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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMintues PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN NOVEMBER 4, 2020 SPECIAL MEETING held Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. virtually. Mayor Palmeri presided. PRESENT: Council Members Matt Mugerauer, Lynnsey Erickson, Bob Poeschl, Michael Ford, Deb Allison-Aasby, Deputy Mayor Jake Krause and Mayor Lori Palmeri ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk; and Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney Council Member Mugerauer read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Mugerauer. Russ Van Gompel, Finance Director, provided an overview of the 2021 City budget. He explained the sources of all the funds and the largest fund was the general operational revenue. He shared a snap shot of the all the fund revenues from 2011 to 2021. He explained the general fund was the primary operating fund for the City. He explained the general fund revenue increased by 1.9% and the balance was the remaining funds when the expenditures were subtracted from the revenue. He mentioned the assessed tax rate was estimated to increase 2.1% which would be a .20 increase in the tax rate. He stated the average citizen would receive a $36.00 increase to their property taxes for City services. He shared the historical trend on assessed and equalized tax rates and showed an example of detailed monthly City cost that a tax payer would be charged. Council Member Ford asked about the 2009 tax rate. Mr. Van Gompel explained the City had moved categories out of the general fund and mentioned the funding from the State had changed. Mr. Rohloff explained the shared revenue was not what it used to be and the State had cut more than the City had received. Mr. Van Gompel stated over a 10 year period the amount had been substantial. Council Member Ford commended staff and previous Council Members for managing the budget. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 2 Mr. Rohloff stated the Municipal Services Payment Program had gone from .80 to .35 which totaled around $1.8 million. PUBLIC HEARING There was no public comment. WORKSHOP Russ Van Gompel, Director of Finance, explained the amendments provided in the packet and stated if Council would like to include additional amendments they may submit by the end of the day on November 5, 2020. He stated Council would adopt the budget, the levy and approve the financing for the 2021 capital improvement projects at the November 10, 2020 Council Meeting. Mayor Palmeri requested if Council had amendments to submit them to staff. Mr. Van Gompel stated the intent was to provide the information by November 5, 2020 to update budgeted numbers for Council to review. Council Member Mugerauer explained he supported the budget amendments for the water utility/filtration plant’s new operations supervisor position and the water utility/distribution’s new office assistant position. He stated the need for additional staff for succession planning and to reduce stress. Council Member Ford expressed his support for the additional staff. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated her support for the positions. Deputy Mayor Krause expressed his support for the budget amendments regarding the positions. Mayor Palmeri asked why the positions did not impact the levy. Mr. Van Gompel explained the amendments would not impact the levy as they would be offset by utility rates and the expenditures would be covered by the rates. Mr. Rohloff explained the proposed amendments regarding the internal benefit fund would come out of fund balance not from the levy. Mayor Palmeri recommended a variation of the internal benefit fund which would fund PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 3 $50,000 in the tuition assistance program and $50,000 in down payment assistance program for employees who wish to purchase a home inside City limits. She explained the enhancement would be an additional option and not in combination with the other proposed amendment. Council Member Erickson asked if the water utility position would increase the utility rates. Mr. Van Gompel stated the rate would cover the costs. Mr. Rohloff explained the expenditures would have an effect on the rates however the cost would not be significant. James Rabe, Director of Public Works, stated the water filtration plant was the only plant without a backup position in a managerially position. Council Member Mugerauer explained the amendment to create the tuition assistance program to further staff within the City. He stated the intent was to create a ready workforce when a position would become available so internal staff could apply for senior positions. Deputy Mayor Krause asked about the down payment assistance program. Mayor Palmeri questioned the dollar amount in the internal benefit fund and inquired about the use of funds prior to the amendments. She explained the down payment assistance program would provide incentives to move to the City and revitalize neighborhoods. She stated all City employees would be eligible. Mr. Rohloff explained the funds were the leftover dollars from a previous self-insured insurance program and Council had asked for the dollars not be used for anything other than health insurance/program cost. He mentioned when the City went back to the self- insured model the money would be there to cover costs. Mayor Palmeri confirmed the amount was $1.8 million. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked if the incentive was a relocation incentive. Mayor Palmeri confirmed that was correct. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked if employees had inquired about relocation incentives. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 4 Mr. Rohloff explained the municipality magazine highlighted employee incentives such as wage, contribution to deferred comp, or health saving account however there was no housing incentive. John Fitzpatrick, Assistant City Manager/Director Administrative Services, stated the program he was familiar with were designed to encourage individuals to live within the City. He mentioned that other communities had offered a stipend to live within the City. Mayor Palmeri expressed the intent was to attract existing employees and potential new employees. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked for more information regarding the housing and suggested starting the tuition reimbursement and possibly reviewing the enhancement as an additional incentive for next year. She questioned what the tuition reimbursement covered. Mr. Rohloff stated staff would provide information depending on what Council approved and explained that staff had reviewed the career ladders. Council Member Poeschl asked if Council approved the enhancement would staff put together the policy of the program for Council to review. Mr. Rohloff explained that was correct, staff would provide the policy for the program for Council to review. He stated the budget approval would be for the funding. Council Member Poeschl stated the program was in the concept phase. Mr. Rohloff explained that staff had researched the concept and had been working on the program/policy. Mayor Palmeri asked if certifications would be included. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that staff had done significant research and drafted a policy. He explained the program was designed to develop employees who would like to seek a degree for a higher position or employees to seek other positions within the City whether that be a degree or certification. Mr. Rohloff stated the City had already provided training for staff to obtain certifications. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, explained the certification had been a part of the career ladder for advancement. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 5 Council Member Mugerauer stated that the intention was to provide employees an incentive to grow personally and professionally and to stay within the organization. Council Member Poeschl asked if staff knew how long the $100,000 might last. Mr. Rohloff stated if each employee were granted $2,500 per person/per year the fund could award 40 employees. He explained that staff recommended to not include the incentive as an annual budgeted item however an annual appropriation into the program which the seed money would assist with. Mr. Fitzpatrick explained staff wanted to accommodate as many employees as possible and stated that staff had reviewed how other programs had been constructed with built in perimeters for success. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked if the broad offering would increase interest with staff. She supported the amendment of $100,000. Mayor Palmeri stated the benefit to housing assistance could assist those who would not see the benefit for the educational funding. She asked if there could be other internal benefits that could be applied for through the fund or was it restricted funding. Mr. Rohloff explained the fund was compartmentalized. Mayor Palmeri asked about the possibility of increasing the document assistance for “Sold on Oshkosh” for specified neighborhoods. Mr. Davis stated the option was included with the housing study. Mayor Palmeri asked if City employees would be eligible to apply for the program. Mr. Rohloff mentioned if Council wanted to expand the program specifically for employees, the funds would be appropriate for program as well. Council Member Ford asked what the intent of the housing program. Mayor Palmeri explained the intent was a combination of talent attraction and to recapture City employees. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked what the study entailed. Mr. Fitzpatrick suggested that Council not approve the study. He explained the study PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 6 provided a class and comp study that had detailed analysis, job description questionnaires and rate positions. He stated staff would like to stratify the job classifications and due to COVID-19 staff felt the information would be inaccurate. Council Member Allison-Aasby was concerned about the pricing of the study. Mr. Fitzpatrick explained the study would be in-depth and was done every 10 years. Mayor Palmeri asked why the enhancement was provided within the packet. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated he had submitted the enhancement as part of the budget process and the Council had the final decision. He explained staff wanted to provide the information and allow Council to decide. Mr. Rohloff stated that staff had recommended not do proceed with the study due to COVID-19 and the market. He mentioned that the study could be done in 2022. Mayor Palmeri reminded Council Members to ask questions related to the enhancements when the various department representatives were available. Council Member Ford asked about the fire department proposal to offset the funding for the positions with overtime costs and asked what the service impact would be if Council only approved 1 or 2 positions. Mike Stanley, Fire Chief, explained the schedule was 3 shifts and if all three positions were not approved it would be hard to determine overtime costs. He stated the positions would add 1 employee to each shift. Council Member Mugerauer stated his support as long as the positions were budget neutral and expressed his concern for the positions for next year during budget time if those positions needed funding. Mr. Rohloff explained that the chief would request individuals to begin the recruit academy and the City had authorized 3 additional individuals participate due to drop out throughout the training. He stated the recruit academy was activated when the department had potential upcoming vacancies. He stated he had seen the principal program work when executed properly and it could be a permanent fixture if successful. Council Member Mugerauer stated he supported the trial of the positions. Council Member Allison-Aasby expressed her support. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 7 Council Member Poeschl left at 6:22 p.m. for an Oshkosh Area School District Board meeting. Mayor Palmeri mentioned if Council Members had follow-up questions to reach out to staff. Mr. Rohloff asked if other Council Members had amendments to let staff know by the afternoon of November 5, 2020. He explained the revised budget amendment document would be provided on Friday, November 6, 2020. Russ Van Gompel, Director of Finance, stated last year there were motions prior to the next Council meeting. Mayor Palmeri asked if a motions could be made. Ms. Lorenson stated Council did have the ability to make motions. MOTION: ADOPT 2021 BUDGET AMENDMENT #3 FIRE DEPARTMENT ADDITION OF 3 FIREFIGHTERS (Ford; second, Mugerauer) WITHDRAWN BY COUNCIL MEMBER FORD AND MUGERAUER Council Member Mugerauer asked if Council would add this as an enhancement to the budget Mr. Rohloff suggested to not include the enhancement in the budget. Council Member Ford withdrew the motion. Council Member Mugerauer withdrew the second. MOTION: ADOPT 2021 BUDGET AMENDMENT #5 WATER UTILITY/FILTRATION PLANT - NEW POSITION – OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR & #6 WATER UTILITY/DISTRIBUTION - NEW POSITION – OFFICE ASSISTANT (Mugerauer; second, Erickson) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Mugerauer, Erickson, Ford, Allison-Aasby, Krause, Mayor Palmeri MOTION: ADOPT 2021 BUDGET AMENDMENT #1 CREATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (Mugerauer; second, Allison-Aasby) CARRIED: Ayes (5) Mugerauer, Erickson, Allison-Aasby, Krause, Mayor Palmeri Present (1) Ford PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL – NOVEMBER 4, 2020 8 Council Member Erickson explained her support for the enhancement. Mayor Palmeri mentioned it was an additional opportunity to assist with the “sold on Oshkosh” benefit for employees. Mr. Rohloff stated that staff would continue to research and work on how the City would provide the housing benefit to employees. Council Member Mugerauer explained that he would like more information on the funding for housing. MOTION: ADJOURN (Mugerauer, second, Allison-Aasby) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Mugerauer, Erickson, Ford, Allison-Aasby, Krause, Mayor Palmeri The meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK