MINUTES

FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

City Hall, Room 604

Immediately following Personnel which begins at 6:30 p.m,

or 6:45 p.m., whichever is later

MEMBERS PRESENT: John VanderLeest, Tom Weber, Tony Theisen, and Steven Deneys

MEMBERS EXCUSED: None

OTHERS PRESENT: Doug Daul, Dawn Foeller, Jerry Hanson, Judge Hinkfuss, Chad Weininger, Chief VanSchyndle, Chief Stauber, Carl Weber, Bill Landvatter, Rob Strong, Recording Secretary Ginny Mamrosh, and others

1. Roll Call.

Chairperson VanderLeest called the meeting to order. Roll call was taken, and all were present.

2. Approval of the Agenda.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen and seconded by Ald. Deneys to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

3. Approval of the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of April 25, 2006.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen and seconded by Ald. Deneys to approve the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of April 25, 2006. Motion carried.

4. Approval of the Official Newspaper bid submitted by the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Finance Director Doug Daul said the Green Bay Press Gazette, as our only major newspaper, submitted the only bid and is the City’s official newspaper for publishing legal notices. After examining their official certification letter from the State Department of Administration telling them what they are allowed to charge, Mr. Daul pointed out two errors on the bid results sheet -- line length is actually 76 rather than 74 and Spartan Book Classified type is used rather than Franklin Gothic Book. The font base rate – the most they are allowed to charge us – was 47 cents last year, and we were being charged 54% of their allowable. He found, however, that their allowable was actually 74 cents rather than 47, so we were being charged only 35% of their allowable. This year the figure is correct at 43%, a jump from 26 cents per line to 32 cents per line, a 23% increase. The Press Gazette is still charging less than half of what they could bill us for the insertion of our legal notices only. Display ads are billed at their regular rates. He estimated expenditures of about $25,000 this year for the legals only, or an annual increase of about $5,500 to $6,000.

Ald. Weber asked if municipalities could petition the State to redraft existing rules, since newspapers are declining in circulation and may become ineffective. Mr. Daul said this is a State mandate, and waivers to this mandate have already been requested three times. Assistant to the Mayor Chad Weininger said there has been a move to have legislation drafted in Madison to change that mandate every year, without success.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen and seconded by Ald. Weber to approve the Official Newspaper bid submitted by the Green Bay Press Gazette. The motion carried.

5. Request by the Planning Director to transfer funds to purchase standardized shirts and jackets for the Inspection department.

Planning Director Rob Strong explained he is looking for a way to make his inspectors more visible when they are working in the field as representatives of the City. They presently wear a name tag. He displayed a khaki oxford shirt that was chosen by the inspectors, and khaki polo shirts were also selected. Mr. Strong had requested $4,000 to purchase four shirts and one jacket for each inspector, but the cost came in lower, at $3,100. Inspectors who feel they need more shirts would purchase them on their own. The jacket should last five or six years and would have a removable liner that could be worn as a vest. All pieces would have the City logo embroidered on them and must be returned to the department upon termination of employment. Mr. Strong said this does not increase his budget because a clerical position had remained open for 14 weeks. He expects to put two shirts for each person into the budget each year, a request of about $500 to $600 annually. The jackets are expected to last five or six years. Long-sleeved khaki shirts cost $19.95 while the cost of the short-sleeved polo is $13.25. This clothing would be purchased from the same company used by the Park Department for their shirts, and future orders will be placed along with that department’s to meet minimum order requirements.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to approve the request by the Planning Director for a transfer of $3,100 to purchase standardized shirts and jackets for the Inspection department.

6. Report on Overtime.

Comptroller Dawn Foeller said this is the final report for overtime. The Police Department was right on target when salary is compared to overtime accounts, one being under- and one over-budget. Reimbursements are shown as separate line items. This department is reimbursed for charges for jury duty, etc. that are billed back to Brown County, accounting for the reimbursement of $17,000. Ms. Foeller said Packer overtime is not included in this report, but is kept separate because it is reimbursed by the Packer organization at 100%. Chief VanSchyndle distributed a sheet showing minimum staffing costs for this year versus last year.

