MINUTES
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 16, 2004
2:00 P.M.
COURTHOUSE CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: M. Lane, D. Winch, D. Kiefer
Excused: N. Schuler, K. Herrera
Staff: S. Whicher, W. Skinner, D. Squires, J. Wood, V. Coggin, A. LeMaro, K. Kippola
Guests: Mike Talarski, IBEW Local 241 Electricians; Brian Noteboom,
Carpenters LU 281; David Marsh, Tompkins-Cortland Building Traders President;
Gary Bernardo, NYS Laborers LACET
Called to Order
Mr. Lane called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m.
Chair’s Report
Mr. Lane reported he had heard back from the Broome County
Minority Leader; we could meet with him and the Chair of the Legislature
to discuss the issue of County Executive. He said it is unlikely
that the Broome County Executive would be in attendance; however, the Committee
felt if a member of each political party was able to meet with the Committee
some useful information might be obtained. Mr. Lane will proceed
with setting up a meeting date and time. He noted that the meeting
will take place in the evening as that is the only time Broome County officials
are available.
County Administrator’s Report
Mr. Whicher distributed a tax rate comparison chart for
several New York State counties and noted the chart shows the form of government
each county has. Mr. Whicher provided a brief explanation and said
the document is available in electronic form. He reported on
the anti-discrimination clause and stated Ms. Martel Moore, Director of Human
Rights, is working on contract compliance language and is proposing a program,
which will be reviewed by the County Attorney before coming to this Committee.
County Attorney’s Report
Mr. Wood said there are times when the County hires outside
counsel and stated the County presently has a few complex issues, such as
bankruptcy matters, which will be handled by an outside attorney. He
also referred to a few cases that are unusual in nature and said they will
be handled by that counsel. He spoke of a complicated issue involving
“poundage” at the Sheriff’s Department and stated the owner is in bankruptcy.
Mr. Lane explained that “poundage” is items that are impounded by the Sheriff
and levied against.
Finance Director’s Report
Mr. Squires reported his office sent out 500 “Notice Before
Advertising” letters, which are to inform taxpayers of the unpaid taxes prior
to publication in the newspaper. He also reported he has requested
and has been granted a 90-day extension of the September 1 deadline for the
filing of the Federal Audit Report. He stated the audited financial
statements are delayed due to GASBY 34.
Mr. Squires distributed a resolution to adopt an investment
policy that authorizes depositories. He said there is a new bank in
town (First Niagara) that he would like to be included on the list and one
of the banks listed (Fleet) has been sold to Bank America; therefore, should
be replaced by Bank of America. Mr. Squires asked if the Committee
wanted to amend the policy now or wait until next year. Following
a brief discussion, Mr. Squires will bring a resolution amending the policy
to include the changes he alerted the Committee to.
Mr. Squires also reported on some modifications his staff
has made to a financial management reporting program to monitor performance
of vendors. He said vendors now receive a rating (1-5, with 5 being
low) allowing the contract to capture information relating directly to the
vendor’s performance. Mr. Lane said one problem he has observed
is that some building contractors have failed to provide post-paperwork.
He also requested that Mr. Squires try to find a way to monitor vendor compliance
pertaining to minority and disabilities employment. Ms. Kiefer said
it was suggested that warranty information also be included.
Mr. Squires said as things occur his staff will go back retrospectively and
insert vendor ratings. The Committee requested that Mr. Squires amend
the document presented, moving the ratings portion to the top and in a larger
font, and to revise the term “blacklisted”.
Report from Public Information Officer
Ms. Skinner reported that because of the streamlined budget
process that has occurred in Administration, her job has been much easier
than in past years. She said she is now able to focus more on the organization
side of the County and communication issues. She also reported
a meeting of the Record Keeping Task Force has not yet convened; however,
she has met individually with Legislators Kiefer and Herrera and with minute-takers
about this subject. She said she expects meetings of the Task Force
to be delayed until the end of the budget process with a recommendation to
be made by the end of the year.
