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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 9/17/2012 - Finance and Personnel Committee FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes 3:00 PM, Monday, September 17,2012 Aldermen's Conference Room � Call to Order Chairman Alderman Wimmer called the meeting of the Finance and Personnel Committee to order at 3:00 PM. Other committee members present: Alderman Jeffrey Schaefer and Alderman Geoff Blake. Also in attendance: City Administrator Derik Morefield, Deputy City Administrator pouglas Martin, and Executive Assistant Marci Geraghty. Public Input None. Review of Elected Officials Compensation Chairman Alderman Wimmer announced the purpose of the meeting was to continue discussions regarding elected officials compensation. The topic was discussed at the August 27�' committee meeting as a result of a suggestion made at the August 13t" City Council meeting. City Administrator Morefield noted at the August 27th meeting, the committee moved to reduce the City Treasurer salary to $1.00 per year. He also said that City Attorney McArdle has reviewed the State Statutes and has determined that it is possible to transform the position of � Treasurer from an elected to an assigned/appointed position by amending Chapter 2 of the City Code. This is possible due to the City's Home Rule status. Also, the deadline for establishing compensation for elected officials is 180 days prior to the election, or October 12, 2012. Should the committee decide to present a recommendation to the full Council it would need to be presented on September 24th or October lst A compensation survey of elected officials from various towns in McHenry County was reviewed by the committee. The survey had previously been sent to the full City Council. At the meeting on ��ugust 27th, the committee agreed it was difficult to compare McHenry's compensation to other communities because of different forms of government, population, and number of regular, special, and committee meetings each community schedules throughout the year. City Administrator Morefield noted a review of elected official compensation goes hand in hand with how many times the City Council meets each year. Morefield suggested the committee may want to consider reviewing the current City Council meeting schedule to determine a recommendation for the Aldermen's salary; for example, a flat stipend per month as opposed to being paid per meeting. A suggestion was made to schedule City Council meetings on the first and third Monday of each month, one committee meeting per month, with the potential for four Committee of the Whole meetings per year in months when there are five Mondays in the month. L Finance and Personnel Committee � September 17,2U12 Page Two `.. Alderman Scliaefer asked if the City of Woodstock was paid per meeting. Morefield answered no, they are paid a flat-stipend. Alderman Schaefer asked why some Council meeting agendas include several items for consideration while other meetings have only a few items on the agenda. City Administrator Morefield said staff ineets each week to review future agenda item with the intent to balance the number of ite�ns on each agenda however many items are time-sensitive. Alderman Schaefer said he thinks two meetings per month would be sufficient. Chairman Alderman Wimmer noted in the past, the Council had considered two meetings per month but some Aldermen were concerned because at times, there would be a three-week gap between meetings. The 2013 calendar was reviewed to determine the number of times there would be a three-week gap between meetings if the Council were to meet two times per month. City Administrator Morefield said there will be five such occurrences in 2013 — April, July, September, and December, and suggested the fifth Monday in a month could be reserved for Committee of the Whole meetings. If a meeting is necessary, only 48 hours is required for public notification. Also in holiday months when meetings are not typically held on the first Monday of the month for example, Labor Day, a Committee of the Whole meeting could be scheduled if necessary. A discussion ensued on the number of committee meetings currently held each year. Deputy �. City Administrator Martin said the Community Development Committee typically meets six to eight times per year. Alderman Schaefer noted the Parks and Recreation Committee meets five or six time per year and the Finance and Personnel Committee meet as needed however, they have met as many as two or three times per month in March and April for budget discussions. The Public Works Committee typically meets only two to three times per year. City Administrator Morefield presented a proposed 2013 meeting scheduled to the committee: Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 7 4 4 1 6 3 1 5 � 7 4 2 14 11 11 8 13 10 18 12 9 14 11 9 21 18 18 15 20 17 15 19 16 21 18 16 28 25 25 22 27 24 22 26 23 28 25 23 29 30 30 30 The dates in bold numbers depict regular Council meetings. The circled dates would be reserved for Committee of the Whole meetings when necessary. The proposed schedule allows for 22 regular Council meetings and reserves four Mondays (fifth Monday in a month) for Committee of the Whole meetings totaling 26 meetings. Also, at least one committee meeting would be held each month. L Finance and Personnel Committee September 17,2012 Page Three `- Alderman Blake said he was not sure about raising the Aldermen's compensation and Alderman Wimmer and Schaefer concurred. Alderman Blake said the most he has been paid as Alderman is $350 per month, which included three council meeting and two committee meetings. A suggestion was made to pay Aldermen a flat stipend of$350 per month or $100 per meeting. Alderman Schaefer said he would prefer salaries be performance based however in this situation it would not b�possible. Alderman Schaefer asked if the proposed changes would require an amendment to the Municipal Code. Morefield answered yes and as previously stated,per state statue an amendment to elected officials compensation would have to be approved prior to October 12, 2012. Alderman Schaefer noted although the proposed meeting schedule reduces the number of regular Council meetings held each year it does produce the potential for additional Committee of the Whole meetings and standing committee meetings. Alderman Schaefer inquired about the outcome of the discussion regarding the City Clerk's compensation that took place at the August 27th committee meeting. It was noted the committee agreed not to review the City Clerk's salary at this time. The committee was in agreement that two regular City Council meetings per month along with the potential for Committee of the Whole meetings would be sufficient adding it makes no difference to them if the meetings were scheduled on the first and third or second and fourth `. Monday of each month. Alderman Schaefer said meetings can always be added to the schedule when necessary adding it would promote advanced planning and it would be beneficial for developers and the public to have an established schedule of two meetings per month. It was also suggested committee meetings could be held on off weeks. Deputy City Administrator Martin said establishing a flat stipend for Aldermen would be a benefit for record keeping and the payroll function. Alderman Schaefer noted and Alderman Blake agreed that it would also be a benefit to the City Council to have the meeting schedule in advance. Alderman Blake reiterated that $350 per month is the most he has been paid as Aldermen. Morefield said Aldermen currently are paid $225 in months with three Council meetings and this amount does not include attendance for committee meetings. Alderman Schaefer said a flat-stipend would eliminate a lot of record keeping in payroll. Chairman Alderman Wimmer said a flat rate makes sense to him. � , -. Finance and Per�•onnel Committee September 17,2�)12 Page Four L-- Alderman Blake made a motion, seconded by Alderman Schaefer to recommend that Chapter 2 of the City Code be amended to create the position of Treasurer as an assigned or appointed position. The Committee also agreed by consensus, given the comparables of other McHenry County communities, that it would be appropriate that the stipend for Aldermen be increased and to recommend to Council the adoption of a flat$350 per month stipend. Further, the Committee agreed by consensus to provide Council with an informal recommendation that the 2013 City Council Schedule of ineetings include regular meetings of the City Council on the lst and 3�d Monday of each month and that, for those months containing five (5) Mondays, that the fifth Monday be reserved for City Council Committee of the Whole or Special Meetings as necessary. Aye: Schaefer, Blake, Wimmer Nay: None Absent: None Motion carried. Adjournment Alderman Schaefer made a motion, seconded by Alderman Blake to adjourn the meeting. � Aye: Blake, Schaefer, Wimmer Nay: None Absent: None Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 PM. Respectfully submitted, ; � G� �%t/- Alderman Richard W. immer, Chairman �..-