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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-19 Finance and Safety Minutes City of Tukwila Finance and Safety Committee FINANCE AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MeetingMinutes November 19, 2013–5:30p.m.;Conference Room #3 PRESENT Councilmembers: Dennis Robertson, Chair;De’Sean Quinnand Verna Seal Staff:David Cline, Peggy McCarthy, Joyce Trantina, Kimberly Matej, Rick Still, Tracy Gallaway, Dave Johnson, Warren Orr, Mike Villa, Stephanie Brown, Kim Gilman, Derek Speck, Katherine Kertzman, Mary Miotke, Ryan Larson, Peter Lau, Cyndy Knighton, Laurel Humphrey Guest:Chuck Parrish CALL TO ORDER: CommitteeChair Robertsoncalled the meeting to order at 5:30p.m. I.PRESENTATIONS No presentations. II.BUSINESS AGENDA Consensus existed to take up item D -A Resolution relating to Non-Represented Employees’ Wages and Benefits for 2014as the second item of business. A. Contract: Seattle Express Shuttle Service Staff is seeking Council approval to enter into a contract with Miller Schmer, Inc., (doing business as “Seattle Express”) to provide regularly scheduled shuttle services from hotels in the City of SeaTac to Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila at a rate of $10,000 per month. Seattle Southside Visitor Services (SSVS) has been providing this free shuttle service to hotel guests for over 12 years. As the administrator of SSVS, Tukwila contracts the services with Seattle Express andthe City of SeaTac lodging tax fund reimburses 100% of the cost. Seattle Express delivered more than 28,000 individuals to Westfield Southcenter in 2012, resulting in an estimated $4,311,900 in visitor spending. A competitive bid process is not feasible for this contract since Seattle Express has an Auto Transportation Certificate granting them the UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO sole right to provide this service in our area. DECEMBER 2REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. B. Resolution: Relating to Non-Represented Employee 2014 Wages and Benefits Staff is seeking Council approval of a resolution that would establish the 2014 salary schedule and benefits for non-represented employees of the City of Tukwila. Pursuant to the compensation policy established by Resolution No. 1796 in June 2013, Human Resources staff conducted a market study and regression analysis of the Puget Sound jurisdictions within +/-50% of Tukwila’s assessed valuation. This study revealed that Tukwila’s non-represented wages are above average for the jurisdictions surveyed. Therefore, staff is recommending no wage adjustment for non-represented employees in 2014. In accordance with Council’s expressed desire to beabove average in the provision of benefits, staff is recommending the following changesto non-represented benefits effective January 1, 2014. 1) An additional floating holiday for a total of two annually. 2) A one-time contribution of $500 per non-represented employee into their individual HRA/VEBA account. 3) An increase in the clothing allowance for Police Chief, Fire Chief, Assistant Chiefs, and Police Records Manager by an additional $250 per year. Finance & Safety Committee MinutesNovember 19, 2013 –Page 2 Committee Chair Robertson gave a brief summary of the Council’s deliberations in arriving at the current compensation policy. He agreed that the +/-50% assessed valuationcomparableslistis not precise, but represents the closest, best choice after thorough consideration and consultation. Kimberly Matej, Government Relations Manager, expressed her gratitude to the Councilfor their continued support of employees, specifically acknowledging the outstanding medical benefits offered by the City. With regard to the current compensation policy, she expressed concern with the parameters for comparable jurisdictions. She requested that the Council reconsider these parameters in future decision- making about non-represented wages and benefits,particularly if the City’s labor unions do not use the same set of comparables in the current negotiations. Ryan Larson, Senior Engineer,mentioned some of the complexissuesthat make the City of Tukwila unique that are not present injurisdictions currently defined as comparable. Committee members were appreciative of the staff’s comments, encouraged those present to also attend the Committee of the Whole, and expressed support for the2014 Finance and Safety Committee to revisit the compensation policyas well as the related issue of salary compression due to contracted wage increases. Committee member Quinn noted that salaries for public employees must be strongly defendable, UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. which should remain at the forefront of any future discussions. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 25 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. C. Agreement: Renewal for Microsoft Enterprise Software Staff is seeking Council approval to renew the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for a three-year term in the amount of $86,750.28per year including tax. This agreement was first signed in 2010 to allow the licensing and version standardization of Microsoft products on all City computers, at great benefit to the City. The Enterprise Agreement is a more cost effective method than purchasing individual licenses, and this renewal will save the City $16,628.36 per year. While the budgeted amount for 2013-14 is $85,000, the overage is easily absorbed by the IT budget and staff is requesting no additional funding. Prior to the December 4Regular Meeting, staff will update supporting documents to correct a minor change to the planning services benefit (4 days instead of 4 hours), the final total amount of the agreement, and specific UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO DECEMBER 4 examples of benefits to the City. REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. D. Marketing Plan for Foster Golf Links In response to a request made at the August 20, 2013 discussion of Foster Golf Links (FGL) operations, staff returned to Committee with detailed information regarding the following: 1) Financial Overview: FGL has been historically self-sustaining, but the indirect cost allocation increase in 2011 impacted the budget and operational model. Attachment A to the info memo outlines the 2013 revenues and expenditures. 