MINUTES
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
5:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Fred Graves, David Nelson, and Tom Weber;
John VanderLeest* arrived shortly thereafter.
MEMBERS EXCUSED: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Jerry Hanson, Doug Daul, Cmdr. Arts, Mark
Delaski, Linda Dupuis, Chief Stauber, Recording Secretary Ginny Mamrosh, and
others
1. Roll Call.
Vice
Chairman Weber called the meeting to order.
Roll call was taken, and all were present except for Ald. VanderLeest
who arrived shortly thereafter.
2. Approval of the Agenda.
A
motion was made by Ald. Nelson and seconded by Ald. Graves to approve the
agenda as modified to take Item 7 before Items 4, 5, and 6. Motion carried.
3. Approval of the minutes of the Finance
Committee meeting of January 24, 2006.
A motion was made by Ald.
Nelson and seconded by Ald. Graves to approve the minutes of the Finance
Committee meeting of January 24, 2006.
Motion carried.
Item #7 was taken next.
4. Request by City Attorney to submit the
quarterly report of the Claims Committee.
Ald. VanderLeest asked
that the fact that the City is self-insured be stressed to City employees so
they realize it is to their benefit to exercise extra care in working to reduce
accidents. City Attorney Jerry Hanson
said he had sent a flyer to the Police Department last year; he will email
other City employees to remind them of this fact.
A motion was made by Ald.
Weber and seconded by Ald. Graves to receive and place on file the quarterly
report of the Claims Committee. The
motion carried.
5. Report of Overtime for October and November.
Finance Director Doug Daul
said estimates for year-end overtime at this time indicate the Police
Department will be within budget. The
Fire Dept. will be $150,000 to $160,000 overexpended, in part because a
Battalion Chief position that had not been budgeted for was added on the
Council floor. He said a more precise
estimate of year-end overtime will be available in March.
A motion was made by Ald.
Graves and seconded by Ald. Nelson to receive and place on file the Report of
Overtime for October and November. The
motion carried.
6. Request by Chief Stauber for a transfer of
funds to accomplish the implementation of the video conferencing system.
Chief Stauber said when
this system was approved at an earlier date, it was with the goal of having it
installed and operating as soon as possible to save on costs of overtime. The City was to install the server, but
delays have occurred because the IT department is short-staffed and currently
occupied with the telephone project.
Chief Stauber asked for authority to use funds from the department’s
overtime account to hire a contractor to do the necessary work, saying $6,000
in overtime has already been expended in January. This was to have been part of the savings anticipated for this
year. The amount of the transfer will
be brought back to Committee at a later time.
A motion was made by Ald.
VanderLeest to approve a short-term contract for IT service in order to
complete the video conferencing system with an update on the cost of the
transfer to come at a later meeting. It
was seconded by Ald. Nelson and carried.
7. Report of the Purchasing Agent:
1. Request by Ald. Nelson
to discuss bid requirements for City tow services.
2. Consent Items:
a) Bay Beach 2-Year Meats Agreement: Meat Processors Inc. $18,955; Valley Popcorn
Company Inc. $2,537; Badger Wholesale $585.
Total 1st year estimated meat costs: $22,077.
b)
Bay Beach 3-Year Ice Cream & Dairy Products Agreement: Engelhart Dairy LLC $38,536 estimated 1st
year costs.
Ald. Nelson said he
brought this forward because of a call he received from a constituent
complaining about the towing of her car.
Police Cmdr. Jim Arts
explained that there are two types of tows, one occurring when a landlord or
manager asks the City Police Department to tow a vehicle from their
property. The Police Department uses
Heavy Duty (Crosby’s) to tow the vehicles; they are then entered into a system
that will prevent them from showing up as being stolen. This then becomes a civil matter between the
owner of the vehicle and the landlord.
The Inspection office is also involved in the effort to clean up
blighted areas. That department puts a
large green notice on the vehicle warning that it will be removed in 72 hours,
and posting Inspection’s phone number.
Inspection takes a photo of the car to show any damage that may already
exist, then calls the towing service hired by the City. There are no police officers involved with
an Inspection tow unless they are called for a protective reason.
*Ald. VanderLeest arrived.
In the case of his
constituent, Ald. Nelson said when she returned home and found her vehicle
being towed, she tried to negotiate with the company, but they refused; they
also did not let her remove property from the car. Cmdr. Arts asked the company to let her pay for the tow only and
to return her car, because, although the tow was legitimate, a mix-up had
occurred that caused storage charges to accrue when the car could not be
located immediately. He said the
procedure that caused the mix-up has since been corrected. The towing company refused to allow this,
and Cmdr. Arts said Heavy Duty would have complied with their request. The towing company charged $75 for the tow,
$45 for a locator fee, and $20 per day for storage, for a total of almost $400. This company explained that they are not
allowed to give persons access to vehicles if they are unable to provide title
and proper ID, and that many of these vehicles are not in the current owner’s
name. Purchasing Agent Linda Dupuis
said the towing company must follow State Statute in this process, performing a
search to find out who owns the vehicle, and sending a letter to the owner and
any lienholders involved. The person
then has 20 days to pick up the vehicle.
Ms. Dupuis said the City’s
contract for towing service will expire at the end of March and will soon go
out for bid. She will work with Police
and Inspection to review the current specifications and ensure that vendors
define what fees will be charged. A
locator fee should not be charged if that work hasn’t already been done. She explained that not many vendors will
respond to this bid. Cmdr Arts asked
that there be a way out if a mistake occurs that is not the fault of the
vehicle’s owner, so they can pay just the towing charge; Ald. VandeLeest agreed
the charge should be capped in those instances. Ms. Dupuis said the City pays $15 to the towing company over and
above these costs, and that other companies charge more than the current
service used by the City. She said the
City contract ends when the tow occurs; at that point the vendor is paid $15,
and is then responsible to follow State Statute in regards to those
vehicles. She said that the next bid
will also instruct them what procedures to follow when towing a vehicle in the
City’s name.
Ald. Nelson asked that the
fees and how they are applied be put into writing. He said a bid could also be put out on delivering the vehicles to
a City lot. Ms. Dupuis said an RFP will
be issued and brought back with the award.
A motion was made by Ald.
Nelson to address the issue of any and all costs involved in towing a vehicle
and how they are determined and to put in an alternate bid to have them
delivered to a City lot. It was
seconded by Ald. Weber and carried.
7.2a. and 7.2b.: A motion was made by Ald. Weber and seconded
by Ald. Nelson to approve Consent Items 2a.
Bay Beach 2-Year Meats Agreement:
Meat Processors Inc. $18,955; Valley Popcorn Company Inc. $2,537; Badger
Wholesale $585. Total 1st
year estimated meat costs: $22,077 and
2b Bay Beach 3-Year Ice Cream & Dairy Products Agreement: Engelhart Dairy LLC $38,536 estimated 1st
year costs. The motion carried..
Items 4, 5 and 6 were taken at
this point.
A motion to adjourn was made by
Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Graves, and carried. The meeting was adjourned.
2006 CONTINGENCY FUND
$404,405.00