MINUTES
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday,
August 22, 2006
City
Hall, Room 604
6:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
John VanderLeest, Tom Weber, Tony Theisen, and Steven Deneys
MEMBERS EXCUSED:
None
OTHERS PRESENT:
Doug Daul, Dawn Foeller, Jerry Hanson, Chief Stauber, Chief VanSchyndle,
Mark Delaski, Linda Dupuis, 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.
Finance Director Doug Daul asked
that Items #4 and #8 be discussed following the last item, #10, to allow the
Purchasing Agent to attend another meeting.
A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to
approve the agenda as amended. Motion
carried.
3.
Approval of the minutes of the Finance Committee meetings of July 25 and
August 15, 2006.
A motion was made by Ald. Weber
and seconded by Ald. Theisen to approve the minutes of the Finance Committee
meetings of July 25 and August 15, 2006.
Motion carried.
Item #5 was discussed next, followed by #6, #7, #9, and #10.
4 Request by the Treasurer to discuss a new
service for the collection of NSF checks.
Comptroller/Treasurer Dawn Foeller said Associated
Bank is offering a new service to collect payments on NSF checks. The City averages 12 to 13 NSF checks per
month, or 153 for the year and is charged $6 per check. This fee, along with additional miscellaneous
expenses and staff time of about 10 to 15 minutes daily, results in costs of
about $2,800 for the year. Associated’s
new service would cut down on staff time spent monitoring the account because
the bank would perform that function.
They would collect a $30 fee from the customer and return the $6 fee
charged to our account, as well as any other fees that could be passed back to
us. There is no long-term contract to
be signed, and if we’re not satisfied with the service, we can revert back to
the old system. Ms. Foeller said the
service is a win-win situation that costs the City nothing – the burden is put
on the customer who issues the NSF check.
The bank would turn the check into an ACH, which has priority over a
regular check and they would be able to monitor activity to choose the best
time to clear the funds.
A motion was made by Ald. Weber and seconded by Ald.
Deneys to approve the use of a new service for the collection of NSF checks.
The motion carried.
5. Update by Chief Stauber on the Videoconference
System installed in the Fire Department.
Chief Stauber said the
Committee approved this system earlier in the year, and had asked for an
update. The equipment was installed
later than anticipated, so cost savings projected for Spring could not be
realized. He said it will be used for
medical education in the Fall, however, and should result in overtime savings
of $27,000 to $30,000. The department
uses videoconferencing as much as possible, and he said it is working
well. Training and manuals were
provided as part of the contract, and the department is working to learn more
about the system.
Chief Stauber said about
165 miles of vehicle travel is eliminated for each training course done by
videoconferencing rather than the regular training method. This amounts to considerable savings, since
the trucks get only 3 to 5 miles per gallon of fuel. The training officer now must deliver a course only once, where in
the past it took 4 sessions per day.
There is an occasional make-up course. Everyone is able to log on to this interactive system, and videos
can be shown. The new system has
allowed for the Fire Department to implement a daily roll-call for the first
time. A single daily roll-call allows
everyone working that day to hear the same message. In addition, questions can be asked of the Battalion Chiefs, and
the system can connect with NWTC. This
system is used daily at NWTC, and one of their technicians provided some of the
training.
Chief Stauber thanked the
Committee and the IT Department for their support, and said the system will pay
for itself within two years. He stated
there are tremendous capabilities for videoconferencing to be used by other
departments, as well.
A motion was made by Ald.
Theisen and seconded by Ald. Deneys to receive and place on file the update by
Chief Stauber on the Videoconference System installed in the Fire
Department. The motion carried.
6. Request by
the Committee for the following from the Transit Director:
a.
A review of the policy for billing and collecting advertising fees for
bus advertising
b.
Management response to Schenck’s audit comments
c.
Detailed report of all revenues from advertising on buses for 2006
d.
Present the advertising contracts for The Oneida Tribe and Watering Hole
Finance Director Doug Daul said the Transit Director was unable to attend to address this issue tonight because of a conflict with another meeting.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen to hold until the September 12, 2006 Finance Committee meeting the Transit Director’s report on the policy for billing and collecting bus advertising fees, the management response to Schenck’s audit comments, a detailed report of all revenues from bus advertising for 2006, and presentation of the advertising contracts for The Oneida Tribe and Watering Hole, and to urge the Transit Director to have the information available at that meeting. It was seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried.
