Budget and Capital Committee
June 8, 2004
11:30 a.m.
Scott Heyman Conference Room
Present: M. Koplinka-Loehr, Chair; L. McBean-Clairborne; P. Penniman; D. Booth; T. Todd
Staff: S. Whicher, County Administrator; D.
Squires, Finance Director; W. Skinner, Public Information; J. Thomas, Administration;
J. Kippola, Administration; E. Marx, Deputy County Administrator; A. Fitzpatrick,
Personnel Commissioner
Guests: A. Tutino, Ithaca Journal; D. Kiefer, County Legislator
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.
Changes to Agenda
There were no changes to the agenda.
Approval of Minutes
It was MOVED by Ms. McBean-Clairborne, seconded by Mr.
Penniman, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of
the May 25th meeting as submitted.
Comments from the Public
There were no comments from the public.
Report from the Committee Chair
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr distributed copies of the Budget Community
Advisory Panel (CAP) Final Report. A presentation will be provided
at the June 15th meeting of the Legislature. He also said two items
were added to the report at the end of the process to provide for continual
follow-up:
- Use Community Expertise and Input
- Assess Progress
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr reported that he met with program committee
chairs on May 26th to discuss the budget process. During the summer
months, program committees will be hearing concerns and budget impacts from
departments, before they submit their budget requests on August 2nd.
Report from the Finance Director
Mr. Squires distributed copies of the contingency report
and said there is a balance of $752,064. The mandated accounts are
fine, but could change following the adoption of the State budget if reimbursements
are reduced. The only area of concern at this time is worker's compensation
as it relates to assessments. To date, $250,000 has been spent which
is much higher than last year and is the result of assessments based on prior
year's activity.
He said sales tax continues to increase; the first payment
received this month was 15 percent over last year ($2.2 million compared
to $1.8 last year).
Mr. Penniman asked if a report existed showing the percentages
of sales tax that come from the different types of activity such as utilities,
gas, clothing, etc. Mr. Squires said he could provide the information
showing data that is 18 months old.
Report from the County Administrator
Mr. Whicher said he did not have a report.
Department of Social Services
Position Request
It was MOVED by Mr. Penniman, seconded by Ms. McBean-Clairborne,
and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the request to fill the
Registered Professional Nurse position as presented.
Probation Department
Resolution - Rollover Request
It was MOVED by Ms. McBean-Clairborne, seconded by Mr.
Penniman, to approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature
for approval. A brief update was provided concerning the discussion
held at the Public Safety Committee meeting. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said
Ms. Leinthall will work with the Information Technology Services Department
to purchase the most reasonably priced computers that will meet their needs
as is necessary.
A voice vote resulted as follows on the following resolution:
Ayes - 4 (Koplinka-Loehr, McBean-Clairborne, Todd, and Penniman); Noes -
1 (Booth). RESOLUTION CARRIED.
RESOLUTION NO. - AMENDMENT OF
RESOLUTION NO. 106 OF 2004 - BUDGET ADJUSTMENT AND APPROPRIATION OF
UNSPENT GENERAL FUNDS FROM 2003 TO VARIOUS ACCOUNTS
WHEREAS, various departments have been certified by the
Director of Finance to have unspent appropriations and excess revenues from
2003 resulting in a surplus of $1,483,530 on the County’s books as of December
31, 2003, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to County Fiscal Policy, surplus funds have been requested
for use in the Probation and Community Justice Department in the amount of
$57,427 in the current year budget, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety and Budget and Capital Committees,
That the following transactions are approved:
BUDGET APPROPRIATION:
FROM: General Fund Balance $ 57,427
TO:
Probation - Salary - Probation Officer
3142.51000585 21,519
Probation - Fringes - Probation Officer
3142.58800
8,392
Probation - State Aid Leveraged
3142.43310
(14,179)
Probation - Department Equipment
3141.52220
2,000
Probation - Professional Services – Elec. Monitoring
3141.54442
3,000
Probation - Computer Equipment
3142.52206
34,695
Probation - Computer Software
3142.52230
2,000 $
57,427
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
Personnel Department
Reclassification Policy - Revised
Ms. Fitzpatrick distributed copies of the proposed Reclassification
Policy and noted it reflects current procedures. Following a brief
discussion, it was MOVED by Ms. McBean-Clairborne, and unanimously adopted
by voice vote, to approve the draft Reclassification Policy as presented
and submit a resolution to be drafted to the full Legislature for approval.
