MINUTES
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 13, 2003          2:00 P.M.
SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM
Present:  M. Koplinka-Loehr, Chair; K. Herrera; L. McBean; T. Todd; M. Lane (arrived at 2:05 p.m.)

Staff:      D. Squires, Finance Director; J. Yoder, Personnel; S. Whicher, County Administrator; J. Wood,
County Attorney; K. Smithers, Deputy County Administrator; W. Skinner, Public Information;
V. Coggin, Assessment Director; J. Franklin, Assessment

Guests:  D. Kiefer, Board Member; M. Robertson, Board Member

Called to Order

    The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m.

Changes to Agenda

    At the request of Mr. Whicher, the Committee agreed to withdraw from the agenda the resolution entitled Creation and Abolishment of Positions - STOP-DWI Coordinator and STOP-DWI/Violence Prevention Coordinator - Administration and Probation.

    Mr. Whicher also requested and the Committee agreed to add a report and update on the revaluation efforts by the Assessment Department.

Chair's Report

    Mr. Koplinka-Loehr did not have a report.

County Administrator's Report

    Mr. Whicher said the recruiting process continues although slow for the hiring of an Administrative Services Coordinator in his Department.  He announced Mrs. Smithers will be submitting her resignation officially tomorrow.  He reviewed his plan for reorganizing and said Mr. Marx, Planning Commissioner, will be assisting him with some of the responsibilities of Administration until an official decision is made to appoint a Deputy County Administrator.  Ms. McBean requested a copy of what Mr. Marx's responsibilities will consist of  in writing.

Mr. Whicher also announced Adam Potter, Facilities Assistant Manager, has resigned to accept a position as Facilities Manager at Tompkins Cortland Community College. 

Mr. Lane arrived at this time.

    Mr. Whicher said he has asked Mr. Messmer, Highway Manager, and Arel LeMaro, Facilities Manager, to take a look at the overall structure of both divisions including the Public Works Administrator and submit a report and proposal by next Friday taking into consideration the budget constraints. 

    Ms. Kiefer requested a copy of the job description for Administrative Services Coordinator.  Mrs. Smithers agreed to provide copies for Committee members and others as requested.

    Mr. Whicher reported that Norma Jayne of his office is temporarily working up to four months in Assessment to lend support needed during the revaluation period.  He explained moving staff to offices in need of temporary support happens periodically and quite often is handled through Personnel.  

Report from the County Attorney

    Mr. Wood said he did not have a report.

Report from the Finance Director

    Mr. Squires reported that he and Planning Department staff visited properties this week that are on the inventory list to be foreclosed.  There are 14 parcels with four of those being residential that appear to be occupied.  A letter was secured at the property advising that a visit was made and to contact the Finance Department.  Of the four occupied properties, two have contacted him.  He feels there are two vacant land parcels (one with 8 acres and one with 20 acres) that may be of interest in an auction.  The Munson Farm in Lansing has owed taxes since 1997 totaling over $49,000.  Mr. Squires reported that the Lakeside Nursing Home agreement to pay back taxes is in default.  The agreement was to pay off their taxes over a two-year period and maintain current taxes.  They have not been paying their current taxes by faulting on the school taxes in 2002.  The payment in February was due the 10th and feels the school taxes for 2003 have not been paid as well.  The State has appointed an operator of the facility as the owner is out of the picture.  The County has the agreement with the operator.  The total owed to the County is $500,000. 

    Mr. Koplinka-Loehr asked Mr. Squires to comment on the proposed 11 percent increase in the retirement system.  Mr. Squires said the retirement system bills the County based upon percentage of payroll costs.  Four percent was budgeted for payroll in 2003.  As the stock market continues to decline, the percentage could increase to 11 percent if there is no change in the next four weeks.  Mr. Squires said the County will know in June what the payment is which will be due in December.  There is one million dollars in overburden reserves, but the amount owed could be double what is in the reserves.  Mr. Whicher said various options are being reviewed including adjustments to the fringe pool. 

    Mr. Squires updated the Board on bonding issues and said he will be presenting to the full Board at the next meeting a resolution to authorize the issuance of refunding bonds.   This proposal will save the County approximately $670,000 over the term of the bond.

Public Information Coordinator's Report

    Ms. Skinner reported that Kathy Luz Herrera has agreed to serve as the liaison for the Public Information Advisory Board.  She updated the Committee on the County's Home Page project for the web.  It is anticipated the site will be launched in six to eight weeks.  She hopes there will be acknowledgments for this cross-functional team for their contributions.  In addition, she updated the Committee on steps the County has taken to inform its employees of what an orange level terrorist alert means at the local level and sent out an informational piece.

