The Rock Island City Council met for the second budget review session at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 15, 2003, in the Personnel Conference Room of Rock Island City Hall. Present were Mayor Mark W. Schwiebert, presiding, and Aldermen Terry M. A. Brooks I, David R. Conroy, John E. Bauersfeld, Vern L. Winter and Evelyn “Evie” R. White. Aldermen Beth Y. Mahlo and Frank J. Forlini, Jr. were absent. Staff present included City Manager John C. Phillips, Finance Director Bill Scott, Personnel Director/Assistant to the City Manager John Thorson, Accountant Tim Banks, Information Services Manager Claire Dubuisson, and Finance Secretary Niki Fallon. Other staff members were present for their specific departmental budgets.
Finance Director Bill Scott summarized a report that contained additional information requested by Council members at the Budget Session March 8. He also noted that the Public Hearing for the budget will be held Monday, March 17 at the Council Meeting, and the Budget Ordinance will be presented to Council for approval March 24. Also at the March 24 meeting, the revised Tax Levy Ordinance will be presented for approval.
Alderman Bauersfeld requested an update on the current status of terrorism preparation from Chief Dove, who is a member of the local committee on this issue. Alderman Winter asked about the CDBG funding, and Mr. Scott responded that the draw downs should be from the 2003 money now, but because of the loss of the staff member who handled these, they are behind. He stated that he and two other staff members attended a two-day workshop in Chicago to learn about this, and they are working on the drawdowns now. Mayor Schwiebert talked about the money for neighborhood housing, stating that he learned that Illinois is more active than some of the other states regarding lead based paint, and they have more zealous standards than other states.
Mr. Scott reviewed some budget adjustments, such as the decrease in the Health Insurance from 20% to 15% that was not reflected in the document. He stated that this represents an increase of $15,000 in the General Fund. He noted the decrease in salt and the addition of Regional Services of about $30,000. He stated that there would be a reduction in Income Tax revenue of about $145,000.
Mr. Scott reviewed the Finance Department budget, stating that thee were no major changes. HE stated that effective April 1, Information Technology would be a separate department. He stated that Personnel staff numbers were down by one, since the third Customer Service Representative position was removed from the budget. He noted the decrease in Supplies due to a decrease in the approved request for computer services.
Mr. Scott discussed the accomplishments of the Finance Department and the Information Services division. He noted the Intranet that includes Personnel Training calendar, TIPS and Tricks for the computers, and other sites of interest to employees. He stated that they are monitoring the employee use of the Internet to make sure that employees are using the system appropriately. He also stated that IS staff is providing training every Thursday afternoon for any employee who wishes to attend.
Mr. Scott discussed the plan to do an early implementation of GASB 34, and he reviewed the benefits of this. Alderman Winter stated that we have to understand the downstream effect of GASB 34, and Mr. Phillips noted that other issues would be considered. He discussed some of the interface issues with the software, and Disaster Recovery. He stated that the contract for Phone and Data systems will expire in 2005. Claire Dubuisson stated that they are looking at a formal Disaster Recovery Plan, since there is none in existence now. She stated that we have virus protection, security and firewalls, but no formal disaster recovery plan that will respond to both internal and external disasters.
At this time, Public Works Director Bob Hawes, and other Public Works personnel entered the meeting. Mr. Hawes reviewed the Operating Budget Highlights. He discussed the Staffing Levels, noting that the number of employees is unchanged, but there were some shifts in employees among the various divisions. He stated that the number of seasonal workers would increase about 11% due to additional hours in enterprise fund maintenance operations. He discussed the program changes, noting that they plan to return to the pre-2003 levels of pavement marking because the 2003 level was not working. He discussed the 11% reduction in the purchase of rock salt due to the use of the ant-icing program. He stated that the other changes included the elimination of the snow removal contract for the Great River Plaza and parking facilities, the reduction in street maintenance and an increase in the resources needed for landscape maintenance, the elimination of the Fall Clean-up Week, the new storm water management programs, and the deferral of all the fleet purchases for one year.
He discussed some of the issues on the horizon, including the Illinois Quad Cities storm water management ordinance, the implementation of the Storm Water Utility, the implementation of the new Storm Water Management Program, the resolution of the USEPA litigation, the implementation of the Quad City Regional Watershed Partnership and the expansion of the service delivery partnerships with Moline Public Works. He stated that they are looking at a large interconnection between Moline and Rock Island. Mr. Hawes reviewed discussions with the Rock Island Arsenal regarding their water services, but he noted that no decisions have been made at this time. He stated that the Centennial Bridge toll numbers are close to what was predicted.
