City Council

Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SEAT PLEASANT SPECIAL SESSION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2025 6:00P.M. 1. OPENING 1.1.1 Call to Order Council President Higgs called the meeting to order at 6:05p.m. 1.2 Roll Call Present: Council President Monica Higgs, Councilmember Garry A. Jones, Councilmember Ashley Kearney, Councilmember Hope Love (Late Arrival at 6:16pm), Council Vice President Shireka McCarthy, Mayor Kelly Porter (Late Arrival 6:10pm), Councilmember Gerald Raynor, Sr., and Councilmember Kizzie Scott Staff: Dashaun Ball, City Clerk, Ashley Drakeford, Public Engagement, Demetrious Harris, Interim City Manager, Betty Logan, Chief Financial Officer, and Cedric Heyward, Acting Chief of Police 2. PRESENTATION 2.1. None 3. CITIZEN COMMENT 3.1. There were no citizen comments for the Special Session on Monday, April 28, 2025. 3. MEETING TOPICS 3.1. Proposed Budget Review for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. o Ms. Logan provided the updated on the changes to the Mayor Budget in accordance with the City Council recommendations. o Mayor Porter stated that he provided the explanation on the budget categories. o Ms. Logan provided the updated on the changes to the City Council Budget in accordance with the City Council recommendations. o Councilmember Jones inquired about the PGCMA cost center amount of $1,500. Page 1 of 7 Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C o Mrs. Ball stated that the PGCMA is $2,500 and Collaboration and Partnership is $15,500, and Constituent Services is $34,575. o Councilmember Jones inquired about the total budget for the Council Budget. o Councilmember McCarthy requested that the percentage amount needs to be corrected. o Mrs. Logan stated that the changes in the City Administration budget were the Staff Assistant salary amount were incorrect, and the Maryland Unemployment changed, they will change the title for Membership increase to $7,000, and the contingency will be modified for the increase and decrease in the budget, the contingency is $611,642. The total budget will be $2,018,902. o Councilmember McCarthy stated the salary for the Staff Assistant salary should be accurately reflected as written in the Job Description. o Mr. Harris stated that the Staff Assistant salary should remain at $62,246 as approved by the council. o Mrs. Logan inquired if the difference in the salary should be charged to the Grants Manager Contract. o Councilmember McCarthy inquired if the changes to membership dues and association dues will be combined. o Mrs. Ball stated that the Association dues under the City Manager budget is for the City Manager dues for ICMA and the membership will be for MML and NLC. o Mrs. Logan stated that the Cost Center 5190 is for Dues and Membership for the city. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that she wants to ensure that the cost centers are kept separate for the city overall dues and the City Manager Dues and Membership. o Councilmember Higgs stated that Ms. Drakeford is making changes to the budget and percentages as the changes are being recommended. o Mrs. Logan stated that the Capital Outlay cost center was reduced to $10,000.00. o Councilmember Higgs inquired about the actual expenditure on utilities. o Mrs. Logan stated that the documents were sent to Mr. Harris and Mrs. Ball. o Mrs. Ball stated that the documents are uploaded to BoardDocs. o Mrs. Logan stated that in FY26 the utilities are consolidated under the City Administration Budget. o Councilmember Kearney stated that for the City Administration FY25 for Utilities should be blanked, but the ask is the total cost for the utilities. Page 2 of 7 Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C o Mrs. Logan stated that she will provide the total cost as of April 30, 2025. o Mrs. Logan stated that NetSuite was subscription services, and the item listed is a mis-norm. o Mrs. Logan stated that she will provide the information by Wednesday, May 2, 2025. o Mrs. Logan stated that the City Clerk changes were to overtime to compensatory time. o Councilmember Jones stated that if we are changing the language to compensatory time for the language to be stated it is paid at time and half. o Councilmember Higgs stated that the Deputy Clerk position is not listed in the proposed budget, and it is not reflected in FY25. o Mrs. Logan stated that she informed Mr. Harris that the budget amendments were accidentally omitted. o Mr. Harris stated that they went they looked at the financial outlook, they eliminated the Deputy Clerk and HR Generalist position, and he does not feel they are a priority for the city. o Councilmember Higgs stated that she thought there were conversations about cross training. o Mr. Harris stated that he had a conversation regarding the continuity in government, and there is a spacing concern. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that the Deputy Clerk position is still needed. She understands that spacing is an issue, and the proposed legislation has increased, and the Deputy Clerk can assist with the lobbyist duties. o Councilmember Love stated that she agrees with Mr. Harris on the Deputy Clerk position. She feels that the City Clerk manages the responsibilities for her department. o Mr. Harris stated that he had sent an e-mail in May freezing four positions in the police department, Deputy Clerk and Human Resources Generalist positions. He feels that the City Clerk position description was not updated and needs to be reviewed by the Governmental Affairs Committee. He feels that the City Clerk is handling responsibilities that were assigned to her by the council. o Council President Higgs asked for the Governmental Affairs and Technology Committee to review the job description of the City Clerk. o Council President Higgs inquired about the job description for the proposed position. o Mrs. Logan stated that EJD department changes were for bonuses, FICA and MD Unemployment. Page 3 of 7 Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C o Mrs. Logan stated that the Human Resources budget decreased changes in supplies to $1,000 and Executive Retreat to $5,000. o Mrs. Logan stated that the next change in Automated Enforcement changes for contractual services decreased to $100,000, and contributions of $5,000 to G. James Gholston, Fairmount Heights High School, Central High School, Seat Pleasant Elementary, Walker Mill Middle School, Highland Park, and Elementary School. o Mr. Harris stated that we need to specify what the funds for the school will be used for, as there will be some cuts in the budget. We need to allocate that for which the funds will be used. o Council President Higgs stated that the council had requested for him to contact the schools to see what the school needs. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that the funds need to be specified as they cannot be used for a salary. o Councilmember Scott stated that the elementary school can be used for the school lunches, and the high schools can be used for their proms. o Mr. Harris stated that the city can donate $5,000 and anything over $5,000 needs administration approval. The city maintains the funds for Seat Pleasant Elementary School. o Councilmember Love inquired about the firehouse next door if any funds were allocated. o Council President Higgs stated that we are not there yet for the firehouse. o Mrs. Logan stated that the changes to NCC were to include a new position and to increase professional development from $5,000 to $7,500.00. o Councilmember Kearney inquired whether changes or requested for the explanation will be discussed. o Councilmember Kearney inquired if the city will be purchasing training for Microsoft, which is already provided. Which platforms do we not have with the training on-line? o Mr. Barber stated that the training is for advanced level training on Excel for spreadsheets. o Councilmember Kearney stated that the city does not have Microsoft Suite with advanced training. o Mr. Harris stated that we do not have the Microsoft suite and for EJD they need a person to come onsite to teach in-person training. o Council President Higgs requested for Mr. Harris to add a note for discussion as it may be some free training. o Councilmember Kearney inquired about the Outreach Digital Coordinator position description for Public Engagement. Page 4 of 7 Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C o Ms. Drakeford stated that she would wonder about the specific questions, and if it could be switched and the title changed. o Councilmember Kearney stated that it was discussed to see if the position could be changed to a coordinator. o Ms. Drakeford stated that the document supports the funding for the position. o Mr. Harris stated that they were tasked with the website overhaul, the Seat Pleasant App, and he does not feel that the Public Engagement Manager can function in the position alone. The department had a number of people before the pandemic. The role will help with making sure the city has the data, and the manager will evaluate it. The need for help in the public engagement is there. o Councilmember Raynor inquired if the request is to review the job duties or the basic functions of the position. He responded to the e-mail in May, and he thought the discussion was temporary. o Councilmember Love stated that the only fair way to do it is to distinguish the duties of the City Clerk, as they relate to the duties that are there, and what has been removed from the department. As it is related to Public Engagement, and adding bilingual is assisting the residents. We had a full participation in the meeting, and now we do not have participation. The residents are saying they did not know. She has checked with MML, and it should be a comparison to the duties, and we need to ensure that there is a need. o Council President Higgs stated that the Governmental Affairs Committee will address the position descriptions. We are not in the times of the pandemic, and we there are two individuals in the department. We want to make sure that we are targeting our residents. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that she read the job description and some of the tasks are in the Public Engagement Manager position description. Have they ever inquired about a contractor to assist with the app and the website? We can pay the residents to assist with the public engagement event. We can hire an expert to assist with functions. We need to remember the more we grow the government, and the more work put into the Clerk’s department. She is concerned about the records retention, and she does not care how it is done, as there is only one person, and we need to create continuity in the department. We cannot find the history of the seal, and there are talks about revising the seal. Page 5 of 7 Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C o Councilmember Jones stated that he feels that we need to find the right employee, and he is for hiring an employee and not a contractor, who may not do a great job. o Mr. Harris stated that he feels that the priority is getting back to engagement and the community. o Councilmember Kearney stated that she was expecting a breakdown from all departments on the breakdown of subscription services. The updated information on 5180 and 5260 for Public Engagement. o Council President Higgs stated that the job descriptions for the City Clerk and Deputy City Clerk will be reviewed in the Governmental Affairs & Technology Committee. The Public Engagement Manager and Outreach Digital Coordinator position descriptions need to be reviewed by the City Council. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that she would like to see a fee structure to provide additional revenue for the city. o Mr. Harris stated that they are working on the Fee Structure for Goodwin Park, and Public Safety with regards to the impound fees to provide fair rates to the residents. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that she would like to see it on the Governmental Affairs and Technology Committee within the next thirty days. o Ms. Logan stated that the city does not have a policy on return checks. o Councilmember McCarthy stated that this should be overseen in the Finance department, and every department should be submitting their fees. o Council President Higgs stated that the council wants to see the Deputy Clerk position in the budget. 5.1. None 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1None 6. ANOUNCEMENTS 6.1 Annual Seat Pleasant Day, Saturday, May 3, 2025, Parade, at 9:30am-11:00am, Goodwin Park Activities, 311 68th Pl., Seat Pleasant, MD 20743, from 11:00a.m.- 4:00p.m. 6.2 Regular Work Session, Monday, May 5, 2025, Seat Pleasant City Hall-Council Chambers, 6301 Addison Rd., Seat Pleasant, MD at 6:00p.m. Hybrid and by Zoom Video at 6:00pm. Meeting Link details will be on the city's website. Page 6 of 7 Docusign Envelope ID: B0003BBB-6070-4FE9-8B0C-79BBFA56257C 6.3 Public Session, Monday, May 12, 2025, Hybrid and by Zoom Webinar at 7:00p.m. Meeting Link details are available on the city's website, 6301 Addison Rd., Seat Pleasant, MD 7. ADJOURN Action: 7.1 Adjourn and Logout-8:29pm Submitted by, Dashaun N. Ball, CPM, MMC City Clerk Page 7 of 7