City Council

CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING - CITY HALL - #1 MUNICIPAL DRIVE The City Council of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in regular session on November 15, 2018 at the regular meeting place of the City Council. Councilman Bishop delivered the invocation and Mayor Fletcher led a standing audience in the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag. ROLL CALL: City Councilman: Bolden, McCleary, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Collins answered ROLL CALL. Mayor Fletcher also answered ROLL CALL declaring a quorum. PRESENT NINE (9) ABSENT (1). Councilman Elliott was absent. Others present for the meeting were: City Attorney Robert Bamburg, Public Works Director Jim Oakley, IT Director Scott Rothlisberger, CDBG Director Theresa Watson, Fire Chief Alan Laughy, Police Chief John Franklin, Human Resource Director Jill Ross, Finance Director Cheryl Erkel, 911 Director Tabby Hughes, Planning Commission Chairman Jim Moore, Planning Commissioner Patrick Thomas, Lida Feller, Rick Kron, Bob Johnson, Stephanie Friedman, Craig Friedman, Lloyd Friedman, Gary Sipes, Mark Perry, Valerie Perry, Johnny Simpson, interested citizens, and members of the press. PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: Mayor Fletcher presented the minutes of the regular City Council meeting of October 18, 2018 for approval and/or correction at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. APPROVAL AND/OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES: Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden that the minutes of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting of 6 September 2018 be APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. CONSENT AGENDA: REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/CODE ENFORCEMENT Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to approve the Regular Monthly Report for October 2018. Code Enforcement for October 2018 Assigned Calls 192 Self-Initiated Calls 585 Follow ups 495 Structures Inspected 7 Meetings/Court Hearings 4 Rentals Inspected 10 Warnings Issued 131 Properties Red Tagged 0 Tickets Issued 2 Search Warrants Served 0 Notice/Letters written 246 Structures Rehabbed 0 Vehicles Tagged 5 Structures Condemned 0 Vehicles Towed 0 Houses Demolished by City 0 Lots posted 10 Houses Demolished by Owner 0 Signs removed 296 Parking Violations 179 Trash cans tagged 53 Grass Letters 26 Basketball Goals 9 Grass Mowed 52 1  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/POLICE DEPARTMENT Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to approve the regular monthly report for October 2018 regarding annual crime statistical comparisons. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/FIRE DEPARTMENT Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to approve the regular monthly report for October 2018 from the Jacksonville Fire Department, reflecting a fire loss of $15.00 and a savings total of $349,985.00. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to approve the regular monthly report for October 2018. PERMITS/LICENSE ISSUED INSPECTIONS PERFORMED Building Permits 7 Building Inspections 28 Business Licenses 14 Electrical 30 Plumbing 45 HVACR 15 REGULAR MONTH REPORT/ANIMAL CONTROL Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to approve the regular monthly report for October 2018. ADOPTION FEES/FINES $1,845.00 CONTRIBUTIONS 0.00 TOTALS $1,845.00 MOTION CARRIED. ROLL CALL: Councilmen: Bolden, McCleary, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. WASTEWATER DEPARTMENTS: FIRE DEPARTMENT: POLICE DEPARTMENT: STREET DEPARTMENT: SANITATION DEPARTMENT: PARKS & RECREATION: PLANNING COMMISSION: GENERAL: PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE 1590 (#12-2018) AN ORDINANCE CREATING AND CERTIFYING TAX LIENS AGAINST REAL PROPERTIES AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS WITHIN THE CITY FOR BALANCES DUE FROM SERVICES RENDERED BY AND/OR ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Mayor Fletcher opened the public hearing at approximately 7:02 p.m. With no one presenting to speak, Mayor Fletcher closed the public hearing at approximately public hearing at 7:02 p.m. 2  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. Councilman Traylor moved, seconded by Councilman McCleary to place Ordinance 1590 on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Councilman Bolden, McCleary, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Bamburg read the heading of Ordinance 1590. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to APPROVE Ordinance 1590 on FIRST READING and SUSPEND the rules and place Ordinance 1590 on SECOND READING. Councilman Sansing noted that 13 properties had balances of over $1,000.00, adding that one property was approximately $31,500.00 and in Sunnyside alone there were 50 properties that have tax liens. He questioned if many of the properties were purchased as rental properties and were not being kept up. ROLL CALL: Councilman Bolden, McCleary, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Bamburg read the heading of Ordinance 1590. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sansing to further suspend the rules and place Ordinance 1590 on THIRD AND FINAL READING. In response to a question from Councilman Traylor, City Attorney Bamburg responded that the $31,500.00 tax lien was how much it cost for the City to cleanup the property that was formerly a trailer park on Hwy. 161 including some asbestos issues regarding a small building on the property and additional mowing. ROLL CALL: Councilman Bolden, McCleary, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Bamburg read the heading of Ordinance 1590. