Staff:      C. Covert, Clerk of the Legislature; S. Whicher, County Administrator; J. Steiner, Public Library
Director; D. Squires, Finance Director; J. Wood, County Attorney; G. Potter, Information Technology Services Director; A. Fitzpatrick, Personnel Commissioner; S. Dewitt, Election Commissioner; E. Cree, Election Commissioner

Called to Order

 The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.

Changes to Agenda

 No changes were made to the agenda.

Chair’s Report

 Ms. Herrera apologized to the Committee for the remarks she made at a recent meeting concerning Resolution No. 182 – Urging the Federal Government to Commence a Humane, Orderly, and Comprehensive Withdrawal of United States Military Personnel and Bases from Iraq.

 Ms. Kiefer asked if the Committee would be having a presentation from Paula Younger, Deputy County Administrator, as referenced in the last set of minutes.  Ms. Herrera said information pertaining to the presentation is not available and once it is fully developed the Committee will have a presentation.

 Ms. Herrera requested the Committee discuss at the end of this meeting if time permits changing the meeting in December.

Report from the Finance Director

 Ms. Squires reported there have been several publications in the Ithaca Journal.  One is the notice of foreclosure petition and the other is the listing of all delinquent 2006 taxes.  The delinquent taxes are published once per year.  The properties (approximately 160) listed in the notice of foreclosure petition will be foreclosed upon next year.  Typically, however, the number of properties will decrease to about 30 to 40.

 Mr. Squires also reported on the continued issue of the bankrupt property (Pleasant Grove Road).  The County’s tax lien has been put into bankruptcy with the stipulation that if they default on the school tax (2006) or County tax (2007) the County will have the right to remove the property from bankruptcy protection.  More information on this situation will be available in January.  He noted that taxes on this property have not been paid for six years.

 In response to a question by Ms. Kiefer, Mr. Squires said the snowplow to the best of his knowledge has not been sold on Ebay.

Report from the County Administrator

 Mr. Whicher said the Administration team is working on the Tompkins County Council of Governments application for health insurance.  The application is due in Albany on Monday.

Report from the County Attorney

 Mr. Wood said he did not have a report.  He had hoped to present a plan for reorganization of his department, however, it is not complete and he will present a proposal next month.  The department has been short one attorney for about four months.

Approval of Minutes

 July 19, 2006
 It was MOVED by Ms. Kiefer, seconded by Mr. Sigler, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of July 19 as submitted.  MINUTES APPROVED.

 August 16, 2006
 It was MOVED by Mr. Randall, seconded by Mr. Sigler, to approve the minutes of August 16 with the changes submitted by Ms. Kiefer.  Ms. Herrera disagreed with the changes submitted by Ms. Kiefer that rewords statements of staff.  Following a brief discussion, Mr. Randall withdrew his motion.

 September 20, 2006
 It was MOVED by Mr. Stevenson, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, to approve the minutes of the September 20th meeting with the changes submitted by Ms. Kiefer.  Ms. Herrera disapproves micromanaging minutes prepared by staff and does not support the changes.  A voice vote resulted as follows:  Ayes – 4; Noes – 1 (Herrera).  MOTION CARRIED.

Information Technology Services

 Resolution
 Mr. Potter reviewed the history and rationale for the request to change the email system.  The County has been using the same system for 12 years.  The system is inexpensive and has served its purpose, but now does not serve the County’s needs.  One need identified in terms of policy is how email is accessed as a public record.   The existing system does not have the ability to archive email on a long-term basis and in an efficient manner.  Additional areas identified include the integration of other systems such as calendaring, setting up meetings and appointments and the creation of workgroups for special projects.  Following an in-depth search of various systems (there are only two pieces of software considered primary leaders of email) with all appropriate staff from several County Departments, it is determined that the Novell GroupWise Email System best meets the County’s needs and the fact the County is already a Novell operation.

 If this project is approved and funded the next step will be to apply for a grant next Spring through the State Archives and Records Association to cover the expenses for the archiving piece.

