MINUTES

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE

FEBRUARY 15, 2006       3:00 P.M.        SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM

 

Present:  K. Luz Herrera, Chair; M. Sigler; G. Stevenson; D. Kiefer

Excused: D. Randall

Staff:      C. Covert, Clerk of the Legislature; S. Whicher, County Administrator; J. Steiner, Library

               Director; J. Vitale, Undersheriff; J. Kippola, Administration; D. Squires, Finance Director; E.

  Cree, Election Commissioner; S. Dewitt, Election Commissioner

Guest:     L. McBean-Clairborne, Legislator

 

Called to Order

 

            The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m.

 

Changes to Agenda

 

            There were no changes to the agenda.

 

Report from the Committee Chair

 

            Ms. Herrera said she has had conversations with Personnel Commissioner Fitzpatrick, Planning and Public Works Commissioner Marx, and Bill Wendt, Cornell Transportation, concerning bus passes.  A meeting is being scheduled for appropriate staff and representatives to discuss this subject in more detail. 

 

Executive Session

 

            It was MOVED by Ms. Kiefer, seconded by Mr. Stevenson, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to hold an executive session to discuss litigation.  An executive session was held at 3:06 p.m. and returned to open session at 3:41 p.m.

 

            Ms. Kiefer said she would like the County Attorney to provide a report on major outstanding litigation at a future meeting.

 

County Clerk

 

            Resolution - Department of Motor Vehicle Lease Agreement

            Ms. Valenti briefly outlined the details of the lease and said it includes a three percent increase each year. She encouraged the Committee to approve the lease as the location is convenient and accessible to the public.  All utilities and cleaning of the offices is included.  In response to a question raised by Ms. Kiefer, Ms. Valenti said the concerns and issues with the restroom facilities have been resolved.

 

            It was MOVED by Mr. Sigler, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval:

 

RESOLUTION NO.            - AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO A FIVE-YEAR LEASE

            AGREEMENT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR

            VEHICLE OFFICE IN ITHACA, NEW YORK

 

            WHEREAS, the Lease Agreement presently covering the offices in which the Tompkins County Department of Motor Vehicles transacts business, located in the Hancock Plaza, 301 Third Street (corner Third and Hancock Streets) in the City of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York, shall expire on April 30, 2006, (see Resolution No. 216 adopted October 17, 2000), and

WHEREAS, this location provides convenient access to the public, now therefore be it

            RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Governmental Operations Committee, That the County Administrator or his designee is hereby authorized to sign a lease agreement with landlord, Hancock Plaza Properties, Inc., for the period May 1, 2006, through April 30, 2011.

SEQR ACTION: TYPE 11-20

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Approval of Appointments and Executive Session

 

            It was MOVED by Mr. Stevenson, seconded by Mr. Sigler, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to hold an executive session to discuss a personnel matter.  An executive session was held at 3:53 p.m. and returned to open session at 4:02 p.m.

 

            Discussion followed concerning the charge to the special Library Committee and the responsibilities of the Government Operations Committee.  Mr. Whicher stated the Chair of the Legislature has set up the special committee to look into the vision of the library and commitment of the Legislature to the Library.  He does not believe it is appropriate for the Committee to be focussing on one appointment to the Library Board of Trustees. 

 

            Mr. Sigler believes the Committee should be reviewing all applications at the same time for this board and that more outreach is done in the future.  He hopes the appointment policy and process is reviewed by the Committee this year.  

           

            It was MOVED by Ms. Kiefer, seconded by Ms. Herrera, to approve and submit the appointment of Leonardo Vargas-Mendez to the Library Board of Trustees for a term that expires December 31, 2008. 

 

            Mr. Sigler said he will support this appointment, but reiterated his opinion that the Committee needs to look at how members of advisory boards are appointed this year. 

 

            Mr. Stevenson feels there are extenuating circumstances with respect to this particular advisory board and cannot support the appointment.  Ms. Kiefer asked if it would help Mr. Stevenson if the appointment were delayed for one month.

 

            Ms. Herrera said she knows the individual and feels his service is a vital contribution on the Library Board of Trustees.

 

            A voice vote resulted as follows:  Ayes - 3 (Herrera, Kiefer, Sigler); Noes - 1 (Stevenson); Excused - 1 (Randall).  APPOINTMENT CARRIED.

 

County Administration

 

            Overview of Risk Management Program

            Ms. Kippola provided an overview of the County's Risk Management Program and said it is a plan of attack for protecting human health, environment, and taxpayers' dollars.  The program approaches and deals with risk in four different ways:

Ø     Shift risks to contractors with their own insurance

Ø     Take pro-active measures to reduce the likelihood, frequency, and severity of accidents and incidents

Ø     Accept risks and buy insurance to pay for losses

Ø     Accept risks and don't insure (self-insurance)

Ms. Kippola reviewed charts outlining the various claims and amounts paid out between 1993-2005 from the Self-Insurance Reserve fund (General Liability, Auto, and Property). This fund pays for claims resulting from accidental losses excluding coverage for losses resulting from normal wear and tear, technological obsolescence, negligence, or criminal acts.  Mr. Wood noted that the numbers are considerably lower than other surrounding counties. 

