Committee of the Whole

City of Gahanna 200 South Hamilton Road Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Monday, November 25, 2013 7:00 PM Council Committee Rooms Committee of the Whole Stephen A. Renner Brandon Wright Beryl D. Anderson Karen J. Angelou Brian D. Larick Ryan P. Jolley Thomas R Kneeland Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 ROLL CALL: Present 7 - Stephen A. Renner, Brandon Wright, Beryl D. Anderson, Karen J. Angelou, Brian D. Larick, Ryan P. Jolley, and Thomas R. Kneeland Additional Attendees: Dottie Franey, Mike Andrako, Karl Wetherholt, Chief Murphy, Sue Wadley, Isobel Sherwood, Kimberly McWilliams, Mayor Stinchcomb, Jennifer Teal, Joann Bury, Anthony Jones, Shane Ewald, Press, newly elected council members Jamie Leeseburg and Michael Schnetzer. PENDING LEGISLATION ORD-0151-2013 TO AMEND CHAPTER 105, WARDS AND BOUNDARIES, OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. Kneeland asked how long as this been discussed and the history on it; Jolley said a special committee was formed to deliberate this matter early in 2012; Kneeland asked how much has been spent; Clerk Sherwood responded the city spent $5,000 on legal descriptions because it was done twice; Kneeland said his biggest question on this matter is why it has been lingering for so long; he said it was his understanding that there was push back from the state because they didn't like the boundaries based on crossing census blocks. Jolley explained that the charter requires the city to balance the wards and although it does not specifically discuss any other requirements beyond that there federal requirements that no boundaries cross census blocks; he said the last time they approved the maps the state didn't appeal it and this time they chose to exercise their right to do so and said the maps we created were invalid; he said they made some minor tweaks to rectify the state's concerns and the city attorney had discussed with the Board of Elections; he indicated that there was some discussion about home rule, finally received approval from the state, it was then postponed and then when voted on to pass as an emergency they needed six affirmative votes, but only received five; accordingly the maps would go into effect in 2017. Sherwood explained everything with the Board of Elections stays the same and this legislation would amend the code to reflect the 2017 boundaries to go into effect for 2014. Angelou didn't feel that the fourth Whereas in the Ordinance was City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 accurate because it stated that these changes need to be in effect prior to year end to take effect for the next election cycle at the request of the Franklin County Board of Elections; she asked if the Board of Elections requested us to make this change, stated she can't imagine that they are requesting the city to make this change and is improper. Sherwood indicted she could take out that language stating that it is at the request of the Board of Elections. Jolley responded that it is not that the Board of Elections is requesting us to make this change, more so, it needs to be done now in order to take effect in 2014. Angelou said the reason this would be going forward now is so that partisan politic committee men can be re-elected under the new ward system and does not believe this is in the best interest of the public and should remain to go into effect in 2017 as planned. Renner reiterated that the charter is very clear, the wards need balanced and this Ordinance will take corrective action to remedy this problem as soon as possible. Angelou said when she was on the original committee she felt the process was improper at that time and believes that waiting was better for the community. Newly elected Michael Schnetzer voiced his concerns with changing the effective date of the maps to 2014, stating that there would be negative ramifications to the residents if rushed through, noting that it would confuse them and one of his goals is to support the needs of residents; he asked council to postpone voting on this matter until he is in office in January; he noted the current vote is via a lame duck council that would in many instances remove him as council representative in his ward and would nullify the voice of the residents he said he would support. Jolley responded it is not in the power of this council to change the boundaries of those members that were just elected; everyone who voted for the new or current members will still represent those constituents for the duration of their term and no voter will be nullified due to this change; he noted this process has not been rushed and has been discussed for approximately 18 months; he said since this didn't pass the first time the deadlines in order to go into effect for 2014 is a deadline out of their control; he doesn't believe this a lame duck council; noting that only two members are not returning next year, one of which by their own choice. City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 Angelou said that in terms of the Board of Election cycle, the only reason it would have to be done is to affect partisan committees and see absolutely no reason this can't be discussed next year and take effect in 2015 at the minimum. Schnetzer said he only relayed his personal experience, because he can't speak for anyone else and his intention against this change is strictly for the support of the residents; his concerns are the confusion for residents and if they understand their ward boundaries have changed; he said he would like to have a vote in January. Jolley said either way the wards will change and it is up to them to make the information available to the constituents and not to cause confusion on the new boundaries. Sherwood said both maps are on website. Anderson asked Schnetzer why he wanted to wait on the vote; Schnetzer responded that he would like to vote because he feels he has a duty to the voters in his ward and they are not in favor; his vote would be no and he would like to have input on the issue. Leeseberg asked how much has been spent so far on the matter; Sherwood said approximately $5,000, which included surveys and legal descriptions. Anderson pointed out that boundaries will change again with the new census. Kneeland