City of Milwaukee - File #: 040795

• File #: 040795
• Version: 0
• Type: Budget
• Status: Passed
• File created: 9/23/2004
• In control: FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
• Final action: 11/12/2004
• Title: Communication from Mayor Tom Barrett transmitting the 2005 Proposed Budget for the City of Milwaukee.
• Sponsors: THE CHAIR
• Indexes: BUDGET, MAYOR

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
11/23/2004	0	MAYOR	SIGNED
11/12/2004	0	COMMON COUNCIL	ADOPTED; Minutes note: THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS WERE RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION BY THE FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: 3a. CITY ATTORNEY - Create 2 Assistant City Attorney positions to serve as Community Prosecutors. One position is to be assigned to the south side and one to the north side. (Ald. McGee) Roll Call, Amendment APPROVED, Davis, Bohl, Murphy and Hines voting NO 5. CITY ATTORNEY - SPA - Eliminate Fire & Police Complaint & Discipline Fund SPA, move funding to Damages & Claims SPA. (Ald. D'Amato) APPROVE 8. CITY CLERK - Create 6 unfunded auxiliary Office Assistant I positions. (Ald. D'Amato) APPROVE 11a. CITY CLERK - Footnote relating to the reservation of $30,000 in the Facility Systems Program capital account for the remodeling of Room 102 in the Zeidler Municipal Building. APPROVE; Ald. Dudzik voting NO 12a. CITY CLERK - Provide $37,000 for printing & mailing of "Call for Action" booklets. (Ald. Murphy, McGee, Witkowiak, Hamilton) APPROVE; Alds. D'Amato, Witkowski voting NO 13. CITY CLERK - Provide 6 months funding for an existing License Specialist. (Ald. Murphy) Roll Call, Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Bohl, McGee, Hines voting NO 14. CITY CLERK - Restore 2 positions of Fiscal Review Analyst - Senior in the LRB. (Ald. Murphy, Davis, McGee, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Hines) APPROVE; Alds. Bohl, Witkowski voting NO 16. CITY CLERK - Restore position of Office Assistant III in the LRB. (Alds. Murphy, McGee) APPROVE; Ald. Bohl voting NO 17a. Restore funding and FTE's for the Public Relations Supervisor position to preserve services for writing of newsletters, press releases and related functions and two Production Technicians at City Channel 25 to preserve programming services and avoid layoffs. (Alds. Murphy, Davis) APPROVE; Ald. Bohl voting NO 22. DER - Restore 1 Diversity Specialist position, eliminate 1 Program Assistant II position. (Alds. Davis, McGee, Hamilton) APPROVE; Ald. Dudzik voting NO 23a. DER - SPA - Eliminate the Mentoring Program. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Roll Call, Amendment FAILED: Alds. D'Amato, McGee, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Witkowiak, Murphy, Witkowski voting NO Ald. D'Amato moved reconsideration. There was no objection. Ald. Witkowiak moved to hold the amendment until later in the meeting. On whether to hold the amendment until later in the meeting: Motion FAILS: Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, McGee, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowski, Zielinski voting NO Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED 15-0 28. DNS - Increase residential and commercial building recording code enforcement fee from $50 to $75, add 1 position of Office Assistant II. (Alds. Zielinski, Witkowski) Ald. Murphy moved that this amendment be HELD until later in the meeting. There was no objection. Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Bohl and Dudzik voting NO 29. ERS - Footnote Policemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund. (Alds. Murphy, Donovan, Witkowiak) APPROVE 30. FIRE - Amend pay range for Vehicle Operations Training Coordinator. (Ald. Murphy) APPROVE 31a. FIRE - Eliminate funding for 3 Chief Officers' vehicles in the Fire Department. (Alds. Murphy, Witkowski, Bohl) APPROVE; Alds. D'Amato, Witkowiak voting NO 32a. FIRE - Reduce Special Duty pay in the fire department. (Alds. Murphy, Bohl) APPROVE 33. FIRE - Restore 12 Firefighter positions. (Alds. Donovan, McGee, Witkowiak, Murphy, D'Amato, Bohl) APPROVE 34. FIRE - SPA - Create a $50,000 SPA for a study of Fire Department sworn staff. (Ald. Murphy) Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. D'Amato, Bohl, McGee, Puente, Dudzik, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 39. LIBRARY - Restore full hours for Central Library. (Ald. Witkowski) Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Bohl, Puente, Dudzik, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 40. LIBRARY - Restore hours at Martin Luther King and Atkinson Libraries. (Alds. McGee, Hamilton) Ald. D'Amato offered AMENDMENT 40a to restore hours at Central and all Neighborhood Branch libraries. This amendment was withdrawn for redrafting. Ald. D'Amato moved to HOLD AMENDMENT 40 until later in the meeting. There was no objection. Ald. D'Amato offered a revised AMENDMENT 40a to restore hours at all neighborhood libraries. Roll Call on AMENDMENT 40a: Amendment FAILED: Alds. Davis, Bohl, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Hines voting NO APPROVE; Alds. Bohl, Dudzik NO on AMENDMENT 40 52a. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Restore Cable Crew, Crack Filling Crew, Mini-Concrete Crew, Sidewalk Grinder Crew, Asphalt Crew. (Alds. McGee, Dudzik, Hines, Witkowski) Ald. Dudzik moved original AMENDMENT 52 -- restoring one mini-concrete crew, one crack fill crew, one router crew, one sidewalk grinder crew, one cable crew and one street repair supervisor position - in lieu of 52A. Roll Call: AMENDMENT 52: Amendment FAILED: Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bohl, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Witkowiak, Zielinski, Hines voting NO APPROVE; Alds. Bohl, Dudzik voting NO on AMENDMENT 52a. 54. CAPITAL - DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for street lighting. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Ald. Bauman offered AMENDMENT 54a deleting $460,000 in CDBG reprogramming funds as a source for street lighting funding and providing tax levy funds in their place. Ald. Bauman withdrew AMENDMENT 54a. APPROVE; AMENDMENT 54; There were no objections. 56. DPW OPS - Reduce funding in Fleet Services by $25,000 for vehicle repair services. (Ald. Dudzik) APPROVE 60. DPW OPS - Restore half of proposed 30% reduction in flower bed funding. (Ald. Bauman) APPROVE; AldS. Donovan, Bohl voting NO 64. CAPITAL - DPW OPS - Eliminate funding for study to combine Sanitation & Forestry facilities. (Alds. Dudzik, Bohl) Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED unanimously 66a. PARKING - Increase withdrawal from Parking Fund by $210,000. (Ald. Murphy) Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Hamilton, D'Amato, Bohl, Dudzik, Witkowiak voting NO 71. WATER - Eliminate funding for the residential cross connection program. (Alds. Bauman, Witkowski) APPROVE 74. SPA - Reduce the Wages Supplement Fund by $150,000. (Ald. Davis) APPROVE 76. DEBT - $2 million increase in Delinquent Tax Borrowing, $20 million increase to Contingent Borrowing ($10 million for bonds sold to PDAF, $10 million for Other Reimbursed Borrowing), delete "(1a)" in Section 67.12. (Ald. Murphy) APPROVE; Ald. Bohl voting NO 77a. REVENUES - TSF - Increase withdrawal by $300,000. (Ald. Murphy) APPROVE; Ald. Bohl voting NO ROLL CALL ON ALL OF THE FOREGOING "YELLOW PACKET" AMENDMENTS WHICH DID NOT RECEIVE SEPARATE ACTION: 15-0 THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS WERE PRESENTED TO THE FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE, WERE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION, BUT WERE SUBMITTED UNDER THE 24-HOUR RULE. 2. DOA (Ald. Bohl, Dudzik) Eliminate Legislative Liaison Director, add $30,000 for intergovernmental consultant services. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamiltom, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, McGee, Wade, Puente, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Hines voting NO 10a. CITY CLERK (Ald. Bohl) Eliminate funding for the Council member travel budget and re-progam printing funding from Other Operative services. Provide funding for council member newsletters and retitle fund to Travel/Newsletter Printing Fund. Divide the funding equally among the 15 Council members Roll Call: Amendment FAILED: Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Hines voting NO 19. CITY CLERK - SPA (Ald. Davis) Increase the Economic Development Committee Fund by $150,000 Ald. Davis withdrew this amendment. 20. DCD - SPA (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Reduce funding for BID #2 from $36,000 to $18,000. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, Bauman, McGee, Donovan, Murphy,, Witkowski, Hines voting NO Ald. Witkowiak ABSTAINED 21. DCD - SPA (Ald. Bauman) Increase BID #2 funding from $36,000 to $60,000. Ald. Bauman withdrew this amendment. 35. LIBRARY (Alds. Davis, McGee) Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for Community Outreach and Technology Center. Ald. McGee offered AMENDMENT 35a. Roll Call on AMENDMENT 35a: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, Bohl, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Zielinski voting NO Roll Call on AMENDMENT 35: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamilton, D'Amato, Bauman, Bohl, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Zielinski voting NO 36. LIBRARY (Alds. Davis, McGee) Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for the Mobile Library Technology Services. Ald. Davis and McGee both agreed to withdraw this amendment. 37. LIBRARY (Ald. D'Amato) Restore book and acquisitions budget. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, Bohl, McGee, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Zielinski, Hines voting no 38. LIBRARY (Ald. D'Amato) Restore hours at Central and all neighborhood libraries. Ald. D'Amato withdrew this amendment. 41. MAYOR (Ald. Dudzik, Bohl) Reduce staff salary funding to 2004 levels. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, Wade, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Hines voting NO Common Council RECESSED at 11:47 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Common Council RECONVENED at 1:04 p.m. A Roll Call was taken of members present at the time the Common Council reconvened. Ald. D'Amato was excused, all other members were present. Ald. D'Amato returned to the floor of the Common Council at 1:10 p.m. 42. POLICE (Ald. Donovan) Create new Community Police Initiative with $350,000 in overtime funds. Ald. Donovan offered AMENDMENT 42a to provide overtime funding and FTEs to create a Community Policing Initiative. Roll Call on 42A: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, Bohl, McGee, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowski, Zielinski, Hines voting NO Roll Call on 42: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, Bohl, McGee, Wade, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 45. POLICE (Ald. Donovan) move Police Officer recruit class to 3rd week of August 2005. Roll Call on 45: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Davis, D'Amato, McGee, Murphy, Witkowski, Hines voting NO 46a. POLICE - SPA (Ald. Zielinski) Add $95,000 for the Milwaukee Alliance for Community Prosecution activities in Dist. 2. Roll Call: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Davis, D'Amato, Bohl, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowski, Hines voting NO 49. DPW ADMINISTRATION (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Reduce funding for Professional Services to 2004 levels. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, McGee, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 50. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE (Ald. Bauman) Increase street light burn time by 15 minutes in a.m. and 15 minutes in p.m. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, D'Amato, Bohl, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 51. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE (Alds. D'Amato, Witkowski) Provide $20,000 for a Commercial District Crosswalk Pilot Project. Ald. D'Amato requested unanimous consent to consider AMENDMENT 53 out of order. There was no objection. Roll Call on 51: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, Bohl, McGee, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 53. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE ( Ald. D'Amato) Restore funding for crosswalk and street line painting. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Davis, Bauman, Bohl, McGee, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 55. CAPITAL - DPW INFRASTRUCTURE (Ald. Dudzik) Reduce funding for underground conduit and manhole program to 2004 levels. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, Bohl, McGee, Wade, Puente, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski voting NO 65. CAPITAL - DPW OPS (Alds. Dudzik, Bohl) Reduce funding for concealed irrigation to 2004 budget level. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, McGee, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Zielinski, Hines voting NO 75. SPA (Ald. Bohl) Reduce Tuition Reimbursement Fund from $720,000 to $700,000. Roll Call: Amendment FAILED, Alds. Hamilton, Davis, D'Amato, Bauman, McGee, Wade, Puente, Murphy, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Zielinski, Hines voting NO THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS WERE PRESENTED FOR CONSIDERATION ON THE FLOOR OF THE COMMON COUNCIL Ald. McGee offered AMENDMENT 78 to expand the proposed flow reduction pilot project in the DPW - Sewer Maintenance Fund to include a $126,000 capital-funded retrofit control flow roof drainage pilot project.. On the motion to consider: The motion PREVAILED, Ald. Davis voting NO Roll Call on 78: APPROVED, Alds. Davis, Bohl, Dudzik, Witkowiak voting NO Ald. D'Amato offered AMENDMENT 79 to restore one program assistant II position in DER-Compensation Services and to eliminate one office assistant II in DER-Business Section. On the motion to consider: The motion FAILED, Alds. Davis, Bohl, Wade, Donovan, Puente, Zielinski voting NO Ald. Bohl moved reconsideration of Amendment 79's consideration. There was no objection. On the motion to consider 79: Motion PREVAILED. Alds. Davis, Wade, Puente, voting NO On Amendment 79: Amendment APPROVED, Alds. Davis, Bohl, Wade, Puente voting NO Ald. D'Amato offered AMENDMENT 80 to "hard red circle".the salaries of Wayne Johnson, Bridge Laborer I and Ron Wilson, Clerk Dispatcher II. On the motion to consider: The motion PREVAILED, Ald. Davis voting NO Roll Call on 80: APPROVED, Ald. Davis voting NO Ald. Murphy moved to hold this file until later in the meeting. There was no objection. Ald. Zielinski offered Amendment 81 to reduce the Wage Supplement Fund to reflect the intent to hold the management wage increase to 1%. On the motion to consider: MOTION FAILED, Alds. D'Amato, Bohl, Wade, Puente, Murphy, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Witkowski, Hines voting NO Ald. Murphy moved to hold this item until a later point in the meeting. There was no objection.	Pass	8:7
11/10/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	REFERRED WITHOUT RECOMMENDATION AND ASSIGNED TO; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) AMENDMENTS: 11. CITY CLERK - Provide $30,000 for improvements to ZMB 102 for an alternative meeting room. ( D'Amato) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Reconsider, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 11a. CITY CLERK - Footnote relting to the reservation of $30,000 in the Facility Systems Program capital account for the remodeling of Room 102 in the Zeidler Municipal Building. Approve, by D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 66. PARKING - Increase withdrawal from Parking Fund by $300,000. (Ald. Bohl) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Reconsider, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend, by Ald. Murphy. Prevailed. 5-0. 66a. PARKING - Increase withdrawal from Parking Fund by $210,000. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 3-2. (Ald. Witkowiak and D'Amato voting "no") 73. SPA - Reduce the Wages Supplement Fund by $100,000. (Alds. Murphy, Witkowski) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Reconsider, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Withdrawn, by Ald. D'Amato. 74. SPA - Reduce the Wages Supplement Fund by $150,000. (Ald. Davis) Hold, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. Reconsider, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. Approve, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. 77. REVENUES - TSF - Increase withdrawal by $500,000. (Ald. Donovan) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Reconsider, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. 77a. REVENUES - TSF - Increase withdrawal by $300,000. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0.	Pass	5:0
11/4/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) AMENDMENTS: 1. DOA - Business Operations - Restore position of Document Technician. (Ald. Murphy) Withdrawn, by Ald. Murphy. 2. DOA - Eliminate Legislative Liaison Director, add $30,000 for intergovernmental consultant services. (Ald. Bohl, Dudzik) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4 Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 3. CITY ATTORNEY - Create 2 Assistant City Attorney positions to serve as Community Prosecutors. (Ald. Donovan) Amend, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. 3a. CITY ATTORNEY - Create 2 Assistant City Attorney positions to serve as Community Prosecutors. One position is to be assigned to the south side and one to the north side. (Ald. McGee) Approve as amended, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 3-2. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato - 3 Noes: Ald. Davis, Murphy - 2 4. CITY ATTORNEY - Footnote the Receivership Fund to require an RFP be issued to determine the selection of contractors to manage, secure, and abate nuisance properties. (Ald. Bauman) The Chair ruled this amendment is out of order. 5. CITY ATTORNEY - SPA - Eliminate Fire & Police Complaint & Discipline Fund SPA, move funding to Damages & Claims SPA. (Ald. D'Amato) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 6. CITY ATTORNEY - SPA - Provide an additional $100,000 for the Receivership Fund. (Ald. Murphy) Withdrawn, by Ald. Murphy. 7. CITY CLERK - Add a half-time Graduate Intern position in the Public Information Division. (Ald. Bohl) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 8. CITY CLERK - Create 6 unfunded auxiliary Office Assistant I positions. (Ald. D'Amato) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 9. CITY CLERK - Eliminate $2,020 for City Clerk's membership in the National Forum of Black Administrators. (Ald. Dudzik) Amend per Ald. Dudzik. 9a. CITY CLERK - Eliminate $2,020 for City Clerk's membership in the National Forum of Black Administrators. (Ald. Dudzik) Approve as amended, by Ald. Donovan. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 10. CITY CLERK - Eliminate CC $17,000 travel budget, fund $17,000 divided evenly among each CC member's newsletter printing fund, retitle fund as "Travel/Newsletter Printing Fund." (Ald. Bohl, Dudzik) Amend, by D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 10a. CITY CLERK - Elimiate funding for the Couuncil member travel budget and re-progam printing funding from Other Opertive services. Provide funding for council member newsletters and retitle fund to Travel/Newsletter Printing Fund. Divide the funding equally among the 15 Council members.(Ald. Bohl) Approve as amended, by D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 11. CITY CLERK - Provide $30,000 for improvements to ZMB 102 for an alternative meeting room. ( D'Amato) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 12. CITY CLERK - Provide $75,000 for printing & mailing of "Call for Action" booklets. (Ald. Murphy, McGee, Witkowiak, Hamilton) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0 12a. CITY CLERK - Provide $37,000 for printing & mailing of "Call for Action" booklets. (Ald. Murphy, McGee, Witkowiak, Hamilton) Approve as amended, by Ald. Witkowiak. Prevailed. 4-1. (Ald. D'Amato no) 13. CITY CLERK - Provide 6 months funding for an existing License Specialist. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 14. CITY CLERK - Restore 2 positions of Fiscal Review Analyst - Senior in the LRB. (Ald. Murphy, Davis, McGee, Dudzik, Witkowiak, Hines) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. 15. CITY CLERK - Restore funding for License Specialist positions in the License Division. (Ald. D'Amato) Withdrawn, by Ald. D'Amato. 16. CITY CLERK - Restore position of Office Assistant III in the LRB. (Alds. Murphy, McGee) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 17. CITY CLERK - Restore position of Public Relations Supervisor. (Alds. Murphy, McGee, Witkowiak) Amend, by Ald. Murphy. Prevailed. 5-0. 17a. Restore funding and FTE's for the Public Relatios Supervisor position to preserve services for writing of newslettersk, press releases and related functions and two Production Technicians at City Channel 25 to preserve programming services and avoid layoffs. (Alds. Murphy, Davis) Approve as amended, by Ald. Murphy. Prevailed. 5-0. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 Noes: - 0 18. CITY CLERK - Restore positions of 1 Production Services Coordinator and 2 Production Technicians. (Alds. Davis, McGee, Witkowiak, Hamilton) Withdrawn, by Ald. Davis. 19. CITY CLERK - SPA - Increase the Economic Development Committee Fund by $150,000. (Ald. Davis) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 20. DCD - SPA - Reduce funding for BID #2 from $36,000 to $18,000. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Approve, by D'Amato. Failed. 1-2. (Ald. Donovan excused) Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. D'Amato - 1 Noes: Ald. Davis, Murphy - 2 Abstain: Ald. Witkowiak - 1 21. DCD - SPA - Increase BID #2 funding from $36,000 to $60,000. (Ald. Bauman) Approve, by D'Amato. Failed. 2-2. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan, Murphy - 2 Noes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato - 2 Abstain: Ald. Witkowiak - 1 22. DER - Restore 1 Diversity Specialist position, eliminate 1 Program Assistant II position. (Alds. Davis, McGee, Hamilton) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. 23. DER - SPA - Eliminate the Mentoring Program. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Approve, by D'Amato. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan - 2 Noes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 3 Reconsider, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend per by Ald. Bohl. 23a. DER - SPA - Eliminate the Mentoring Program. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Approve as amended, by D'Amato. Prevailed. 3-2. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 3 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan - 2 24. DNS - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for the Landlord Training. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan, Davis - 2. Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, D'Amato, Murphy -3. 25. DNS - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for the Neighborhood Improvement Program. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis - 1. Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy - 4. 26. DNS - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for the Targeted Code Enforcement. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis - 1. Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy - 4. 27. DNS - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for Vacant Lot Maintenance. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis - 1. Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy - 4. 28. DNS - Increase residential and commercial building recording code inforcement fee from $50 to $75, add 1 position of Office Assistant II. (Alds. Zielinski, Witkowski) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Reconsider, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 29. ERS - Footnote Policemen's Annunity & Benefit Fund. (Alds. Murphy, Donovan, Witkowiak) Approve, by D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 30. FIRE - Amend pay range for Vehicle Operations Training Coordinator. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. 31. FIRE - Eliminate funding for new cars for Chiefs. (Alds. Murphy, Witkowski, Bohl) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend, by Ald. Murphy. Prevailed. 5-0. 31a. FIRE - Eliminate funding for 3 Chief Officers' vehicles in the Fire Department. (Alds. Murphy, Witkowski, Bohl) Approve as amended, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 3-2. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan, Davis, Murphy - 3 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, D'Amato - 2 32. FIRE - Reduce overtime funding for all Chiefs by $250,000. (Alds. Murphy, Bohl) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. Amend, by Ald. Murphy. Prevailed 5-0. 32a. FIRE - Reduce overtime funding for all Chiefs by $130,000. (Alds. Murphy, Bohl) Approve as amended, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 33. FIRE - Restore 12 Firefighter positions. (Alds. Donovan, McGee, Witkowiak, Murphy, D'Amato, Bohl) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. 34. FIRE - SPA - Create a $50,000 SPA for a study of Fire Department sworn staff. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 35. LIBRARY - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for Community Outreach and Technology Center. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato - 2 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Murphy - 3 36. LIBRARY - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for the Mobile Library Technology Services. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato - 2 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Murphy - 3 37. LIBRARY - Restore book and acquisitions budget. (Ald. D'Amato) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald.D'Amato - 1 Noes: Ald.Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, Murphy - 4 38. LIBRARY - Restore hours at Central and all neighborhood libraries. (Ald. D'Amato) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. D'Amato - 1 Noes: Ald.Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, Murphy - 4 39. LIBRARY - Restore full hours for Central Library. (Ald. Witkowski) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 40. LIBRARY - Restore hours at Martin Luther King and Atkinson Libraries. (AldS. McGee, Hamilton) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 4-0. (Ald. Davis excused) Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 Noes: 0 Reconsider, by Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. Approve, by Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 Noes: 0 Recess: 12:13 P.M. Reconvened: 1:00 P.M. 41. MAYOR - Reduce staff salary funding to 2004 levels. (Ald. Dudzik, Bohl) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 Reconsider, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 42. POLICE - Create new Community Police Initiative with $350,000 in overtime funds. (Ald. Donovan) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 43. POLICE - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for Operation Safe Neighborhoods. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald Witkowiak, Davis Noes: Ald. Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy 44. POLICE - Eliminate the Public Relations position. (Ald. McGee) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 45. POLICE - Move Police Officer recruit class to 3rd week of August. (Ald. Donovan) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 46. POLICE - SPA - Add $50,000 for the Milwaukee Alliance for Community Prosecution activities in Dist. 2. (Ald. Zielinski) Amend, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. 46a. POLICE - SPA - Add $95,000 for the Milwaukee Alliance for Community Prosecution activities in Dist. 2. (Ald. Zielinski) Approve as amended, by Ald. Donovan. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan - 2 Noes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 3 47. REVENUES - Increase special event fees associated with police services. (Ald. Zielinski) The Chair ruled this amendment is out of order. 48. DPW - ADMINISTRATION - Eliminate funding for DPW newsletter. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 49. DPW ADMINISTRATION - Reduce funding for Professional Services to 2004 levels. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 50. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Increase street light burn time by 15 minutes in a.m. and 15 minutes in p.m. (Ald. Bauman) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 51. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Provide $20,000 for a Commercial District Crosswalk Pilot Project. (Alds. D'Amato, Witkowski) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. D'Amato, Murphy - 2 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis - 3 52. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Restore Cable Crew, Crack Filling Crew, Mini-Concrete Crew, Sidewalk Grinder Crew, Asphalt Crew. (Alds. McGee, Dudzik, Hines, Witkowski) Amend, by Ald. Murphy. Prevailed. 5-0. 52a. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Restore Cable Crew, Crack Filling Crew, Mini-Concrete Crew, Sidewalk Grinder Crew, Asphalt Crew. (Alds. McGee, Dudzik, Hines, Witkowski) Approve as amended, by D'Amato. Prevailed. 4-1. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, Murphy - 4 Noes: Ald. D'Amato - 1 53. DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Restore funding for crosswalk and street line painting. ( Ald. D'Amato) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. D'Amato, Murphy - 2 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis - 3 54. CAPITAL - DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for street lighting. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 3-2. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 3 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan - 2 55. CAPITAL - DPW INFRASTRUCTURE - Reduce funding for underground conduit and manhole program to 2004 levels. (Ald. Dudzik) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-4. (Ald. Donovan excused) Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 56. DPW OPS - Reduce funding in Fleet Services by $25,000 for vehicle repair services. (Ald. Dudzik) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 57. DPW OPS - Restore 1 Clerk Dispatcher II and 1 Garage Custodian. (Ald. Murphy) Withdrawn, by Ald. Murphy. 58. DPW OPS - Restore 2 Auto Maintenance Mechanics, 3 Garage Attendants, and 1 Bridge Laborer. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. Donovan. Failed. 2-3. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan, Davis - 2 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, D'Amato, Murphy - 3 59. DPW OPS - Restore all flower bed funding reductions. (Ald. Bauman) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5 Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Dononvan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 60. DPW OPS - Restore half of proposed 30% reduction in flower bed funding. (Ald. Bauman) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 3-2. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 3 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan - 2 61. DPW OPS - Maintain proposed reduction to flower beds, install plants and shrubs in 1/3 of those beds to be eliminated. (Ald. D'Amato) Withdrawn, by Ald. D'Amato. 62. DPW OPS - Eliminate CDBG reprogramming funds for Clean and Green program. (Alds. Davis, McGee) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Davis - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 63. DPW OPS - Eliminate $3,750 for meterological forecasts provided by Murray Trettel. (Ald. Dudzik) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Dononvan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 64. CAPITAL - DPW OPS - Eliminate funding for study to combine Sanitation & Forestry facilities. (Alds. Dudzik, Bohl) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 4-1. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, Murphy - 4 Noes: Ald. D'Amato - 1 65. CAPITAL - DPW OPS - Reduce funding for concealed irrigation to 2004 budget level. (Alds. Dudzik, Bohl) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 66. PARKING - Increase withdrawal from Parking Fund by $300,000. (Ald. Bohl) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 67. SEWER - Eliminate funding for Downwspout Disconnection, Footing Drain Disconnection, and Inlet Restrictor programs. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik, McGee) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 0-5. Roll Call: Ayes: - 0 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Donovan, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 5 68. SEWER - Eliminate funding for the Footing Drain Disconnection Program. (Ald. Bohl) Withdrawn, by Ald. Bohl. 69. SEWER - Eliminate funding for the pilot downspout disconnection program. (Alds. Bohl, Dudzik) Withdrawn, by Ald. Bohl. 70. SEWER - Reduce funding for the Footing Drain Disconnection Program from $550,000 to $400,000. (Ald. Bohl) Withdrawn, by Ald. Bohl. 71. WATER - Eliminate funding for the residential cross connection program. (Alds. Bauman, Witkowski) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 72. WATER - Restore 1 part-time Customer Service Representative III. (Ald. Murphy) Withdrawn, by Ald. Murphy. 73. SPA - Reduce the Wages Supplement Fund by $100,000. (Alds. Murphy, Witkowski) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0. 74. SPA - Reduce the Wages Supplement Fund by $150,000. (Ald. Davis) Hold, by Ald. Donovan. Prevailed. 5-0. 75. SPA - Reduce Tuition Reimbursement Fund from $720,000 to $700,000. (Ald. Bohl) Approve, by Ald. D'Amato. Failed. 1-4. Roll Call: Ayes: Ald. Donovan - 1 Noes: Ald. Witkowiak, Davis, D'Amato, Murphy - 4 76. DEBT - $2 million increase in Delinquent Tax Borrowing, $20 million increase to Contingent Borrowing ($10 million for bonds sold to PDAF, $10 million for Other Reimbursed Borrowing), delete "(1a)" in Section 67.12. (Ald. Murphy) Approve, by Ald. Davis. Prevailed. 5-0. 77. REVENUES - TSF - Increase withdrawal by $500,000. (Ald. Donovan) Hold, by Ald. D'Amato. Prevailed. 5-0.	Pass	5:0
11/4/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
10/22/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) DEPT. OF NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES Martin Collins, Jeff Crouse, Erick Pearson and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Collins gave a brief overview of the Department of Neighborhood Services' responsibilities, activities, and programs. He then gave a summary of their 2005 Proposed Budget. He thanked the Mayor for his support that he has given them in their efforts on the 2005 Proposed Budget process. He also thanked his entire staff for all that they do to help the department run smoothly and provide the services that they do. Mr. Pearson gave a brief budget overview. Ms. Ward then gave a summary of her fiscal report. Chairman Murphy referred to the study that had been completed on the effectiveness of the Chronic Nuisance Property Code. He asked if Mr. Collins could provide the results of that study and any suggestions on how to improve the program's effectiveness. Mr. Collins briefly explained the Chronic Nuisance Property Code and then explained the results of the study. Chairman Murphy asked what steps have been taken to assist landlords in dealing with destructive tenants. Mr. Collins replied that the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) has taken several steps in assisting landlords with destructive tenants, such as: educational programs, a landlord problem hotline and they also have property data information available on their web site for screening of tenants, etc. He further noted that he has been meeting with the Apartment Association, District Attorney Jeff Altenburg and the Police Department on how to deal with damages caused by tenants. Chairman Murphy noted that in 2003, the city budget merged the exterior code compliance program and the certificate code compliance program, thereby no longer requiring interior inspections in 6 areas of the city. He asked what has been the impact since these changes occurred. Mr. Collins replied that they don't have any survey data, but he noted that they have a backup program called the complaint system, where they will respond to interior complaints by occupants. Mr. Collins further noted that the complaint level has actually gone up and that is an indication that there is a demand for those services. Ald. Davis questioned the $2.7 million of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and noted that the 2005 Proposed Budget seeks an increase of 5.8% from the 2005 Budget allocation of $2,551,605 and $248,000 is coming from reprogramming funds. He asked whether the Code Enforcement Interns are being duplicated with a program offered by the Department of City Development (DCD) and could they combine the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) youth intern program with DCD. Mr. Collins noted that there isn't an overlap of service between the Youth Interns in DNS and DCD. He also noted that the DNS youth program has been going on for over 10 years now. Ms. Brown from the Department of City Development appeared and explained the youth intern program. Ald. Davis asked if DNS keeps a record of how many property owners or managers reside in the City of Milwaukee and who participates or takes advantage of the landlord programs offered by DNS. Mr. Collins noted that they keep records by who owns property in the City. Ald. Davis questioned the $60,000 increase for the Vacant Lot Maintenance Program and asked if that includes garbage removal, cutting, etc. Mr. Collins replied that yes it included all that plus snow removal, abandoned cars, etc. Ald. Davis then questioned the $90,000 increase for the Target Enforcement Program. Mr. Collins noted that the same employees staff several of the programs and that increase is to pay for the current staffs' wage increases. Mr. Crouse appeared and reiterated what Mr. Collins stated. Ald. Davis then questioned why the Neighborhood Improvement Program has been transfered to DNS from DCD. Mr. Collins noted that there was some conflict of interest through the HUD rules when it was in DCD, so they moved it into DNS. Ald. D'Amato asked where does the Department of Neighborhood Services' (DNS) responsibility end and where does the responsibility of Department of Public Works and Department of City Development begin in regards to the Vacant Lot Maintenance Program. He also asked what DNS funds are used for those vacant lots that are privately owned and who is responsible for the "do not acquire" properties that are abandoned. Mr. Collins replied that the Vacant Lot Maintenance Program deals with parcels that are city owned through the tax foreclosure process and though street widening. Mr. Collins then explained the responsibilities of each of the above named Departments. DEPT. OF CITY DEVELOPMENT Rocky Marcoux, Martha Brown, Thomas Croasdaile, Clifton Crump-Secretary (Board of Zoning Appeals), David Schroeder and Emma Stamps appeared. Mr. Schroeder gave a brief budget overview. Ms. Stamps then gave a summary of her fiscal report. Mr. Marcoux appeared and gave a Powerpoint presentation on the Department of City Development's Budget highlights and the challenges they will face in 2005. (Powerpoint presentation attached to File 040795) Chairman Murphy referred to an article in the Journal/Sentinel regarding the Park East Corridor redevelopment and asked Mr. Marcoux if he could update the committee on what the progress is at the County level. Mr. Marcoux replied that he couldn't speak on what the County is doing, but explained that they have made overtures to the County on ways the City might be able to expedite the process. He further explained what options the City has to offer. Chairman Murphy then asked if there have been any proposals submitted for the Pabst City. Mr. Marcoux replied that there haven't been any proposals submitted by the investors of Pabst City. He further noted that they have encouraged them to expedite that process so that they too do not suffer from problems from the adjacent uses that may come prior to their announcing what their use is going to be. Chairman Murphy further discussed other areas up for development, including parking in the downtown area. Ms. Brown appeared and noted that the Performing Arts Center has a long-term lease on its parking structure. Ald. D'Amato referred to Chairman Murphy's comments on the three informal proposal, that are asking for Tax Incremental District (TID) funding to support parking in the downtown area, He further noted that the parking structures would be within a mile of each other. He then asked if the City has a plan for a downtown parking study. Mr. Marcoux replied that they do have a working group within the department speaking to that issue as well as additional first class office space that is envisioned by some of the proposed projects, as wells as the use of TID funding, etc. Chairman Murphy asked if they have a downtown parking master plan. Ms. Brown replied that they have data, as to where all the parking structures are in the downtown area, but no master plan. Chairman Murphy noted that an amendment may be in order for a master plan of the downtown area parking. Chairman Murphy referred to the expanding of Canal St. and the TID funding that's involved in the Menomonee Valley and asked what is the current progress of the project and development in that area, in terms of bringing in new businesses in that community. Ms. Brown replied that the property will be mostly available for private business construction starting in 2006 and they have already started marketing the property. Chairman Murphy further questioned other projects, such as the Main Street program. Mr. Marcoux replied and explained the progress and procedures of the Main Street program. Ald. Witkowiak asked what kind of progress are they making in moving the Traser Yards. Mr. Marcoux explained the process and where they are at right now. He further noted that he anticipated that they would meet the dates set in the redevelopment agreement. Ald. Davis asked what is the recruitment plan to bring new businesses into the City. Mr. Marcoux replied that they are working with the Mayor's Office, the Greater Milwaukee Bureau and a number of other organizations on ideals and they are exploring all avenues. He further noted that they are being very aggressive on how they can bring in more jobs. Ald. Davis asked if they are encompassing that same strategy in the Main Street project. Mr. Marcoux replied yes, they would be. Ald. Davis then asked how does the Business Improvement District (BID) interact with this innovated program as far as working with the MainStreet project in its preliminary stages. Mr. Marcoux replied that all of the BID's are completely vested in their community and they expect any area that currently has a Business Improvement District operation would want to go through a 501C3, which most of them have access to and they can use that as a device to apply. He further explained that process. Ald. Davis referred to the HUD funding that Mr. Marcoux spoke of earlier and noted that there is a good possibility that it will dry up under the current administration and it may come available in the years to come, if the administration changes. What type of strategic plan does the City need to take, not only with the Housing Authority, but also in the hunt for funding that the City is eligible for, and what type of things should the City anticipate in the years to come. Mr. Marcoux replied that the Housing Authority does realize the significant economic benefits that those monies bring to the neighborhoods and has been engaged for the last two years in the planning of just that subject. He continued to explain that they have been active in their lobbying efforts to Congress to get them to understand