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HomeMy Public PortalAbout050_040_Special City Council June 26, 2013 City Council Minutes 20130626 Mayor Buelterman called the special city council meeting to order at 3:00PM on June 26, 2013. Those present were Mayor pro tern Wanda Doyle, Paul Wolff, Tom Groover, Jan Fox, Barry Brown and Bill Garbett (via teleconference). Also attending were Diane Schleicher, City Manager; Bubba Hughes, City Attorney; Tommy Branch, Callaway, Braun, Riddle and Hughes, PC; Angela Hudson, Finance Director; and Janet LeViner, Clerk of Council. Citizens to be Heard • Mallory Pearce spoke in support of the City Manager, Diane Schleicher • David Baker spoke in support of the City Manager, Diane Schleicher • John Major spoke in support of the City Manager, Diane Schleicher • Samantha Clair requesting grant money for the Tybee Arts Association • Arnie Seydon spoke in support of the City Manager, Diane Schleicher o Freda Rutherford commented on the budget Consideration Local Requests and Applications — Funding, Special Events, Alcohol License Special Eve °s Cosideration, Tybee Floatiiia (July 8, July 21, Augu2 1= and September )`): Chatham Avenue and Assey 3; Stafford Promotions. Withdrawn. Special Event Consideration, Tybee Island Pirates Fest (October 11-13): Festival grounds @ 16th Street Parking Lots and beach area (Pirate Encampment) @ 16th Street Crossover near Pier; beach area (Beach Derby) from North Beach to Pier; Parade from NB to Strand Avenue: SEABAR (South End Association of Bars and Restaurants). Beach Derby portion of the request withdrawn. Barry Brown made a motion to approve. Paul Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Consideration of Bids, Contracts, Agreements and Expenditures City of Tybee Island Community Service Report: Tybee Island Heritage Celebration — Request funding for parade - $1,500 to $2,000 in cash and $2,000 in city services. Organization received $750 in cash award for annual parade in FY13. Wanda Doyle recused herself. Jan Fox made a motion to grant the same funding as in FY 2013. Paul Wolff seconded. Voting in favor were Paul Wolff, Jan Fox, Barry Brown and Bill Garbett. Voting against was Tom Groover. Motion carried 4-1. Consideration of Ordinances and Resolutions Second Reading, 22-2013, Annual Capital Budget Second Reading, 23-2013, Annual ©pava eng Budget DISCUSSION: Barry Brown asked Ms. Hudson to review the merit pay. She recommended that employees with certain performance ratings get a specified amount. Ms. Hudson reminded mayor and council that this will not increase their hourly rate but just a flat rate merit pay. Mr. Brown asked Ms. Hudson where the funding for the merit pay would come from. Ms. Hudson responded that one option would be to ask each department to cut their budgets to cover this merit pay. Mayor Buelterman asked Ms. Schleicher to give a directive to staff to investigate the possibility of reducing their respective budgets to cover the merit pay and if not feasible mayor and council can look at other options. Also, this will need to come back at the July 11, 2013 city council meeting. Other discussions were held regarding the beach rake and tractor; support of the non-profit organizations; Greenspace; Jones Avenues; drainage issues and time clocks. Mayor Buelterman stated that motions can be made to amend the budget once final numbers are determined. Mr. Groover stated there are two overtime policies in place: (1) compensated time and (2) overtime. He would suggest that comp time is the best practice for Tybee Island as FICA is not paid as it has been figured into the budget where overtime is different. He stated that every budget is 15-20% more due to comp time. He would recommend that there be a policy for both overtime and comp time showing how they are used, tracked and a number for payroll purposes. Ms. Fox stated there is a schedule that can be run with the current system. Ms. Hudson confirmed. Ms. Doyle recommended we get feed-back from the city manager or finance director regarding this issue and if a policy is necessary then so be it. This is an important piece of information and she would recommend mayor and council give Ms. Schleicher a directive to talk with Ms. Hudson and if policies and procedures are warranted, they should be done. Ms. Hudson confirmed and stated there is a code within the system that tracks the information requested. Ms. Doyle stated she would recommend policies and procedures be put in place for future budget cycles to make it easier for mayor, council and staff to function. Mayor Buelterman asked Ms. Hudson how much money was in the line item for overtime for the police department. She responded $60,000. He would recommend this amount remain in the budget due to special events. Mr. Groover expressed his concerns with this item as it is a best guess estimate. His preference would be to have the overtime in a contingency fund. Ms. Doyle would recommend that there needs to be a follow-through, possible policy and procedures for the money spent, whether in-kind services or actual dollars, and it be tracked with special event application for expenses and revenues. Mayor and council concurred. Paul Wolff made a motion to approve the FY14 budget. Wanda Doyle seconded. DISCUSSION: • Tom Groover made a motion to amend the overtime budgets for all departments by 20% and