Red Circle Positions
A spreadsheet showing the salaries for the four positions
of County Attorney, Psychiatrists (2), and Medical Director in various counties
and Tompkins County was distributed to Committee members. Mr. Whicher
reviewed the current procedure for approving the salaries of the above-mentioned
positions. It was reported that no job descriptions and classification
with salary range is possible. The Legislature annually approves a
salary for each of the four employees and he said the process is cumbersome
and uncomfortable for the individuals involved. He asked the Committee
to reconsider its policy and periodically (3-5 years) conduct a survey of
similar positions in other counties and decide if the salaries are reasonable.
He is recommending the salaries not be reviewed annually and have them trend
with the managers salary schedule.
Mr. Booth feels that once the procedures were put in place,
the process became easier. Ms. McBean-Clairborne agreed and said she
appreciates receiving the information presented from other counties showing
comparable salaries and supports having an annual review. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr
feels there has not been standard evaluation criteria and questioned upon
what criteria would these positions receive a different pay raise.
He would prefer a more rational and consistent process not singling them
out for annual review, and include them in the same pool as management and
confidential employees.
Ms. Kiefer said she was disappointed to hear that with
no classification is possible. She said the Board never said they were
evaluating job performances, but recognizing a percentage of a high salary
results in a larger dollar increase then others get and that these salaries
are way above our job-classification ranges which is why these should be
dealt with separately.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr asked the Committee for direction;
it was the consensus of the Committee to continue the current process.
Following discussion there was agreement that there is
a need to review the salary schedule for all County employees at some point
in the future.
Monthly Employee Report
Ms. Fitzpatrick distributed copies of the County's monthly
report of personnel activity. Ms. McBean-Clairborne asked if the report
could include affirmative action information on a quarterly basis.
Mr. Whicher also requested the report include total numbers of employees.
Budget Process
Calendar
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr briefly reviewed the budget calendar and said the process is on schedule.
Cabinet Process
Mr. Whicher said he is beginning to meet with all the
cabinets: Health and Human Services, Public Works, Public Safety, and
Administration. The Health and Human Services and Public Works Cabinets
have been in place and meeting for several years.
The Probation Department was moved from the Health and
Human Services Cabinet to the Public Safety Cabinet for budgetary purposes;
however, Ms. Leinthall may continue to attend the meetings of the Health
and Human Services Cabinet for programmatic purposes. The Administrative
Cabinet and Public Safety Cabinet have not yet met.
OTR Formatting
Ms. Thomas reviewed the reformatted OTR spreadsheet the
Legislature will use during the fall budget review process.
Ms. Thomas said as she begins to build the budget request
book, one item that has been included in the past is a list of contracts
by department. She asked if the Committee wished to continue receiving
the information in the same format. Following a brief discussion, it
was the consensus of the Committee to include the list of contracts by department
as presented in the past. Ms. Kippola explained she maintains a database
of contract vendors and asked if the list would be of use if made available.
Mr. Penniman felt a list sorted by vendor would also be useful.
Capital Projects - Contracts Policy
Ms. Kippola reviewed the list of contracts for capital
projects and developed the following list of common categories: roads, bridges,
buildings; computer infrastructure; environmental infrastructure; communications
system, purchasing buses. She presented and reviewed the list of contracts
typical of capital projects.
At the request of the Committee at the last meeting, below
is the recommendation by Administration to develop a threshold for contract
approval at various levels:
$1 - $49,999 per contract - Administration approval only
$50,000 - $499,999 per contract - program committee approval only
$500,000 or more per contract - Legislative resolution required
Discussion followed and Ms. Kiefer said she feels it would
be appropriate for program committees to approve contracts of up to $250,000
to $300,000. Mr. Booth suggested for clarity that the following language
"total cost not just local share" be added. He also requested that
there be authorization for the County Administrator and program committees
to have flexibility when necessary and that monthly reports of capital projects
be provided.
Ms. Kippola agreed to revise the policy as directed by
the Committee and will present it at the Legislature's next meeting.
It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Ms. McBean-Clairborne,
and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the revised contracts policy
for capital projects.
Revenue Options
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr did not have any items to discuss at this time.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:25 p.m.
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