Assessment Department
It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
resolution and submit it to the full Legislature:
RESOLUTION NO. – ADOPTION OF REGULAR AND SUPPLEMENTAL
REPORTS OF TOTALS (FOOTINGS) OF ASSESSMENT ROLLS
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations
Committee, That the regular and supplemental report of the totals (footings)
of assessment rolls be accepted and the figures therein be used as a basis
for the taxation in the several tax districts of the County for the year
2005 based upon the July 1, 2004 County of Tompkins Final Assessment Roll.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
RESOLUTION NO. – ESTABSLISHING COUNTY EQUALIZATION RATES
It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
resolution and submit it to the full Legislature. Mr. Lane pointed
out that the total aggregate full valuation of taxable real property for
County purposes this year is $4,639,396,849. Ms. Coggin stated this
is up from three years ago by 14 percent.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article III, Section 4.05, Subdivision
(d) of the Tompkins County Charter and Code, the Director of Assessment has
submitted and recommended the adoption of equalization rates for all towns
in Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca for the assessment rolls filed
in 2004, and for the apportionment of County taxes levied in 2005, now therefore
be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations
Committee, That the following equalization rates be and hereby are adopted:
AGGREGATE ASSESSED
AGGREGATE
FULL
VALUATION OF TAXABLE
COUNTY
VALUATION OF TAXABLE
REAL PROPERTY
FOR
EQUALIZATION
REAL PROPERTY FOR
TOWN
COUNTY PURPOSES
RATE
COUNTY PURPOSES
Town of Caroline
126,098,484
100
126,098,484
Town of Danby
159,988,055
100
159,988,055
Town of Dryden
615,770,343
100
615,770,343
Town of Enfield
124,952,616
100
124,952,616
Town of Groton
182,968,519
100
182,968,519
Town of Ithaca
939,507,448
100
939,507,448
Town of Lansing
987,107,985
100
987,107,985
Town of Newfield
181,945,489
100
181,945,489
Town of Ulysses
295,759,675
100
295,759,675
City of Ithaca
1,025,298,235
100
1,025,298,235
TOTALS
$4,639,396,849
$4,639,396,849
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
Ms. Coggin reported that Mr. Phllai of the Local Government
Assistance program of the New York State Division of Budget and Mr. McDermott,
who is in charge of STAR Aid Administration, visited the Tompkins County
Assessment Office on September 14 to study the impact of State Maintenance
Aid in an assessing unit that successfully participates in the Annual Assessment
Program. She said Tompkins County received a successful assessment
from the budget officials. Ms. Coggin was asked
to share this information with Wendy Skinner, Public Information Coordinator.
She also reported the Assembly and Senate both passed legislation the County
had been waiting for to remove the sunset clause. She said this could
be additional money for Tompkins County.
Apprenticeship Program
RESOLUTION NO. – REQURING CONTRACTORS ON CERTAIN COUNTY CAPITAL PROJECTS TO HAVE APPRENTICESHIP AGREEMENTS
Mr. Lane apologized to those present for there only being
three members of the Committee in attendance at this meeting. He said
he received a communication from Legislator Herrera who apologized for her
absence and stated she supports this resolution. Mr. Lane asked
Mr. Wood, County Attorney, to comment on this subject.
Mr. Wood stated this resolution would require apprenticeships
in larger projects (primarily those covered by Section 101 of the General
Municipal Law, more commonly referred to as the “Wicks Law”. He said
basically what it requires is that each successful bidder of projects in
the range of $30,000 to $40,000 have an apprenticeship program or an association
with one. He said this requirement does not apply to small projects
and it doesn’t require every subcontractor have one. Mr. Wood stated
he does not know at this time what impact this would have on County contracts.
Mr. Wood said the Wicks Law threshold is very low and said the Committee
could amend that figure to a higher amount.
Ms. Kiefer spoke to the language contained in number one
and stated it is not obvious what the term “separate specifications” means
and asked that it be clarified; she also asked if the plural usage of the
term “contractors” referred to the requirement of “utilizing at least three
prime contractors” and was informed that is the reference of the plural “contractors”.
Mr. Marsh said if the contractor is a signatory to a union
contract a deduction goes into apprenticeship training funds. He said
open-shop contractors can apply for a program and typically they pay out
of pocket.
Mr. Winch said Mr. Joseph had explained to him that this
is intended as a vehicle to use local labor but he isn’t seeing any requirement
for using local labor. He questioned how moving to require apprenticeship
agreements would prove local labor is being used. Mr. Marsh said the
idea of the apprenticeship program requirement is that local unions could
provide apprentices and journeyman for contracts. He said there is
no way to guarantee local labor will be used on all projects but this proposal
does increase the likelihood of using local people.
Mr. Winch said in order for a contractor to save money
they need to use as much local labor as possible; therefore, out-of-town
contractors will come to town and try to get as many people from local unions
as possible. He asked if Mr. Marsh agreed with this statement.