 It was MOVED by Mr. Sigler, seconded by Mr. Randall, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval.  Mr. Squires explained the County is expected to exceed interest investment earnings by $75,000 and recommended this be used for funding the project.  Following a brief discussion concerning the funding source, the Committee agreed the money should be appropriated from the Contingency Fund.

RESOLUTION NO. _____ - BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR REPLACEMENT OF COUNTY ELECTRONIC MAIL SYSTEM

WHEREAS, Tompkins County Departments rely on Electronic Mail (E-mail) as a primary form of communication and information exchange, and
WHEREAS, it has been determined that the current E-mail system does not provide adequate functionality to meet the needs of public records retention and retrieval requirements, and
WHEREAS, Tompkins County Departments have expressed the need for advanced E-mail features to improve their current business practices including simplified Internet-based email access, E-mail archiving, integrated calendaring, Email-address list sharing options, project management and document sharing, full text search, automatic reply, internal E-mail encryption, and the transfer of E-mail to laptops for County field staff, and
WHEREAS, the Director of the Information Technology Services Department, and other County employees with information technology responsibilities from the Public Health Department, Department of Emergency Response, Department of Social Services, Department of Mental Health, Probation and Community Justice Department, and the Information Technology Services Department have reviewed various alternatives and have determined that the Novell GroupWise E-mail system will meet Departmental needs, integrate most effectively with the County’s current network and end users, and provide future for growth and flexibility, now therefore be it
 RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Governmental Operations Committee and the Budget and Capital Committees, the Director of Finance is hereby authorized and directed to make the following budget appropriation:
FROM:  Contingency Fund           1990.54400  $75,000
TO:  Appropriation Account   1680.52202  $75,000
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NOTE: The County Finance Director has advised that the County is expected to exceed interest investment earnings by $75,000.

 Human Resources/Payroll Project

 Mr. Potter updated the Committee on a project that will impact two departments reporting to this committee:  Administration and Finance.  Staff has been looking at the functionality of the County’s payroll system which was written in-house.  The existing system has been working well, but there is a need to have more integration of payroll data with the budgeting process and the financial systems (Pentimation).  It is now time to migrate the payroll system or buy a new program.  He is proposing that  alternatives be reviewed and a business process analysis be done to identify the requirements within the Personnel, Finance and Administration Departments.  If the recommendation is to do a complete integration of the payroll system it should come from the County’s existing vendor as it would be impossible to integrate with a third party.  It appears after a couple of demonstrations of the human resources and the payroll application that this will work.  Further details and understanding requirements are necessary before implementation to make sure the software can handle this.

 There are currently four applications:  payroll, position control, training, and an applicants database.  These four applications will be replaced with one system.

Mr. Potter will be requesting a transfer of funds within his budget to do the business process analysis which is necessary before moving forward with this project.  The total cost for rolling this out is expected to be approximately $92,000.

Mr. Sigler was excused at 4:30 p.m.

Tompkins County Public Library

 Mission Statement
 Ms. Steiner explained that the Library had gone through a strategic planning process and as part of that process, the Long Range Planning Committee reviewed the Library’s current Mission Statement.  Following an extensive debate a revised Statement was proposed and in September was adopted by the Library Board of Trustees.  The Mission Statement reads as follows:

 “The Tompkins County Public Library serves community residents at each stage of their lives by providing free and open access to the world’s wisdom, knowledge, and information.  The library, through its collections and professional services, fosters an informed, civic-minded community and contributes to the educational, cultural, and economic well-being of the County.”

Committee members expressed their support of the Mission Statement. Ms. Steiner also commented the Long Range Planning Committee will be looking at the five-year plan and the Vision Statement.   She will share a draft copy of the Vision Statement with the Committee prior to adoption.

 Ms. Kiefer inquired about the cell phone usage policy; Ms. Steiner agreed to provide copies of the policy as requested.  Ms. Steiner said cell phones have not been banned.  The Library’s policy addresses loud noises and it tries to enforce quietness of the library.

