HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-15-1993 •
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF RICHMOND. INDIANA.SERVING AS A BOARD
IN.CHARGE OF THE OPERATION OF THE RICHMOND POWER & LIGHT PLANT
MONDAY. MARCH 15. 1993
1 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana, serving as a Board in charge of the operations of the
2 Richmond Power & Light Plant met in regular session at 7 p.m. Monday, March 15, 1993, in the Municipal
3 Building in said City. Councilperson Brookbank presided with the following Councilmembers in attendance:
4 Elstro, Lundy, Donat, McBride, Parker,Allen, Dickman and Hutton. The following business was had to-wit:
5
6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 1.1993
7
8 Councilmember Parker corrected line 48 on page three to read only a few sat down."Councilmember McBride
9 moved to approve the amended minutes of the previous meeting as prepared, seconded by Councilmember
10 Dickman and by unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
11
12 APPROVAL OF BILLS. INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS
13
14 Upon recommendation of the Finance Committee,Councilmember Parker moved to approve the following bills for
15 payment,seconded by Councilmember Allen and on unanimous voice vote the motion carried.
16
17 Bills Already Paid
18 Payroll and Deductions 215,351.08
19
20 Investments Purchased From:
21 Cash Operating Fund 725,000.00
22 Bond Sinking Fund
23 Utiiky Bond Reserve Fund
24 Depreciation Reserve Fund
25 Consumer Deposit Fund
26 Cash Reserve Fund
111 27 Insurance Reserve Fund
28 Group Insurance Fund
29 Total Investments 725,000.00
30
31
32
33 Transfer to City in Lieu of Taxes;
34
35 Transfer from Payroll Ded.to;
36 Cash Operating Fund
37
38
39 Transfers from Depreciation Reserve to:
40 Cash Operating Fund
41
42 Transfers from Consumer Deposit to:
43 Cash Operating Fund
44
45 Transfers from Utility Bond Reserve Fund to;
46 Bond Sinking Fund
47
48 Transfers from Cash Operating;
49 Interest and Bond Principal
50 Bond Sinking Fund
51 Cash Reserve Fund
52 Utility Bond Sinking Fund
53 Depreciation Reserve Fund
54 Insurance Reserve Fund
55 Consumer Deposit Fund
56
57 Interest and Bond Principal
58
59 End of Month Petty Cash
60 Revenue Bonds
61 Interest Coupons Redeemed
62 Bond Coupons
63 Miscellaneous Bills Already Paid 231,050.42
64
65 Total Prepaid Invoices 1,171,401.50
Total Bills Not Paid 508,822.46
Grand Total 1,680,223.96
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
March 15, 1993
Page 2
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1 REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON
2
3 None were made
4
5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS
6
7 Chairperson Brookbank requested Councilmember Dickman to read the letter from the Board of Works which was
8 in response to the request of the RP & L Board concerning cable TV. (See letter in its entirety in Board of Works
9 files).
10
11 Chairperson Brookbank asked if each of the Councilmembers had received the green union book provided by Jim
12 Daugherty.
13
14 STREET LIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT
15
16 No report was given
17
18 REPORT BY GENERAL MANAGER
19
20 Herschel Philpot reported that General Manager Irving Huffman was in Atlanta,Ga.where he was evidently
21 snowed in. Philpot, Daugherty and Bill Clarke were present. Philpot presented proof of publication of the bids for
22 the mini-van appearing in the Palladium-Item March 2 and March 9. Councilmember Parker moved to accept the
23 proof of publication,second by Councilmember McBride and carried by a unanimous voice vote.
24
25 In opening the bids, Philpot announced the bid from Studebaker Buick was for$15,987 with 8 to 12 weeks
26 delivery time;Fred First Ford for$14,877;and Tom Brookbank Chevrolet for$14,492.Councilmember McBride
27 moved to refer the bids to the General Manager for evaluation,tabulation and recommendation,second by
28 Councilmember Parker and carried by a unanimous voice vote.
29
30 Addressing the cable TV update,Clarke said the financintg team had been reviewing different options and was
31 pulling some numbers together,shooting for a public meeting with the Board at 7 p.m.April 12 at the RP&L
32 office.