Mr. Marsh said if you look at statistics of who is getting projects in this
area you will see that many are coming from areas close enough that they
can bring their workforce with them. He said there are approximately
20 percent of workers who come into this area to work and the same amount
travels out of this area to work. Mr. Talarski commented that there
are 181 members in the Electricians Union and only two work outside Tompkins
County. He said to be an apprentice in Tompkins County, you must
live in Tompkins County. Each trade varies. It was reported that
of the 16 international unions associated with building trades, only the
Teamsters have no apprentice program.
At this time there was discussion about an appropriate
amount to use as a threshold for this resolution. Mr. Lane said he
would like this resolution to move forward in some form and have it applied
to contracts for a higher level of dollars and suggested $2.5 million.
Ms. Kiefer agreed that the threshold should be higher than that of the Wicks
Law, but not necessarily as high as Mr. Lane suggests.
There was not enough support to approve this resolution
today. It was agreed that Mr. Wood will add the suggestions that have
been made to the resolution (changes to no. 1, definition of Section 101
of the General Municipal Law, and a threshold figure of $2.5 million) and
this item will continue to be discussed at the next meeting.
WHEREAS, the County Government from time to time undertakes
construction contracts which involve the construction of facilities and structures,
and
WHEREAS, County government is making considerable efforts
to increase the number of jobs in the County, and is consistently advocating
for quality employment opportunities for Tompkins County residents, and
WHEREAS, maintaining a qualified and skilled labor force
is essential to a healthy and dynamic local economy, and
WHEREAS, it is desirable to establish employment principles to guide future decisions of the County, and
WHEREAS, Article 23 (Apprenticeship Training), Section
816-b of New York State Labor Law states, "in entering into any construction
contract, a government entity which is to be a direct or indirect party to
such contract may require that any contractors and subcontractors have, prior
to entering into such a contract, apprenticeship agreements appropriate for
the type and scope of work to be performed, that have been registered with,
and approved by, the commissioner pursuant to the requirements found in this
article." Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, upon recommendation of the Government Operations Committee, that:
1. Any public work which requires~te specific~ pursuant to Section 101 of
the General Municipal Law, must include contractors that participate in New
York State certified apprenticeship programs.
2. All bidders on such projects must maintain or participate in a bona fide
New York State Apprentice Training of the Department of Labor or, in the
alternative, employ one or more subcontractors with such apprenticeship program
to perform work on the project.
3. Any bidder who fails to comply with the requirements laid out in numbers
1 and 2 above shall be subject to any or all of the following sanctions:
a. temporary suspension of work on the project until compliance is obtained; or
b. withholding by the County of payment due under the contract until compliance is obtained; and/or
c. permanent removal from any further work on the project; and/or
d. recovery by the County from the bidder of 1/10 of 1% of the contract amount
or $1,000.00, whichever is greater, in the nature of liquidated damages assessed
for each week that the contractor is in non-compliance.
SEQR Action: TYPE II
* * * * * * * * * *
Contracts Policy
Ms. Kiefer said she had made some changes to a draft of
this policy but was unable to locate it at this time. One change she
would like to see made would be to the Policy Statement, in which she would
agree with Legislator Blanchard’s proposed language: “It is the Policy
of the Tompkins County Legislature to secure the highest level of goods and
services from vendors consistent with budgetary constraints in a manner that
reduces administrative burden on both parties while protecting the taxpayer.”
Ms. Kiefer will look for her copy, along with suggested changes, and present
at the next meeting.
Mr. Whicher commented on a communication received from
Ms. Blanchard with regard to specific contracts. He strongly disagrees
with the implication that County staff is not doing a good job executing
contracts. He stated staff makes sure vendors are in compliance with
contracts and saves the County a substantial amount of money and exposure.
This item will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
Financial Disclosure – Required Filers
Mr. Lane stated upon learning new legislation had been
adopted with regard to filing requirements for assessors, he asked the County
Attorney to make a recommendation. Mr. Wood said although he doesn’t
understand the rationale behind this, he recommends the County include those
positions in the County’s requirements to file financial disclosure forms.
A question was raised as to what form the assessors would be required to
file – the County’s form or a State form. A suggestion was made that
assessors should complete the State form and place a copy on file in the
Legislature Office with other completed County forms. Ms. Kiefer raised
a concern that if added to the list of required filers, they should complete
the County’s form in addition to the State form. Following a
short discussion, Mr. Wood said he was unsure whether the legislation applied
to County’s that have an Ethics Board. He said he needs to do further
research and will report back to the Committee at the next meeting.
Authorizing Public Hearing/Adoption of Local Law – Special Negotiating Committee
It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
Local Law and submit to the full Legislature. Mr. Lane clarified
that the current section of the County’s Charter states that the Chair of
the Budget and Capital Committee shall serve on all of these committees;
this Local Law would allow any member of the Legislature to serve.
