HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-02 Finance Committee Minutes
FINANCE COMMITTEE
February 2, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
Minutes
Councilors: Stone, Bronson, D’Errico, Nealley, Wheeler, Blanchette, Hawes,
Palmer
Staff: Cyr, Dubois, Mitchell, Cammack, Barrett, Ring, Birch, Little, Webb
Others: Various Members of the Public and Press
1. Consent Agenda
A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda items.
a. Quitclaim Deed – Bartlett – 4 N Street
b. Quitclaim Deed – Davis – 174 Holiday Park
c. Quitclaim Deed – Lawler – 11 Prays Park
d. Quitclaim Deed – Leonard – 19 Fruit Street
e. Quitclaim Deed – Meucci – 93 Center Street
2. Bids/Purchasing
a. Harbor Security Equipment – Various – New England
Communications - $31,507.72
Cyr said that in one of the latest rounds of Homeland Security Funding there was
money earmarked specifically for Harbor Security Projects. Since last summer
the City Engineer, the Harbor Master, Information Services and Representatives
from Police and Fire have been working to develop a project to meet the City’s
needs within the funding that is available with our Homeland Security Grant.
The City began working with a number of vendors to develop a specific scope
and to perform actual on-site demonstrations of the equipment that they were
looking at potentially using. After several meetings and follow up, the City ended
up with only one quote from New England Communications. This project will
install 4 wireless surveillance cameras with coverage areas along the Harbor
itself and the adjacent areas. It will improve Harbor security; it will wirelessly
feed at this point back to a recording device that will be in the Harbor Master’s
office. The City looked at tying it directly into its fiber and connecting to the
Police Department to have it monitored, but the cost is not within the City’s
budget at this point and the City felt that this would be an appropriate step at
this time. The recording equipment can hold up to about 2 week’s worth of
information and this will allow us to go back and see what happened within that
time frame. Public Works will install an additional pole in order to mount one of
these and run some wiring and conduit to tie all of this together. Ring
responded by saying that this is a Harbor Security Project and that the
Committee and the Council are very much aware of the interest in improving
security in the area. It will provide coverage out in the water, the harbor itself
and also in the vicinities of docks 2, 3, 4 and 5 which are the ones that get the
most visitation and the most use. The City would like to get this project
underway as soon as possible in the spring. Nealley wondered why there was
only one vender that responded to the quote. Ring said this project needs to be
wireless because otherwise it would require the installation of a whole new series
of conduits and a lot of disruption. Several vendors could have provided wireless
equipment but not the quality of resolution needed so that things can be
identified with clear information. Staff had a number of night demonstrations
and based on what was seen and the need of this project, the vendor that
responded had the type of equipment that was needed for this particular
application. Nealley moved staff recommendation. Blanchette asked if the
Homeland Security Grant will cover the $31,507.72? Cyr said yes and Blanchette
asked if this is adequate protection or will the City be looking to add more in the
future. She asked if there will be a need for another $37,000 next year with a
need for 3 or 4 more cameras. Ring responded by saying that we can never be
sure what we might be discussing 2 or 3 years from now but he doesn’t
anticipate that that will be likely. Blanchette asked if the City is able to apply for
more Homeland Security Grants because she is not comfortable having all of this
equipment in a building that is not staffed 24/7. Blanchette spoke about a sense
of false security for not knowing immediately after a crime or why the cameras
are not working to perfection. Ring responded saying that in terms of applying
for future grants, there is a possibility. Regarding the equipment being housed
in a building, the City has been very focused on this with the Police Department.
Blanchette commented that she was not happy. Bronson said that he noticed
st
that the bid is dated December 31 and asked if the prices are still good? Cyr
indicated that they were. Palmer stated that video surveillance is really coming
into a life of its own. Ring responded to Palmer, saying that the quality of
equipment was key in the consideration of designing this project. Stone asked if
there is a plan for signage that might deter the situation and Ring said they have
talked about it but have not identified a specific sign. Wheeler asked if the grant
that came from the Homeland Security Department was intended to be used in
this manner and if there are any strings attached regarding how the City uses
this grant? Cyr responded by saying that the primary focus of this equipment is
to secure the port. This is an approved project in the grant that was submitting
to the Department of Homeland Security and approved. A motion was seconded.