    Mr. Koplinka-Loehr asked about the order of succession of Board members.  Mrs. Smithers said she and Mr. Whicher will be discussing this with the Chair of the Board and it will likely be a discussion item at the next Committee meeting.

Approval of Minutes

    It was MOVED by Ms. McBean, seconded by Mr. Todd, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of the January 24th meeting as corrected. 

Personnel

    Resolution - Model Plan for Deferred Compensation Program
    It was MOVED by Ms. McBean, seconded by Ms. Herrera, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to submit the following resolution to the full Board for approval:

RESOLUTION NO.        RESOLUTION TO AMEND AND RESTATE THE MODEL PLAN FOR A DEFERRED COMPENSATION
PROGRAM FOR THE COUNTY OF TOMPKINS – PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT

    WHEREAS, the New York State Deferred Compensation Board (the “Board”), pursuant to Section 5 of the New York State Finance Law (“Section 5”) and the Regulations of the New York State Deferred Compensation Board (the “Regulations”), has promulgated the Model Deferred Compensation Plan for Employees of Tompkins County (the “Model Plan”) and offers the Model Plan for adoption by local employers, and
    WHEREAS, Tompkins County, pursuant to Section 5 and the Regulations, has adopted and currently administers the Model Plan known as the Deferred Compensation Plan for Employees of Tompkins County by Board Resolution No. 136, dated June 18, 2002, and
    WHEREAS, effective January 1, 2003, the Board amended the Model Plan to adopt provisions relating to regulations pertaining to Section 457 and Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, technical amendments to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRRA”) as they apply to the Model Plan and to adopt modifications that update certain administrative provisions, and
    WHEREAS, the Board has offered for adoption the amended and restated Model Plan to each Model Plan sponsored by a local employer in accordance with the Regulations, and
    WHEREAS, upon due deliberation, Tompkins County has concluded that it is prudent and appropriate to amend the Deferred Compensation Plan for Employees of the County of Tompkins by adopting the amended and restated Model Plan, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations Committee, That Tompkins County hereby amends the Deferred Compensation Plan for Employees of the County of Tompkins by adopting the amended and restated Model Plan dated January 1, 2003.
 SEQR ACTION:  TYPE II-20
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Assessment Department

    Rail Infrastructure Investment Act of 2002
    Ms. Coggin updated the Committee on the Rail Infrastructure Investment Act of 2002 that the Governor just signed recently.  The legislation revises the methodology for the calculation of railroad ceilings to the benefit of railroads while providing State financial assistance to cushion the impact on local governments.  It is expected to reduce the tax burden on railroads in the State by approximately 45 percent through a series of adjustments to the statutory railroad ceiling formula.  Most of the adjustments modify the Reproduction Cost New (RCN) component of the formula.  The first excludes new capital improvement projects from RCN for a period of ten years.  These projects must be approved by the Department of Transportation.  This exclusion is the core of the "infrastructure investment" aspect of the legislation. 

    Ms. Coggin reviewed briefly the schedule of phasing in the reductions. 

    Update on Revaluation
    Ms. Coggin said she is pleased with the way things are going this year.  Approximately 17,000 notices were sent out to taxpayers.  The Department can accommodate up to 4,000 appointments by the end of March.  Appointments are 15 minutes each and the taxpayer is required to bring information in to discuss with the appraiser.  She noted that of the apartment complexes revalued at 63 million dollars, only 4 taxpayers inquired. 

    Ms. Coggin raised a concern with the number of senior exemptions being filed.  The deadline is March 1st and said reminders will be sent out again. 

    Ms. Coggin distributed copies of graphs demonstrating various breakdowns of the preliminary assessments.  Most of the changes made to assessments were under $10,000. 

    Mr. Lane said that he has been receiving complaints from taxpayers concerning assessment increases and feels that comparables should have been included with the notices that were sent out.  Ms. Coggin said additional staff would be required if comparables were to be included.  Ms. Coggin noted that the comparables are available at the Department and can be presented very quickly upon request. 

    Mr. Lane asked that during the budget process this year the Board and staff make an effort to show the difference in the tax rate for the normal amount of assessment growth through additions, new construction, etc., and the amount due to the market value increase.  He hoped that the tax rate could be presented with the tax rate showing the normal amount of assessment growth during the budget process.

