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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-08-20 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE August 20, 2007 Minutes Councilors: Stone, Hawes, D’Errico, Blanchette, Gratwick Staff: Barrett, Dawes, Cyr, Hathaway, Higgins, Enman, Ring, Little, Comeau Others: Max Higgins Councilor Stone turned the meeting over to Max Higgins, who introduced the commencement of the meeting. Max introduced his dad, Tom Higgins. 1. Consent Agenda As part of the annual budget process, Cyr said that staff reviewed several upcoming capital projects. Item a: approximately $670,000 will be used for vehicle placement policy, and $100,000 is needed to fund the City’s share of the BACTS State road improvement improvements. The bonds are normally issued in late spring/ early summer. The City will go out in the open market for these bonds. Item b: this would be used to continue the Combined Sewer Overflow process. This will complete the Franklin Street project, which is the last large one to be completed. Cyr anticipates going to the Maine Municipal Bond Bank to borrow through the State Revolving Loan fund. The City typically borrows at a 1.8% interest rate over twenty years. There are fees involved but they are not significant in nature. Responding to Gratwick, Cyr said the schedule provided for capital and new program requests includes a list of all capital items and how staff anticipates funding them. The only two items listed this year for anticipated funding were the $670,000 for vehicle replacement and recognizing additional monies were needed for BACTS. She again stressed that it is all part of the Council’s budget process. Barrett said that borrowing is the City’s last alternative. In response to Blanchette, Dawes said the replacement plan for this year includes two police cruisers and four plow trucks, which are replaced on a rotating basis; a front-end loader, which is on a five-year guaranteed buy back. There may also be two unmarked police vehicles. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. a. Resolve 07-265, Authorizing Issuance of $770,122 in General Obligation Bonds b. Resolve 07-266, Authorizing Issuance of $2,000,000 in General Obligation Bonds 2. Bids/Purchasing a. Bi-Directional Amplifiers – Police/Fire – Whitten’s 2-Way Service - $102,392.65 As part of its 2005 Homeland Security grant application, Cyr indicated that the City was awarded $104,000 to install bi-directional amplifiers. Homeland funds are designated for use in improving communications. There are two areas in the City where police and fire are not able to communicate with dispatch. The two sites are Bangor Mall and Eastern Maine Medical Center. The City went out to bid for installation of the amplifiers at these two locations and only one response was received. Higgins said that these two sites are the most critical but that Hollywood Slots is another problematic site. Hollywood Slots intends to install an amplifier on their own. He indicated that is an ordinance being drafted which would require future buildings to have this equipment in place as part of the City’s building standards. He also referred to state legislation to address this issue. Blanchette asked if Whitten’s has experience with this installation. Higgins indicated that he is not certain of their experience but said the system is designed by Motorola and is a fairly straightforward system. In response to Blanchette, Cyr said that part of the contract is that the equipment is properly installed and, if not, that it be corrected. Higgins said the equipment will be tested prior to payment being issued to Whitten’s. Hawes asked if EMMC’s newest structures are a problem. Higgins said that any heavy concrete and steel construction is an issue. The new system will not cover all of EMMC but will cover the areas in which the police department spend a lot of time. Hawes agreed with a proposed ordinance to cover future construction. Stone asked if this could be a requirement for developers. Barrett said a local amendment to the building code would be reviewed. Responding to Stone, Higgins said the big box stores are a problem as well as the new hotels currently being constructed. Barrett indicated that it would be clearly defined and brought back to the Committee for review. With only one responsive bidder, Stone asked how the City insures that it receives the value in terms of costs. Higgins said he had spoken with another vendor in southern Maine and was told that the prices from Whitten’s were fair. Stone asked if the City would audit Whitten’s invoices. The City does not and Barrett did not recommend this course of action. Hawes spoke about the proposed ordinance and asked if it would affect buildings currently in progress. Barrett said generally no but it could be discussed. Gratwick asked about the warranty/maintenance portion of the bid and asked if this is covered by Homeland Security funds. Cyr confirmed that it would be the City’s cost in the future. Barrett said that any new system installed is a future expense to the City. Homeland Security funds never cover future maintenance. As part of the proposed ordinance, Gratwick suggested that this cost covering bi-directional amplification should be passed on to the owner. Barrett agreed. Higgins felt the maintenance/warranty numbers are inflated. A