HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packets - 2004/09/07
CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AGENDA
Tuesday, September 7, 2004
7:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Linke, Quick, Marty, Stigney, Gunn
PUBLIC COMMENT
Citizens may speak to issues not on tonight’s agenda. Before speaking, please give your full
name and address for the minutes. Also, please limit your comments to three minutes.
Agenda Items Discussed by Consensus
_______ 1. Alternative Urban Area-wide Review (AUAR) Presentation by Joe Rhein of
BRAA; and Commercial Appraisal of the Bridges Golf Course (verbal
report/presentation)
_______ 2. Marre Jo Sager, Mounds View School Board, would like to speak to the City
Council regarding School Re-purposing.
_______ 3. City Hall Rehabilitation Project Update
_______ 4. Health Retirement Savings Plan
_______ 5. Budget Discussion
_______ 6. Gang Grouping Mailboxes Discussion (Tabled from 8-23-04 Council Mtg)
_______ 7. Citizen Award Proposal
_______ 8. Police Department Participation on the Ramsey County S.E.R.T. Team
_______ 9. Mermaid invoking the 60-day Termination Notice in M.V. Banquet Center
Agreement
_______ 10. Review Building Code Enforcement (Verbal report)
** EXECUTIVE SESSION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE WORK SESSION TO DISCUSS
THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S PERFORMANCE REVIEW. **
Next Council Work Session: Monday, September 20, 2004 (Special)
Next City Council Meeting: Monday, September 13, 2004
Item No. 2
Meeting Date: Tuesday, September 7, 2004
Type of Business: Work Session
City Administrator Review: ______
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Desaree M. Crane, Administrative Assistant
Item Title/Subject: School Re-Purposing
Mare Jo Sager from the Mounds View School Board would like to speak to City Council
regarding School Re-Purposing. Attached is an article from the Shoreview Press dated
Tuesday, August 31, 2004, that gives an overview of what Re-Purposing is all about.
Respectfully submitted,
Desaree Crane
Item No: 03
Meeting Date: September 7, 2004
Type of Business: Work Session
Administrator Review: _____
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor Linke and City Council
From: Greg Lee, Director of Public Works
Item Title/Subject: City Hall Rehabilitation
Staff will present an alternative layout for the proposed City Hall Rehabilitation. (See
attached.)
Staff will discuss the cost -savings of this alternative plan at the Work Session. (At the
time that this staff report was written, Staff was waiting on cost estimates from
S. E. H.)
Respectfully submitted
Item No: 04
Meeting Date: 09/07/04
Type of Business: WS
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Kurt Ulrich, City Administrator
Item Title/Subject: Health Retirement Savings Plan
Background:
On April 12, 2004, the City Council approved a resolution adopting the City’s participation
in a retirement health savings (RHS) program as an additional benefit for the employees.
The International City Manager’s Association (ICMA) Retirement Corporation was selected
as the administrator of the plan.
RHS is a City sponsored program that allows employee to accumulate assets on a tax-free
basis to pay for medical expenses of the employee, their spouse, and their dependents
after the employee retires. Assets are in most cases put into the plan tax-free, accumulate
earnings on a tax-deferred basis, and are withdrawn tax free if used for qualified medical
benefits.
An example would be a long time employee who is retiring and is eligible for a $10,000
cash payout of unused vacation and sick time. This will cost the City $10,765 because of
the 7.65% employer’s share of the social security tax. The employee will receive
substantially less than $10,000 because they will pay income taxes and the employee’s
share of the social security tax.
If the same employee were to elect to put the $10,000 into the RHS, it would cost the City
$10,000, because the social security tax wouldn’t have to be paid. The employee would
get $10,000 into their account because they wouldn’t have to pay social security or income
taxes. It would be invested tax deferred and could be paid out tax free if used for qualified
medical benefits.
Discussion:
The April approval by the Council adopted the RHS plan in its broadest form. Although
many possible kinds of contributions are allowed, some programs call for additional
contributions by the City. It is staff’s proposal to limit employee benefits to employee
contributions only.
The RHS plan documents specify that the allowable forms of contribution will be defined
by the City’s personnel manual and labor contracts. This way, the City can start with a
limited set of contributions and add others at the City’s choice without having to amend the
RHS plan documents.