that money put in a contingency fund that will be used at a future date. Barry Brown seconded. Voting in favor were Tom Groover and Barry Brown. Those voting against were Paul Wolff, Jan Fox, Wanda Doyle, and Bill Garbett. Motion defeated 4-2. • Wanda Doyle made a motion to reduce the water sewer fund capital line item for Jones Avenue by $451,000. Paul Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. DISCUSSION: Mayor Buelterman recommends Ms. Hudson review the exact numbers and bring back to the city council meeting on July 11, 2013. Wanda Doyle withdrew her motion. Paul Wolff withdrew his second. • Wanda Doyle made a motion to take $1,500 out of FY13 fund balance and put in the line item for the Tybee Island Arts Association. Paul Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. • Jan Fox made a motion to increase the camp ground revenues by $20,000; increase the expense for the kiosk, monthly fees and the increased utility build- out by $6,600 totaling $10,893. Paul Wolff seconded. DISCUSSION: Mayor Buelterman asked Mr. Garbett if he was able to hear the motion. Mr. Garbett confirmed. Mr. Brown remarked that in light of the surgery, Mr. Garbett was likely medicated. Vote was unanimous. • Jan Fox made a motion to return to the FY2013 funding level for the non-profit organizations ($5,296). Paul Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Voting in favor of the budget as amended were Paul Wolff, Tom Groover, Jan Fox, Wanda Doyle and Bill Garbett. Voting against was Barry Brown. Motion carried 5-1. Jan Fox made a motion mayor and council revisit at the city council meeting on July 11, 2013, Jones Avenue waterline and funding options, the one-time merit payments and funding options and the beach rake and tractor funding and leasing options. Tom Groover seconded. Vote was unanimous. CouncH,, Officials and City Attorney Considerations and Comments Wanda Doyle — Public Safety Building. Ms. Doyle had a discussion regarding changes in the current design which include the floor plan, location of the gas tanks, and fire bay. She would recommend that if the fire station needs to expand it would be done at Memorial Park. With removing this from the plan it opens up parking. She also recommended the storage, telecom and AV areas be combined to one room and located near the multipurpose area. Ms. Fox expressed concerns with the fueling tanks. Ms. Doyle responded Greenline has reviewed her concerns and sees no issues. Mayor Buelterman stated that this is a SPLOST project that was approved in 2006 and the goal of the City is to complete this project without borrowing any funds. Wanda Doyle made a motion to remove the fire station bay from the plan for a bigger parking lot. [haul Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Barry Brown, Committees. Mr. Brown recommended that the city manager write a policy whereas the staff understands the functions of the committees versus the wishes of mayor and council. Ms. Schleicher agreed and will do a directive stating the role of the committees as an advisory role and final decisions are made by mayor and council. Jan Fox, Lei° Management pest Practices. Mayor Buelterman stated that he spoke to Ms. Fox and she indicated that the purpose of this topic is to discuss budgeting, ensuring we optimize our staff levels for the seasonal operations. Also, triggers, timing and process for review and update to policies, STWP and Master Plan. Ms. Fox stated there are several major projects coming up or in process that are not on the short term work plan and mayor and council have discussed updating policies prior to this evening and would ask they be included. She explained that there are many Best Practices on the professional organization websites such as GFOA and she is sure there is one for the city managers association. Ms. Fox stated that if you look at those Best Practices it is far removed from how Tybee Island is handling the budget cycle. Ms. Fox asked if mayor and council would direct the city manager to provide written policies after reviewing the Best Practices. Ms. Doyle asked for clarification. Ms. Fox stated she provided the Best Practices previously regarding the budget cycle and they were not followed. She explained that the personnel expenses were discussed prior to receiving the revenues which has made decision making nearly impossible for her. Ms. Hudson stated she will look at the Best Practices and implement for the next budget cycle. Ms. Doyle suggested Ms. Schleicher contact GMA for future training. Ms. Schleicher confirmed. Monica Mastrianni and Doug Roberts, Greenline Architecture, approached mayor and council to answer any questions from mayor and council. Ms. Mastrianni gave an update on the selection of the construction manager and the procedure they are following as interviews will be on June July 2nd and 3rd. Mr. Roberts then discussed the changes in the floor plan as show in the packet provided to mayor and council. Paul Wolff made a motion to adjourn. Wanda Doyle seconded. Vote was unanimous. Meeting adjourned at 5:10PM. 6/25/13 3:00 City Management Observations -Looking around the room and (earlier) in the mirror, I do not see or know of anyone who is not human or who is perfect. -Most of us, at kindergarten age, learned some valuable life lessons like The Golden Rule—treat others as we'd like to be treated. -For some of