Fire Chief Al Sinksen and Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Shirk entered the meeting at this time. Mr. Sinksen reviewed their budget, stating that their current budget is at 85%, so they are below the projected budget for this year. He stated that they had one civilian death in fires this past year, and one Department injury. He stated that their fleet of vehicles is in excellent shape, and the radios are working great. Alderman Bauersfeld asked if they had considered getting Nextel cell phones for the firefighters instead of radios, which would not cost as much as the radios. Chief Sinksen responded that the cell phones are less dependable for the firefighters who would be going into a building, since some of them do not operate inside buildings. He stated that the roof of Station 3 has to be redesigned and rebuilt.
Chief Sinksen discussed the ambulance charges, stating that they have a reduction in fees collected because many of their calls are Medicaid calls and Medicaid takes a long time to pay, and the amount they pay is considerably less than what is charged to the residents. He stated that Medicare is cutting back on their payments also.
Alderman White asked if there was a limitation on the types of calls they can respond to, explaining that she had been told of someone who called the ambulance to take her to a doctor appointment. Chief Sinksen stated that they respond to all calls, but are less responsive when the patient calls them for a return trip home from a doctor’s visit. Alderman Winter suggested that they look into the transporting, using off-duty firefighters and a reserve vehicle. Chief Sinksen stated that they could not use a reserve vehicle because they need to keep that available in case the main vehicle goes out. He indicated that he would look at the possibilities of this system.
Chief Sinksen discussed the training that the Firefighters are going through. He stated that they have been attending training at Blackhawk College, and the Fire Academy as well as joint Hazmat training with Moline, East Moline, the Arsenal and the Airport. He discussed the Knocks Box program, where the firefighters have access to one key that opens a box attached to a building. This box contains the key to enter the building and the firefighters then have access without having to control the large number of keys. He added that they also have the “File for Life” program, which encourages people to place a file on the refrigerator in their residence. The file would contain important information such as medication, allergies, etc. on the person or persons living at the residence so emergency crews can access the information if the person is unable to supply that in an emergency.
Alderman Bauersfeld suggested having a Study Session for an update on Homeland Security and the Hazardous Materials Program with Chief Dove and Chief Sinksen.
City Clerk Jeanne Paggen presented the budget for the Office of the City Clerk. She noted that there were no basic changes in the budget from previous years. She explained that the decrease in Supplies was due to the order for stationary items with the new logo this past year, and also to the new state purchasing for supplies that saves money on all items ordered.
Mayor Schwiebert commented on the slight increase in the cost for each Agenda. The City Clerk responded that there are more processes to make the Agenda accessible such as the Public Access Channel, the website, e-mailing it to some people and printing the hard copies.
Carol Gentry, Executive Secretary, Mayor/Manager’s Office, entered the room for this portion of the meeting to respond to questions about these budgets. She noted that the increase in Personnel was due to the increase in Health Insurance and Retirement costs. She stated that the increase in Services was in the purchase of Keys to the City for the Mayor.
Ms. Gentry explained that $15,000 was put in Community and Economic Development. She stated that Randy Tweet, the Information Program Services Director, has been eliminated from Professional Services, and the Volunteer Dinner costs have been decreased. She stated that representation was decreased, and there was a reduction in services.
John Thorson, Personnel Director/Assistant to the City Manager, and Risk Manager Troy Larson entered the meeting for this portion of the budget discussion. Mr. Thorson pointed out the elimination of the Management Intern, which decreased the budget by $29,000.00. He noted that the intern was active in the training scheduling as well as the purchasing process.
Alderman Bauersfeld suggested that they try to get an intern for free, stating that they are willing to intern for no pay for the experience. City Manager John Phillips stated that the interns that were hired here have been Graduate Students who were looking for a first entry-level job in Management. Mayor Schwiebert suggested they contact the new Augustana College President to see if he is interested in sending Augustana College student to intern with the City.
Mr. Thorson stated that the Safety Program has been eliminated, and Mr. Larson is looking at ways it can be implemented again. Mr. Larson noted that there are four lawsuits that are being monitored, and Mr. Thorson called attention to the 15% increase in the Health Insurance. He stated that the premiums may have to be adjusted some after six months, but all employees enrolled in the Insurance Program are in the Standard Plan. He added that the cost of reinsurance is $125,000.00.
A motion made by Alderman Bauersfeld and seconded by Alderman Winter to adjourn the meeting CARRIED on a Roll Call vote. AYES: Aldermen Brooks, Conroy, Bauersfeld, Winter and White. NAYS: None.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
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Jeanne F. Paggen, City Clerk