MINUTES
FINANCE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS: Chairman John VanderLeest,
Tony Theisen, Tom Weber,
and Steven Deneys
OTHERS PRESENT: Dawn Foeller, Allison Swanson, Russ Schwandt
1. Roll
Call.
Roll call was taken and all were present,
except Ald. Deneys who arrived at 5:48 p.m.
2. Approval
of the Agenda.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen,
seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the agenda.
3. Approval of the minutes of the Finance
Committee meeting of October 13, 2009.
Finance Director Dawn Foeller amended the
November 11, 2009 minutes to read as follows:
To approve the recommendation of the
Purchasing Agent recommending the award of vending machine services to The Konop Companies.
A motion to amend the minutes was made by
Ald. Theisen and seconded by Ald. Weber,
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen,
seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the minutes as amended.
4. Request
by Ald. Piton to review the current and possible future costs of the possible
million dollar lawsuit filed by Ald. VanderLeest
against the City.
City Attorney Allison Swanson spoke to Ald.
Piton and requested this item be held over until the next committee meeting due
to inclement weather.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen,
seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to hold the item. Ald. VanderLeest
abstained.
5. Request by the City Attorney to submit the
quarterly report of the Claims Committee.
Ald. VanderLeest
asked if the City has seen any reduction in driving incidents among its
employees. Attorney Swanson stated claims were up due to
heavier snowfalls within the past couple of years. Those employees involved in multiple
incidents are attending training emphasizing safety in driving. Ald. VanderLeest
would like to see best practices incorporated into driver training, such as a
City policy on cell phone use while driving.
Attorney Swanson explained that the City’s policy is to address the
issue with possible disciplinary action if it is cited as a factor in an
incident. Currently, there have been no
claims against the City involving inappropriate cell phone use.
Ald. Weber asked for the value amount
regarding John Solberg’s claim of damage to reputation, trade, and
business. Attorney Swanson did not know
the amount offhand but upon review of the claim, states it is not less than $2
million.
A motion was made by Ald. Theisen,
seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to receive and
place on file.
6. Request by the Finance Director to continue
to use Brown County to collect taxes on behalf of the City of Green Bay.
Ms.
Foeller mentioned that the agreement with Brown County is in effect for the collection
of 2009 taxes.
A
motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald.
Weber, and carried to approve.
7. Request by the Finance Director to enter into a contract with Forward Appraisal,
LLC through 2010 to complete the City’s Commercial revaluation as well as aid
the assessor’s staff with processing commercial and residential permits.
Ms.
Foeller explained that the City has been using contractual services in the amount
of $60,000 since 2007 as a result of a reduction in staff in the Assessor’s
office. Forward Appraisal has been
working with the City on both residential and commercial permitting work, as well
as commercial revaluation , and the City has followed
this model in both 2008 and 2009. The
contract needs to be approved for 2010.
Please see attachments following the minutes for detail.
City
Assessor Russ Schwandt appeared and spoke on the matter. He is recommending the City continue to use
Forward Appraisal.
There
were several issues with the 2004 commercial revaluation done by CLT, and Ald. VanderLeest wants a summary of how the City is improving
the revaluation process.
Mr.
Schwandt said there will be more time between the issuance of notices and the
Board of Review for property owners to bring their concerns forward.
Ald.
Theisen and Ald. Weber both spoke to the difficulty
involved in revaluations during this economic climate and the ensuing backlash
that will be felt no matter what. The
main concern is to address the issues from the last assessment and try to
improve upon the process as much as possible.
A
motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to approve.
A motion to adjourn was made by Ald. Weber,
seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried. The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.