Item has passage.
b. Request to Waive Bid Requirements – Station #6 Items
Stone asked Cyr to break down these items separately. She gave background
information to include the existing relationships with local vendors where items
can be purchased directly. These items were not an integral part of the
construction and were taken out of the contract thereby not having any markup
i.e. overhead doors, communication equipment, exhaust system, utility access
and furniture fixtures.
The first item is for the fiber optic line access. At this point, Time Warner’s
head end, ends at the corner of Husson and Kenduskeag Ave. There is not
adequate room that goes out to the corner of Griffin to add any new service.
The only way to add service is to run a new line from the head end. That
means 14,000 feet of fiber that will go back from the corner of Kenduskeag
and Husson all the way out to the new Fire station. We have received a
quote from Time Warner in the amount of $14,473. The fiber provides the
phones and computers to Station #5. It also is the link to the mobile data
network that has been installed in all of City vehicles. Our long term plans
are to make station #5 the off-site disaster recovery location for all of the
City’s data files, which can be shipped off site through the fiber. This is
available for funding from the Homeland Security, because it is a part of the
City’s interoperability communication link, which means they will pay 100% of
this. It was moved and seconded to staff’s recommendation. Stone asked
who will own this. Cyr responded that Time Warner will own the 14,000 foot
run. Cyr responded to Stone that she has a three page itemized bill that
breaks down everything. Responding to Bronson, Cyr said that this is already
in a federal grant that has been granted. This item has passage.
The next item is the access control. It was 3 or 4 years ago that the City
began implementing the access control within its municipal facilities. The City
did this through Homeland Security Grant money. It allows limited access to
certain facilities by card holders. It also gives the City the ability to track
access and use by users as well. At this time we have the Police Station, all
of the Fire Stations, and City Hall on the same access control system. Staff is
requesting to waive the bid requirements and contract with Twin City Security
Solutions in the amount of $24,768 to install this system at Station #6. It all
interfaces into one verex director system. It makes sense to stay with the
same vendor to complete the work. Responding to Nealley, Cyr indicated
that this will come out of the budget for Station #6 and not from any
Homeland Security Grant money previously approved. The budgeted amount
of owner provided items was around $224,000. A couple bids have come in
lower but this is still on track. A motion was made and seconded to approve
staff’s recommendation. Responding to Stone, Cyr said she can go back and
check to see if there are any items that are the same as what the Fire Station
is needing. Responding to Stone, Barrett suggested that the motion pass
with wordage that says that a contract to Twin City Security Solutions in the
amount not to exceed $24,768, and direct the Finance Director to review the
bid on the initial system to see if there are any discrepancies over which the
City might negotiate. This has been moved and seconded and has passage.
3. Ordinance, Amending the Code of the City of Bangor to
Consolidate Voting Districts
A couple of weeks ago Dubois came to this committee and suggested
consolidating polling places for special elections only. The members
expressed an interest in exploring that option for all elections. In 2005 the
City considered this consolidation and the Council was not in favor. In 2006
the City consolidated from 8 polling places to 4 and at that time implemented
early voting at the Civic Center. It has been very well received.
Consolidating to one polling place streamlines the voting process significantly.
The City would have all the best trained staff at one location. The City would
be able to respond to issues more quickly, as opposed to a 10 – 15 minutes
drive from one location to the other. All the material and supplies will be in
one location and will allow voters to register to vote; change addresses, and
have less confusion. Voters often show up at the wrong polling location and
often wait in line only to be sent to another location. The Civic Center is a
well known polling location that is under the City’s authority. It is easily
accessible and has ample parking. The schools have been very
accommodating and the City recognizes this. Betsy Webb and staff were
recognized as gracious hosts. Dubois has concerns for student safety when
elections bring the general public in their facilities. If there was one location
at the Civic Center there would be limited access to the entire building during
voting so security can be enhanced. The absentee voting trends are
continuing to increase. Dubious referred to a chart that was in the packets
showing how the voting laws changed in 2000 to allow absentee voting. In
2008 the amount of voters and absentee voters are equal. As far as cost
savings, the City could save about 12 thousand annually, mostly personnel
costs. The City has 2 elections per year and sometimes more if there are
special elections. The City will have to replace the voting equipment this
year. Obviously if there is a lesser number of polling places, less voting
machine will be needed. We would then realize a one time savings of
$50,000. She did point out that this was not a cost saving measure, but a
hope to enhance the voting process and stream line it.
