MINUTES
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2005          2:30 P.M.
SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM
Present:  M. Lane, Chair; D. Booth; K. Herrera
Excused:  D. Kiefer and G. Totman
Staff:  D. Squires, Finance Director; C. Covert, Clerk of the Legislature; S. Whicher, County Administrator; W. Skinner, Public Information; V. Coggin, Assessment Director

Called to Order

    The meeting was called to order at 2:36 p.m.

Changes to Agenda

    Mr. Lane requested a discussion be held later in the meeting concerning orientation for new Legislators. 

Ms. Herrera spoke about an endorsement meeting she attended for the Stonewall Democrats (a local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club not affiliated with the national organization).  Discussions are being held to consider recommending a change in policy by adding LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) to the list of protected classes in the self-identification question asked in documents such as contracts, applications, etc.  Mr. Whicher said he discussed this with the Contracts Coordinator several months ago and will follow-up.  Ms. Herrera also feels that this subject will be discussed in the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  The Committee agreed to add this topic to the next agenda as well for further discussion.

Report from the Committee Chair

    Mr. Lane said he wrote a letter to Ms. Valentino, Town of Ithaca Supervisor, inviting her to a future Committee meeting to discuss the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) cost savings she spoke about at the last Legislature's meeting.

Report from the County Administrator

    Mr. Whicher spoke about the Board of Elections budget and clarified how the County could handle election expenses including options the Legislature could consider:  (1) the County could "bill back" to the towns the amount it is not going to pay; or (2) take the cost of elections and "re-levy".  Following a brief discussion, Mr. Whicher agreed to show examples and options with real dollar amounts.  At this time, Mr. Booth and Mr. Lane expressed support for option number one to "bill back".  Ms. Herrera said she would like to see the advantages and disadvantages with both options. 

Report from the Finance Director

    Mr. Squires said he has not heard any feedback from the towns regarding the change in date for tax warrants.  He reported on a bankruptcy filing on a real property tax item.  The property is located on Pleasant Grove and $64,000 is owed in taxes.  While in bankruptcy, one requirement is that taxes are paid and in this case they have not been.  He said this property will need to be turned over to the County's bankruptcy attorney to dismiss this action. 

Public Information Report

    Ms. Skinner reported briefly on the format of the public forum scheduled for September 26th.

Resolution - Interdepartmental Budget Transfer

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

RESOLUTION NO.         - INTERDEPARTMENTAL BUDGET TRANSFERS FROM ADMINISTRATION AND HIGHWAY TO PLANNING

WHEREAS, Tompkins County has combined the positions of Commissioner of Planning and Commissioner of Public Works into a single position of Commissioner of Planning and Public Works, and
WHEREAS, the new position is located in the Planning Department for budgetary purposes, and
WHEREAS, for the remainder of 2005 one-half of the salary and fringe can be paid from the Planning Department budget, and funds from temporarily unfilled positions in Administration and Highway are available to fund the remaining one-half of the position’s salary and fringe, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Planning, Development and Environmental Quality, Facilities and Infrastructure, Government Operations and Budget and Capital committees, That $24,902 be transferred from Highway and Administration to cover one-half of the Commissioner of Planning and Public Works’ salary and fringe for 2005,
RESOLVED, further, That the Director of Finance is hereby authorized and directed to make the following budget transfers:
    FROM:        A5110.51000837     Highway Salary                      $8,958
                         A5110.58800           Highway Fringe                     $3,493
                         A1230.51000282     Administration Salary          $8,958
                         A1230.58800           Administration Fringe          $3,493
    TO:              A8020.51000243     Planning Salary                    $17,916
                         A8020.58800           Planning Fringe                    $6,986
SEQR ACTION:  TYPE II-20
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Assessment Department

    Resolution
    It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Mr. Booth, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval.  At the request of Mr. Booth, Ms. Coggin agreed to add a note of what Footings means to the resolution.

RESOLUTION  NO.      - ADOPTION OF REGULAR AND SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS  OF TOTALS (FOOTINGS) OF ASSESSMENT ROLLS
    
WHEREAS, Tompkins County desires to maintain an official record of the 2005 Final Assessment Roll, now therefore be it
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 2006 based upon the July 1, 2005 County of Tompkins Final Assessment Roll.
SEQR ACTION:  TYPE II-20
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    Appointment
    It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Ms. Herrera, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit the following appointment to the full Legislature for approval.  Ms. Coggin spoke highly of the existing membership of this board and how well they work together.

    Board of Assessment Review
    Bob Shaw - term expires September 30, 2008

    Corrections to Tax Roll - 2005
    At this time, copies of the corrections to the Tax Roll for 2005 were distributed and briefly reviewed by Ms. Coggin.

Review of Report and Recommendations from the Meeting Record-Keeping Task Force

    Ms. Herrera spoke about the Report and Recommendations from the Meeting Record-Keeping Task Force and feels there has been an inadvertent misunderstanding of the recommendations.  She said one of the recommendations is that corrections to minutes be submitted in a legible format and hopes Legislators follow this recommendation as well as the other recommendations.  She also encouraged committee chairs to be consistent and follow the report as submitted by the Record-Keeping Task Force. 

    Mr. Booth spoke about his experiences with discussions of minutes at various levels of government and feels that summaries being created in minutes are too complicated and sometimes may be inaccurate.  He said he continues to feel frustrated about this subject. 

    Mr. Whicher said one option for the Committee is to make the report and recommendations a policy. 

    Mr. Lane commented on the statement by Mr. Booth concerning summaries and feels that there will always be differences of opinions in how summaries are written.   Ms. Herrera reiterated her opinion that she hopes the recommendations will continue to be followed and suggested the report be used in the orientation for new Legislators. 

    A brief discussion followed to consider having action-only minutes on a trial basis.  Ms. Herrera spoke in opposition to action-only minutes as quite often the minority viewpoint is obliterated.  

    Following further discussion, Mr. Whicher agreed to explore this further through the new organization he recently joined called International City/County Management Association. 

County Administrator

    Review of Goals and Objectives
    This item was deferred to September 28th as there were only three members present. 

Next Meeting

    Following discussion, the Committee will meet September 28th at 2:00 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

    It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Mr. Booth, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the minutes of the August, 16, 17, and 24th as submitted.  MINUTES APPROVED.

Orientation of New Legislators

    Mr. Lane said he would like to formulize the process for orienting new Legislators.  The following items were raised as areas to consider:

 Departmental tours
 Administrative staff - introductions
 Rules of the Legislature
 State Retirement
 Health insurance
 Report and Recommendations from the Meeting Record-Keeping Task Force
 County Charter
 Administrative Policy Manual
 Advisory Boards - organizational chart
 Committee system
 Payroll

Adjournment

    The meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m.


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