City Council

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012 IN CITY HALL Mayor Richard J. Notte called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Notte led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Walter C. Blessed, City Clerk, gave the Invocation. Council Members present at roll call: Deanna Koski, Richard J. Notte, Joseph V. Romano, Maria G. Schmidt, Paul Smith, Barbara A. Ziarko. Council Member absent: Michael C. Taylor (Excused). Also Present: Mark D. Vanderpool, City Manager; Jeffrey Bahorski, City Attorney; Walter C. Blessed, City Clerk; Madeline L. Ranella, Recording Secretary. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Moved by Koski, seconded by Romano, to approve the Agenda as presented. Yes: Koski, Romano, Schmidt, Smith, Ziarko, Notte. Absent: Taylor. The motion carried. BUDGET WORKSHOP DISCUSSION 1. Fire Department City Development Department Community Services Department Community Relations Public Works Department Water & Sewer Fund Legal The following residents spoke: Mr. Jeffrey Norgrove questioned the broadcasting of City Council meetings on AT&T and asked the City Council to consider that. Mr. Joe Judnick discussed fire department excessive wages. Mr. Chris Martin questioned whether residents would be allowed to speak after the presentations. Mayor Notte stated he would allow residents to speak on the budget item under communications from citizens. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 2 Mr. Vanderpool explained this is the third and final budget hearing before adoption of the budget on May 8th. He reminded the City Council if they had any suggested revisions or amendments to the budget that they wanted to be considered there should be a motion made this evening to amend the budget. Mr. Vanderpool stated at the conclusion of the agenda items, he and the City Attorney are recommending the City Council convene in closed session to discuss strategy in connection with labor negotiations. Mr. Brian Baker gave an overview of each of the departments being reviewed this evening. Interim Fire Chief Mike Deprez discussed operational efficiencies- technology and reductions in staffing levels. Mr. Mike Viazanko, Building Official, made a presentation on his department which encompasses Code Enforcement, the SHINE program, Planning and Building Services. Mrs. Tammy Turgeon, Library Director made a presentation on the Sterling Heights Public Library and Parks and Recreation. Mr. Steve Guitar, Community Relations Director, made a presentation and explained in addition to SHTV, government access programs are also available On-Demand and You Tube channels. Mr. Sal Conigliaro, Public Works Director, made a presentation on the Public Works Department and Water and Sewer Fund. Mayor Notte opened the discussion to the audience at this time. Mr. Jeffrey Norgrove asked the City Council to consider raising taxes. Mr. Joe Judnick inquired of Mr. Viazanko whether he expected violations to increase this year and whether they would be able to meet the demand. Mr. Viazanko responded with the proposed vacant property registration ordinance, they could bring in part time code inspectors to assist on foreclosures and they would keep up the best they could. Mr. Bob Haase, president of the Sterling Heights Firefighters IAFF Local 1557, discussed the loss of ten positions in the fire department. He stated since 1995, they have had four-man engine companies and there have been increases in runs. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 3 The fire department will have less people in 2012 than they had in 1995 with nearly double the workload. He stated these cuts would have an affect on street level services. Mr. Haase stated they could produce other revenue to the City if allowed to transport and this is still a viable option. He discussed SAFER grants as well and stated with both these options they could minimize the impact on layoffs in the Fire Department. Mr. Geoff Gariepy expressed concern with fire fighters safety and resident’s safety. He stated the City Council’s policy on public safety has been better safe than sorry. In regard to using volunteer fire fighters, Mr. Gariepy stated he has studied this and it would not work. He disagrees with cutting the four-man engines to three. He suggested we eliminate the medical runs by revamping Universal Ambulance’s role. Mr. Gariepy hopes there is time before adoption of the budget to take these things into consideration. Mr. Greg Thomas is most thankful to Mayor Notte and the City Council for the services to the City, the professionalism and dedication to the task during this tough process. He stated public safety has to be first and it is not good business sense to cut public safety. He stated we need four fire fighters on the trucks, not three. Mr. Thomas stated the suggestion for parking meters might be a good idea to raise our revenues; also collecting $300,000 annually from Universal Ambulance sounds good right now. We could have license fees for private ambulance companies that do business in our city, etc. Mr. Thomas also discussed fire department transport as another viable option. Mr. Chris Martin stated EMS transport is a huge issue and the fire department cannot get out of EMS service. He stated people still call the fire department even if an ambulance is on the scene. The fire fighters will do the best they can with what is given them. He urged the City Council to consider the retirement issue and refilling those positions. Mr. John Etnyre stated this city is no different than any other city. We are here again and 18% was not enough. He stated he is holding the City Council Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 4 accountable to the residents to spend what we