The Fire Department had many workers comp and work-related items that resulted in overtime being paid rather than regular salaries. A miscommunication regarding a battalion chief position resulted in that department being under-budgeted by $65,000. Salary is over by $76,000, mostly because of that, and overtime is over by $202,000 due to unfunded liability. Chief Stauber explained that $100,000 per year was formerly budgeted for vacation buyouts for those employees requesting a cash payout for vacation time rather than putting it into an escrow account. He said there is no way of knowing how many will retire and how many will take the taxable payout. This year, cash payouts accounted for about $20,000. Chief Stauber said he constantly looks at the budget and when funds are not available, he just does not make expenditures from other line items in his budget.

Ald. Theisen asked how departments over budget are able to cover their shortages, and Mr. Daul said the actual cash comes from cash on hand, not just the budget. Reserves are set aside at year end and those dollars are available for when budgets do not come in on target. One example Mr. Daul gave was shared revenue. The budgeted amount is $18.5 Million. The City only receives 15% in July and the balance in November. Cash also comes from taxes and line items in the budget that collect more revenue than was expected. Other funds come from Contingency.

Ms. Foeller said that the Department of Public Works was on budget. This department gets reimbursed when the City bills for their services, accounting for $178,000. She said the Park, Recreation and Forestry department was close to budget, being $64,000 under between salaries and overtime.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to receive and place on file the Report on Overtime.

7. Request by the Comptroller to review the 2005 year-end accounting.

Ms. Foeller said we finished the year in good shape, with revenues coming in well over budget. Large favorable items included land sales and accounted for our being $1,350,000 over the budgeted amount. Police liaison revenue was $60,000 under budget. This source is dependent upon the time our employees spend at the schools and the amount of overtime required. After checking with the Law Department, Ms. Foeller wrote off old invoices for village police liaison charges because a new agreement between the City and the school district is in place. Under this agreement, the City bills the schools rather than the communities.

Because 2005 was an off year for construction, heating and building permit revenue was down. This year is coming back strong, however. When the budget was being put together for 2006 and it became apparent that 2005 numbers were not being met, the current fees were studied and then raised.

Revenue from Bay Beach admission fees was over the amount budgeted. An effort had been made to keep that budget consistent so any overages could be used for renovations at Bay Beach. Recent renovations on the pavilion were paid for with these funds. Bay Beach sales funds will be transferred to the Park Construction Fund for continuing renovations there.

Ms. Foeller said most departments showed favorable expenditure numbers. Fire was over in the overtime line item, but other line items compensated for that. The $180,000 given to Fire for the purchase of two ambulances was not available to be used for that purchase and is in the 2005 capital reserve requests.

Ms. Foeller said that overall, we are at $3.5 on favorable to the budget, although when she closes the year, she looks at actual revenues and expenditures instead. That amount is $2.9 Million actual. She said the $73 Million was the budget set at the beginning of the year for 2005 plus any changes in appropriations that happened throughout the year. An example of this is Police Impact Teams. Actual, what we actually spent, is $71.1 Million, and we ended favorably $2 Million on expenditures.

Ms. Foeller explained she requested a formal transfer of funds to cover the overages in the Fire Dept. as well as the negative cash amount in the Industrial Park Fund. This is a change in appropriations, and no department is allowed to overexpend its budget. $51,530 will be transferred from 2005 Contingency to cover the Fire deficit and $16,953.52 will come from that same fund to cover the Industrial Park Fund shortage.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to receive and place on file: 7a: the 2005 year-end accounting presentation.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to 7b: to approve the final year end budget transfers as presented.

8. Request by the Mayor for approval of Carryover Requests, Capital Reserve Requests, and year-end designations.

Mr. Daul said detail on the carryover requests had been included in their packets and explained that these requests are for permission to use funds budgeted for 2005 but not expended. These funds may be necessary to complete a project or to cover other unexpected events occurring in 2006, such as FMLA.

Ms. Foeller said Municipal Court has requested funds to cover Brown County’s charges for holding our prisoners. $80,000 was budgeted, but the push to pick more people up on warrants will require additional dollars. Human Resources is requesting additional funds for flexible spending in 2006.

