City Council

Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 2011 Page 1 City of Taylorsville SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING Minutes Wednesday June 8 2011 Council Chambers 2600 West Taylorsville Blvd Room No 140 Taylorsville Utah 84118 6 0 0m p Attendance Mayor Russ Wall Council Members City Staff Council Chairman Jerry Rechtenbach John Inch Morgan City Administrator Vice Larry Johnson Chairman John Brems City Attorney Council Member Dama Barbour Cheryl Peacock Cottle City Recorder Council Member Bud Catlin Jessica Springer Council Coordinator Council Member Morns Pratt Mark McGrath Community Development Director Scott Harrington Chief of Finance Del Craig Chief of Police Donald Adams Grants Manager Marsha Thomas Judge Patrick Tomasino Building Official Lisa Schwartz Emergency Response Coordinator Wayne Dial Assistant Police Chief Keith Snarr Economic Development Director Michael Kwan Judge Kathy Lemay Building Assistant Jean Ashby Economic Development Assistant Gerry Orr Accounting Clerk Citizens Israel Grossman Mike Taylor Donna Jackson Kristie Overson Dave Ballou Steve Ashby Gordon Wolf Jay Ziolkowski Cathy McKitrick Aimee Newton Lynn Handy Teresa Rechtenbach Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 2011 Page 2 54Chairman Jerry Rechtenbach called the Special City Council Meeting to order at 0 00 18 6 1 p and welcomed those in attendance City Recorder Cheryl Peacock Cottle conducted a Roll m Call wherein all Council Members were present Closed Session a Strategy Session to Discuss the Professional Competence of an Individual 18 Council Member Larry Johnson MOVED to convene a Closed Session to discuss the 0138 professional competence of an individual at 0 6 p Council Member Morris Pratt 2m SECONDED the motion Chairman Jerry Rechtenbach called for discussion on the motion There being none he called for call aroll vote The vote was as follows yes Pratt Johnson yes and Rechtenbach yes Barbour yes Catlin yes All members of the City Council voted and the motion carried by a unanimous vote CLOSED SESSION Those in attendance at this Closed Session were Mayor Russ Wall City Administrator John Inch Morgan Council Members Barbour Catlin Johnson Pratt and Rechtenbach City Attorney John Brems Police Chief Del Craig and City Recorder Cheryl Peacock Cottle A meeting of the City Council held on Wednesday June 8 2011 was closed to discuss the character and professional competence of an individual wherein no other items were discussed Council Member Larry Johnson MOVED to adjourn this Closed Session at 4 6 8m pand convene the Special City Council Meeting Council Member Bud Catlin SECONDED the motion Chairman Jerry Rechtenbach called for discussion on the motion There being none he called for a call roll vote The vote was as follows yes Pratt Johnson yes Barbour yes Catlin yes and Rechtenbach yes All members of the City Council present voted and the motion carried by a unanimous vote Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 2011 Page 3 2 Citizen Comments 41Chairman Jerry Rechtenbach reconvened the Special City Council Meeting He 48 18 reviewed the Citizen Comment Procedures for the audience He then called for any citizen comments 50There were no comments and Chairman Rechtenbach declared the citizen comment 18 period closed 3 Budget Discussion John Inch Morgan 36Council Chair Jerry Rechtenbach referenced the Summazy of Changes Sheet that was 51 18 provided by Chief Financial Officer Scott Harrington It was noted that the summary cites previous items that have been either placed in or taken out of the budget as well as summarizing the remaining fund balance Chairman Rechtenbach commented that any decisions heretofore have been binding non and were purely based on a poll ofthe City Council Members He said that ultimately once all suggestions and changes have been made there will be a final vote by the City Council to either approve or disapprove the budget 40Chief of Finance Scott Harrington described recent versions of budget including 51 18 changes 8 1 59 2 Council Member Morris Pratt referenced the summary sheet regarding use of the Fund Balance and cited the different numbers presented Mr Harrington clazified that one number is the actual amount and the other number reflects the possible changes that the City Council requested 43 Council Member Pratt asked that the Court be given an opportunity to discuss changes 54 18 made to their budget as per direction given by the City Council at the last Council Meeting 15 Judge Kwan described changes that were made to the Court Budget beginning with 55 18 increasing the fines and forfeitures projections by 70 000 and decreasing other sections including jury fees witness fees and the network maintenance line Kwan noted that Judge before the Bailiffs were added to the Court Budget