There are disadvantages that go along with these changes. Changes are
difficult at any time and there is a fear that the lines will be unmanageable.
This would be somewhat sporadic since people would not be checking in by
districts, but checking in alphabetically. Having all staff at one location staff
can quickly respond to a specific line that may get too long in order to move
things around. In November the biggest line was at the voter registration
tables. Dubois proposes to have a voter registration line for every check in
line. People would basically go to the check in and walk a few feet across to a
voter registration table; update their information and then go back to the
check in. One thing to consider is that if something happened that would
make that location unavailable for a portion of the day, i.e. a bomb threat,
the City would need to have something else in mind. Dubois thought the
Parks and Recreation facility would be a logical location because it is so close
to the Civic Center and is handicap accessible with a large open area for
voting. Other things that have been brought to Dubois’ attention are that the
City needs to make sure that voters get the correct ballot. If they are
checking in by name, they have to get the district ballot. There would be a
need to do some additional training to the staff to ensure that happens.
Some voters would have to travel further to this location, but for some this
might be more convenient. It is difficult to quantify whether people are
actually increasing their travel time. Some of the transportation issues that
Dubois has heard about relate to citizens finding it difficult to get to the polls.
The City offered free rides on the BAT on Election Day, which was well
received. A couple hundred people rode on the BAT on that day. That
service could be pushed a little more and possibly offered for extended hours
to coincide with the polling hours, or maybe the City could offer additional
runs. The City could also offer rides from City Hall to the polling office.
These rides might be coordinated with election workers to make it more of a
public outreach. If it is a large election, the parking lots would be full at the
Civic Center and Dubois suggested using golf carts and shuttle pickups so
that people do not have to walk long distances. Wheelchairs could be
available at the doors, and would help people into the building if needed.
Another consideration is that candidates and petitioners would all be at one
location and some voters do not find that particularly pleasant, some find it
offensive. Dubois contacted the Secretary of State to see if there were any
options. She asked if there was a way the City could put a guard rail area
along the entrance and ask the candidates to stand behind the area so that
the voters could decide if they wanted to approach the candidates or not.
Unfortunately it would be up to the candidates as to whether or not they
wanted to comply. Dubois said that she has not had a lot of feedback from
people.
Charlie Birkel complimented the City Clerk and her staff and the members of
our polling realignment committee for all their efforts. He feels that although
the reduction to 1 polling location in Bangor may look and seem like a good
possibility, it may be too dramatic of a change to quickly for Bangor citizens.
He recommends that the City Council hold public hearings and allow citizens
to voice their comments, views, and suggestions before attempting to make a
decision on further polling reduction. He also feels that when the Council has
all the facts, comments and views from all sources, the City will make the
right decision.
Bill Sullivan stated that he feels that it is a very exciting prospect. He hopes
the Council will consider it and decide to go forward with the
recommendation to have a single polling place.
Betsy Webb provided the committee with information from the schools. The
school staff has worked well with the City Clerk’s office and always tries to
accommodate the needs of the City. She said that there are certain things
the schools are unable to do, such as allowing the staff to get into the
schools the afternoon before election or even the evening before. The schools
have to continue with their after school activities. If the weather cooperates,
the schools are able to move physical education classes outside, however, if
the weather does not cooperate than that is not an option. The City has used
the High School gymnasiums for one polling center and although there is a
curtain that separates that gymnasium from the other 2 gymnasiums voters
often complain that they want it quieter. That is understandable; however,
physical education class at the high school level can be loud.
Blanchette commented that it is inconvenient to wait in line. The difference
that has taken place in Bangor is that the voting lines have been quicker and
the number of errors have been cut down. Bangor and the larger service
center communities have fewer, if any, recounts on their elections. She does
however, think it is immoral for candidates to go to a voting place and stand
there when people are trying to vote. She does feel that it is important that
the City provides a shuttle bus from downtown to the Civic Center and back
to the bus station. People should not have to take other buses to get to the
Civic Center.
