Finance & Governance Committee

Minutes Finance & Governance Committee Committee Members: Kniech, Chair; Flynn, Vice-Chair; Black; Espinoza; López; Ortega Committee Staff: Shelley Smith Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 1:30 PM City & County Building, Room 391 Rollcall Present: 10 - Kniech, Flynn, Black, Espinoza, López, Ortega, Brooks, Gilmore, New, Kashmann Presentations 17-0520 1. 2017 Pay Survey Nicole de Gioia-Keane, Office of Human Resources, presented the annual pay survey. The ordinance to memorialize the pay changes will be filed with the consent agenda next week. 17-0521 2. Property Tax Valuation Keith Erffmeyer, City Assessor, explained that the process his office uses to assess the value of property is largely proscribed by state law. He reviewed the data collection time frame, noting that 38,000 sales occurred during that period. His staff distributed maps of where the sales have occurred for residential property and said they could develop a similar map for commercial property. He reviewed the median value changes ranging from 32% for condos to 22.5% for row houses for residential property. He discussed how the Gallagher amendment affects the actual tax assessment, noting that the recent state reduction in assessed valuation rate to 7.2% actually results in about a 9% reduction in the property tax bill. Staff answered questions from Councilmembers and discussed the available rebate programs for low income seniors and the disabled. Councilwoman Kniech asked for a simple time line to help people understand the city City and County of Denver Page 1 Printed on 5/8/2017  Minutes Finance & Governance Committee Tuesday, May 2, 2017 process, their appeal process, and the timeline for the rebate programs both on the state and local levels. 17-0522 3. Discussion: bonding capacity vs alternative strategies for funding maintenance and infrastructure. Brendan Hanlon, Chief Financial Officer, presented a municipal bond overview noting the existing debt capacity. With valuation increases, there is an increased capacity for debt. He reviewed the key assumptions in determining the 2017 bonding capacity. He reminded the Committee that once debt is issued and funds received, 85% must be spent within 3 years so timing for shovel-ready projects is important. He noted that the City will need to increase staffing to administer projects efficiently with a larger bond issue of up to $900 million. He presented a property tax bill noting that most of the bill is not from the City, but the highest proportion is paid to the school district. He answered questions from Councilmembers. Consent Items Following are items that were approved on the Committee's consent agenda today. 17-0487 Approves the Mayoral appointment of Tracy Winchester to the Career Service Board for a term effective immediately and expiring 09-16-19. This Resolution 17-0487 was approved by consent. 17-0496 Amends a contract with Standard Insurance Company to correct the definition of “covered member” under the 2017 Standard Insurance Company agreement for life, accidental death and dismemberment, long term disability, and short term disability insurance offered to eligible City employees. No change to contract amount or duration (CSAHR-201631065-01). This Resolution 17-0496 was approved by consent. 17-0505 Adds $150,316.26 and one year to the contract with Infor (US), Inc. for a new total of $1,281,325.15 and end date of 12-31-17 for additional licenses, software maintenance and technical support for the City’s Enterprise Asset Management software, a system used by multiple City and County of Denver Page 2 Printed on 5/8/2017  Minutes Finance & Governance Committee Tuesday, May 2, 2017 agencies for routine functions including scheduling preventative maintenance on equipment, appropriating technicians, and other day-to-day operations, citywide (TECHS-CE21375). This Resolution 17-0505 was approved by consent. City and County of Denver Page 3 Printed on 5/8/2017