Board of Mayor & Aldermen

MINUTES BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN REGULAR MEETING JUNE 18, 2013 Board present Staff present Mayor Billy Paul Carneal City Manager Paul John Nutting Alderman James Hubbard Asst. City Manager Regina Holt Alderman Willie Mason City Recorder Jane Shugart Murphy Vice Mayor Jerome Ellis City Attorney Jim Balthrop Alderman Ann Schneider City Clerk Connie Watson Alderman Bruce Head Alderman Clay Sneed 1.1 Mayor Billy Paul Carneal called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen at 7:30 p.m. The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. 1.2 Public Hearings: 1. Ordinance 13-08, adopting the annual City of Springfield budget and tax rate for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. Dave Fisher, Ellen Ogle, Larry Bunning, Gina Head, Jarvis Summers and Neil Peterson addressed the Board in regard to their opinions about the proposed budget and tax rate for fiscal year 2014. The Mayor addressed the Board and the audience about various ongoing projects and projected goals of the city. 1.3 Springfield Gas System 2013 scholarships were presented to: Jemisia Robinson, Springfield High School; Alex Fisher, Greenbrier High School; Vince Damarow, Jo Byrns High School; Carrie Vaughn, East Robertson High School; and Ayslyn Norton, South Haven Christian School. Alderman Hubbard moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen held on May 21, 2013 and the special meetings held on May 14 and June 4, 2013. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. 2.0 Legislative 2.1 Alderman Mason moved for the approval of Ordinance 13-07 on third and final reading, an ordinance establishing the schedule of fees for city cemeteries by rescinding Ordinance 09-14 in its entirety and substituting a new schedule of fees. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 2.2 Alderman Schneider moved for the approval of Ordinance 13-08 on second reading, an ordinance adopting the annual City of Springfield budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. The motion was seconded. Alderman Schneider moved to amend Ordinance 13-08 by proposing the following modifications to the budget. Increase the property tax rate by $0.11 to $1.00; no cost of living raise for the city employees, but authorize an additional 16 hours of paid time off which will cut $152,000 from General Funds; all departments under General Fund cut their budget by 2% at the discretion of the City Manager. Alderman Schneider stated $978,000 of delinquent property tax is still outstanding and proposes that a person be hired to collect it for the rest of the funds needed to balance the budget. She stated that her proposal is a savings of $515,000. The motion was seconded. Alderman Schneider withdrew her amendment to allow each member to discuss their proposals. Each board member was given the opportunity to present their proposals and discuss their ideas. The City Manager briefly discussed the changes that have been made to various line items in the budget as recommended by the Board. Mr. Nutting advised that the current budget for fiscal year 2014 will be using $559,730 of fund reserves in order to balance the General Fund budget. He noted that this amount is before taking into account proposed cuts. Mr. Nutting cautioned that reserve funds are continuing to be used to balance the General Fund budget and the total reserves are rapidly being depleted. Jim Balthrop, the City Attorney, briefed the Board on delinquent taxes and the difficulty of collecting this revenue. Mr. Balthrop advised the Board not to rely too much for funds from the collection of delinquent property tax. Alderman Sneed moved to amend the Ordinance 13-08 by proposing that each city employee be given a one-day furlough to be used in the month of his or her birth date. Each employee is to submit a request for furlough one-week in advance and the furlough will be granted at the discretion of the supervisor. The authorization will be pending on the seniority in that department and the skill  level of the employee. If an employee wishes to have more than one day of furlough, he/she may use another employee’s day if that employee chooses to forfeit his. The maximum days allowed to an employee will be one week. Mr. Sneed stated this would give an approximate $51,000 in savings. He also recommended the Board forfeit one month of their pay which is a savings of $2,100, and to cut the appropriation of funds to the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce in the amount of $3,500. The motion was seconded and failed by 1-6 roll call votes. Ayes: Sneed Nayes: Carneal, Head, Mason, Schneider, Ellis, Hubbard. Alderman Ellis moved for the deferral of Ordinance 13-08. Due to lack of second the motion failed. The meeting was recessed for a few minutes and reconvened. Alderman Schneider