us who actually seek God's Word for guidance as to what is right,just, and worthy of pursuit, i believe this matter regarding Diane Schleicher's job performance is worthy of such research. -We are instructed how we may judge others—assuming we are even qualified to do so- is the same format we can expect for ourselves in the future. -Reviewing another's job performance should be held to a high standard —void of personal agendas and vendettas—and should be performed by those who are fully informed, have proper documentation, and are properly trained to render such professional evaluations. -Granted, in most organizations,the immediate supervisor is the one completing the evaluation process. They may also be the one making a recommendation for a hire, continued employment, or dismissal—all based upon a thorough, initial background check and accurate, ongoing documentation—whether it be pro or con. -After some 27+years having served in a supervisory/management position, it was always understood the goal of any evaluation and/or professional development plan was to provide a realistic assessment, provide for remediation over a reasonable period of time to strengthen any identified weaknesses to attain satisfactory improvement, and to address one's strengths for continuation and maintenance. in other words, it was intended to be an opportunity for growth and improvement instead of a decree for a "hanging at sunrise". Which one of us thinks they would not benefit from a personal evaluation and development plan for the life we lead? -A recent audit, as I understand it, found no theft by taking, fraud,fiscal malfeasance, gross mismanagement of public funds, gross negligence, incompetence, insubordination, or anything else by Mrs. Schleicher that would warrant criminal charges and dismissal. (Of course, if such things were/are occurring, by all means, let the chips fall where they may—not just for her but any employee or elected official! And, if such did occur, it should've already been dealt with in a legally proper expeditious manner.) -Furthermore, an elected supervisor or elected body should make every effort to ensure the highest of ethical (if not moral) standards—achieving and maintaining public trust—in any serious matter...like separating any individual from their livelihood. Wouldn't you want that for yourselves or family members? Good Afternoon My name is John Major and I reside at 164 South Campbell on Tybee Island. I have been a resident and property owner on Tybee for 12 years and with my wife Sandy, own and operate two small businesses here. I have had the privilege of working with Diane Schleicher over a number of years and in various capacities. I served for five years on the Planning Commission and during that time, Barry and I worked with Diane to recruit and hire a highly qualified Zoning Manager. As Chairman of the Audit Committee, where I served for four years, I worked with Diane and Freda to recruit and hire a highly qualified Chief Financial Officer. Both experiences gave me insight into Diane's professionalism and understanding of the processes of government. The Georgia Municipal Association provides model job descriptions for key positions in local governments, including the City Manager. In that description, key duties are include administering the operation of city government, ensuring that ordinances and regulations are executed and enforced, developing and administering the city budget, developing materials for City Council meetings, selecting and managing city personnel, informing Council regarding city finances and reporting on city operations. If we were recruiting for this position and an applicant with Diane's credentials were available, I think we would do all we could to bring her to Tybee. She has an advanced Degree in Government from the University of Wisconsin, eleven years as Village Administrator in that state, and more than seven years experience as City Manager in a coastal environment. I think we would consider ourselves fortunate to find such a qualified individual. Yet, I sense that some of us are obsessed with the concept of terminating Diane. Seems like at every opportunity reasons are looked for to bring her tenure at Tybee to a close. During the last election, there was a lot of talk about terminating Diane by candidates running for Council. A big red ad was run in the Tybee Breeze stating that the city government is bleeding our coffers dry and that the city has, and I quote, "somehow lost 2 to 2.5 million dollars of city funds, and nobody wants to explain where it went." Well, it's seven months later and it seems like if we really were missing what represents about a fourth of our budget, we would be hearing about it. What happened with this ad? What happened with this money? What happened with this promise? Last year, according to the National League of Cities, nearly 200 US municipalities were in financial default for a total of about six and a half billion dollars in the red, up from $348 million three years before. We weren't on that list. Our finances are sound. Our city is strong and our coffers are not dry. Our infrastructure isn't falling apart and our projects are being completed. And our money isn't missing. It's all here. I urge you to give consideration to what we have and what we might have. I urge you to keep Diane Schleicher. Thank you.