Examples of other possible contributions:
Employee pre-tax contributions: An employee may elect to contribute a percentage of
their annual pay to the plan. Once this election is made, it can never be changed. ICMA
only recommends this for employees who are near to retirement. The City would save
social security tax on these contributions.
Unused leave: The City could allow employees to contribute a portion of their next year’s
vacation or sick leave to the plan. The employee could make this election each year for
the next year’s contribution. This would result in the City paying out cash that it otherwise
might not pay out until several years later, however the City may avoid some large lump-
sum severance payments. The City would save its share of the social security tax and this
could be a solution to the situation of employees who have more than 960 hours of sick
time on the books. There could be a formula where X hours of sick time converts into one
hour of contribution into RHS. Staff recommends consideration of an annual contribution
of sick leave (contributed at a 2:1rate, where 2 hours sick leave equals one hour of RHS
time). It is proposed that employees have and maintain at least 480 hours of sick leave on
the books and could only contribute 80 hours maximum of RHS time per year.
Matching contributions: The City could make a direct employer contribution to match
employee contributions. This is more common in the private sector and not recommended
for the City.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the City Council consider the provisions for Retirement Health
Savings severance annual contributions and sick leave conversion personal policy
amendments at a future meeting and that such language also be considered for labor
contracts as they are negotiated.
Item No. 07
Meeting Date: Tuesday, September 7, 2004
Type of Business: Work Session
City Administrator Review: ______
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Desaree M. Crane, Administrative Assistant
Item Title/Subject: Citizen Award Proposal
There has been recent interest with residents about awarding citizens for their dedication with
the City. Attached is an e-mail that was sent from a resident who would like to nominate a
Mounds View resident for a special award for their outstanding citizenship with the
community.
Staff believes that this award would be a great idea, and would like to implement a Special
Citizen Award for residents. Please advise Staff if you would like to implement a Special
Citizen Award not only to this individual, but to also implement this Special Citizen Award in
the future. Staff is considering awarding the first Special Citizen Award on the September
13, 2004, City Council Meeting.
Respectfully Submitted,
Desaree Crane
Item No: 8
Meeting Date: September 7, 2004
Type of Business: WK
Administrator Review: _____
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Mike Sommer, Chief of Police
Item Title/Subject: Participation on the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Emergency
Response Team (S.E.R.T.)
Background:
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Emergency Response Team (S.E.R.T.) has approached
the Mounds View Police Department and other Ramsey County suburban police
agencies to request their participation on the countywide S.E.R.T. team whose mission is
to support all of Ramsey County’s law-enforcement agencies with tactical assistance
during critical incidents, while maintaining the highest regard for human life and property
in attempting to bring a peaceful resolution to these high-risk situations. The S. E. R. T.
team serves the following functions:
• Responds to hostage situations upon request.
• Responds to barricaded suspect situations upon request.
• Assists with dignitaries’ protection upon request.
• Responds to high-risk warrant service upon request.
• Responds to civil disturbances upon request.
• Provides ongoing tactical training for Ramsey County law-enforcement agencies
upon request.
• Responds to situations in which a supervisor on the scene determines that
S. E. R. T. can assist.
• Responds/ assists with other situations requiring a higher level of security or
tactical response.
Discussion:
A police officer from a Ramsey County suburban law-enforcement agency that serves on
the S. E. R. T. team must commit to one day per month of training with the team and
would be subject to call outs, with an understanding that their first priority lies with their
home department. Call out time is paid to an employee serving on the S. E. R. T. team
by their home department, however much of this time can be reimbursed through
homeland security grants through Ramsey County.
A Mounds View police officer serving on the S. E. R. T. team would receive invaluable
training that would not otherwise be available to them. This training would not only
benefit Ramsey County but would also serve to increase the abilities of the Mounds View
Police Department. Opening up a position for a Mounds View police officer would also
provide an opportunity for job enhancement that is not otherwise available within the
Mounds View Police Department.
Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval be granted to allow for one Mounds View Police Officer to
serve on the Ramsey County S. E. R. T. team. On a small law-enforcement agency such
as the Mounds View Police Department, opportunities for ongoing job enrichment are
critical in maintaining employees enthusiasm in their work. This opportunity in an
excellent source of job development that should be taken advantage of.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________
Mike Sommer, Chief of Police