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2010-04-12 - Finance Committee - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Finance Committee Document Type: ❑A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 04/12/2010 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting Minutes of the Finance Committee held April 12, 2010. The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. in the EOC conference room. Present were President Hartstein, Trustees Jeff Braiman, DeAnn Glover, Jeff Berman, Steve Trilling, Lisa Stone, Beverly Sussman, Village Clerk Jan Sirabian, and Treasurer Joseph Tenerelli. Staffs present were Village Manager William Brimm, Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch, Finance Director Scott Anderson, Director of Public Works Greg Boysen, Information Technology Director Robert Giddens, Village Planner Robert Pfiel, Human Resources Director Arthur Malinowski, and Assistant Finance Director Katie Skibbe. Guests included resident Marty Sussman along with Bob Andres, Mary Young, and Sven Zimdahl from Civiltech Engineering, Inc, and John Beissel and Matt Vitner from Cook County Highway Department. Lake Cook Road—Phase I Engineering Study— Delegates from Civiltech presented a status update of the Weiland Road/Lake Cook Road Phase I Engineering Study. Currently the traffic volume for Lake Cook Road is above the threshold. A desirable capacity for a four land highway is 30,000 —32,000 cars per day and Lake Cook Road is currently seeing between 45,000 and 51,000 cars per day. Additionally, it takes multiple light cycles to get through intersections in the Buffalo Grove portion of Lake Cook Road which increases cut-through traffic and the frequency of accidents. Lake Cook Road is considered a strategic regional arterial highway intended to supplement the interstate system and provide ways for people to travel long-distances. There are three major needs for Lake Cook Road: improve traffic safety, improve capacity, and reduce cut-through traffic. To meet these needs Lake Cook would need to be expanded to six lanes. This would have an impact on adjacent property, but it is possible to narrow each lane to eleven feet across instead of twelve feet across, which would help minimize the impact. In some areas it is proposed that dual left turn lanes or right turn lanes are included. The project would ideally be completed by the Cook County Highway Department by 2030. Trustees asked whether the project can be extended past Raupp Blvd. to Arlington Heights Road, but the Cook County Highway delegates responded that money is the biggest concern with expanding the project. Trustee Stone asked whether we could add a pedway across Lake Cook Road at Raupp Boulevard and a discussion ensued about the costs and potential negatives associated with this idea. Village Manager Bill Brimm suggested that we look into crossing signs with count-downs for pedestrians. In addition to the studies already in progress, the Cook County Highway Department will do a highway noise level study to try to mitigate the noise effect on adjacent properties. If the noise level will increase significantly by the expansion of Lake Cook Road, the Cook County Highway Department may look into installing noise walls in the residential areas. At this point, the Cook County Highway Department is giving status updates to the Village Board and the next step will be gathering public input. It is anticipated that the Phase I Public Hearings will occur in 2011 and at that time, it is anticipated that a recommended alignment of Weiland Road, north of Route 83, to Buffalo Grove Road, will be ready for a final recommendation. Capital Asset Maintenance —Finance Director Scott Anderson gave a presentation on the current status of several of the Village's capital assets. Current issues include leaking windows at the Police and Fire Departments along with general wear and tear on all buildings. The Building and Maintenance Department has done a nice job prolonging the lives of the assets. Credit Card Acceptance —Assistant Finance Director Katie Skibbe introduced the discussion on credit card acceptance within the Village. Currently, residents are able to pay their water bills by check, cash, or through the automatic debit system, E-Z Pay. Accepting credit cards would allow the Finance Department to give residents one additional option when paying their water bill. Credit card acceptance would also increase flexibility for residents with cash-flow problems. Trustees were interested in accepting credit card and passing along the cost of acceptance with a convenience fee. Additionally, the Village Board was interested in accepting credit cards over the counter at Village Hall. Electronic Payment Kiosks at Metra Station —Finance Director Scott Anderson introduced the discussion on investing in electronic payment stations at the Metra Station. In 2010, there was a huge push to get everyone to use a bi-monthly parking passes to help mitigate the issues surrounding daily parkers and compliance. The utilization of parking passes has increased, but the Finance Department continues to have issues with daily parkers. With the current system it is very difficult to see if people have paid the full amount of$1.75. People who do not pay are given a ticket, but the Finance Department frequently receives calls from people claiming they paid for the wrong spot. When this happens there is no way to determine if the person paid or not. Using electronic payment kiosks would give the Finance Department better control over the cash being received at the Metra Parking lot. The kiosks would be located close to the station and some of the payment kiosks have the ability to accept credit cards. Daily parkers who call the Village claiming to have paid would need to have a paid receipt for their ticket to be revoked. Trustees were in favor of moving ahead and speaking with vendors to determine the cost of this project. Also, trustee's suggested we look at allowing advertisements on the back of the receipts to help defray the cost. Replacement of the Telephone System— Information Technology Director Robert Giddens gave a presentation on the replacement of the telephone system. The current telephone system is twenty years old and quickly reaching its useful service life. The Village Board had previously authorized a waiver of bid for proposals for the replacement of the Village's telephone system, but the project was deferred due to the economic downturn. Currently, the staff has identified three possible options to deal with the phone system. Option one: do nothing. The system still works but there are no legitimate sources for components as hardware fails. The village is currently replacing components in the secondary market. Option two: replace the entire phone system as planned. This would be add a cost of about$200,000 to $250,000. Option three: Divide the project into two phases and only update the infrastructure now. Trustee Sussman questioned how long option three would last the Village and Robert said it was unknown, but it would offer less downtime if something broke than if we choose option one and stay with the current system as is. There was concern that if the Village pursued option #3 (phased in replacement) was there any exposure