City Council

CITY OF POCATELLO, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 12, 2020 AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Council President Heidi Adamson called the City Council ROLL CALL Work Session to order at 9:01 a.m. Council members present were Roger Bray, Rick Cheatum, Linda Leeuwrik, Claudia Ortega and Chris Stevens. Mayor Brian Blad was excused. Council President Adamson announced City Council wished to amend the Work Session agenda and add an item to discuss the City’s Personnel Policy as it relates to the recent coronavirus pandemic. A motion was made by Mr. Bray, seconded by Ms. Stevens to amend the March 12, 2020 Work Session Agenda and add an item to discuss the City’s Personnel Policy for a Pandemic Emergency. Upon roll call, those voting in favor were Bray, Stevens, Leeuwrik and Adamson. Those voting in opposition were Cheatum and Ortega. The motion passed. AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Members of the American Falls Future Farmers of America FAA - AG ISSUES TEAM (FFA) AG Issues Team gave a presentation on the following PRESENTATION topic: Driving Privilege Permits for Undocumented Residents. Marc Beita, AG Advisor for American Falls High School introduced students serving on the AG Issues Team. He thanked the Council for the opportunity to have students present their topic. The team shared information regarding driving privilege permits for undocumented aliens. Team members shared the pros and cons of the legislation. Council shared their appreciation and acknowledged the professionalism shared by the students during their presentation. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Heather Buchanan, Human Resources Director, Anne Butler, PANDEMIC EMERGENCY Safety and Wellness Coordinator, gave an overview of the City’s –PERSONNEL POLICY Pandemic Emergency Personnel Policy. Ms. Buchanan gave a brief overview of the City’s Pandemic Emergency policy for City personnel. The policy includes the following: Staffing and Work Schedules; Department Succession Plan; Critical Department functions; Operating hours; Staff response; Sick leave accruals; and Sick leave notification. The policy also includes - Scheduled time off, Family Medical Leave Act, Travel and Medical insurance. Updates to the policy since 2004 were identified. The City’s response if the President of the United States declares a pandemic was reviewed. It was noted that a pandemic must be declared by the Mayor and/or City Council. The following suggestions were made: a) signage be placed at City facilities utilized by the public; b) the City should be pro-active regarding the potential of an outbreak; c) keeping the number of public events in check; d) curtail some of the travelers coming into Pocatello and/or events; e) encourage people to be very aware when they travel and f) send an alert out to employees if a pandemic is declared. Ms. Butler explained they are addressing the policy for City employees only. She noted that Fire Chief David Gates is the individual that will be in charge of a City Wide policy related to a pandemic. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 2 MARCH 12, 2020 Council President Adamson acknowledged the information is an update for City of Pocatello employee policies only and encouraged employees to contact Human Resources if they would like additional information. AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Dan Lenihan, Chair Person; and Josh Heinz, Animal Services ANIMAL SHELTER Director and Staff Liaison; representing the Animal Shelter ADVISORY BOARD UDPATE Advisory Board were present to discuss the Board’s goals and projects, as well as Council’s policies and expectations. Mr. Lenihan shared the following goals for the Board: educating the public on Animal Shelter issues; networking with local stakeholders (Friends, Bannock Human Society, PAWS, etc.); Support and recognition for Shelter staff (employees and volunteers); and Understanding the Shelter Budget, in order to promote and support financial planning for operations and future capital improvements. Mr. Lenihan also reviewed the following projects: Trap, Neuter and Replace (TNR) and kennel upgrades at the shelter. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Heinz explained the upgrade to metal kennels will be easier to clean. He noted it is difficult to sanitize the current kennels to keep the animals healthy. An update on the TNR grant was given. Mr. Heinz noted a Memorandum of Understanding will be placed on an agenda for Council’s consideration. This will include acceptance of the grant and on- going funding for the program. Mr. Lenihan explained the Board will continue to educate the public regarding feral cats. Mr. Bray feels feeding feral cats is a similar issue to feeding wild life. He also feels this is a safety issue when trying to control animal population issues in the City. In response to questions from Council, Jared Johnson, City Attorney, clarified the process to bring the TNR MOU and related items for consideration before