Meeting of 2002-5-23 SPECIAL MEETING

Baker distributed the following: notes of possible actions from the last meeting; information on cost of living increases given during the last five years for each employee group, to include possible step increases in the pay plan; capital outlay information showing $82,000 for computers, $50,000 of which is for the main frame lease, $425,000 for other equipment and $811,000 for wheeled equipment; summaries and departmental information concerning a possible 10% overall budget reduction. Baxter asked why Baker did not use that 10% cut to balance the budget. Baker responded that he took many things away during that review, and those were noted on the information provided, but that it would be irresponsible to take away everything due to the level of service needed in the community.

Jeff Welch, Acting Director, said there was a need for training for employees in this department, as well as being able to get fresh ideas by networking and attending conferences with others in this profession. The cost for items such as educational reimbursement, drug screening, safety incentives and hepatitis vaccinations cannot be controlled by the department as they are dependent on other factors. He requested the part-time clerk position not be deleted.

Devine asked about the dues and membership costs. Welch outlined the various associations involved in these costs. Hanna asked about travel and training. Welch said it provides for training for employees city-wide and for reimbursement of college courses for employees. Baker noted that only $400 of this amount was actually for this department, and a lot of it is for tuition assistance. Hanna asked if that was the case in the budget for any other department on travel and training and Baker said no. Ewing-Holmstrom asked how many of the seminars at Vo Tech are a benefit to staff. Welch said most of the courses they set up are through Vo Tech and they are helpful to all departments in computer training, management skills and so forth. Haywood asked when Welch had last attended a safety conference and response was four years ago when he was in the City Attorney's Office and that they are helpful. Baker noted he had already reduced this account substantially from the department's original request.

Welch said the part time clerical position supports the Safety & Risk Officer, takes minutes and assists with three boards, sends notices for employee training and maintains records of that training, assists with two safety incentive programs, enters vehicle and injury data into the data bases and submits reports to other agencies as required by law, and fills in at the front desk as needed and during lunch. The office remains open during lunch to assist employees who can only come by during that time or others who are interested in applying for positions.

Baker said this is the re-organization Council previously approved to combine Planning, Building Development, Community Development and Housing, Neighborhood Services and Animal Welfare, and recruiting is on-going for a new director. He said he recently sent another recommendation to delete the position of Building Development Director. Baker said he thought the re-organization was important and that he had received some expressions of concern by some Council members that it would cost more and we would have a $70,000 director supervising three $65,000 directors and we could not afford to do that, so he looked at it again and recommended eliminating the Building Development Director position and when we hire the new director, he would immediately and directly supervise the Building Development function, in addition to the other activities in the department.

Devine asked if we were accomplishing anything or just swapping dollars. Baker said he thought we were accomplishing something and the reason for his recommendation was he has been looking at this whole process for several years, and one of the things Council asked him to look at three and a half years ago was the building development process, and Council approved this recommendation previously but he had no success in recruiting so we backed up but he had asked to do it again, and there should be definite advantages by combining these activities. Baker said the biggest advantage was that it would provide better, more efficient service to our customers, which are primarily contractors, builders, developers, or people coming in to get permits, and it should make the efficiency of those activities improve and their working relationship and coordination between activities. Baker said he thought it was important and it was a way to solve some problems that we've seen over a period of years and it was a good move; if Council does not want to do it, it will not bother him at all, we do not have to do it, but it is an attempt to try to make things better, and it will not cost any more if we proceed as recommended.

Shanklin asked if Baker thought he could find someone for $50,000 to do this. Baker said not for $50,000, and it should be around $60,000. Devine asked what kind of salaries those underneath are drawing. Baker said they are up around $65,000. Devine asked how many of them are eligible for retirement, how many have 20 years or plus longevity. Baker said he thought just one was eligible for a full retirement and the other individual he thought was eligible for a retirement due to his age and the other individual is not eligible for any retirement yet.

Devine said he and Baker discussed this some time back and asked if Baker had thought any further about some of these people that are at $60,000 plus that are eligible for retirement or close enough that we could waive the penalties and let them go ahead and retire, because you are looking at a $60,000 employee, if he retires, that saves three of the $20,000 employees that will be cut in this budget. Baker said if they retire and fill the position with someone else, the pay may not be as high because they would not have as much seniority and would not be in as high of a pay grade, and if you fill the position, you will not save that much money.

