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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-06-11 MinutesMINUTES OF A RETREAT MEETING OF THE CITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS A Retreat Meeting of the Fayetteville City Board of Directors was held on Tuesday, June 11, 1991 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. • PRESENT: Mayor Fred Vorsanger; Assistant Mayor Mike Green; Directors. Ann Henry, Dan Coody, Julie Nash, Shell Spivey and Bob Blackston; City Manager Scott Linebaugh; City Attorney Jerry Rose; and City Clerk Sherry Thomas. CALL TO ORDER 4 • The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with seven Directors present. He pointed out that no official Board action can be taken at the retreat meeting. The Mayor announced that the matters of police and fire manpower would be discussed, along with the 911 Emergency Service.. In addition, he announced that Don and Patty Grimes would be present to discuss the Hot Check Program. Mayor Vorsanger stated that several items on the agenda directly impact the 1992 budget, and public hearings will be.head„in the nearfuture with respect to the budget. • Mayor Vorsanger welcomed the. public and requested that their input should pertain only to the agenda items. In addition, he requested that the City Manager's evaluation be removed from the agenda due to the evaluation forms not being completed. Vorsanger proposed and it was agreed among the'board members that he would collect the evaluation forms from the Directors, summarize the same and present it at the regular meeting.on:July 16, 1991.• Mayor Vorsanger read to the:Board a section from the Board Rules of Order and Procedure that requests all members of the Board treat each other with courtesy.,; In addition, the Mayor reminded the Board of the relationship between the Board and the Staff as 1) all communication between Staff and Board should be channeled through the Administrator and 2) Boards do not manage Staff, Administrators do. The Mayor requested that the Board members review the board of Directors manual, and incorporate it into their rules and procedures. POLICE/FIRE MANPOWER Mayor Vorsanger announced that Police Chief Watson and Fire Chief Jackson were present to discuss their respective manpower needs. In addition, Vorsanger requested that the Board look at the millage increase that would be needed and also, at the possibility of accreditation for the police and fire departments. ' '"'206 June 11, 1991 City Manager Scott Linebaugh presented the report on police/fire manpower, and requested that additional data and research was needed before making manpower recommendations. Police Chief Watson addressed the Board and stated that they should have all data collected and have a recommendation to present to the Board by the end of July. Chief Watson stated that they are currently requesting the immediate hiring of two uniformed officers in order to initiate training. In addition, Mayor Vorsanger stated that the initiation of the Hot Check Program would require a Program Coordinator and Warrant Officer. Director Green stated he thought the projections should account for an increase in manpower needed in the Dickson Street area with the completion of the Walton Art Center. Director Coody reported on a method used in Yakima, Washington of putting officers on bicycles in downtown areas. Director Henry asked Chief Watson how the University's manpower needs reflected on the City's needs, and he responded that the U of A benefits the City only by maintaining their small area. • Chief Watson further explained the accreditation* process and announced that the initial cost would be approximately $15,000. Fire Chief Mickey Jackson addressed the Board with a presentation of results from firefighters manpower surveys which indicates Fayetteville rates at the bottom in all areas. Chief Jackson revealed that his recommendation of hiring 15 firefighters over the next 5 years would bring Fayetteville up to only 7th place in a regional poll. Chief Jackson stated that their recommendation was to hire three additional firefighters each year for the next five years, for a level of 21 per shift with a minimum manning level of 17, up from 13. He believes this is the most cost-effective and realistic approach. Chief Jackson reported on several ideas for fire protection at the Airport, but the department is still conducting research on how the Airport can secure the level of protection necessary to meet FAA standards. Chief Jackson responded to Director Henry's question that they currently did not have any women firefighters, and that they had replaced a total of four firefighters in the last two years. Dale Frederick, Airport Manager, responded to Mayor Vorsanger's inquiry into raising boarding fees to cover part of the fire protection at the Airport, and he stated that he doesn't anticipate the airlines being open to negotiation for the monies needed. In tip June 11, 1991 addition, Frederick stated that they would be hard pressed to fund fire protection to equal the existing protection. Chief Jackson stated that the only