have and no more. He stated the Council needs to look at alternative ways to balance the budget. Mayor Notte opened the discussion to the City Council. Councilman Smith questioned the cost to deliver library books to the homebound. Mrs. Turgeon responded they have a clerk that delivers the books once every three weeks and it costs about $9,000 annually. Councilman Smith discussed the US mail delivery of books for free. Mrs. Turgeon responded there is a library rate for things to be delivered through the mail, but it is not free. Even with that reduced rate, it is still less expensive for a clerk to deliver the books. Mrs. Turgeon stated they are going to be providing the homebound with the services once a month instead of every three weeks. Councilman Smith questioned the use of volunteers to deliver the books. Mrs. Turgeon responded people are comfortable with the clerk that comes to deliver the books. Councilman Smith questioned the savings from the elimination of soft drinks in the senior centers. Mrs. Turgeon responded $4,500 and they would be installing vending machines. Councilman Smith questioned Sunday operations. Mrs. Turgeon stated when that was eliminated in 2010, the cost savings at that time was $30,000. Councilman Smith questioned Steve Guitar about the cost of the new software for AT&T to broadcast City Council meetings. Mr. Guitar responded $7,000. Councilman Smith questioned the number of AT&T subscribers in Sterling Heights. Mr. Guitar responded that is proprietary information and AT&T would not provide that information to the City. Councilman Smith stated whether the City Council decides to do this will depend on the number of residents that would benefit from it. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 5 Mr. Guitar responded the City’s IT department is working with them to offer a different alternative. They want to offer live streaming through the Internet and this would be a free service sometime this summer. Councilman Smith discussed fixed costs on water rates and inquired when it would be collected. Mr. Conigliaro responded it is an annual charge. Councilman Smith had prepared some slides that he emailed to Mr. Vanderpool and inquired whether Mr. Vanderpool would show them at this time. Mr. Vanderpool responded it would be up to the City Council to decide whether he showed the slides since there is no rule or procedure under Council rules. Mayor Notte stated the City Council would be addressing Council Rules in May or June and these slides could be discussed at that time. Mayor Notte believes administration should review any presentation any Council member wants to make prior to it being presented, as this would prevent a lawsuit. Councilman Smith stated there is an $8 million shortfall and not enough to make up for the deficit. He stated in the past ten years, our City income has gone up 20% and City spending only went up 15%, which was a good effort toward cost control, but not enough. He stated the Fire and Police spending has increased significantly. Councilman Smith would agree to keep four fire fighters on a truck as long as it is done within their budget. He stated the departments have to run their operations within their budgets. Mr. Vanderpool responded with a point of clarification, the claim that we had an $8 million deficit is not really true. The amount of fund balance that we are using is $4.7 million. We don’t have a true deficit since we still have a fund balance. He discussed fund balance reserves and the importance of keeping it within the guidelines to save our AAA bond rating. Mr. Vanderpool discussed the elimination of personal property taxes and stated this is a huge hit for the City. He stated in order to balance the budget, we need to cut 163 positions. This proposed budget cuts 59 positions. Mr. Vanderpool stated the ideas to reduce the budget are all good ideas, but we have to consider the legal ramifications and financial implications. He recommends we continue with the budget as proposed. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 6 Councilwoman Koski discussed the low water bills in Sterling Heights compared to some other cities. She stated we reduced the first tier dollar amount by 5.9%, saving the average homeowner $4.00. She inquired the dollar amount per cubic foot compared to neighboring communities. Mr. Conigliaro responded it is up to the first 3,000 cubic feet. Mr. Baker added the first tier goes down by 4.2%. It is $16.00 per 1,000 cubic feet. Councilwoman Koski discussed the contract for Code V and whether it needs to come before City Council. Mr. Conigliaro stated Code V was the best proposal they received after they put specifications together and next Monday they will be starting in our City. Councilwoman Koski questioned the possibility of wireless access at the senior citizen center. Mrs. Turgeon stated Mr. Kyle Langlois is working with the IT department to determine if we will be able to do that. Councilwoman Koski stated Mrs. Turgeon is doing a fantastic job at the Library with her volunteer staff and the programs. She questioned the use of volunteers in the Library. Mrs. Turgeon stated they had a Friends of the Library board meeting last night and the Friends has a board member working at Oakland University and hopefully we will be able to get students to take over the after school space program. She stated they put something in the City magazine to get residents interested in different crafting ideas to do crafting programs for us. As far as essential functions, the Librarians and Circulation staff have to follow library privacy laws by the State of Michigan. Councilwoman Koski asked what residents could do if they wanted to volunteer their services or contribute money to the Library. Mrs. Turgeon