 

Board of Elections

 

HAVA (Help America Vote Act) Update

Mr. Dewitt distributed information he received today from the State Board of Elections regarding recent developments on the decision-making process at the State level.  Following the comment period deadline of January 23rd on  the first draft of the Voting Machine Regulations, the second draft is now available with comments due February 27.  It is hoped that the regulations will be finalized by March 7th.  Once the regulations are finalized, manufacturers will begin to put together and finalize their products based on the regulations.  The machines will then be sent to the State for certification. 

 

Ms. Cree said there are monthly regional meetings being held around the State.  The next scheduled meeting is March 8th in Cayuga County.  The machine certification process will begin April 1st and run through June 30th.  She said the new machines will not be used this year; however, the new processes will be implemented.  To begin the system for centralization, they have begun to move existing machines to the old Library for storage and maintenance.  Discussions are being held by the State Board on how to provide a voting system this year for disabled voters who cannot use the lever machines without assistance.  On February 16, the State will have a demonstration of phone voting; an alternative is also the Automark System.

 

Further discussion followed concerning future storage needs and concerns with the Old Library, e.g., there is no sprinkler system. Mr. Whicher agreed to meet with the Election Commissioners to discuss some of the issues. 

 

Ms. Herrera recognized and thanked the Commissioners for preparing and distributing their long-term goals and challenges. 

 

Report from the Finance Director

 

            Mr. Squires reminded Committee members of the procedure change last year for the return of taxes by the towns.  Payments will now be made to Tompkins County on April 1st rather than May 1st.  He also stated that the Towns will be starting to receive their sales tax payments on a monthly basis, rather than quarterly. 

 

            Mr. Squires reported that the inspection scheduled for the foreclosed properties was cancelled due to the scheduling of the Sheriff's arbitration hearing.  The inspection will be rescheduled for March. 

 

He also updated the Committee on the Town and County taxes and said approximately 3000 property owners participated in the installment program this year, which is about the same amount as last year. 

 

Report from the County Administrator

 

            Mr. Whicher updated the Committee on the search for a Deputy County Administrator.  Approximately 60 applications have been received to date and the last date for filing an application is February 24th.  He briefly reported on the search team's process and said members are reviewing all applications submitted.  Members of the search committee are :  Tim Joseph, Steve Whicher, Norma Jayne, Schelley Michell Nunn, Anita Fitzpatrick, Patricia Carey, Steve Estes (staff support).  He said the search committee will discuss how to accommodate the Legislature in the process.  He hopes to have the process completed by mid-April.  

 

Mr. Stevenson was excused at 4:43 p.m.

 

            Mr. Whicher reported briefly on the road patrol arbitration hearing and said he does not anticipate hearing anything from the State Public Employees Review Board (PERB) until July or August of 2006.

Ms. Kiefer asked if we should raise this with our State Assembly and Senate representatives.

 

            Mr. Whicher also provided an update on the search process for filling the Public Information Officer position.  In the interim he hopes to make a temporary appointment to fill the position at 20 hours per week and hire interns.  He has requested an exam be posted and held in March and following the results of the exam, available around June, he will make a permanent appointment from that list.  He commented that Department Heads have lots of opinions about this position and have asked for more active and pro-active support and to work with them. 

 

Liaison Assignments

 

            The Committee agreed to the following liaison assignments:

 

Library Board of Trustees

            Mike Sigler

            Dooley Kiefer (Alternate)

 

            Board of Human Rights Commissioners

            Kathy Herrera

 

            The History Center

            Greg Stevenson

 

Other Business

 

            Advisory Board Application

            Ms. Kiefer requested the Committee consider an immediate change to the application form for advisory boards.  Frequently, questions are raised concerning length of residence in Tompkins County and a suggestion by Ms. Pottorff was made to add the following phrase to the application:  "If not a Tompkins County resident, please stop here and contact the Legislature office".  Following a brief discussion the Committee agreed to this change, but requested that in the future a lengthy discussion be held on the appointment process and information presented before the meeting. 

 

Review Committee Goals

 

            The Committee briefly reviewed the proposed goals. Ms. Kiefer requested the Committee include a review of privacy issues in relation to the Communications policy and Assessment Data.  Mr. Whicher asked the Committee to discuss and define the roles of Department Heads, County Administration, and the Legislature.  Ms. Herrera said she will update the list of goals with a timeline and present it at the next meeting. 

 

            Ms. Kiefer was excused at this time.

 

            Ms. Steiner asked what relationship this committee has with the special Library Committee.  Ms. Herrera believes the special Library Committee is independent and does not necessarily report back to this Committee.  It was felt that the liaisons will provide any reports and necessary information for this Committee. 

Department Tours

 

            Mrs. Covert agreed to contact the Human Rights Commission to schedule a tour for the Committee on March 15th.  Other department tours will be scheduled for future meetings. 

 

Approval of Minutes

 

            This item was deferred to the next meeting.

 

Adjournment

 

            The meeting adjourned at 5:04 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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