Mr. Daul said all excess funds from the budget close to a reserve account. It is the Mayor’s prerogative to discuss these requests with the departments and approve their use of that reserve. The Committee is being asked to approve the Mayor’s recommendations.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to approve the Mayor’s recommendations for Carryover Requests as presented, in the amount of $79,436.

Capital Reserves were discussed next.

Ms. Foeller said a fund balance remains at the end of every year, and part of the $12,302,203 left at the end of 2005 must be designated to various reserves. Referring to page 8i, she said actual revenues are shown for 2005 in the general fund, as well as 2005 actual expenditures. Capital Reserve items approved and expended in the previous year are also shown. These items were transferred out to a separate fund. Ms. Foeller said all other requests, such as for police squads, are included in the actual expenditures for the year, and different designations done at the end of the year reserve the fund balance. A balance of $2,581,654.89 remains after the net operating figure is added to the fund balance and amounts that must be reserved are subtracted. Ms. Foeller said the Committee has just approved the carryovers, and a $2.5 Million remains after removing those designations that must be kept separate.

Mr. Daul discussed the reserve for Contingency. He said $190,070 is the balance sheet component of the Contingency amount. The difference between what was levied for and what we budgeted for is the amount currently in the Contingency account.

Mr. Daul said Capital Reserve requests are made by various departments, mostly for equipment. The City does not budget for equipment in the operating budget, but departments can request equipment if money is available. The Committee approves these requests at its discretion. Mr. Daul said capital equipment purchases were taken out of the budget a number of years ago, and the mill rate was lowered. Purchases are dependent upon having excess revenues to cover these purchases, or being under on expenditures. He said we must live within our budget, and that even if all the items requested are approved tonight, it is still less than what is levied. The system has worked so far, but would be a problem if the City were not allowed to use excess revenues for these purchases. Mr. Weininger said this money will keep going down, and the City must decide sooner or later whether to put these purchases back in the budget. This step would increase taxes by a considerable amount. Ald. Weber asked if we could get back to the normal process by gradually phasing a percentage of these purchases into the budget.

The 2006 capital reserve requests are listed by department. Mr. Daul noted a change in the Park, Recreation & Forestry number where $60,000 will be removed from their Equipment Replacement / New Equipment request of $137,000, bringing that amount to $77,000.

The two Inspection vehicles being replaced have over 100,000 miles on them and are more than 10 years old, and IT is requesting funds for Microsoft licensing as well as laptops for police squads. Four rescue squads were requested of the Fire Department. Two of the squads were requested last year but did not get purchased due to further analysis being required of the quotes received.

Ald. Chad Fradette asked to add one new request under DPW, which is a compost turner. He said odor has been a problem for residents near the East Side waste center for more than two years, although the reconstruction of East Shore Drive has helped somewhat. Wind blows the smells from rotting grass and piles of compost as well as leachate through adjacent residential areas and into his district.

Ald. Fradette says solutions to this problem include moving or closing the waste center, but both are expensive. Purchase of a windrow turner would allow the piles to be turned more frequently. This would help to maintain the level of oxygen and moisture necessary to keep them from becoming dormant and smelling. The windrow turner could be attached to the end loader currently in use. This equipment should save manpower time and reduce calls to the fire department to put out frequent fires. The piles are now turned once or twice a year, but doing this every few months would result in better management that would also eliminate the odors and the problems with leachate. Ald. Fradette said a usable product could potentially be produced and sold if the process of maintaining this compost were perfected. He had accomplished this professionally in another area of Wisconsin and asked to help DPW bring that forward.

DPW Director Carl Weber said they have been working with Ald. Fradette over the last two years, trying to improve the management of the compost. Their present management techniques are low-tech, and the cost estimate for the smallest reasonable-size equipment for the City’s operation would be around $90,000.

Ald. VanderLeest asked about complaints, and Ald. Fradette said most calls come from the immediate neighbors, but he does get calls from neighbors further down East Shore Drive. Other people call from different areas, depending on the direction of the wind. Mr. Weber said they had explored the possibility of moving the waste center, but could find no East Side site away from neighborhoods that had the kind of acreage needed. In addition, moving too far out would considerably raise the operating costs of transporting the materials to the drop-off center. Mr. Weber said they had also talked of possibly partnering with neighboring communities, where the City would buy the unit and sell the services.