Devine said if you are going to hire a Community Services Director who will be over these five department heads, they do not need to be top paid people, they could be assistants to him and then instead of being a $65,000 employee, they could be a $40,000 or $50,000 employee. Baker said not all of these are $60,000 employees, first of all, the Neighborhood Services person, Angie Alltizer, the Animal Welfare, Rose Wilson, is certainly not anywhere near $60,000, and he was recommending deleting one of the department level that is in that range, and that would leave two that are probably in that range. Devine asked what about Planning, for an example, what is that salary. Baker said he would have to look. Devine said he was not trying to cut anybody off, but if we are going to try to balance this budget and bring this City within its dollars, we will have to start working at the top and work down instead of at the bottom working up because you have people who have plenty of time and grade in that should be capable of doing those jobs if they have one director over all of them that can fill those jobs, these people, some of them have been there long enough, if we not penalize them for retiring early, and he had talked to Baker about it and giving them the option to take an early retirement without any penalties, then you are going to take some of these big dollars off the top and leave a little more room on the bottom for these people who will be cut, and he could see we are starting at the bottom cutting people. Mayor Powell said that is not the case here. Devine said it would be before we get through. Mayor Powell said but it is not. Baker said there would only be one person that could possibly fit into that, if you decide to let someone retire without penalty, and there may not even be one.

Shanklin asked what is the penalty. Baker said the penalty, as an example, for a full retirement you have to work 30 years or be age 65; if you retired with 28 years, you get a 5% penalty per year, so you would be penalized 10%. Baker said we went to the pension board a few years ago and asked them to look at the possibility of waiving that penalty for anyone who had 25 years plus, which might give some incentive for someone to afford to retire without that penalty but the pension board said it would hurt the plan too much from an actuarial standpoint and recommended it not be done, and we have not gone back to them. Baker said for the Community Services organization, you really do not have anyone who would be affected by that; you have one gentleman that has right at 30 years now, so he is eligible for a full retirement, you have another gentleman in Community Development that is not eligible and would not be eligible even for an early retirement, he is recommending deletion of the one and then you have Rose Wilson and Angie Alltizer that are not anywhere close to retirement, so that would not really help for this particular department.

Shanklin asked what full retirement would be. Baker said full retirement is based upon the number of years of service, as an example, if you have 30 years, and then each year is worth 2.3% so that would be 69%, and then you take the highest 36 months of earnings and get an average, and multiply that number by 69%, so that would be a 30 year retirement. Baker said if you retire with 27 years, you use that same formula but reduce it by 15%, or five percent for each year that is early.

Shanklin asked how many people retire at 28 or 29 years. Baker said he did not think so. Shanklin said the taxpayers contribute to this. Baker said the City puts in 6% and the employee puts in 4%. Vincent said he thought Shanklin made a math mistake because 30 years does not equate to 90%; it is 69%, it is still a chunk of money but it is not quite as high as he was saying.

Shanklin said Council does not know what positions are paid given the wide range from the beginning to the top step of the pay plan, and they did not need names but needed to know what was being paid. Baxter said page 55 shows the Community Services Director range of $2,241 to $3,167; when you compare that to the $60,545, that should read $2,329. Shanklin said the person could be right at the bottom or $100 from the top. Baxter said this one is close to the bottom of the range. Shanklin asked if they could hire someone for that salary to do all these things and Baker said we may not be able to.

Bob Bigham said there was a recommendation to delete one vacant position in response to the 10% budget reduction. A large amount of this budget is reimbursed by grant funding, $249,000 through the federal transportation program, and we are unable to earn as much grant money by deleting this position. The director, special projects planner and support personnel are left to accomplish the rest of the work because the other staff work on transportation items to earn the grant funds. Bigham said two people are left to be able to work on historical preservation ordinances, the Mayor's Task Force requirements, grant work with Project Impact where no staff were added although there is a contract with Howard Kuchta for assistance but it still takes a lot of staff time to do that, and we should have $1.4 million in grants for hazard mitigation projects, and a $115,000 grant from EPA regarding vulnerability of water systems. Projects were added with no staff being added. He said there are really not nine people in Planning doing City of Lawton work; half of them are doing transportation work from grant money.