7. Request by
DPW for replacement of a sewer gas monitoring device due to an unanticipated
failure of an existing unit.
Comptroller Dawn Foeller said funds are available for
this device, and the failure of an existing unit was unexpected.
A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald.
Theisen, and carried to approve the request by DPW for replacement of a sewer
gas monitoring device due to an unanticipated failure of an existing unit.
8. Update on
payroll system conversion.
Comptroller Dawn Foeller distributed copies of a
presentation made to Senior Management.
Schenck was brought in to implement a lean process for the Payroll area
because the department knew it was not where it wanted to be. IT, Human Resources, Payroll staff, Mr.
Daul, and Ms. Foeller all listed their expectations and then made a flow chart
of the way the current system worked.
Next, one of the payroll cycles was laid out step-by-step and sticky
notes were used to draw out the process.
Value stream mapping and brainstorming followed, and the number of steps
in the process was documented. They
then cut all waste, such as the double and triple checking that had previously
been done, and arrived at the point of knowing where they are and where they
should be.
Ms. Foeller said Schenck had recommended a 47%
improvement, and at this point they have achieved 22%. She said the bottom line is that they went
through the process step by step and decided how to improve it. Immediate tasks -- those to be done within
30 days, and others that could be done past that time – were established. The immediate tasks are almost complete,
and two new work-saving programs drafted by IT are being implemented.
Ms. Foeller said gap coverage was eliminated, saving
a huge amount of time. Previously,
Payroll populated all timecards, but now each employee enters his/her own
hours, and it is working out very well.
They have started using the new system for entering new employees and
are looking for an easier way to pay Park and Rec seasonal employees. She said the DPW operations change is almost
complete, but they still must work with the Police Dept. so they can do their own
Personal Action forms.
Ms. Foeller said the lean process worked because they
took the time to go through it, step by step.
There is still a lot to do, and there will be continuous improvement,
but it is going much better now than it was in January, when she last reported
on its progress. Mr. Daul said lean
process is not about head count – it’s about process improvement. It is not saying how many people, but how
many steps. Overtime has been
eliminated, resulting in savings in dollars as well as time otherwise spent
working to get the payroll out. There
had been four people working in this division two years ago, and it is now down
to two. Mr. Daul said it will not be
possible to go to 1˝ positions, however.
City Attorney Jerry Hanson agreed that it is not about head counts, but
about streamlining processes, and that they will slowly make the rounds
throughout the departments to see where processes can be improved.
A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald.
Weber and carried to receive and place on file the update on payroll system
conversion.
9. Request by
the Police Dept. for approval to purchase two servers to support the new
Records Management Project.
Chief VanSchyndle said his department had budgeted
$20,000 for a Livescan machine for fingerprinting that ended up being totally
covered by a grant. He asked for
authorization to purchase a server for GERP, the Green Bay Electronics Record Program,
which is replacing Printrak. GERP
allows officers to type their incident reports on laptops in their squads and
send them electronically to the shift commander, the Records Division, and the
Detective Division. This process should
help alleviate the 6 to 7 month backlog in the Records division by eliminating
the need for staff to type the report off the officer’s hand-written report.
Ald. Weber asked if the officer can key in the
information faster than he can write it, and Chief VanSchyndle said the time
used is about the same. Officers are
already entering additional information required by NIBERS, a Federal program,
and GERP will allow this to be done faster.
Ald. VanderLeest asked that they make sure this is
the correct server, and Chief VanSchyndle replied it is not the software – only
the box. The Printrak server cannot be
used because of the amount of data involved, but GERP must interact with
Printrak. He said a police officer with
a college background and a lot of skill developed the software, and Ald.
VanderLeest asked IT Director Mark Delaski to review it to make sure it is
compatible for future use. Mr. Delaski
said they had done the specs to make sure it met the requirements the Police
Dept. expects to have in the future, and that it is a standard server. He could not recommend that any current
server be used because of the large amount of data involved.
