MINUTES

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
City Hall, Room 210

Immediately following Personnel which begins at 5:30 p.m.

 

 

MEMBERS:  Chairman John VanderLeest, Tom Weber, and Steven Deneys

 

OTHERS PRESENT:  Dawn Foeller, Julie Van Oss, Chad Weininger, Allison Swanson

 

1.   Roll Call. 

 

Roll call was taken and all were present, except for Ald. Theisen, who was excused.

 

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 August 11, 2009.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of August 11, 2009.

 

4.   Request by Ald. DeWane to have the Finance Director discuss with Robert W. Baird & Company, the City’s financial advisors, the ability for the City to restructure any of the City’s debt to reduce the burden on the City taxpayer.                                            

 

Finance Director Dawn Foeller summarized the item per a memorandum received from Robert W. Baird & Company that addressed the City’s existing debt and the ongoing monitoring of refunding opportunities. 

 

Baird will continue to monitor the City’s existing debt and the interest rate environment and provide periodic updates regarding refunding opportunities.

 

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

 

5.   Request by Ald. DeWane to have the Finance Director discuss the impact of the Younkers litigation on the City’s debt structure and how administration plans to handle it.

 

Finance Director Dawn Foeller discussed per a memo she had drafted for the members of the committee.  See attachment following the minutes for detail.

 

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

 

6.   Request by the City Clerk to consider and possibly approve a proposal to provide countywide Election Day support to all 32 Brown County Municipalities.

 

City Clerk Chad Weininger explained that E.S. & S. had provided free Election Day support to all municipalities in Brown County, excluding Green Bay, but will now charge a fee for such a service.  The City has provided its own Election Day support since the inception of the Eagle Voting Machines.  We have four people responsible for fixing the machines when a malfunction occurs.  We would provide this same support countywide, which is a favorable option for these municipalities given our close proximity, as opposed to contracting with E.S. & S. 

 

The City Clerk would charge $31.17 per Eagle and AutoMark machine which is considerably less than E.S. & S.’s proposal.  This opportunity would also allow City staff to train the municipalities on their own machine to make them more self-sufficient.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to approve the proposal by the City Clerk to provide countywide Election Day support to all 32 Brown County Municipalities. 

           

7.   Request by Ald. Wery to review and clarify the Council’s previous request for a financial audit of BID districts.

 

Finance Director Dawn Foeller spoke to this item on behalf of Ald. Wery.  She discussed with City Attorney Allison Swanson, and it is a required under state statute that all BID districts have a financial audit done by an independent certified audit firm.

 

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

 

8.   Request by Ald. VanderLeest for an update on paper/printing reductions for all City departments.

 

Finance Director Dawn Foeller explained the Printing Department has started to consolidate and analyze all print jobs and look at other options to utilize technology and electronic formats to reduce paper usage.

 

City Clerk Chad Weininger described a reduction plan with regard to moving toward a more electronic distribution of Friday Mail as opposed to hard copies.  This would help reduce cost and also create a more open and accessible method for the public and media outlets.  Additionally, each department will be asked to investigate ways in which they can save paper. 

 

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to hold the item and for the Finance Director to review with each department their efforts of reducing paper and report back to the committee.

 

 

 

9.   Report of the Purchasing Agent:

 

       a.  Request approval to award purchase of one used Mini-Van to the Police Department to Holz Motors for the amount of $14,899.

 

Purchasing Agent Julie Van Oss explained that they received two quotes from Broadway Ashland.  However, both quotes were not compliant with the specification requirements of under 30,000 miles and/or model year 2007 or newer.  The quote the City received from Holz Motors was within those specifications, so the City will be purchasing a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan for $14,899.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the award of one used Mini-Van for the Police Department to Holz Motors for the amount of $14,899.

 

       b.  Report of the Print/Mail Department equipment analysis, needs, recommendation.

 

A report was given about the need for equipment replacement, and the committee decided to hold the item for two weeks pending further investigation into additional options.

 

To hold the Print/Mail Department equipment analysis, needs, and recommendation.

 

10. Request by the Finance Director to consolidate the mailing services for police into the Print/Mail Department.

 

Purchasing Agent Julie Van Oss and Finance Director Dawn Foeller outlined reasons why consolidating would be the logical and most cost-effective choice as opposed to appropriating funds to continue the lease of a mail meter machine at full postage rates.  The City ‘s centralized mail department has discounted rates and an agreement with United Mailing Services to pick up and prep the mail prior to delivery to the US Post Office.  Consolidating will save the City approximately $3,364 in 2010, thus making this recommendation a more efficient use of City funds. 

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to approve a reduction in funding for postage for the Police Department and transfer those funds to the Print Department as a result of consolidating the mailing services for police into the Print/Mail Department.

2009 Contingency Fund

$62,130.00

 

 

1).     THIS MEETING IS AUDIO TAPED: THE AUDIO OF THIS MEETING & MINUTES ARE AVAILABLE ON LINE AT          

         WWW.CI.GREEN-BAY.WI.US. 

 

2).      ACCESSIBILITY: Any person wishing to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodation should contact the City Safety Manager at 448-3125 at least 48 hours before the scheduled meeting time so that arrangements can be made.

 

3).      QUORUM: 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.

 

4).      REPRESENTATION: The party requesting the communication, or their representative should be present at this meeting.