MINUTES

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Tuesday, January 8, 2008
City Hall, Room 604
Immediately following Personnel
which meets at 5:30 p.m.,
or 5:45 p.m., whichever is later

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

MEMBERS EXCUSED: None

OTHERS PRESENT: Doug Daul, Allison Swanson, Chief Stauber, Russ Schwandt

1. Roll Call

Chairman John VanderLeest called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.; all members were present.

2. Approval of the Agenda.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to approve the Agenda.

3. Approval of the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of December 11, 2007.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to approve the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of December 11, 2007.

4. Request by Ald. Wiezbiskie to adjust taxes and delinquent property taxes on Parcel No. 21-397-1.

City Attorney Allison Swanson and Assessor Russ Schwandt presented to the Committee the history and legality of this request. Administratively, staff cannot refund these taxes as proper procedure was not followed by the property owner. A decision to forgive a tax obligation would have to be made by Council without intent to recover from the overlapping taxing jurisdictions. The Committee felt this would be a dangerous precedent to set.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys and seconded by Ald. Weber to deny the request by Ald. Wiezbiskie to adjust taxes and delinquent property taxes on Parcel No. 21-397-1. The motion carried.

5. Request by Ald. VanderLeest for an update on the City of Green Bay/Oneida negotiations and inclusion of inspection of Oneida properties in the City of Green Bay area.

A motion was made to suspend the rules to let interested parties speak. Jerry Athey, 1941 Beech Tree Dr., appeared before the Committee and told them of problems he has had with tribal property in his neighborhood. A motion was made to return to the regular order of business.

Discussion ensued regarding the City’s enforcement authority of trust property. Attorney Swanson stated that the City does not have authority over Tribal trust property. It was noted that the Tribe can only put property into trust if the land is within the original reservation boundaries.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys and seconded by Ald. Theisen to receive and place on file the update on the City of Green Bay/Oneida negotiations and inclusion of inspection of Oneida properties in the City of Green Bay area. Motion carried.

6. Report on FMLA requests processed by the City by year.

Ald. Theisen discussed analyzing the FMLA data further to determine the length of leave, not just the number. Atty. Swanson warned against using the data to discourage FMLA usage and reviewed the FMLA law and how the benefit pertains to City employees. Discussion ensued regarding sending a resolution to our Congressmen. It was determined that a resolution would not effect change at this time and that Ald. Theisen would take the situation under advisement and bring his recommendation back at a future date.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to receive and place on file the report on FMLA requests processed by the City by year.

7. Request by the Law Dept. to issue bonds for the purpose of the satisfaction of judgment in the Younkers litigation.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber and seconded by Ald. Deneys to convene in closed session pursuant to Sections 19.85(1)(g), Wis. Stats., to confer with legal counsel with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved. The Committee may thereafter reconvene in open session pursuant to Section 19.85(2), Wis, Stats., to report the results of the closed session and consider the balance of the agenda.

The motion carried and Closed Session followed.

The Committee reconvened in open session and reported out that the following motion was made in closed session:

Ald. Weber made a motion to issue a Bond Anticipation Note not to exceed $5.5 Million over a 5-year period for satisfaction of the Younkers litigation judgment. It was seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried.

8. Update on the Honeywell contract.

Finance Director Doug Daul explained that there was a death in the family of one of the Honeywell representatives and they were told they would not have to appear this evening. The Committee discussed the financial merit of pulling out of the lighting retrofit portion of the Honeywell project.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen and seconded by Ald. Deneys to receive and place on file the update on the Honeywell contract. Motion carried.

9. Request by the Finance Director to sell the mall to the RDA for a price of $2,408,034.14.

Finance Director Daul stated that earlier today the RDA agreed to purchase the mall. The RDA is currently supervising the redevelopment of this site, and giving them ownership of the property makes sense. Funds for the purchase will come from TIF 13.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to sell the mall to the RDA for $2,408,034.14 plus any additional costs incurred up to the date of closing.

Report of the Finance Director:

a. Donations to the Fire Dept.

Chief Stauber informed the Committee that an unsolicited cash donation of $500 was received from the Parrot Head Club of Green Bay, Inc., to be used toward the purchase of an automated external defibrillator.

The Green Bay Packers donated a Medtronic LifePak 12 defibrillator/monitor, intended for use by the Fire Dept. at Packers football games and other special events in the Green Bay area. The value of this unsolicited donation is $15,190.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen and seconded by Ald. Deneys to accept the donations made to the Fire Dept. The motion carried.

b. Discussion of 2008 budget.

Mr. Daul discussed the implications of the ERP restraints on the 2008 operating budget. The use of fund balance will need to be closely scrutinized this year.

c. State Trust Fund Resolution.

Mr. Daul explained that a borrowing resolution will be on the next Council agenda for the corner of Broadway and Dousman. This is the Smet project, and the borrowing was authorized by Council in December. Mr. Daul clarified this for the Committee because most borrowing resolutions come through the Committee before they go to Council.

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

b. Discussion of the 2008 budget

and

c. State Trust Fund Resolution.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to adjourn.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

2007 CONTINGENCY FUND

$189,700

2008 CONTINGENCY FUND

$109,930

Any person wishing to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodation should contact the Mayor’s office at 448-3005 at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time so that arrangements can be made.

Please take notice that it is possible that additional members of the Council may attend this committee meeting, resulting in a majority or quorum of the Common Council. This may constitute a meeting of the Common Council for purposes of discussion and information gathering relative to this agenda.