 Ms. Steiner made the following announcements:

· October 19 – First meeting of the Library Advisory Council.  This committee will help the Library get its message out to the community.  Over 50 people were invited and 39 responses were received.
· October 21 – Annual CNY Dreadlocks Conference
· October 21 – Reid Badger, New York University Professor, will have a discussion of “The Music that made the Twenties Roar:  American Music and Culture in the Jazz Age”.

Ms. Steiner thanked the County and said she was very grateful for what the County has done in regard to the budget.  There will be no layoffs in 2007.  A guest editorial will be written for the newspaper stating the Library’s appreciation to the County.  In addition she spoke briefly of the importance of volunteerism with the Friends of the Library in continuing the book sale.  Two book sales per year are now held due to the number of donations made and this year is likely to make the most money.

Board of Elections

 Primary Election
 Mr. Dewitt said this is the first time Tompkins County has operated in a centralized operation.  The Department had direct control over the voting machines and the technicians in setting up, training, etc. and all went very smoothly with no problems reported on Election Day.  Ms. Cree said the polling center coordinators were very helpful as well.

 Plan B Voting Machine (Avante)
 Ms. Cree said there was only one voter that used the machine and because of the sensitivity of the buttons, the machine voted for them.  A change in the results could have been made, but was not necessary in this case as it voted the way the individual wanted.  This issue will be discussed with the Election Commissioners Association.

 A brief discussion followed concerning the memorandum dated October 17, 2006 from the New York State Board of Elections confirming the first two of three usability testing sites which will generate information to use to establish the number of voters per machine requirement in the State statute.

 A memorandum outlining the Departments needs for storage space of voting machines was distributed and briefly discussed as well.  Further review and discussions will take place between appropriate County staff and the Committee will be kept informed.

Rules of the Legislature

 Rule VII – Rules of Voting
 Ms. Herrera referenced Resolution No. 168 of 2006 referred to Committee by the Legislature and stated she would like to postpone further discussion on this issue.  Mrs. Covert noted that the Legislature took action at a recent meeting authorizing the Chair of the Legislature to vote when a decision of the Chair is being challenged (Rule V – Order and Decorum).  This action creates an inconsistency with Rule VII and recommended the Committee consider amending the Rules to remove the inconsistency.

 Following a brief discussion, it was MOVED by Ms. Kiefer, seconded by Mr. Stevenson, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval:

RESOLUTION NO.     - AMENDING THE RULES OF THE LEGISLATURE – RULE VII - RULES OF VOTING

 WHEREAS, there is an inconsistency between Rule V – Order and Decorum and Rule VII – Rules of Voting which needs to be corrected, now therefore be it
 RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations Committee, That Rule VII, Rules of Voting is hereby amended as follows and renumbered accordingly:

RULE VII - RULES OF VOTING

(2) Every member present when a vote is taken upon any question shall vote unless excused by unanimous consent of all members present, or unless that member has a direct interest in the result of the vote.
(3) The Chair shall in all cases, except upon appeals from rulings of the Chair, have a right to vote.
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Appointments

 Public Information Advisory Board
 It was MOVED by Mr. Stevenson, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit to the full Legislature for approval the appointment of George Eberhardt for a term expiring December 31, 2007.

 Ms. Kiefer asked about the membership and the advertising of vacancies.  Information pertaining to Ms. Kiefer’s questions was not available at this time.
December Meeting

 Ms. Herrera asked Committee members to think about the December meeting if the date could be changed.  Mrs. Covert suggested the Committee could meet prior to the last Legislature meeting of the year if there are any action items.

Minutes – August 16, 2006

 Ms. Kiefer said she had an opportunity to ask Ms. Fitzpatrick about the changes being proposed to the August 16 minutes.  Ms. Fitzpatrick indicated her agreement with Ms. Kiefer.  No action was taken on the minutes at this time.

Adjournment

 The meeting adjourned at 5:13 p.m.