responded donations are always welcome and residents could contact the Library directly. They have a form for donations and memorials. Councilwoman Koski questioned the vacant property registration and whether that would apply to foreclosed homes only. Mr. Viazanko stated it is targeted for foreclosed properties, but if there is residential property that might be rental property that has been vacant for six months or longer that Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 7 could fall under that also. The whole intent is for exterior property maintenance enforcement only. Councilwoman Koski questioned the fee and when it would be instituted. Mr. Viazanko stated they are working with the City Attorney’s Office to draft the ordinance. They are looking in the $250.00 range that would be good for 2 years. Councilwoman Koski discussed reinspections for occupancy on foreclosed properties. Mr. Viazanko stated that discussion has come up recently. Right now they are trying to prioritize how they handle that. They have no right to entry at this time and there is no ordinance in place. Councilwoman Koski suggested there be some type of brochure to the buyer with the City’s code requirements for occupancy. Mr. Viazanko has been working on a property checklist for minimum code requirements and it is something they can work into some type of advertisement. They can encourage people to request inspections. Councilwoman Koski questioned what would happen if the number of fire fighters fell below 91; would he notify the City Council or would the positions remain vacant until next year? Mr. Vanderpool responded there are two realities and until we hit the 33 number or some sort of revenue replacement, we cannot fill positions that come open. Until there is a new collective bargaining agreement, we cannot fill positions either. Councilwoman Koski discussed SAFER grants and whether the City is monitoring when they become available. Mr. Vanderpool stated it is a program that is a potential option, but there is a fundamental problem with the grant. It locks the City in and you have to agree not to reduce positions any further and there are some stringent requirements. He stated when the crisis subsides, this is something we can look at in the future. Councilwoman Koski questioned the reimbursement of medical supplies for first responders. Mr. Vanderpool stated it is an option for the City. It is a budgeted revenue source and something they intent to revisit in the future. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 8 Councilwoman Schmidt questioned the rate of recovery for code enforcement and nuisance abatement fees. Mr. Viazanko responded bills that come in from our city contractors are assessed an administrative fee and a meeting fee and they are passed on to the property owners and if not paid, they are placed as a lien on the property and paid with their taxes. The expenses have been recovered. Councilwoman Schmidt discussed the delivery of books to the homebound residents. Mrs. Turgeon responded the clerk takes material that is left in the senior residence facilities and replaces it every six months. Councilwoman Schmidt discussed the elimination of the Museum Pass program. Mrs. Turgeon stated Macy’s pulled that program, but there is going to be an online program for the summer months. Residents would still have to use their library cards to have access to that program. It should be available this summer. Councilwoman Schmidt discussed whether the fixed fee for the water bill was going to be a separate bill. Mr. Conigliaro stated it would be quarterly and part of the water bill. Councilwoman Schmidt questioned mosquito spraying. Mr. Conigliaro stated it would be done, but they have cut back on the program. Councilwoman Schmidt discussed curbside recycling and stated people are anxious to get this started. She thanked Mr. Conigliaro for his part in initiating the program. Councilwoman Schmidt questioned the availability of the soccer field at Baumgartner Park. Mr. Langlois stated they are hoping to get some use in the fall. A lot of rocks and debris are being removed at this time. Councilwoman Schmidt questioned the survey by Community Relations and the target number of residents to reach out to. Mr. Guitar responded the last survey was with 3,000 residents, a random sample. The new budget for $7,000 would limit that and they would have to work with the National League of Cities and NCS to determine what that sample size would be. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 9 Councilwoman Schmidt discussed the fire department and stated she wants a full service fire department and not a volunteer one. She expressed concern with going below the threshold and stated the City Council should be informed and given the option to fill those positions. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned Chief Deprez’s opinion on three man rigs so that she could make an informed decision. Chief Deprez responded to meet the budget objectives they were given, they have been making significant cuts to their department. He stated three man engines is a growing concept industry-wide. They are able to keep all stations open, insure 24-7 response capabilities and keep existing vehicles in service without shutting anything down and at the same time assure fire fighter safety. Councilwoman Ziarko stated our City employees are all very important and every department is important because we are a full service community and this is the way we want to keep it. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned the amount of money generated with the 1.9 mill increase and the effect on the City if we had not done that. Mr. Baker responded the 1.9 mills got the City about $9 million. The 1.9 mills now because of the declining tax base gets us less than $8 million. Our tax revenues are at the lowest in eight years even with the 1.9 mills because of the huge decline in assessments. We would have been in much worse shape without this 1.9 mill increase. Councilwoman Ziarko stated what we did two years ago was effective. She stated some of the City Council members would like to see a public safety millage on the budget and this is something that needs to be discussed. Councilwoman Ziarko agrees that the citizen survey is very important and agrees with Councilwoman Schmidt that we need to survey more people in these economic times. She inquired the possibility of doubling the amount allocated. Mr. Guitar stated they would have to discuss this with the NCS and find out what bang for the dollar we could get and options available to us. They will try to make that a priority. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 10 Mr. Vanderpool added one of the things that drive the cost of the survey is not the number of surveys, but the confidence level desired. He stated they could report back to the Council with different options. Councilwoman Ziarko discussed foreclosed and non-occupied homes. She inquired the process by the banks and mortgage companies to fill the vacancies in a home that has been gutted. Mr. Viazanko responded the mortgage companies don’t really care. They are trying to flip the homes and sell them as is. It is buyer beware and they have to do their due diligence. He discussed the problem with the permit issue also. He stated the only way to eliminate the permit issue is to come up with a real estate transfer program. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned whether the City is restricting progress in what we are requiring and if there is anything the City can do to alleviate that process so the home could be occupied faster. Mr. Viazanko responded they work very diligently with people that come to their department and want to see the records. They don’t usually become the obstacle in any real estate sale for those homes. Councilwoman Ziarko discussed the homebound book delivery and stated as long as we try to resurrect it next year, she can live with that. Mrs. Turgeon stated they would work it out for this year so the people that are getting the service now would continue to get it. They plan to ask for CDBG funds for next year. Councilwoman Ziarko stated the model for funding municipal services is broken and we don’t have a solution to that problem. She is hoping that everything planned works and gets us through this year. Councilman Romano questioned the number of employees removed from Community Relations in the last two years. Mr. Guitar responded five last year and a sixth one this proposed year. Councilman Romano questioned the number of employees they started with. Mr. Guitar stated that used to have 21 people and now they have 7. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 11 Councilman Romano questioned the talk about going to a telephone menu system and stated he wants to see that phone answered by a person. He put Mr. Vanderpool to task to find another person to help in answering the phone. Councilman Romano questioned the impact to the fire department with the loss of $5 million out of their budget. Chief Deprez stated it would have a devastating impact and they would not be able to deliver any remote semblance of the services they deliver today. Mayor Notte stated when this City was in good times, we paid all our employees very well. Right now we cannot afford what we negotiated in the budget. He stated somewhere down the road we need revenue recovery and we might have to go with a public safety millage. Mayor Notte stated we always had a full service fire department and he wants to continue to have a full service fire department. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Mr. Bob Haase – Willing to work with the City to find solutions to the economic problems; Offered to assist library with delivery of books to homebound. Mr. Geoff Gariepy – Showing of Councilman Smith’s slides, equal rights. Mr. Jeffrey Norgrove – Suggestions to raise revenues – increase ticket fines, sell TV ad time on the City channel, vending machine for beverages, sell ads for Sterlingfest; agrees with live operator for phones. Mr. Joe Judnick - $50,000 for engineering fees to pave a road for 30 residents; construction barrels at several locations; Gainsley Drive status; Gas station at 18 Mile and Mound special land use permit; Forum 30 liquor license; Status of striping in the City. Mr. Greg Thomas – Councilman Smith’s slides. Mr. George Hamcik – City’s bond rating, Against AMC liquor license; City of Utica’s directional sign blocking view. REPORTS FROM CITY ADMINISTRATION AND CITY COUNCIL There was no report from Mr. Bahorski or Mr. Vanderpool at this time. Councilman Smith stated he keeps hearing statements that we have a problem, but what we have is a state of nature. Our income is $125 million and this is an average income Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Page 12 that we will have for a long time. We have to figure out how to live our life on the reality of what our income is. CLOSED SESSION PERMITTED UNDER ACT 267 OF 1976 Moved by Ziarko, seconded by Romano, to recess to closed session to discuss strategy in connection with labor relations. Roll call vote: Yes: Ziarko, Romano, Smith, Koski, Notte, Schmidt. Absent: Taylor. The motion carried. The meeting was recessed at 10:30 p.m. ADJOURN Moved by Schmidt, seconded by Koski, to adjourn the meeting. Yes: Schmidt, Koski, Notte, Smith, Ziarko. Absent: Romano, Taylor. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:44 p.m. WALTER C. BLESSED, City Clerk