33
34 Chairperson Brookbank announced that the executive board meeting will be at 7 p.m.Monday, March 22, at the
35 RP&L service building where Philpot will go over the financial statement. Board members having questions were
36 asked to get them to him beforehand.
37
38 A list of summer hires which she had requested was assigned by Chairperson Brookbank to Councilmember
39 Lundy and her employee relations committee. Noting that this is the first time in the 10 years she has been on the
40 Board that she has seen such a list,Chairperson Brookbank said she felt it needed to be re-evaluated.She added
41 that she thought$8 per hour for an adolescent of an employee was a large amount of money and added that only
42 a small number of people had the opportunity to participate.When,questioned by Councilmember Lundy,
43 Chairperson Brookbank said she felt the committee should question whether it is fair for the rest of the city
44 employees to have this continued.Councilmember McBride said he felt the hiring of siblings is not unique but he
45 felt the price was a little high. Lundy disagreed,saying that more is paid at Dana, her place of employment.
46 McBride pointed out that Dana is a private industry. Councilmember Elstro interjected that he still said that RP&
47 L is a business all its own.
48
49 Councilmember Allen read from a handbook provided to new public power policymakers, noting the
50 responsibilities of the Board which included(a)to determine fundamental philosophy, mission objectives and
51 policies for meeting the current and future energy needs of the community;(b)hiring,evaluating and if necessary,
52 firing the manager;(c)maintaining direction over the performance of management and through management,the
53 performance of employees;(d)controlling finances of the utility by approving the annual budget,authorizing
54 subsequent changes,and approving major expenditures;(e)approving or modifying rates charged by the utility
55 sometimes subject to review by other officials or bodies;(f) setting personnel policies and procedures;(g)
56 . exercising broad control over purchasing policies and standards;(h)reviewing, modifying and approving operating
57 programs and activities planned and recommended by management;(i)serving as an appeals body for persons
58 or organizations who desire to be heard on matters under consideration by the board or on questions arising from
59 utility policies,operations or other phases of work;(j)providing a liaison between the utility and other government
60 bodies and the public with the most significant overall responsibility being the stewardship of a publicly owned
61 enterprise;(k)the Board is the trustee on behalf of the citizens of a valuable enterprise and is therefore
62 responsible for its proper functioning and fiscal integrity; (I) 'the utility manager and the board chairperson should
63 be responsible for thedevelopment of an agenda;(m)advance material should be read and digested so that
64 meeting times can be saved for brief summaries of background information and questions and the majority, if not
65 all board decisions, must be made at regularly scheduled open meetings;(n) litigation,purchasing property and
personnel matters should be in the form of formal action taken at a regular session;(o) ideally council should be
present at every Board meeting and called upon to advise the board when appropriate;(p)a Board orientation
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
March 15, 1993
Page 3
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1 manual that includes information about the Board's charter,utility policies and common meeting procedures goes
2 a long way in preparing Board members to carry out their respohsiblities;(q)development of long term and
3 operational plan is the cap of management since they are very often responsible for the application and a
4 responsible and effective Board should be part of management;(r) a unique and durable corporate strategy,the
5 handbook should be reviewed periodically for its solidity, using it as a reference point for all other board decisions,
6 and sharing with management;(s)in public powered communities the utility is operated by its citizens and
7 essential service at an economic price, it may also include conservation and energy use assistance to customers,
8 management of the local cable TV system, appliance selection and repair,community services and more.
9
10 Continuing, Councilmember Allen read that some Boards find annual retreats effective forms for discussing such
11 topics as the above.The nature of public power Board work obligates its members to consider a wide variety of
12 policy areas such as customer services, public relations and rates,employee relations and procurement.The
13 utilities may also want to establish policies for bettering power supply,financing methods,energy services,
14 environmental practices,community economic development and others.Concluding,Councilmember Allen said
15 she felt.the Board had a need in developing such a manual for its own use.