Ald. Weber stated the City should have proprietary
rights to the program, saying problems have arisen in the past when that was
not the case. Atty. Hanson said this
issue can be looked into, although the program has been developed on City
time. Mr. Delaski said the possibility
that other municipalities may want to use the program should be considered,
and, if so, whether it would be sold or given to them. Ald. Theisen asked if IT would be prepared
to support the system when the officer is gone, and Mr. Daul said IT would have
to have documentation to be able to support it. Ms. Foeller said she was very concerned with the lack of
documentation.
Ald. VanderLeest asked that Mr. Delaski work on
backup coverage and on learning more about the program and that Chief
VanSchyndle check into getting proprietary rights for the City.
Purchasing Agent Linda Dupuis explained that this
request should have been for one server, as was noted in an updated memo from
the Police Department, but said the agenda had not been updated. She explained that the other server is for a
different area of the Police department and was already approved.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen to approve
authorization to use $8,276.01 of the $20,000 for purchase of the GERP server,
to direct the IT Director to obtain documentation and backup coverage of this
server, and to acquire proprietary rights to the software. The motion was seconded by Ald. Weber and
carried.
10. Report of
the Purchasing Agent:
a) Computer hardware for Police Dept. from Hewlett-Packard Company for $19,918.
A motion was made by Ald.
Deneys and seconded by Ald. Theisen to approve a) computer hardware for the
Police Dept. from Hewlett-Packard Company for $19,918.
Ald. Weber said the cost of
the GERP server is $8,200, and asked what other equipment is included in the
request for $19,900. Purchasing Agent
Linda Dupuis said there are four pieces of equipment included in this amount –
a replacement server for Photo ID, a replacement printer for a Police Dept.
office, and a replacement printer for the Print Shop. The funding has already been approved for this hardware.
A vote was taken, and the
motion carried.
b) Forensic mapping system for
Police Department from Bunce Industries for $16,045.
Ms. Dupuis said $15,000 for this request will come
from Capital Reserve, with the balance coming from Asset Forfeitures. The system was approved earlier.
A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald.
Deneys and carried to approve b) Forensic mapping system for Police Dept. from
Bunce Industries for $16,045.
c) Three truck cabs and chassis for Parks Department from Packer City International Trucks for total cost of $112,125.
Ms. Dupuis said this item was competitively bid and
that this is a very good price. Parks Director
Bill Landvatter said the Equipment Supervisor is both familiar with and
comfortable with this equipment.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald.
Deneys and carried to approve c) Three truck cabs and chassis for Parks
Department from Packer City International Trucks for total cost of $112,125.
d) Brush and tree chipper for Parks Dept. from Vermeer Wisconsin for $24,395.
Ms. Dupuis asked that this item be held until the
next meeting.
A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen
and carried to hold until the next meeting: d) Brush and tree chipper for Parks
Dept. from Vermeer Wisconsin for $24,395.
e) Chipper box and two each flatbeds and hoists for Parks Dept. for $24,476.
Ms. Dupuis said this order is being split between two vendors.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve e) Chipper box and two each flatbeds and hoists for Parks Dept. for $24,476.
f) Tractor for Parks Dept. from Weyers Equipment Inc. for $31,354.
Ms. Dupuis said the low quote was not selected
because the vendor quoted a unit with a smaller engine than was specified. Funds will come from Capital Reserve.
A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald.
Theisen and carried to approve f) Tractor for Parks Dept. from Weyers Equipment
Inc. for $31,354.
g) Riding mower for Parks Dept. from Riesterer & Schnell for $10,950.
Ms. Dupuis said the low quote was not selected because although City specs asked for a shaft drive to the deck, the vendor with the low quote offered a belt drive. This award recommendation is for the lowest cost unit that meets specifications. Ald. Theisen asked about the low vendor having a 2006 vehicle, while the quote selected is for a 2005 model, and asked if there would be different features. Ms. Dupuis said the model year is not a big factor when the equipment is kept for 10 or 15 years, and that she thought both were 2005 models.
A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to approve g) Riding mower for Parks Dept. from Riesterer & Schnell for $10,950.
Items #4 and #8 were discussed at this time.
A motion to adjourn was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
2006 CONTINGENCY FUND
$180,778.00