So this reorganization actually saves us money? Mr. Perri replied, That is probably the most important question. When all is said and done, we anticipate there will be approximately $200,000 to $300,000 of annual savings. That comes primarily from management fees. We look to reinvest those savings into the Convention Center primarily though capital improvements but also a possible Business Development Fund. I should note that those are not City funds, these are Hotel-Motel Tax dollars. A Business Development Fund is something that a lot of marketplaces our size have. It is a tool that allows us to attract conventions, conferences and tradeshows that might otherwise look past a City of our size due to various constraints that exist like travel, logistics, size,proximity of hotel rooms and other things. We look forward to that tool being available to us. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, You said they were budgeted from the contract side. When they were budgeted on the contract side, did that include benefits? Mr. Perri replied, Yes, that is correct. It would have been through SMG. Now they will be paid through the City of South Bend. Councilmember Davis followed up, So they will have City benefits? And will that be the same cost? 2 Mr.Perri replied,We did our best to make sure that everyone coming over has comparable benefits whether it be vacation, sick time and healthcare. Councilmember Davis asked, Was that a savings? Mr. Perri replied, The benefits are costing us a little bit more on the City side as they are more expensive on our side than they were on the private side. But it nets out to a saving because of how much we are saving on management fees. Councilmember Davis then asked, When I look at your organizational chart, what is the diversity of the make-up here?What are we looking at in terms of male to female,African-American, older and younger? Can you get me those numbers before tonight's Council meeting? Mr. Perri confirmed, Sure, I will gladly provide those to you. Councilmember Dr. David Varner stated, One (1) of the things that have affected our ability to attract those things is the lack of rooms. There haven't been enough hotel rooms. There will be another one hundred and forty (140) rooms online soon. How soon will that happen? Mr. Perri replied, It seems like a moving target but the last I heard was the beginning of April, 2018. 1 saw them putting the letters on the side of the building so that should be a good sign. Councilmember Dr.Varner followed up,A lot of things are falling into place and I think we should expect some great results with these savings. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, Two (2) weeks ago I was at a Tourism Board luncheon. There is, between now and April, 2018, somewhere around three hundred and twenty-five (325) rooms coming on board between the Marriott, Aloft and the Holiday Inn Express. We are getting to that point where we are getting that regional marketing for the Century Center. Last year, they were already bringing those opportunities into their marketing strategy and people are already lining up to book. Indiana Clerks are going to have their convention here. Marketing is crucial. Councilmember Jo M. Broden asked, The contract with Navarre and the Century Center, where are we at in those? Are they multiple years? Mr.Perri replied,They are both three(3)year contracts that extend through 2020. They will expire December 31St, 2020. Councilmember Broden followed up, Thank you. Several of us attended the AIM Legislative Dinner and there was an interest from those attending on behalf of the City, to position ourselves as a site for that. I would like that to be put on your radar. They are already looking at that. Committeemember John Voorde stated, When I was City Clerk, I was on a site-selection Committee for a couple of years and the group always wanted to come to South Bend but the stumbling block was the lack of rooms. Now that we have the rooms online they are coming this 3 year. It is just so much fun to showcase the City. Will the new Marriott Courtyard have tunnel access to the Century Center? Mr. Perri replied, Yes, they will. That was a key point to make possible. The more we can make South Bend a viable option for these things,the better off we will be. Committee Chair White asked, Is the security outsourced? Mr. Perri replied, That is a good question. Both the Morris and Century Center use a third party for day-to-day security. Police are onsite for every Morris show and every major Century Center show. The Century Center actually has two (2) full-time security guards. I will send you those job descriptions. Committee Chair White opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, stated, I am working with a client and I've noticed there is a lot of Air B&B. I wonder if that is calculated into availability. Committee Chair White then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motion. Committeemember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to send Bill No.10-18 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Regina Williams-Preston seconded the motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of four (4) ayes. Update- 2018 Budget Amendment Schedule & City Wage Information Posted in Gateway Jennifer Hockenhull, Administration & Finance Jeri Hockenhull, City Controller with offices on the 12th floor of the County-City Building, provided handouts to the Committee (available in the City Clerk's Office). She stated, Good afternoon, Council. Before you is a calendar that our Office prepares annually for additional appropriations we do every year. I know it used to be twice a year,then three (3)times a year and now we are trying to do it four(4)times. I think this is our third year doing it this way. It seems to work really well as it keeps everyone up to date and this way the last one(1) of the year isn't some twenty-five (25) pages long. We try to keep it very up to date for you all. We try to stick very closely to the schedule. Every once in a while it changes but we'll make sure we try to stick very closely to this. We will also get this posted online for the public.Ben Dougherty is our new Deputy City Controller. He comes to us with a legal background focusing on compliance as well as bond work. Committeemember Voorde stated, I would like to compliment Jen and Amy Shirk in particular. Last week, I asked them to take a few minutes to sit down with me and help me understand those monthly reports that we get. They are sometimes a little overwhelming to me and I'm sure they are more than willing to do that with any of us. It was really helpful. 4 Ms. Hockenhull stated, We also annually report all of the City employee wages on Gateway. Ms. Hockenhull then demonstrated on the screen how to access that report online at https:Hgateway.ifionline.org With no further business,Committee Chair White adjourned the Personnel and Finance Committee meeting at 4:18 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Karen White, Committee Chair 5