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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 11/15/2010 - Finance and Personnel Committee FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING �. Monday, November 15, 2010 Aldermen's Conference Room,6:30 p.m. In Attendance: Committee Members: Chairman Alderman Schaefer, Alderman Blake and Alderman Wimmer. Absent: None. Also in Attendance: Alderman Santi, City Administrator Black, Finance & Accounting Manager Lynch and City Clerk Jones. Chairman Alderman Schaefer called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. RevolvinE Loan Fund Application Nicolino's Restaurant Chairman Alderman Schaefer informed the Committee that this Agenda item has been withdrawn at tbe applicant's request. Vehicle Sticker Sales City Administrator Black informed the Committee that Chapter 13, Sections 101 through 110, of the City's Motor Vehicle Code establishes fees and regulations regarding the purchase of vehicle stickers. The typical fee annually collected is $12.00 for a car. School buses for non-profit entities are $15.00 and large trucks are $30.00 annually. � In addition to being difficult to administer, City Administrator Black noted that revenues and compliance regarding the purchase of vehicle stickers has continued to decline in recent years. Non-compliance also results in complaints from the public about the fairness of the fee. Staff researched three different options for improving the vehicle sticker sales and revenue collection process, which possibly would result in improved vehicle sticker sales, improved revenue collection process and increased compliance with the City's ordinance by commercial and residential vehicle owners. Option 1 — Water/Sewer Billine: Residential and commercial customers would be charged for vehicle stickers as part of a separate charge added to the water/sewer bill. This process is currently used by the Village of Antioch. Using this method, each residential unit would be required to purchase stickers for two (2) vehicles at a $24.00 fee, which would be divided evenly among the city's six water/sewer billing cycles. For a resident to be charged for less than two vehicles, they would be required to sign an affidavit certifying the number of vehicles they currently own. The number of vehicle stickers required for purchase by commercial or multi-unit buildings, with a single water/sewer account would be determined on a case-by-case basis. It was noted that including the vehicle sticker fee on the water/sewer bills would result in higher compliance, efficient revenue collection and improved ability to estimate revenues. However, � several challenges exist including: Finance and Personnel Committee Meeting L. November 15, 2010 Page 2 • The City would be charging each residential unit for only two vehicles. Some residents would not pay for all the vehicles at their household and others would be required to complete an affidavit stating they have less than two vehicles. • It would be difficult to determine how many vehicles to charge for at apartment complexes, industrial complexes, townhomes and retirement homes, which receive only one water/sewer bill per building. • Some residents would not be charged for vehicle stickers because they are not billed for water and sewer. • With the financial software currently in use for water/sewer billing, it would be a time consuming process to add to or modify information related to the number of vehicles at a particular site. Chairman Alderman Schaefer inquired whether the affidavit discussed in this option could be put on line for easy access. City Administrator Black stated the form could be put on line. Finance & Accounting Manager Lynch opined that while on-line access would be feasible for the majority of residents another option would have to be available to members of the community that do not utilize computers. � Option 2 — Secretary of State Data; Secretary of State (ISOS) vehicle data could be cross- referenced with the data the City has using GIS software. A report would be produced listing all addresses in the City limits and vehicles registered at the corresponding addresses. Vehicle sticker applications could be generated and mailed out to residents based on the report data. Using vehicle registration data from the ISOS provides several advantages over the current method in use by the city. The vehicle registration data is relatively inexpensive to purchase (approximately $500 annually) and would provide a comprehensive list of vehicles registered within the City limits. More vehicle sticker applications would be sent to residents and additional revenue would be generated. Additionally, the database could be used to determine who has not purchased a sticker by the due date. The primary challenge in using this method is technology. The city would need to hire an outside person with expertise related to GIS to develop the vehicle sticker application database. In addition, new software would have to be purchased or developed to mail out vehicle sticker application and to maintain the information regarding records and who has and has not purchased stickers. Option 3 —Contractin�with Third Party Vendor: An outside vendor would match four different databases to develop vehicle registration forms that would then be mailed to City residents. Staff has contacted a vendor, Third Millennium, who would use the City's current vehicle sticker and water/sewer account information, as well as the ISOS data and a nationwide database, to create �, vehicle registration forms. Staff noted that the proposed vehicle sticker applications would be Finance and Personnel Committee Meeting November 15, 2010 Page 3 � Third Millennium offers software that stores all of the information found on the vehicle sticker registration forms. The software reads the registration forms with the use of a scan able bar code and brings up all of the information on the form, including the price of the vehicle sticker. When a sticker is sold the form is scanned, the information verified and a sticker number is assigned to each vehicle. City Administrator Black informed the Committee that contracting with an outside vendor would result in additi��nal costs in administering the vehicle sticker program. There would be a one- time cost to purchase the software totaling approximately $5,000. In addition, there would be an annual cost for developing records for the cross-referencing of databases, printing vehicle registration fonns and software maintenance totaling approximately$8,000. Staff opined tliat using this method would most likely result in improved compliance and additional revenue. Based on estimates provided by Third Millennium, the City could potentially collect $228,000 annually, based on the typical number of vehicles per capita. The City would not receive full compliance, however, it should see an increase with a more comprehensive and accurate mailing to residents. Additionally, software which has the ability to scan registrations would allow collection and maintenance of information to be done more accurately and efficiently by Staff. Also, the software provides the ability to send out second notices with late charges to those who have not purchased stickers by the June 30t" deadline. � Staff believes moving forward with any of the three options proposed would facilitate improved administration of vehicle sticker sales and collections, higher compliance and additional revenue to the City. Staff supports entering into a contract with Third Millennium as the best option to provide the software and annual services regarding the vehicle sticker program. Chairman Alderman Schaefer inquired whether the Secretary of State's Office has improved with regarding the timeliness of input of data and about how far behind the information contained in the Secretary of State's database is. Finance & Accounting Manager Lynch stated the standard appears that they are approximately 3 years behind in their information. Alderman Wimmer opined that Option No. 1 is impractical for many reasons. He stated he supports Option No. 3, which could be managed by the current staff employed by the City for a relatively small fee, is the most logical choice. He noted that particularly for the Knox Park site the vehicle stickers are important and the City should keep them as a revenue source. Chairman Alderman Schaefer informed the Committee that Detective John Adams hopes to tie- in the vehicle sticker program to Safe Community efforts. Responding to an inquiry from the Committee, Finance & Accounting Manager Lynch stated that Third Millennium would be providing the City with a proposal regarding the program. � Finance and Personnel Committee Meeting �. November 15, 2010 Page 4 Responding to an inquiry from the Committee, Finance & Accounting Manager Lynch stated that Third Millennium would be providing the City with a proposal regarding the program. Motion by Blake, seconded byWimmer, to recommend Option No. 3 regarding the vehicle sticker prograni to full Council for consideration following receipt of a proposal from Third Millennium. Aye: Blake, Schaefer, Wimmer. Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. New Business No new business was discussed. Adiournment Motion by Wimmer, seconded by Blake, to adjourn the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Aye: Blake, Schaefer, Wimmer. � Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, � Jef A. ae , airman �