16
17 Chairperson Brookbank recognized Mayor Roger Cornett who said he was in attendance at the request of
18 Councilmember Elstro.Councilmember Hutton commented that she felt the need to put to rest what is going on
19 and asked for a public meeting of all parties involved which include the Board, Mayor,finance committee and RP
20 &L management.She added that there have been a lot of accusations and allegations and it is her feeling that
21 there is a need to know what the City wants from RP&L and facts need to be provided.
22
23 In reponse to Councilmember Hutton,Councilmember Allen noted that she is a member of the Citizens Financial
24 Committee comprised of citizens selected by the Mayor who are charged with gathering information as far as
25 revenues and expenditures for all areas of the government.She added that the committee has not finished,but
26 will be providing a report by the end of the month.She added that the committee has not recommended anything
27 to anyone yet and noted that she feels the City is fortunate to have the caliber of people serving on this
28 committee.
29
30 Councilmember Donat commented that Huffman has been the subject of personal attacks recently in which his
31 integrity, honesty and his motives have all been questioned by inuendos and letters.She added that the only thing
32 that has not been under scrutiny is his ability as a manager.She said the irony is that he seems to be subject to
33 this type of harassment because he is a good manager adding that he is recognized throughout the state,and the
34 nation,for his expertise in power management.She said he has kept Richmond's rates low and has a modern,
35 clean well run utility which is Richmond's single great asset and known as a jewel to IMPA.She said she feels he
36 doesn't deserve the type of harassment he has been subject to the past couple of weeks.She said she was told
37 by more than one person that 20 years ago as a Councilperson Cornett made a motion for a no-confidence vote
38 to be taken against Huffman at which he received no second. She said she feels the City deserves better
39 leadership than this,adding that the City needs to get on with business and personal vendettas must be put aside.
40
41 In response, Mayor Cornett said he resented the fact that Councilmember Donat was accusing him of a personal
42 vendetta. He challenged her to produce evidence since he has been mayor that there have been any negative
43 comments from him,personally,that would prove her statement. He further stated that he is the mayor of this
44 community and as the mayor he is responsible for the welfare of the 400 employees of this community and they
45 have gone two years without a raise. He continued that from a good management standpoint Councilmembers
46 were provided with information last year and have information this year that indicates that unless something is
47 done differently there will be no raise in compensation this year, next year and maybe even the next year.
48 He added that there are really only three things that can be done.These are(a)dramatically cut expenses which
49 means laying people off in order to provide a raise for those remaining and he said he has an ethical problem with
50 that as well as a moral one, to put people on the street when unemployment is 12 percent in order to give those
51 left a raise; (b)go another year without a raise;(c)come up with some more money.
52
53 He said he told Council in his state of the city address in January that because of this financial dilemma he would
54 appoint a committee to give advice and he tried to get the best minds in the community to help with the problem
55 and he felt he had been successful. He said they have looked at all departments and nobody directed them to
56 look specifically at RP&L.The committee asked questions, he said,and information was provided but he didn't
57 have all the information they asked for and he felt it was perfectly legitimate for them to ask for it.He reminded
58 Councilmember Donat that there had been in the past a lack of information but this administration had done
59 everything possible to provide Councilmembers with everything it could get its hands on in order to help prepare
60 them to make the difficult decisions. In the process of preparing next year's budget the committee looked at all
61 departments and had no problem until it asked for information from the management of RP&L. He said the
62 problem began with that meeting attended by a large number of RP&L employees and threatening statements
63 were read by union representatives. He said that meeting was a very high friction meeting and things haven't
64 been right since. Councilmember Elstro said when the budget was passed last year Mayor Cornett asked Council
65 to go along with him this year and there would be money for raises next year. In response the Mayor said that's
what the committee is trying to find. He reminded Councilmember Elstro that it is only March and budgets aren't
submitted until later in the-year. He added that at this time there isn't any more money and based on the current
projections there won't be money to provide increases for the city employees in 1994.
