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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-01-31 Committee of the Whole MinutesJanuary 31, 1977 CITY OF TUKWILA 7:30 P.M. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS APPROVAL OF MINUTES DISCUSSION Proposed Ord. Appropriating Funds Amending the 1977 Budget Notice of Call for Bids on the Fire Dept. Computer System Proposed Res. Authorizing Mayor to sign amendment to the Labor Contract w /Treamsters Local #763 for year 1977 Proposed Ord. Adopting OMC *CARRIED. M I N U T E S TRAYNOR, HILL, MS. PESICKA, VAN DUSEN. 70 City,Hall Council Chambers Council President Hill called the Commiteee of the Whole Meeting to order at 7:40 P.M. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY MS. PESICKA, THAT THE JANUARY 24, 1977 MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING BE APPROVED AS PUBLISHED. Councilman Van Dusen said he wished to clarify his statement on Page 2, first paragraph. He said his intent was not to say there was a financial crisis in the City but rather there was a financial situation that he thought could be straightened out to save some dollars for the City. Council President Hill said in order to obtain the money for the computer for the Fire Department there would have to be a transfer of funds and the budget would have to be amended. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY VAN DUSEN, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE APPROPRIATING FUNDS AND AMENDING BUDGET ORDINANCE NO. 1002 BE ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FEBRUARY 7, 1977 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. CARRIED. Mayor Bauch said the original bid asked for the call to come on February 25 and be opened at 4 p.m. Council President Hill said if the Council waits until next Monday to approve the call for bids they could still be opened on March 21, 1977. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY MS. PESICKA, THAT THE CALL FOR BIDS BE ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FEBRUARY 7, 1977 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. CARRIED, WITH VAN DUSEN VOTING NO. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE PROPSOED RESOLUTION BE ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FEBRUARY 7, 1977 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. CARRIED. Mayor Bauch stated when this matter was discussed last week at the Committee of the Whole Meeting he was directed to inquire of the Cities of Issaquah, Auburn, Kent, and Renton the status of the elected Treasurer at the time the OMC was adopted. He said his inquiries showed that Issaquah had a City Clerk and a Treasurer that were appointed officers at the time they adopted the OMC. The City of Renton had the elected Treasurer fill out her term and then she retired. She had planned to retire at that time. The City of Kent had an appointed City Clerk and Treasurer at the time they went OMC. The City of Auburn had an elected Treasurer and she filled her term of office. Councilman Traynor asked City Treasurer Harris if there would be any conflict if another person came in to take over the finances of the City before her elected term of office was completed. City Treasurer Harris said she did not see any conflict, she would not be adverse to helping someone. Councilman Traynor said he felt they should hire some one to come to work in January and have him step right into the job. He said he knew Councilman Saul felt someone should be in the job earlier. City Treasurer Harris said she felt anyone would welcome a period of time to get their feet on the ground before they had to take over the reins. She said if she were in the same position she would welcome a time to get established. Councilman Pesicka said she thought it would take anyone a while to get established and set things up. Councilman Van Dusen stated if a person knew municipal finance he should be able to step right in. Council President Hill said if they are going to set all of the finances up under one person he thought that person should have some time to adapt his CITY OF TUKWILA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING January 31, 1977 Page 2 DISCUSSION Contd. /133 Proposed Ord. system into the City's system. City Treasurer Harris said she Adopting OMC thought it would take someone about three months to get Contd. acquainted with everything. Councilman Pesicka asked if Deputy City Attorney Hard had any questions about the wording in Section 4 of the OMC. He had said the Council should spell out the fact that they were going to phase out the Treasurer's office and create a whole new department. Salary Plan MOVED BY MS. PESICKA, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE ADOPTING OMC BE ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FEBRUARY 7, 1977 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. Councilman Traynor said if someone was brought in before the Treasurer's elected term of office is over, the duties of each should be spelled out. Councilman Van Dusen said the City Clerk function and Treasurer's functions are being combined. City Treasurer Harris said there are certain areas that a person has to learn as they go along. She said any program you change should have the old program running parallel with the new one until you are sure the new one will work. She thought anyone would be glad to have the regular functions going on while they are implementing their new ideas. Councilman Van Dusen said the idea then is to bring in a Finance Director in September in a learning capacity, then when he is ready to reorganize, can he reorganize or does he have to wait until January 10, 1978? City Treasurer Harris said she did not know why someone could not be here organizing, etc., while she has the responsibility for the cash. *CARRIED. Mayor Bauch referred to his letter dated January 31, 1977 containing salary plan recommendations. Councilman Van Dusen said the thing that bothered him was the fact that he had never seen the actual job descriptions that the