Palmer commented that the petitioners should not be forgotten in this
process. They can be aggressive and particularly annoying. For candidates
and petitioners he would vote for a two rope process; one rope for those that
would like to talk with the petitioners and the other rope for those that are
not interested. Palmer said he liked one voting place because no one will get
their location wrong. He asked Webb her opinion on whether students are
more at risk with the added traffic from the voting public. Webb said yes
they are more at risk and they try to keep students in separate sections of
the school. They increase security and try to have more coverage for the
traffic outside.
Bronson thanked Dubois and her committee for their efforts. He supports
early voting and finds it very convenient. He does have some reservations
about going to one polling place. He prefers to vote in the sanctity of the
polling place and that sanctity is destroyed when all the candidates are there.
The other point he wanted to make is that if there is another polling place for
emergencies the City would need to put some effort into seeing that the
secondary polling place is able to be used in short notice. He suggested
having two polling places, one in the east side and one on the west side.
This way, if one of the two polling places becomes compromised you can
immediately, switch the whole process to the remaining location.
Wheeler and Hawes complimented the City Clerk and the research that was
done. Hawes asked how many citizen comments the committee received that
the Councilors did not. She is concerned about going to only one polling
place without citizens input as far as whether transportation will be difficult,
access etc. She is also concerned with the Parks and Rec building being a
back up location because of the lack of parking near that building. She feels
that there is more work to be done before deciding on just one location.
Nealley stated that this was a public meeting and the level of concern is not
high for most people. He stated that when this issue goes to Council, it will
be another public meeting and those that have concerns and want to be
heard will attend the meetings. Stone stated that he plans to support this
because of his concern for the children that attend the public schools, and the
confusion in the polling places that exist today. Stone said he has a lot of
faith in the City Clerk and her staff. He asked Barrett if this would come to
the full Council Monday and how the City can let the world know that if they
have any concerns about this they can come to the Council Meeting. Barrett
responded by saying that he can put something on the website, government
channel and ask the media to help. Dubois stated that there was an ad in
the legal section advertising the public hearing next week. In addition to that
she did an educational piece on the Government Access Channel that started
airing today. She has had 4 people contact the council. She feels that she
has done what she can do to get the word out. Barrett commented that
some people don’t pickup on this information until they travel to the polling
place. There is an advantage this year of having the first election in June be
a low turn out election and then again in November. Barrett said he would
recommend taking a vote because there is a public hearing scheduled on
Monday.
Blanchette asked Dubois what the City would do if the power was lost instead
of going to a secondary site. She asked if the City could get the Secretary of
State or the Legislator to approve something in advance in the event of a
power failure or some other natural disaster. Dubois said that currently the
State Law dictates when the polls are open and that on Election Day
absentees are not permitted. Scarbough lost their power in the last
Presidential election and there was no back up power and no windows. They
handed out flashlights to everyone that came in and people continued to vote
until the power was restored. During the situation at the High School this
year where the fire alarm was pulled and voters were out of that facility for
about an hour, the Attorney General got involved and obtained a court order
to ask the City to stay open an additional hour for those voters that were not
able to vote. Blanchette stated that she feels that the City has always been
proactive and feels she would be more comfortable if we had permission from
the Secretary of State or the Attorney General as to what the City could do.
Stone thanked Patti, her staff and other members of the committee on behalf
of the whole City Council for a super job and for her tireless efforts and input
and time.
4. Presentation of FY 2008 Audit Results
Cyr referred to 3 items to be discussed tonight. The first was a letter that
states what the City’s responsibilities vs. the Audit’s responsibilities and how
the work was accomplished. The other item is the Management Letter. The
rd
3 item is the charts and graphs and summaries and comparison for the City
relative to other communities within the State. Roger LeBreux is a partner at
Runyon Kersteen Ouellette, Casey Leonard is the manager. Roger started
with the Management Letter and said that accounting is always changing;
beginning in 2008 they have to test internal controls. This added about 20%
to the audit. A by-product of this testing is the Management Letter. The City
has no Material Weaknesses. It has one Significant Deficiency and a handful
of what is called other comments. Other comments are things that can easily
be fixed if brought to the City’s attention. A Significant Deficiency is to look
back and say that there are things that can be done to mitigate it, but we can
not make it go away. This might be a cost benefit type of thing. The one
Significant Deficiency that the City has is nothing new. It deals with the
sewer utility and the City’s relationship with the Bangor Water District being a
separate non City entity. The rest of these are just general comments that
came up as a result of our test work and just areas of improvement. Casey
then spoke about Enterprise Fund Deficits, Bass Park fund had a significant
Deficit of $1,650,000 and the Parking Fund had a deficit fund balance of
$430,000 at the end of the year. They recommend that the City continue to
review these funds and find ways to reduce cost or increase revenues. The
next comment related to acquiring a Capital Asset Tracking System.
