Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-11-19 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING � MINUTES � NOVEMBER 19, 2001 � Councilors Attending: Gerry Palmer, Nichi Farnham, Frank Farrington, David Nealley, Michael Crowley and Joseph Baldacci , Staff Attending: Edward Barrett, Dave Pellegrino, Brian Enman, Rebecca ' Hupp, Keefe Cyr, Bob Dawes, David Little, and Debbie Cyr Others Attending: James & Kimberly Dickson � The meeting convened at 4:30 p.m. � 1. ConsentAgenda � a. Quitclaim Deed -- Jordan -- Lot 257 Cedar Falis Trailer Park b. Quitclaim Deed -- Sherwood -- 31 C Street Birch Hill Estates � The Committee approved the consent agenda as presented. ' 2. Bids/Purchasing � a. Asbestos Removal -- Community Development -- Portland Diversified Services -- $38,585 � Dave Pellegrino informed the Committee that this item was for the removal of asbestos- containing materials at the Kobritr Building located at 77 Railroad Street to make way � for either the renovation or demolition of that building. Some of the bids were received from companies who did not come and actually look at the building. He stated that Portland Diversified is a well-known asbestos removal company, and it was his , recommendation to go with them as the low responsive bidder at $38,585. The Committee approved staff recommendation. b. Bunker Sand -- Golf Course -- Atlantic Silicia, Inc. -- $9,500 � Brian Enman informed the Committee that they are trying to upgrade the bunker sand � at the Golf Course. Staff recommended going with the second lowest bidder, Atlantic Silicia, because it is blended specifically for bunkers in golf courses. It is very fine and � white in color and pleasing to the eye. The fine particles allow for good water filtration, and feedback from other courses around the State has been good on this particular sand. The other low bidder uses a darker sand which would be a significant downgrade � from what Bangor Muni currently has. Dave Pellegrino added that this is a 3-year � � � project, and the City will be buying approximately 250 tons of sand with the first � shipment being in the Spring. In addition to the sand, there are other costs associated with replacing the sand in the bunkers because there's additional work that has to be done. Councilor Farnham asked what would be done with the old sand, and Brian , responded that the good sand will be skimmed off the top and used as top dressing elsewhere. The Committee approved staff recommendation. � c. Floor Drain Separation -- Airport -- Lou Silver, Inc. -- $28, 180 Dave Pellegrino told the Committee that this project is to install a floor drain separation , unit and to put the piping from that unit to a sanitary sewer. The original cost estimate was around $40,000. The Engineering firm found an alternate route where they would � not have to dig up some 19 inches of concrete with a lot of rebar in it, and found a sanitary sewer behind the building which would avoid cutting a lot of concrete. The total cost is now less than anticipated. Mr. Pellegrino stated that there were two very � close bids between Silver and Thibodeau resulting in a difference of $320, and a third bid from Hughes Brothers. Staff recommends Lou Silver because he has done similar work in the past for the City and has done a very good job. Councilor Farrington asked � what the City's policy was on a close-bid situation because he noted that one bidder is from Bangor and the other is not. Mr. Pellegrino responded that the policy says when the bids are the same, and these are not the same, generally we would go with the 1 local bidder. Although Thibodeau is a Bangor taxpayer most of his operations are in Winterport. Dave said he felt the integrity of the bid process was a little more important than supporting a local taxpayer in this case. They both do good work and , are good competitors, but he doesn't want to lose Silver as a bidder because he is very competitive and has saved the City many thousands of dollars over the years by being , , competitive. Finally, Dave said that he wouldn't be uncomfortable giving the bid to Thibodeau but his recommendation is with Silver. Point of interest made by Dave, both Thibodeau and Silver bid on the project to take down the steam plant and fill the � parking garage. Thibodeau came in very low on the demolition of the building, but Silver's bid was better on the construction of the parking lot that went in place of that. , In response to Councilor Farrington's question, Councilor Palmer asked Dave Pellegrino to provide Councilors Nealley, Allen and Farrington with some orientation materials. � The Committee approved staff recommendation. � d. Passenger Van -- Airport -- Varney GMC -- $20,394 Dave Pellegrino informed the Committee that this is a passenger van for the General � Aviation Division of the Airport. A 1996 Dodge Van is being traded in for $3,500. Three bids were received, two of which were within $101 of each other. They were both Bangor taxpayers. He stated that he did have a lengthy conversation with 1 someone from Quirk because neither van was exactly 100% what the bid asked for. The color of the running board wasn't right on one and the other did not have a block heater for the engine. Other than that, the bids were identical. Mr. Pellegrino � recommends the low bidder, Varney GMC. Councilor Palmer asked about the color of the running board and Dave responded that the running board required to be installed 2 , on the van was after market and it was black instead of maroon which is the color of � the rest of the van. The bid specifically stated "cofor coordinated running board." , Councilor Farnham asked how the van was used, as the Committee had approved a 15- passenger van for the Airport at its last meeting. Rebecca Hupp answered that the van previously approved belongs to the Passenger Service Division to deal with international , flights and transport crew on the larger flights. This