LEGISLATIVE, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
The Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee meeting was held on October 8, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. with Chairman Slavin presiding. Members present were Mr. Salters, Mr. McGlumphy, Mrs. Jones and Mr. Shevock. Members of Council present were Mr. Carey, Mr. McGiffin, Mr. Hogan, Mr. Ruane, and Mayor Williams.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Mr. Shevock moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. McGlumphy and unanimously carried.
Public Affairs Coordinator Update
The Public Affairs Coordinator Update was deferred by the committee during their meeting of September 24, 2007. Mr. DePrima reminded members that he was requested to provide an update on the new Public Affairs Coordinator position that was created replacing the City Manager’s Administrative Assistant position. He introduced Ms. Kay Deitz-Sass, Public Affairs Coordinator, and advised members that she began employment with the City on June 25, 2007.
Mr. DePrima reviewed the job description and responsibilities of the Public Affairs Coordinator. On average, Ms. Deitz-Sass handles four (4) to five (5) citizen issues each day. He advised members that the City is investing in a Citizen Request Management Software, which is a centralized program that will allow people to communicate over the Internet and allow the tracking of complaints to be monitored by City staff as well as members of Council. Ms. Deitz-Sass will also be responsible for issuing a City Newsletter to communicate to citizens and will have a section dedicated for members of Council. In addition, he stated that the Customer Quarterly that is distributed with the City’s utility bills will become the responsibility of Ms. Deitz-Sass and that she will also be coordinating any flyers that are distributed to customers.
Mr. DePrima also advised members that Ms. Deitz-Sass has direct contact with the media, issuing news releases, Mayoral statements, letters to the editors, coordinating public announcements, emergency management statements, etc. She also monitors the City’s Website to assure its accuracy and posting of information. She will also be assisting department heads in developing statements for the media and will be available for members of City Council in this regard as well. Ms. Deitz-Sass has been assigned to special events, such as the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, Dover Arts Council, and will be coordinating the City’s participation at the African American Festival. In the future, it is hoped that through the franchise negotiations with Verizon, the City will have access to a channel on the cable to allow for announcements dedicated to City information such as meetings, events, etc.
Ms. Deitz-Sass stated that the Citizen Request Management Software Program bolts into the City’s existing Website, which will allow citizens to file reports from home regarding any concerns or issues, or they can contact a City employee either in person or over the telephone to file such reports. The citizen will be able to track the status of the issue. The program will allow for consistent information, it will also provide information as to who is dealing with the issue, when it will be resolved, and accountability. The system will also assist in assuring that issues are resolved in a timely manner. Ms. Deitz-Sass stated that the program provides reports and provided members a sample of the reports (Attachment #1).
Cost Benefit Analysis Model for Annexations
Mrs. Mitchell, Treasurer/Finance Director, advised members that the Annexation Cost Benefit Model was developed as a tool for providing guidance to the committees and Council for annexation approvals. She explained that the model takes into consideration only one aspect of the annexation review and does not consider all the socio-economic aspects.
The Annexation Cost Benefit Model was developed in a manner that would highlight the estimated financial impact of the City’s three (3) major funds (General, Water/Wastewater, and Electric). The
model also combines the net results of the three (3) major funds to determine the overall financial impact to the City. All the calculations are based on current dollars and are not adjusted for inflation. The model uses budget estimates and historical trends to calculate the financial impact.
Mrs. Mitchell advised members that in recent presentations it has been noted that the overall financial impact to the City has been presented with no presentation of the impact by major Fund. In doing so, Council is not aware if the proposed annexation creates a deficit for any one Fund and there is no discussion of how that deficit should be addressed. She stated that the Planning Department encounters problems when the land use for an approved annexation changes after the model has been presented for the originally proposed land use, which was the case with the Carey Farm. Mrs. Mitchell explained that the model for the Carey Farm was developed based on the original proposal of 300 plus residential units; however, since this time, the land has been purchased by the Capital School District as a school site. She advised members that another concern is that the property value being used for the property taxes are reflective of the County’s valuation since, at the time of the application, the parcel is not in the City limits.
Staff recommended the following: 1) the Annexation Cost Benefit Model be presented with the financial impact shown for each major fund and a discussion of how deficits will be resolved; 2) the Annexation Cost Benefit Model be revised when recent annexations apply for rezoning; and 3) the City Assessor perform a valuation on the parcel based on the City’s valuation methods and provide the input to the Planning Department for the model.
Mr. Salters moved to recommend approval of the amended Annexation Cost Benefit Model, as recommended by staff, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.
City Manager’s Budget Tracking Report
Members were provided the City Manager’s Annual Budget Tracking Report, which reflects each department’s percentage budget for the past five (5) years. Mr. DePrima, City Manager, advised members that he utilizes this report as a management tool for his department heads and explained that each of his departments have a goal to be within 5% of their budget and is scored accordingly which is included in the department head’s annual performance evaluation.
Mr. Salters moved to recommend acceptance of the City Manager’s Budget Tracking Report as presented, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.
Review of 2005 Charter Review Committee Recommendations
During their meeting of September 10, 2007, members approved the schedule for completion of a comprehensive review of the 2005 Charter Review Committee Recommendations, including public hearings in each election district, over the next six (6) months. As scheduled, members considered the recommendations to Article I - General Provisions, of the Dover Charter, as follows:
Preamble
Mr. Ruane noted that the recommendation is to include a Preamble, which is included in the Model City Charter issued by the National League of Cities; however, the committee has amended some of the wording. He noted that in the first sentence, the Model City Charter utilizes “Council-Manager government” and that the recommendation indicates “Mayor-Council government”. It was his opinion that the wording should be corrected to reflect “Mayor-Council government”.
In response to Mr. McGlumphy, Mr. Slavin questioned if it should be the committee’s responsibility to serve as a facilitator for the discussion of the recommendations of the 2005 Charter Review Committee or if it should become involved with determining the City Charter by debating and taking action regarding the recommendations of the 2005 Charter Review Committee. It was his opinion that it is not the committee’s responsibility to alter the recommendations of the 2005 Charter Review Committee.
Mr. Salters suggested that a professional, such as a constitutional lawyer, review the City’s Charter and the recommendations of the 2005 Charter Review Committee to submit a final recommendation.
Responding to Mrs. Jones, Mr. Slavin suggested that staff provide committee members with any relative documents such as the Model City Charter. Considering that this review can be extremely time consuming, he noted that there has been an additional Council Meeting scheduled to be held on the first Monday of each month and suggested that the committee could dedicate this review by scheduling an additional meeting each month to be held prior to the Council Meeting on the first Monday of each month.
Action on the following items were deferred to be listed first on the next agenda for consideration by members: 1) Section 1 - Municipal Corporation Continued; Boundaries; 2) Section 1A - Procedure to Extend Boundaries; 3) Section 2 - Status, General Corporate Powers, Specific Provisions for Condemnation of Property; and 4) Section 3 - Enumeration of Power Not Exclusive; Manner of Exercise of Powers; Employee Pension, Benefit and retirement Systems Authorized.
Mr. Slavin requested that members determine if they are comfortable with making recommendations to Council in this regard and that this matter will be presented to members for further consideration during their next meeting.
Mr. McGlumphy moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 6:57 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Timothy A. Slavin
Chairman
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Attachments to Original Minutes and File Copy
Attachment #1 - Sample Report - Citizen Request Management Software Program