Currently the City’s capital asset information is maintained in an excel
spreadsheet, which can be prone to problems. Roger referred to Segregation
of Duties which means that in an ideal situation no one person can do two
related tasks at the same time. In the Treasury office mail receipts are
opened and processed by the same person. In the sewer department there
are only 4 individuals that work there and perform counter related function.
Segregation of Duties is not practical. Code Enforcement has the same
individuals that receive payments and reconciles received payments for
permits that are issued. In the Assessor’s office an employee makes a
payment and any employee may perform a reconciliation of such receipts.
Cash outs occur once a week and all employees have access to the same
cash box. At the Public Works garage the inventory manager performs the
inventory counts, updates the computerized information and also receives
inventory. Lastly, the auditors noticed in the following areas in which City
policies were either not being followed or there were opportunities for
strengthen practices not covered by the policy, in the Clerk’s office there was
a lag between when cash is received and when it is processed in the
Treasury’s Department, Bass Park had receipts collected at the beginning of
the month that were not processed in the Treasury Department until the end
of the month, It was also noted that there tends to be delays when the Water
District collects payment and when it remits those payments to the City.
The next Comments relate to the Women/Infants and Children program
(WIC). The auditor noted that some of the documentation was incomplete.
The next Comments relate to School Activity Funds. The School Activity
Funds are accounts that are held on behalf of student groups like the “Class
of 2009”. During our testing several instances were noted during cash
disbursements where backup documentation was missing including receipts
and invoices, some had cash receipts that were received at one of the schools
and held for a few weeks before being deposited. They recommend that the
School Department implement a policy that deposits are made at least once a
week. The next Comment is the Arbitrage Rebate Calculations and the need
to recalculate every five years. The last Comment relates to the Public Works
electrical and inventory. As part of the audit process at the end of the year
they go in and observe the taking of inventory. They perform a recount and
compare that recount with the original counts that was taken by City staff.
Cyr stated that in regards to the Significant Deficiency with the Sewer
System, the Committee has concluded that taxpayers should be allowed to
pay at the Water District if they choose to. Most of the money that is
received from the Sewer goes directly to the Water District. Over the last
couple of years the City has improved the relationship with the Water District.
The City does, on occasion, find the District holding a significant amount of
City money. They are supposed to issue a check every time it hits
$100,000.00. The Enterprise Fund Deficit speaks for itself. The City is aware
and trying to amend it. The Capital Asset Tracking System would require the
City to spend $3,000, but an Excel spreadsheet works. Segregation of Duties
will always be an issue with this municipality. The City is decentralized
enough that the tasks can be dived up. The Sewer Fund and Code
Enforcement deal with large amounts of checks and it is much harder to have
concerns when dealing with checks as opposed to cash. The Assessor’s
office deal mostly with cash and might take in 2 or 3 thousand dollars a year.
It is a wide open area and there are a number of people there. The Public
Works inventory is a good point and she will talk to Dana but feels that it
would be very hard to walk away with an armload of inventory with personnel
around and the employee parking the way it is. Referring to the cash
receipts, Cyr admitted that people tend to lag behind now and then. Most of
these areas such as the Clerks office and Bass Park have heavy duty safes
and the money is locked up. If the department is short staffed then cashing
up might not be a priority. The WIC program has had a lot of transition over
the last couple of years and has gone through 3 Program Managers. The
Schools are trying to get the School Activity Funds fully under control, but
have made huge strides. It is now on the School Department’s accounting
system. Arbitrage Calculations need to be done. We are now spending our
bond money within a 24 month period, which is required. Regarding
inventory, the City will probably have extra staff from the office next year and
walking around to ensure that the inventory counts are accurate before the
Auditors come.