asked what the process would be if they needed to amend the boundaries again and would it cost another $5,000; Sherwood said it would be in the neighborhood of $2,500 to visit it one time to go through the same process. This Ordinance was Recommended for Adoption ORD-0141-2013 DECLARING THE IMPROVEMENT TO CERTAIN PARCELS OF REAL PROPERTY IN THE CITY’S CENTRAL PARK AREA TO BE A PUBLIC PURPOSE AND EXEMPT FROM TAXATION; REQUIRING THE OWNERS OF THOSE PARCELS TO MAKE SERVICE PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES; PROVIDING FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE APPLICABLE PORTION OF THOSE SERVICE PAYMENTS TO THE GAHANNA-JEFFERSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE EASTLAND-FAIRFIELD CAREER & TECHNICAL SCHOOLS; ESTABLISHING A TAX INCREMENT EQUIVALENT FUND AND PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION AND DEPOSIT OF SERVICE PAYMENTS INTO THAT FUND; City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 SPECIFYING THE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS DIRECTLY BENEFITING THE PARCELS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Jones requested that this legislation be postponed to December 16th due to notices going to the schools in a timely fashion; he said nothing has been changed as it relates to the proposal and just needs more time in order to give proper notice. This Ordinance was Recommended for Postponement to a Date Certain ISSUES - From the Director of Development: JEDZ Update Jones passed out JEDZ information; indicated he is not requesting council take any action at this time and only wanted to update on status; he said ORC Section 715.691 allows two political subdivisions to partner for the purpose of facilitating new or expanded growth for commercial or economic development; allows income tax to be levied on people who work in the JEDZ area; Jefferson Township approached the City to establish a JEDZ; they desire to increase their economic development capacity, desire to promote commercial investment, desire to make public investments within their community, etc; he said that the JEDZ would generate revenues to make strategic public investments that benefit the communities; this would strengthen the safety of the Gahanna-Jefferson School District; an Economic Development Plan will be implemented and brought to Council for approval; gross JEDZ revenue, 3% for tax administration and 2% for JEDZ board administration; net JEDZ revenue is 4% for Gahanna-Jefferson Schools, 6% to Township of JEDZ area improvements, 70% to Jefferson Township and 20% to Gahanna; both City and Township must hold public hearings and approve contract , map and economic development plan, advertise in December to be heard in January; Township must submit to Board of Elections for it to be placed on ballot and must be complete before February 5th at 4:00 p.m. in order to be on May ballot; no Council action required at this time; JEDZ documents to be submitted by 12-9-13; city to publicize public hearing on 12-18-13; city to hold the public hearing on 1-21-14, requesting vote on 2-3-14; he added the schools included would be Eastland-Fairfield and Licking Heights along with Gahanna-Jefferson. Jefferson Township administrator, Tom Spreng, said he has enjoyed working with city staff on the matter; he realizes they need to invest in economic development and this partnership would make sense with the city and with the downturn of the economy this is a great move and make sense to move forward jointly and will strengthen school district. City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 Larick said when he knew that Jefferson Township was pursuing this matter, took time to talk with Spreng and leverage a joint scale for the betterment of the City; it is a township initiative and would need the city's approval; talked about shared services; and the core reason for this is it drives safety and empowers the schools, incorporation of these funds enhances the safety of our students; drive improvements and knowledge and this is another great way to partner with township and schools to benefit all involved; thanked Jones and township for their efforts and thanked them for being a partner. Wright thanked Jones for the presentation and his main concern is if it has to go to Jefferson voters that it will pass; Jones said this is different than a normal property tax and would be the workers who are employed in the JEDZ zone. Spreng said it does not show up as a tax levy and most of these types seem to have the support of voters since it is a different type of tax structure and will benefit the city. Wright wants to make sure there is a strategic plan and hopefully people are aware of the reason behind this tax; what is the percentage of Licking Heights; Jones said 4% of the net revenue will be administered to all schools in the zone. Angelou asked what will be required by the city if this moves forward; Jones said that there will be investments on properties that are located in the township; Angelou said in terms of the income tax asked if it would be on 1.5%; Jones concurred. Schnetzer asked the length of the contract; Larick believes it is about 30 years; Jones said it would be effective until December 31, 2044; renew two terms unless the city or township provides written notice they do not want to renew the contract. Kneeland asked if we can get out of the contract if we choose; Jones said the city is able to get out of the contract; essentially the voters are the ones who make the decision. Kneeland asked about public hearing and would it be targeted to the people who are affected with this tax; he said those hearings need to occur so the public can weigh in; Kneeland asked who is the targeted audience; Jones said they will have public awareness; Jones said they don't need to go through planning commission, they currently have own zoning administrator. Anderson asked where hearings will be held at the township; Jones responded they will be held in the township. City of Gahanna Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 ISSUES - From the City Attorney: Contract Renewal - Tom Weber Ewald said he is in the process of reviewing all contracts; he wants to review all contracts and bring back at the January 13 committee of the