Present: M. Koplinka-Loehr, Chairman; S. Davis; G. Totman; P. Penniman; D. Kiefer (arrived at 12:09 p.m.)
Staff: R. Erb, County Administrator; K. West, Deputy County Administrator; M. Armstrong, Central Services; D. Winch, Board Member; L. Shreve, Community Affirmative Action Committee Chair; M. Reynolds, Deputy County Clerk; W. Skinner, Public Information Officer; J. Yoder, Personnel; A. Fitzpatrick, Personnel Commissioner; N. Arndt, Organizational Development Coordinator
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 12:05 p.m. by Chairman Koplinka-Loehr.
Approval of Minutes
MOVED by Mr. Penniman, seconded by Mr. Totman, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the minutes of the April 6th meeting as submitted. (Mr. Koplinka-Loehr stated that Ms. Kiefer could submit her corrections, if any, at a later date.)
Changes to Agenda
The following items were added to the agenda:
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said he did not have a report.
County Administrator's Report
Mr. Erb said he did not have a report.
Finance Director's Report
Mr. Squires said the auctioneer services proposal has been sent out and he expects responses to be returned by May 25th. He also spoke about discussions held concerning the offer by Cornell Plantations to purchase a property on White Church Road. He said because there is a house on the property Cornell wants to subdivide and have the County pay for the expenses. He stated the County's position is that Cornell subdivides and pays for the expenses. He said he will keep the Committee informed.
Ms. Kiefer arrived at 12:09 p.m.
Public Information Officer's Report
Ms. Skinner reported on the public input process. She said there seems to be some acceptance among Board members for a study circle model. It would be a group of citizens representing all of the constituencies in the County to become educated and deliberate and produce a statement that the Board could have as an additional piece of information to help in making decisions about the tobacco money. She felt there would be two events concerning the tobacco money. One that is more sophisticated that tends to bring citizens into the process and the other is an open-microphone session where people can come and speak about their feelings and what the Board should do with the money.
Mr. Erb said there are two issues concerning tobacco money. One is what the money is spent on and the other is in what form does the County wish to receive the funds. There have been discussions on securitization and he said the only way for a County of this size to securitize is to work with other counties. The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) is putting that effort together and will be looking for a letter of intent from counties wishing to participate by the end of June. Mr. Erb said NYSAC is willing to come to meetings.
Resolution - Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization Municipal Dues
It was MOVED by Ms. Kiefer, seconded by Mr. Penniman, to submit the following resolution to the Planning and Intermunicipal Coordination Committee and Budget and Fiscal Policy Committee for approval. Mr. Winch briefly explained the resolution. He said it is unclear where this money should be budgeted and asked that this be determined at a future date. Following a brief discussion, it was the consensus of the Committee to add a whereas recommending that this expense be included in the Planning Department's budget in the future. Ms. West also requested and the Committee agreed to add a Resolved that the County authorizes membership of this organization.
Ms. Kiefer said she would like the County Attorney to look into the question of whether the municipal agreement does require annual renewal. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr requested the County Administrator to look into it.
A voice vote on the following resolution as revised resulted as follows: Ayes - 5, Noes - 0. RESOLUTION CARRIED.
RESOLUTION NO. - APPROPRIATION FROM CONTINGENT FUND - CAYUGA LAKE WATERSHED INTERMUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION MUNICIPAL DUES
WHEREAS, the
Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization's mission is to create,
modify, and implement a watershed management plan to allow local governments
within the watershed to work together for the purposes of accessing dollars,
cost savings, cost sharing, and efficiency of activities around municipalities,
and
WHEREAS, this
plan when completed will prioritize water quality problems and solutions,
and
WHEREAS, the
Intermunicipal Organization will provide direction for the regional planning
boards and other staff, and oversee the entire project, and
WHEREAS, Tompkins
County has formally participated in the Organization since December 15,
1998, and
WHEREAS, the
Government Operations Committee recommends in the future that this expense
be included in the Planning Department's budget, now therefore be it
RESOLVED,
on recommendation of the Government Operations, Planning and Intermunicipal
Coordination and Budget and Fiscal Policy Committees, That the County is
authorized to continue as a member of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal
Organization,
RESOLVED,
further, That the following budget appropriation for Cayuga Lake Watershed
Intermunicipal Organization Municipal Dues be made:
From:
A1990.54400 Contingent
Fund $ 900
To:
1010.54416 Membership Dues
$ 900
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
Assessment
Mr. Whicher provided the Committee with an overview of the Year 2000 Tentative Roll Totals. In addition, he provided a summary of the total change for agriculture, vacant and private forest land. He said the difference from the final County 1999 and tentative County 2000 rates is 4.09 percent. He said overall it is probably around a three percent increase in total taxable value for next year.