van for the General Aviation Division is a smaller van used to go back and forth for the corporate aircraft that are transiting. Rebecca added that the other passenger van was purchased from Quirk. � The Committee approved staff recommendation. e. Request to Purchase a JWC Channel Monster Grinder as Sole , Source -- WWTP Keefe Cyr from the Wastewater Treatment Plant explained to the Committee that this � particular item is used to grind the larger debris that comes in with the influent of the Plant. Currently, there are climber screens that are subject to submersion which will � eventually ruins the motors. There is no way to stop this at this time because the butterfly valve, which stops the water coming into the plant, can't be closed fast , enough to prevent these from going under. This piece of equipment, because it has a � hydraulic drive, tends to wander. There are also two smaller versions in the plant that JWC helps them maintain. JWC's service is very good, and staff is able to return the grinder to 7WC for replacement. They do all the labor and only charge for parts and � freight. They also have an option where they will send a totally new unit and the old one is sent back and used for parts depending on the need we have and the urgency � with which we have to replace the grinder. Mr. Cyr went on to explain that this is an important piece of equipment because if these channels are blocked in any way, a way has to be found immediately to unblock one of the channels and especially during wet ' weather. Mr. Cyr told the Committee that JWC has been found to be very dependable in both � service and the quality of their material which are the reasons for staff recommendation. This item is in the budget. Councilor Farnham invited those present to visit the Treatment Plant. She said by doing � this when items come before any of the Council Committees from the Plant it is much easier to understand the requests. Councilor Crowley also added that there are � videotapes in the Planning o�ce of most of the sewer system within the City that has been recorded, and there are some older sections of the City where the original sewers � built in the 19th Century are as well or better preserved that some of those built in the 20"' Century. The Committee approved staff recommendation. � ' � 3 ' � f. Update on Police Cruiser -- Motor Pool (To be provided at meeting) , Bob Dawes appeared before the Committee. The purpose of the update is on the cruiser that was lost in an accident when an officer responding to an emergency call hit � a telephone pole. The car, a Ford Crown Victoria, was totaled, but the officer was not badly injured. Mr. Dawes indicated he negotiated with the insurance company which resulted in the purchase of a new cruiser at the price of $20,995 with the insurance ' company paying $20,844. The car had 33,000 miles on it and had only been in use for a year. Fortunately, the way the City buys its cars with a municipal discount we get a tremendous discount from the manufacturers. � Mr. Dawes told the Committee that he has asked Charlie Mitchell to insure all of the � DepartmenYs patrol division cars as long as they are in the patrol division. Normally, at the end of two years they are taken off fuil coverage and just carry liability. He feels that as long as the cars are in the patrol division they need to be covered fully so that � we can get a little replacement value. Ed Barrett added that the Committee's ratification is needed to purchase the vehicle for � $20,995 from Augusta Ford. Normally, there is a six to nine-month waiting period for new vehicles but this was on the lot and available which is why we bought this one. Bob Dawes said that the car is already in use in the Patrol Division. The Committee � ratified the purchase of the vehicle. 3. Write Off of Personal Property Account � Staff is recommending that $178.10 in personal property taxes assessed to � ANAPE Properties be written off. The business closed and declared bank- ruptcy in 1998. However, it was assessed through 2000. The amount recommended to be written off is comprised of the 1999 and 2000 � assessments. David Little told the Committee that he was notified by the current owner of the � property that the business had closed in 1998 because it had declared bankruptcy. They have not been assessed since 2000 so the Assessing Department is aware of that, but there are 1999 and 2000 taxes that are outstanding on the books. The total due is � $178.10, and this would fall into the category of personal properly that we are unable to collect. Staff recommends that the taxes be written off as uncollectible. The � Committee approved staff recommendation. 4. Taxpayer Request to Waive Interest and Lien Fees f The Dicksons of 23 LaSalle Drive have requested that the Committee consider waiving all interest and lien fees associated with their past � due real estate taxes. The account consists of 1999, 2000 and 2001 taxes. The Dicksons' contention is that as they were unaware of the outstanding taxes, all interest and lien fees should be waived. Staff's ' recommendation is that no interest or lien fees be waived, which is consistent with our established policy and practices. 