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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992.0623.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 23, 1992 A Special Session, open to the public, and possible Executive Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m.,Tuesday,June 23, 1992,in the Fountain Hills Council Chambers located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona. ROLL CALL-Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilman Fox,roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo,Vice Mayor Fox and Councilmembers Mike Minarsich,Frank Clark,Peg Tibbetts,Bill O'Brien and Wally Hudson. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin,Town Accountant Julie Ghetti,Director of Community Development Gary Jeppson,and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. Mr. Nordin stated that he would not be following the agenda order. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1992-17 ESTABLISHING PAY PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE MUNICIPAL SERVICE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Mayor Cutillo said that Vice Mayor Fox suggested that each department budget be discussed before the Council approved any one of them. Councilwoman Tibbetts said that she agreed because the budget was one whole package and it should be looked at in its entirety. Councilman Clark suggested that they go ahead and vote on an item if it stood on its own. Councilman O'Brien stated that if anyone felt there should be further discussion of an item, make note of it and return to it at the end of the reviews. Vice Mayor Fox said that he made the suggestion since some of the department's budgets had several options. He stated that if they were approved,they might need to go back and change their previous decisions. Mayor Cutillo said that any part of the budget that was approved before the public hearing could be changed. He said that it seemed better to approve them as they went and if there was a problem with one, they would go back to it. Mr.Nordin explained that he wanted to discuss the topics that would cut across all the departments,such as the pay resolution,the employee benefits,the Town Hall expansion. The Council agreed. Mr.Nordin explained his theme of"Excellence in a Year of Decision." Mr.Nordin called the Council's attention to the revised Pay Resolution. He said that an evaluation of the pay plan was done on all the Town's positions to develop a more standardized approach. Mr.Nordin said staff approached the ranges with two methods,the Maricopa County average method and the Maricopa County weighted average method. He stated that the Maricopa County average method provided staff the best manner of addressing the wage and salary scale issue. Mr. Nordin said that, with the exception of six positions, the Town staff's pay fell within the Maricopa County pay ranges. He stated that the pay scales in the Resolution were adjusted down for the six positions. Mr.Nordin stated that he recommended that the Administrative Assistant,Secretary I,and Data Entry,Clerk/Typist,and Receptionist positions become a career ladder. He said that it would be possible to get promotions,giving them incentive to perform at increasingly higher levels. Mr.Nordin stated that last year the Pay Resolution was passed in August,along with the rest of the budget. Vice Mayor Fox said the Park&Rec Assistant,levels 1,2,&3,in Section 5,be reworded to not limit that specific type of employee to Park&Recreation Department. He said the Town might want to hire seasonal help for other departments. Vice Mayor Fox recommended that Park&Rec be removed and each department would substitute their department. Mr. Nordin suggested wording it Intern-Level 1 and leave the specific departments out. Vice Mayor Fox said the Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/23/92 Page 1 of 7 Executive Secretary level should be included in the career ladder positions. He suggested the Executive Secretary scale be modified to bring it closer to Administrative 1, so there would be an overlap. Mr. Nordin stared that the new Resolution reflected a reduction in the scale range. He said that staff called other cities and towns that day and got all the Executive Secretary salary ranges and whether they were exempt or not. He said eight agreed with Fountain Hills and seven did not. Councilman O'Brien stated that the position was unique and should not be included with the ladder. Councilman Minarsich agreed. Mayor Cutillo asked if the Administrative Assistant position would move into the Executive Secretary position if the Town Manager's secretary left. Mr.Nordin stated that there would be an open competition,not anything automatic. Councilman Clark stated that his experience was that all levels to the top were in progression. He said that the averaging method used to determine the salary ranges was not an adequate way to figure them. Councilman Clark said the jobs that required a self starter and little direction should have been compared by job content, job description, department size, etc. Councilman Clark recommended that more work should be done on the ranges and since it had no impact on the budget, be tabled. Vice Mayor Fox explained his method for determining the pay ranges and said that he took the positions,the current pay,and the percentage range, the current pay range from last year, the valley and the percentage they fell in. He said the recommendation was to keep the percentage of growth the same. Vice Mayor Fox said that the ranges would be kept for approximately three years and upon the acquisition of the water company, the ranges would be reviewed. Councilman Minarsich said he would favor adopting the Resolution. Councilman Hudson said he agreed and what parts they discovered would not work, would be changed as needed. Councilman Clark stated that there should be a policy that addresses maximum increase of salary during one year. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to adopt Resolution 1992-17 with the following changes in Section 5,position title would be changed from Parks&Recreation to Intern Assistant. SECONDED by Mayor Cutillo and CARRIED by five aye votes to two nay votes cast by Councilman Hudson and Councilman Clark. AGENDA ITEM#3 - REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF EXPENDITURES IN THE 1992/93 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET INCLUDING: SALARIES AND BENEFITS REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES CAPITAL OUTLAY Mr.Nordin presented pages thirty-three through thirty-six,inclusive,next. Mr.Nordin stated that from conversations between the staff and the Council, the additional holiday and vacation leave rates of accrual were not supported. Councilman Minarsich stated that he thought vacation leave should be mandatory. He added that job burnout and low morale were problems in industry. Vice Mayor Fox stated that he agreed with Councilman Minarsich. He said he did not want to see anyone lose vacation days because they were on a special project and could not take a day off. Councilman Hudson said he did not have a problem with the additional one-half day holiday. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to establish a policy of a half day holiday on Christmas Eve and a half day holiday on New Year's Eve. SECONDED by Mayor Cutillo. Councilman O'Brien said he did not care if the offices closed early on the two days mentioned,but did not want it set in concrete. Councilman O'Brien said that if no time was set, the manager could change the time accordingly. Councilman Minarsich and Councilwoman Tibbetts agreed. Motion FAILED. A roll call vote was taken and the results were as follows: Councilman O'Brien nay Councilman Hudson aye Councilman Clark aye Councilwoman Tibbetts nay Councilman Minarsich nay Vice Mayor Fox aye Mayor Cutillo nay Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/23/92 Page 2 of 7 The roll call vote results were four nay to three aye votes. 'NJ Councilman O'Brien made a MOTION that no changes be made to the current vacation hours policy. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich. Councilman Clark said he felt the existing policy was too lenient. Mr. Tancredi said that another employee wanted to take an extended vacation and could not because he had too many days on the books and had to start using them. Motion CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin addressed the meal perdiem policy next. He explained it was to simplify the process of paying for meals when out of town. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to adopt the perdiem policy as written. SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Councilman Hudson stated that it would be difficult to eat for thirty dollars per day. He felt they should be allowed to turn in receipts for food along with all their other receipts. Mayor Cutillo agreed and questioned the need for it. Mr.Nordin said one reason was that the employees would not have to gather up receipts and the other was that it was a way to control costs. Mr. Nordin said there were not very many employees that travelled. Councilwoman Tibbetts said she favored the standard expense form and reimbursement. Mr. Jeppson stated that he would prefer the perdiem policy and could eat cheaply for a few days and then go to a good restaurant, still spending the same amount of dollars. Mayor Cutillo moved the question. Call to move the question CARRIED unanimously. Motion FAILED by a vote of six nay votes to one aye vote by Councilman Minarsich. Mr.Nordin discussed the tuition reimbursement policy and stated staff recommended the same program be approved this year in the amount of $7,600. Councilman Clark made a MOTION to approve. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts. Councilman Clark asked for clarification on what would be allowed. Mr.Nordin explained and stated that each would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Councilman Clark asked what or whose approval was referred to in the verbiage. Mr. Nordin answered his question. Motion CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin addressed the short term disability insurance proposal next,stating staff recommended approval in the amount of$4,000. Councilman O'Brien made a MOTION to approve the request. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich. Councilman Hudson asked when the insurance started. Ms.Ghetti said she would have to look that up. Mayor Cutillo stated that a substitute motion to table the proposal would be sufficient until the question was answered. Mayor Cutillo TABLED the motion. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich and CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin stated that the pay for performance section was the largest in the section and amounted to$62,500. He said it involved three separate programs.Mr.Nordin said the merit program would be once per year instead of twice annually. He stated the bonus program was a new program that was not to exceed 2.5% of the employee's base Rainy or$500,whichever was greater. Mr.Nordin said the third was an employee suggestion program. Vice Mayor Fox asked what the percentage was and Mr.Nordin stated that the figure represented approximately seven percent. Councilman Hudson said he wanted to wait until the other budget items had been covered. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to TABLE until a later session. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts and CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Nordin moved to the office expansion section of the budget. He stated that rental increase would be$569.73 per month. Mr. Nordin said that the new rate was at a lower cost per square foot and was for five years. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to approve the expansion plan. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts. Councilman O'Brien stated that the project fit into the priorities from the Town Hall. Motion CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Nordin moved to the computer/software request section and said if they were addressed at one time,it would be a large dollar amount. He explained that if they were addressed by department and area, they would not be outlandish. Mayor Cutillo suggested it be reviewed by department. He said there was no action to be taken on that item since it was not being addressed then. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/23/92 Page3of7 Mr. Nordin said they would review some of the general fund categories. He displayed overheads of pie charts showing revenues that staff expected to have available. Mr. Nordin said the expected carryover amount was $710,800, which was twenty-five percent of the total available funds of$2.8 million. Mr. Nordin said the largest revenue source was the building permit fees. He then displayed two expenditure summaries and explained them. Mr. Nordin said the largest expenditure item was the Marshal's Department and that was because it included the Maricopa County Sheriff's contract amount. He stated that he proposed some sub-categories within the combined total of reserves and contingency of$719,000 and that they be called designated reserves. Mr. Nordin said they wanted to reserve$100,000 in matching funds for a grant they were going to apply for in connection with Golden Eagle Park. He said they recommended a$10,000 deductible for the liability insurance and setting aside$15,000 in case it was needed. Mr. Nordin said the contingency funds could be used for areas other than designated, for example, if they decided not to have a Golden Eagle Park Master Plan, they could use the funds for development of the park. Councilman Clark made a MOTION to approve the contingency and designated reserve funds as presented. SECONDED by Vice Mayor Fox. Councilman Hudson said the contingency fund involved items that were voted for during the past year that had come to the Council and were considered controversial. He stated that he wanted to be assured that any such item would still come before the Council. Mr.Nordin said that he,in the past, had presented any item he felt was controversial to the Council and would continue to do so. He added that he would accommodate any method of running the contingency fund that the Council preferred. Councilman O'Brien said he viewed it as a planning mechanism. Mayor Cutillo asked if the Council was expected to approve each line item by motion. Mr.Nordin said he recommended the concept be enacted by a motion. Motion CARRIED by six aye votes to one nay vote cast by Councilman Hudson. Mr. Nordin then discussed the Mayor and Town Council budget. He said the major changes were the inclusion of Council salaries. The annual league conference expenses had been charged to administration. Mr.Nordin said that staff recommended approval. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to approve. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich and motion CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin then discussed the Magistrate Court budget. He reviewed a few of the line items,adding that they were difficult areas to project expenses. If expenses exceeded the budgeted amount, the contingency would come into play. Councilman Clark made a MOTION to approve. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich. Councilman O'Brien asked about some specific increases in insurance over last year's budget. The Council discussed and justified those items. Councilman Minarsich stated that the proposed budget and the revised budget were within two- thousand dollars of each other and the revised one was lower. He said this should not be a problem for anyone. Councilman Fox stated that he wanted to be assured that the budget would be spent as indicated in the Magistrate Department. Motion CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin then discussed the Administration Budget,specifically the consulting fee line item. He said$50,000 of the$52,000 was the estimate for the approved consultant to study the water company acquisition. He stated that staff recommended approval. Councilman Clark made a MOTION to approve. SECONDED by Mayor Cutillo and CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin then discussed the Constituent Newsletter Communication item and an amount of$11,500 was requested. Councilman Minarsich asked how much of the$20,000 approved for a newsletter had been used. Mr.Nordin said none of it had been used. Vice Mayor Fox asked how many editions of the newsletter were proposed. Mr. Futterman said there were six thousand addresses to mail to in Fountain Hills and he had planned on a six-page newsletter. He stated that the amount of$8,500 would cover six newsletter mailings,including postage. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to approve$11,500 for a Constituent Communication. SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Vice Mayor Fox objected because staff just stated that$8,500 would cover the entire year and the motion was for$11,500. Councilman Minarsich stated that the Council was approving an amount. He said if staff chose not to mail a newsletter and place an ad in The Times, that would be all right. Councilman O'Brien asked if the Town's time on the public television channel was without cost to the town and Mr. Nordin stated that that was Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/23/92 Page 4 of 7 correct. He said that if the Town spent the$3,000 for a character generator,it would be convenient to have it right in the Town offices, rather than having to travel to the television studio. Motion CARRIED unanimously. 