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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 03/01/1989 3 • • G'� OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES March 1, 1989 COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Christi Houser Steve Dowell Paul Mann STAFF PRESENT: Jim Harris Mike Webby ^�\ Jim Hansen Tony McCarthy Sandra Driscoll Ron Spang Rod Frederiksen Fred Satterstrom Charlie Lindsey May Miller Priscilla Shea John Marchione Tom Vetsch Teri Mertes Alana McIalwain Sue Viseth Mike Sweeney t Kelli Rogers OTHERS PRESENT: Bernie Biteman, Councilmember- , Public Safety Committee Lyle Price, Valley Daily Newspaper Jim Flick, Citizen Various Police and Union Representatives APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS All claims for the period ending February 28, 1989 in- the amount of $ 1, 164 , 403 . 21 were approved for payment. MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT- DECEMBER 31, 1988 Finance Director McCarthy presented the City' s Financial position as of December 31, 1988. Some highlights were that the General Fund Total Revenue closed the year at 106. 3%, verifying the budgeted trend from June. The General Fund Expenditures were higher in 1988 due to the such projects as remodeling of the second floor of City Hall and added computer maintenance costs not originally budgeted. These expenses forced the City to begin 1989 with a less fund balance than budgeted which will require a cautious spending approach in 1989 . . 5 TIME WORD PROCESSING POSITION FOR POLICE Police Chief Frederiksen presented the issue of increasing the police word processing staff by recruiting 2 full time employees 4 f for data entry and typing master case reports. This would be funded by transferring 1. 5 full time positions from Information Services (the positions are vacant) to the Police Department and adding . 5 full time employee to the Police Department. The initial recruitment process was to hire the positions as Non-Union but at the previous Operations Committee Meeting there was controversy about the positions being Union or Non-Union. Because of this controversy Councilmember Bernie Biteman, of the Public Safety Committee, attended this Operations meeting to re-vote the issue. The Committees voted as two separate Committee's and separate . minutes will be distributed representing each Committee. Councilmember Dowell felt the Committee was getting involved with the Administrative duties of the issue and felt they should just vote on the Chief's recommendation. Councilmember Mann stated a concern about the morale of the existing Record Specialist positions if the new positions received a higher salary. Councilmember Houser proposed hiring the new positions at the same level as the Record Specialists. Chief Frederiksen commented that the new position will not perform the same duties as the Record Specialist, who will be negotiating their contracts in 1990. The new positions will be strictly night shift, without rotation and the duties are similar to a Information Service Position at a Range 16. Chief Frederiksen feels that once trained the person would want to move to Word Processing if the salary was lower in Police. The Operations Committee voted 2-1 against approving the recommendation as presented by the Chief. Councilmember Houser moved to hire the 2 new positions at the level of the current Police Technicians, Range 14 , in the Police department until PERC can address the Union or Non-Union issue. The Operation Committee recommended this request at a 2-1 vote and the Public Safety Committee also recommended it at a 3-0 vote. Assistant City Administrator Webby announced that they would have to create a new step in the City's pay plan as to which benefits this position is entitled. City Attorney Driscoll advised that they may have to go to full Council for temporary authorization of these positions in the City's pay plan. MAYOR'S COMMITTEE ON HOUSING Acting Planning Director Satterstrom presented the Committee a * request of Mayor Kelleher to complete three components of a housing program. These include: 1. Assisted housing needs a isessment 2 . Regulations and special populations 3 . Single-family 'incentives. Funding options were presented to the Planning Committee and they endorsed the request of $56, 000 to be spent: $20, 000 for Consultant to conduct a Housing Needs Assessment and $36, 000 for In-house permanent staff (1 planner at level 31A) . The Operations Committee voiced a concern about why this issue r e i y _ wasn't originally established in the budget. Assistant City Administrator Hansen clarified that Planning asked for a Part Time position in the budget, but it was not funded. Councilmember Dowell had a concern about absentee voting at the Planning Committee when a Councilmember is not in attendance 'to hear the debates concerning the issue. He also presented this option of performing the housing tasks, with the staff we currently have, individually in an order of importance instead of simultaneously. Satterstrom countered that this could work successfully, with little additional funds, but the Mayor wants these tasks to work .concurrently. Councilmember Houser moved the request of the Mayor's plan to perform the three housing tasks and it was recommended by the Committee by a vote of 2 in favor and 1 opposed. USE OF CREDIT CARDS FOR CITY TRAVEL Councilmember Houser requested that this item be placed on the next Operations Committee Meeting agenda due to the time factor and the accumulation of snow. REVIEW CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROCESS Councilmember Houser requested that this item be placed, on the next Operations Committee Meeting also due to same time and snow factors as above. WARD SYSTEM FOR COUNCIL DISTRICTING Jim Flick, a citizen of Kent, presented a proposal for implementing a Districting System in the City of Kent. Districting involves dividing the City into districts and having each Councilmember represent a different district. Mr Flick feels Districting would be a better form of Government, create more representation, be less expensive for a citizen to run for Council by campaigning in a district rather than the whole City and this would draw a larger voter turn out. Councilmember Mann was concerned about only representing part of the City instead of focusing on the City as a whole. . Mr. Flick wants this Districting issue to come to the whole Council and Councilmember Houser suggested the Council address this issue at a future Workshop. The Committee feels a lot of questions on this issue are unanswered, among them the opinion of other cities currently operating this way and the growth of the City of Kent and how to distinguish the boundaries.