Bigham said funds were taken from the 211 account and the bulk was for recommended computer software upgrades by MIS so he was not sure how they could accomplish that without funding. In response to questions about deleting the position, Bigham said they had never been able to fill the position, it will not be displacing a person. Baxter asked why the 2002 expenditures estimate goes from $459,000 to $500,000 but we are cutting a person, and even if everyone got a 3% raise, that would still only come to $473,000, so how did it get to $500,000. Deborah Jones said if we lose an employee during the year, we must pay out all retirement and leaves, which affects that account. The Finance Director was asked to verify the personal services accounts on page 58 and show how they happened.

Jones said the figures were provided to the Trust in January when the grant application was approved, and this is the same information. Haywood asked how much we are getting from the state and federal government. Jones said we are applying for $120,000 in PL funds, $25,000 in 5303 funds, and $90,000 in CMAQ funds. Jones said she did not apply for all of the grants that were available because of inadequate manpower to earn the funds. She said transit operating grant is over $1 million from FTA, excluding the construction money. Jones said to receive road construction funding, you must be involved in on-going transportation planning, and that is why it is so important to earn that grant. Bigham said we bring in about $3.6 million in grants.

Dan Tucker said this department has undergone a lot of changes in the last three or four years, the majority of which have been productive. Three years ago, Ed Langford, the Chief Building Official, retired and that position was eliminated and he served as the direct supervisor for the inspectors and clerical staff, so he picked up those duties personally. He said it went well because of the quality of the people holding these positions. Last year, a plumbing inspector was eliminated and they were able to have cross training of a mechanical inspector to back up the other plumbing inspector, and that person needs to receive an advanced step increase for doing that additional work. The Traffic Engineer position is shown in Public Works but it has been performed in Building Development.

Shanklin asked who the Assistant Director of Building Development was. Tucker said when they name the new director, it was going to be him but now that position is being eliminated, and his only comment on the position elimination, and he mentioned this to the manager, is that the division deserves to have adequate supervision and someone needs to be available to discuss problems with contractors or citizens. Tucker suggested one of the inspectors be named to do this and be compensated accordingly.

Baxter said the amounts do not appear to reflect these employees getting a 3% increase. Baker said we have people come and go during the year, so you cannot tell from these totals what the individuals are receiving; people at a higher step may leave and new hires would likely come in at lower steps. Tucker said a mechanical inspector who had been here many years had left during the year and his replacement was hired in at a lower step in the pay plan, and would not receive longevity or sick leave pay due to being recently hired.

Regarding the senior clerical associate in License and Permits, Baker said he had in mind to combine the support staff of Neighborhood Services and License and Permits, which would give three people, they are across the hall from each other and would be in the same department, so he hoped one of those persons could act as a "float" and help in either office as needed. Baxter said the 10% reduction shows $31,370 but that is more than the person would be allowed to be paid according to the pay scale. Baker said they have to include FICA, retirement, and a number of costs other than straight salary. Shanklin asked that exact information be included on salaries.

Discussion was held concerning the $3,000 computer which is needed for maps due to the need to identify eligible areas for receipt of grant funding, the amounts for travel and training due to the need for staff to remain current on all laws and federal regulations regarding these programs, and the lead based paint work and regulations. It was noted that attendance at some seminars is mandated by HUD but Aplin noted he did not feel we would be penalized if we were unable to attend, although we may miss out on some vital knowledge on being able to administer the grants.

Angie Alltizer reviewed the budget request. Parks & Recreation will handle administration of actual mowing of high weeds and grass, so those funds are not included in this activity. Discussion was held on clerical positions being paid the same as code enforcement officers and the work done by each group of employees. Offices at the Comanche County Courthouse are updating computer equipment and hope to be finished by July which will allow on-line records check, as opposed to clerks or inspectors spending a great deal of time at the Courthouse doing so. Inspectors are available between 8 and 9 a.m. and 4 and 5 p.m. to respond to questions.

Alltizer reviewed the items handled by the Health Department, in addition to those required by State law, and said the contract is being further audited to determine what the City was receiving for the $108,000 shown in the budget. It was noted that the contract provides for hepatitis shots for City employees, at the same rate as provided to the general public, and staff will check to determine whether this is included twice, once in Human Resources and once in this contract price.

