City Council

May 15, 2020 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting Recreation Center 15 Vanderbilt Avenue 3:30 PM 3:30 PM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES CONSENT AGENDA 1. Nothing at this time. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Execute MOU Between the City of Saratoga Springs and Collective Bargaining Units 2. Discussion and Vote: Amendment to Resolution for Non-Union City Personnel to Allow Certain Non- Union Personnel to be Furloughed ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. SUPERVISORS 1. Nothing at this time. ADJOURN City Council Meeting 5/15/20 May 15, 2020 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting Recreation Center 15 Vanderbilt Avenue 3:30 PM PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Robin Dalton, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Lisa Shields, Deputy Mayor Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner of Accounts Joe O’Neill, Commissioner of Public Safety Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Vince DeLeonardis, City Attorney RECORDING OF PROCEEDING The proceedings of this meeting were taped for the benefit of the secretary. Because the minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings, the minutes are not a word-for-word transcript. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Execute MOU Between the City of Saratoga Springs and Collective Bargaining Units (20-212) Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney, advised this memorandum of agreement is between the City of Saratoga Springs and the CSEA City Hall Unit, the DPW Unit, the Police Benevolent Association Unit, and the Fire Unit. He and Christy Spadaro have spent a significant number of hours working and negotiating with the unions and their representatives with regards to a furlough program. This allows the City to save some money during this period of time related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This furlough would take effect as of the close of business today and continue through July 31 st. Individuals, who are identified on Schedule A, will be furloughed without pay during that period of time. The City retains the ability, however, should the need arise, to recall any of those employees who are furloughed. If the employee is unable during that period of time or is denied unemployment insurance or the pandemic unemployment insurance, they have the ability to request re-instatement with the director of human resources and will be re-instated. The City will be providing those employees an iteration of their health care benefits during the period they are on furlough and they are allowed to use their accumulated leave to pay their portion of the health care benefits. Page 2 of 4 City Council Meeting 5/15/20 The employee will not accrue during the period of furlough but the furlough will not be considered a break in service for purposes of longevity or seniority. Any previously approved paid time off, vacation of personal time, that was previously approved for the time of the furlough is deemed to be cancelled during the period that is identified from the close of business today through July 31st. The City will not oppose any employees’ application for unemployment. During the period of furlough, the union will not require the payment of dues of those members that are furloughed and are participating in this program. The unions acknowledge that they will not receive any credit for the New York State Retirement System during the period of time that they are participating in this program. We have that all memorialized in a memorandum of agreement. It should be noted that of the 43 employees, when you factor in the total savings that is in excess of $450,000 minus the unemployment that the City has to provide during that period of time, it still results in a total savings in excess of a quarter of a million dollars. While I fully understand and appreciate this doesn’t fully close the gap that we are projecting, this does provide some relief in that direction. Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to authorize the mayor to execute the MOU between the City of Saratoga Springs and collective bargaining units as included with this agenda. Commissioner Madigan advised she is unable to support this MOU. She appreciates the work done by the negotiating team, Human Resources, Vince DeLeonardis, and the mayor. She thanked those who stepped up to volunteer for the furlough program. A furlough program was recommended to the Council on Friday, May 1st by our labor attorney, Human Resources, and the city attorney. I agreed and was asked to set a very high bar for reducing wages, which I did and then I sent an e-mail to the Council Sunday, May 3rd outlining a $3 million dollar furlough program based on $28 million dollars in wages and wage related expenses. On Friday, May 18th, I provided the Council with revised furlough numbers because it became apparent that $3 million was really going to be unobtainable. The recommendation to the Council and to the negotiating team was reduced to $1.5 million - $1.7 million in actual wage related expenses over 90 days, which is what the furlough plan should be for; and an additional $1.5 - $1.7 million in other wage related expenses – mostly these would be these union contractual obligations. What we are presented with is woefully inadequate with 43 union employees and maybe one non-union employee volunteering. This is about $450,000 in total wages for the furlough program. Yes, unemployment is always going to need to be considered whether we do furloughs or whether we do lay-offs. The unemployment will impact us regardless whether we do furloughs or whether we do lay-offs. I believe right now we are looking at 39 weeks based on how it’s been extended for any individual employee. The total reduction in salaries for what is a 60 day furlough program, we aren’t even achieving a full 90 day program, is essentially what we have being presented is a voluntary only furlough program over 60 days for a saving of only $277,000. It is her recommendation that we move on to more efficient productive ways of meeting our fast approaching cash deficit. Without firm negotiation on union contractual wage related expenses, the MOA alone is not worth brining forward. She had presented two plans that would have allowed the City to maintain employees and their benefits. Neither has been adopted. We are encountering a cash flow problem, there are things being discussed that could have a positive impact on our budget and expenditures for the remainder of the year, but we have an immediate cash flow issue now that I need help with now over the course of this next month or two. Lay-offs are an immediate reduction to cash flow. I would ask that the Council and the negotiating team to not support this MOA and to go back and get real numbers that can help with cash flow now. This would mean furloughs coming in at the top of the salary ranges not just those who would likely benefit financially from unemployment and the extra $600 from the federal government through July 31st. Additionally, while I’m here, we have 34 people eligible for retirement and the New York State Local Retirement System just waived the 15-day waiting period for retirement applications through June 7th. She strongly encouraged those who are eligible to retire to consider doing so. Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Commissioner Madigan) Discussion and Vote: Amendment to Resolution for Non-Union City Personnel to Allow Certain Non-Union Personnel to be Furloughed (20-213) Page 3 of 4 City Council Meeting 5/15/20 Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney, advised this is an amendment to our non-union resolution to align it with the furlough program incorporated for the unions that was just voted on. This is to allow two individuals who are in the non-union to be furloughed. This includes the communications manager and his executive assistant to be furloughed for the same period as those in the unions. The conditions are that these two individuals, although they are on the non-union resolution, will be furloughed under the same terms and conditions as those applicable to the unions that you just approved. Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to authorize the amendment to the resolution for non-union City personnel to allow certain non-union personnel to be furloughed as included with this agenda. Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Commissioner Madigan) ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Kelly adjourned the meeting at 4:11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 10/20/2020 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 4 of 4