LEGISLATIVE, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

The Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee meeting was held on December 12, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. with Chairman Salters presiding. Members present were Mr. Hogan, Mr. Slavin, Mr. Shevock, and Mr. Shelton. Members of Council present were Mr. Carey, Mr. Sadusky, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Ruane, and Council President Williams (Arrived at 6:10 p.m.). Mayor Speed was also present.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS

Mr. Slavin moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Shelton and unanimously carried.

Resolution - Establishment of Special Fund for Post-Retirement Medical Benefits

The General Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued a new pronouncement that will require the City to recognize its post-retirement medical benefits liability since medical benefits are guaranteed to retirees. The accounting treatment is very similar to the City’s pension accounting. The City is not required to implement the standard until FY08. As a result of this change, Council has approved certain appropriations to be invested to start funding the obligation. They also recently approved the transfer of these funds, in the amount of $2.3 million, to the State’s Retirement Investment Plan (DELRIP). An actuary is calculating the liability and will be ready to present the results to Council by the beginning of December or the end of this month.

Members were provided a proposed resolution which would establish a special fund to provide for the post-retirement medical benefits liability to retirees.

Responding to Mr. Ritter, Mrs. Mitchell, Finance Director, estimated that the liability would be between $40 and $60 million and the amount to be funded would be between $4 and $6 million per year, including the amount currently being funded.

Mrs. Mitchell advised members that the resolution should be amended to read fiscal year 2009.

Mr. Hogan moved to recommend adoption of the resolution , as amended by changing the fiscal year from 2008 to 2009 (Attachment #1). The motion was seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.

Proposed Ordinance Amendment - Section 82-2, City Planner

Members were provided a proposed ordinance amending Section 82-2, City Planner, which would provide the day-to-day operations of the Director of Planning and Inspections to be the responsibility of the City Manager rather than the Mayor and Council.

Mr. Hogan advised members that there are a significant number of department heads who report to the Mayor and Council, which is not always the ideal situation for a well-run city. He noted that the Planner would still be selected by the Mayor and Council, the only difference is that they would report to the City Manager on the day-to-day operations.

Responding to Mr. Slavin, Mr. DePrima stated that, since he was requested to work with the City Planner, this situation has been in place informally for the past year. He noted that Council would retain authority over annexations, rezonings, street width waivers, and other planning matters.

Mr. Slavin proposed that the wording be changed to “The City Planner shall be directly responsible to the Mayor and Council and shall report to the City Manager. This amendment will be in place for a period of six (6) months from the date of passage.”

Mr. Hogan stated that Council members do not spend enough time with the Department Heads to do proper annual and mid-year evaluations, which is a difficult, inefficient process. He felt that the City Manager, who would work with the Planner on the day-to-day operations, could improve their performance and prepare a more accurate evaluation. Mr. Hogan also noted that it would be beneficial to have the review conducted by one (1) person rather than nine (9). He stated that this would be the ideal time to make the change, since they are in the process of hiring a new City Planner. Mr. Ruane stated that he did not feel that being responsible to nine (9) members of Council should be an issue for a professional City Planner. He noted that the Planner may be concerned that the City Manager would interject their point of view on planning issues.

Mr. Ritter stated that he would like to have the opinions of the Delaware Association of Realtors, the business community, and the Planning Commission on this issue since they work with the Planning Department on a regular basis. He also thought it would be beneficial to know the history of why the Planner was originally placed under the Mayor and Council.

Mr. Slavin moved to recommend approval of the proposed amendment, with the amendment of the last sentence to read as follows: “The City Planner shall be directly responsible to the Mayor and Council and shall report to the City Manager. This amendment will be in place for a period of six (6) months from the date of passage.” (Attachment #2). The motion was seconded by Mr. Hogan and unanimously carried.

Review of Proposed Replacement Budget Pages

During their Regular Meeting of November 28, 2005, Council directed staff to prepare a trial run of the replacement pages depicting all of the budget revisions for review prior to adopting it as the consistent format.

Members were provided proposed replacement budget pages for Fiscal Year 2005-06 reflecting the December 12, 2005, budget amendments for their review.

Mr. DePrima noted that Mrs. Tieman worked 2 hours and Mrs. Adams worked 8.75 hours on the preparation of these sheets. The total packet is 33 sheets that would be inserted by Council members. These sheets will be replaced again in February 2006 when mid-year review is completed.

He noted the following items on each sheet: (1) the actual page number from the Fiscal Year 2005-06 Final Budget is referenced in the top left corner; (2) the effective date of December 12, 2005, is shown in the top right corner; (3) Additions/(Reductions) are reflected in the 5th column; and (4) Adjusted Budget amounts are shown in the last column.

Mr. DePrima noted that, if approved, these pages would be provided as a part of the packet for future proposed budget amendments.

Mr. Hogan moved to recommend approval of the proposed replacement budget pages, as recommended by staff (Attachment #3). The motion was seconded by Mr. Slavin and unanimously carried.

Mr. Hogan moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Slavin and unanimously carried.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:25 P.M.

                                                                                    Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    Reuben Salters

                                                                                    Chairman

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Attachments

Attachment #1 - Resolution - Establishment of Special Fund for Post-Retirement Medical Benefits

Attachment #2 - Proposed Ordinance Amendment - Section 82-2, City Planner (Attached to original minutes)

Attachment #3 - Review of Proposed Replacement Budget Pages (Attached to original minutes)