Fiscal Committee Meeting

These minutes are considered a draft until approval at the next meeting. These minutes are considered a draft until approval at the next meeting. MINUTES Wednesday, January 2, 2013 Fiscal Committee * 5:15 PM Carnegie Town Hall 235 West 10th Street Members Present: Council Member Dean Karsky, Council Member James Entenman, Council Member Greg Jamison, Council Member Sue Aguilar Members Absent: None Staff Present: Denise D. Tucker, CMC, Assistant City Clerk; David Bixler, Budget Analyst; and Jim David, Legislative/Operations Manager Guests: Doug Barthel, Police Chief; Bill O’Toole, Director of Human Resources; Tracy Turbak, Finance Director; Kim Stulken, Employment Specialist 1. Call To Order Committee Chair Dean Karsky called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes A. Meeting held on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 A motion was made by Sue Aguilar and seconded by Greg Jamison to approve the minutes dated October 2, 2012. Karsky called for a voice vote on that motion and all members voted yes. Motion Passed. 3. Reports and Updates A. Police Department Staffing - Retirement Planning by Doug Barthel, Police Chief; Bill O'Toole, Director of Human Resources; Tracy Turbak, Finance Director Doug Barthel, Police Chief, said after the recent pension changes were approved, it was realized that there was a potential for a lot of retirements to take place in the Police Department, all at once. He said, the pension change didn't increase the number of upcoming retirements. Barthel said it doesn't sound like anybody is going to retire in 2013; instead all of those retirements will take place in 2014. A  survey was conducted and between now and the Spring of 2014, there are 22 police officers that are eligible or will be eligible for retirement. Barthel said 13 of those officers have stated their intention to retire in 2014, about half of them in January and the other half in the spring. With 13 officers leaving at once, Barthel said they wanted to do some planning so that they could hire ahead and get some officers in place. It takes eight months to train an officer, from the day they are hired until they are out on their own. Barthel said the hiring process alone takes several months. He explained the process. Barthel said they are hoping to hire about 10 officers in February, with four filling current vacancies and six to fill the anticipated retirements. He would like to hire the additional seven officers in August. The reason for today's presentation is to let the committee know what the plan is to fill the upcoming vacancies, and about some budget implications. Barthel said the worst case scenario is that they could have a little more than a $500,000 impact to their budget. He ensured the committee that there is no way that it would ever get to that level. Barthel said they don't want it to be a surprise if they have to come before the Council for additional money at the end of the year. He said they will keep watch over things and will make an adjustment to the August class if necessary. It is also possible that they won't need to a budget supplement at the end of the year. Council member Greg Jamison said he appreciated this item being brought to the committee for discussion. He then asked how many police officers there are and what the percentage of the 13 retiring is. Barthel said there are 222 sworn positions, with about 5% percent retiring. Discussion followed. Council member Sue Aguilar asked for Barthel to explain the hiring process for police officers. Discussion followed. Council member Jim Entenman asked when Barthel would plan to come back to the committee to ask for a supplemental increase. Barthel said it wouldn't be until very late in the year. Karsky asked what the cost is to send someone to the Police Academy. Barthel said the academy is free, due in part to help from law enforcement agencies from around the state. Discussion followed. 4. Open Discussion There was none. 5. Adjournment A motion was made by James Entenman and seconded by Sue Aguilar to adjourn the meeting at 5:35 p.m. Karsky called for a voice vote. All members voted yes. Motion Passed. Denise D. Tucker, CMC Assistant City Clerk