Ald. Theisen asked if turning the windrows works successfully in other areas, and Ald. Fradette replied that Oak Creek has a similar piece of equipment and they sell their compost commercially. Mr. Weber said they have not done exhaustive research on this type of equipment, but showed the Committee a picture of a unit appearing to be the appropriate size. If approved, his department would do exhaustive research as to what is available. He said a competitive bid would be done and more alternatives researched. They would also visit other communities using similar turners.

Ald. VanderLeest asked if this request could be considered at a later time. Ald. Fradette explained that he had come to testify about this process in order to have funds set aside for that purpose. If it is later determined that the equipment is not needed, funds would not be used. He asked that they approve it tonight.

Ald. VanderLeest replied that he would like more information on other companies and other possible alternatives, saying there is not enough information available to make a good decision. Ald. Theisen asked if the DPW items listed had already gone to the Improvement & Services Committee and the Council, and Mr. Weber replied that they had. He asked if it is appropriate to take requests that have not gone to Committee; Mr. Daul said it should be allowable because carryover requests are on the agenda. Mr. Weber said it would take a couple of months to research this request and visit other sites in order to narrow in on acceptable units. He said all equipment goes to I&S before it is purchased. Specific quotes will be obtained on all items approved tonight, and they then will come back to Committee and Council for approval of the actual purchases. He asked where the funds would come from if this project is approved by I&S but the funding sources are not addressed tonight? If funds are designated, money is set aside for that sole purpose. Designating funds under capital reserve is not the final step before the funds are expended.

Ald. Deneys asked if a need for a service such as this exists outside the Green Bay area and whether anyone is willing to pay for it. There may be more labor involved because of the frequency of turning the piles. Mr. Weber said the concept should take equal or less labor because only one operator using this equipment could perform a more thorough job.

Ald. Weber said the concept is fine, but the labor impact to the City is unknown, as well as the marketability of the product, and whether this is the right size and type of equipment needed. Cost savings vs expenditures are also not available. He said he has no objection to designating the funds, but does not want to approve the request without more information.

Ald. Theisen said he was prepared to include it on the DPW list of requests, but thought it should be a communication for I&S to consider. He said the City has had problems with odors over the years, and should work to solve this problem. He said the request could tentatively be put under DPW equipment requests and changed to $400,000; then, after evaluation, if it was decided it wouldn’t work out, funds could go back into Contingency.

Ald. Theisen made a motion to change DPW Equipment Requests from $307,000 to $400,000 with the understanding that there will be a study for compost equipment to address the odor problem; this would be taken to the I&S Committee for evaluation. Ald. Weber seconded the motion for discussion.

Mr. Daul said that what is approved now as a capital request will affect the department‘s budget. Ald. VanderLeest suggested reserving it instead, in case it is needed. Being designated would allow the department to spend the funds if they find the project worthwhile.

Ald. Theisen amended his motion by asking to increase the year-end designation by $92,000 for the purchase of a compost turner. Ald. Weber agreed to the amendment and seconded the amended motion.

Mr. Weber said Waupaca Materials had approached them earlier this year, looking to purchase all the material available. Their second 80-yard load was not consistent with the material they were looking for, however, and they rejected the load and cut off their offer. Ald. Weber asked if there are public/private ventures that manage compost piles for municipalities, and Mr. Weber said the City has not been approached, although he knows of a company having an agreement with Wauwatosa.

A vote was taken, and the motion carried.

Ms. Foeller asked to correct the Fire Department overtime figure. That department’s budget overtime was mistakenly reduced by Packer overtime. If it had not been reduced, Fire would have been $93,862 less over budget. She will provide a new copy of page 6a.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber to approve the capital reserve requests presented by the Mayor except that the Park, Recreation & Forestry Equipment Replacement/New Equipment be reduced from $137,000 to $77,000. It was seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried.

A motion to adjourn was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald.Deneys, and carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

2006 CONTINGENCY FUND

$190,950.00