Finance Department

    Approval to Seek Bids - Cell Phones
    Mr. Squires reported the County has the option to extend contracts for cellular phone service.  The two vendors are Cingular and Nextel.  There have been ongoing problems with both vendors in terms of billing procedures.  The service provided, however, has been satisfactory. It was noted that Verizon does not offer a State contract for this region.  Mr. Squires said it is hoped to go out to bid to see if there are other vendors.  He said the specifications are written based on needs of departments.

    Following a brief discussion, the Committee authorized Mr. Squires to seek bids for cellular phone service and report back to the Committee.

    Cash Management and Investment Policy
    Mr. Squires distributed revised copies of the cash management and investment policy.  Mr. Lane disclosed that he has stock in both the Groton and Dryden banks.   Following review of the policy, Mr. Lane said he will not support the resolution as he would like the section concerning Repurchase Agreements deleted since the County does not utilize it.  It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Ms. McBean, to submit the following resolution to the full Board.  A voice vote resulted as follows:  Ayes - 4 (Koplinka-Loehr, Todd, McBean, and Herrera); Noes - 1 (Lane).  RESOLUTION CARRIED. 

RESOLUTION NO.      - ADOPTION OF CASH MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT POLICY

    WHEREAS, Article 2 -Section 10 of the General Municipal Law requires each local government to authorize depositories for public funds, and
    WHEREAS, Article 2 -Section 11 of the General Municipal Law requires each local government to authorize Permitted Investments for public funds not required for immediate expenditure, and
    WHEREAS, Article 3 -Section 39 of the General Municipal Law requires each local government to adopt a comprehensive investment policy which details the local government's operative policy and instructions to officers and staff regarding the investment of public funds, and that the Investment Policy shall be annually reviewed by the local government, now therefore be it
    RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations Committee, That the Cash Management and Investment Policy dated January 2003, is hereby adopted.
SEQR ACTION:  TYPE II-20
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2003 Goals

    At this time, Mr. Koplinka-Loehr distributed copies of the following draft goals for the Committee to review and discuss:

Suggested Tompkins County 2003 Goal (within Mission & Vision):
“Continue to become a model of a continuous learning organization”

"To allocate resources and craft policies to assist all departments in being models of high performance, continuous learning operations  -- in support of the county mission of maintaining and improving the quality of life of all our residents."

To this end the Government Operations Committee will:
Examine/monitor how we are doing business in the county; including review and establish core values.

Personnel: Assess Annual performance review process (Department instruments/processes, department heads, County Administrator and others who report to County Board.)
Review Personnel rating system, reclass. process
Examine possibilities for an employee climate survey (satisfaction/commitment)
Maintain/reorganize commitment to affirmative action, Workforce Diversity
Succession planning
Impacts of greater burdens (mandates) on less staff, due to budget cuts
Contract negotiations/benefits/insurance rates
Training and Development resources
Interns
Contracting for delivery of county services
Coordination of staff resources with other municipalities

Administration: County Government structure
Risk management
Public Information

Assessment:
Annual revaluation -
Tax exempt properties
Status of, update levels of exemptions

Law: impact of change in PINS age
Impact of recent federal laws on county operations (Homeland Security/Patriot Act)

Board of Reps:

Human Rights:

Finance/Purchasing:

Charter & Code:

Code/Board of Ethics:

Other: Policy and Procedure manual? (Privacy policy, FOIL requests)
Fees charged/creative revenue options: systematic review
Review how departments & programs evaluate service effectiveness

Following a brief review, Committee members and staff added the following goals to be discussed further.

- Human Rights:  Pursue State support and money issue, and level of County responsibility
- Finance/Purchasing:  Review of purchasing options, i.e., state bids, state contracts, and local merchants; electronic payroll; calculation of FTEs supported by local share money; certificate of residency policies
- Code/Board of Ethics:  Review procedures for reviewing complaints received

    Ms. Kiefer requested that the Committee discuss the membership of negotiating teams.  Mr. Koplinka-Loehr agreed to add it as a subtopic under contract negotiations. 

    Ms. Kiefer reported on the Policy and Procedures Manual and recommended the Consumer and Community Affairs Committee discuss the manual and propose recommendations.   Mr. Koplinka-Loehr suggested that a follow-up discussion take place with appropriate staff. 

    Ms. Kiefer spoke about program committee evaluations and Mr. Koplinka-Loehr agreed to follow-up on this.  Ms. Skinner reported on an effort to have departments prepare annual reports that could be used as a tool for evaluations.

    Ms. McBean asked that red-circled positions be added to list of items in Personnel.

Adjournment

    The meeting adjourned at 3:53 p.m.

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