there was only a 10 of 1increase requested He indicated that the additional cuts were made from an already lean budget He relayed that there are no guarantees that the Court will not be back at Year Mid with requests for budget increases 10 Chairman Rechtenbach reviewed the changes to the Court Budget found under Tab 3 of 00 19 the budget documents Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 201 Page 4 03 Judge Kwan acknowledged that he doesn 01 19 t feel entirely comfortable with the Court Budget because it was already lean before the recent cuts excluding the Bailiffs 45Council Member Morris Pratt asked about the temporary employees that were budgeted 01 19 and whether they were cut from the budget Judge Kwan answered that the temporary employees were kept in the budget because of the return in accounts receivable and their work on back billing Council Member Pratt also pointed out an error in the total numbers reflected in the cost of the bailiffs to the Court He asked that the numbers be reviewed and changed accordingly 19 04Council Member Barbour commented on the chart that Judge Kwan m e ailed regarding how other cities that operate courts are doing financially Ms Barbour stated that it is difficult to Taylorsville budget overall does not compare with other tobecause s compare budget cities Judge Kwan agreed that the numbers will not be the same however the Council has stated in the past that the Taylorsville Court should be performing like other courts He said that comparing the Taylorsville Court to other cities is not a fair analysis as Taylorsville does not budget like other cities 15Council Member Bud Catlin asked about the bailiffs and where Judge Kwan believes 06 19 their budget should be allocated Judge Kwan responded that even though bailiffs are a function of the Court the bailiffs should not be a Court expense because the Judge has no authority over them Judge Kwan stated that there used to be a bifurcated expense line to take care of these types of issues 12Council Member Catlin referenced problem 09 19 solving courts and stated opinion that eliminating these courts would cut costs Judge Kwan responded that the Court still handles those cases whether or not the solving problem courts are run He stated however that cases are handled less efficiently without the problem solving courts 23 Mayor Russ Wall acknowledged that he respects Judge Kwan and appreciates the work 11 19 he has put forth on this budget Mayor Wall said he understands the s Judge frustration He noted that the Court has been losing money but every change that has been made to the Court Budget has been made in a public meeting under the direction of the Council 14Council Member Pratt addressed the concerns regarding comparison of the Taylorsville 13 19 Court to other cities Council Member Pratt stated that there is nothing else for the Council to other courts He noted that in the ma ail sent from Judge Kwan it was stated that compare except the courts listed were comparative as far as case load Council Member Pratt referenced Midvale City and the fact that Taylorsville City has more staff than Midvale He said that when considering salaries wages and benefits combined s Taylorsville budget also exceeds Midvale numbers Judge Kwan answered that the difference between Midvale and Taylorsville s tthe number of cases but rather the differences in the types of cases He explained that isn Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 2011 Page 5 Midvale has far more traffic cases which aze less likely to be contested He stated that Taylorsville far exceeds Midvale in criminal cases which are more likely to generate extra court time and raise expenses in the Court 56Council Member Dama Barbour stated that she doesn 18 19 twant to manage the Court however she is concerned with the 200000 deficit in the Court She suggested that Taylorsville citizens cannot afford this kind of deficit Judge Kwan responded that the citizens in Taylorsville will not be paying anything more for the Court this year than they were last year He clarified that the change in the Court Budget is due to the bailiffs being added Council Member Barbour commended the Judge for finding 92 000 in additional cuts to the Court Budget 33Council Member Morris Pratt MOVED to support the recommended Court changes as 22 19 outlined with the idea that the Council can always re open any budget issues for adjustments at the mid year point 30Chairman Jerry Rechtenbach clarified what changes have already been made to the 23 19 current budget presented He confirmed that Court Budget changes have been approved and reflected in the current budget 33 Council Member Pratt asked for clarification on a CDBG line item Scott Harrington 24 19 clarified that the reflected 16 reduction was made by the federal government Mayor