MINUTES
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
AUGUST 19, 2004
2:00 P.M.
COURTHOUSE CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: M. Lane, Chair; D. Winch; N. Schuler; D. Kiefer; K. Herrera
Staff: S. Whicher, County Administrator;
J. Wood, County Attorney; W. Skinner, Public Information; S. Martel-Moore,
Human Rights; A. Fitzpatrick, Personnel Commissioner; E. Marx, Planning Commissioner/Deputy
County Administrator
Guests: T. Joseph, Chair of the Legislature; M. Robertson,
County Legislator; M. Tallarski, Union Electrician; B. Noteboom, Carpenter's
Union
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 2:03 p.m.
Changes to Agenda
The following items were added to the agenda:
- Appointment - Board of Human Rights Commission
- Report - Contract Compliance
Approval of Minutes
It was MOVED by Ms. Schuler, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of the July 15,
2004, meeting as corrected.
Responsible Contractor Policy/Apprenticeship Program
Apprenticeship Program
Mr. Joseph explained the requirements of an apprenticeship
program and said he would like the County to consider adopting such a program.
The State has enacted a Law that enables public entities, municipal corporations,
etc. to adopt apprenticeship programs requiring construction contacts or
sub-contracts offer a prevailing wage and fringe benefits to be paid on all
public work projects. Mr. Joseph said the issue is not wages, but would
affect and encourage local hiring. He hoped the Committee would
consider a resolution similar to the sample copy that was distributed.
In response to Mr. Winch's question about what problem
the County is trying to solve, Mr. Joseph said often contractors bring in
labor from outside the County and that this policy would encourage local
hiring and keep the money in the community. This is also an issue of
working conditions as many contractors bring in a workforce that is underpaid
and not familiar with their rights with safety and health regulations.
He noted that he has never seen these incidences on any County projects but
has witnessed such actions on other local projects. In addition, this
would help with the County's workforce development efforts. Also, it
is a cost saver in that we are bound by prevailing wages and apprentices
get paid lower wages.
Responsible Contractor Policy
Copies of Cornell's policy for determining the responsibility
of the lowest bidder was distributed to Committee members. Mr. Joseph
spoke about this subject and said the County has had experience in the past
and at times believes the lowest bidder was approved but was not necessarily
a responsible bidder. The County is able to reject bids but feels a
policy would provide the County more security when bids are rejected.
Mr. Lane asked if the size of contracts could be considered.
Mr. Joseph said he presented this with the intent of only including County
building projects and feels a threshold could be placed in the law.
Mr. Wood commented this subject has been discussed previously and said Mr.
LeMaro, Facilities Manager, identified how many companies would be impacted
in the apprenticeship program. He feels that if the County rejected
a bidder as not being a responsible, it would need to be well justified and
that case law tends to favor contractors.
Ms. Herrera spoke about the opportunities this would provide
including educated workers, better quality of work on projects, and improved
safety resulting in projects being done on time and under budget. She
encouraged the Committee to look into apprenticeship agreements.
Ms. Kiefer spoke about her comments made in the past for
documenting problems with contractors noting she doesn't want to give up
on that subject, but she does support moving forward with passing a resolution
adopting an apprenticeship program. However, the size of both the project
and the contractors force is relevant.
Mr. Joseph clarified that the apprenticeship program is
not intended to exclude any contractors but to affect their behavior and
provide incentives.
Mr. Lane said the purpose for adopting the policies is
for the betterment of the County and that these requirements could increase
the costs for the County. He said he would like to hear from the Chamber
of Commerce, Tompkins County Area Development, and Workforce Development.
At this time, the County Attorney was directed to draft
a local law for the Committee to consider at the next meeting and provide
members with a copy of State Law 816-b. Mr. Joseph suggested the responsible
contractor policy be sent to the County's Contracts Coordinator for review.
County Administration/Personnel
Administrative Manual Policy 02-01 - Creating and Abolishing New Positions and Changing Existing Positions
Mr. Whicher reiterated his comments that this policy as
presented represents current practices with one exception being the County
Administrator makes the final decision on appeals. He said only a couple
of appeals have come to him. Ms. Kiefer said she had previously requested
the changes to the policy be highlighted showing deletions and additions.
She also feels it is appropriate to have a standard appeals committee, that
would deal with all employee appeals and would include employees and a Legislator(s).
Mr. Joseph explained this issue came up earlier in the
year and he asked that the policy be revised and forwarded to the appropriate
committee for review and discussion. He feels the appeals procedure
requires someone who understands and is familiar with the system.
At this time, the report highlighting the 2004 reclassifications to date were reviewed and discussed.
Discussion continued on the question concerning the appeal
process. Mr. Winch expressed his opinion that Legislators should not
be part of the process. Ms. Schuler recommended that the last sentence of
the policy include a timeframe. Ms. Skinner raised a concern that the
staff in the County Administrator's office and Personnel Office may not be
fairly represented in the process. She feels a management-level staff
person could learn the process well enough to be a third party in the process
for evaluating appeals by staff in the County Administrator's office and
Personnel office.
Further discussion followed and it was MOVED by Ms. Herrera,
seconded by Ms. Schuler, to include language in the policy that appeals filed
by staff within the offices of County Administration or Personnel be handled
by a small group (three senior staff) appointed by the County Administrator.