employees had made out. Everyone he had seen seems to have been changed by someone. Mayor Bauch said the job descriptions that were looked at by the City Council were reviewed by the Department Heads and reflected the job descriptions as seen by the supervisor. He said sometimes an employee's idea of what his job is and what his supervisor's idea is can be a little different. Councilman Pesicka said she thought the Council voted to accept the plan that Councilman Traynor made up. Council President Hill said the plan was presented to USTME and they voted it down. Council President Hill said he thought they should have a discussion period and go over the Council's own plan and see which plan they are going to adopt. Gary Crutchfield, USTME, asked if members or representatives of USTME would be able to participate in the Commitee of the Whole meeting. He said USTME's main concern is the method that is being used in coming up with the salary plan. Councilman Traynor said he would like to see the Council sit down and discuss the salary plan, then take it to USTME and if they are not happy with it then they could come up with a plan that represents the majority of the USTME members. Al Pieper, Building Department, said the biggest objection to the Prior Plan was the fact that there was no input from the employees, except the job descriptions. He said it had been passed down that some of the employees would be called in to explain their job. This was not done. The job descriptions were evaluated without employee input. He asked if there was no input how could a proper evaluation be made. Mayor Bauch said the job descriptions were reviewed and they are acceptable. The super- visors and department heads are qualified to say what the employees are doing in their jobs. Councilman Van Dusen said the City Council did not like the Prior study at all and their own study followed some of the things Prior did and some of the Council's own study. Council President Hill said there would be an Executive Session of the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, February 1, 1977 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the salary plan. CITY OF TUKWILA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING January 31, 1977 Page 3 DISCUSSION Contd. Utility Accounting Management Audit of City Depts. RECESS MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY VAN DUSEN, THAT THE COMMITTEE OF THE 8:35 P.M. -8:50 P.M. WHOLE RECESS. CARRIED. Council President Hill called the Committee of the Whole Meeting back to order with Council Members present as previously listed. Councilman Van Dusen said his letter to the Council regarding utility accounting probably should have been addressed to Administration. He read his letter stating with reference to the City Treasurer's request for one additional full time person during budget hearings, he and Councilman Traynor had felt this would be an appropriate time to examine part of the office's operation for efficiency and effectiveness. He said they looked at how utility billing was handled in the Treasurer's office. He said they arrived at the following conclusions: 1. The Burroughs L5000 computer is not being used for the purpose it was intended. A. This machine is capable of being programmed to calculate and make all printouts for accounting purposes for the City. Treasurer Harris said this was true. B. The computer printouts should be the only paperwork in the City for auditing purposes. Treasurer Harris said the auditor likes more than the printouts. He likes to have a back -up on this infor- mation. 2. Hand calculations are being done by City personnel that dupli- cate the program and function intended for the computer. A. Water consumption from meter books are calculated in the books. Treasurer Harris said they have eliminated figuring the water con- sumption. F. The utility accountant function was not looked into because of insufficient information, but it is thought he is also hand entering information into the ledgers. Treasurer Harris said she would like to have the auditor explain the function of the utility accountant. They have a separate auditor for the utilities. The following recommendations were suggested to help streamline the City operations and keep cost to a minimum. 1. Bring programming and usage of the L5000 up to full capabilities. A. Eliminate hand calculations and entries into ledgers. Treasurer Harris said they have eliminated hand calculations. B. Use computer printouts for official city records. Treasurer Harris said the printouts have always been used for official city records. 2. Fully train all persons involved with accounting to use and understand computer operations. Treasurer Harris said they are training everyone. 3. Possibly convert to a two month billing as one good way of lessening clerical work load. Treasurer Harris said she felt they were here to give a service; every other month billing would be a hardship on some people. 4. Do not hire another person for the Treasurer's office. Treasurer Harris said the Council obviously will not approve the hire of another person so she would go along with it. Treasurer Harris said she was happy they were putting everything they could on the machine. Councilman Traynor said he would like to have the Department Heads get together and see how they could improve the City Departments. He said he thought the small computers can be used for lots of things. Mayor Bauch said this matter of management audit was dis- cussed during the budget hearings and he had said he would assist in any ideas that came out of an audit. He said the audit is a function of the City Council. CITY OF TUKWILA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING January 31, 1977 Page 4 DISCUSSIONS Contd. Council Procedures Councilman Traynor said the Community Affairs Committee had dis- cussed Council Procedures at their meeting. He said the Committee wanted to see if the Council wanted the suggested changes. He said he thought the Council wanted provisions so they could remove the Council