Wall stated that the changes to the CDBG budget have been previously adopted by Council resolution 10Council Member Morris Pratt referenced two outstanding issues regarding 26 19 employee compensation He cited the first issue of determining whether the City is absorbing the cost increase to health insurance at its current level or if a change is being made He said the second issue is whether there will be any salary adjustments or wage increases for employees 02John Inch Morgan clarified that the options for health insurance outlined by Jim 27 19 Dunnigan and m e ailed to the Council aze still open for discussion He noted that the current budget reflects no changes with both the City and employees absorbing the 16 increase to health insurance 46Mr Morgan discussed each insurance option and outlined their differences Discussion 27 19 ensued and the Council was polled on which option should be chosen 01 Council Member Johnson stated that if a change is made it should be to Option One 33 19 which increases the deductible Council Member Barbour commented that raising the deductible amount is taking more money away from employee families Council Member Catlin questioned the difference between the two benchmazks and clarification was given Chairman Rechtenbach Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 2011 Page 6 stated that the current option would save the City approximately 70 000 Council Member Catlin recommended leaving benefits as they are currently shown in the budget Council Member Pratt stated that as he is opposed to any salazy adjustments this year he has no problem seeing health insurance left as is 33Council Member Morris Pratt relayed that he believes employee salaries should remain 35 19 frozen again for this yeaz especially if the City is absorbing the full health insurance cost He noted that the Council can always make adjustments at yeaz mid 11 Chairman Rechtenbach asked what the savings on the budget would be if the salary 36 19 increases were removed John Inch Morgan responded that the performance fortotal would pay be 58 437 of which 40 77 952 is for the Police Department Council Member Pratt noted that some benefit costs would change as well for example the Social Security match Council Member Pratt calculated the savings to be just under 70 000 54Council Member Johnson stated that he is not in favor ofthe salary increases and also 9 1 3 6 has concern regarding restoration of the 5 8 00 for the three employees whose salazies were previously reduced He stated his opinion that the situation was already handled properly 47 Chairman Rechtenbach responded that the employees have taken a hit for several years 37 19 not only with salary freezes but also with increased insurance costs He addressed the 58 00 salary restoration amount He agreed that the Council acted within its authority in that regard but said he does not believe those actions were right Chairman Rechtenbach stated his opinion that the employees who were affected were the wrong people to have been punished for this mistake He noted that the Council chose not to reprimand the supervisors who made the error Chairman Rechtenbach relayed that he would also support a higher deductible on health insurance allowing employees more leeway and control over health care He suggested that doing so would still decrease City costs and give the budget room for salary increases 29Council Member Barbour stated that she would like to see salary increases and also 39 19 wants to reinstate the 5 8 00 amount for the three employees whose salazies were affected 47Chairman Rechtenbach proposed the new option of raising the insurance deductible and 39 19 including salary increases and employee salazy reinstatements He called for a council vote and the vote was as follows Rechtenbach yesJohnson no Pratt no Barbour yes and Catlin no The vote was three toagainst the proposal two 26Council Member Catlin proposed taking the salazy increases and wage reinstatement 40 19 out of the budget and leaving the health insurance as it currently is in the budget He said he believes the health insurance is very important Chairman Rechtenbach polled the Council on Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 201 l Page 7 Council Member s Catlin proposal and the vote was as follows no Rechtenbach yes Johnson yes no Pratt Barbour and Catlin yes The vote was three toin favor of the proposal two 05Chairman Rechtenbach asked the Council if there were any other changes on the 42 19 budget as it currently stands Council Member Johnson relayed that after further consideration he now believes the 350 000 for road maintenance under Public Works should be removed from the budget and that the 850 000 that is in there now is enough Chairman Rechtenbach asked for a Council vote on Council Member s Johnson request and the