4 � James and Kimberly Dickson of 23 LaSalle Drive introduced themselves to the , Committee. David Little opened by saying that a review of their account indicated that , some of the payments had arrived after the due date, so additional interest did accrue. In addition, their account went to lien a few years ago and payments made since then have been applied toward the back taxes. He said that the Dicksons' issue was that , they did not know the account went to lien and were unaware that there were any outstanding taxes due. David said that he reviewed the records in his office. As required by law, demand � notices are sent 30 days before properties are liened. That notice was sent to the last � known address for the Dicksons which was 20 Montgomery Street, which he believes is Mrs. Dickson's mother's property. The 1999 and 2000 demand letters were returned to the City as "Attempted Not Known" by the Post Office, but the 2001 demand letter was � � received after which they came in to talk to him. Because the Dicksons were unaware and they say they didn't receive the notices they feel the City should waive some of the interest. David stated that it was his recommendation as Tax Collector for the Ciry not � to do that. His office did follow State law and the guidelines for tax lien procedures by attempting to notify them at their last known address. He said that when those came back his office was under no further obligation because the burden is on the taxpayer � to know what the taxes are, when they're due and that they've paid them in full. Councilor Palmer thanked David for his comments and asked to hear from the Dicksons. � Mrs. Dickson said that basically it was just an honest oversight on her part because she pays the monthly bills. It also fell at a time when she was preoccupied with a sudden ' death in the family, and she never thought of it even a month or two later. She went on to say that it was their error to not have the real estate tax bill changed from her � parents' address to where they purchased the house, and they had never had any problem getting other correspondence. She is in contact with her mother now on a daily basis. She concluded by saying that their issue is paying a large amount of � interest on something that they didn't even know they owed. David added that because three years are involved the interest and lien fees have � accumulated to approximately $482.00. In talking with Mrs. Dickson he got the impression it was more of a postal issue as opposed to a City issue in that they had received most of the mail and there were never any problems before, just that it � seemed kind of strange why these two notices sent by certified mail to the address were sent back to the City as "Attempted Unknown." In fact, there was a question in � the Dicksons' mind whether or not the Post Office actually attempted delivery because if they weren't familiar with their name it would have been delivered to the address. Councilor Nealley asked if any follow up is made after something like this happens two � years in a row and the notices come back "Undeliverable", and David responded that for the most part he doesn't have the staff to do that rype of follow up. He said the burden lies with the taxpayer, not with the City, to notify us of their correct address. � The notices are sent certified mail. If they come back with a new address, they are mailed out again with that address and their records are updated. However, it is not ' standard procedure to fotlow up on each one. 5 � i 1 Ed Barrett referred the Committee to David's prepared memorandum in the agenda packet. Normal practice when a payment is made is to indicate on the receipt that there is an amount outstanding. David added that if a payment is mailed in, the receipt ' is mailed back to the address, most likely Montgomery Street in this case. However, his office does not keep copies of receipts and he has no information whether those receipts were sent back by the Post Office as "Attempted/Unknown." He has no � indication that the receipts were not mailed. Councilor Nealley asked if the liens were on the Dicksons' other primary residence, and ' David responded yes, the liens were on the LaSalle Drive property. Nealley then asked why there wasn't any follow up to that property, and David responded that there are a , lot of taxpayers whose mailing address is not the property address in Bangor. He said we're required to send them to the last known address of the owner, which is the mailing address and not necessarily the properry itself. , Councilor Allen asked how the City determined the address and why we don't use voter registration or other information available to the City. David answered that it is � whatever address they give to the Assessing Department when they come in and say they've purchased a properry and where they want ail their information mailed. There are also a significant number of taxpayers whose bills and notices get mailed outside of � Bangor because they just own property in Bangor, but iYs not their residence, e.�c., apartment buildings. There may be a case where a multiple owner of say five properties, all bills are sent to one address, and there may be another case where a , � taxpayer with five properties want the bills sent to each one of those addresses. It would be very difficult to have a common system where we know what they want us to , do unless they come in and tell us. Councilor Palmer asked David if he could allocate the interest for 1999, 2000 and 2001. � David said he could but because of their policy to apply payments to the older taxes first iYs sort of a rolling scale which causes the $482.00. He would have to determine how to reallocate those payments to which particular years. He said he can attempt to � do that if that is the Committee's wish. Councilor Nealley asked how common this type of issue is, and David said he has seen � this quite a few times and he has been to the Committee before with these types of items. � Ed Barrett, for the benefit of the new Councilors, stated that under State law there is no obligation that the City even provide the taxpayer with a tax bill. And the City is under no obligation to inform that taxpayer what their tax bill is. We obviously do that, we � send tax bills and notices and most recently we have instituted a new system of sending out overdue notices on a periodic basis. There are cases where people have � moved and not informed us of their new addresses; and there are cases where people will not accept mail from the Ciry of Bangor and it will come back "denied" or "unclaimed." So it is a problem that comes up from time to time. With the new