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RPL Minutes Cont`t
March 15, 1993 .. '
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1 Councilmember Donat said she checked consultation fees compiled by Grimes for 1993, highlighting everything
2 the city attorney worked on concerning RP&L which was where the majority of his work was for the first two
3 months starting as early as January 9. Chairperson Brookbank said she was the one asking Milligan to do the
4 work. Mayor Cornett said Milligan had never had instructions from him to do anything for.RP&L.Councilmember
5 Donat said the bills for the first two months totaled nearly$22,000,which, if it should continue at this pace,it will
6 end up$132,000 for Milligan's firm by the end of the year.Chairperson Brookbank said the Board has not taken the
7 position it needed to in the past and it is trying to reorganize and become responsible.When Councilmember Donat
8 asked why all the Councilmembers were not advised of the Indianapolis meeting, Mayor Cornett said Council is
9 represented on the committee and members also serve on the RP& L Board. He said communication is a two-way
10 street and he hadn't had any calls or visits to seek information about what was going on.
11
12 President Lundy reminded Mayor Cornett that she had come to his office,questioning him because of the calls she
13 received from people who work for the City,saying they wanted a raise if RP&L employees got a raise.She said
14 they had been told to call Councilmembers to let them know their displeasure.She said she asked the mayor to try
15 to stop the confusion because she felt that is his job. Mayor Cornett apologized,noting that President Lundy was
16 one who asked questions. He called to Council's attention that few city employees were in attendance tonight which
17 meant no mass showing of employee strength in a threatening manner. He added that they had not been instructed
18 or encouraged to do anything.They were simply being made aware of what is going on,he said,adding that this is
19 nothing new with City employees because it has been going on for years. He said he felt that the revelation last
20 week that the City of Richmond owns RP&L'made people realize that the same people who own the City Building,
21 Glen Miller Park,the Sanitary District and the Golf Course,own the electric utility.
22
23 He said he feels it is time to recognize this historic double standard and to.,deal with it effectively.He added that it
24 makes no difference where the City employees work, it takes special skills because they are all professional people
25 and should all be treated as professionals.He said the standard that where the money comes from to pay them
26 should be some kind of determining factor is an unfair doublestandard and the City is in the process of seeking
27 turth and justice for all employees of this government. He reminded Council that there had been no demonstration
28 on the part of other City employees as there has been on the part of RP&L employees,adding that all City
29 employees are citizens of this community and Councilmembe are their representatives and they are entitled to
30 call on them any time they want to,the same as any other citi en. He said one Councilmember had instructed him
31 to tell the City employees never to call again.
32
33 Councilmember Donat asked Mayor Cornett if he told his department heads in a staff meeting to instruct their
34 employees to call. He responded that he did not,but did encourage them to make people aware of what is going on
35 and that is the three choices he spoke of earlier.Councilmember Donat said she was called and told to expect the
36 phone calls.She brought attention to a paper one of the Councilmembers had found in their door on which
37 appeared the names of all Councilmembers. Beside those of Elstro, Donat, Parker and Hutton was written"For RP
38 &L."Beside the names of Brookbank,McBride,Allen and Dickman were the words"For The City."Beside Lundy's
39 name was the word"Fence."
40
41 Mayor Cornett stated again that he had instructed City employees not to do anything unprofessionally or coercive in
42 any way, but added that that does not mean they are not entitled to express their opinions to Councilmembers. In
43 response to the information on the paper, President Lundy said if"Fence"means that she is looking for something
44 to help all of Richmond then that is where she sits.She added that she sees nothing wrong in trying to find anybody
45 a raise and the only question she has is the way it was done.
46
47 Councilmember Dickman stated that he is a member of the Citizens Financial Committee and noted that the
48 problems started when members tried to get information from RP& L. He added that this Board ought to be
49 concerned about something positive that comes out of this committee. He urged the Council to let the committee
50 finish its job,adding that he thinks they will hear some good things. He,too,would like to see this issue come to an
51 end and urged Council to wait for the report.
52
53 Addressing Chairperson Brookbank,Councilmember Elstro said since becoming the Chairperson for the RP&L
54 Board she has made accusations,comments,sent a letter to the accounting department and written a letter asking
55 about compensation for committees. He,asked for her resignation. She responded that she would not do that.
56 Councilmember Hutton repeated her request for a public meeting in an effort to get the dissention over with.
57
58 ADJOURNMENT
59
60 There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed,the meeting was adjourned.
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65
Jane Brookbank,Chairperson
ATTEST:
Norma Carnes,City Clerk