vote was as follows Rechtenbach Johnson no yes Pratt no no Barbour and Catlin no The vote was one to four against the proposal Council Member Catlin stated that he would be in favor of reducing the road maintenance budget by some lesser amount Chairman Rechtenbach commented that at some point the Council has to be willing to make an investment in the City He implored members to start thinking about s future and said the Council has to be willing to spend money to maintain the Taylorsville City assets or the community will continue to go downhill Council Member Pratt said that s after receiving additional detail on road conditions he believes the additional 350 000 should remain It was confirmed that the road maintenance line item will stand as is 49 Council Member Pratt commended Scott Harrington for doing an excellent job with the 46 19 budget and keeping track of the many changes He suggested that before there is a final vote a more polished document be provided reflecting changes that were discussed this evening 23 Mayor Wall confirmed that Administration will have an updated budget including all 50 19 changes for a vote at the next regular Council Meeting 4 Resolution No 11 16 Adopting a Budget for all City of Taylorsville Municipal Funds for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1 2011 and Ending June 30 2012 Making Appropriations for the Support of the City of Taylorsville for the Same Fiscal Year Period and Determining the Rate of Tax and Levying Taxes Upon all Real and Personal Property within the City of Taylorsville Utah John Inch Morgan 50Council Member Morris Pratt MOVED to table Resolution No 11 19 16 Adopting a Budget for all City of Taylorsville Municipal Funds for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1 2011 and Ending June 30 2012 Making Appropriations for the Support of the City of Taylorsville for the Same Fiscal Year Period and Determining the Rate of Tax and Levying Taxes Upon all Real and Personal Property within the City of Taylorsville Utah until June 15 2011 keeping in mind that all confirmed changes will be included in the new budget document Council Member Bud Catlin SECONDED the motion Chairman Rechtenbach called for discussion on the motion There being none he called for a roll call vote The vote was as follows Johnson yes Pratt yes yes and Rechtenbach yes Barbour Catlin yes All City Council members voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously Taylorsville City Council Minutes June 8 20 Page 8 5 Other Matters 14 Council Member Pratt thanked 52 19 Emergency Response Coordinator Lisa Schwartz for City Emergency Preparation Kits her efforts with the s He inquired whether the City purchased the kits and if so whether the 19 25 price listed on the backpack is accurate 29Lisa Schwartz explained that funding came from a 2009 regional grant designated for 53 19 the hour 72kits Ms Schwartz then stated that the price tag listed on the backpacks is the price for the backpack only and that the actual price of the full kit is 34 99 based on the quantity ordered She said there is also an additional cost for two items that were not included in the pack originally e i a Mylaz sleeping bag and a splint 48 Council Member Pratt suggested that if possible the hour 53 19 72kits be made available at cost to the general public on the City s website Ms Schwartz agreed that this is something that can be discussed with the applicable vendor to if they are willing to extend the special see pricing to the public She clarified that part ofthe price is contingent on the quantity ordered so with a larger quantity the price may be reduced even further 12 Council Member Johnson asked if it is 56 19 possible for the City to sell these Emergency Prepazation Kits for a profit at the s City Taylorsville Dayzz Booth He suggested using the increase as a fundraiser for the Veterans Memorial Mayor Wall agreed that a fundraiser is a good idea if it is done on an ordered as basis He stated that the City would need to check with the vendor to make sure there is no problem with sales competition John Inch Morgan affirmed that he will investigate what needs to be done to make sure vendors have equal opportunity to bid on providing this equipment on a larger scale 6 Adjournment 37 Council Member Bud Catlin MOVED to adjourn the 57 19 Special City Council Meeting Council Member Larry Johnson SECONDED the motion Chairman Rechtenbach called for discussion There being none he called for a vote The vote was as follows Johnson yes Pratt yes Barbour es and Rechtenbach yes Catlin yes All City Council members voted in favor and motion pas he dun nrmously The meeting was adjourned at 5 7 7m p Cheryl Peaco Cottle City Recorder Minutes approved CC 07 11 20 Minutes Prepared by Cheryl Peacock Cottle City Recorder and Jessica Springer Deputy Recorder