stated that a workshop should be planned for July to discuss the various ideas that have been proposed by the Board in order to keep from using as much in reserves to balance the General Fund budget. She moved to amend Ordinance 13-08 by eliminating the 2% cost of living raise for city employees and to reduce the tax rate increase to $0.14 and establishing a new tax rate of $1.03. The motion was seconded and passed by 4-3 roll call vote. Ayes: Schneider, Carneal, Hubbard, Mason Nayes: Sneed, Head, Ellis The original motion for the approval of Ordinance 13-08 was brought back and passed by 4-3 roll call vote. Ayes: Carneal, Schneider, Mason, Hubbard Nayes: Head, Ellis, Sneed 2.3 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of on Ordinance 13-09 on third and final reading. An ordinance rescinding Ordinance 12-08 and setting a new schedule of rates and charges for the Springfield water system. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. The ordinance increases water rates by seven percent (7%). 2.4 Alderman Hubbard move for the approval of Ordinance 13-10 on third and final reading. An ordinance rescinding Ordinance 12-09 and setting a new schedule of rates and charges for the Springfield sewer system. The motion was seconded and passed by 6-1 roll call vote. Ayes: Hubbard, Sneed, Schneider, Carneal, Mason, Head Nayes: Ellis The ordinance increases sewer rates by thirteen percent (13%). 2.5 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of Ordinance 13-11 on third and final reading. An ordinance to amend Chapter 1 of the Private Acts of 1989, and any other Acts amendatory thereto, relative to the election of the Vice-Mayor. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote.  The ordinance sets a new term for the Vice Mayor consistent with the new election cycle. 2.6 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of Ordinance 13-12 on first reading. An ordinance to enact a pole attachment rate schedule for third parties using Springfield Electric Department poles without a contract or that continue to use SED poles after a contract expires. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 2.7 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of Resolution 13-15, a resolution appointing Police Chief David Thompson to the Business Conduct and Ethics Committee. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.0 Administrative 3.1 Alderman Hubbard moved to approve the TVA wholesale fuel cost adjustment from the current amount of $0.02352 per kilowatt-hour to $0.02240 per kilowatt- hour, effective July 1, 2013. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. This adjustment represents a decrease of 1.3 % in the wholesale electric rates resulting in a decrease of $1.00 to $1.30 on an average residential electric bill. 3.2 Alderman Hubbard moved to approve the retail gas rates of the Springfield Gas Department for the month of June 2013. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.3 Alderman Ellis moved to nominate Alderman Schneider to the position of Vice- Mayor. Alderman Mason moved to nominate Alderman Hubbard to the position of Vice- Mayor. Alderman Head moved to cease nominations for Vice-Mayor. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously Alderman Schneider was duly elected into the position of Vice-Mayor by a show of hands vote. 3.4 Alderman Hubbard moved to reappoint the following members to the Cemetery Commission: 1. Ward 1 Dorothy Woodard 2. Ward 3 Nancy Harris  3. Ward 5 Bo Adams 4. At Large Mike Fowler The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.5 Alderman Hubbard moved to reappoint the following members to the Parks and Recreation Board: 1. Ward 1 Jerald Jones 2. Ward 2 Lewis Jamison 3. Ward 3 Buzzy Poole The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.6 Alderman Mason moved for the approval of a request submitted by the Springfield Water Wastewater Department to authorize Task Order 3B, in the amount of $674,936, as part of the Gresham, Smith and Partners contract for engineering work performed to rehabilitate portions of the sanitary sewer system in compliance with the EPA Administrative Order on Consent. The motion was seconded and passed by 6-1 roll call vote. Ayes: Schneider, Carneal, Hubbard, Sneed, Head, Mason Nayes: Ellis 3.7 Cordney Woodard from the Robertson County FamilyYMCA updated the Board on the Springfield Middle School After School Program. Alderman Hubbard moved for the reimbursement of expenditures in the amount of $4,125.74 for the YMCA After School Program. The motion was seconded and passed by 6-0-1 roll call vote. Ayes: Head, Carneal, Mason, Hubbard, Ellis, Ellis, Sneed Nayes: 0 Abstain: Schneider 3.8 Alderman Hubbard moved for discussion of a possible name change for a portion of Curtiswood Lane. The motion was seconded. George James, Planning Director, briefed the Board about some problems that recently occured in the routing of emergency vehicles to Curtiswood Lane. The Planning Commission does not recommend a name or address number changes for Curtiswood Lane. The consensus of the Planning Commission members is to have E-911 flag the street to let the ambulances know whether the address on Curtiswood Lane should be approached from the Highway 431 side or Blackpatch Drive side. Alderman Ellis moved to amend the name of Curtiswood Lane by adding the suffix “East” or to the portion coming off Blackpatch Drive and the suffix “West” to the portion entering near Highway 431 South. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote.  Staff will prepare a resolution formally adopting this change at next month’s meeting. 3.9 The City Manager reported on the Board’s decision to separate City and County dispatch operations by returning the former County E-911 dispatch back to County employment effective July 1, 2013. He handed out the County’s resolution that was passed at their June 12 meeting accepting the dispatchers as employees. He stated, although the County will answer their own calls, Springfield and the White House dispatchers will remain consolidated as City of Springfield employees. Mr. Nutting informed the Board that the estimated cost to reprogram the computers and to reallocate the phone lines would be approximately $4,500 and requested authorization to pay for the expenditure if the Robertson County E-911 Board is reluctant to pay for it. Mr. Nutting stated the County has made the decision not to reimburse the City for any of its costs for the fiscal year 2013 and the newly recommended cost formula will not be enacted in fiscal year 2014. There is no commitment from the County to comply with the new cost formula at any time. Mr. Nutting recommended that before there is action taken to consolidate dispatch services at the Robertson County E-911 Communication Center, certain conditions should be met first. The written agreement should be revised and executed by all of the parties enacting the prorate formula recommended by MTAS and CTAS. In addition, the Robertson Emergency Communication District should hire an Executive Director with no ties to this county, and the Executive Director will develop a dispatch staffing plan that is effective and efficient for the operation of the communications center. Chief David Thompson informed the Board that he attended the Robertson County Commission meeting held on June 17. He stated that although the resolution did not address the issues outlined by the City Manager, the issues were discussed by the Commission and the County Mayor. Chief Thompson stated that he is of the opinion that the County Commission has intention to implement the funding formula recommended by MTAS and CTAS. Alderman Ellis moved to authorize the expenditure to separate the consoles at the communication center if the Robertson County E-911 Board is reluctant to pay the cost. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 4.0 Consent Alderman Schneider moved for the approval of the consent items 4.1 and 4.2 of the agenda. The motion seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 4.1 Administration request for approval to award the bid for the construction of the ladies softball field at Springfield High School to SouthEastern Turf, LLC in the amount of $80,375.00 ($77,750 bid + $2,265.00 performance bond).  4.2 Springfield Electric Department request to award the bid for electric poles to Thomasson Company in the amount of $27,731.00. A special meeting was scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on July 9, 2013, for second reading of Ordinance 13-12, and a workshop on July 30, 2013 to discuss cost savings in the fiscal year 2014 budget. 5.0 City Manager’s Report Mr. Nutting announced that George James, Director of Planning, has been elected Chairman of the Tennessee Local Government Planning Advisory Committee. The Gorham-MacBane Public Library and United Way of Robertson County will host “Raise Your Hand Tennessee” this Friday, June 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the library. Ms. Chrissy Haslam, the First Lady of Tennessee, will be in attendance at 10:45 a.m. There will be storytelling and fun-filled activities to celebrate reading, mentoring, and community. This event will have food, drinks, and lots of fun. A summer library card will be available for all children who attend. A total of twenty (20) unsafe structures have been removed since January 1, 2013; twelve (12) by the property owners and eight (8) by the City. Four (4) unsafe structures are undergoing repair by the owners. 6.0 Adjournment With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned. ______________________________ Billy P. Carneal, Mayor Attest: ______________________________ Jane Shugart Murphy, City Recorder