11) Mr. Nordin moved discussion to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. He said the budget included a $2,900 expenditure to pay the dues for another year. Councilman O'Brien made a MOTION to approve. SECONDED by Mayor Cutillo. Vice Mayor Fox asked if the rates had increased. Mr.Nordin stated that they had not, it was still based on the 1985 census. He said that if the amount changed, he would bring it back to the Council. Councilman Minarsich stated he was in favor of Economic Development, however, he was not in support of that particular Council and would rather spend the money on other organizations. Vice Mayor Fox agreed with Councilman Minarsich adding that they have no "small town" program. Councilman O'Brien said he thought the Town would have more leverage if they stayed affiliated with G.P.E.C. and asked them what they were doing for small towns. Councilman Minarsich said that what Fountain Hills had to sell to business leads, such as the environment,community image,and lifestyle,were not even items addressed on the G.P.E.C.leads. Mayor Cutillo stated he supported G.P.E.C. in Fountain Hills. Councilman Clark agreed with Mayor Cutillo. Mayor Cutillo said he was not ready to give up on economic development in Arizona and he wanted Fountain Hills to show its support. Motion CARRIED by a vote of five aye votes to two nay votes cast by Councilman Fox and Councilman Minarsich. Mayor Cutillo suggested the Council end the session at that point. Mayor Cutillo explained that he would call to the public. He said that after the call to the public, the Council would take a five minute recess and then vote to go into executive session. Mayor Cutillo said that after the executive session, the Council would move back to regular session and vote to recess. AGENDA ITEM#7 - CALL TO THE PUBLIC. Mayor Cutillo made the call to the public. There were no comments. J AGENDA ITEM#8 -PURSUANT TO A.R.S.38-431.03.A.7.,VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT ITS REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING NEGOTIATION FOR THE PURCHASE OR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to go into executive session after a short recess at 9:30 p.m. SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien and CARRIED unanimously. The Town Council went into executive session at approximately 9:37 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#9 - RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION AND ADJOURNMENT. The Town Council returned to regular session at 10:17 p.m. Councilman Fox made a MOTION to adjourn. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich and CARRIED unanimously. The Town Council adjourned at approximately 10:18 p.m. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/23/92 Page 5 of 7 TOWN OF FOUNT �.HILLS / -\ ^- By: 4 Z A John CutilloJ Mayor ATTEST: ti'✓ • Cassie B. n, Town C PREPARED BY: Lan L. Bratcher, Secre CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 23rd day of June 1992. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this (r day of August 1992. (1)}1.20..A.A._' IJ Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk L Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/23/92 Page 6 of 7 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 24, 1992 A Special Session, open to the public, and possible Executive Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 24, 1992, in the Fountain Hills Council Chambers located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona. ROLL CALL-Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilwoman Tibbetts,roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Fox and Councilmembers Frank Clark,Peg Tibbetts,Bill O'Brien and Wally Hudson. Councilman Minarsich arrived at 6:40 p.m. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Accountant Julie Ghetti, Director of Community Development Gary Jeppson, Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman, Town Engineer Randy Harrel, and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. Mayor Cutillo stated that Mr.Nordin would start where he had stopped the evening before. Mr. Nordin distributed a memo regarding the new budget sheets, stating that staff had discovered an error in the computer software program. He said that they had to decrease the General Fund Reserve or look for other items to decrease. Mr.Nordin said Councilman Hudson had suggested the Town could make an additional disbursement to C.A.S.S. Mr.Nordin stated that when the General Fund was reduced,the other funds were also reduced. He said that the effect to the General Fund was that there was an increase to the reserve accounts in the amount of$3,725. Mr. Nordin said that the previous night's question regarding the disability insurance waiting period had been researched. He stated that ninety days was the waiting period and staff recommended a Council approval of the $4,000 amount. Councilman Hudson explained that an employee could let their sick leave accumulate and not have a lapse in their coverage. He said that if an employee did use their sick leave time, there would be a lapse in their pay if the injury/disability was not work-related. Councilman Hudson stated that the prior condition issue was an important issue. He said that an employee had to have a prior condition for one year before it would be covered under the insurance. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to accept the proposal for disability insurance for the employees. SECONDED by Mayor Cutillo and CARRIED unanimously. Mr.Nordin then moved discussion to the Economic Development section of the budget. He said the budget amount of$15,000 was to fund F.M.C.'s recruitment of new businesses to Fountain Hills. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to approve the proposed amount. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts and CARRIED unanimously. Mr. Nordin then moved discussion to the Chamber of Commerce. He recommended that$8,000 be approved as indicated in the budget so that Chamber requests would be met as needed. Mr.Nordin said that Councilman Hudson asked that the individual requests for funds be presented to the Council. Councilman Minarsich stated that he did not want to see each request but preferred that the Manager administer it. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to approve the budget amount as stated and the Manager to approve each item to be spent. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts. Ms.Saverson said that the$8,000 would enable the Chamber to do things traditionally done by Chambers. She stated that the projects would benefit the entire community. The motion CARRIED unanimously. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/24/92 Page 1 of 7 ,