City Council Committee Agendas

Mount Vernon City Council Finance Committee Minutes February 22, 2017 Present: Councilmembers Fiedler, Hulst, Hudson, Lindquist, Molenaar, and Quam Staff present: Doug Volesky, Kandy Bartlett, Chief Dodd, Peter Donovan, and Chief Brice 1) Minutes from January 2017 were approved. 2) Doug provided an update on the status of the Equipment Rental and Reserve Fund. This fund had been using reserves for working capital during the recession. The reserves are rebuilding and should be balanced by year end 2017. 3) Doug reviewed a proposed budget amendment ordinance that will be presented to Council tonight. The Finance Department is requesting the purchase of software to enable the move towards an automated payroll system. This software will be $11,000. The City would also like to engage a contractor who will evaluate the City’s current HR and payroll processes and this contract would be approximately $25,000. 4) Kandy provided an update on the Human Resources Department. a) There have been 11 new employees since November 2016 and there are 11 more positions that are open at this time. b) Four of the five collective bargaining units will renew in 2017. The department has been working on various employee related issues. c) Training is a mandatory component for various positions within the City. The Department has a need for a training database that will record training received and individual training requirements. Chief Brice presented information on a training database that he is familiar with. Target Solutions records training, sends reminders when certificates are expiring and has training platforms available. This could be used to implement City wide training records. The cost of this software is based on the employees. Police and Fire have a different rate compared to civilian employees. The total cost for Target Solutions including implementation is $15,813. 5) February Sales Tax revenue was at a record high of over $671K. The City is currently 18.8% higher than the same time in 2016. Adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Submitted by Rebecca J. Wade