what those cuts would mean to localities. Their long-term strategies are to try and get HUD to reinvest money back into public housing. Ald. Davis referred to the $350,000 that may be allocated for the Youth Internship Program and asked what moves have been made so far so that the program is up and running, such as is the application process going to be set up prior to when the program is to become effective. Mr. Brown replied that in consultation with the Community Block Grant Administration and Department of Employee Relations they are not sure DCD is the right place for that program to land. They plan to meet again along with some other representatives to figure out where the best place would be for that program. Chairman Murphy questioned the communication between the Department of City Development and the Common Council and noted that, earlier in 2004, a person was delicated as a part time liaison and that person has recently taken a new job. He asked if there is someone else who has taken on those responsibilities. Ms. Brown replied that she would be taking on some of those responsibilities and Judy Allen will be taking on some of the responsibilities. Mr. Marcoux noted that they plan to add another person, whose primary responsibility will be Council relations. Chairman Murphy noted that the Hunzinger Development project was extended recently and asked if the Council members were notified. Ms. Brown replied that she didn't think it was communicated to the Council directly, but noted that the development agreement that was adopted included a clause that indicated that if they had an extraordinary situation that made it impossible to meet the October 1 ground breaking dead line, they had the right for an extension. Mr. Marcoux replied that it was an administrative decision that he made, and noted that he would make sure the Council is informed of such matters in the future. Chairman Murphy commented on the housing trust fund that was recently brought out by 50 groups who are looking to raising $15 million from a number of sources, and the Mayor noted that section 8 housing is in jeopardy of being cut. He then asked if Mr. Marcoux had an opportunity to review the proposal in terms of the housing trust fund and in a matter in which the city can play a role in assisting in that effort. Mr. Marcoux noted that they have had input into that planning process and explained the section 8 vouchers and some of the strategies that the City has been talking about and engaging with members of WHEDA and other agencies in the state. Chairman Murphy asked how the part time position that Mr. Greensteet filled as Planning Director is progressing. Mr. Marcoux replied that it is working out very well and noted that the addition of Mr. Greenstreet to the DCD team has raised the visibility of the planning section to where it should be. Ald. D'Amato referred to page 37 of the 2005 Budget Summary, that shows a chart (Figure 3) on the Number of New Housing Units completed from 1995 to 2003, which shows a tremendous increase in 2003. He asked if they had figures for 2004 yet. Ms. Brown replied that they didn't. Ald. D'Amato noted that because of those increases, he had submitted an amendment last year to add some plan examiners positions and, unfortunately, it was not successful. He then questioned that, with the continuing increase in housing units and development in the city, are they fully staffed and prepared to meet the needs of the Development Center. He also asked how they measure their success. Ms. Brown replied that they can measure it in a couple of ways. They can measure by how many customers actually come through the door, how many plans come through the door, and they also can measure the length of time it takes to serve a walk-in customer. She noted that they do have a vacant plan examiner position that they have been trying to fill since early 2004. Ald. D'Amato referred to the double fees for faster service, that was instituted earlier in 2004, and asked how has that been working out and how much money has been received so far. Ms. Brown replied that they received about $12,000 - $15,000 additional revenue, and noted that they also instituted a new fee for preliminary plan review for development professionals that come in to ask for advice. Ald. D'Amato referred to the property service line, noting that in 2004 it was budgeted for $200,000 and in 2003 they had expended $350,000, but in 2005 it has been zeroed out. He asked what is the property service line for and is the money being found elsewhere. Ms. Brown replied that that line item is money spent to maintain and market tax foreclosed properties, and that money was used for certain holding costs for properties that are occupied and that need fixing. She they noted that they do use Community Development Block Grant funds and the City supplemented it. The money was used for property problems, such as liens for water and energy costs that were put on the property before it was foreclosed. She noted that they would not be taking foreclosed properties any more and they wouldn't until some of those lien problems are taken care of. Ms Brown referred to the City Attorney's role in perusing impersona judgments on properties that are foreclosed. Mr. Croasdaile appeared and replied that currently they collect rent on some of the foreclosed properties and the rents get put into an account. He further discussed the foreclosed properties that they currently have, and explained how the City Attorney's impersona judgments has reduced the number of tax deed properties that they receive. He noted that last year it was 220 and this year it was 130 that they received so far. They have currently taken care of those 130 and they have exsulted their funds for that purpose. They will look to the Block Grant funds to carry them through 2004, and he further noted that their Block Grant funds have been cut $400,000 which assisted them in maintaining those tax deed properties. They use both city funds and Block Grant funds. Ald. Davis asked if they are using Block Grant funds, are those funds being use in the CDBG targeted areas. Mr. Croasdaile noted that they are mandated by HUD to used those funds in the targeted areas and they can only do that for up to three years per property, and then they would have to move it onto the city tax roll. Mr. Croasdaile further explained the cost process the city uses for tax deed properties. Chairman Murphy commented on the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation (NIDC) moving over to Department of City Development, and asked if that has improved the efficiency as far as producing more housing units and rehabbing more homes. Ms. Brown replied that it has improved the correspondence between NIDC and Neighborhood Planning on where NIDC is working and on other targeted investment that is controlled by NIDC. Ald. Davis referred to page 37 of the 2005 Proposed Budget Summary under Program 2 and noted that for 2003 the total funding is a little over $10 million, 2004 it is $7.6 million and then a big jump in 2005 at $77 million. He asked if that is correct. Mr. Schroeder explained that the costs for 2003 and 2004 are actually funds that run through the city and the last column is for 2005 and is a projection of what they feel the Housing Authority will obtain in the 2005 budget year. It is an estimated amount. What he doesn't have is the actual expenditure that the Housing Authority recorded on its books, which is completely separate from the city. Ald. Davis then questioned the Wisconsin Comprehensive Planning Law, which states that a Citywide Comprehensive Plan needs to be completed by January 1, 2010. Ms. Brown explained the 9 policy areas. Ald. Davis asked if population influences the policy. Mr. Marcoux replied that it would reflect that, because it is a stakeholder driven plan. Ald. Witkowiski appeared and addressed the Committee. Ald. Witkowski commended the Department of City Development. He then referred to the Board of Zoning Appeals and noted that there seems to be an increase in workload, and asked if the current setup is sufficient to deal with the increase. He noted the delays some of his constituents had dealt with recently. Mr. Crump appeared and replied that on average it takes 4-6 weeks to get an appeal heard. He further noted that citizens are confused on when the Board of Zoning Appeals gets involved. He then explained the procedures. He noted that on occassion there may be cases that take more than 2 months to be heard, because of certain circumstances, such as a case that is in the Municipal Court before it comes to the Board. He then explained that in 2004 there were circumstances that caused an increase in cases that came before the Board, such as the elections and an increase in day care businesses. Chairman Murphy noted that legislation that was recently passed, such as special uses, has caused an increase in the Boards caseload. Mr. Crump further noted that when the Department of Neighborhood Services cracks down on rooming houses that have expired variances and those are addtional new cases that need to come before the Board. Ald. Witkowski commented that his purpose of raising this issue was to find out if they have enough staff to handle the increase of cases. Mr. Marcoux replied that a study will be taken regarding adding additional staff for the Board. Recess: 11:40 A.M. Reconvened: 11:50 A.M. SPECIAL PURPOSE ACCOUNTS OVERVIEW & MISC. SPA'S. Patrick Hartmann and Marianne Walsh appeared. Chairman Murphy read each SPA into the record. Alternative Transportation for City Employees Annual Payment to DNR Audit Fund Boards and Commissions Reimbursement Expense Board of Ethics Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) & Budget Bid Funding Cable TV Franchise Regulation and Negotiation Care of Prisoners Fund City Attorney Collection Contract City Employee Innovation Award Clerk of Court Witness Fees Contribution Fund - General Damages and Claims E-Government Payments System Economic Development Committee Fund Ald. Davis asked that the council increase this fund. Mr. Nicolini noted that there is a carryover from 2004 to 2005. Employee Training Fund Fire and Police Discipline and Citizen Complaint Account Firemen's Relief Fund Flexible Spending Account Graffiti Abatement Fund Group Life Insurance Premium Insurance Fund Long Term Disability Insurance Low Interest Mortgage Program Maintenance of Essential Services City Memberships Mentoring Program Milwaukee Arts Board Projects Milwaukee Fourth of July Commission Municipal Court Intervention Program Neighborhood Cleanup Initiative Razing and Vacant Building Protection Fund Receivership Fund Reimbursable Services Advance Fund Remission of Taxes Fund Reserve for 27th Payroll Retirees Benefit Adjustment Fund Sewer Maintenance Fee MMSD - Sewer User Charge - Pass through Less Recovery from Sewer User Charge Tuition Reimbursement Fund Unemployment Compensation Fund Wages Supplement Fund Board of Zoning Appeals Worker's Compensation	Pass	4:0
10/21/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) FIRE DEPARTMENT Appeared: Chief William Wentlandt, Assistant Chief Mark Sain, Greg Gracz (Local #215, Fire Fighters' Association), Deputy Chief Gary Miller (Training Acadamy), Jennifer Meyer and Emma Stamps Chief Wentlandt appeared and addressed the Committee. He complimented the budget staff and the fiscal staff for their work on the Fire Department's 2005 Proposed Budget. He then discussed the Fire Department's goals and gave a summary of the Fire Department's 2005 Proposed Budget highlights. Ms. Meyer gave an overview of her Budget highlights and Ms. Stamps recited her fiscal report. Mr. Gracz, President of Local #215, Fire Fighters' Association, appeared and addressed the Committee. He commented that the last year had been detrimental to them. He noted that he is disturbed by the Fire Department running short on employees these days and that they are moving employees between engine houses. He then read a press release submitted by the Fire Chief that was released shortly after the 2005 Proposed Budget was released on Sept. 23, 2004. He noted that the current Fire Chief is proposing elimination of staff, whereas other Cities are looking to add staff. He then handed out and read from an article in the June, 2004 issue of “Fire Engineering” magazine. He further noted his concerns over the overtime being paid to management when they are short staff in the field. And finally he advised that the goal of the city should be to get the staffing back to the way it used to be. Ald. D'Amato referred to the press release by the Fire Chief and asked if the staffing cuts in the Fire Department would cause a threat to the City's fire safety and what concrete evidence can he give that there are threats to the fire safety? Chief Wentlandt referred to the budget process and noted that when he submitted his 2005 Proposed Budget allocation to the budget office, he attached a corespondence related to concerns about the potential impact if the 2005 Proposed Budget is adopted. He then explained the challenges the Fire Department would face if the budget were approved as it is today. He noted that every day the Fire Department supplies many services, programs and training where they utilize a 5-person apparatus to fulfill those needs. And those needs may be for public education, for recruitment appearances or for special team training. Chief Wentlandt noted that they have a policy in place that an apparatus would not operate with less then four personnel, to ensure the safety of their personnel. He then explained their programs and noted that further reduction in personnel would prevent personnel from taken necessary training, etc. He then discussed the large amount of compensation time that employees have accumulated and they have an obligation to fill those requests. Ald. D'Amato referred to the cuts that were made in the 2004 budget and noted that they heard the same testimony last year. He then asked if a number of the programs were eliminated or reduced due to budget cuts in the 2004 budget. Chief Wentlandt replied that in fact the training level has remained the same in 2004 as it was in 2003. Chief Wentlandt noted that they have been able to sustain that level, but it has taken a lot of creativity and a lot of organization. Chairman Murphy asked why the Chief feels so strongly that going from 5 to 4 personnel would have such an impact on training, recruitment and counseling if they were to follow through, since there was no negative impact in 2004. Chief Wentlandt explained his concerns. Ald. D'Amato referred to comments made by Mr. Gracz on the engine houses being closed all over the City and that the Fire Department is top heavy as far as personnel. Chief Wentlandt replied that they keep a day-by-day report that tracks the closing of engine houses. Chief Wentlandt also noted that it is a misrepresentation by Mr. Gracz that houses are being closed every day. Chief Wentlandt explained that compared to other cities they have a reasonable organization structure with a blend of command staff personnel and firefighter personnel throughout the City. Ald. D'Amato noted that last year's allocation figure was revised due to the Mayor's promise of a budget freeze. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Gracz, how can they satisfy the state requirement and also maintain the budget freeze? Mr. Gracz replied that they have always lobbied for this City's best interest. Chairman Murphy asked if there were any cuts in management staff last year. Chief Wentlandt replied that last year they reorganized the command staff by combining the Deputy Chief of Special Teams and the Deputy of Emergency Medical Services Bureaus and eliminated a Deputy Chief position. In addition, they are also reducing a Battalion Chief position and in the current budget there is a footnote stating that a Chief Dispatcher who is equivalent to a Command Officer is going to become a civilian position. Chairman Murphy asked that a camparison report on how many command staff is present at a fire scene be submitted to the Finance & Personnel Committee. Chairman Murphy noted that Chief Wentlandt had indicated that they have had some savings as a result of sick leave and special duty paid and asked what is the amount saved. Chief Wentlandt replied that the sick leave was 30% over 1200 hours compared to last year. He then asked if that amount is in the salary and wage account? Chief Wentlandt replied yes. Ald. Davis referred to the Basic Life Support (BLS) transport agreement with the Milwaukee County and asked what is the amount of revenue that contract brings to Milwaukee. Chief Wentlandt replied that the contract allows them to recover 56% of the revenue. He further noted that of all the revenue generated the City of Milwaukee produces almost 60% of that overall revenue. He then noted that the lag is about $100,000 of missed revenue. He further explained that it is important to recognize that the County supplements the County Paramedic program with the tax levy and if the policy makers see fit to shift away from the county tax roll into the city tax roll there would be a net cost to the Milwaukee citizens and it would be best for the Fire Department to take it over. Ald. Davis discussed the process the Fire Department uses in the collection of data in order to bill the County. Chief Wentlandt replied that they are currently implementing a new computer aided dispatch system and the final component, which will be implemented in 2006, will introduce the technology to acquire patient information at the scene. Chairman Murphy questioned the computer technology cost and noted that a large amount of money has been put into computerization in the Fire Department. He then asked what is the projects' annual cost for 2005 and 2006? Chief Wentlandt replied that their CAT system was very outdated and then explained how the new dispatch system will provide sufficient and effective service. Mr. Gracz commented that the most important computer is the human brain and those computers can't put out a fire, etc. Ald. Davis asked who collects the data for Advanced Life Support (ALS) and how is it processed? Chief Wentlandt replied that there is a form that they use that is similar to the County and they enter the data on that form, it is then sent to County for them to enter data in the County database. Ald. Davis asked if they could staff internally for the input of that data. Chief Wentlandt advised that if they would take on the responsibility internally they would need to do an assessment as to what resources they would need to do that. Ald. Witkowiak asked if they are falling behind in training, due to the staffing levels. Chief Wentlandt replied that they would cancel the training if there weren't enough staff to maintain an engine house. Deputy Chief Miller from the Training Academy explained the procedure on how they move staff from different Fire Houses so that all the staff can take the training courses without shutting down a Fire House. He noted that some of the moving around is due to vacation time, etc. and so far they haven't had to cancel any training. Chairman Murphy commented that the Fire Department needs to have a minimum staffing level of 260 per day per the national standard. He then asked if that has drop below the 260 on a regular bases over last year. Chief Wentlandt replied that the current staffing is at 266 and they're policy is that they will hire overtime personnel everyday to maintain that level of 266. Chairman Murphy asked if the overtime level has gone up over the last year. Chief Wentlandt replied that the budget is on track, according to overtime. Ms. Stamps noted that in 2005 the special duty overtime compensation decreased by $150,000 or 2.77% from 2004 and Ms. Meyer noted that that is due to the reduction of personnel. Chairman Murphy commented that the 12 full time equlivant (FTE) positions being eliminated in the 2005 Proposed Budget. Mr. Nicolini replied that there would be no layoffs. Ald. D'Amato commented on the County Paramedic contract and noted that he was surprised that the reduction in revenue is only a $100,000 gap. He also commented that that isn't a bad price due to the fact that the City doesn't have to administer or collect it. He then asked if it could be a revenue opportunity for the city to provide those services to other communities. Chief Wentlandt explained that in the last 24 months, he has met with every Fire Chief and many of the Mayors and leaders in the communities and has attempted to market that service. He further discussed the different services, such as dispatching, training to other community Fire Departments and, most important , the consolidation of services at a regional level. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the total amount of money the county collects for the Paramedic contract? Ms. Meyer replied $7 million. Ald. D'Amato then asked when does the contract expire. Chief Wentlandt stated December 31, 2005. Chairman Murphy noted that the county provides the training for the City paramedic. Chief Wentlandt advised that the city never provided the training. Chief Wentlandt further discussed other options for training. Ald. D'Amato asked if the City submitted a bid for the MMSD Tunnel Rescue Service contract? Chief Wentlandt replied that they didn't submit a bid and explained why. He then noted that it was awarded to the City of West Allis. Chairman Murphy referred to the audit of the Department of Public Works vehicles and noted that the Mayor issued an order to not purchase any more vehicles. Ms. Meyer replied that the purchase of vehicles for the Fire Department has been delayed a number of years. Ald. Witkowski appeared and addressed the Committee. He commended the Chief, the firefighters and all the programs the Fire Department runs. He then referred to the duplication of activities and asked if there is coordination between the Safety Commission and the Fire Department. Chief Wentlandt replied yes. He then asked if firefighters go to training or does the training go to the firefighters (fire house). Chief Wentlandt summarized the training process. Ald. Davis referred to the acceptance and expenditure of a $200,000 grant to establish a second Survive Alive House. He then asked what problems or issues have caused a delay in that project and what are the City's obligations under the grant guidelines for completing the project or forfeiting the funds. Chief Wendlandt replied that that was a grant that they hadn't received, but they continue to keep that as part of their mission to find a site and continue to look for grant funding. Ald. Davis commented that the Fire, Police and Health departments each have a portion of the $8 million federal UASI grant, and the Budget Office summary accredit all but the Fire Department's $1 million portion and that according to the footnote on pg. 460.15 of the green sheets; the grant does not require a city match, however, MFD proposes that the City incur $500,000 debt to leverage the grant. He asked what is the rational for not using operating funds for this project and why does the budget summary not reflect this under Fire Department's Grant and Aid fund or the capital improvements areas. Ms. Meyer replied that the money is proposed for the Fire Digital Radio System capital improvement project. Chief Wentlandt also replied that the investment for the entire new radio system is $2.5 million total and previously was projected to come out of the capital account, but they were able to secure $2 million in federal grants and allocate it to the Fire Department's upgrade portion of the radio system. He also noted that they have one more grant application pending. Recess: 10:55 A.M. Reconvened: 11:03 A.M. Library Appeared: Kathleen Huston, Sandra Lockett, Paula Kiely, Arthur Harrington (President of the Board of Trustees of MPL), Judith Zemke, Jennifer Gonda and Angelyn Ward Ms. Huston appeared and addressed the Committee. She introduced her staff that were present and then thanked the Budget staff for their help with the Library's 2005 Proposed Budget. She then gave a summary of the library's activities over the past year, such as all of the Libraries are now wireless, they had 14,000 young people participate in the summer reading program, their Wells Street entrance is now complete and fully accessible and finally the Library staff continues to give a high level of excellent service to the community. Ms. Gonda then read her budget highlights and Ms. Ward gave a summary of her fiscal report. Ms. Ward noted the following errors in her fiscal report: On page 7 there are two corrections, under the Patron count for 2002, Mill Road should read 187,185 and Zablocki should read 235,961. On page 16, under “Mosaic & Scagliola Program should read $110,000. Ald. D'Amato commented that the biggest issue in the Library's 2005 Proposed Budget is the cutting of library hours. He then asked what year did they start reducing hours. Ms. Ward replied that that was in 2003. Ms. Huston noted that as of September their patron total has increased from last year. Ald. D'Amato commented that with the amount of hours cut, they could close one and 1/2 branches of the library and instead of doing that they cut hours throughout all the libraries. Ms. Huston noted that cutting the hours isn't a happy proposal, but they did avoid closing a branch. Ald. D'Amato commented that the 2005 Proposed Budget for library material shows a decrease of $1.3 million. He then noted that if the department does not purchase as many books, magazines, newspapers, etc., what will the Library do to encourage Milwaukee patrons to use the Milwaukee Public Library collection versus going to other communities? Ms. Huston replied that the number of patrons has increased and that is due to computer use. Ald. D'Amato then asked what does that mean for the average user if they cut the book budget? Ms. Lockett appeared and replied that each neighborhood library would have a decrease in monies to purchase materials and it may affect the purchase of popular materials, such as GED materials. Ms. Kiely appeared and replied that electronic databases are expensive and they will try to maintain those as best as they can, but it would mean that they would need to cut back on some specialty items and some general materials. They would also put a priority on reference materials that are needed to help the librarians do their jobs. They will emphasize on purchasing children's materials and try to purchase materials that are in high demand. Ms. Huston noted that they would make sure they don't duplicate, which will leave the libraries with less copies and they would probably not do replacement orders. Ald. D'Amato discussed the Library Foundation raising money for Library materials and discussed the agreement they made with the past Mayor. Ald. Davis commented that priorities need to be set and that the funds for the libraries shouldn't come from the Foundation and/or Community Development Block Grant dollars; it should be fully funded by the City. He then discussed the risk to the Library programs. Mr. Nicolini replied that the risk to this budget is due to the decline in state share revenue. Chairman Murphy asked if the surrounding suburban libraries are cutting their book budget and, how much has the City previously paid in reciprocal borrowing. Ms. Huston replied that it was $1 million. Chairman Murphy asked if the suburban libraries don't sign, what would be the impact on Milwaukee's patron at those libraries. He also asked if the suburban libraries don't sign, where would Milwaukee put the half million dollars. Should they take the money back out and put it into the tax stabilization fund? Mr. Nicolini recommended that if the agreements aren't signed and they have an impact on library services available to Milwaukee residents, the Council could look at allowing the Board and the City Librarian to reallocated the funds. Ms. Huston noted that they have until Dec. 31, 2004 to sign, and so far none has been signed. She further noted that they received a letter from Oak Creek declining the funds offered by the City. She further advised that Wauwatosa stated taht they weren't going to sign the agreement offer because the funds weren't sufficient. Ms. Huston also said that they wouldn't know until the middle of January what the outcome will be. Chairman Murphy asked what would happen if they don't sign, would they tell Milwaukee residents they can't use their library? Ms. Huston replied that they declined the offer agreement, but they haven't received the member agreement from them yet. Ald. D'Amato as president of the Library Board, noted that they would consider expelling any suburb that doesn't sign and those suburbs then wouldn't have access to the Federated Library System. Ald. Witkowski appeared and addressed the Committee. He asked what criteria went into the cutting of library hours. Ms. Huston noted that it was a long and complicated progress. Ms. Kiely replied that at the Central Library they proposed reducing the hours by 6. She noted that on Thursdays and Wednesdays they would close 3 hours earlier. And the rational in closing earlier on those days was the low patron use during those times. Ms. Lockett commented that they determined the reduction in the majority of the branches the same way. She noted that, when deciding on the closings times, they worked it out so that when one library was closed, another library close by would be open. Chairman Murphy asked if there are any positions being eliminated? Ms. Kiely replied no. Ald. D'Amato commented on the debate over the Villard Avenue library last year, and noted that the kids go to the library until 6:00 p.m., because the parents work later. He then asked if the reduction of hours on Fridays would affect those families. Ms. Lockett noted that they normal close at 5:00 on Fridays. Recess: 11:50 A.M. Reconvened: 1:11 P.M. POLICE DEPARTMENT Appeared: Chief Nannette Hegerty, Deputy Inspector Sucik, Barb Butler (Budget Manager), Sergeant Michael Kuspa (Training Bureau), David Schroeder, Mark Ramion, Ed Ellenberger (Milw. Police Supervisors Org.), Bill Ward (Milwaukee Police Assoc.) Mr. Schroeder read his budget highlights. Mr. Ramion gave a summary of his fiscal report. Ms. Hegerty appeared and addressed the Committee. She thanked the Council members for their support and asked for their continuing support in 2005. She then read from her presentation, which gave a brief summary of the Police Departments 2005 Proposed Budget. (See MPD presentation attached to File 040795) Ald. Davis questioned the use of Community Development Block Grant funds and reprogramming funds. He then commented on the targeted reprogramming funds for 2005. Ms. Butler replied that if they don't receive the funds, it would restrict the overtime that they could spend in problem areas. Ald. Davis asked when do they plan on expending those funds? Ms. Butler replied that they couldn't spend those funds until they become available. Chairman Murphy noted that the whole Council would like to see an additional police recruit class, but it is a matter of how they could afford it. Chairman Murphy asked that the Budget and Fiscal Review Office supply the Committee with a fiscal amount if they were to add an additional class. Mr. Nicolini replied that it would be about $100,000 per pay period. Ald. Witkowiak asked if the Department every had 200 vacancies at one time in the past. Ms. Hegerty replied that yes they have and further noted that it contributed to overtime expenditures. Ald. D'Amato asked for the overtime numbers to date and the projected number for the remainder of this year. Mr. Schroeder replied that as of pay period 21 the department has spent $9.3 million in overtime and they project that they will be $1.6 million over budget. Chief Hegerty replied that hours are down, but budget dollars are up. Mr. Schroeder noted that they are behind from last year. Ald. D'Amato referred to the chart in the budget summary, and asked if it is conceivable to reduce the overtime and move up the police class by a couple of months. Chief Hegerty replied that she doesn't know if that is a possibility. She further discussed the wage cost issue in relation to overtime. Ald. D'Amato further discussed the overtime issues. Ald. D'Amato asked it they have some feedback yet on false alarm calls? Chief Hegerty noted that so far it has been working very well. She noted that she doesn't have the data right now, but they have been keeping a data log over the past month since the false alarm policy went into effect. Ald. D'Amato referred to the re-employment issues and asked if that has been in effect long enough to judge how that has worked. Chief Hegerty replied that the elimination of the early power shift, which is the noon to 8:00 p.m. has worked very well so far. She noted that they just received the data back on the possible elimination of the late power shift, which is from 8:00 p.m. till 4:00 a.m. and according to the data UWM collected on it, they determined that there is no effect one way or another. She then noted that they do get better lines of command in control. The transition team is studying that data right now and will be giving their recommendation in about two weeks. Chairman Murphy asked how the anti-gang unit is working with HIDTA and other law enforcement agencies. Chief Hegerty replied that it is working very well and then discussed the open line communication they have with the agencies and that they are working in a cooperative effort with all the agencies. Chairman Murphy questioned the purchase of 50 patrol cars at $1 million plus, and asked the Police Chief if they have reviewed the 50 patrol car purchase carefully and are they comfortable with that number being replaced. Chief Hegerty replied that they are replacing 13 patrol cars less then last year, due to the loss of some block grant funds. Mr. Schroeder responded that in the last few years there has been a reduction in block grant funds. The Department is also trying to reduce cost by moving their sergeants into a lower cost of vehicles, similar to the regular patrol cars. Chairman Murphy referred to the federal funding that the Police Department receives, which goes though the state before it gets to the Police Department. He then asked if they could do without the middleman. Mr. Schroeder commented that there has been a shift in what the Federal government is willing to fund. A lot of funds have been shifted away from local Law Enforcement to Homeland Security and that doesn't allow the purchase of vehicles under those programs. Ms. Butler noted that the Federal Government prefers the funding to go through the state. Chairman Murphy commented on the human trafficking issues and asked if there is evidence that it is occurring here in Milwaukee. Ms. Hegerty replied that they do have some that they discovered, but they don't know yet the full extent. Chairman Murphy referred to the increase in gas rates and asked if they think they have a fair budget for that. Mr. Schroeder replied that there are some built in increases in the 2005 budget. Ms. Butler noted that if they use the same amount of gasoline as 2004 they would have a shortfall of about $400,000. Ald. Witkowiak asked what are the long-range plans for the District 2 Police station in regards to capital improvements. Chief Hegerty replied that they are doing some extensive renovation there right now. Ms. Butler replied that $2 million was put in the capital budget in 2002-2003 for Distict 2 improvements and they recently received $965,000, which has been released to them and they are in the process of getting contractors to do some remodeling. Chairman Murphy referred to the use of non-lethal weapons. Sergeant Kuspa appeared and discussed the use of the taser project. Ald. D'Amato asked what other non-lethal weapons that are being used. Sergeant Kuspa replied that a pepper ball is used on occasions. Ald. Davis asked when dealing with a juvenile do they use tasers. Sergeant Kuspa noted that they don't recommended it. Ald. Davis noted that he didn't see anything in the Budget for school patrol officers in the schools. Chief Hegerty replied that there is one squad per district and they just received a COPS grant which gives them additional funding for school patrol officers in the Metcalfe area. Chairman Murphy questioned the Community Liaison Officer positions. Chief Hegerty replied that they have two Community Liaison Coordinators, one for the Latino community and one for the African American community. Ald. Witkowiak asked the Chief to consider adding a Liaison Coordinator to the Asian community in the 2006 Budget. Mr. Ward from the Milwaukee Police Association appeared and commented that this is a very solid budget, but noted his concern that they don't have enough front line services and added that another recruit class would be great.	Pass	4:0
10/15/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) ERS-ADMINISTRATION & RETIREMENT PROVISIONS Ann Bahr, Dennis Yaccarino and Jim Carroll appeared. Mr. Yaccarino read his budget highlights. Mr. Carroll gave a summary of his fiscal report. Ms. Bahr appeared and gave an ERS - 2005 Budget PowerPoint Presentation. She gave a brief overview of the Employee' Retirement System's business functions and activities. She reviewed some of the 2003/2004 accomplishments. She explained the Pension Management Information System (MERITS). She discussed a report on ERS Returns, ERS Portfolio pie chart, and a chart relative to risk - return comparisons and, lastly, she explained the ERS's 2004/2005 Proposed Activities. (See Common Council File #030795 for presentation). Ald. D'Amato referred to the pie charts in Ms. Bahr's presentation and asked if there are investments that are prohibited. Ms. Bahr replied that there are some, and currently they are checking into state statutes on certain investments that they can and cannot engage in. Ald. D'Amato then referred to the pie chart on real estate investments. Ms. Bahr and Ald. D'Amato discussed the real estate investments currently used by ERS. Chairman Murphy commented that the benefit the pension fund provides is that the City hasn't had to contribute money to the fund in several years. He then commented about the sinking fund that was created several years ago and noted that the Mayor isn't contributing any money this year. He further commented that they had authorized the actuarial study last year and asked when will that study be completed. Mr. Yaccarino replied that it should be completed by the end of November 2004. He then asked what the current balance is in that fund. Mr. Yaccarino replied that it is $17 million. POLICE ANNUITY & BENEFITS FUND Bonnie Stahl, Mr. Yaccarino and Jim Carroll appeared. Mr. Yaccarino gave his budget highlights. Mr. Carroll then recited his fiscal report. Ald. Donovan asked how many officers are in the plan? Ms. Stahl replied that there are 201 members. Ald. Donovan asked if there will be an increase in the 2005 budget. Mr. Yaccarino replied "no", they will receive the same as they received in 2004. Ald. Donovan asked what the average pension is for those members. Mr. Yaccarino replied that the bulk of the recipients receive $300-$800 per month. Ms. Stahl replied that the overall average is about $1200 month: A couple of them get $4000-$5000, several receive $1000-$2000 and the majority receive around $600 with the widows getting about $300. TREASURER Wayne F. Whittow, James Klajbor, Craig Kammholz and Jeff Osterman appeared. Mr. Kammholz recited his budget highlights. Mr. Osterman then gave a summary of his fiscal report. Mr. Whittow appeared and addressed the Committee. He noted that they have met their budget allocation and asked that their 2005 Proposed Budget be accepted. Chairman Murphy asked what is the amount of delinquent water bills. Mr. Whittow noted that the delinquent water bills are put on the property taxes. Mr. Klajbor replied the delinquent water amount is put into a special charge category, so they couldn't give a breakdown of just delinquent water amounts. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the suspension of the work station replacement program. Mr. Whittow replied that they weren't going to replace computers in 2005. Mr. Klajbor noted that they usually replace 1/3 of their computers each year, which costs about $25,000-$30,000. Chairman Murphy asked what is the reduction of 2000 temporary hours. Mr. Whittow replied that in the summer they use more temporary help, because most of the employees in his office have been there a long time and they have a lot of vacation time to use and they usually use it in the summer months. Chairman Murphy noted his concern about the wait time. Chairman Murphy asked if they considered accepting payment for property taxes with a credit card. Mr. Whittow noted that there isn't a big demand for it, but they also couldn't absorb the service charge into the property tax bill. He did note that they are trying something new, by letting people pay their property taxes on line by check. He will be reviewing how well that goes for the 2004 property taxes and determine whether they will continue to do that. Ald. Davis asked if there are any liens attached to tax delinquent properties in relation with payday loans or currency exchanges organizations. Mr. Whittow replied no. HEALTH DEPARTMENT Bevan Baker, Dr. Vivian Chin, Yvette Rowe, John Ledvina and Mark Ramion appeared. John Ledvina gave a brief overview of his budget highlights. Mr. Ramion read his fiscal report. Mr. Baker appeared and addressed the Committee. He gave a brief overview of the Health Departments budget and their goals for 2005. He noted that their main goal is to enhance the health for every individual and every family in the City of Milwaukee, and to promote safe and healthy neighborhoods throughout the City. Ald. Donovan asked how the progress is going with the Health Department's partnership with Plan Parenthood at the Northwest side site. Mr. Baker replied that it has been over a year now since they partnered with Plan Parenthood, and they have reached over 1600 clients. He noted that there is a cross referral between Plan Parenthood and the Health Dept. at that site and they have every intention to continue it. The goal was to reach 800-900 over this past year and it was met. Ald. Donovan asked about the increased trend on the near south side regarding pushcart vendors and the safe health issues. Mr. Baker replied that they do have proactive initiatives that they have been doing in regards to pushcart vendors. He noted that they do have inspectors out there who do surprise inspections. They are also looking at how to house GPS units on pushcarta, which would help the inspector locate those vendors. Chairman Murphy asked if there is training provided to pushcart vendors and noted that there should be something put into the budget for the training. Mr. Baker replied that they do provide a handout which explains what they need to do regarding health issues. Ald. D'Amato asked how the health department has been able to obtain a large amount of grants. Mr. Baker explained the process and procedures the Health Department uses to find out about the different grants that are available to them. Ald. D'Amato discussed the infant mortality rate and noted that the latest numbers they have is for 2002 and asked if the 2003 data is available. Mr. Baker replied that data isn't published yet. Ald. D'Amato then referred to the Infant Mortality grant that is expired and the 2 positions lost or reassigned. He asked if the overall infant mortality efforts for next year are less then it is was for this year. Mr. Baker replied that they have seen an impact from the new position that they added. He further explained the responsibilities of that position and the data that person has already gathered in relation to infant mortality. Mr. Baker further explained that one of their goals is to change the way they do outreach in regards to infants. They are currently working with the Wisconsin State MCH Dept. to develop a special rate in Medicaid dollars to be used specifically for outreach, and they would hire 20-25 workers to work in the 9 worst zip codes in the city to do outreach for newborns. Ald. D'Amato asked if they have the staff in the Health Department to bring the infant motility rate down. Mr. Baker replied that he couldn't say whether he had enough staff, which is why he is trying to create an outreach. Ald. D'Amato mentioned that the 2005 Proposed Budget eliminates 7 Public Health Nurse positions that are not filled. Mr. Baker replied that due to the budget they are forced to proritize; they chose to eliminate those positions, but they are also working on changing the workload so that the nurses handle less paperwork, etc. Chairman Murphy commented that the Mayor plan was to put more nurses in the schools. He asked how this is supposed to happen. Mr. Baker replied that they are looking at grants and private funding to help provide the funding to do that. There are going to be more private nurses than public nurses in the schools next year. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Baker to put together an estimate of what it would cost to put a nurse in every school. Mr. Baker replied that it would cost $7 million to support 100 nurses. Ald. Witkowiak commented that when kids claim they are sick and if there is no nurse available, the kids are automatically sent home. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the alternative work schedule program. Mr. Baker replied it is a program offered to employees represented by Staff Nurses Council and if offers them a flexible work schedule. He further noted that it has been very successful. Chairman Murphy asked what is the current status of funding related to the AIDS initiative, especially in light of CDBG funding not expressly provided in the 2005 Proposed Budget. Mr. Baker replied that out of the $11 million of CDBG allocation, $250,000 has been allocated for the AIDS Initiative. That is a $64,000 reduction from last year. Chairman Murphy asked what is the new hazard analysis approach that allows the department to eliminate a health inspector position. Mr. Baker replied that they are transforming the way they do the work and are moving towards the use of new technology, called a mobile inspection system. He hopes the new technology will create efficiencies. Ald. D'Amato asked if the food fees pay for the food inspector positions. Mr. Baker replied that food fees generate $1.6 million and that fee offsets some of the cost of wages. Ms. Walsh replied that tax levy supplies some of the wages. Sue Blaustein, President of Local 1091, commented on her concerns and effects of the elimination of the Consumer Environmental Department's Food Inspector's position and the changes in the Disease & Control Prevention Division. Chairman Murphy asked why the new technology that had been approved last year isn't in the field inspector's hand yet. Mr. Baker replied that they are still working on it and they want to make sure it works before they put it out there. Judy Thorsheim, President of the Staff Nurses' Council appeared to advocate for the retention of the Public Health Nurse positions blighted for elimination in the 2005 Proposed Budget. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Baker to put together a prioritized list of the positions that are proposed to be eliminated. Mr. Baker replied that he would do that.	Pass	5:0