Mr. Whicher reviewed the process that follows in the revaluation. A training session will be held this evening from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Old Jail Conference Room for the local assessment review meetings. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr requested that more copies of the meetings for the Local Assessment Review Boards be circulated to Board members.
Ms. Kiefer asked about any changes in the open-space categories that has raised many questions. Mr. Whicher stated that as of the May 1 tentative roll there were not many changes. The questions raised earlier were based on preliminary data being misinterpreted.
Personnel Department
Ms. Fitzpatrick introduced the new Organizational Development Coordinator, Naomi Arndt. Her role is going to be as one of the two Co-Coordinators. The two primary focuses of the positions will include the quality management initiative and affirmative action as well as the in-service training component. Ms. Fitzpatrick noted that Ms. Bradec will initially be more active with the quality management initiative and in-service training, and envisions Ms. Arndt concentrating more on the affirmative action piece, but there will be a great deal of cross training and collaboration.
Resolution
It was MOVED
by Mr. Totman, seconded by Mr. Penniman, and unanimously adopted by voice
vote, to submit the following resolution to the Budget and Fiscal Policy
Committee. It was the consensus of the Committee to include a Resolved
appropriating the money.
RESOLUTION NO. - CREATION OF INTERNSHIP POSITIONS AND CONTINGENT FUND APPROPRIATION - PERSONNEL
WHEREAS, the
Board of Representatives approved $50,000 in the 2000 Contingent Fund relative
to the Personnel Department's internship program, and
WHEREAS, the
broad intent of this program is to provide a funding source for departments
that have identified program needs and can utilize eligible internship
candidates under this program to perform research and special projects,
and
WHEREAS, the
County is committed to providing meaningful, challenging, hands-on, in-depth
work experience for eligible internship candidates in a variety of disciplines
related to local, regional, state and federal government operations, and
WHEREAS, this
new program will also provide another avenue for workforce diversity and
enhance and broaden the opportunities for County department to utilize
the skills and abilities of eligible candidates to provide a valuable service
to the taxpayers of the County, be it therefore
RESOLVED,
on recommendation of the Government Operations and Budget and Fiscal Policy
Committees, That fifteen positions of Project Assistant, 76/049, are hereby
created in the Personnel Department effective immediately (pending jurisdictional
classification to the non-competitive class) with an hourly range of pay
between $7.00 and $10.00 per hour, no benefits and a work week not to exceed
35 hours, and
RESOLVED,
further, That the Director of Finance be authorized and directed to make
the following appropriation from the Contingent Fund for this purpose:
FROM:
A1990.54400 Contingent
Fund $ 50,000
TO:
A1430.51000 Regular Pay
$ 50,000
SEQR ACTION:
Pay Equity
Ms. Kiefer
explained why she requested this item be discussed. She stated her two
concerns are: (1) there are certain professional or technical positions
the County has difficulty recruiting for because our salaries are not competitive
in the market, and (2) it has been at least 10 years since the County salary
structure was revamped as part of a pay equity study, and it is probably
time to again test our salaries in general against the local market. She
felt the Committee could also discuss merit pay or bonuses as an alternative
to above-inflation raises.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr hopes that the Committee following its discussion could give direction to the Personnel Commissioner and Administration as to what should be reviewed and brought back to the Committee.
Ms. Fitzpatrick responded to the first concern and said the first initial point has to do with successful recruitment and retention of some technical positions that have been difficult to fill. She said there is currently a mechanism in place adopted by the Board to "red circle" salaries. However, that is not completely adequate in terms of recruitment because it requires a specific person in the process of being hired in order to go to the Board for approval to request "red circling". It is based on the person rather than the position. The pay equity study was not a market analysis; it was an internal study. Therefore, we would be making a drastic departure from the way the rest of the salary structure has been established and adopted if we were to identify specific technical positions and then try to do a market analysis, although that is a possibility. Another option is once the department head has established there is an insufficient pool of acceptable candidates to go to the Board and "red circle" a position rather than a person.