motion was made and seconded to recommend award to Whitten’s 2-way Service. The item will be referred to full Council for final passage. b. Main Street Resurfacing – Engineering – Lane Construction - $206,903.80 Cyr said that this project was identified through the BACTS process. It was funded through the BTIP at the State level. Ring said that the project will be from Union Street to Hammond Street. It does not include sidewalks. It will also work with a BACTS signalization program. Bangor is one of the few communities allowed by the State to design these projects in-house. Blanchette inquired about the timeframe and th Ring said the completion date is October 19. Gratwick asked about the hourly rate listed for a flagger. Barrett said it is not just a salary but benefits, insurance, workers comp and overhead. A motion was and seconded to recommend staff approval to full Council at its next meeting. c. Grooming Deck Mower – Golf Course – Greenway Equipment - $11,820 Cyr said this was approved as part of the FY08 budget process. After completion of the agenda packet, Cyr realized that the low responsive bidder does not meet specifications so staff is recommending Hammond Tractor for the lowest responsive bidder in the amount of $11,825. Responding to Stone, Enman said the current tractor is a hand me down from the Airport and is at least 30 years old. It has been repaired by Motor Pool on occasion with no guarantee of the life of the repairs. The current equipment is a tractor with the mower built into it. It is less expensive to go with the separate tractor and the mower pieces. The mower is needed at this time because of the unreliability of the current unit. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation to purchase the unit from Hammond Tractor. d. Utility Tractor – Golf Course – Greenway Equipment - $22,819 Enman said this is a bit more expensive but feels the energy savings is of benefit. Based on discussion of the item above, a motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. Blanchette confirmed that this item will be purchased from Greenway Equipment. e. Carpet Installation – Code Enforce/Parks & Rec – Complete Flooring - $10,028 Cyr said this item is part of the FY08 budget process. The carpet tiles will be laid over asbestos flooring. Three bids were received and Complete Flooring of Brewer is the low responsive bidder to perform the work at both sites. Gratwick asked if the asbestos problem will be postponed to future Councils. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. 3. Refund of Overpaid Taxes David Little indicated he was informed by the Assessing Department that an error was found on two accounts which resulted in a 100 x 100 ft. lot being added to these properties that does not exist. Both accounts have been paid in full representing an overpayment of $376.30. Because this happened in a prior year, the Assessor cannot issue an abatement so approval is needed to refund the money. Responding to Gratwick, Little said he is not certain how the error occurred. It is either human error or possibly a system error with the computer system used to assess taxes. Barrett said it is a question that should be directly asked of the Assessor. Blanchette said if these individuals owed us this money for over a year the City would charge them interest at 11.5%. In all fairness, it was the City’s error so she wondered if the individuals should be reimbursed with interest. In the annual budget appropriation, Cyr said there is a section that indicates that the City shall pay 0% interest. Barrett said that it was the City’s error but the individuals could have dealt with the error prior to paying the taxes. Under Maine state law, the City isn’t even required to send a tax bill. Little said that if a rate was established for overpayments, it would also pertain to anyone who willing pays toward next year’s taxes. Many individuals pay early. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation. 4. Review of Properties with Matured Tax/Sewer Lien Policy At one of the recent Finance Committee meetings, Cyr said that Blanchette had questioned liens on property. Cyr had supplied a copy of the City’s Policy for the Committee members in their agenda packet. Over time, Barrett said the City has taken properties under the lien process but they were vacant and blighted properties. Barrett said the City always tries to work with the property owner, secondly they are penalized by a high interest rate if they do not pay, and when property is not maintained or the taxpayer refuses to pay, the City uses the tax lien process. Blanchette said she had asked for this information because she annually receives a complaint about municipalities abusing the tax lien procedures. Blanchette asked if in- house hours are kept track of in dealing with tax lien issues. Little said he has recently started a new filing system that will keep track of these types of situations and others that his office deals with on a regular basis. Cyr said that Code Enforcement maintains files as well. Blanchette feels this information needs to be documented. Cyr and Barrett spoke about the hardship abatement policy and process. Gratwick commended the policies in place. Gratwick noted a typo on Page 25, section 3.2.3. referring to code violations. A motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 5:55 pm.