Nealley requested that in the future a meeting be held to look at the
Enterprise Fund Deficit at Bass Park regarding the most accurate burn rate.
He suggests that maybe looking at closing the facility during down months.
Blanchette asked what the cost would be for the Public Works inventory of
our electrical equipment be if an inventory company took it over. This would
remove it from personal involvement. Cyr said that the City has never looked
into this and feels that because it can use city resources the City would not
want to spend the money. Wheeler requested a tabulation of how much the
City has had to transfer to the Bass Park operations in the past 25 years. Cyr
responded by saying that many years ago the City forgave the amount owed
at that particular time. Barrett said staff will do the best that they can to look
into this.
Stone asked the Auditors to compare the per capita debt for the City of
Bangor to other municipalities. He stated that it was 10% less than it was in
2003 and 50% more than it was in 2002 per capita. He asked which ones
jumped out at them. Roger responded by stating that he thought Bangor
looked favorable. Bonding agencies would say $2,500 to $3,000 or less. The
City of Bangor is at $1,941 which is non-self supporting. The Tax collection
rate is a great indicator of what is happening in the economy. States are
cutting back on state revenue, excise taxes are down, and state subsidies for
schools are down. Roger feels because there is an adequate mix of business
and personal property and real estate taxes the 7½% rule worked great but
now given what is going on, these needs to be looked at. Responding to
Stone’s question, Roger said he did not see any troubling trends. He said
that the City’s excise tax is slowing down but so is the rest of the State. The
City’s subsidies got hit but not as much as other communities. Barrett
brought up the Undesignated Fund Balance because that is something the
City always struggles with. He said he would like the 7½% moved to 10%.
The Charter says no less then 5% and no more than 10%. It would allow the
City to have more cushion for down times. Responding to Nealley, Roger said
that Bangor is unusual in that it has several Enterprise Funds and Special
Revenue Funds and has a lot of Departments outside the City that collect
revenue. Barrett said the City tends to have a tight budget on the expense
side. He said that with a $43M City Budget before transfers the City was
under budget by $35,000.
Roger pointed out that there where two other areas he recommends the
committee to read; the Transmittal Letter and the Management Discussion
and Analysis. Cyr said that when looking at the City’s General Fund broken
out between revenue and expenses, it is very clear. Taxes are 52% of the
revenue that the City generates, 48% of the City’s revenue comes from other
things. 31% is intergovernmental, which is state aid education and general
assistance reimbursement and revenue sharing. On the expenditure side a
51% of the resources that the City generates is dedicated to education.
Bronson thanked the Auditor and said that it was a good looking report.
5. Request to Execute an Agreement with Other Municipalities –
Bangor Gas Abatement Request
Birch stated that the reason for this meeting was to brief the committee on
an upcoming appeal with Bangor Gas. Bangor Gas filed similar abatement
requests with 7 communities in the Bangor area. The assessors met as a
group and the recommendation was to formulate an appeal and go together
to solicit site profession and legal fees and appraisals. He provided a memo
th
dated Jan 28 outlining that. At the bottom of the memo there is a proration
of a scale based on the original cost of equipment filed by Bangor Gas for
each community. He feels that this is the best formula that would benefit
taxpayers in Bangor. Norm Heitmann and Barrett have discussed this legal
situation as well. Barrett pointed out that this is the first step and simply
authorizes the local agreement between the various communities. This may
be a relatively expensive undertaking. Based on some similar cases such as
in Brewer, the legal fees were $59,080.82 and that was just through the
appeals process to the State Board of Property tax review. They were
satisfied with the results and decided not to go through the court system.
Not knowing the full merits of what Bangor Gas has in mind, those legal fees
could be significantly higher as a group. Bangor’s portion would be about
nd
45%. Birch then stated that the 2 year and each year forward would have
been $132,000 in tax dollars. Nealley noted the split that Birch is referring to
with other communities made sense to him and looked like an equitable way
to move forward in conjunction with the other communities. He moved staff
recommendation on this issue. Birch said that all communities have agreed
and are approaching their municipal officers. Barrett stated that this falls
into some of the Council’s priorities in that this openness to a regional
initiative.
6. Executive Session 36 MRSA Section 841 (2) – Hardship
Abatement
7. Open Session – Hardship Abatement Decision
Staff Recommendation
Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.