2)Professionally Reviewed Marketing Plan : A consultant was hired and staff has developed a 2014 Marketing Action Plan. 3) Ideas to Increase Revenue: The primary ideas are to implement the new marketing plan, lengthening the golf season, improve playability, and adjust fees to market levels. 4) Statistics regarding Resident/Non-Resident Use: Approximately 5% of the golfers are residents. Those who work but do not live in the City, “working residents,” make up an estimated additional 7-10%. Resident use will be tracked with the loyalty card program proposed in the marketing plan. Committee Chair Robertson requested a chart or table indicating the number of rounds played per day in 2013. The same graphic will then be prepared for 2014, providing a simple indicator of growth following INFORMATION ONLY. the implementation of the marketing plan. Finance & Safety Committee MinutesNovember 19, 2013 –Page 3 E. Contract Amendment with Berk and Associates Staff is seeking Council approval of an amendment to the contract with Berkand Associates for services relating to Strategic Plan implementation. This amendment would extend the contract through 2014 and will not exceed $65,000, funding for which will continue from the Mayor’s Office 2013/2014 budget. Project components include facilitated work sessions with City leadership and the development of action oriented work plans. Berk has engaged in extensive work with the Citythus farand has great understanding of its unique strengths and challenges. In response to questions and discussion from Committee members, staff confirmed that Berk does have a role in public outreach and engagement efforts. After this contract renewal expires at the end of 2014, it is reasonable to expect that Berk’s primary relationship to the Strategic Plan implementation will end. Staff noted that Brian Murphy’s hourly rate will be corrected to $200/hour in the budget on the second page of UNANIMOUS the Scope of Work. This does not affect the dollar amount for the contract amendment. APPROVAL. FORWARD TO DECEMBER 2 REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. F. Lease Agreement Amendment with Alliance One Receivables Staff is seeking Council approval of an amendment to the lease agreement with Alliance One Receivables Management, Inc. that would extend the lease through December 31, 2014 and increase the monthly rent UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO by 10% to $825. Committee members had no questions. DECEMBER 2 REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. G. Council Review and Approval Process for Vouchers At its September 17 meeting, the Committee requested staff return with information about the process and legal standard for Council approvalof vouchers. It has been the Council’s practice for anindividual Councilmember, selected on a rotating basis, to review and sign off on vouchers prior to the full Council’s approval in a Regular meeting. The RCW and the State Auditor’s BARS manual grants the governing body the responsibility to “ensure that the system of auditing and certifying vouchers is operating in a manner to provide the greatest possible protection for the governing body members and the municipality.” The City’s current financial management system has numerous procedural checks and balances,including review and approval by the initiating department director, the Accounts Payable Fiscal Specialist, the Accounts Payable Fiscal Coordinator and the Finance Director. The level of review provided by the Council is a matter of judgment and confidence placed in the existing controls of the financial management system. The City’s procurement policy and procedures will be reviewed in 2014 and voucher approval will be re-addressed then. Further discussion by Committee membersrevealed that they like having the access and opportunity for voucher review, but there is disparity between the detail of reviewprovided by each of them. The Committee asked Finance Director Peggy McCarthy to state her expectation of the individual Council review. She mentioned that it is a learning opportunity for the Councilmember to learn fund numbers and gain a general understanding of the City’s expenditures. The reviewing Councilmember should understand the nature of transactions, be comfortable with the business purposes of spending, be alert to large, unusual, or sensitive items, and gain confidencethat transactions are consistent with City policies. The Committee asked the Council Analyst to work with staff to add similar language to the draft Council Policy on Voucher Review that is scheduled to come before the Committee of the Whole on November 25. A related issue regarding Council signoff on payroll expenditures will be further explored in 2014 INFORMATION ONLY. Finance & Safety Committee MinutesNovember 19, 2013 –Page 4 III.MISCELLANEOUS City Administrator David Cline provided a briefing on the “Socratic Seminar” hosted at Foster High School earlier in the day. Meeting adjourned at 7:24p.m. Next meeting:Tuesday, December 3,2013–5:30p.m. –Conference Room #3 Committee Chair Approval Minutes by LH