County of Tompkins
Local Law No._ of the year 2004
Section 1. This Local Law amends Section 2.08 (c) of the
Charter regarding the composition of Special Negotiating Committee.
Section 2. Section 2.08 (c) of the County Charter shall read as follows:
§C-2.08
(c) Appoint as needed a Special Negotiation Committee,
of not less than three members. To conduct collective negotiations with recognized
employee organizations. Such appointments shall be subject to approval
of the Tompkins County Legislature, except that the membership of such Committee
shall include a member of the Tompkins County Legislature, the County Personnel
Commissioner, and the County Administrator, or a designee of the County Administrator.
Section 3. This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State.
Authorizing a Public Hearing/Adoption of Local Law – Vacancies on Advisory Boards and Committees
Mr. Wood explained that from time to time an issue has
arisen with regard to how a member of an advisory board can be removed if
they haven’t attended several meetings. He said this proposal
mirrors the State’s law.
Mr. Winch said he supports this proposal. He has
personally experienced problems as a result of non-attendance at meetings
by advisory committee members. He said there have been occasions when
he has traveled a long distance to attend a meeting only to find out that
there was not quorum and the group was unable to meet.
It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
Local Law and submit to the full Legislature:
County of Tompkins
Local Law No. B of the year 2004
Section 1. This Local Law amends Article 2 of the Charter
to add a new Section 2.20 regarding the creation of vacancies upon failure
of appointed officials to attend meetings.
Section 2. Section 2.20 of the County Charter shall read as follows:
§C-2.20
When any member of a board, commission, committee, agency, or authority,
holding office by appointment of the County Legislature of the Chair of the
County Legislature, fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of
such board, commission, committee, agency, or authority, unless such absence
is for good cause and is excused by the chairman or other presiding officer
thereof, or in the case of such chairman or other presiding officer, by the
Chair of the Legislature, the office may be deemed vacant by the appointing
authority for the purposes of the nomination and appointment of successor.
Section 3. The provisions of this law shall supersede any
inconsistent or less stringent attendance requirements in existing bylaws.
Section 4. This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State.
Mr. Winch stated he would rather the term “may” be changed
to “shall” on the Local Law. Mr. Wood recommended that the Local Law
not be changed because it may result in a problem with regard to membership
and quorum at some point-in-time.
A statement was made that this Local Law should supercede
any existing bylaws. An additional section was added to the Local Law
that would accomplish this task. A question was also raised as to who
would deem a seat vacant. Mr. Lane stated if it were a chair’s appointment
the chair would and if it were an appointment made by the Legislature, action
by the Legislature would be necessary to deem the seat vacant.
There was discussion about what would initiate this process.
Ms. Kiefer said years ago there was discussion about the Legislature
Office keeping attendance records for advisory boards and suggested that
would be helpful in these instances. Staff will alert the appropriate
staff person associated with advisory boards of this proposal and seek their
input.
A vote by show of hands resulted as follows: Ayes
– 3 , Noes – 0, Excused – 2 (Herrera and Schuler). MOTION CARRIED.
Appointment
It was MOVED by Mr. Winch, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the appointment
of Stel Walton Whitehead to the Human Rights Commission for a term expiring
December 31, 2005.
Ms. Kiefer asked that a signature line be added to the resume form for advisory boards.
Financial Disclosure Forms
A brief discussion was held relating to the County’s Financial Disclosure
Forms. Ms. Kiefer read a proposed a draft introductory section, which
was accepted as friendly by the Committee. The language will appear
in the next draft of the Form.
“An important part of your responsibility as an elected
official and/or key employee of Tompkins County is completion of a Financial
Disclosure Form each year……
Following a request to remove a requirement to list personal
loans, including those given by family, the Committee agreed to add language
to Section F. Loans, to read: “List any current outstanding loans,
excluding family loans, received by you…….”.
Due to time constraints, this item was deferred to the next meeting.
Items Deferred to the Next Meeting
Approval of August 19, 2004 Minutes
Naming Conference Rooms
Continued discussion on the Financial Disclosure Forms
Continued discussion on Required Filers of Financial Disclosure Forms (Assessors)
Continued discussion on Contracts Policy
Continued discussion on the Resolution Requiring Contractors
on Certain County Capital Projects to Have Apprenticeship Agreements
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:14 p.m.
Tompkins
County Home Page
Tompkins
County Legislature's Page
Comments
or questions