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman McCleary that Ordinance 1590 be APPROVED AND ADOPTED. ROLL CALL: Councilmen Bolden, McCleary, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. ORDINANCE 1590 (#12-2018) APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 15th DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2018. b. DISCUSSION Mayor and City Attorney Salary Mayor Fletcher stated that when there are changes in office, the City Council has to by ordinance address that issue. He recalled that 10 years ago when he ran for the office of Mayor, the City Council reset the salary by Ordinance. He recognized Councilman Collins as the sponsor for the item of discussion. Councilman Collins related that the Jacksonville Municipal Code has the minimum salary for an incoming City Attorney at $39,000.00, adding that the 3  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. Mayor’s salary was also set by a later Ordinance to be a minimum of $76,000.00 and a $1,000.00 vehicle fee. He stated that the Ordinances need to be updated. He stated that it is the responsibility of the City Council to set those salaries, adding that it is addressed in the Arkansas Code 14-43- 409 Compensation of Officers Generally. He read “Any officer provided for in this subtitle, and by Ordinance of any city under this subtitle, shall receive such salary as the council of any city may designate, and in no instance shall he or she receive an additional compensation by way of fees, fines or perquisites.” He explained that a perquisite is a special benefit for executives, “usually a non-cash item”, another term is “perks” among those could be house rental allowances, rent-free accommodations, travel allowances, medical allowances, entertainment allowances, utility allowances, clothing allowances, and stock options. He related that the intent tonight is to start the conversation, adding that no ordinance has been drafted. He stated that the City Council needs to discuss the dollar figures that should go with the ordinance. He said that the rest of the salaries in this City are based partially on the salary surveys done by the Arkansas Municipal League. He related that he has a copy of the salary survey for populations of 10,000 and above, saying that the averages that the City uses are at the bottom of the tables on each page regarding population 20,000 to 44,999. He then noted that there is a minimum, midpoint, and maximum. He stated that one would think that a minimum would be what a beginning person would receive. He stated that the minimum salary suggested by the salary study for mayor is approximately $68,000, which is less than the current ordinance. He offered that he feels the ordinance should stand because the City did not start this discussion prior to an election. He stated that an ordinance would need to be specific and it would be his recommendation that we include such items as health insurance, membership in the Municipal League, and also travel to Municipal League function or have registration fees, it should be listed. He then stated that how the City incorporates health insurance needs to be looked at, because it is a part of the salary package. He questioned if it is something to be subtracted from the salary because it is part of it or health insurance plans that we use for the City that we get from Arkansas Municipal League for the family plan – the total expenditure for the employee is $10,850.00, and of that $1,800.00 is taken from the employee salary. He added that the other $9,050.00 is a separate line item on the budget for the family plan. He related that the employee only plan has a total cost of $4,885.00 annually. He stated that the City needs to look at how we account for that on all of the elected officials. Councilman Mashburn stated that she would like to see the item table for an opportunity to review further for a better understanding. Mayor Fletcher stated that the item is not being presented for action, it is being discussed to gain a better idea of what needs to be put into the 2019 budget. 4  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. Councilman Traylor stated that for budget purposes, he would recommend that the salaries remain as they are. It was the general consensus to accept Councilman Traylor’s recommendation. Councilman Collins questioned if there would be a committee formed to set the salary recommendations. Mayor Fletcher stated that it could be done through the budget. Councilman Traylor offered that it is something that the City Council should address in 2019. c. RESOLUTION 776 (#13-2018) A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING DESTRUCTION OF SPECIFIED CITY DEPARTMENTAL RECORDS; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman McCleary to read Resolution 776. Councilman Mashburn requested that some of the items be removed from the destruction list because of the historical value they may contain. She added that she feels that ultimately this needs to be tabled as well, until it is determined that copies of the records exist. Councilman Bolden moved, seconded by McCleary to amend the motion and table the item of business. MOTION CARRIED. d. PRELIMINARY BUDGET 2019 Finance Director Cheryl Erkel noted that she provided a copy of the preliminary budget at everyone’s work station along with a sheet for the notes regarding the preliminary budget. She stated that the preliminary budget is presented with several different unanswered questions, some of which cannot be answered until we have a new Mayor. She related that