accreditation process used for fire departments is ISO (Insurance Services Office) periodic inspections done every 7-10 years, and they were last in Fayetteville in 1984. -City Manager Linebaugh stated that Staff was recommending that the City immediately hire one policeman and three firefighters by the end of 1991. He further stated Staffs recommendation that funding be through a property tax increase, which funds would not become available until 1993. The current mill is at 2.1 and can be increased up to a maximum of 5 mills without a vote of the people. Linebaugh reported that the cost for a police officer would be $30,000 and $24,000 per firefighter. Staff recommends raising the property tax over a period of a few years instead of all at once, and the deadline on the millage increase is in October. Director Spivey stated that he"believed the'City needed to maintain minimum staffing levels in all departments based on need and not averages. ,,, Director Green stated he.was usually against increasing taxes, but if one was needed to be able to provide these basic services,he felt it would be justified. Chief Watson addressed the.Board and stated that office space is the immediate need of Central -Dispatch -that now has 16-18 people currently staffing the 911 Emergency Service. It was agreed among the Directors that they would take further action on the immediate hiring of three firefighters and one police officer at the next regular. Board meeting.., HOT CHECK PROGRAM • Ji 1 City Prosecutor Terry Jones introduced the Hot Check Collections Clerk, Shelly Turberville: Jones stated that this program was introduced for more efficient prosecution of hot check violators and as a significant revenue source for the City. This centralized system would quickly identify habitual hot check offenders and introduce prompt prosecution and collection. Jones stated that with the full cooperation of the merchants, this program should support itself as well as a revenue reserve to put back into the City. Jones reported that he has 11,000 unserved warrants, and this hot check program would allow better efficiency in serving warrants. He explained that the hot check prosecution and collection charges are set by statute on a graduated rate from $5 to $30 per check depending upon the amount of .the check with the fee collected over and above the original price of the check, and the $15 service charge in which the merchants would receive back. CVO June 11, 1991 Merchants would pay $2.55 to the City for each check they bring in for collection. Jones explained that the key here was to have 2 to 3 warrant officers to serve warrants immediately upon their issuance. --- Terry Jones stated that he had been working closely with Don and Patty Grimes on the hot check program. Jones further explained that a collection agency actually works against a hot check program by delaying the prosecutor's investigation into the process and interfering with the efficient prosecution of check offenders. By rebating the $15 hot check charge to the merchants, this would encourage merchants to use the hot check program in lieu of various collection agencies which only make the hot check program difficult to enforce. Don Grimes addressed the Board in opposition to the hot check program. Grimes stated that if the City was going to take their business, it should be appraised, and the City should pay them what its worth. Grimes stated that they are proud of their business and would hate to see the City take their business, that they have worked so hard to maintain. Terry Jones stated that the City had received several unsolicited letters from local merchants requesting a hot check program. Director Green asked Terry Jones that if the collection agencies were allowed to keep the $15 processing fee, since the City can not do so legally, this may encourage them to turn checks over to the Hot Check Program in a timely manner, thus allowing for prompt prosecution. Jones responded that an affidavit for a warrant had to be signed by an individual who saw the hot check written; although the collection agencies as agents of the companies may be able to do that, it may not be a legally defensible position, and he is not inclined to allow this process to continue. Jones stated that he is charged with enforcing the statutes the best he can to the extent of the law and this is one way to do it. Mayor Vorsanger stated that his problem with the Hot Check Program is that the City is monopolizing hot check collections; he further stated that he would be in agreement with the Grimes' plan in which the City would only be one of the players, rather than the only player. In the hiring process, one way to approach this matter would be to go ahead with the recommendation of hiring one additional person at this time. Mayor Vorsanger stated that his problem with the Hot Check Program is that the City is monopolizing hot check collections. He further stated that he agrees with the Grimes' plan in which the City would be only one of the players rather than the only player. Director Spivey stated the citizens of Fayetteville deserve this hot check