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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-19-2005 ~"~~"" *~': FINANCE COMMITTEE . SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Conference Room at Auburn City Hall located at 25 West Main Street, Auburn, Washington. Committee members present were: Vice Chair Norman, Member Roger Thordarson, and Councilmember Bill Peloza. Chair Nancy Backus was excused. Also present during the meeting were Mayor Peter B. Lewis, Information Services Director Lorrie Rempher, Human Resources/Risk Management Director Brenda Heineman, City Attorney Daniel B. Heid, Finance Director Shelley Coleman, Assistant Finance Director Dawna Truman, Police Chief Jim Kelly, Police Commander Greg Wood, City Clerk Danielle Daskam and Aaron Rosenberg and Jack Weaver of Redflex Traffic Systems. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of the September 6, 2005 Finance Committee meeting. Member Thordarson moved and Councilmember Peloza seconded to approve the September 6, 2005 minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0. III. CONSENT ITEMS A. Vouchers 1. Claims F4.9.5 Claims check numbers 344799 through 345130 in the amount of $2,798,989.72 and dated September 19, 2005. 2. Payroll F4.9.2 Payroll check numbers 513539 to 513694 in the amount of $686,667.64 and electronic deposit transmissions in the Page 1 Finance Committee Minutes September 19 , 2005 amount of $978,026.87 for a grand total of $1 ,664,694.51 for the pay period covering September 1, 2005 to September 14, 2005. Committee members reviewed the consent items and briefly discussed claims vouchers 344803, 344885, 344926, 345048, 345106 and 345107. Member Thordarson moved and Councilmember Peloza seconded to approve the consent items. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0. IV. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. Resolution No. 3910 A3.12.5 A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Auburn, Washington, authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a contract for Public Defense Services for calendar year 2006 - 2007 between the City and the Law Offices of Matthew J. Rusnak Human Resources and Risk Management Director Heineman presented Resolution No. 3910 for discussion. The Resolution provides for a public defender contract with the Law Offices of Matthew J. Rusnak effective January 2006. Director Heineman reported that proposals were solicited and four responses were received ranging from $37,000 to $15,000 per month. A panel reviewed the top two proposals. It is recommended that the firm of Matthew J. Rusnak be awarded the public defense services contract for 2006-2007. Director Heineman reported there is no increase in the proposed contract over the current contract. The costs of any appeals filed by the public defender are included in the contract amount; only those cases that are appealed by the prosecutor and briefed will be paid above the contract amount. On October 3, 2005, the Resolution will be presented to the Municipal Services Committee for discussion and to the City Council for adoption. V. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Budget Review 1. Mayor Page 2 Finance Committee Minutes September 19 , 2005 2. Human Resources 3. Finance 4. Legal 5. Information Services Committee members reviewed the departmental budgets. In response to a question from Vice Chair Norman, Finance Director Coleman explained that interfund payments are payments made to other funds. The most common interfund payments are made to Equipment Rental for fleet charges and to Information Services for printing and multi- media services. Councilmember Peloza inquired regarding the bus pass program included in the Human Resources budget. Director Heineman explained that bus passes are provided to employees as part of the Commute Trip Reduction Act. Vice Chair Norman noted that the Human Resources Department advertising costs have increased. Director Heineman explained that the cost of recruiting for technical and engineering positions is quite expensive and requires broad recruitment. There were no further questions. B. Mental Health Court Human Resources and Risk Management Director Heineman presented information on the proposed Auburn Mental Health Court. Director Heineman explained that the Auburn Municipal Court is seeking a partnership with Seattle Mental Health to begin a separate court calendar identified as the Mental Health Court to adjudicate the growing number of cases involving defendants who have mental health issues. She reported that the defendants with mental health issues have been a concern for the Court because of their need for services and their high rate of recidivism. Also a concern is the cost of their incarceration without treating the underlying problem. The Auburn Mental Health Court would provide an alternative to incarceration. The proposed contract with Seattle Mental Health calls for Seattle Mental Health staff to attend Auburn Mental Health Court, perform Page 3 Finance Committee Minutes September 19.2005 assessments at the jail, develop a treatment plan and assist in locating public funding for each individual's treatment program. Director Heineman reported there is approximately $1.2 million in state funds for treatment of mentally ill inmates who are also chemically dependent. It is anticipated that the state program would cover the majority of Auburn's incarcerated referrals. The City would fund those referrals with mental health issues alone until such time as other funding sources could be identified. Director Heineman advised that two contracts will come before the Committee in October; one with Seattle Mental Health and another with King County in order to obtain the funding through the King County Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division. C. Red Light Photo Enforcement Police Chief Jim Kelly reported that a City staff committee has been working on a red light photo enforcement project this year. The City staff committee has recommended that the City select the firm of Redflex to implement the City's red light photo enforcement and school speed limit enforcement program. Mr. Jack Weaver and Mr. Aaron Rosenberg of Redflex were in attendance to provide a brief video, slides and overview of the program. The presentation included examples of photo enforcement, types of photo enforcement equipment, signage, and data management. Mr. Rosenberg explained that Washington State law allows cities and counties to implement fixed red light enforcement, speed enforcement in school zones, and railroad crossing enforcement. Violations are treated similar to parking infractions and are the responsibility of the registered owner of the identified vehicle. There are no points assessed to the registered owner's record. Mr. Rosenberg advised that the system captures vehicle information only and is not a surveillance system. Mr. Rosenberg reported that the effectiveness of a red light photo enforcement program is documented in several cities throughout the country. He cited the City of Dayton, Ohio, where collisions at enforced intersections have been reduced by sixty percent and collisions city-wide have been reduced by twenty-nine percent. Mr. Rosenberg reviewed the program process. Once a violation is detected, the violation evidence, including still images and full Page 4 Finance Committee Minutes September 19 , 2005 motion video, is packaged together and transmitted via a secure network to Redflex. Redflex reviews all components of the evidence and checks the registered owner information. Redflex then sends the information to the Auburn Police Department via Internet. Only the Police Department determines whether a violation warrants a summons or infraction. An assigned police officer signs on and reviews violations and decides whether it is an enforceable citation by accepting or rejecting the violation. Once the officer accepts a violation, Redflex then prints and mails out the citations for the "accepted" violations. Details of the violation and photos of the violation are included on the citation. Video of the violation is also available to the cited vehicle owner via the Internet. Police Chief Kelly advised that staff is currently analyzing the potential volume of work associated with the red light photo enforcement, including the "ripple effect" for Information Services, Municipal Court, and Prosecution. Currently ten intersections are being evaluated for red light photo enforcement as well as school zone enforcement. Police Chief Kelly and Information Services Director Rempher spoke briefly about the public education program for the red light photo enforcement project. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. APPROVED THE 2~ DAY OF OCTOBER 2005. 1(l4;;:a IJud/P'(/',-~ I :\clerk\finance\fca\2005fcM09-19 Page 5