the City Council. Mrs. Ortega shared her concerns about the feral cat issue and also funding the issue. She would like the Board to make attempts to find a corporate sponsor for the program. Mrs. Ortega feels sponsors should be considered as an alternative to asking tax payers for more money. Mr. Lenihan noted he will add the suggestion of a corporate sponsor to their agenda. He clarified the Board has not looked at sponsorships as an option. Ms. Stevens feels this is phase one of two phases for the program. Consider phase one and make plans for other options to continue the program. The continuation would be phase two. She would also like to look at the shelter budget to identify whether there is any ability to help with additional costs. Council thanked the Board for their service and update. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Corey Lewis, Chair Person; Laura Thomas, Board member; and CHILD CARE ADVISORY Jene´ Purman, staff liaison and Licensing officer; representing COMMITTEE UPDATE the Child Care Advisory Committee were present to discuss the Committee’s goals and projects, as well as Council’s policies and expectations. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 3 MARCH 12, 2020 Ms. Purman gave an overview of the Child Care Advisory Committee. She noted there are 41 licensed facilities serving approximately 1950 children in Pocatello. Ms. Purman explained the Committee expresses their gratitude for Council’s continued support to uphold the City’s child care code. Ms. Thomas shared she is with the Idaho STARS Program. She noted that many cities in Idaho do not have this type of committee to educate/regulate child care providers. Ms. Thomas gave an overview of the Idaho STARS program. Child care providers are given education points to continue trainings about child safety/education. Professional Development - 102 people attended live trainings in Pocatello; 923 participated in on-line trainings. Ms. Thomas announced Pocatello has more level 4 or high childcare facilities than any other city across the state except Boise which has a significant higher population. Ms. Lewis shared how she relies on the information received from the Advisory Committee and Idaho Stars to help her provide safe and professional child care in Pocatello. Ms. Stevens mentioned the Committee’s newsletter is high quality and the information is very useful for providers. In response to questions from Council, Ms. Purman explained the City’s application process for a representative to be on the Committee. Committee members have an opportunity to review the applications and recommend individuals to serve. In response to questions from Council, Ms. Purman clarified how the City’s Fire Inspector function relates to child care facilities. The Committee is requesting a Fire inspector position as a staff liaison on the Committee. It was clarified this is not a request for an additional Fire Inspector. David Gates, Fire Chief, mentioned he would support the addition of a Fire Inspector to serve as a Child Care Advisory Committee staff liaison. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: Akilah Lacey, Vice President; Chad Horst, Interim Secretary; POLICE UNION representing the Pocatello Police Union gave Council an update QUARTERLY UPDATE of their activities for the past quarter. Mr. Lacey announced Pocatello Police Department is short several officers. Individuals have left for other opportunities. He noted the mission of the Chief of Police is moving forward. There are a lot of community projects the Union is trying to do between calls for service. Mr. Horst reported dispatch staff and officers have provided hotel rooms for those found to be in need in the community. Union has also made donations to the Idaho Food Bank. Union members will participate in the annual Guns and Hoses event. Mr. Horst mentioned members are preparing for upcoming negotiations with the City. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for police staff has had some issues. Mr. Lacey reported there have been two recent shooting events in Pocatello and the EAP program issues are being worked through. He noted that approximately 33% of union members are using the program. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Horst shared violence against officers is increasing every day. He outlined some of the issues the Union is having with recruiting and retaining members. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 4 MARCH 12, 2020 Mr. Lacey shared he is thankful for the training that City Council has approved. He noted the training officers have received recently helped them turn an otherwise critical incident into a successful outcome. In response to questions from Council, the Union is hoping that the negotiation stage will be more positive this year. However, officers will continue to provide the best services they can. Ms. Stevens suggested Council create some kind of a template to help Police and Fire Unions know the appropriate format when presenting to City Council in order to alleviate confusion. Council thanked the Police Union for what they do in the community and on the job. The union negotiations are coming up and the Council hopes it will move forward more effectively than the previous year. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Lacey mentioned it is important to the Union to have more peaceful negotiations. AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: Chris Sorensen, Chief Information Officer; and Ashley Welsh, ELECTRONIC BILL Chief Financial Officer; updated the Council on their process to PRESENTMENT AND replace the City’s current merchant service provider, Heartland, PAYMENT PLATFORM and on-line bill payment system, Click2Gov. Staff UPDATE recommended a new Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment Platform to reduce transaction costs, enhance cybersecurity and provide a more user friendly interface. Mr. Sorensen gave a brief history of fees charged by the card brands via the City’s merchant processor, Heartland. The fees total in excess of $300,000.00 annually. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2020, Council approved a fee of up to 3% to be passed to card users that are making payments to the City. In many cases, it has been difficult, if not possible, to collect those fees, adding significant labor to the calculation and processing of those fees. In addition to the card processing fees, the City’s current EBPP platform, Click2Gov, is not user friendly and lacks many features that the City desires in its EBPP platform, i.e., ability to schedule payments in the future, interactive voice response, etc. The City’s current platform has been vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and has been breached. While the platform has been moved to a more secure cloud environment, the responsiveness of Click2Gov to their vulnerabilities has not been acceptable and are still of concern. Proposed solution – IT staff recommends replacing the City’s current Click2Gov EBPP platform while also changing merchant service providers that would best support the City’s requirements of enhanced cybersecurity, ease of use, citizen acceptance, and reduced costs to the City and citizen card users. Staff is recommending Paymentus and Invoice Cloud/AMS for the new service provider. The reasons for the recommendations were outlined. Staff shared their desire to come back in April for Council’s consideration. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 5 MARCH 12, 2020 General questions about the 3% fee was reviewed. It was noted the 3% fee was adopted to help cover the actual costs. The actual costs to provide the service were discussed. Options to move individuals toward utilizing electronic processes and away from writing checks were shared. In response to questions from Council, it was clarified Utility Billing will be the only department using the new system at this time. Other departments will be added as equitable. Eventually one system will be available for all of the City’s departments. A majority of the Council supported staff’s recommendation. A final decision will be voted upon at a later date. Council President Adamson called for a recess at 11:04 a.m. Council President Adamson reconvened the meeting at 11:11 a.m. AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: Holli Harnsberger, Human Resources Consultant; and Heather ELECTRONIC Buchanan, Human Resources Director; were present to provide TIMEKEEPING SYSTEM Council with an update on the electronic timekeeping system AND SEASONAL and to discuss the cost to add seasonal employees to the system. EMPLOYEES UPDATE Ms. Buchanan gave a brief update of the electronic timekeeping system for City employees. She noted the system will go live on March 14, 2020. However, staff will have a duel entry period of two complete payrolls (March 14 – April 10) to ensure accuracy of time entered into the Time Clock Plus system, along with data transfer from electronic timekeeping to Central Square/Naviline. SEASONAL AND VARIABLE HOUR EMPLOYEES - 530 licenses were purchased initially - Fire Department will purchase 53 more licenses to bring all ambulance volunteers onto the system. - 242 more licenses (total 825) are needed. This is based upon the total amount of employees during the Fiscal Year 2019 peak season. - Licenses cost $47.50 per employee and a training fee of $363.00 one-time cost - Annual maintenance cost of $12.50 per license - Total new costs for the first year to add 242 licenses to the Time Clock Plus will be $12,425.00 A motion was made by Mr. Bray, seconded by Ms. Leeuwrik, to approve the request by staff to place an agenda item regarding seasonal and variable hour employees as outlined on a future meeting. Upon roll call, those voting in favor were Bray, Leeuwrik, Cheatum, Ortega, Stevens and Adamson. AGENDA ITEM NO. 9: David Gates, Fire Chief, and Ryan O’Hearn, Assistant Fire FEMA GRANT REQUESTS Chief, from the Fire Department were present to discuss the –FIRE DEPARTMENT following grants and to seek Council approval to apply for the grants. If the grants are awarded, Fire Department staff will submit an agenda request asking Council to accept the grant(s). Mr. Gates gave an overview of the grants. He noted the City is applying for the EMS grant as an administrator. Bannock County Commissioners have approved funding for the EMS grant. Mr. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 6 MARCH 12, 2020 Gates gave a brief history of the last radio purchase and condition of the outdated radios. Staff has reached out to other agencies to apply together. The City’s portion of matching funds will be $46,000.00 and may be available in the Fire Department’s budget. Department will have one year to execute. Mr. Gates mentioned there is an old retirement fund for Fire staff and the City may not need to continue the fund based upon information from PERSI. He hopes this might be a way to execute the grant. Mr. Bray reminded staff to be cautious about spending down the retirement fund. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE GRANTS - a) RADIO PURCHASE – Assistance to Firefighters Grant application to purchase 75 portable handheld radios and equipment. The “regional” grant will include seven (7) other regional fire agencies. Pocatello Fire Department will be the host agency and responsible for acquisition and distribution of funds. Motorola discontinued support for all 50 of the Pocatello Fire Department’s portable handheld radios (XTSseries) in December, 2019. No replacement parts or electronic componentry is available from the manufacturer for repairs or maintenance. As availability of stocked supplies dwindle, the City will be left with an inadequate supply of radios to meet the Fire Department’s needs. Whereas they are over 15 years old, and repairs are beginning to outrun their value, and technology has advance advanced considerably, staff feel the timing is at hand to replace the radios. FEMA offers an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) for “operational equipment” which will pay 90% of the costs for this upgrade to new radios. City funding for the grant will require a 10% match. Staff is asking FEMA for $260,000.00 for 75 portable radios, 6 charge stations, 150 batteries, and other radio accessories. If successful, it will require a Fiscal Year 2021 local match of 10% or $46,000.00. The additional 25 radios will not only fill seats where we are currently lacking, but will be available for use during repairs, emergency reserve staffing and multi-agency operations. This is a regional grant which will include seven (7) other regional fire agencies. Pocatello Fire Department will be the host agency and responsible for acquisition and distribution of FEMA funds and the other participant’s 10% cost match. Signed Memorandums of Understanding will be in place as to the roles and responsibilities of each agency. b) PARAMEDIC TRAINING – Assistance to Firefighters Grant to train and license approximately eight (8) Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians to the level of Paramedic. FEMA has identified this category of training as High Priority. Pocatello Fire Department (PFD) is eligible to apply for grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2019 AFG program. PFD as the administrator of the Bannock County Ambulance District contract seeks to apply for funding to train and license approximately eight Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians to the level of Paramedic. FEMA has identified this category of training as High Priority. The addition of paramedic qualified personnel will increase the availability of Advanced Life Support (ALS) to the citizens of Bannock County which will enhance public safety. If awarded, the grant will fund tuition, books, travel, lodging, and employee wages for the paramedic candidates and pay backfill should staffing levels require. This amount is estimated to be approximately $407,120.00. Based upon our jurisdiction’s population, a match of not less than CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 7 MARCH 12, 2020 10% to grant funds is required if awarded. A match of $37,010.00 would be needed. Fire staff feels they can execute this local match within the Fiscal Year 2020 and Fiscal Year 2021 ambulance contract. The benefit of this training grant would greatly outweigh the cost of the match in benefit to the citizens of Bannock County. Funds are projected to become available May 1, 2020. The grant period of execution is one year from funding. Paramedic training is approximately 14 months, and extensions of grant performance are available but not guaranteed. A motion was made by Ms. Leeuwrik, seconded by Mr. Cheatum, to approve a request to apply for FEMA grants as outlined in Agenda Item No. 9, (a) and (b), and if the grants are awarded, Fire Department staff will submit an agenda request asking Council to accept the grant(s). AGENDA ITEM NO. 10: Council President Adamson adjourned the meeting at 11:31 a.m. APPROVED: BRIAN C. BLAD, MAYOR ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: RUTH NEWSOM, CITY CLERK