A voice vote resulted as follows: Ayes - 3 (Herrera, Kiefer, and Schuler);
Noes - 2 (Lane and Winch). MOTION CARRIED.
A revised version of the policy will be presented at the next meeting.
Annual Financial Disclosure Form
Required Filers
It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Ms. Herrera, to
accept the list of "key employees" required to file Annual Financial Disclosure
Forms as presented to Committee. Ms. Kiefer asked for the rationale
for including and excluding employees on the proposed list. Mr. Lane
reminded the Committee that the discussion held at the last meeting was to
reduce the list to include department heads and their deputy(s). Ms.
Kiefer said the purpose of the form is to identify employees who hold a position
that has sufficient authority to make decisions or strongly influence decisions
where a conflict of interest could arise. Ms. Kiefer asked if the positions
were tested against the purpose of the disclosure form. Ms. Kiefer
specifically raised the question about Assessors and Corrections Officers.
Ms. Fitzpatrick said based on previous discussions on this issue and the
understanding of the day-to-day operations in many departments, department
heads accept recommendations from staff at all levels based on their expertise.
She feels that every department head and their deputy are responsible for
the operation of that department.
A voice vote resulted as follows to accept the list of
required filers as submitted: Ayes - 4; Noes - 0; Abstention - 1 (Kiefer).
MOTION CARRIED.
County Executive
Visit to Broome County
Mr. Lane said he continues to try to make contact with
Broome County representatives and will keep the Committee informed on his
progress.
Tompkins County's Form of Government
Mr. Whicher explained his responsibilities as County Administrator
and stated the County Legislature adopts policy and he follows through by
carrying out the procedures. In his opinion the Chair is the filter
for the Legislature and he meets weekly to discuss issues. He tries
to remain neutral and out of the politics. He feels this system works
well and there is a continual dialogue between the County Administrator and
Chair of the Legislature. It is also his opinion that a County Administrator's
form of government is an inclusive decision-making process and issues are
discussed and thoroughly examined.
In response to Mr. Lane's question about weaknesses in
the system, Mr. Whicher commented that sometimes when something needs to
happen quickly it can be difficult and the committee structure can be a drawback.
Mr. Joseph spoke about the subject of County Executive
and said he is currently the Chief Elected Official of the County and is
the Chair of the Legislature. He discussed how different County government
would be with a County Executive position. Typically County Executives
are elected officials and politicians and generally do not get elected for
administrative ability. To have a well-run government, there needs
to be someone who is a good administrator and knows how to manage bureaucracy
and get things done.
He spoke about the County's current system and echoed
Mr. Whicher's comments concerning the team leadership between the Chair and
County Administrator. They meet weekly and talk regularly about what
is political and what is administrative, which in Mr. Joseph's opinion is
an important distinction to be made.
At this time Mr. Joseph spoke about what he feels would
be different with a County Executive position. A County Executive would
have the authority to speak for the County whether the Legislature agreed
or not. It would require a majority of the Legislature to challenge
policy decisions of the County Executive. The Executive can set goals
and direction for the County and hire staff to carry out operations; however,
the powers of an Executive would need to be defined in the County Charter.
Having a County Executive the County could move more quickly and effectively
in a more coherent direction, whereas the current system is more stable and
allows for debates by the Legislature on the directions the County should
move in. Mr. Joseph stated that he is against a County Executive form
of government and does not feel it would be good for the County.
At this time, Mr. Whicher distributed a report of comparative
budgets for each county with a 250,000 population or less with a County Administrator
or Manager and County Executive. Mr. Lane feels having sales tax information
would be helpful.
Ms. Herrera spoke about one argument that needs to be
addressed is the notion that electing a County Executive is more democratic
as one person would be representing the County.
Mr. Marx spoke about a County Executive form of government
and said in many counties with County Executives the Legislature has their
own staff doing their own analysis. In his experience in Oswego County,
he would often have to deal with both elected officials (County Executive
and Chair) and there was not always the same perspective.
Ms. Kiefer asked if a contact could be made to NYSAC requesting
information on counties that may have changed from an Administrator to County
Executive or County Executive to Administrator. Mr. Whicher agreed
to make the contact.
Report from the Committee Chair
Mr. Lane said he is the process of putting together information
to begin the evaluation of the County Administrator as requested by the Chair
of the Legislature. He will be discussing procedures with the Legislative
Chair and Legislator Koplinka-Loehr, Chair of the Budget and Capital Committee.
Report from County Administrator
Mr. Whicher did not have a report.
Report from the County Attorney
Mr. Wood said he did not have a report.
Report from the Finance Director
Mr. Squires was not present for the meeting.
Report from the Public Information Officer
Ms. Skinner did not have a report.
Human Rights Commission
Contract Compliance Update
Ms. Martel Moore reported that a training has been scheduled
for September 14th for all departments concerning contract compliance.
At this time, she provided an overview of the agenda for that meeting.
Mr. Winch was excused at 4:29 p.m.
Appointment
It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Ms. Schuler,
and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to appoint Kandea Mosley to the Board
of Human Rights Commission for a term that expires December 31, 2007.
Naming Conference Rooms
This item was deferred.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
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