10/12/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) and Barry Zalben, Manager (Legislative Reference Bureau) MUNICIPAL COURT Kristine M. Hinrichs, Judge Gramling, John Ledvina and Emma Stamps appeared. John Ledvina read his budget highlights. Ms. Stamps then gave a brief summary of her fiscal report. Judge Gramling appeared and addressed the Committee. He stated that they are pleased with the 2005 Proposed Budget as presented. He gave a brief highlight of the four major court issues. They are in the mist of implementing a new case management system that has been approved in prior years and they will go live with it sometime by the end of January 2005. Second, he briefly discussed the change to their policy regarding installment payment plans. Third, he briefly discussed the drivers' license programs, which have been very successful over the last eight months. Fourth, he discussed unpaid parking tickets, noting the large number of cases in the courts that revolve around parking tickets, which continue to be about 10% of the case load at the courts. Ms. Hinrichs noted that one more issue worth mentioning is the enactment of a bill last year by the Judiciary and Legislation Committee that provided that the State of Wisconsin share, through reduction of their sur-charge in the cost of collecting over due judgments. This would result in about $150,000 in additional revenue per year to the City. Judge Gramling also noted that they will be celebrating their 30th anniversary of the opening of the courts on Jan. 6, 2005. Ald. Davis and Ald. D'Amato commented on the Driver's License Reinstatement program success. Ald. D'Amato then asked if there are any lessons that have been learned and that can be incorporated daily so people can get their licenses more quickly and also to use in the future. Judge Gramling replied that they are not in favor of doing it again. He further noted that they aren't done assessing the program yet, but one of the critical pieces in this program was the participation of the Department. of Transportation, who volunteered people four nights a week and who coached people on how to get their drivers' licenses back. Chairman Murphy commented that as many as 61,000 people were eligible. Ms. Hinrichs noted that 47,000 would be a more accurate number. Chairman Murphy asked how much money was recovered. Judge Gramling noted $255,000 as of Oct. 7, 2004. Chairman Murphy noted that the Council approved about $55,000 and Judge Gramling noted that they had spent $28,000. Chairman Murphy commented on the absentee landlords, who pay their fines on installment plans. Judge Gramling replied that the installment payment plan was put together and is a benefit for people who need it, but he noted that it did get out of control as far as building code violations. They are currently working with Department of Neighborhood Services on that problem. Ald. Donovan commented on the 44% decline in cases coming from the Department of Neighborhood Services. Ald. D'Amato asked how the payment plans are set up. Ms. Hinrichs and Judge Gramling gave a brief overview of the installment plan process and also how it works when dealing with building code violation. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS (all) Maria Monteagudo, Burma Hudson, David Heard, Erick Shambarger and Mark Ramion appeared. Mr. Shambarger read his budget highlights. Mr. Ramion then gave a summary of his fiscal report. Ms. Monteagudo appeared and gave a Powerpoint presentation. She briefly explained the following four key areas: First is the Department of Employee Relations Functions and Programs; second is the merger of the Fire and Police Commission with the Department of Employee Relations in 2003 has resulted in many successes. Mr. Heard appeared and noted that the combination of the Fire and Police Commission and Department of Employee Relations has been working together very well. The third key area is the 2005 Budget overview; and the last key area is the Department of Employee Relations initiatives relative to the Department of Employee Relations strategic planning process, which involves three areas - Employee Relations, Compensation and Workers' Compensation. Chairman Murphy asked what strategies have been considered or implemented in order to contain Worker Compensation costs. What proactive steps has the city taken to prevent and reduce workplace injuries? Ms. Monteagudo replied and discussed the strategic plan initiative they have for that area. Chairman Murphy then asked what historical prospective has the City been facing in terms of Workers Compensation and are they looking at any trends due to the fact that the City does have an older worker force and where that is going? Ms. Hudson discussed the history of the Workers Compensation Division. Chairman Murphy asked what Department has the most incidents. Ms. Hudson replied that Department of Public Works has the most injuries. Chairman Murphy asked if they could provide a comparative report with other Cities on Worker Compensation injuries. Ms. Monteagudo advised that they have started the process of reconvening the City's Central Safety Committee and they will meet by the end of October. Mr. Nicolini commented that the best way might be to use some kind of incentives for Departments' performance. Chairman Murphy asked how many claims have been submitted last year. Ms. Hudson replied that they receive a little over 3000 new claims. He then asked what was it two years ago. Ms. Hudson noted that the amount of claims has stabilized. Ald. Witkowski appeared and commented that a report is a good starting point and to have the reports return to the Public Safety Committee on a regular basis would be a good idea. Ald. Davis noted his concerns with the elimination of the Diversity Specialist-Senior position in the Office of Diversity. He noted that he thinks it is too soon to eliminate a position from that office, since it was just created in 2003. Ms. Monteagudo noted that the position was vacant. Mr. Shambarger replied that in 2004 that position has shown up in a different area in the Budget. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Heard about the decrease in citizen complaints to the Fire & Police Commission. Mr. Heard replied that they received 29 and right now they have 5 pending as of August 2004. Mr. Heard gave an overview of how complaints are submitted and noted that there have been more complaints settled with the Police Chief rather than with the Fire and Police Commission. Ald. Murphy asked about the number of reclassification pending in the City Service Commission. Ms. Monteagudo replied that in 2003, they completed 65 classification studies and that impacted 118 positions. As of August, 2004, they completed 75 and that impacted 125 positions. Currently they have 19 classification studies in progress. Ald. D'Amato mentioned the reclassification problem during the Budget process. Chairman Murphy asked Ms. Monteagudo to submit a list of reclassifications that are in this budget to the Committee members before budget adoption. DER-EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ACCOUNTS Maria Monteagudo, Michael Brady, Andrea Knickerbocker, Dennis Yaccarino, and Mark Ramion appeared. Mr. Yaccarino gave his budget overview and Mr. Ramion gave a summary of his fiscal report. Mr. Brady appeared and gave a Powerpoint presentation on Employee Benefits 2005. He discussed the following five steps that they are taking in regard to health care: The City provides choices and offer incentives, support cost effective drug utilization, promote Health and wellness, improve Health Care Quality and leverage the Best Care and lowest cost for all Milwaukee employers. He then referred to his chart on City Total Health Care Cost: 1999 to 2005 and went over the 2005 Rate Charts. And finally he discussed the graphs on Health Care Cost from 1994 - 2004. Ald. D'Amato asked what percent of employees are in the CompCare Blue Board Network. Mr. Brady replied that about 40% are in the Board Network, 38% in Aurora and 22% in the Basic Plan. Ald. D'Amato asked what action by City Employees during open enrollment period will save them money and save the City money. Mr. Brady replied that it would save employees money to choose the Aurora Family Network. He noted that the biggest cost to the city has been the retirees, where the city pays 100% of retirees' cost for any insurance they choose until age 65. He commented that as that changes in the future the city's cost will change. He then noted with management choices the city cost would not change regardless of which plan they choose. Mr. Yaccarino noted that the HMOs are fixed-costs plans and the Basic Plans are an estimated premium payment. If their efforts are working well, they would expect those premium cost would eventually drive down into the Tier 1 and Tier 2 and the cost would be lower. It would depend on who chooses those plans. They would have to see some history to know for sure what the cost to the city would be. Ald. D'Amato asked how much is the employee share of the health insurance cost. Mr. Brady replied that for both employees and retirees in 2004, would be about $20 million. Chairman Murphy asked what percentage of union employees select the Basic Plan. Mr. Brady replied that it varies, with District Council 48 is at about 20% and Milwaukee Police Supervisors Org. is over 30%. PORT OF MILWAUKEE Eric Reinelt-Acting Port Director, Hattie Billingsley, Larry Sullivan, David Schroeder and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Schroeder read his budget highlights. Ms. Ward gave a summary of her fiscal report. Mr. Reinelt appeared to answer any questions. Chairman Murphy commented that the cargo tonnage in 2003 decreased by 75,071 tons from 2002. Chairman Murphy asked how is the tonnage for 2004 from 2003. Mr. Reinelt replied that they have been having a good year and noted that 2 out of the last 3 years they hit 3 million tons and that is a record for the Port and they will be doing that again this year. Chairman Murphy asked what would they contribute that income to. Mr. Reinelt replied that they have the structure and market in place to attract opportunities when they are here and now with the economy doing extremely well and the manufacturing sector and construction sector all those goods reflect the bottom line, which comes through Port. Chairman Murphy asked who is the Port's biggest Customer. Mr. Reinelt replied that in terms of tenants it would be Milwaukee. Bulk Terminal/Kinder Morgan who handles a lot of tonnage for the Port and two other tenants that are also doing really well is Sonag Cement Company and St. Mary's Cement Company. Chairman Murphy asked if the Port is still shipping a lot of scrap metal to China. Mr. Reinelt replied that has changed somewhat They had done a lot up to about 4-5 years ago and then the dock was closed by Miller Compressing. He noted they are still exporting, but it is a higher grade of metal so volume is lower then it used to be but as far as value it is higher. Chairman Murphy asked how the effort going on getting further businesses in terms of working with other nations and other local communities. Mr. Reinelt replied that that is also doing very well and that next year or late this year they will be handling several new cargos including alternative energy sources, such as windmills. Chairman Murphy asked how the ferry is doing. Mr. Reinelt replied that it is doing very well. Chairman Murphy asked Mr. Reinelt to elaborate on the jobs created because of the port. Mr. Reinelt replied and discussed the economic study to update the job growth in this port that was done about 4 years ago. Chairman Murphy discussed the homeland security issues with Mr. Reinelt. Ald. Davis asked what was the total grant award received from Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Reinelt noted that the only funding they received was from the federal government through the state in 2003 of $250,000 and it is almost spent. He noted that there is no current grant funds awarded to them and noted that they need more funding.	Pass	5:0
10/7/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Barry Zalben (Legislative Reference Bureau), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) DPW-ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIVISION Jeffrey Mantes, Dorinda Floyd, Thomas Bell & Jim Carroll appeared. Mr. Bell read his budget overview. Mr. Carroll thereupon gave a summary of his fiscal report. Mr. Mantes appeared and discussed the DPW budget highlight. He also discussed the City Hall restoration project and other projects that they are currently working on and will be throughout 2005. Ald. D'Amato commented about the call center and asked how are the calls logged and if the log is available to the public. Ms. Floyd replied that the public doesn't have access to that information, but it could be made available. Ald. D'Amato referred to the fiscal report that stated the average call is answered in 60 seconds. Ms. Floyd noted that most of their calls are answered in 10 seconds. She also noted that they project that they will receive 200,000 calls next year. Mr. Mantes noted that 190,000 calls came in last year. He also advised that they take all street light, street maintenance and sanitation calls. Chairman Murphy questioned the drop in the workload in the Sanitation Division's ward yards due to the call center taking those calls, and asked if those positions were being moved out of those areas. Ms. Floyd replied that 3 positions were eliminated in the sanitation budget and the call center picked up one auxiliary position. Chairman Murphy commented on the implementation of several citywide technological applications. He asked if it would reduce cost and be more efficient to consolidate ITMD with DPW-Administrative Services. Ms. Floyd replied that there could be some consolidation and there could be some savings. Chairman Murphy asked if Ms. Floyd could submit to him detailed information on that for a possible amendment. Ms. Mantes noted that he has had some discussion with ITMD regarding working together. Chairman Murphy questioned the $5 million in capital funding for the new phone system and whether the system will be within the budgeted amount. Ms. Floyd noted that they will be under budget. Chairman Murphy commented about the DPW's responsibility for the processing of large amounts of financial transactions. He asked what improvements could be made to the citywide financial system that would make the processing of those transactions more efficient. Ms. Floyd discussed their automated accounts receivable application and noted that the Comptrollers Office should pursue a citywide application. Mr. Morics replied that they presently own and pay licensing fees to Peoplesoft for a FMIS accounts receivables module and they plan to implement that sometime in the near future. Chairman Murphy commented on the elimination of one Safety Specialist position and DPW dividing the responsibilities among the remaining 3 positions. He then asked what impact, if any, has this change had on DPW's safety record. Ms. Floyd replied that the Safety Specialist position was eliminated in the 2004 budget. Mr. Dan Thomas appeared and advised that the trend relative to the number of injuries has gone down over the past five years. Ald. Davis noted his concern about the Residential Preference Program. Ms. Floyd noted that she would follow up on the progress of that program. Ald. Davis also noted that he requested an audit of DPW in 2005. Ald. D'Amato discussed the special pickup calls. Mr. Engelbart appeared and explained the sanitation connection to the call center in relation to special pickups. Ald. D'Amato asked if one main call number, like 311 would work as a one number for all city services, etc. Ms. Floyd noted that they have talked about a 311 number and plan to further look into that once the phone system is completed. DPW-OPERATIONS DIVISION---SANITATION Jeffrey Mantes, Preston Cole, James Purko, Michael J. Engelbart, Wanda Booker, Leonard Streich-Business Manager of Local 61, Michael Campbell-President of Local 61, Ken Wischer-President of Local 423, Patrick Hartmann & Jim Carroll appeared. Mr. Hartmann gave a brief budget overview. Mr. Carroll gave a summary of his fiscal report. Ald. Donovan commented about the $1.2 million reduction in snow and ice control operation funds for 2005. He asked if this reduction will result in any changes in the way snow and ice control operations are handled in 2005 from the way they are performed in 2004. Mr. Purko replied that over the past three years monies had been returned back. Mr. Nicolini noted that there are some operational changes which will use the resources more efficiently, and there is also money budgeted in the Contingent Fund just in case. Ald. Witkowiak questioned the special pick-up process. Mr. Cole gave a brief powerpoint presentation on the DPW-Sanitation Divisions 2005 Budget Initiatives. He noted that their goals are to reduce program costs, increase revenues and resize routes. They will begin an extensive re-education campaign for all citizens and their workforce. He then referred to key elements of the 2005 budget in his powerpoint presentation and noted that they are going to eliminate the collection of large brush piles and reduce the maximum amount collected to four cubic yards. They are going to discontinue collection of appliances. He noted that bulky items can be placed with regular garbage for collection. He then discussed the creation of a landlord box and move-out program that would be available from March-November. Ald. Davis asked who will be monitoring the EBE participation requirements in the new solid waste and recycling contracts. Mr. Mantes replied that the DPW will be doing the monitoring. Mr. Purko then explained the process of the monitoring. Ald. Donovan asked if someone could explain what unfunded auxiliary positions means in relation to the six Sanitation Inspectors. Mr. Cole replied that they are seasonal workers and are laid off in the off-peak months. Ald. D'Amato commented about cart fees and asked if they could charge absentee owners for the cart fees and not owner-occupied residents. Mr. Purko noted that it would be best to request a City Attorney's opinion on that issue. Ald. Bohl appeared and questioned what DPW is doing on getting the message out on recycling. Mr Mantes replied that the contract calls for extensive education and they use a variety of mechanisms, such as mailings and public service announcements. Mr. Engelbart appeared and discussed the mechanisms used by DPW. Ald. Bohl then commented on the snow plowing operation. He asked when DPW begins to plow during a standard winter. Mr. Purko replied that they determine when to start plowing when snow accumulates to 3-4 inches and what the temperature and the forecast is at the time. Ald. Dudzik asked if DPW-Sanitation has installed GPS systems in their vehicles. Mr. Cole replied that they are continuing the installation on garbage trucks. Mr. Pearson noted that there is $170,000 budgeted for the installation of GPS units in city vehicles. Ald. Murphy asked what part of the Budget is the GPS system stated in. Mr. Pearson noted that it is in the operating budget. Mr. Leonard Striech, Business Manager of Union Local 61 appeared and addressed the Committee. He advised that DPW is in violation of 2002 MOU and noted that the volition is in the Office Staff policy. He further discussed the requirements stated in the MOU agreement and the violation. Mr. Campbell, President of Local 61 appeared and advised that they are in objection to the proposed garbage collection route changes in the 2005 budget. He noted that the change would cause a loss of eight positions. He further discussed other problems relative to garbage collection routes. Mr. Pruko responded to the issues Mr. Campbell brought up. Mr. Cole then elaborated on the issues and problems Mr. Campbell raised and explained the process of garbage collection, salting and snow plowing operations. Mr. Wischer, President of Local 423 noted his concern about the equipment that isn't going to be used next year. Recess: 11:50 A.M. Reconvened: 1:10 P.M. DPW-OPERATIONS DIVISION---FORESTRY Jeffrey Mantes, James Purko, Preston Cole, Robert McFadyen, Patrick Hartmann & Jeff Osterman appeared. Mr. Hartmann gave his budget overview. Mr. Osterman followed with a summary of his fiscal report. Chairman Murphy mentioned that the 2005 Proposed Budget eliminates roughly 100 flower beds for a savings of $261,250 and noted that it makes a very visual impact on the City. He then asked how that relates to the strategic plans. Mr. McFadyen replied that the reduction of 19,000 square feet of flower beds are the remaining flower beds that they have left and, once eliminated, they would then seed them over with grass. They would then seek revenue sources for the remaining flowers and sell them. Chairman Murphy then discussed the Mayor's press conference regarding Friends of the Boulevards, where businesses would adopt a boulevard. Ald. Donovan stated that it is an excellent idea to approach the private sector for funding for the boulevards, and that he is in support of that. Mr. Mantes hopes it will be successful. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the breakdown of the 30% savings in relations to salaries and equipment. Mr. McFayden replied that it is some supplies, but mostly salaries. Ald. D'Amato further questioned the greenhouse issue. Ald. Murphy questioned the 90% reduction in the cost of mowing equipment. Mr. McFayden replied that it equates to holding off one year to purchase 4 lawn mowers, which would cost $105,000. He noted that their current equipment could do the job for another coming year. Ald. Davis noted that last year DPW was budgeted to water the flower beds and not the boulevards. He then asked if that's what they are still doing. Mr. McFayden replied that, " yes", they are continuing with the bed only watering and they will continue doing that unless the Council changes that. He further noted that it was a cost cutting measure and that it could affect the grass turning brown and could also affect some trees. Mr. Cole commented that it would take about 40 years to completely convert to the watering of only flower beds. Chairman Murphy commented on the miscellaneous charges in terms of tree removal on private property and noted that they collected $250,000 last year. He asked if that cost is up from the previous year. Mr. McFayden replied that the cost is up and noted that City forces do not remove trees from private property; that is done under private contract. He then explained the tree removal process. DPW-OPERATIONS DIVISION---BUILDINGS & FLEET SERVICES Jeffrey Mantes, James Purko, Venu Gupta, Dan Blosser, James Fields-Local 33, Ken Wischer - President of Local 423, Mr. Rute - President of TEAM, Gary Kulwicki, Patrick Hartmann & Mark Ramion appeared. Mr. Hartmann gave his budget overview. Mr. Ramion presented his fiscal report. Mr. Gupta then gave a brief overview of the Bldgs. & Fleet Budget. Ald. D'Amato questioned the reduction of five positions. Mr. Gupta noted that of the five positions being eliminated, three of those are filled. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Gupta to keep the committee updated as far as those three people finding other positions. Ald. D'Amato commented that under the facilities Development and Management section there is currently an estimated backlog of deferred maintenance that exceeds $130 million for the next 10 years. He asked if that is inclusive of the City Hall Restoration project. Mr. Gupta replied that it was and noted $40 million is City Hall restoration and $9 million is for deferred maintenance per year for 10 years. Mr. Kulwicki, Facilities Manager appeared and explained the Facility Condition Index Reporting System that they incorporated in 1995. He noted that the $9 million includes component renewal and things that need to be replaced, because their service life had been exceeded. It is also used for necessary additions, improvements, repairs and grounds maintenance. Ald. D'Amato further questioned the building maintenance. Mr. Kulwicki continued to explain the building maintenance process. Mr. Hartmann discussed the outstanding deferred maintenance and noted that it needs to be further analyzed because the industry standard of 2% applied to the citywide value of buildings is approximately $1 billion minus what is funded annually. Ald. Donovan asked about the 2005 Proposed Budget for gasoline and what steps if any the department is taking to address that. Mr. Gupta advised that they are advising employees to shut down the equipment when not in use and make sure the equipment is tuned-up. Mr. Gupta noted that he isn't satisfied with the gasoline budget request. Mr. Purko advised that they look at the 2003 budget and compare, and then judge what is going to happen to the industry and they budget for gas by that. Mr. Kulwicki further discussed the gasoline budgeted amount. Ald. Donovan noted his concern that they are low budgeting on snow removal and gasoline. Chairman Murphy discussed the Comptroller's audit and noted that there are no resources in the budget to purchase any new vehicles. Mr. Purko discussed the Comptrollers audit and then further explained the DPW fleet. Ald. Dudzik referred to a 2003 Common Council file regarding a request for a study of surplus equipment and made a recommendation to rent out surplus equipment to other municipalities. He then referred to the mild winters and asked if they have enough mechanics. Mr. Gupta discussed the replacement of new equipment. Ald. Dudzik asked what the $25,000 budget amount for Professional Services is used for. Mr. Gupta noted that from time to time they need specialists to look at certain parts of the organization so that they can review and determine how they could perform better. Ald. Dudzik asked what is the $30,000 for mileage reimbursement. Mr. Purko replied that the $30,000 is to be used for IT services. Chairman Murphy asked if they are within budget and on schedule with the City Hall project. Mr. Ron Schoeneck replied that they are right on time and the cost is pretty close to the estimate they got from the consultant, but they will know the exact cost once they get the bids in. Ald. Witkowiak asked what is the life span of the restoration. Mr. Shoeneck replied that it varies because there are different elements on the building that have different life spans, such as copper would have 75-100 years. Mr. James Fields, Local 33, noted his concern about the elimination of the filled positions. He noted that DPW has a large amount of equipment and some of the equipment needs restoration. He is also concerned about the aging work force and the elimination of younger workers. Mr. Gupta discussed Mr. Fields concerns. Mr. Ken Wischer, Local 423, appeared and noted his concern about the elimination of one filled custodial worker position. He noted that currently one of the 5 custodian workers has been willing to work overtime. He also had concerns about the reduction of one vacant Field Mechanic, which has currently become vacant due to a retirement. Mr. Gupta replied that they would look into the overtime issue of the custodian worker. Mr. Gupta then commented about the vacant Field Mechanic position and noted that they have the option to use an auxiliary position if needed. Mr. Rute, President of TEAM, noted his concern about the elimination of an Engineer Tech. V position. Mr. Kulwicki discussed the workload and noted that other staff are capable of handling the work the Engineer Tech. V position handle. Mr. Rute further noted his concerns with the modification of job responsibilities of a current Mechanical Engineer III position by creating a new position call Methods and Standards Engineer. He also noted his concern with the Architect III position that is being reclassified to Architect IV. Mr. Gupta explained what their plans are in relation to the above changes. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN Jeffrey Mantes, Craig Kammholz and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Kammholz continued where he left off yesterday with debt services and then read his budget highlights for the Capital Improvements Plan. Ms. Ward gave a summary of her fiscal report. Mr. Mantes then gave his highlights on the capital improvement projects. Ald. Davis asked if the GPS Capital Project for the fleet is in the 2-Way radio Capital Program. Mr. Gupta replied yes, that the replacement radios have GPS chips embedded in them. Ald. Davis commented on the recreational facilities relative to the play fields and tot lots. He then asked what are the existing conditions of those play fields and tot lots? He also asked how much have they spent in capital over the last 15 years and where are they at right now in comparison to 15 years ago. Mr. Gupta replied that he would get that information for Ald. Davis. He also noted that the overall conditions in most of the parks are good. Ald. D'Amato commented on the Canal Street project. He then asked what is the cost and when it is going to start. Mr. Mantes replied that the project is approaching about $28 million and they are in the first phase and they will begin within a month. Ald. Witkowiak questioned the $5 million need for poor soil conditions and asked whether it was contamination or swamp. Mr. Mantes replied that it was swamp. DPW-INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES DIVISION Jeffrey Mantes, Jeffrey S. Polenske, Clark Wantoch, Thomas Bell and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Bell read his budget summary. Ms.Ward than read from her fiscal report. Chairman Murphy commented that he has received complaints regarding street lights going on and off and asked why the street lights go on and off. Mr. Polenske replied that this has been an ongoing problem. He further commented that there is a study scheduled at the end of 2004 to conduct and implement a pilot project regarding street lights going on and off. He further noted that they are 60% complete with updating the old circuitry. Chairman Murphy asked if the customer call center receives street lighting problem calls. And if yes, could Mr. Mantes check with them on how many calls they receive and if a lot of the calls are coming from a certain areas. Mr. Mantes noted that he would check with the call center as far as hot spots in lighting problems. Ald. D'Amato asked if there had been an alteration on street lighting. Mr. Polenske replied that they had started making alterations on street lighting a couple of years ago. He then noted that they have since gone back and set the time back to where they used to be, which is 5 minutes before dust and 5-10 minutes after dawn. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the savings to the City for a 30 minutes burn time. Chairman Murphy replied that it was $105,000 in 2002 for a different of 5 minutes. Mr. Wantoch commented on the light savings. Ald. D'Amato asked about the cutting of crews. Mr. Mantes replied and explained the crews that are being cut and further explained the process on when they use certain crews and what they use them for. Ald. Murphy asked how the street sweeping services to Wauwatosa was going. Mr. Purko replied that it wasn't renewed in 2004 and that he had been informed that Wauwatosa had purchased a new piece of equipment to handle their own streets sweeping. Bill Sprouty, with TEAM, noted his concern on the elimination of three TEAM positions: two Engineering Tech. V and one Civil Engineer IV. Mr. Polenske replied that the two Engineering Tech. V positions are unfilled at this time, and the Civil Engineer IV position had been created from a management position and after a short time they found that the nature of the work required more management skills, so they need to eliminate it. Mr. Mantes also replied and explained his concern with the Civil Engineer IV position. DPW-SEWER MAINTENANCE PROGRAM Jeffrey Mantes, Erick Shamburger, Jeff Polenske, Martin Aquinos and Emma Stamps appeared. Chairman Murphy commented that there is no increase in the 2005 Proposed Budget. He then asked what are the projections as far as it being sustainable, are they looking to make any changes, and is their enough funding in there to deal with the issues that are being looked at. Mr. Nicolini replied that it would depend on how the city chooses to manage and finance storm water. He then noted that fee or rate increases may be required in the future. Mr. Shamburger gave his budget highlight. Ms. Stamps read her fiscal report. Mr. Polenske gave a budget overview. Ald. D'Amato mentioned the separation of the combined sewer and noted that he hopes that there isn't a complete separation. He then asked if there is a first flush capacity in that. Mr. Polenske replied that they are taking a strong look at the projects that they do on an annual basis and they are determining whether or not they are a good candidate for separation, and then they would consider if what part of that they would do the first flush. Ald. D'Amato then asked what is the $275,000 for down spout disconnection being used for. Mr. Polenske replied that they are targeting a location in the City that already has a partial separation and the funds will be used for incentives in a pilot program. Mr. Polenske and Mr. Aquino further commented on other projects that they are presenting working on. Ald. D'Amato asked if funds are being spent on the backflow problem in Ald. Wade's and Ald. Hamilton's Districts that happened earlier in 2004. Mr. Polenske replied, " yes" they are looking into that also. Ald. Davis commented on the inlet restrictors and down spout program. He noted his concern regarding the flooding in the fall and spring as far as the ice getting in between the cracks and then asked if that would cause an increase in the cost of capital improvements. Mr. Polenske replied that it is a pilot program and many cities in the Midwest where weather is an issue have used inlet restrictors and it has worked for them, so that is why they are doing a pilot program here in Milwaukee. DPW-PARKING Jeffrey Mantes, Dorinda Floyd, Cindy Angelos, Jennifer Gonda and Jim Carroll appeared. Ms. Gonda gave her budget overview. Mr. Carroll then gave his fiscal report summary. Chairman Murphy asked how the kiosks project is working. Ms. Floyd replied that they plan to install three kiosks in Police Stations (Districts 2, 5 and 6) by the end of the year and hope they will be ready to sell first quarter nighttime parking permits and annual permits for 2005. She noted that they have been delayed but had been assured that they will be in by the end of the year. She noted that this is a pilot program, but hopes to implement the kiosk technology in all police station districts. Chairman Murphy asked if they have found the internet useful in terms of citizens accessing the web for parking information. Ms. Floyd replied that there is a lot of use for payment of citations and night parking permissions. She also noted that the over the phone payments have been successful too. Chairman Murphy then asked if there is any proposal or plans to sell any parking structures. Ms. Floyd noted that not in the near future. They plan to put out a RFP and receive bids some time next summer, because they know that there is some interest out there. Chairman Murphy asked how much revenue is being collected from all sources. Ms Floyd replied that they will finish 2004 with about $3.6 million more than projected and that ties into the redraw from reserves. She further explained the sources of revenues. Ald. D'Amato commented about the streamlining of the daytime parking permits system. He then commented that he had been informed of parking checkers on foot patrol. Ms. Floyd replied that they had started a Pilot foot patron in July of 2004 but they have not had a meeting yet on the results. Chairman Murphy asked if there are any legislative changes that Ms. Floyd could recommend regarding handicap-parking issues. Ms. Floyd answered that the illegal use of Handicap hangtags result in a loss of meter revenue, but mostly the loss of parking spaces. Ald. Witkowiak asked if the parking checkers could get information about handicap hangtags to see if its legal. Ms. Floyd replied "no". Ms. Angelo replied that a police office is called and they could check the license plate and the hangtags to see if it matches. DPW-WATER Jeffrey Mantes, Carrie Lewis, Dale Mejaki, Erick Shambarger, Emma Stamps and John English appeared. Mr. Shambarger gave a summary of his budget highlights. Ms Stamps thereafter recited her fiscal report. Ms. Lewis appeared and gave a summary of the water works budget and noted that they have no layoffs and no water increases in the 2005 Proposed Budget. Ald. Murphy asked how they managed to have no water rate increase for 2005. Ms. Lewis replied that they have been absorbing a lot of additional costs in the past two years since their last rate increase. She noted that when they first get a rate increase they actually get more money than needed for that initial year or two and then, after the rate increase has been in place for a couple of years and their expenses gone up, the money from that rate increase is less sufficient. They have been absorbing a lot of expense in security since 9/11. Chairman Murphy asked if there has been any request to purchase water from the west of the continental divide. Ms. Lewis replied formally "no". Chairman Murphy commented on the position that he put into the Water Dept. budget to attract more water base industries. He asked what efforts have been made and has there been any success as of yet. Ms. Lewis commented that they have made enormous progress with that person in developing outreach business and literature, etc. Ald. D'Amato asked why the DPW call center and the water call center haven't merged. Ms. Lewis replied that the expertise that is required to answer those water questions are a bit complex. Ald. D'Amato asked is there is a possibility in the future to merge the call centers. Ms. Lewis replied that it is possible. Ald. D'Amato asked if the water bills being put on the property tax bill could be taken off so that they could use tax intercept program? Ms. Lewis replied that the water bills go on to the property taxes bills because they bill properties, not people. She also noted that the State Statutes require them to bill properties.	Pass	5:0