whole. ISSUES - From the Director of Human Resources: Civil Service Testing Wadley said civil service positions require the creation of an eligibility list to fill vacant positions; the list is established through the testing process when an appropriate test is available; human resources conducts a review of this process for each position as the need to create an eligibility list arises; if an appropriate written test is not available, human resources would utilize a practical or performance examination and/or process of evaluating experience, references and an oral interview in lieu of the written examination as set forth in the Civil Service Rules and Regulations; companies that specialize in employment testing have established examinations that have been created to ensure validity, the extent to which a test actually measures what is says it measures and Reliability, the consistency with which a test measures an item; both validity and reliability are essentially indicators of the extent to which data from the testing process are related to or predictive of job performance; therefore, she is requesting authorization for the Mayor to sign the attached agreement with CPS HR Consulting for utilization of their employment tests when creating Civil Service eligibility lists; the cost is determined by the type of test and the number of candidates that will be tested and the average cost will be $20.00 per test; this cost would be recovered through a testing fee to candidates taking the test; we just identified this company as a viable resource and received their agreement this week and in order for the agreement to be in effect for use in creating the current eligibility list for the position of Billing Utility Specialist, I am respectfully requesting a waiver of second reading and an emergency. Recommendation: 1st Reading, no need to come back; 2nd Reading, Consent Agenda with Emergency Language. ISSUES - From Mayor's Office: City of Gahanna Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 Appointment Income Tax Board of Review Mayor said she would like to appoint of Alvin McKenna, Jr. to the Income Tax Board of Review for a 3 year term commencing January 1, 2014 and ending December 31, 2016. Recommendation: Motion Resolution, Consent Agenda. ISSUES - From Clerk of Council: Establish Dates of Organizational Meetings Sherwood said Council is charged with setting the organizational meetings for various Boards and Commissions. The Mayor sets the date for the BZA organizational meeting; her recommendation is as follows: January 7, 2014 6:30 p.m. Civil Service Commission January 8, 2014 6:00 p.m. Landscape Board January 8, 2014 6:45 p.m. Planning Commission January 8, 2014 7:00 p.m. Parks & Recreation Board Sherwood recommendation to the Mayor was to hold the Board of Zoning & Building Appeals organizational meeting on Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. Recommendation: Motion Resolution, Consent Agenda. Waive Rules for January 6, 2014 Meeting Sherwood made a recommendation to waive Section 5.20 of the Council Rules of Procedure to dispense with the regular meeting on Monday, January 6, 2014. A motion resolution is required. Recommendation: Motion Resolution, Consent Agenda. Rules of Procedure - Changes Sherwood said in her report of July 19, 2013 she indicated that the City of Gahanna Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 state budget bill included a provision affecting Executive Sessions ; a provision has been added to ORC 121.22 to allow executive sessions for the purpose of economic development; prepared a draft to change the Rules to accommodate this reason if desire to add it to your rules; she submitted a draft; to use this reason it can only be if it is directly related to a request for economic development assistance and it must be a unanimous vote of those Council members present to go into executive session instead of just a majority of those present; asking Council to review rules if they would like to make any other changes; discuss it briefly at the next meeting. 2014 Appointments Sherwood said have contacted Richard Peck regarding his term on the Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation; his term expires this year and he is willing to serve another term if Council so desires; he has been a member for many years; Council’s other appointment to this Board is Kimberly Arnold whose term expires on December 31, 2015; Council said no need to advertise; approved appointments. ISSUES - From Council: Weekly Blanket Purchase Order Report Kneeland requested information on this report; Teal said this request was made in 2012; two types of transactions; blanket order is a known need but doesn't know the exact timing; if need money set aside; in order to comply with request with what blanket orders are open; it reports out the detail of any PO that has been flagged as a blanket order; Teal said there are strict rules and cannot be used to circumvent budget process; reports are used as a tool to minimize problems; actual blanket is very rarely used, but super blanket is used more and have used it for years; it was not called that term in past years; Kneeland wanted to know limitation on amount; Teal said there is no limit for super blanket but it has to be appropriated; blanket order limit $5,000; one blanket order per account for unpredictable emergencies; super blanket is where they use most expenditures; second report is budget transfers internally under $3,000; this request was made to provide it on a routine basis; shows both to and from City of Gahanna Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 account and how much money was moved with the description; all documentation is kept within finance; this money is moved between departments; unencumbered balance can be moved to another line item. 2014 Appropriations Larick said he sent out email regarding the budget; he is looking for the expected use for certain funds; he just wants an example; what is the understanding use in a particular fund for the baseline balance and look forward to needs and what is available to spend and the expectation; Teal said pertinent point that some funds that have a very specific source of funding; example code says there are a number of amounts needed to pay for