Ms. Fitzpatrick spoke about the current 13-factor system that positions are ranked on. She said that because the way the factors appear to be geared there are certain types of occupations that are not properly captured, although it has been adequate for many of the County positions including human services and blue collar.
Ms. Fitzpatrick said she would like to discuss this with the department heads to perhaps give more input in developing an alternative policy that meets their needs and is acceptable to the Board. Ms. Fitzpatrick said she would put this item on the next agenda for the Department Head meeting.
Ms. Davis said she does not approve of "red circling" and suggests that the County look at putting something in place to avoid it.
Ms. Kiefer said she does not want to undo the pay equity study, but it is not clear to her how well the salary scale in general compares to the local area. She is also interested in the overall effect on budgets of negotiated salaries that are well above inflation and get locked in. An alternative to that is to recognize people's performances by bonuses, which are not added to the base salary.
Ms. West said there was a step system and merit increases in the management pool. She said at the time the step system was eliminated it was a conscious move to have a hire rate and working rate under the premise that after X period of time, the understanding is that particular position you are in you are equal with the other workers in that classification. With the step system, there were two people doing exactly the same job but because one came slightly before the other they were making this much more. If merit increases were used then you begin to build in inequities again related to the merits.
Ms. Fitzpatrick said her Department is in the process of doing salary analysis in preparation of contract negotiations that expire this year, so this discussion is timely. She said in doing salary surveying, she would like direction on the information that should be gathered.
It was the consensus of the Committee to direct the Personnel Commissioner to collect the best information possible for conducting a salary survey.
Ms. Kiefer suggested not focusing on other county government pay scales so much as on our local market, who we compete with.
Mr. Penniman asked if we could also look at where people are coming from and going to and who are we competing with in the job market.
Ms. Fitzpatrick said she would bring back some information for the next Committee meeting.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr announced that May 18th is the 25-Year Club dinner. There are 12 new inductees.
Affirmative Action
Ms. Shreve distributed copies of the full Annual Report of the Community Affirmative Action Committee. She provided a brief overview and said over the last year the Committee has moved to a new level of activity and accomplishments. She briefly reviewed the statistics and said it has taken a long time to develop reliable statistics. Data collection and management are very complicated. She said the next phase for data collection involves two things: (1) better actively tracking and increasing response rate of self-identification on the affirmative action form; and (2) tracking internal movement of employees. She spoke about some of the outreach activities and said a brochure will be available within a month.
Resolution - Rollover
County Administrator
Mr. Armstrong
briefly explained the new mailing system that will be purchased in compliance
with the United State Post Office regulations. The equipment now being
used is out dated and in need of replacement.
Ms. West briefly reviewed the other requests. No further discussion was held.
County Clerk
& Department of Motor Vehicle
The Committee
reviewed the requests submitted. Mr. Potter briefly explained the new imaging
system being installed in the County Clerk's office. He said the system
is very specific to land records and noted this is only part of the project.
The RFP for the remainder of the project will be going out in two weeks.
The funds being proposed will allow the Clerk's office to have all of the
land record documents now on microfilm scanned and put into the system.
All the documents will be on a single system and can be researched back
to 1870. He stated there are two sources of funding: one is a SARA grant
of $75,000, which was applied for, and the other part is from the GIS capital
budget. He said there is $304,000 in that account that has been reserved
for this project as well as two years maintenance costs until the Clerk's
office can generate the revenue to support long-term maintenance.
Ms. Kiefer said she hoped that an explanation of this included in the 2001 budget book.
Information
Technology Services
Mr. Potter
reported on the source of funds and provided the Committee with an update
on the aerial photography. He said that he will be narrowing the scope
down in various areas which resulted in a $10,000 savings and noted the
project will not be done if New York State Electric and Gas is not willing
to contribute some additional funds. In addition, he reported on the proposed
soil survey conversion project.
Mr. Penniman feels the $10,000 difference in the aerial photography project could be funds that might not be eligible for rollover. He considers it a budget savings. Following a brief discussion, Mr. Penniman agreed to defer the discussion to the Budget and Fiscal Policy Committee.
Ms. Davis questioned the router replacement being proposed. Mr. Potter said there are only two routers for the County. Ms. Davis feels there were charges in the 2000 budget from other departments. Mr. Potter said it has been over five years since it has been replaced. Ms. Davis said she would do some research and discuss it further with Mr. Potter.
