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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 12/04/2007 I ENT W A S H I N O T O N OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES DECEMBER 4, 2007 Committee Members Present: Debbie Raplee, Deborah Ranniger and Tim Clark The meeting was called to order by Chair Tim Clark at 4:03 p.m. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES DATED NOVEMBER 20, 2007 Debbie Raplee moved to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2007, Operation Committee meeting. Deborah Ranniger seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 2. APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS DATED NOVEMBER 30, 2007 Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the vouchers for November 30, 2007, for approval. Deborah Ranniger moved to approve the vouchers dated November 30, 2007. Debbie Raplee seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 3. WASHINGTON TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION GRANT Police Chief Steve Strachan presented the Washington Traffic Safety Commission Grant. Chief Strachan advised that The Kent Police Department received notice from Washington Traffic Safety Commission of reimbursable grant funds for Night Time Seat Belt Enforcement for the period of October 22 through November 5, 2007. The funds are designated for overtime salary, wages and benefits of commissioned personnel who participated in the enforcement. Debbie Raplee moved to recommend that Council accept the Washington Traffic Safety Commission grant in the amount of $2,860.00 and place this on the Consent Calendar of the December 11, 2007, City Council Meeting. Deborah Ranninger seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 4. PC REPLACEMENT PLAN, 2007/2008 Information Technology Technical Services Manager Paul Dunn presented the PC Replacement Plan, 2007/2008. Mr. Dunn advised that the City has approximately 715 desktop computers on a 4 - year replacement cycle. In 2006, the IT department replaced 196 desktop systems as part of our annual refreshment cycle. This year, the City is ready to replace approximately 210 computers. When this project is completed, the City's desktop computer fleet will be running at a minimum (CPU) speed of 2 gHz. Additionally, this replacement cycle will install computers that are Windows® Vista ready. When this project is completed, just over one half of the City's PC Fleet will be ready to operate on Windows® Vista Operating System. Operations Committee Minutes December 4, 2007 Page: 2 This replacement includes monitors. Monitors have not been replaced on a standard rotation, and many are up to 10 years old. New replacement PC's will come with monitors this year. The budget impact is from the CIP Computer Life Cycle Replacement Plan which is already allocated and is estimated at $295,000. The Committee raised questions and Mr. Dunn addressed those questions. Deborah Ranninger moved to that the Council authorize the Mayor to sign purchase orders for replacement computers and monitors and vendor services not to exceed $295,000. Debbie Raplee seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 5. VOICE OVER IP TELEPHONE SYSTEM FOR COURT AND IT Information Technology Technical Services Manager Paul Dunn presented the Voice Over IP Telephone System for Court and IT. Mr. Dunn advised that the Kent Municipal Court leases space and Telecommunications Services from King County at the Aukeen Court Facility. The City's telephone system is connected to the leased telephone system at courts, and often experiences problems due to the aging hardware from the County and limitations of the system. In anticipation of a possible acquisition of this building from the County, and in light of the existing limitations of the present system, the City IT Department desires to implement a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone system at the Kent Municipal Courts Facility. This implementation will provide a full featured telephone system that is completely compatible with the City's existing Nortel telephone system. In the event that the City opts to move away from this facility, this VoIP telephone system can be relocated with ease to any new facility the City occupies. The overall cost of this project is planned to be approximately $65,000. Funding for the project is from a conversion of Telecommunications Operating Budget Surplus and a portion from IT Tech Plan II - 2007. The IT department has continued over the past 2 years to apply upgrades and improvements to the City's telephone system in order to keep it compatible with improvements in telecommunications technology, such as VoIP. The Information Technology Department will install VoIP telephones as part of this project in order to cross train and best prepare to support further VoIP implementations for the City of Kent. This proposed extension of services is in alignment with the IT Department's Telecommunications Strategy. Mr. Dunn addressed the Committee's questions. Debbie Raplee moved that the Council authorize the Mayor to sign purchase orders to implement the Voice over IP Telephone System for the Kent Municipal Court and Information Technology Department, for an amount not to exceed $66,000. Deborah Ranniger seconded, which passed 3-0. 