program. He believes that the program should commence as June 11, 1991 planned, and he would not be in favor of diminishing the effectiveness of it in any way. He stated that it is the citizens and consumers that are in essence paying for all hot checks through higher product prices, and to not provide the best collection service possible is not fair to the citizens. Terry Jones explained that the $15 is statutorily authorized by the Legislature as the merchant's compensation for their costs. The law in essence, discriminates against collection agencies. They can only charge $15 and keep it as their fee, instead of reimbursing it to the merchants, as the City is required to do. Patty Grimes stated that checks turned over to them do not decay in a file drawer for any length of time, but are being processed in 6- 8 weeks. In addition, she stated that when their collection agency turns checks over for prosecution, the Prosecutor's Office is supplied with the most up-to-date addresses -for which they can use in their process. Director Green stated he had a problem with the City using its statutory power and advantage to compete, monopolize, and drive out private enterprise. & - T. Mayor Vorsanger stated that the Hot Check Program has been voted on, a budget is set and staff has been 'hired -and unless the Board wishes to change their minds, that the program should proceed. He did suggest that both the'Prosecutor's Office and the Grimes assess the progress of their programs again in 6 months to'a year. GOAL SETTING BUDGET , b t City Manager Linebaugh stateC that Staff would like the Board's input for the 1992 budget,' -and then -.work with the Board's ideas and come back at a later date;with their report. Linebaugh indicated that public hearings have started to'obtain-citizen input on the 1992 budget. •e 1. " Mayor Vorsanger stated that Staff is -aware of the Board's recommendations for the 1992'budget and until receiving a report on Vision Fayetteville, he' would recommend waiting on further discussion. Linebaugh stated that it would take the Steering Committee 2-3 more meetings before their -recommendation would be presented to the Planning Commission and Board in late July. Director Green stated that he would personally like to see the Board move toward a balanced budget. In addition, police and fire departments need to have high priority in the budgeting process. TheCity's role in economic development is changing and budgeting will evolve and change with this emphasis. Dickson Street development is an excellent opportunity for the City to participate in this development without footing the entire bill. CLV June 11, 1991 Mayor Vorsanger commended the Board in demanding a balanced budget and stated that the City needs to continue to provide better services. Another important consideration of the Board is the tax increase that will be necessary to fund the fire and police staffing increases. Director Coody stated he would like to see the Board's priorities be the same as the public's priorities. COMPUTER HARDWARE Q SOFTWARZ City Manager Linebaugh explained that Staff had been working on upgrading the City's computer system to better meet the City's needs. Linebaugh stated that bids had been collected and introduced Wes Cook, Data Processing Manager, to explain the proposed system. Cook stated that in December 1990, the City had "maxed out" the current system or 72 devices He added the proposed system would accommodate all new applications being proposed. In the event of the current system's demise, the Municipal Court and various systems of the Police Department would have to go on a manual system. Cook reported pair recommendation to purchase an IBM AS400, which is a direct upgrade to the current system. Software bids have been received, and he reported that the committee proposes negotiating a contract with New World Systems. Cook reported for 1991, the cost for the new system would be $135,732.00, with the annual cost maintenance of approximately $19,200.00. The Police Department has proposed upgrading their system this year and has budgeted $65,895.00 for these costs, with annual maintenance on the upgrades at $1,320.00. Cameo software that is currently being utilized by the City has an annual maintenance of $6,775.00 and based on the Committee's review, recommends purchasing the IBM AS400, Model B50, for a bid of $316,036.00, which includes operational training for staff as well as system software. He believes that this system will last the City for 5 to 10 years. Cook stated that the City had budgeted $325,000.00 in 1991. Cook also announced that remodeling plans are in the works to expand the computer room. Director Green suggested that the City try to trade the 36 system. Cook stated this system would be utilized by the Police Department. Director Coody advised the Board of a program called SWITCH (Solid Waste Information Clearing House) which allows you to plug into the EPA and their library of solid waste information for a cost of $325 per year, he and suggested that the City look at this program. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:02 p.m.