Human Rights
Ms. Martel-Moore
spoke briefly about the need for interns and how they have been used in
the past.
County Clerk
No discussion.
Personnel
No discussion.
Finance
Mr. Squires
stated he cannot predict spending 100 percent of his money. He briefly
described the source of funds. He said he is requesting the money be spent
in 2001 for Gasby Statement 34, which the County will have to implement
in 2002. This will change the fundamental way of accounting and put the
County on a full accrual basis, including depreciation of bridges, etc.
Mr. Penniman raised the same concern he had with Information Technology Services and feels the fact that the bid received was less than anticipated should also be discussed at the Budget and Fiscal Policy Committee.
Weights
and Measures
No discussion.
Board of
Representatives
No discussion.
Assessment
No discussion.
Board of
Elections
Ms. Davis
spoke of her support for the Department to purchase a scanner.
It was MOVED by Mr. Totman, seconded by Ms. Davis, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to submit to the Budget and Fiscal Policy Committee for approval the resolution entitled Budget Adjustment and Appropriation of Unspent General Funds from 1999 to Various Accounts.
Fair Practice Local Law
Mr. Theisen briefly explained the memorandum received from Luciano Lama, The Lama Law Firm, LLP, requesting a change in the statute of limitations. Mr. Theisen said there are four possible dates for the statute of limitations: (1) when the incident occurs, (2) when conciliation efforts terminate, (3) when, after a conciliation agreement has been reached, the agreement is breached, and (4) investigative determination. It is being suggested that the part where the investigator determines that conciliation is at an end, the conciliation negotiations are terminated, that instead of being terminated that certification be issued. Mr. Theisen did not see a problem with clarifying the law.
Mr. Martel-Moore said she does not feel there is a need for a change. She said a letter could be issued separately indicating the official date the process failed. She stated the law is very clear and concise.
Mr. Theisen spoke about the second suggestion to add the following sentence: "In any event no action may be commenced later than two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practices." Ms. Martel-Moore feels there would be arguments about the date of the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice and feels it would add ambiguity.
Ms. Kiefer spoke in support of amending the law to make clear that there should be something in writing. She said another option is to make sure the procedure is incorporated in some official document.
Mr. Erb clarified that a letter would be done as stated above and included in the internal procedures of the Human Rights Commission. Ms. Martel-Moore said that the procedure is already done and in writing.
It was the consensus of the Committee not to recommend amending the local law.
Resolution - Program Reconfiguration - Criminal Justice
It was MOVED by Ms. Davis, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to submit the following resolution to the Budget and Fiscal Policy Committee for approval:
RESOLUTION NO. - AUTHORIZATION FOR PROGRAM RECONFIGURATION – 2001 BUDGET – CRIMINAL JUSTICE
WHEREAS, the
Planning and Coordination function of Criminal Justice Services is a component
of the Criminal Justice Budgeting Unit, and
WHEREAS, the
salary, fringe, and supplies for the Deputy County Administrator is included
in this function, and
WHEREAS, the
Deputy County Administrator not only provides oversight for the Criminal
Justice Program, but also provides a myriad of services related to the
administration of County government, now therefore be it
RESOLVED,
on recommendation of the Public Safety, Government Operations, and Budget
and Fiscal Policy Committees, That the salary, fringe, and supplies of
the Deputy County Administrator be combined into County Administration,
RESOLVED,
further, That the Fiscal Target for Criminal Justice be reduced by $76,963
and the Fiscal Target for County Administration be increased by the same
amount.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
Local Law - Residency on Advisory Boards
It was MOVED by Mr. Penniman, seconded by Mr. Totman, to submit the following local law to the full Board for approval with the appropriate resolutions to hold a public hearing and adopt said law:
SECTION I. A new Chapter 1.06 is added to the Charter and Code to read as follows:
Section 1.06 - Residency of Advisory Committee Members
Members of Advisory Committees may be residents of the County of Tompkins or its contiguous counties. For purposes of this residency requirement an Advisory Committee shall be any committee, other than a subcommittee of the Board of Representatives, designated as an advisory committee by the Chairman of the Board of Representatives.
SECTION II. This Local Law is effective immediately upon filing with the office of the Secretary of State.
Ms. Kiefer said she would prepare some Whereases for the Board resolution that explains why Government Operations supports this.
Next Meeting
The Committee agreed to discuss the following items at the next meeting:
The meeting adjourned at 2:07 p.m.