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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-20-2002 CITY OF AUBURN FINANCE COMMITTEE May 20, 2002 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Fred Poe called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM in Conference Room 1 located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn. Members present included: Chair Fred Poe, Vice Chair Trish Borden, and Member Gene Cerino. Others present during the meeting included: Mayor Peter B. Lewis, Finance Director Shelley Coleman, Employee Relations and Compensation Manager John Fletcher, Police Chief Jim Kelly, City Attorney Daniel B. Held, IS Administrator Lorrie Rempher, and Deputy City Clerk Cathy Richardson. The meeting was tape recorded. I1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of the May 6, 2001 Finance Committee meeting. Vice Chair Borden moved and Member Cerino seconded to approve the May 6, 2001 minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0. III. CONSENT ITEMS A. Vouchers 1.Claims F4.9.5 Claims check numbers 310618 through 311073 in the ,i amount of $2,199,053.11 and wire transfer in the amount of $704,061.33.and dated May 20, 2002 2. Payroll F4.9.2 Payroll check numbers 500001 to 500170 in the amount of $530,160.73 and electronic deposit transmissions in the amount of $762,734.08 for a grand total of $1,294,894.81 for the pay period covering May 2, 2002 to May 16, 2002. Finance Committee Minutes for May 20, 2002 Page 2 B. Bad Debt Write-off F4.12 City Council to authorize the write-off of utility accounts receivable bad debts in accordance with City policy in the total amount of $170,615.25. C. Surplus Property A4.6.1 1. Fire Department City Council to approve the surplus and disposal of the following property: 17- Double Females- 2 ½ to 3 ½ 13- Double Females- 3 % 19- Double Males- 3 % 19- 4 % Female to 3 % Male Reducers 11- 4.875 Female to 3 % Male Reducers 1- 4 % Female to 3 % Female Swivel Reducer 1- 2 %/= Female to 3 % Male increaser 1- 2 % Swivel Female to 3 ½ Female Increaser 10- Brass 2 ½ Double Females 5- Brass 2 % Double Males 2- 3 % to 2 % x 2 % x 2 % Gated Manifold 1- 3 ½ to 2 ½ x 2 % x 2 % Non Gated Distributors 1- 4 NH to 3 % Decreaser 2- 4.868 to 4 ½ Increaser 5- 4" Storz to 3 % Male Finance Director Coleman explained that, at the request of the State Auditor, the City writes off any utility account that is more than one year old. The accounts remain in collection. Vice Chair Borden moved and Member Cerino seconded to approve the Consent Items. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0. Finance Committee Minutes for May 20, 2002 Page 3 IV. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. Resolution No. 3466 A4.6 A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Auburn approving the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Auburn and the Non-commissioned Police Unit, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge No. 160, for 2002-2004. Vice Chair Borden moved and Member Cerino seconded to recommended Council approval of Resolution No. 3466. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0. B. Resolution No. 3470 O1.7 A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Auburn, Washington, approving the Interlocal Agreements (3) between the cities of Auburn, Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Covington, Duvall, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Mercer Island, Normandy Park, North Bend, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline and Tukwila, Washington, and Yakima County, Washington, relating to housing of inmates by Yakima County Department of Corrections. City Attorney Heid explained that Resolution No. 3470 contains three separate agreements, including a master agreement between the various cities and Yakima County, an agreement between the various cities to administer the division of jail beds, and an agreement to designate the City of Renton as the central drop-off point for transferring prisoners between facilities. In response to questions from Member Cerino, Attorney Heid explained that upon expiration of the agreement, a member city may opt to renew or withdraw from the agreement. Police Chief Jim Kelly pointed out that the term of the agreement is for seven years. There is flexibility in the agreement between the cities to negotiate with each other with regard to the number of beds used in a given time. Finance Committee Minutes for May 20, 2002 Page 4 Chief Kelly reported that the estimated budgetary impact for outside expenses through the year 2009 is approximately $20.765 million. The City of Auburn is very proactive in researching alternatives to incarceration and incarceration