some of those questions are such as the salary of the Mayor, the salary of the City Attorney, whether there will be a Director of Administration, whether there will be an increase in the ambulance service rate, whether there will be a City Engineer or if it will be a contracted service, will there be three people in Human Resource or two. She stated that in putting together the preliminary budget, she has used what was budgeted in 2018; except for Human Resources, we have three people listed in that part of the budget. She stated that the General Fund is out of balance by $1,930,121.00; The Street Fund is out of balance by $147,062.00; The Sanitation Fund is out of balance by $109,470; The Arkansas Game & Fish Foundation Shooting Sports Complex Fund is out of budget by $186,595.00; The Emergency Medical Services Fund is out of balance by $44,942.00. 5  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. She stated that the preliminary budget is a preliminary estimate of revenues and the expenditures include everything that each Department has requested before any cuts. She noted that the items that are not reflected in the preliminary budget are: an audit completed on all city cell phones. Monthly smart phones have dropped from $57.10 to $46.42 and monthly regular phones have dropped from $49.94 to $27.79 for an approximate $1,180.00 monthly savings. There has been an increase of over $300,000.00 in the cost of health insurance that is not included in the preliminary budget. The increase of minimum wage to $9.25 starting January 1st is not included in the preliminary budget. There are no raises included in the preliminary budget. She stated that they are in the middle of the first round of cuts, there are still some more departments that she and the Mayor have not met with yet. We are reviewing all of the reoccurring cost and estimated revenues. There will be a second round of cuts based upon available funding. In response to a question from Councilman McCleary, Finance Director Cheryl Erkel concurred, saying that there has been approximately a 10% increase in health insurance across the board. Councilman Bolden questioned if there have been efforts to negotiate with another insurance company. Finance Director Cheryl Erkel stated that as far as she knows, we are staying with Municipal Health. Councilman Bolden questioned why; and Mayor Fletcher stated that all of our other insurance is tied to the Health Insurance, clarifying that if a city is not part of one then you can be a part of the other programs. Councilman Ray stated that it was discussed at an executive meeting at Municipal League and it was concluded that Municipal League offered the best policy. He stated that it is always an option for cities to shop insurance, adding that years ago the Legislature authorized the Municipal League to come up with a plan because the State could not come up with a plan. He added that everyone feels that the Municipal League has done a good job. Mayor Fletcher related that he was one of five members that sat on a Health Board for the State and many cities had the attitude that they could get it cheaper than Municipal League so they left but ended up coming back to the Municipal League Health Insurance. He stated that it is a well-recognized insurance program, the Legislature is very impressed with Municipal League’s programs. He stated that it gets back to the usage fact, when it is overly used the premiums go up. He stated that there is another increase expected regarding the Pulaski County Jail by approximately $200,000.00. 6  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2018 7:00 P.M. – 7:28 P.M. He reiterated that the City has to look at a new mode of funding operations for the City and should not rely as heavily on sales tax. He stated that hopefully the Governor and the Legislature is going to promote the Internet Sales Tax. Mr. Bob Johnson related that there would be several bills before the Legislature next year regarding Internet Sales Tax, which could take effect at the first of July. Mayor Fletcher stated that the out of balance amount of 1.9 million represents 13 departments’ “wish list”; obviously everything cannot be funded but we can fund the basics as we normally do, with a few increases. He stated that the new Mayor can prioritize and be better prepared next year. He again warned the City Council that future revenues need to be addressed, saying that we cannot keep cutting ourselves to prosperity. Finance Director Cheryl Erkel reminded everyone that once the City Council reviews the preliminary budget they are welcome to email, call or visit with her regarding any questions. APPOINTMENTS: ANNOUNCEMENTS: City offices will be closed November 22nd and 23rd in observation of the Thanksgiving Holidays. Sanitation routes will run one day early. The 41st Annual Holiday Crafts and Gifts Sale will be held at the Community Center on Friday, November 16th from 2 to 4 p.m. The Christmas Parade will be held Saturday, December 8th beginning at 6:30. Frontier Christmas Reed’s Battlefield December 1st 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Arkansas Municipal League’s Winter Conference is January 16th thru 18th in Little Rock, contact the Mayor’s office for registration. City Hall Holiday Lighting Ceremony will be December 6th at 6:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: Without objection, Mayor Fletcher adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:28 p.m. MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully, ________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Davitt MAYOR GARY FLETCHER City Clerk-Treasurer 7