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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/27/1987 Council Minutes1 1 1 COUNCIL WAYS AND MEANS MEETING February 27, 1987 The Lino Lakes City Council met in a work session Friday, February 27, 1987 at 3:00 P.M. Mayor Benson and Council Members Marier, Bisel, Bohjanen and Reinert were present. City Administrator, Randy Schumacher, Assistant Administrator, Dan Tesch and Clerk - Treasurer Marilyn Anderson were also present. The purpose of the Council meeting was to meet as a Ways and Means Committee to discuss the results of the Comparable Worth Study, Personnel Evaluations, Reorganization of Accountant and Building Official Positiion and Police Union Contracts. Mr. Schumacher told the Council that the City Assessor, Margie Roisum has submitted her resignation effective March 15, 1987. He explained he is considering several options for this position including looking at the County. Mr. Marier asked if Mrs. Roisum would appear before the Council to answer questions regarding property valuations. Mr. Schumacher said she would but she will not attend the Board of Review. Mrs. Roisum does not feel comfortable with the numbers the County is using for Lino Lakes and feels she cannot be there to defend them. Mr. Schumacher will ask for a special meeting when he has prepared a recommendation on this position. COMPARABLE WORTH STUDY RESULTS The Comparable Worth Study has been completed and the Council has received material showing the results of the study in Lino Lakes. Mr. Schumacher explained the reasons for the study, the objectives and the process as well as the philosophy. Mr. Tesch further explained the point sheet in the Council packet and noted the problem with the employees in the middle range of the point range. These employees scored higher in the point system but receive lower salaries. Mr. Reinert noted that in the system used to assign points to these employees, nothing is mentioned about working hard and getting paid for output. Mr. Marier asked Mr. Tesch for his suggestions regarding this situation. Mr. Tesch said a scale or range could be established and then move the bottom up to a more realistic range. This is an attempt to correct the situation. There was discussion regarding what would happen if nothing was done to attempt to correct the situatiion. Mr. Schumacher explained that right now there is no penalty although this situation could change. Mr. Reinert commented, "What would they do, fire us ". Mr. Marier felt there were areas where the salaries were too high and asked if the state would consider a plan to reduce these salaries and 121 to bring the lower end of the scale into line. Mr. Schumacher said this would satisfy the requirement of preparing a plan but it would be difficult to put into effect. Mr. Bisel asked where this City would find the money to correct the inequity, raise taxes? Mr. Schumacher said the League of Minnesota Cities is lobbying for legislation that would require the legislature to fund the new programs that it mandates. Mayor Benson asked specifically where are the inequities? Mr. Schumacher said, assessor, clerk - treasurer, accounting clerk and building inspector. Mayor Benson asked what would happen if the police department and public works department were taken out of the study since they are union and then work with the remaining positions. Mr. Tesch said there is still a difference in points and this will have to be addressed. The legislature is looking for an initial good faith adjustment but there is nothing in the legislation that says raises must be given each succeeding year. Mr. Marier said he would like to see a range for the point system with the understanding that this was a range of what could happen. Mayor Benson said he would like a response prepared by August lst. indicating that the Council is trying to be fair but also working within the budget and indicating that we have two unions and we would deal with the salaried employees only by putting certain criteria into each step. Mr. Bisel asked what would happen if the City did not respond at all? Mr. Tesch said at this point nothing. Mayor Benson said that this City should explain that we do not agree with the legislature and conduct a poll of other entities to see if there is agreement. Mr. Reinert suggested going slow. Mr. Bisel suggested that we should let the state know we have a problem with this mandate. PERSONNEL EVALUATIONS Mr. Schumacher asked the Council for directions regarding employee evaluation. He explained that last year he had put a lot of time and effort into employee evaluations and felt he was not supported by the Council. He had prepared a compensation schedule several years ago and is still working with this schedule. He asked if the Council wanted this schedule updated. Mr. Marier asked Mr. Schumacher to evaluate each employee and make his recommendation and to give his reasoning. Mr. Bisel said that since Mr. Schumacher knows each employee better than the Council he would have no problem backing him up. It is his responsibility to build a case for the advance of each employee. Mr. Schumacher said if the Council does not