facilities. Attorney Heid stated that recent legislation accommodates the type of agreement proposed under Resolution No. 3470. The housing of inmates is recognized as a statewide problem. Chief Kelly reported that Yakima will pick up inmates in Auburn five days a week and may eventually pick up every day. They currently pick up in Auburn three days a week. If space allowed, Auburn could also eventually be considered as a central drop off point. Renton currently has daily pick up service and the agreement allows Auburn the flexibility to use their facility if necessary. In response to questions from Councilmember Poe, Chief Kelly stated that the estimated annual operating costs for outside services is $1.289 million, which does not include the internal operating costs of the Auburn facility. Director Coleman pointed out that the estimated costs of using the Yakima facility are less than the costs for outside jail services paid in 2001. Some of the budgeted jail funds used in 2001 were moved into the court budget for the drug rehabilitation program as King County is discontinuing the drug rehabilitation program formerly offered to surrounding cities. Vice Chair Borden moved and Member Cerino seconded to recommend Council approval of Resolution No. 3470. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0. V. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Microsoft Licensing Director Coleman reported that the City of Auburn is currently using the Washington State purchasing contract for desktop software, which is Microsoft Office Suite of Windows. The State contract with Microsoft expires in June 2002. Microsoft is changing their Finance Committee Minutes for May 20, 2002 Page 5 licensing format and no longer offers upgrade pricing. They have now instituted a maintenance program similar to other software vendors. IS Administrator Lorrie Rempher explained that, in the past, Microsoft had an upgrade program and charged a discounted fee per upgrade. The new Microsoft licensing regulations require a percentage each year for the privilege of upgrading at any time. Estimated maintenance costs per PC desktop over the next four years are approximately $115 for 2002, $100 for 2003, $100 for 2004, and $135 for 2005. The cost per PC desktop if not under the maintenance program would be approximately $400 per PC desktop. The City of Auburn has approximately 1,400 licenses with Microsoft. The licenses are not only for Microsoft Office, but also include other licenses such as for the City servers, databases, and Outlook and Mail servers. Committee Members concurred with staff recommendation to participate in the licensing maintenance program with Microsoft. B. Electric B & O Tax Revenue Director Coleman reported that the first quarter B & O Tax Revenue for electric utilities was lower than anticipated last August. If the trends continue as they have, the B & O Tax Revenue for electric utilities will be less that those received in 1998, and is expected to be approximately $1 million less than estimated last year. The large windfall received by the City in the past two years was due to commercial companies purchasing brokered electricity at spot prices on the open market rather than contracting with Puget Sound Energy (PSE). Energy rates have declined substantially. Although PSE will be increasing electric rates on July 1, 2002 it will not be enough to compensate for the $1 million estimated loss of revenue. Director Coleman distributed the First Quarter 2002 Revenue Report on General Fund Revenue comparing first quarter 2001 to first quarter 2002. Director Coleman reviewed various revenues that have been impacted over the year, including Sales Tax and Use Tax, External Utility Taxes, Non Business Licensing and Permits, and Interest Earnings. Finance Committee Minutes for May 20, 2002 Page 6 C. Water Leak Policy Director Coleman distributed a comparison of various cities regarding water leakage adjustment policies. Director Coleman stated that new water rates will be implemented on June 1, 2002. The new rate structure promotes conservation by charging a lower rate for less usage, but does not account for any leakage adjustment. Director Coleman recommended that one adjustment for leakage be allowed annually. Chair Poe suggested that educational material regarding water leaks be distributed to users. Committee Members instructed staff to develop a City Policy and Procedure regarding water leaks for presentation to the Finance and Public Works Committees. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Finance Committee, the meeting adjourned at 7:02 PM. APPROVED THIS ~ ~'~ DAY OF JUNE, 2002. Cathy Richardson, Deputy City' Clerk f:\clerk\fina nce\fca~OO2fcm05-20