City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM WEDNESDAY , OCTOBER 17 , 2007 12:00 P.M. PRESENT: Valerie Keehn, Mayor Commissioner John Franck, Accounts Commissioner Ron Kim, DPS Commissioner Matthew McCabe, Finance Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW STAFF PRESENT: Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Michele Boxley, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Frank Dudla, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Eileen Finneran, Deputy Mayor Michael Englert, City Attorney CALL TO ORDER Mayor Valerie Keehn called the workshop meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. 2008 COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET Commissioner Matthew McCabe said that all the materials on the 2008 comprehensive budget are available on the City Web site. He said that sales tax revenue received so far is $200,000 lower than last year in August. He said so far there is a 5% increase over 2006, but the new figures will reduce that increase to 1% over 2006 and there is no information indicating that these figures are in error. He said regarding a reporter that asked about sales tax being down 18%, that is wrong, and he is trying to contact that person. He said that state aid based on VLT revenues, the estimate cycle for 2007-2008, there appears to be an increase but the city is already the recipient of that increase based on the 2007 portion. The numbers seem a bit skewed because the City has already been paid some of that revenue. He said that all new budget requests received to date have been compiled on a chart and distributed. He said that Civil Service has requested $104,000 for personnel management software with a revenue offset of $52,000 from the School system’s reimbursement of one half of the cost. Public Works has requested $44,000 in increases, broken down as $15,000 for sidewalk repairs where trees have raised sidewalks; $4,000 for the Geyser Bridge Road; and $25,000 for vehicle repairs. Accounts requested $40,000 increase in the refund for current year taxes for grievances expected to result in payouts. He said this is a wash because it was originally budgeted in contingency and has been moved to a department line item for budget purposes. He said that if these requests are added to the budget, the average tax rate increases from $5.18 per thousand to $5.21 per thousand for a 5.53% increase in the tax rate from 2006. He said that regarding the capital budget, the police facility is still the major topic of conversation. Marcy Brydges, Human Resource Director said she had a representative from PS Tech come and hold a demonstration that included Kevin Kling, Marilyn Rivers and Patsy Berrigan. She said that Kevin Kling said that the software package requires very little work from the City’s IT department. The cost includes installation, and is essentially a one-time fee outside of annual maintenance. She said that MUNIS has a personnel module but this system is the only one that includes the Civil Service piece, and the work within the HR/Personnel Office always includes Civil Service law and required activities. She said people have to take a required test and follow certain application procedures and this is a way to record that; it is primarily a civil service software package with a health benefits piece which is necessary for the HR office because per the City Charter, when City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 17, 2007 the current Health Benefits Program Administrator retires, those duties would revert to the HR/Civil Service Office. She said this is a way to move the data from Linda Curley’s spreadsheet into a traceable format. She said the software allows her to track employees coming in and going out, would discern patterns such as an employee calling in for three consecutive days, and it does a lot of worker’s compensation reports currently being handled by the City’s Risk and Safety Coordinator. Patsy Berrigan said that the Civil Service Commission is responsible for applications and testing for the City of Saratoga Springs employees including Police and Fire; the City Center; the Saratoga Housing Authority; the Saratoga Springs Enlarged City School District; and the Public Library. The office monitors over 1000 employees daily, not including seasonal or school district employees. The office administrates about 30 exams per year and there are approximately 1000 applicants for those exams, plus an additional 1500 applications for non-competitive positions where there are particular qualifications for the jobs and the application is technically the exam for those positions. Patsy Berrigan said that using this program, much of this process could be done electronically including the tracking of provisional employees, part time people that have mandated salary limits, and it would keep track of employees that require training and whether mandatory training is completed. She said that individual leave accruals could be tracked and flagged if the maximum leave time was expired. She said that if the system was linked to the contracts, it would be able to produce green sheets every time there is a change or action regarding employees, saving departments a lot of time and effort. Patsy Berrigan explained that for every employee that comes through the Civil Service System, they now manually record every raise and title change on roster cards and track the history of each position; this would be done automatically on an electronic roster card, which would reduce the need for a green sheet. She said the system would help maintain and automatically update the seniority lists, which must be done whenever there is a retirement or termination of employment, break in service, leave of absence, layoff or resignation. These activities often take hours to complete now because they are done manually; this system would expedite the exchange of information between Civil Service and management, it would accelerate the payroll certification process because the applications are in the system and the system would know whether a candidate meets the minimum qualifications, whether the test score is in the top three and residence status if applicable. Also, the position and roster cards that now are done manually would be created electronically. Commissioner Kim asked who would have access to the database? Patsy Berrigan responded that only the Executive Secretary and Senior Clerk of the Civil Service Commission and the Director of Human Resources would have access to the database. The system would enable them to provide requested information more efficiently and quickly and it could be sent electronically. Marcy Brydges said requests for information would not be delayed because a staff member is out because all three would have access to the system and could respond to a request. The Health benefits history and information is now tracked by a Finance employee using spreadsheets and when this individual is absent, no information is available, but with this system, any office staff member could provide the requested information quickly. Commissioner McCabe asked why the school