6. NON-REPRESENTED EMPLOYEE SALARY AD3USTMENT PROCESS - RESOLUTION City Attorney Tom Brubaker presented the Non-Represented Employee Salary Adjustment Process - Resolution. Mr. Brubaker advised that the Committee Chair and Council Member Raplee have requested the Law Department prepare a resolution for Council consideration which outlines the process for conducting group comparative salary surveys and implementing the results of those surveys. The proposed resolution would provide such a process. the Operations Committee recommended Council adopt the resolution, with one change to provide that the Mayor has authority to conduct and implement salary surveys for single job classifications so long as there are 5 or less non-represented employees in that classification. Operations Committee Minutes December 4, 2007 Page: 3 Debbie Raplee moved to amend section 3 of the proposed resolution from 7 or less non represented employees to 5 or less non-represented employees. Deborah Ranninger second, which passed 3-0. Deborah Ranniger moved to recommend Council adopt the proposed resolution which relates to group comparative salary surveys for non-represented employees. Debbie Raplee seconded, which passed 3-0. 7. WRITE-OFFS FOR 2007 Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the Write-Offs for 2007. Mr. Nachlinger advised that The Washington State Auditor's Office has recommended that the City write-off uncollectible accounts receivables that are over one year old. The write-off request is for $22,815.95 on uncollectible accounts from 2006. There is no budget impact resulting from these write-offs as the amount has been fully reserved as a bad debt in previous years. The breakdown of the write offs is $3,466.76 for accounts receivable and $19,349.19 for permits. The Committee raised questions regarding the storm connection permits and Public Works Director Larry Blanchard addressed those questions. Debbie Raplee moved to recommend that the Operations Committee authorize the write-offs of miscellaneous accounts receivable, utility billing and permit charges totaling $22,815.95 for accounts from 2006. Deborah Ranniger seconded, which passed 3-0. S. FINANCIAL ADVISORY SELECTION-APPROVAL Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the Financial Advisory Selection-Approval. Mr. Nachlinger advised that with the upcoming bond issue for the Events Center as well as other potential issues, the City will be best served by a financial advisor the help coordinate the issuance of debt, assist in negotiations on the sale of bonds and the purchase of bond insurance, assist in dealings with the rating agencies, and to verify the pricing of the bonds to be issued. An RFQ was sent to six firms for the position of financial advisor and responses were received from four of them. An analysis was done on capabilities and price. The final analysis was that PFM could clearly do the work at the highest price and my concern was that the City might get lost in a firm that size. DM could do most of the work contemplated in the RFQ but without a trading desk my concern was the ability to accurately track market conditions on the day of sale to insure the best rates on the bonds. SNW could do the work, had the trading desk, and had expertise in the local area and was cheaper than other firms Mr. Nachlinger advised that there is no budget impact resulting from this engagement as the payment will only accrue upon the issuance of the bonds and will be charged as a cost of issuance of the debt. Deborah Ranniger moved to recommend that the Operations Committee authorize the selection of Seattle Northwest Securities as Financial Advisor for the City for a period of five years. Debbie Raplee seconded, which passed 3-0. Operations Committee Minutes December 4, 2007 Page: 4 9. UNDERWRITING TEAM SELECTION-APPROVAL Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the Underwriting Team Selection-Approval. Mr. Nachlinger advised that with the upcoming bond issue for the Events Center as well as other potential issues, the City will be best served by a team of bond underwriters to provide the widest distribution of the issued bonds to the marketplace. The team of three will provide two national firms and a regional firm to access both the local and national markets. A RFQ was sent to eight firms for the position of underwriter of the City's bonds (see attached). Upon reviewing the responses to the RFQ, Lehman Bros. was selected for its access to the institutional New York markets; Wachovia, who recently merged with A. G. Edwards, has a nationwide retail distribution network through its banking arm; and Piper-Jaffrey has expertise in the sale and marketing of Washington debt as well as a local cadre of clients. Together, these firms give the City access to all facets of the market and the City will be well served by the team. These is no budget impact resulting from this engagement as the payment will only accrue upon the issuance of the bonds and will be charged as a cost of issuance of the debt. Debbie Raplee moved to recommend that the Operations Committee authorize the selection of Lehman Brothers, Wachovia Securities and Piper-Jaffrey as the underwriting team for the City for a period of five years. Deborah Ranniger seconded, which passed 3-0. 10. CPA 2008-2013 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN ORDINANCE Planning Manage Charlene Anderson presented the Comprehensive Plan Amendment 2008-2013 Capital Improvement Plan Ordinance. Ms. Anderson advised that Kent City Code allows update of the Capital Facilities Element of the Kent Comprehensive Plan concurrent with the adoption of the City budget. The Capital Facilities Element includes the City's 6-year financing plan, which is updated annually. The City Council held the required public hearing on this proposed update to the Kent Comprehensive Plan on October 16, 2007, at the same time as the second public hearings for the budget and the City's 6-year Capital Improvement Plan. One of the planning goals under the Growth Management Act (RCW 36.70A.020) is to ensure that those public facilities and services necessary to support development are adequate and timely to serve the development without decreasing current service levels below minimum standards. The GMA requires the Capital Facilities Element of the Kent Comprehensive Plan to inventory existing capital facilities, forecast future needs and provide for financing of those facilities needed in the future. There is not budget impact in this regard Deborah Ranniger moved to recommend updating the Capital Facilities Element of the Kent Comprehensive Plan to include the 2008-2013 Capital Improvement Plan, as recommended by staff. Debbie Raplee seconded, which passed 3-0. 