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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-25-16 Personnel and FinancePERSONNELL & FINANCE JANUARY 25, 2016 3:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Karen White, Gavin Ferlic, John Voorde Committee Members Absent: Regina Williams Preston Other Council Present: Jo Broden, Dr. Varner, Tim Scott Others Present: John Murphy, Randy Wilkerson, Kareemah Fowler, Kathleen Cekanski — Farrand, Adriana Rodriguez, Alkeyna Aldridge, Joe Molnar, Tosha Reed Outlaw Agenda: Bill No. 02 -16 Establishing a new non - reverting unsafe Building fund Organizational discussion Karen White, Chair of the Personnel & Finance Committee, called the hearing to order with one bill scheduled for consideration. Bill 02 -16 calls for the establishment of a new non - reverting unsafe building fun. John Murphy, City Controller with offices on the 12`h Floor of the County -City Building, presented the bill. Mr. Murphy explained the establishment of this fund is required by state statute. He reported the Legal Department after reviewing the State statute discovered this fund should have been established a few years ago so the City is simply meeting that requirement. Mr. Murphy also explained this is not advocating for any new expenditures. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski — Farrand asked Mr. Murphy if the Council would receive a monthly report for this fund like other funds. Mr. Murphy responded yes they would, it will be part of the Controller's report. Tosha Reed Outlaw, Offices on the 12`h Floor of the County -City Building, reiterated Mr. Murphy's point that this should have been done a few years ago and the city is simply complying with state statute. This being the time for public input the public was given a chance to voice their support or opposition to the bill. Dr. Fred Ferlic, 1128 Georgiana South Bend, Indiana 46617, wanted to ask the administration if it would be a budget issue to look into the rates of how much they charge to come and cut the grass of these houses because with the circuit breaker coming up in a few years the city is going to lose millions of dollars of revenue and we cannot afford to do any task like this at a loss to the ` city. Mr. Murphy responded yes that would be a budget issue and we can certainly look into that at the time. No one from the public wished to speak in opposition to the bill There being no further discussion Council Member Gavin Ferlic made a motion to recommend this bill to the full council with a favorable recommendation. The motion was seconded by Council Member John Voorde and passed by a unanimous voice vote. Chairperson Karen White thanked the administration for bringing this to the Council and wanted to comment on when budget discussions begin attention should be paid to the impact that raising fees has on the City. With no other bills to be considered Chairperson White began the Organizational portion of the meeting. Chairperson Karen White welcomed the new members and gave a brief overview of what specific tasks the Committee handles. She announced hopefully they will not have as many meetings as last year and expressed her wish that the Committee begins to think long term on many budget issues even though it is an annual process. Chairperson Karen White asked the Council Members if they have any questions or comments towards this Committee either regarding the budget or other issues that may need to be addressed. Dr. Varner expressed interest in being given more information on what exactly will happen with the "circuit breakers" in the upcoming years. He expressed that the circuit breakers windfalls may be self inflicted since the legislature gave us some options and now we are dealing with the consequences of the options we chose. He asked for a better understanding because he admits he may have an incorrect idea of what this issue will really contain. Chairperson White responded that more information is certainly needed on this matter and some specific meetings should be held solely on the impact. She also stated that part of that should be more information on TIF Districts and how that money should be used so that we are getting the best use of the money available. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic wanted to make a note that last year's budget process was the first time he had not heard from a single person that the information was not readily available to the public. He stated that maybe we do not need as many meetings as last time but should follow the same format of having some of the meetings off site because the public really appreciated that and following the other processes of getting the information out to the public as well. Chairperson White agreed with him and she really enjoyed having well- attended off site meetings by the public. Councilmember Jo Broden thought having meetings across the board in the various districts was very helpful and the timeliness that the information was available to the public was very well received last year. She also added that she understands this is a yearly process but stressed the importance of looking down the road and planning for multiple years in the future. Chairperson White also made a note that the Council should be given a better understanding of all the various funds the city has. Dr. Varner agreed that a good understanding of the accounting process would certainly be helpful. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand added that the Committee may want to look into the "whistleblower" ordinance and see if that is being used. Also they may want to look into the comparison developed between South Bend and other second class cities in Indiana regarding our elected officials and their office staff under the same personnel policies as the general administration staff. Chairperson White asked if the administration receives the Committee minutes. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand responded not on a regular basis but that they are posted online and readily available. Chairperson White stated maybe we should look into if they would like that information and field any concerns or questions from them on what they want the Council to look into. Council Member Jo Broden also requested an organizational chart of the budgeting process, she has seen some but they are out of date. She also stated maybe something should be developed with information on how to communicate with the various department heads and other key figures in the administration. Adriana Rodriguez informed the Committee she is working on something similar to what Jo Broden requested that has preferred contact information for the administration figures and key deadlines. Council Member Jo Broden also asked about the process for how financial information from the various boards and commissions is filed and reaches the Council. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler informed the Committee that currently all the boards and commissions send their minutes and documents to the Clerk's Office which are filed. Moving forward we have no issue if you want us to send those minutes to the Councilmembers. Council Member Dr. Varner stated that the program Adriana is working on and the information from the boards should be available as soon as possible to the public as well. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler responded that those boards do publish their minutes online on their websites at the time they send their minutes to the Clerk's Office. Council Member Jo Broden stated she was curious about the attachments which may not always be in the minutes. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler responded they do all submit financial reports. She also added that the issue is really how the councilmembers want to access this information because it is publically available just not all in one spot currently. Adriana Rodriguez reported that the program she is developing will compile most of the information everyone is talking about and will be available through any city employee's email. Chairperson White also requested from the Councilmembers that if they have any specific issues they know they want addressed in the budget or at least put on the discussion during the budget process please compile those concerns and get them to the Committee members so we can make sure they are priorities such as curbs and sidewalks was last year. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler announced that the Chairpersons of the Committee's will receive the citizen applications tomorrow. Chairperson White asked if the public had any input on the organizational meeting. Council Member Dr. Ferlic, 1128 Georgiana South Bend, Indiana 46617, wanted to get some information on assessment issues because they heavily impact the circuit breakers information. Council Member John Voorde stated it was important that we need to look at the big picture perspective as well to the specific numbers dealing with these circuit breakers. There being no further business before the Committee, Chairperson Karen White adjourned the meeting at 3:29 p.m. Respectfully Submitted eVQ AA, Karen White, Chairperson 4 tyS�U TH eF �G C PEACE Y SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL PERSONNEL & FINANCE COMMITTEE KAREN L. WHITE, CHAIRPERSON MEMORANDUM TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL FROM: KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK DATE: JANUARY 25, 2016 SUBJECT: PERSONNEL AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA Personnel & Finance Committee Organizational Meeting January 25, 2016 3:00 p.m. ".. Oversees the Department of Administration and Finance, and reviews all proposed salaries, appropriations & other fiscal matters, as well as personnel policies, health benefits & related matters. Agenda I. Call to Order II. Welcome to New Members III. Review of Committee's purpose — Section 2 -12.3 & Section 2 -10 IV. Review of 2015 Personnel & Finance Committee Report V. Committee Members goals and information needs VI. In- service needs VII. Citizen Membership VIII. 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