Jerry Ihler distributed a summary of the divisions and explained how various programs are funded, some through the separate sewer charges and drainage maintenance charges. Engineering is going from 15 to 14 employees, with the loss of the Traffic Engineer which was not hired this year and the function will be handled by the civil engineer in Building Development. The clerical positions at the Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant are being removed; one mechanic at Equipment Maintenance is being removed as a result of solid waste collection going to once a week pickup. Solid Waste is losing ten employees and a foreman due to once a week pickup, and this has been tried before and it is a first step if you want to look long range at moving to fully automated pickup or semi-automated pickup of trash because there will still be the same number of units picked up. The equipment cost for fully automated would be greater but personnel costs would be reduced.

Haywood asked if the employees can be absorbed into the Public Works Department. Ihler said four positions are currently vacant and they are not being filled until a decision is made on the budget; there is a field supervisor position and they have four field supervisors and one will be retiring in November or December so they hope the person can retire a little early or hold the other person over until that slot becomes open. There are openings in the Street Division for Senior Equipment Operators, which are a similar pay level and operation of equipment so that is a possibility for placing employees.

Haywood asked if we would be able to pick up all the trash in Lawton with a once a week pickup. Ihler said yes, currently the Monday/Tuesday pickups are about 65% of the trash and Thursday/Friday is the other 35%, but the same amount of tonnage will have to be picked up. Ihler said in case of holidays, they may have to schedule a Wednesday pickup and pay the employees overtime with the holiday pay because they usually have Wednesdays off and work four ten-hour days per week. Shanklin asked if they would still get Wednesdays off and Ihler said yes.

Ewing-Holmstrom asked if once a week trash pickup had ever come up before. Shanklin said it comes up in every budget. She asked if it had ever been done. Ihler said not that he could recall. Baker said the Council voted to do it but then rescinded it before it was implemented. Ewing-Holmstrom said she had a fear of it because in her neighborhood, each resident usually has two or three bags of trash at the curb when there is trash pickup and she could not imagine what it would do to the neighborhoods, and it is bad enough with the dogs ripping up the garbage bags and there is not an ordinance requiring people to use hard containers, so she thought people could leave their trash on the curb for days before the City picks it up, and there is already a trash problem. Ihler said people are not supposed to put the trash out until 8 p.m. the night before the next day's pick up. Ewing-Holmstrom said there are already issues with trash and litter and saw that as a problem.

Devine said he did a survey with information from Ihler's department and the savings on going to a semi-automated system and once a week pickup was several million dollars over a period of time. He said there should also be fewer workers' comp cases because the employees do not lift anything with the semi-automated system, and one company sent three containers that are being tried out now here and the drivers really like them; the containers hold more trash than a person usually generates in a week and it is almost totally sealed and withstands high winds. Mayor Powell asked how many employees would have to be laid off and Devine said none, it would eventually eliminate jobs but as an employee quits or retires, you would not replace them because it takes about three to five years to go completely through this program. Devine said the containers cost about $40 each and the cost could be applied to the bill for 40 months and when it is paid off, the cost would no longer be assessed and they would belong to the City. Devine said he only puts his out every third pickup at his house and it is still not full then; it will hold a lot but the employees do not have to lift it because of the automated system on the back of the truck. Moeller said she had attended a session on the system and watched it work in another city and it is impressive but felt it should be in a long-range plan with public education provided and ease people into it instead of doing all of it in one day.

Shanklin said Ihler just handed out a chart showing twice a week collection is provided in Broken Arrow and Norman, but one of those is for grass and limbs only and the rest of the cities are once a week. He said Norman's per capita income exceeds Comanche County's considerably, and there will be some people complaining and it will be those who want to put out 40 bags for us to pick up while those on the south side and in Old Town North put out one 20 gallon container a week, and that is not fair. Shanklin said that should be addressed somewhere down the line and the code says we pick up three 20 gallon cans of trash a week twice, that is 120 gallons is all we say we will pick up, and that is abused. Ihler said the crews pick up whatever the residents put out. Shanklin said he did not feel we are obligated to pick up 30 or 40 bags and we have run into as many as 115 at one household, so it is not fair and we need to think about how to address that. He said he could support once a week pickup and those he had talked to could support it, and we should charge extra for having to pick up large numbers of bags of grass and do that only on one day and put it in a separate spot to save landfill space.