11. 2007 PROPERTY TAX LEVY ESTABLISHED-ORDINANCES Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the 2007 Property Tax Levy Established-Ordinances. Mr. Nachlinger advised that the proposed ordinances establish the actual 2007 property tax levy for the 2008 budget. The levy includes the 1% increase over last year's levy and increases resulting from new construction, increases in state assessed property, other adjustments and annexed properties. State law requires a separate ordinance to authorize any increase in property tax. The first ordinance authorizes an increase in the regular property tax to 1% over Operations Committee Minutes December 4, 2007 Page: 5 the previous maximum allowed tax levy. The second ordinance levies the tax for 2008 collection. The current estimates for the 2008 budget are 26,564.936 for the regular levy and $600,000 for the voted debt levy, for a total levy estimate of $27,164,936. Final numbers are pending receipt of the assessed valuation from King County. Debbie Raplee moved to recommend council adopt the proposed ordinances which authorize and establish an increase in the 2007 property tax levy for collection in 2008, final numbers subject to minor adjustment upon receipt of the assessed valuation from Icing County. Deborah Ranniger seconded, which passed 3-0. 12. 2008 BUDGET ADOPTION ORDINANCE Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the 2008 Budget Adoption Ordinance. Mr. Nachlinger advised that this ordinance adopts the 2008 budget. The budget to be adopted is summary in Exhibit A of the ordinance. It includes the Preliminary Budget document as amended by Exhibit B, which in includes all adjustments made to the Preliminary Budget since its original publication. Chair Tim Clark provided an update on the Lodging Tax Advisory Board. Deborah Ranniger moved to recommend adoption of an ordinance adopting the 2008 budget. Debbie Raplee seconded, which passed 3-0. 13. WATER AND DRAINAGE RATES AND FEES - ORDINANCE Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the Water and Drainage Rates and Fees - Ordinance. Mr. Nachlinger advised that at its November 20, 2007, meeting, the Operations Committee considered a number of proposed amendments to existing fees established in the Kent City Code. After discussing the matter, the Operations Committee made recommendations and requested staff prepare a draft ordinance incorporating those recommendations. A draft ordinance is attached for the Committee's consideration, and if acceptable, staff requests that the Committee recommend adoption of the ordinance to the full City Council at its December 11, 2007, meeting. The proposed ordinance budget impact would be additional revenue of approximately $41,000 due to an increase in water service turn off and delinquent utility fees, Additional revenue of approximately $240,000 due to establishment of inspection fees for the Cross-Connection Control Program, and additional revenue of approximately $207,894 due to an increase in the drainage basin fees. The Committee raised questions regarding the importance of the notification process to the citizens and customers and Public Works Director Larry Blanchard addressed those questions and concerns. Debbie Raplee moved to recommend Council adopt the proposed ordinance which amends various water and drainage fees and rates, which shall be assessed and collected beginning in the 2008 fiscal year budget. Deborah Ranniger seconded, which passed 3-0. Operations Committee Minutes December 4, 2007 Page: 6 14. EVENTS CENTER - CONTINGENT LOAN AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT-ORDINANCE Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the Events Center - Contingent Loan and Support Agreement-Ordinance. Mr. Nachlinger advised that with its adoption of Ordinance No. 2852 on August 7, 2007, the City Council created the City of Kent Special Events Center Public Facilities District ("District"). Subsequently, the City and the District entered into an interlocal agreement concerning the financing, design, construction, ownership, and operation of the Special Events Center. In accordance with state law, the District has agreed to issue sales tax and revenue bonds to pay for a portion of the capital costs of the Special Events Center. The Contingent Loan and Support Agreement, which the proposed ordinance would authorize the Mayor to sign, provides that in consideration for the District dedicating all its sales tax revenue toward repayment of the bonds, the City will make gross revenue from the Special Events Center available to the District for the payment of remaining debt service on the District's revenue bonds. In return for the District's revenue commitment to make bond payments, the agreement also provides that the City will pay for the operation and maintenance expenses of the Special Events Center and will provide credit support for the bonds in order to allow the District to obtain financing at the lowest interest rates available. Mr. Nachlinger further advised that there is no budget impact anticipated with this ordinance. Deborah Ranniger moved to recommend Council adopt the proposed ordinance which approves issuance of special events center sales tax and revenue bonds by the Kent Special Events Center Public Facilities District, and authorize the Mayor to sign a Contingent Loan and Support Agreement and related documents and to take necessary action. Debbie Raplee seconded, which passed 3-0. The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m. Renee Cameron Operations Committee Secretary