agree with his evaluations he would like to know why. REORGANIZATION OF POSITIONS 1 Accountant - Mr. Schumacher expressed his concern regarding the recently hired accountant and said that Mr. Hall appears not be be the person for this position and he explained his reasoning. He has explained the situation to Mr. Hall and has told him that he will not recommend him for the permanent position. Mayor Benson felt Mr. Schumacher should start the process of looking for a new accountant right away. Mr. Schumacher explained that presently this is just a bookkeeping position but if the City continues to grow this position could grow into a finance director position very soon. He explained this position could be filled in one of two ways. The first would be to look at it as a basic bookkeeping position. If this is the case he would recommend hiring some one with a Vo -Tech bookkeeping background. However, if the Council is looking for someone who could fill an expanding position then he would recommend hiring someone such as Joe Huss with an accounting background and a CPA. This person would understand from the beginning that the position will change. Mr. Schumacher recommended going with the second suggestion. Mr. Marier felt it would be difficult to hire someone today with just a promise of a higher class position. There was discussion regarding hiring someone who would assume more than just bookkeeping duties and possibly relieving the clerk - treasurer of some of her accounting duties. This person would be trained by Mr. Schumacher, Mrs. Anderson and the Auditor. Mr. Schumacher asked the Council for direction on this matter and Mr. Bisel said that as long as Mr. Schumachers perceptions about the position is correct he would go along with his recommendations. There was no further discussion. City Planner - Mr. Schumacher explained that in 1986 the City spent approximately $35,000.00 for planning services. Some of this money was reimbursed by contractors or persons requesting the service. This service is fragmented and there is no individual available on a daily basis to handle such matters as when indivduals come to the office looking for someone to give direction or information on where to locate their business or explain options available from the City. He explained the City is losing potential development simply because the inquirer cannot get information when he wants or needs it. Mr. Schumacher has scheduled meetings with three different individuals who are looking at Lino Lakes and will do his best to represent this City. Mr. Schumacher proposed hiring a full time planner to take the zoning responsibilities now handled by Mr. Kluegel as well as other planning and development matters and promoting growth in Lino Lakes. He felt since Lino Lakes is on the verge of major development this would be a major step in promoting planned growth and result in cost savings for the City. Mayor Benson noted that Mr. Schumacher has presented two proposals that would relieve two employees of some of their responsibilites. He asked what will these empoloyees do with their extra time? Mr. 122 Schumacher felt Mr. Kluegel would feel the largest impact but with additional building in the City he would be busier with inspections and plan reviews. However, December, January and February could be slow. Mr. Schumacher recommended sharing Mr. Kluegel's services with another community. Mayor Benson asked for Mr. Schumachers recommendation and Mr. Schumacher recommended someone full time on staff as City Planner and Mr. Kluegel be responsible for building inspections since this is what he originally was hired to do and what he does best. After discussing such items as what experience and background would be required for a planner, the need for a job description, a plan for paying the Building Inspector and putting together a package for these two positions that would include cost of salaries and benefits and where the money would come from, the Council asked Mr. Schumacher to prepare this information for their review. POLICE UNION CONTRACT Mr. Schumachedr told the Council that the Police Contract expired December 31, 1986 and he has been working with the union representative on a new contract. The basic issues are wages, longevity, health and welfare benefits and a sergeant classification. Lonwevity - The union says that some time ago this City agreed to consider the issue of longevity and since police salaries are at the metro average, longevity is now an issue. After further discussion it was decided to look at a system that would reward not just police employees but all City employees for loyalty and good work as well as length of service. Health and Welfare Benefits - Mr. Schumacher said there is some room in this category for negotiation. The council discussed a possible increase of $20.00 for health insurance, no dental insurance, no additional holidays, no increase in uniform allowance and possibly 4% per year salary increase with a two year contract. The Council asked Mr. Schumacher to show the union respresentative where the police officers are in the Comparable Worth Study. The Council meeting adjourned at approximately 5:15 P.M. 1