02/07/2007 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 2/7/2007 There was the impression that police officers were writing tickets for their own benefit of overtime pay. The Safety Director has put in place a policy that STOP would operate on I-480. This does mean less tickets written and less revenue for the city; but, ultimately, we have to do what is right for our citizens. Finance Director Copfer said court fines for 2006 were $163,000 in the General Fund, and we are projecting $165,000 this year. In the STOP program, there were $240,500, and we a projecting $150,000 this year. The STOP program is a separate fund, so it won't impact the General Fund. The Police Chief ensures the officers are meeting their responsibilities for ticket-writing on regular duty before the STOP program is utilized for those purposes. He feels comfortable with those numbers and feels they are realistic. Those numbers are already factored into the budget and the wages and benefits associated with officers working on the STOP overtime program are in the STOP fund. In answer to a comment by Councilman Gareau that purchases usually made out of the STOP fund could impact the General Fund, she said that what is bought out of the STOP program is traffic enforcement equipment and it is not a lot. Also, it is a use that can come out of the Hotel /Motel Fund. The department is not asking for an additional amount for equipment spending from the General Fund. Mayor O'Grady noted STOP funds are used for overtime, benefits and related traffic issues but not for police cars. Councilman Miller expressed his concern to the Law Director that, if the Tic Tac fruit machines are determined to be illegal, the businesses and the general public are given proper notification. Law Director Dubelko said he agreed and advance warning and notice would be given for sufficient time to have the machines removed. Councilman Gareau felt it would be appropriate and courteous to separately notify the businesses with liquor licenses as there are a separate set of penalties for those businesses where they could have their license pulled or be fined for unlawful gambling. Finance Director Copfer: 1) She has been meeting with the Mayor, directors and division heads reviewing budget issues for 2007. It is on target to have it to Council by February 15. She will with Mr. Tallon on Friday to set some reasonable timeframes and groupings for the Council budget hearings. 2) She has recently appreciated the IT consultant being here and appreciated Council funding the consultant because we have been having many server and back-up problems that have hindered her department's ability to get some very important things done. The consultants are diligent about resolving the problems and working with MUNIS. 3) She has participated in fire fighter negotiations and internal management meetings regarding that. They are in the process of selecting a fact finder for mediation. 4) The Finance Dept. has provided additional info to the WWTP operational and review consultant. 5) The anticipated repayment schedule for the capital borrowing has been provided. It should be understood the rates are educated assumptions that are utilized in that analysis, and are not guaranteed. She does expect to pay the telecommunications borrowing off within three years. She is debating between ten and twenty years for the streets borrowing, but she is leaning more towards the ten-year mark. 6) She had two meetings with our engineer and architect regarding space allocation on the second floor of City Hall. 4