system would reimburse half the cost? Patsy Berrigan said that according to state law, the school system must reimburse for civil service administration; there is a formula within the state law based upon the number of positions and the number of employees and the school has just a few more employees than the City so historically the reimbursement has been a little over 50%. Commissioner McCabe asked if the percentage of other agencies served could be determined to possibly get them to contribute toward the purchase of the software. Patsy Berrigan said that the Library reimburses the school district, the Housing Authority has 15 employees and the City Center has less so their portion would be minor; the two major contributors are the school district and the City. Commissioner John Franck asked about the position of the Health Benefits Coordinator going to Human Resources upon the retirement of the individual currently in that position. Deputy Commissioner Lynn Bachner said there is request for an assistant in HR in the first round of budget requests, and the addition of the health administration duties would be part of the new requested HR position. She said there is a personnel and health benefits module available through the city’s financial software system, MUNIS. Patsy Berrigan said there is functionality in the proposed program that MUNIS does not have, including the entire Civil Service component. Commissioner John Franck said that an RFP should be required and Deputy Commissioner Boxley said it is mandatory. Marcy Brydges said that the City’s Information Technology Systems Manager had met with her and 2 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 17, 2007 asked several questions including whether it is windows compatible, how the conversion would be handled and whether it required a stand alone server or could utilize the Civil Service server, and he was satisfied with the vendor’s response. Patsy Berrigan said the software could utilize the existing server in the Civil Service Office. Commissioner John Franck said there is something already lined up for the one State Archives and Records Administration grant opportunity due to be filed February 1, 2008. Deputy Commissioner Boxley suggested that the software vendor may know of possible opportunities for the funding of their software; most companies are aware of funding sources to enable a client to purchase their product. Marcy Brydges said she contacted both Saratoga County and Glens Falls to determine if they are aware of funding sources since they both use the software and she put a call into the vendor. She offered to conduct a comparison of the proposed software with the modules offered through MUNIS. Deputy Commissioner Lynn Bachner said that a number of requests have been entertained for software and the needs used for justification must be evaluated against the functions of existing software. She said that Code Enforcement and the Building Department have requested a software package but there is a module within MUNIS that claims to perform the functions desired by these offices. She said existing options should be explored. Commissioner Ron Kim said that Code Enforcement struggles with what they are trying to accomplish and the software market should be examined. He said the City seems to be stuck on the fact that MUNIS is here and it does everything yet when people go to use it, it does not provide the functionality desired; for example if Microsoft could really do everything, there would not be Quicken software. Software packages offered by other vendors should be examined because it might be more specific to the needs of the City. He said that the last time he spoke with Code Enforcement, the MUNIS module has not been loaded on the laptops that the enforcers use to input inspection information, and this function is necessary in order to save time. Marcy Brydges agreed and said that this proposed personnel software does 90% more than the MUNIS module. Deputy Commissioner Boxley said that MUNIS is the trunk system; all the other systems are virtually useless on the backend if they do not integrate with MUNIS and the other departments. She said that most operating systems today are Microsoft or at least Microsoft compatible. The City’s basic operating system is MUNIS, the proposed personnel system must be able to interface with MUNIS, which has been successful throughout New York State because they can provide an interface between departments and software programs. She suggested continued meetings with the vendor to explore what the new system does not provide and determine if there is a way to create a bridge between MUNIS and the new software; a lot of research should be done before a final decision is made. Marcy Brydges said that 50% of the functions of the Civil Service office are not done on MUNIS now because they involve the school, Library or Housing Authority. She said that the City’s IT Manager said there would be no problem interfacing the proposed software with MUNIS. Lynn Bachner said that with these new software programs, what is efficient for one office results in extra work for Finance that could escalate into additional staff; the systems must talk to each other. The hang-up with the Code Enforcement system has to do with importing data from the County’s Real Property System. Public Works Director William McTygue said that DPW’s requests for change realistically reflect current expenses; the department’s activities of DPW are determined by the weather; the winter of 2007 is reflected in the amount of money needed to budget for vehicle repair. He said if there is a large snowstorm, there will be equipment failures and often costly repairs; the department’s goal is to get the vehicles repaired and back in use as quickly as possible. He said they made some modest requests that were cut, including to increase part time staff to full time in streets, highway, and for one new person for the Recreation fields and for modest increases in the vehicle and equipment lines. He said he understands that when budgets are developed it can reflect a wish-list to some extent but it must be based on affordability. He said the request in the Streets line for the replacement of two pickup trucks that are ten years old and critical to winter operations, is an important part of the snow response plan for the entire City because the old trucks are costing too much money in vehicle repairs. A program of equipment replacement is economically sensible and better for the safety of the workers and the public. The Department attaches small vehicles to the General fund budget and the larger pieces of equipment and bigger expenses are accomplished through the capital budget program. 