HomeMy Public PortalAbout20030209minutesCITY OF JEFFERSON
FINANCE COMMITTEE
MONDAY, February 9, 2003
MINUTES
OFFICIALS STAFF
Mayor John Landwehr Rich Mays, City Administrator
Councilman Clyde Angle Steve Schlueter, Director of Finance
Councilman Edith Vogel Nathan Nickolaus, City Counselor
Councilman Ken Ferguson Pat Sullivan, Director of Community Dev.
Councilman Cliff Olsen
Councilman Dick Groner
Councilman Darren Gordon
Councilman Bob Weber
The Finance Committee Chairman Clyde Angle called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. The first item
on the agenda was the October 14, 2003 Finance Committee minutes. Councilman Ferguson made a
motion to approve the minutes and was seconded by Councilman Bob Weber. The minutes were
appro v ed unanimous l y.
The second item on the agenda was a briefing on the warranty for the downtown sidewalks. Pat
Sullivan, Director of Community Development explained the process his staff is going through now in
creating a punch list of items going to the contractor. Mr. Sullivan stated that the walk through is
scheduled for February 28, 2004 with the warranty expiring on March 28, 2004. A number of
questions followed regarding the status of billing for these sidewalk improvements as well as any
outstanding claims.
The third item involved an Accounts Receivable update. Steve Schlueter, Finance Director, provided
the update and explained the total receivables by department as well as some of the collection efforts
that are ongoing to reduce the receivables. Nathan Nickolaus, City Counselor, explained the collection
process covering the Municipal Court delinquencies as well as the accounting process involved in
crediting the newer tickets first which results in the older violations showing up as an old delinquent
amount. One item showing up as a delinquent account is Jefferson City Industries who is withholding
payment because the City owes them money for work they did for the City. A request of staff to write
a memo explaining these circumstances was made and staff will respond. The subject of jail cost
payable to the County Sheriff was brought up and the Council asked that Mr. Mays meet with the
County Sheriff regarding our current arrangement with the County on jail cost reimbursement. There
was also a court case discussed and Mr. Mays was asked to provide the status of that case as it
pertained to jail cost reimbursement.
The next item discussed was a previous City Parking Study. Mr. Mays provided a brief history on the
study. Mr. Mays also provided a look at parking needs on both the east and west sides of downtown as
well as investment cost and return on building garages. Mayor Landwehr stated that some part of the
solution to parking needs could be associated with the development of a Convention Center and
corresponding parking garage.
The FY 2004 Budget Process was the next item discussed and Mr. Schlueter gave a time-line
explanation of how the budget is constructed and the participation of each department. A number of
questions were asked regarding employee benefits, employee involvement in the budget request
process, alternative funding for the street overlay program, capital equipment needs and funding levels
as well as other miscellaneous line item requests. The discussion then turned to alternative funding
sources and the committee asked Mr. Mays to provide them new revenue alternatives for future
consideration during the upcoming budget process.
The next item reviewed was the status of the current fiscal year financials. Mr. Schlueter discussed a
number of revenue and expense line items, trends as well as current versus budget projections. Several
questions were asked regarding revenue projections.
Next on the agenda was the Summary and Discussion line item. Some of the topics discussed were as
follows:
1.Road & Bridge Tax - Rich Mays and Mayor Landwehr gave updates on the latest
discussions with the County. Mr. Mays was instructed to request the funds from the
C ount y.
2.Revenue Enhancements - Councilman Weber brought up the Use Tax as a potential new
revenue source. Mr. Nickolaus stated that in the past, over 90% of Use Tax initiatives
have failed. There was some discussion about earmarking potential Use Tax funds for
special costs such as Health Insurance or the Overlay program but that process was
generally thought of as not a good approach. Mr. Mays was requested to provide a brief
repor t o f t h e his t o ry of Us e Tax i n i t i at i v es i n the p ast an d als o to p res en t s o m e ways
these funds could be utilized if the City were successful with a Use Tax initiative.
3.Status of Retired Firefighters Request - Mr. Nickolaus stated that he has been working
with several representatives from that group to draft a proposal for presentation to the
Firemen’s Pension Board.
4.Sales Tax Funds - Councilman Groner stated that he thought that approximately 80% of
the Sales Tax received by the County came in from the City residents and that perhaps
we should go back to the County and discuss the City receiving a fairer share of County
Tax receipts. Additional discussion took place concerning the various other
City/County agreements.
5.Salaries Comparison - Councilman Angle stated that he still receives feedback
concerning the FOP feeling that police officer’s salaries fall short when comparison to
other cities is made. It was stated that that is because those comparisons are made with
St. Louis suburbs and it is only natural that their salaries would be higher. Some
additional discussion took place regarding the Condrey Study and the comparisons that
w e re m a d e d u ring the study.
There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Olsen and seconded by
Councilman Weber.
Adjournment took place at 7:35 P.M.