10/6/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review), DEFERRED COMPENSATION William Thompson, Thomas Bell and Jim Carroll appeared. Chairman Murphy briefly explained the Deferred Compensation Plan and noted that 65% of current eligible employees participate in the Plan. Mr. Thompson explained that compared to the other 457 Plans and municipalities, the city is about twice that of the national rate. The national rate is at about 32%. Mr. Morics gave a brief overview of a conference on deferred compensation plans that he attended. Ald. Davis asked how the current providers are performing. Mr. Thompson replied that all of the providers perform very well. He advised that a performance audit has been done and it came back with no problems. They have posted the audit on the website for all to see. He then noted that they haven't had any major problems or scandals with their mutual funds in the Plan. He also noted that their cost is extremely low as far as mutual funds and they try to keep the cost down. Ald. Davis asked when the current contracts are up in 2005, is there a bid process or is it done on a RFP basis? Mr. Thompson replied that it is done on an RFP basis, unless they want to negotiate with the currently provider so they can maintain the low fee that they presently pay. GRANT & AID FUND Eric Pearson and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Pearson presented his budget overview. Ms. Ward then gave a summary of her fiscal report. Chairman Murphy asked if someone could explain further about the reduction in the Police Department. Mr. Pearson replied that some of the reduction is due to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant that isn't reflected in the 2005 budget and the Local Law Enforcement Technology Grant, which was at $3 million in 2004 and is going down $1 million in 2005. There are also some smaller grants that aren't being reflected in the 2005 Budget. Ald. D'Amato asked where the Homeland Security Grant is being reflected or are they not? Mr. Pearson replied that some of the grant is reflected in the Fire Department. Ald. D'Amato asked if the $81 million reflect all of the non-governmental grants provided to the City. Mr. Pearson replied that it reflects all of the Operating Grants, but it doesn't reflect Capitol Grants. Ald. D'Amato then asked, if out of the $81 million, is only $30,000 Fire Department's grants? Mr. Pearson replied yes, and noted that there are no new grants for the Fire Department and also noted that the 2005 Budget doesn't reflect the Urban Area Security Initiative grant, because that grant was receive in 2004. Ald. D'Amato asked if the Library grant amount reflects the amount raised by the Friends. Mr. Pearson replied that it doesn't reflect the Friends funding in the Grant and Aid, but advised that it is reflected in the Contribution account in the Special Purpose Accounts. Ald. D'Amato asked what do the DOA numbers reflect? Mr. Pearson replied that it reflects all the block grant administration grants which are CDBG, HOME, Housing Opportunity for persons with AIDS, HIDTA, American Dreams Initiative, Weed & Seed and ITMD is anticipating grant funding for digital cadastral mapping and COMPASS. Ald. Davis noted that he was disappointed in the grant and aid funding, because it seems like they are earmarking CDBG funds and he feels that those funds shouldn't be included in the budget process. Ald. Davis also stated that he is going to move that those funds be stricken from the budget. Mr. Pearson advised that there is a separate process for CDBG funds, but historically they showed it as anticipated funds in the budget just to be clear what they are anticipating. Chairman Murphy asked Mr. Pearson why are they recognizing an increase of $8 million in unanticipated funds. Mr. Pearson replied that there might be Home Land Security money coming in. Chairman Murphy asked that Mr. Pearson check into what other cities the size of Milwaukee receive in terms of Fire & Police governmental aid and grant. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the status of the recommendation for the Comptroller that was made in the KPMG Audit dated May 28, 2002, to take on the process of creating a citywide policy governing grant cultivation procedures for all city departments. Mr. Morics commented that there are two parts to that; one was to update the grant procedures and guidelines, and that has been done. The second part was to be done when the new administration came and now that they are in, they will be moving on it. Ald. D'Amato asked if they can expect a report sometime early next year. Mr. Morics advised that they will have a report by early next year. Mr. Nicolini stated that they are already scheduling meetings to initiate this proactive approach to citywide grant funding and should have something to report in a few months. COMPTROLLER (and PUBLIC DEBT) W. Martin Morics, John Egan, Mike Daun, Richard Li, Dennis Yaccarino and Jim Carroll appeared. Mr. Morics appeared and addressed the Committee. He noted that the budget maintains the current function and contains no new major changes. Mr. Yaccarino read his budget highlights. Mr. Carroll then gave a summary of his fiscal report. Ald. Davis referred to the statement in the fiscal review summary, stating that in 1994, the Public Debt Commission approved modifications to the City's Official Statements to emphasize the City's commitment to minority participation in competitive bond offering. He then asked Mr. Morics to elaborate on that and how effective has it been. Mr. Morics replied that they have a series of annual report that he can furnish to Ald. Davis for his review. Mr. Morics then elaborated on the competitive issue. Ald. D'Amato referred to a list that was submitted to him by the City Clerk's Office, which lists the budget changes in particular departments from 2002 to 2005. He also referred to the write up from Legislative Reference Bureau, which shows the changes in the amounts of expenditures for the Comptroller's Office over the years. He then asked Mr. Morics why the Comptroller's Office has grown more than, and higher then any other Department. Mr. Morics replied that in the 2004 budget the Public Debt Commission had been consolidated into the Comptrollers Office budget and in the 2005 Budget he noted that $800,000 was added to the budget due to the GAAP Accounting change. Mr. Morics noted that his budget has gone down 1% from last year. Ald. D'Amato asked about the four positions that were added in 2004, other than the two from the Public Debt Commission. Mr. Egan replied that the Public Debt Commission had one position which they converted into two part time positions and two positions were eliminated in 2004. Ald. Witkowiak asked about the status of FMIS. Mr. Morics replied that it is up and running and they are currently in the midst of an upgrade and they are working well with ITMD to keep it running. They are currently discussing the activation of the accounts receivable function and that may come up next year. Chairman Murphy asked about the newly established fraud hotline. Mr. Morics replied that they received about 34 calls so far. Chairman Murphy asked about the large debate over the accounts receivable system in terms of the Audit of DPW's billings and collections, where DPW indicated a citywide receivable system would make the process more efficient. Are there any plans to pursue that in the coming year? Mr. Morics replied that they have and are paying a maintenance fee on a citywide receivables system that is a part of the PeopleSoft system. He also noted that they would probably wait until after the implementation of the Fixed Assets Management System before they start looking at the receivable issue. CITY DEBT W. Martin Morics, Craig Kammholz and Marianne Walsh appeared. Mr. Kammholz read from his budget highlights. Ms. Walsh then presented her fiscal report. Chairman Murphy noted that the schools are the biggest concern, with the City doing the bonding for them and also noted that early this year there was a substantial increase in their borrowing cost due to improvements. He asked Mr. Morics how are his discussions going with the schools superintendent in communicating the seriousness of the cost problem. Mr. Morics replied that the reason they fund the schools as part of the budget is specifically related to the constitutional mandate, which states that a limit of 5% of the City's net equalize value as our outstanding debt. The school board has it own debt limit of 2%. All this borrowing falls under our 5% limitation and increases or decreases the capability and increases our utilizations of our total debt ability. The reason they do that is in order to utilize its 2% margin and have the borrowing account against it own limitation, the school board borrowing must go to referendum. Mr. Nicolini replied they have begun some discussions with the Finance Department in the public schools regarding their potential needs in the future. Chairman Murphy commented that this committee wants a message sent to the schools that it is not sustainable to continue the current trend, especially with fewer student enrollments this year than last and the rate of borrowing is putting the City in jeopardy. Ald. D'Amato asked for an itemized statement as far where those school projects are. DELINQUENT TAX FUND W. Martin Morics, Dennis Yaccarino and Jeffrey Osterman appeared. Mr. Nicolini commented that the budget has remained the same over the last several years at $1 million. CITY REVENUES W. Martin Morics, Michael Daun, Jennifer Gonda and Marianne Walsh appeared. Ms. Gonda read from the budget highlights. Ms. Walsh presented her fiscal report. Mr. Morics commented that the Comptroller's office recently released a comparative expenditure report. He noted that it is on their web site and he further discussed what was in the report. Alderman D'Amato referred to the report, noting that the city's spending is less than other cities and he also referred to a study done by the Institute of Wisconsin's Future and noted that the study showed the property tax burden has been lower than it has been in 50 years. Ald. D'Amato asked if people have a problem with paying property taxes, why doesn't the City raise fees instead? Mr. Morics replied that is an option and that avenue is always open to the Council. Ald. D'Amato noted that the three fees in the proposed 2005 budget are not increased and asked why they're taking the entire budget increase in property taxes? Ms. Gonda replied that the City is pretty closed to actual cost in relation to the fees. The solid waste fee is the only fee that isn't at actually cost, it is at 43% and basically it comes from residential properties, not many non-exempt property. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Nicolini to supply him with a breakdown of all three fees and include the gap amount. Ald. D'Amato then asked about Ald. Davis's comment on the Comptroller's revenue projections. Chairman Murphy commented that $203 million is collected in property taxes, and then noted that the City doesn't collect enough in property taxes to pay for our Police and Fire Departments. Chairman Murphy then asked about the parking funds. Ald D'Amato asked for a clarification on the unanticipated revenues. Ms. Gonda advised that in 2003 and 2004 there has been quite a bit of revenue that has come in from the tax refund intercept program. Also, in additional there are other revenue collection areas that are higher than what was in the 2004 budget. Ald. D'Amato asked what is the tax revenues, year to date? Ms. Gonda said she would supply that info. to him. Ald. D'Amato further discussed the DPW parking fund. Ald. D'Amato then asked about tax intercept for property taxes. Mr. Yaccarino noted that it is a state law that they can't use tax intercept for property tax. Ald. D'Amato commented that the delinquent water bills currently go on the Property Tax Bills and asked if they can be put in the tax intercept program. TAX STABILIZATION FUND W. Martin Morics, Jennifer Gonda, Mark Ramion appeared. Ms. Gonda read her Budget highlights. Mr. Ramion then gave a summary of his fiscal report. CC. CONTINGENT FUND Dennis Yaccarino and Mark Ramion appeared. Mr. Nicolini advised that there is no change to the Common Council Contingent Fund. Mr. Yaccarino then gave his budget overview. Mr. Ramion gave a summary of his fiscal report.	Pass	5:0
10/1/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR; Minutes note: President Hines appeared and addressed the Committee. He thanked the members for their willingness to serve on the Finance & Personnel Committee. He also thanked all the city departments for their role in putting forth this budget in collaboration with the Mayor. He then continued with his comments regarding the 2005 proposed budget. Also appeared: Mark Nicolini, Director (DOA-Budget), Wally Morics (Comptroller's Office), Marianne Walsh, Manager (Fiscal Review) BUDGET OVERVIEW Mark Nicolini and Marianne Walsh appeared. Mr. Nicolini, Budget Director, introduced his staff and then gave a Powerpoint presentation entitled “2005 Proposed Executive Budget”, which included numerous supporting graphs relating to appropriations, expenditures, revenue sources, economic and fiscal context, property tax levy and rate, etc. He noted that this budget can be summarized in the following five key points: “Delivers Property Tax Relief”, “Controls the cost of City Government”, “Focuses funding on service priorities”, “Limits new borrowing” and “Transition Budget to 2006-2008 Plan”. He continued his presentation by discussing the “Local Economic Context” relative to the strong property value growth that has continued, which has reflected in the increase in property values. He stated that the negative household income trend, which has fallen by 33,900 households in 2000 and 32,300 households in inflation-adjusted terms in 2003 and as a result of that the City has housing value/income trends moving apart, the ratio being a 3 to 1 level. On a positive side there has been a slow rebound in employment, the city was up 10.7% one year ago and has declined to 8.7%, which is still too high, but from a statewide prospective the manufacturing outlook has improved. The Departments revenue is projecting an 11% increase in exports in 2005. He then referred to the Terms of Fiscal Context in regards to the historical state/local relationship relative to shared revenue to equalize taxes for local services in exchange for limits on “own Source” revenue authority. In 2003-2005 there was a $19.5 million decline in shared revenue payments to Milwaukee and is the major factor in respect to rating agencies in term of evaluation of the city's potential credit risk. He then referred to the 2005 Revenue Sources Budget Request Summary and a graph showing the trends in intergovernmental aid, noting a property-tax supported budget of $8 million and property-tax levy of $2 million. And in the past 5 years, the charges for services have been taken a larger role, and have grown to $60 million from a $34 million base line in 2000 or 75%. He then referred to the 2005 Budget request Summary, noting a Property Tax Supported Budget of $858 million, with a Property Tax Levy of $229 million. He gave a brief summary of the Structural Budget Basics relative to Revenues and Expenditures, Structural Budget Results and referred to an Estimated Structural Imbalance. He referred to a three year fiscal plan that Ald. Hines mentioned earlier, noting that the goal is to improve the budget' sustainability over a 3-ear time period. He then referred to the 2005 Proposed Budget “Bottom Line” advising that the Total Budget is 1.6% above the 2004 level. This is due in part due to the tax levy going up 2% and the tax levy increases by $4 million and there is no increase to the major user fees. He noted that they are focusing on priorities, such as: Public Safety, Neighborhood Quality, Education and School Readiness, Economic Development and Infrastructure. MAYOR'S OFFICE Patrick Curley (Mayor's Office), Jennifer Meyer and Emma Stamps appeared. Ms. Meyer gave a brief overview, noting the 2005 Proposed Budget is $1.05 million an increase of $96,432 or 10.11% from 2004. These changes are due to salaries and benefits. Ms. Stamps then recited her fiscal highlights, noting in addition to Ms. Meyer's comments, the Mayor's Office 2005 total operating expenditures are expected at $43,450 compared to $44,697 in 2004. She noted that the increase in U.S. postage is also responsible for the 2005 increase. She further noted that Property Services provides $14,200 for Telephone Services, a budgetary item previously funded in the Reimburse Other Departments. She also noted that the significant increases in salaries are due to adjustments in pay scales for 2004 and 2002. Ald. D'Amato asked if it is fair to say that the 10% increase in the Mayor's budget is mostly from salary and wages and is reflective of a 12 month budgeting for staff, versus a 9-10 month cycle and not because of any additional staff or any staff making more wages. Ms. Meyer and Ms. Stamps concurred. Chairman Murphy asked what is the status of the performance audit that the Mayor is planning to conduct. Mr. Curley replied that they are talking to a number of foundations and are continuing those conversations with them as wells as with UWM and they hoped that they can move on such an audit in early 2005. He also noted that they will be working closely with the Finance & Personnel Committee members and the president of the Council before they announce an initiative and move forward with it. Chairman Murphy asked what is the intention of Mayor Barrett on the organization that lobbies on behalf of major large cities across country. Mr. Curley replied that they haven't decided yet. Ms. Meyer's advised that it cost $35,000 a year to join the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Chairman Murphy commented that the mayor's office has taken a very positive initiative on contacting 22,000 businesses to seek their input on ways cities can help small businesses, mainly in improving the climate. He asked how many responses have been received, how far along is the project, how is it going and if they could supply the council members with that information? Mr. Curley replied that they have received quite a few phone responses and they will forward the information to the council members. Alderman D'Amato commented about the Mayor's introduction of a lobby ordinance and he noticed that there were no funds reflected in any of the departments' budgets for the staffing that will be needed to do the registration, review and research of lobbyist. Mr. Curley replied that they didn't want to get ahead of themselves. Ms. Meyer replied that there are some funds budgeted in the Election Commission under the contracting consultant budget. She also noted that there is a footnote in the City Clerk's Office, License Division, for funding of a part time person to review that information if the ordinance passes. Alderman D'Amato asked how the mentor program and tax credit is being structured. Mr. Curley replied that there would be an agreement with the tutor, that if the tutor complies and meets the requirements of the program, a two party check will be issued to the tutor and the City. The payment is directed toward their taxes. CITY CLERK Ronald Leonhardt-City Clerk, Barry Zalben - Manager (City Clerk - Legislative Reference Bureau) and Joe Pecor - Publications & Info. Manager (City Clerk - Public Relations), John Ledvina and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Ledvina read his budget overview, noting that the 2005 Proposed Budget is a $6.7 million decrease of $498,000 or 7% from 2004. Grant funding of $44,000 supplements the City Clerk's operating budget. There is no capital funding included in the proposed Common Council/City Clerk's budget. In addition the Common Council/City Clerk's budget has an expenditure authority of $417,000 in several Special purpose Accounts. This funding will enable the Common Council/City Clerk to perform its legislative and constituent service and public information functions in an effective manner. He then noted that there were a number of changes that took place in 2004 including the elimination of 2 Aldermanic Districts and the position of the Finance & Personnel Committee Special Assistant. Other changes includes a reduction of City channel discretionary programing, while continuing official meeting telecast, the realigning of the council records section into a component of the Central Administration Division and realigning the Legislative Reference Bureau staff to meet the budget constrains while still providing flexibility for analysis and special requests. Ms. Ward then gave a summary of her fiscal report. She reiterated what Mr. Ledvina stated and then added that in order to meet the Mayor's budget allocation for 2005 there were a number of changes, primarily in positions. The positions being eliminated are, Communication I, Council File Specialist, Production Services Coordinator, two Production Technician, Office Assistant III and two Fiscal Review Analyst positions. Of those positions mentioned a number of those aren't vacant, including the Production Service Coordinator and the two Production Technicians. She also noted the projected revenue for 2005 is $5.3 million, a decrease of $25,235 from 2004. Mr. Leonhardt appeared and addressed the Committee. He noted that he presently is not in favor of the budget he original submitted. He noted that a lot of changes have taken place since he was requested to present the Common Council/City Clerk's Office 2005 budget allocation. He discussed that as he looks at the overall budget as it had been proposed by the Mayor, with the cuts that have been proposed for various city departments and the increases that are being given to some city departments, he doesn't recommend the budget as it stands. They have had to recommend severe and substantial cuts in certain services to the public and Council. The cuts are primarily in two areas Public Relations and Legislative reference Bureau. They cut four positions in their Public Information Services, which includes three layoffs. This will also reduce televisions news programs through channel 25 and resulted in a reduction in the staff for writing news releases and newsletters, a means of communication to the general public. They also reduced funding for Aldermanic Newsletters and no funding was budgeted for the Call for Action booklets. In the area of research support and budget analysis, they had recommended three cuts in the Legislative Reference Bureau and that would include one layoff. He noted that these cuts will cause reduction in levels of service that they will be able to provide to the Council and the members of the public. He asked the Committee to find a way to restore some, if not all those proposed cuts, during the Committee's budget consideration. Mr. Zalben appeared and addressed the Committee. He commented that they are currently in a terrible fix. They have two vacancies that are scheduled for elimination and currently they are having a hard time keeping up with demand. One of the vacancies occurred in March and the other in July of 2004. They have substantial backlog right now in legislative research requests and GIS mapping requests. They are trying to keep up, but they are also currently dealing with the budget. He then noted that they just don't have enough staff. He asked that the Committee consider restoring part, if not all, of the positions eliminated in the Bureau. Mr. Pecor appeared and addressed the Committee. He commented that eliminating the supervisor's position would definitely cause a hardship on the Public Relations Div. He noted that with two people there is a check and balance that would be lost and also with vacation and sick time that would leave no one there and the news can't wait. Mr. Pecor asked that the Committee reconsider eliminating that position. Ald. D'Amato referred to the list that he received from the City Clerk and noted that the City Clerk's Office decreased their budget by 13% from 2002 to 2005. Mr. Leonhardt noted that it would be 13% if the 2005 Proposed Budget were approved as submitted. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Leonhardt to run through the 2002-2005 list of positions eliminated in the Common Council/City Clerk's Office. Mr. Leonhardt read from the list. He noted that they had maintained the hiring freeze the Finance Committee requested, so they currently have a number of vacancies still open. Mr. Leonhardt referred to the lobby ordinance and stated that in the License Division Budget they hadn't eliminated any position, but they did reduce funding for a License Specialist based upon some anticipated vacancies and again to meet their allocation. They would all be vacant positions when they occur for the remainder of the year. But if the lobbing ordinance is passed by the Council they would need funding for those positions restored to full level. They believe they could implement the lobbing ordinance without additional positions, but would need the existing positions fully funding. Ald. D'Amato questioned the revenue reduction. Mr. Leonhardt replied that is due to some licenses expiring every two years. The revenues change every year, with one up and the next one down. Chairman Murphy asked Mr. Leonhardt if he could elaborate a bit on what the impact would be to Channel 25 due to the changes in positions? Mr. Leonhardt advised that three of the positions that are to be eliminated were added in 2003 for the purpose of adding more news and programs, such as the CityScene Inside Milwaukee. He noted that if the positions are eliminated, they would have to eliminate those programs. Chairman Murphy asked Mr. Pecor how many calls do they get for the Call for Action Booklets. Mr. Pecor replied that every Alderman has requested the booklets and they have a tremendous amount of other requests for the booklets. He noted that they also have some booklets left over from former Council members and people are asking for those. Alderman Witkowiak commented that they get more phone calls, since those booklets have not been updated and sent out. He feels that it would be a mistake to eliminate those booklets. ELECTION COMMISSION Ms. Lisa Artison - Exec. Director (Election Commission), John Ledvina and Angelyn Ward appeared. Mr. Ledvina gave a summary of his budget highlights, noting that the Election Commission's 2005 Proposed Budget totals $1.1 million, a 31% decrease from 2004. The decrease is largely due to the bi-annual election cycle. In 2005 there will be a spring primary and general election that will include school board members, circuit court judgeships and an Associate Supreme Court Justice. He also noted that the position changes are due to a reduction of 40 temporary Office Assistant who helped with the 2004 elections. In 2005 the Election Commission will continue its efforts to implement the provision of the Federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, including participation in the statewide voter registration initiative. Ms. Ward then read her fiscal report, noting that their 2005 proposed operating budget is $1 million, a decrease of 33% from the 2004 budget. Ms. Artison appeared and addressed the Committee. She briefly summarized the 2004 elections and their preparations for the Nov. 2, 2004 election. She then noted that after the November 2004 general election, they would start their preparations for the 2005 spring elections. She advised that in view of recent reports associated with the conduct of various voter registration efforts and as a result of her observation as they approach the primary she convened a summit of representatives from each of the local voter registration groups here in City Hall on September 10, 2004. She also extended invitations to the City Attorney's Office, the Dist. Attorney's Office and the executive director of the State Elections Board. She further noted what was discussed at that meeting. The staff of the Election Commission is tremendously talented and committed team. Ald. D'Amato commented that the intimidation by certain groups has already begun to intimidate uneducated first time voters not to vote in the next election. He hopes it doesn't discourage the City's efforts to make sure every citizen in this City has an opportunity to vote. Chairman Murphy first sent the Council's appreciation to all the poll workers for their hard work. He then asked Ms. Artison what efforts the Election Commission is making to recruit more poll workers. He noted that they have a very dedicated group of senior citizens, who has taken up the burden of providing this service to our community, but it is hard work and they really need some younger workers. Ms. Artison replied that their focus right now is to get through the November election. For that they will require 1240 poll workers and they are about 110 short right now. They need 313 registrars, one for each ward and they are about 91 short right now. They are recruiting primarily to fill those holes. They realize that as soon as the election is over they will have to develop some mechanisms to recruit people on an on going basis and to address what Chairman Murphy mentioned. They will be working with the corporate and educational community here in Milwaukee. They also have reached out to some special interest groups to try and set something up, for instance the Hmong Friendship Association. They realize that Hmongs are a growing population and want to involve them, and they can also offer translator services. Ms Daisy Cubis from the Mayor's office is also working with the Election Commission to develop mechanisms for the Mexican American community. Chairman Murphy asked that Ms. Artison include the Council members in their efforts and requested her to write an article for their respective newsletters asking for people to contact the Election Commission. He also suggested that she go to the unions and they can put something in their newsletters. CITY ATTORNEY Grant Langley, Barbara Woldt, Jeff Altenburg - Community Prosecutor - Dist. Attorney's Office, Patrick Hartmann and Mark Ramion appeared. Mr. Hartmann gave a brief overview, noting the 2005 Proposed Budget is $6.0 million and represents a decrease of $271,000 from 2004. He noted that some of the budget highlights include the elimination of one vacant Office Assistant II position. They reduce the cost of legal information services by $75,000. In 2005 the City Attorney will begin charging the Tax Incremental District (TID) Capital Account for legal services provided to TIDs. These services are estimated at $100,000. Some non City Attorney Budget items will be the relocation costs of the City Attorney's staff due to the restoration of City Hall, which will be funded in the Restoration Capital Account. And finally, the 2005 Proposed Budget provides $1.8 million for the damages and Claims Account, a decrease of $600,000 from the 2003 budget. This decrease is due to the city's third and final payment of $600,000 for the settlement with the Milw. Brotherhood of Firefighters. The 2005 Special Purpose Account is adjusted to reflect the conclusion of these payments. Mr. Ramion gave his fiscal report summary, noting the 2005 Proposed Budget represents an approximate 4% decrease in operating expense from 2004 budget. The Special Purpose Accounts under the authority of the City Attorney are decreased by 12% and finally the Kohn Law Firm who is contracted to collect delinquent property taxes and accounts receivable, estimates that approximate $6.2 million will be collected each year for 2004 and 2005. Mr. Langley appeared and addressed the Committee. He asked the Committee to consider a technical amendment to their Budget. He noted that several years ago they took one of their Special Purpose Accounts and they broke out from the Damage and Claims fund an amount and they established a Special Purpose Account to track payments made to counsel for police officers who are subject to criminal investigation and were exonerated or not charged or were subject to citizen complaints before the Fire and Police Commission and they were exonerated. The reason they separated the accounts are no longer present and asked that they consider folding that $75,000 into the SPA - Damage and Claims Account and eliminate that separate Special Purpose Account. He then commented briefly on what they call in personam In-RE, which is really actions against properties, rather then against individuals. Several years ago, as a result of an initiative by the City Treasurer and working with the City Attorney's Office, they made a determination to refer all tax delinquent properties to the Kohn Law firm for in personam action, action against the individual, opposed to the property. The numbers show that is has been a successful initiative. He also briefly commented on the Nuisance Abatement Initiative. He noted that there will be some changes in the structure of nuisance abatement and they will be looking at additional resources that might be appropriately applied to the Nuisance Abatement Initiative. Ald. Donovan asked Mr. Langley if he could bring him up to date on the new approach to nuisance abatement. Mr. Langley replied that in terms of the new approach, they are presently evaluating what they had done up to this time and are trying to identify how best to prioritize properties so that they can use their resources more efficiently. He will report back to Ald. Donovan when they have established some kind of protocol or procedure for prioritizing properties. Ald. D'Amato referred to the fiscal report and asked whether or not the City Attorney has the resources to deal with the demand. Mr. Langley replied that he allocated what resources that he could out of the 2005 Budget. He is hoping that working with the Community prosecutor will enhance those resources. He noted that he plans to train a lawyer in his prosecution office, but at this time doesn't know how much time they will have to commit to it. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Langley if he could put together a program for the Committee to consider as an amendment for additional funds to be put into the nuisance budget. Ald. Witkowiak asked if the neighborhoods in the city would better be served if they could expand the Community Prosecutor Program into other areas of the City. Mr. Langley replied that he would assume that it would be a good idea. Chairman Murphy replied that the funding for that position doesn't come from the Dist. Attorney's Office, it comes from the Community Development Block Grant Funding. Ald. D'Amato commented on the revenue received from the Redevelopment Authority for reimbursement on the first time charges for TID services and noted that he didn't see any reimbursements from Milw. Public Schools or from the Housing Authority. He then asked if the City Attorney will get reimbursements from them. Mr. Langley replied that they are reimbursed from both, the Housing Authority which is dollar for dollar and he noted that the City has an agreement with MPS for services provided by City Atty., Comptrollers, City Services, Treasures Office, etc. and they are paid for by the interest the city receives and holds for MPS. ASSESSOR Mary Reavey, Dennis Yaccarino and Jeffrey Osterman appeared. Mr. Yaccarino read his budget highlights, noting the 2005 Proposed Budget is $4.1 million, roughly the same as 2004. He noted the major changes are a proposed permit service charge placed on all new construction and alteration permits and is expected that revenue would generated about $550,000. The other program they are looking at is a Fair Share Program, an attempt to negotiate with tax-exempt properties for a voluntary donation in lieu of taxes. There is also a mapping change and that would be a change of position to improve the mapping process. Mr. Osterman gave a summary of his fiscal report, noting that in addition to what Mr. Yaccarino stated, he pointed out that the Department of City Dev. will reduce its expenditures for professional services by $23,000 primarily by using existing staff to perform some functions that were previously provided by consultants. No capital projects or equipment purchases will be funded. However there is a $45,000 in a special fund titled Maintain and Upgrade Property System. This money would be used primarily for hiring a consultant to recommend, develop and maintain new database software for the department's property database systems. This initiative is a continuation of the Assessor's ongoing efforts to improve, maintain and integrate its database systems. The department is continuing the practice of annual property revaluation, which is partly responsible for the decline in assessment appeals. This year the department has processed over 1600 appeals and of those about 50% lead to changes in assessments. The department's public information and education function continues to grow, with the number of queries on the department's web site projected to top 2 million this year and 2.4 million in 2005. The department's major 2005 Budget initiative is the creation of a service charge for its inspections and appraisals of new construction, remodeling and additions and that charge will be paid at the same time the initial building permit is issued and the code change for this would be included in the omnibus budget implementation ordinance. Ms. Reavey appeared and addressed the Committee. She commented that since she began in 1999 they have eliminated 15 positions in her department. The allocation that was provided to them by the Acting Mayor's Pratt would have required them to eliminate another 6 positions, which she felt would seriously threaten their ability to provide fair, equitable and uniform assessments at market value. She explained the ideal behind the service charge for inspections and appraisals of new construction, remodeling and additions. And noted that it would allow the City to recover the costs associated with the department's provision of those services. Currently, all property taxpayers subsidize inspection and appraisal costs for properties. With the new service charge, only the owners of properties for which inspections and appraisals are required would pay the costs of providing those services. Chairman Murphy asked how much would the fees generate. Ms. Reavey replied that about $500,000 to $600,000. Chairman Murphy asked what is the current status of the appeals filed for this past year and what is the backlog? Ms. Reavey replied that they had received 2344 appeals and they had processed 2149 and there is 170 left as of today. They have 11 more days to process the remaining amount and she doesn't see any problem getting those through the Board of Assessors. They have made great progress on the backlog. Chairman Murphy asked how many vacancies are there on the Board of Review. Ms. Reavey advised there is one vacancy and there is an appointment going before the next Council cycle. Ald. D'Amato asked Ms. Reavey to brief the Committee on the issues relative to the Columbus Park and the new Task Force that she had been assigned to and how it would affect the City. Ms. Reavey briefly explains what went on at the Task Force's first meeting, which they just had. She noted that the odds seem to be stacked agained them, but she also seen some movement toward or a realization on the part of the legislators that something needs to be done. She noted that they are still gathering data and comments and that these senior citizen homes seem to be the biggest problem they have right now. Some of the senior residents are moving into these senior homes that are tax exempt. She feels that it should be a statewide mandate not solely an unfunded mandate for the City. DEPT. OF ADMINISTRATION (all divisions, including CDBG) Sharon Robinson, Cheryl Oliva, Randy Gschwind, Chris Martin, Steve Mahan, Eric Pearson and Jeffrey Osterman appeared. Mr. Pearson read his budget highlights, noting that the 2005 Proposed Budget is $7.2 million, a decrease of 2.3% from 2004. Positions also decreased by 3 from 108 to 105. Some of the more significant budgetary program changes include funding for both the Budget and Management Director and Legislative Liaison Director, which provides high-level staff dedicated to looking at the financial challenges of the City and Intergovernmental Relations and lobbying. The Safety Commission, which is responsible for citywide safety related duties moved from DOA back to the Police Dept. The Community Development Block Grant Funding for Emerging Business Enterprise program is increased to reflect the benefits that program provides to businesses and residents in the block grant areas. The e-government Special Purpose Account is funded again this year to provide continuing support for expanding e-governmental capabilities. The department's 2005 Proposed Budget includes several initiatives that have no specific funding allocations associated with them, including: a.)Developing a strategic and fiscal plan to provide a “three-year stability approach to the City's budget and programs” for the 206-2008 period. b.) Implementing a comprehensive performance initiative to identify and monitor goals and outcomes for major City programs supporting strategic and fiscal goals. c.) Developing a proactive and coordinated approach to securing grant funding for the City from various Federal and State foundations and other funding sources. Mr. Osterman then summarized his fiscal report, noting that three DOA Divisions will each lose one position, but only one is currently filled. Also the 2005 Proposed Budget reclassifies 2 Budget & Management Analyst-Lead positions from salary grade 006 to Budget and Management Special Assistant at salary grade 008. The department's operating expenditures decreased by 26% with the bulk of the decrease occurring in ITMD where expenditures for outside consultants and software support cost will be reduced. The CBGA budget will increase 1.5% and the number of employees there remains the same at 15. ITMD's funding for its Enterprise Resource Management Special Fund, which supports the City's Human Resource and FMIS technology will increase $60,000 to cover the maintance cost for new FMIS modules that had been purchased in 2004. And finally, there are no capital improvement projects in DOA's 2005 budget. Ms. Robinson appeared and addressed the Committee. She introduced the directors for each of the Department of Administration Divisions and commended each for their hard work in preparing the Mayor's 2005 Proposed Budget. She then noted that she doesn't have any major issues with the 2005 Proposed Budget and stated that it will provide the support they need to continue their operations and find a more cost affective ways to do business. She then briefly explained the few key initiatives in the budget that will help them move toward more sustainable future budgets. Ald. D'Amato asked Mr. Gschwind if he had taken a look at this budget and all the IT related initiatives and spending and reviewed them. Mr. Gschwind replied that he has been working very closely with the Budget Office to determine where exactly all the IT dollars are being spent, but they haven't review those in detail as of yet. He referred to Ms. Robinson's comment earlier about their plan to form some interdepartmental and collaborating with other government entities instead of continuing to spend money on different systems and determine where they can bring it together. Ald. D'Amato asked if Mr. Gschwind to provide the Committee with a report by the time this budget is complete. Ald. Murphy commented that the 2004 Budget combined the print shop with the police department printshop, which eliminated one, and he further commented that there is nothing in this budget on the print shop. He asked if there was any discussion on the print shop issue or the Milwaukee Public Schools print shop? Ms. Oliva replied that they are in the midst of a study on consolidating the different print shops throughout the City, They are presently in the final stages of evaluating the proposals that were received in responses to the RFP that was issued earlier this year. That RFP came after meeting with all the major Departments in the City and looking at all their printing needs, analyzing them and formulating the proposal, which is a key component to the study. They are at the point now that they can look at the different cost factors, etc. so that they can make the right decision on whether they could combine print shops. Chairman Murphy asked if the two Budget & Management Analyst-Lead positions that are being reclassified from salary grade 006 to Budget and Management Special Assistant at salary grade 008 are comparable to other departments? Mr. Nicolini replied that he looked at the responsibility the people were doing and it appeared to him those two positions were assuming the roles that matched the description assigned the salary grade 008. Ald. Murphy asked Mr. Mahan of the CBGA what are the percentages proposed in 2005 allocation plan committed to City Departments. Mr. Mahan replied that there would be a 3% increase due to the job initiative through Dept. of City Development. Ald. Murphy asked if the $50,000 for the Community Prosecution Unit for both north and south sides are still in the allocation plan. Mr. Mahan replied yes. Chairman Murphy then commented that the past funding for the DA came from reprogramming funds. He then asked what was the total budget for that position this past last year. Mr. Mahan noted that the reprogramming year is June to June and advised that the total was $125,000, but that it is not all-direct DA salary. The DA Salary for that Community activity ranges from $60,000 to about $75,000. Ald. D'Amato noted that in the past the Budget noted $1.7 million of reprogramming funds. Asked if this budget is fully confident that they will have $1.7 million in reprogramming. Mr. Mahan replied that the last three years had produced about $2.3 million each reprogramming cycle, less then what was appropriated in the Budget. Ald. D'Amato asked as the City's part of the three-year financial plan if they are looking at a three-year plan on spending of Block Grant Funds. Mr. Mahan replied that they are in a cycle right now of a five year consolidated plan and it is due this year. He also noted that the plan will note what is the intended use over the next five years. Ald. D'Amato asked the Comptroller how many of his staff is paid with Block Grant Funds. Mr. Morics replied about 7.5 positions. Ald. D'Amato asked if they considered consolidation of CBGA staff and Comptrollers staff to prevent redundancies. Mr. Morics replied that the CBGA staff does reprogramming monitoring, such as looking for quality of housing, whereas the Comptroller's staff does fiscal monitoring.	Pass	4:0
9/28/2004	0	FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
9/27/2004	0	COMMON COUNCIL	ASSIGNED TO

Number

Version

ORIGINAL

Reference

Sponsor

THE CHAIR

Title

Communication from Mayor Tom Barrett transmitting the 2005 Proposed Budget for the City of Milwaukee.

Drafter

jro

09/23/04