HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-01-23 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE
�� January 23, 2002
Minutes
Councilors Attending: Tremble, Palmer, Farnham, Farrington, Nealley
Staff Attending: Barrett, Cyr, Pellegrino, Dawes, Little, Smith, Birch,
Martzial, Farrar, Daniels, Heitmann
1. Consent Agenda
A motion was made and seconded to approve all items on the Consent
Agenda.
- a. Council Order 02-70, Making an Appropriation for a Snowblower From
the Pooled Equipment Reserve
b. Quitclaim Deed — 27 Hudson Rd — Burns
c. Quitclaim Deed — 239 Fourteenth St— Ireland
2. Bids/Purchasing - �
a. Hot Patch/Reclaim Unit— Public Works — H.P. Fairfield Inc - $26,355
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� The Committee recommended approval to purchase the unit from H.P.
Fairfield, Inc., the low responsive bidder. The new equipment will
allow for hot patching in the winter months. Once this equipment is in
operation, staff will consider sale of the current unit and reinvest the
proceeds in a second Reclaim unit.
b. Office Supply Contract— City Wide — Corporate Express
Committee voted to table the item at the recommendation of the
Purchasing Agent.
c. Consideration of Fixed Price Contract for Fuel Oil and Gasoline for FY03
The Committee recommended to the full City Council passage of an
Order authorizing the City Manager to enter into a fixed price contract
for fuel oil, diesel and gasoline for FY03. The Purchasing Agent will
contact potential suppliers to seek the most advantageous
arrangements for the supply contract. At the full Council review,
Councilor Palmer asked for comparative information on savings over
the past few years in this area with Maine DOT, University of Maine,
,� for example. Palmer asked Dawes about fuel efficiency with the City
�• vehicle use, and Dawes said extremely well. He is also exploring
alternative fuel uses which could cut back on diesel fuel and will be
coming to the Committee in the near future. He stressed that quality
in fuel/diesel products is a major consideration.
d. Follow-up for Emergency Purchase — Snowblower Engine — Motor Pool - $6,000
Dawes reported back the results of this emergency purchase. This item will be
traded in upon receipt of the equipment approved under the Consent Agenda.
Palmer asked how Dawes located the equipment and Dawes indicated it was
through a used parts dealer in town.
3. Taxpayer's Request
Dave Little explained that the City has a taxpayer who is requesting that
the City take possession of her mobile home, as she has found what she
feels is affordable long-term housing. The City technically owns the home
due to matured tax liens. In addition, there are two Community
Development Loans outstanding. The Committee recommended that stafF
prepare a Council Order that would authorize the City to accept title to a
mobilehome located in a mobilehome park on Essex Street. Jacqueline
Overlock, the property owner, currently owes the City approximately
'� $10,700 and $1,200 in loans and taxes respectively. Ms. Overlock, in
� spite of her best efforts, has not been able to keep current on the taxes
and has decided to move from the mobilehome into housing which is
more affordable for her. Rather than simply abandon the mobilehome,
Ms. Overlock has offered to convey it to the City to ofFset the outstanding
indebtedness involved. The City's intention would be to quickly sell this
property to recover as much of the amounts owed to us as possible.
4. Request for Funding — United Way
Nancy Roberts of United Way of Eastern Maine presented their request of
$18,966 to fund the costs to run the FY 03 Camp Bangor program.
Additionally, The United Way of Eastern Maine has requested that the City
once again co-sponsor this program for FY02. The camp fair is designed
to ofFer children in the Bangor School System who are eligible for the
Libra Foundation Summer Camp Program the opportunity to gain
information about eligible camp programs. The t-shirts are a means of
publicizing the program among Bangor's children as well as a way to
identify individuals from their hometowns when they go away to camp.
The request for reduced Bass Park rent and to sponsor t-shirts was
. recommended for approval by the Finance Committee under the City's
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Bass Park Rate and Funding for Non-Profit Organizations Policies, and
staff was directed to prepare the necessary Council Order to make these
� � funds available. The Order will transfer up to $7,600 from the Contingency
Account for the purpose of co-sponsoring the annual Camp Bangor Camp
Fair and T-Shirts.
Additionally, United Way requested that the City consider picking up an
additional portion of the program's administrative costs for the coming
budget year. The Committee recommended that that request be reviewed
as a part of the annual budget process.
5. Assessing Update
The City Assessing staff updated the Council on the following:
a. Assessing Department's Work Plan 2002
b. Proposed State Valuation
c. Personal Properly Declaration General Instruction Letters
d. Personal Property Declaration Forms
e. Ratio Studies for Proposed Adjustments for Next Year
f. Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement Program
g. Downtown Valuation Project Update
� 6. Resolution Approving the Details of the Series A Bonds
The Finance Committee approved the details of the City's Series A Bond Issue. This
Resolution applies to the $11,025,000 of General Obligation Bonds issued by the
City on January 15, 2002.
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