President by a five vote of the Council if they found the Council President could not do his job. Another suggestion was seating arrangements at the Council Table. He said he would like to recommend that the seating arrangement be by seniority with the President sitting next to the Mayor, then it would be obvious where a new member would sit. He said all of the Council had received Minutes of the Community Affairs Committee meeting which contained the suggested revisions. Council President Hill said he would like to have the proposed changes go to the City Attorney so he could rewrite the ordinance. Councilman Traynor said they also discussed Committees and the opinion was expressed that the same three people should be on two Committees and the two Committee Meetings could be held on the same night, one right after the one. There would be a different Chairman on each Committee. Councilman Van Dusen said he thought the Procedures should provide for a leave of absence for Council Members if they should not be able to attend Council Meet- ings for a period of time. This way an interim member could be appointed to serve on the Council in the absence of the regular Council Member. Mayor Bauch said the procedures should state the day the Committee of the Whole Meetings will be held if the regular day falls on a holiday. The regular City Council Meetings are held the day following a holiday when the holiday falls on the first or third Monday of the month. The Committee of the Whole Meeting should be taken care of in the same manner. Mayor Bauch said in regard to the Section on Agendas, the 5 p.m. deadline for getting the final agenda out should be 2 or 3 p.m. Mayor Bauch said in many places within the City Council Procedures the Council has quoted the R.C.W., things that are legally required. It makes the Ordinance clumsy to have these quotes in it and also makes it hard to find the things you really want. He said in a couple of places in the Procedures it speaks of the Senior Member of the City Council and he thought that should be spelled out. He said what they have attempted to do is have a back -up for Council Presi- dent in case he is not available. Councilman Traynor said they would like to have a draft of the Council Procedures from the City Attorney. He said they would like to change the Committee of the Whole Meeting time from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. so all of the Meetings will be at the same time. Council- man Traynor said if the Committees take the Thursday evening that the building is not being used and have the Committee Meetings on that night with the same three people being on two separate Committees. This would eliminate the need of being out so many nights. MOVED BY MS. PESICKA, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE SUGGESTED CHANGES TO THE COUNCIL PROCEDURES BE GIVEN TO DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY HARD FOR HIS REVIEW AND DRAFT INTO AN ORDINANCE INCLUDING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MAYOR. CARRIED. Request by Frank Todd Council President Hill read letter from Frank Todd requesting City Tie -in sanitary Council approval for tie -in and use of the City's sanitary sewer sewer system system for property lying partially within the City corporate limits and partially outside the City limits. If permission is granted he would then proceed with engineering necessary to build to City standards. Mr. Todd drew a map on blackboard pointing out the vic- inity involved. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY MS. PESICKA, THAT THE LETTER OF REQUEST BE TURNED OVER TO THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT FOR A STAFF REPORT. Council President Hill said they would ask to have a report back to the Council by next Monday night for the regular Council Meeting. *CARRIED. CITY OF TUKWILA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING January 31, 1977 Page 5 DISCUSSIONS Contd. ♦73 City Council Councilman Van Dusen asked the procedure the Council would take to Vacancy fill the vacancy on the City Council brought about by the resig- nation of Councilman Harris. Mayor Bauch said he had discussed the letter of resignation addressed to him with the City Attorney and he had said it is a case of not being a valid resignation since it was addressed to him as Mayor and not to the City Council President. The City Attorney said the Council can request the letter be rewritten and addressed to the proper person, they can accept the letter as is, or wait for an unexcused absence of three meetings which would cause an automatic vacancy. Council President Hill said in the past they have thrown it open to anyone who wanted to apply, they could file a letter of application and the Council would interview the applicants and come up with a decision. Council- man Traynor said maybe the Council should find someone who would like to be on the Council and agree on that person. International Cities Management Assoc. Work Books ADJOURNMENT 10:00 P.M. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY MS. PESICKA, THAT THE COUNCIL CONSIDER THE LETTER OF RESIGNATION SUBMITTED BY COUNCILMAN CATHERINE M. HARRIS AND IT BE ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FEBRUARY 7, 1977 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. CARRIED. Mayor Bauch stated that at the last Committee of the Whole Meeting there was a discussion regarding the work books prepared by International Cities Management Association. He said John McFarland, Administrative Assistant, was in contact with A.W.C. and there will be two meetings this Friday to discuss the matter. Mayor Bauch said the consensus was they might have an all -day seminar. Council President Hill said he was in favor of that. Mayor Bauch said it would be on a Saturday and they had indicated they would like to have it in March. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY MS. PESICKA, THAT THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING ADJOURN. CARRIED. id.t,"„2_,J Norma—Booher, Recording Secretary