system ' we may be able to pick up some address changes, but it still depends on the City's ability to know where the taxpayer is. And there is not sufficient staff to research all of 6 � , the items that come back with a bad address. David Little added that it's not unusual when notices are sent out to get back several hundred that are either unclaimed or � returned with a bad address. In addition, there are another 50 to 100 that come back with a forwarding address that need to be remailed. Most of them are '�unclaimed" but at least half of them are returned by the Post O�ce as "unknown" or "forwarding order � expired" and we have no way of finding them. Councilor Nealley then asked how much is allowed to run in arrears before follow up is � done, and Debbie Cyr replied that we don't know that that's their primary residence. Unless staff goes back and pulls the Assessing record there is no way to tell that the property at 23 LaSalle Drive is the primary residence of the taxpayer. We can go back , hopefully to a homestead exemption and pick it up that way. Tax liens, under the law, take precedence over anything. So once we have one tax lien either the mortgage � holder or the taxpayer is going to come through because otherwise the title passes to the City upon our taking of it. With 15 to 17 thousand real estate accounts and 3,500 personal property taxes something like this is not unusual. There are other taxpayers ' who go two, three and four years and then come in and make payment and iYs not uncommon to have multiple tax liens on a properly. Councilor Nealley said his questions have been in part due to the fact he is unfamiliar � with the tax lien process, and that he has known Kim Dickson and her family for years and know them to be people with integrity. David Little said his office does not take � the position that any taxpayers are not paying their taxes on purpose or are just avoiding paying the tax. It's just that because of the number of accounts they have, � someone having two years of outstanding taxes or even two tax liens is not a flag for them to track down. He added that there are probably several hundred accounts that have two years of outstanding taxes. When they get into five, six and seven years ' those are the ones that are looked at. With the new tax system and the reminder notices we're hoping to avoid the ones that get into the five or six years of outstanding taxes. This new tax system has features that the old system didn't, and he feels his � staff will be in a much better position to try to avoid these types of problems in the future. Councilor Farrington asked if the taxes are paid now, and David responded that they � are paid up through the first half of the current year which he allowed them to do, because these were in dispute, until the Committee made a decision. So currently what � is due is the balance for 2001 which is $482.00 plus whaYs due next March. The 1999s and the 2000s are paid because as they were attempting to pay the current taxes the ' payments were applied to the older accounts. Everything is paid up to date except for the $482.00 which represents the interest and lien fees that accumulated on the account in 1999 and 2000. It is all sitting as a balance in the 2001 taxes because of � how the payments were applied. And this balance, if not paid, will also be liened. In a final comment, Debbie said they get a lot of requests from taxpayers to write off � interest or lien fees and David's position is no because that is not our policy. These come forward to the Finance Committee probably once a month or average out to once every two months, and normally unless, there are some extenuating circumstances, we ' maintain our position that we will not waive interest and fees. If you start waiving 7 , � interest and fees for Person A, then Person B asks why not for them, or Person C walks � through the door and had to pay their interest and fees. Councilor Palmer asked for further discussion. Councilor Farnham made a motion, in � keeping with the statement that iYs the taxpayer's responsibility to know when their taxes are due and to pay them on time whether or not the mail comes through, to support staff's recommendation. Her motion was seconded by Councilor Farrington for � the reason that there were no e�raordinary circumstances. Kim Dickson requested, from a taxpayer's point of view, that the system be re- � evaluated to let taxpayers know that they have missed a payment because all of the real estate tax bills that came subsequent to this did not indicate a balance due. � Debbie Cyr responded that we have recently converted to new software which will allow us to print off a past due reminder letter, and these started going out in May of this year and another one is in the process of going out. Under the old system, the tax bill 1 could not be printed with a past due balance because it is based on what your property is assessed as of April 1� of this year and it's a straight calculation. It doesn't pull from the tax records. Now we have instituted a past due notification system so that we can ' catch situations like the Dicksons because there are a number of them. Mr. Dickson informed the Committee that the first time he became aware that there � was a lien on the properry was when he used a credit card that he uses when he travels with his job, and he had to look into this account to make sure that everything was okay with the Credit Bureau. There was no notification that came to the house or , came to Kim's mother's residence that they were ever aware of that notified them that they were under lien, also including at that time that he was a City employee. In , response to this, David informed the Committee that the City does not report the existence of tax liens to Credit Bureaus. The Credit Bureaus do their own research at the Registry. � The Committee accepted staff's recommendation. � The meeting adjourned. � � � , ' 8 