3 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 17, 2007 William McTygue requested that the $60,000 for the two pickup trucks be restored as a budget amendment. He said that the Department’s requests are prudent and accountable and they are proud of their fleet; the city needs dependable equipment without having to spend a lot on repairs. Commissioner McTygue said that Saratoga Springs has good response to major snowstorms. There are trucks dispersed throughout neighborhoods quickly; larger functional fleet enables quick response to situations to clear secondary streets immediately after main streets that are first priority. William McTygue said that the proposed comprehensive budget is status quo with no room for growth which is frustrating to department administration; for example, there is no leverage to begin converting the diesel truck fleet to bio-fuel. He said this approach to the budget is difficult for a service department and if there is an early and difficult winter, it will be problematic and costly for everyone. Commissioner McCabe said he will take the information into consideration and work out scenarios to build consensus. He said the next budget workshop is Tuesday October 23 and changes and requests will be formulated. Commissioner Ron Kim said the design RFP is going out to the Department of Accounts today. Commissioner John Franck said his office will process the RFP as soon as possible. Deputy Commissioner Lynn Bachner clarified that the amount remaining in contingency is $780,000. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Valerie Keehn opened the public comment period. John Kraus, 227 Grand Avenue said the City Council is making progress in preparing a fiscally sound budget to address the needs of its clients. He said that the lease buy-back proposal is the most valid option for the public safety facility but there is a need for other options to be considered. He said that there is an urgent need to fund critical infrastructure projects. The City should include funding for the infrastructure projects and the public safety facility in the 2008 budget. He said the City does not need to purchase private parking lots to build a DPS facility, and the project should not be complicated by commercial requirements and bridges because two bridges would probably be required, one to escort prisoners one for civilian pedestrian movement. He said he would like to see official documentation stating the requirements for the Courts and the mandatory preservation of the existing courtroom. He said that the commissioner of finance should release some of the $1.1m additional VLT revenues received in 2007 to help with the 2008 budget. He said the entire City Council should agree on a reasonable tax rate for 2008 and support the inclusion of some capital projects in the 2008 comprehensive budget. Address one thing at a time without complications and do not consider a larger High Rock development project, implementing paid parking or selling City Hall at this time get this budget done at a reasonable rate to earn the respect of the taxpayers for a sound fiscal plan. Commissioner John Franck said that many of the proposals included the purchase of land, but he has not spoken with the owners of the Collamer building and we might not have to buy the land because the city owns the property on the other side of the Collamer Building, and although some of that parcel must be retained by the City for an entrance off of Broadway but there would still be sufficient space to possibly swap the Collamer- owned parcel with the city owned parcel, but this option was not explored because Commissioner Kim did not think it was important. He said that the Collamer lot will always be a parking lot because the city would not let them build back there; the owner might prefer to have parking space that are more visible and include Broadway access. He said that the idea it should be considered. He said that no one ever explains what is going to be done with the 6800 square feet in City Hall where the Police are now when the new facility is complete. If that area is in as bad condition as described, it would require renovations that cost millions of dollars in order to ready it to be leased or used by another department and that cost should be part of the discussion of a DPS facility. He said it might not be considered a DPS problem, but it is a taxpayers’ problem. Commissioner Franck suggested renovating the space, build a smaller three story structure on the lot next to the building, keep the Courts and add on whatever is necessary to bring the courts into compliance, and it might be able to be accomplished for considerably less than what is currently being proposed. He said that to eliminate the idea before it is even researched makes no sense. 4 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Commissioner Kim said that everyone at the table seems to be a contractor. Commissioner Franck responded that he has contracting experience but he is an accountant and a lot of numbers have been misrepresented. Commissioner Kim said the 47,000 square feet was determined by a set process that took over 18 months and was completed by experienced consultants that have built many public safety facilities throughout New York State including the Warren County Public Safety Station. The consultants advised the committee not to short- change ourselves, but to consider future needs and growth. Reducing the size may solve current needs but it will be detrimental to the future needs of the department. He said that a consultant estimated that to renovate the existing station would cost $360 per square foot but new construction costs an average of $320 per square foot and he has a feasibility study to support these figures. He welcomed anyone to conduct another study to challenge these conclusions. He said that there was another feasibility study conducted in 2004 during Commissioner Curley’s term that included an analysis of the cost of doing a renovation of the current police station and that was requested also. Commissioner John Franck said that using the figures of $360 per square foot, it would cost the taxpayers $2.5m to renovate the current police facility. He asked Commissioner Kim to be sure to tell the taxpayers to add the cost of renovating the space currently occupied by the police, $2.5m, to the cost of constructing a new public safety facility. Commissioner Franck said that he does not agree with Commissioner Kim’s numbers and if the City has the ability to keep the current court facility, renovate the current police facility, there would not be a need to build a 47,000 square foot facility, it could be scaled down to a smaller facility, more efficient and the historic integrity of the existing structures would remain intact and it would be a better fiscal deal for the taxpayers. Commissioner McTygue said that the cost of renovating the space vacated by the Department of Public Safety when they move to the new facility must be considered as part of the cost of the project because the space needs to be renovated regardless of whether the department relocates, and Commissioner Franck’s suggestion is a way to meet the needs of the department for less money Seeing that no one else wished to speak, Mayor Valerie Keehn closed the public comment period. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Valerie Keehn moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to adjourn the meeting at 1:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Wagner Clerk Approved: 5 of 5