Finance Committee

City of Verona Finance Committee City Hall – 111 Lincoln Street Verona, WI 53593-1520 MINUTES FINANCE COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Verona Finance Committee held its meeting as a virtual meeting. The Finance Committee did not meet at City Hall, 111 Lincoln Street. Members of the Finance Committee and Staff joined the meeting by using Zoom Webinar. Members of the public were able to join the meeting using Zoom Webinar via a computer, tablet, or smartphone, or by calling into the meeting via phone. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Chad Kemp at 5:05 p.m. Roll Call: Chairperson Chad Kemp and Alder Christine Posey were present, Alder Kate Cronin was having internet issues at the beginning of the meeting. Also present: Mayor Luke Diaz, City Administrator Adam Sayre, Finance Director Brian Lamers, Library Director Stacey Burkart, Parks Director Dave Walker, Recreation Director Casey Dudley and Public Works Director Theran Jacobson. Discussion and Possible Action regarding approval of September 14, 2020 Finance Committee minutes: Motion was made by Kemp, seconded by Posey to approve the September 14, 2020 Finance Committee minutes with no changes noted. Motion carried 2-0. Alder Kate Cronin was present. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Updates on the 2021 Department Budgets: Library Director Stacey Burkart went over the budget and stated the budget meets the County minimum funding that is required. She stated the County funds went up by 11.4%. Within the budget, there is a reclassification of a 60% Library Assistant to a Library Assistant II, which is a grade increase from 5 to 6. There was also an increase in hours for a Library Page II from 520 hours to 832 hours. Burkart stated some of the additional expenses were from PPE cost and the Public Works chargeback for snowplowing. She went over some of the other changes, including cost for curbside pickup. Recreation Director Casey Dudley stated his budget is a lot like the prior year with the assumption that they will be able to do all the programs next year. He stated expenditures were mainly up due to COLA and other Fringes. Revenues were up by $10,200 mainly due to the beach and a couple other programs. Parks Director Dave Walker went through the Parks Budget and stated that personnel costs were up with the change in COLA and increase in fringes, mainly health insurance. He stated there www.ci.verona.wi.us was a decrease in electrical that was shifted to the Public Works budget. He then went over the Cemetery budget and the Forestry budget. He stated that there were about 90% of the Ash trees that are treated, which they do about 250 every year since 2016. Public Works Director Theran Jacobson went over the Public Works budget and stated the overtime was kept at the same hours, which is for snow removal and emergency response. There is some for engineering which is cheaper than contracting it out. Jacobson went through some of the line items and stated that in the other supplies and expenses was an offset for the chargeback to Library and Fire Department for snow removal. In street repair and maintenance there is an increase in crack filling and line painting. Jacobson reviewed the street lighting budget and determined that the maintenance portion could be reduced. He stated the amount of salt usage has not been increase in the last 2 years, however the unit price of the salt keeps in increasing. Jacobson went over the Refuse and Recycling budget and stated the cost per year for the property owner is proposed to go from $179 to $182, which is to cover the cost of the increase by the vendors for collection. Jacobson discussed the Water budget and one of the changes was an overlap of 13 weeks for the Water Operation person that is going to be retiring in spring of 2021. Other cost changes are partly attributed to Well 6 going live. Jacobson went over the Sewer budget and stated the overtime was kept the same. There was $4,000 added for a confined space lift air tester and recirculation system to be OSHA compliant. There was addition cost added for 3rd party cleaning of lines, etc. in case not enough staff with all the additions. He stated he built in a 3% increase in charges for Madison Metro Sewerage District, which we will not know the actual increase until November. Jacobson went through Storm Water budget and stated not much change besides a small increase in chargeback from the Parks Department for mowing. Jacobson asked the Committee for a new position that would start in July 2021 so would be funded for half a year. The individual that is retiring in spring also did plowing in winter. The replacement would be more utilized for the utilities and this new position would be trained for plowing. Jacobson stated there are two things, one would be this individual getting hired in summer would be trained before winter and learn the route with all the risk with snowplowing and currently there are no spare people. The second reason is due to the growth of the City. The last time there was an addition to the department was 2014. The Committee discussed the position and felt that with the budget being so tight this year that this position should be held off for now but deferred to the Personnel Committee. Alder Kate Cronin was excused, but stated she was in support of the Air Purifier System for the Library, due to the amount of people that use the building. Discussion and Possible Action regarding CARES Funding for COVID-19 Expenditures in regards to Air Purifier Systems in City Buildings: Sayre stated that the cost for the system would be approximately $20,000 for Library, City Hall $26,000, Public Works $10,000, Senior Center approximately $7,000-$8,000 and Fire Department $35,000. The total cost would be around www.ci.verona.wi.us $100,000 for all City buildings. There was discussion about the maintenance and the replacement of the units. Sayre stated that the maintenance didn’t seem like it would be much and last at least 5-10 years, but there was no data in the information on that. Sayre stated this couldn’t really wait since it would have to be done by November 6th to submit for the CARES funding. Kemp felt the City should have this system installed. Posey agreed that this is probably something of what the future looks like and felt that CARE funding would apply based on the wording stating to mitigate risks. Lamers stated the Committee would have to find the funds to pay for the systems and then submit with the understanding that the grant may not cover this. Even if they do reimburse and since this is Federal funding the City could be audited for several years after to see if it is a qualifying expense. So the City has to be prepared to repay it back also. A motion was made by Kemp, seconded by Posey to install the Air Purifier Systems in all City Buildings at an estimated cost of $100,000, with the funds coming out of building replacement funds, with the intent that the CARES grant will cover the expenditures once submitted, with the funds returned back to the building replacement funds. Adjournment: Motion was made by Kemp, seconded by Posey, to adjourn the Finance Committee Meeting at 6:36 p.m. Motion carried 2-0. Respectfully submitted, Brian Lamers CPA Finance Director www.ci.verona.wi.us