development cul-de-sac; those funds had a lot of activity at one point, but don't see the fund pop up unless it's budget time; court computer fund is a specified revenue into court computer fund; court needs space and computing power; court computer funds may need to use it for software or system upgrade; court building fund there were discussions to move mayor's court and that fund was created to renovate or development of new facility; those are examples that there is not an immediate known; Mayor said general thinking; he is looking for a reasonable amount of time to review the accumulated balances to understand the court computer fund and has accumulated at least over $100,000 carry over on a yearly basis, Neal said that she would have that information at the next Committee. Renner said section 6, pages 45 & 46 was very helpful. Teal gave Joann credit for the charts on those pages; said she worked very hard to get all the information together for the budget. Renner questioned about other revenue funds; talking about anything that is not in the other categories; Teal referred to page 32 which outlines the funds.eberg asked what other pages are the proprietary funds; Teal referred to page 32. Renner asked about the community investment plan; Teal said some of the plans aren't appropriately funded, because the reasons are spelled out in the code what the expenses can be used for; he said in the $1.6 million transfer to the capital improvement from the general fund; to spend $2.8 million in projects; she estimated beginning $2 million worth of projects; Neal said historically that fund has never been zeroed out; she said there are reserves in excess of 25% and appropriate way to use that money is to move it to the capital purchase fund; Mayor said historically said that amount was spent by Council to put money in that account to use that money for specific reason. City of Gahanna Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 Anderson said looked at organizational chart and asked about vacant positions; would like to know about thoughts of those positions to how that work will be disseminated; Teal said from a staffing stand point to fund the currently filled positions in 2013; she is moving under the assumption that those positions will be filled if they are in the budget; the reductions needed to get the budget in the black, unless it was in the reduction for 2015, it is funded for 2014; Anderson asked who made that decision; Mayor said we have certain tasks to get done certain items and when a job is vacant and they review the tasks at hand and make adjustments if work can be spread out or if it is imperative to re-fill the position; Mayor said it is an on-going process and she is currently trying to complete all the tasks that her assistant took care of short and long term; Renner asked if there is a list of tasks to look at so that they can review to balance out the salaries; Mayor said that is a big request and not sure how to answer the question; she said most tasks are initiated by Council and services to the residents; Renner said that if he sees it on paper he can meter the output of work; he said he is trying to connect the dots and look at long-term operational expenses and drive the costs down; once he sees this maybe rolling back to 2011 levels on certain items to connect the resource dots; Renner wants to see how much staff there needs to be to support; Teal said those types of transactional one time tasks are based on services provided and output in the community; she said services are offered to the community and trying to identify those against the core services exercises and what are the core services of the city; Teal said as an entity they can all work together as a directive to reduce services and what services can be reduced; Renner asked what might help him to see if, for example, parks needs 133 people or how he knows what each person does and if they are needed; Mayor believes it is very important to do whatever it takes to sit down with Council and talk about the services, core services, etc. and reaffirm as an elected official what are important services and what to spend the tax dollars on. Larick said it would be helpful coming from the directors on how work load is determined; he understands that they are professional but what is the norm they are attempting to accomplish so he can understand and how you balance your workload; Mayor said they did a year long process for each director to come in and talk to Council about what they do; Wright said it seems the process of what they are looking for may not be established yet and that vision can be instituted for 2015; Wright said it's already December and not logical to get this in 2014 budget in this short of time; Mayor can compile this list of tasks next year; Teal said if there are specific departments that Council would like to discuss that would be easier than getting information from all departments. City of Gahanna Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes November 25, 2013 Jolley said that if they cut out certain services, down to the penny, what services would be missing; he realizes this will be an ongoing process. Anderson underscored what the Mayor said that the directors are available to answer questions; she said Council needs to be in the analytical mode and hearing from the directors and defend what services their department brings to the residents. Angelou added that 80% of the budget they can't touch due to being validated by contracts; she asked for executive session to talk about negotiations; Mayor asked for next council meeting to go into executive session to discuss negotiations; Angelou said she isn't available until next committee; Mayor would like executive session on same night as next committee; she said that Metropolitan Education Council (MEC) will allow city to save some money; Teal said they have the MEC documents and are currently under contract for but will look at the MEC program to save money. Angelou asked about why there are two public information managers; Euton said the parks and recreation public information manager works part-time and works on gateway and marketing to reach customers to pay for our services. Kimberly McWilliams, CMC Clerk of Council City of Gahanna Page 11