to obsolescence of technology (wasted money). Robert stated that by replacing the infrastructure first we could easily build upon that base and not have any duplication of expenditures. Option#3 would accomplish the same task of replacing the entire system while delaying expenditures over two to three fiscal years. The trustees discussed the importance of having a good phone system and the importance of communication with residents. Scott Anderson mentioned that if the board chooses to replace the entire phone system it would be a draw down on fund balance reserve as we cannot fund the project out of current revenues. Robert Giddens mentioned that we might be able to work out a payment plan with the vendor as Cisco is currently offering 0%financing for new projects. The board was interested in finding out about financing options for replacing the entire system, but were in support of moving forward with option three in the meantime. Constructing a Performance Arts Facility —Resident Marty Sussman gave a presentation on the possibility of constructing a performance arts facility in Buffalo Grove. This would be a joint venture between the Village, Park District, and Library. Trustee Berman mentioned that this subject has come up several times over the past three years, but he felt that if we were to move forward with this project he would want to go to the public and ask if they are really in favor of this prof ect. Trustee Braiman wanted to know whether the Park District is willing to be a partner in this process or whether they just want us to finance the project. Mr. Sussman said that while this project will cost money, this project will also make money and we need some places for kids to be. He also said that there is a lot of talent in Buffalo Grove and a lot of people who would like to get involved. A question was asked about preliminary numbers on what the project would cost now, but since we are only in the beginning discussions no numbers have been generated yet. Trustee Braiman mentioned that the public said they didn't want to pay for it three times and the Park District tried to get around that by getting the Village to pay for it and further, it this concept were to move ahead in some way, the public should be asked, maybe in the form of a non-binding referendum, whether they would support the project, with a clear understanding as to what the potential costs may be, on a recurring basis. President Hartstein strongly suggested that if this project were to move forward, there should be a program to develop public/private partnerships. Employee Fringe Benefit Review —Village Manager Bill Brimm gave a presentation on employee fringe benefits. In regards to the deferred compensation plan Trustee Braiman said that the program was originally instituted in 1999 when the board was trying to increase benefits for government employees who weren't paid well and that isn't the case anymore. Government employees are paid better and the Village no longer has the means to pay into employee's deferred compensation plans anymore. Trustee Braiman suggested the Village cut this program in half. Trustee Trilling said that the pension arrangement that the Village already has with the employees far exceeds the normal pension employees could expect to receive in the public sector and for that reason he doesn't feel it's necessary. President Hartstein wanted to see where we were money wise at the end of the year before making any decisions. Village Manager Bill Brimm made a suggestion to the board that they let the program run in 2010, cut it in half in 2011, and eliminate it in 2012. Trustee Stone commented that when the economy is bad perks such as deferred compensation should be frozen. Trustee Glover mentioned that we don't necessarily need to reinstate this program when things get better. In regards to the tuition reimbursement program, Trustee Glover questioned whether there are requirements for service after receiving tuition reimbursement and Human Resources Director Art Malinowski replied that there were no such requirements in the current plan. President Hartstein recommended the policy provide some conditions for some period of time or a payback period if employees choose to leave. Trustee Trilling asked who has left the Village after receiving their tuition reimbursement and Art said there was one person who had left. Trustee Trilling said he felt this was a great program and a good way to advance employee careers. Trustee Sussman said she couldn't support this program right now because residents can't afford to send their own kids to college and the Village is giving away resident money to pay for other people's college. Trustee Braimen said that he supports tuition reimbursement for master's level courses only. Trustee Stone said we should freeze the program until the economy gets better. Trustee Berman asked the other trustees if they were willing to invest in the staff in the same way they are willing to invest in the phone system. He then suggested we reduce the budget amount next year and add a percentage of reimbursement up to the NIU amount. Trustees were in agreement to reduce the amount of tuition reimbursement paid. The auto allowance program was then brought up by Trustee Braimen. He said that it is frequently mentioned that the program will go away when people retire, but no one is retiring. Bill Brimm responded that there are only eight or nine employees left in the program. Trustee Braimen said that while we've taken away the allowance and put it into their normal salary; this program still needs to be completely eliminated. Brimm responded that it is not subject to cost of living increases. Trustee Braiman suggested we freeze the program, not admit any new members, and phase-out the program over a few years possibly 50% in 2011 and gone in 2012. Trustee Braimen also brought up the amount of health insurance premiums employees are charged saying that if nothing else we need to make concessions in the new contract. Village Manager responded that 2012 is when the new fire union contract is up and insurance cannot be discussed before then unless mutually agreed upon by all parties. First Quarter Performance —Finance Director Scott Anderson gave a presentation on first quarter 2010 performance. First quarter revenue is lagging for property taxes (10.4%), real estate transfer tax (12.2%), utility tax (14.2%) and telecommunications tax (22.8%). Revenues attaining the benchmark include sales taxes, building and engineering fees, income tax, food and beverage tax, and police and fire revenue. III. Old Business Review of New Position Classification and Compensation Plan —Village Manager Bill Brimm reiterated what was discussed at the previous Finance Committee meeting and discussed the status of the new position classification and compensation plan. The last piece of the plan is the performance evaluation tool which is currently under construction. Consideration of Gotf Subsidy for Open Space Concept —Village Manager Bill Brimm discussed a one cent property tax increase to help support golf operations. This increase would never exceed one cent and would always be subject to prior year's performance. Additionally, should the performance exceed expectations, the one cent increase would be abated.