CITY OF NEW MELLE

WORK SESSION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN

MAY 17, 2010

Call to Order:  A Work Session of the Board of Alderman of the City of New Melle was held on Monday, May 17, 2010 at 7:00 P.M.  The meeting was held at the New Melle City Hall, located at 145 Almeling Street, New Melle, Missouri and was called to order by Mayor Ernest Arteaga.

Roll Call:

Alderman Don Hendrich                  Present           Alderman Doug Bice             Present

Alderman Janet Jokisch-Messig       Present           Alderman Carol Proveaux    Absent

Police Chief, Aaron Burkemper and Code Enforcement Officer, Jerry Schoenherr were also present.

Financial Priorities:

April financial statements were reviewed.

Alderman Bice stated historically the City’s income dips in the first part of the year as much of the City’s income from real estate taxes and tower rental for example come in later in the year.

Mayor Arteaga stated that after speaking with Botz, Deal & Company and the City Attorney the City’s Parks Tax Cash account could be used to fund the flag pole project.

Alderman Bice pointed out that other funds such as capital improvement could also be considered but voiced concern for unnecessary spending.

Discussion evolved around the financial statements and whether they required Board approval which can only be done at regular meetings.  In the past, the financial statements and approval of bills paid were both discussed and done at the regular meetings.  Under the revised meeting dates, the financial statements cannot be prepared and available at the regular meeting on the first Monday of the month and since the financial statements themselves do not require Board approval, they have been moved to the work session.

Mayor Arteaga stated Michelle at Botz, Deal & Company suggested that the City replace them with someone who is specialized in governmental accounting and can handle the day to day questions and operations.  Botz, Deal and Company charges the City of New Melle by the hour, much like an attorney, for every phone call and question asked of them.

Alderman Hendrich stated the cost of a financial director was substantially more than having Botz, Deal & Company provide basic checks and balances by performing bank reconciliations and preparing financial statements. 

Alderman Bice stated his reluctance with any unnecessary spending when the financials reflect a negative net income.  He stressed the importance to look at the overall financial picture and not by line item only.  Alderman Bice restated a consensus of the Board at a previous meeting was a concern regarding wages for City’s employees and asked if the City wants to invest in retaining quality employees or in various materialistic things.  It goes back to establishing priorities and being prudent with the taxpayer’s dollars that the Board of Aldermen has been entrusted with.

Mayor Arteaga disagreed stating that if the City normally sees a decline in funding during the first part of the year, it should likewise recover in the upcoming months. 

Discussion evolved and the consensus of the Board of Aldermen was the importance to be fiscally responsible and prudent with the City’s funds during these downturned economic times.  The Board of Aldermen put priority on replacing Botz, Deal & Company with someone who is familiar with governmental accounting and can provide financial forecasting.

Alderman Hendrich would like to see more descriptive account descriptions on the chart of accounts so they would be clearly understood by anyone. 

Mayor Arteaga turned the discussion to address Bank/Credit Union listed under Financial Issues further down the agenda since the Financial Officer/Bookkeeper issue had already been addressed.  He stated the interest rate at Commerce Bank is little to nothing and recommended using a credit union that is currently offering up to four percent (4%) interest. 

Alderman Hendrich stated this issue had been discussed in the past and the consensus of the Board at that time was that we are a community and should support our local businesses as much as possible. 

Alderman Bice agreed with leaving the accounts at the local bank unless the interest to be gained was substantially larger elsewhere.  With the exception of the CD’s, the City’s funds are not likely to create a significant difference.

Mayor Arteaga had Botz, Deal & Company research and find out if the City would be allowed to use credit unions as their financial institution and read their email response (which is attached for the record).

Discussion continued around how much of the City’s funds are lucratively floating and how much is secured in investments.  Alderman Hendrich will be looking into this further.

Mayor Arteaga asked if there was anything else related to the finances and financial priorities.

Chief Burkemper stated he would like to see Officer Nixon’s salary raised by the savings recognized by Officer Cushing’s salary being less than what was budgeted for full-time officers.

Alderman Bice suggested looking into reducing the Police Department to two cars and allocating a share of the savings from the reduction of vehicles and difference in full-time officers’ salaries for raising Officer Nixon’s salary.

Mayor Arteaga asked if it would create a hardship for the department if there were only two cars and one was in the shop leaving only one usable car.

Chief Burkemper stated he felt comfortable with the reliability of the Ford Crown Victoria’s and it should not pose a hardship.

Mayor Arteaga asked if employee reviews are done and how often.

Chief Burkemper stated he went through due process and submitted reviews of his employees to the Board last year and the employees and Board of Aldermen reviewed him.

Mayor Arteaga asked if there was a form for employee reviews.

Chief Burkemper stated there was a form he used.

Mayor Arteaga asked for a copy of a blank review form and asked if the City Clerk had a review done at the same time.

Alderman Hendrich stated when reviews were done last year, the City had a temporary clerk and DeeAnn started in September.  No review has been done on DeeAnn.

Alderman Jokisch-Messig asked when employee reviews are typically done.

Chief Burkemper stated reviews are generally done between June and August in preparation for the budget process.

Code Enforcement Report:

Code Enforcement Officer Schoenherr stated he generally comes to New Melle on Tuesday’s and other times when necessary.

Alderman Bice asked the Code Enforcement Officer to state the status of an ongoing issue by noting first warning, second warning, etc. in his report.

Alderman Jokisch-Messig mentioned an issue regarding a semi trailer parked on Connor Court that she had previously addressed by email.  Discussion had regarding the applicable codes.

Mayor Arteaga asked about specific guidelines the Code Enforcer should abide by while performing routine services.  His specific concern was regarding things that would not be visible from the street and whether the Code Enforcement Officer has the right to walk onto a persons property to inspect it.

Alderman Bice stated anything that poses a health or safety issue is well within the City’s jurisdiction to look into regardless of where the material is located and referred to statutes citing various conditions that warrant attention and action if necessary.

Opinion Poll:

Alderman Bice suggested structuring the opinion poll so responses would be limited to “yes” or “no.”   Discussion evolved and included items to be placed on the poll and mailing options.

Alderman Hendrich brought to the Board’s attention that Pete Schepis could, by definition, be considered a resident member of the Planning & Zoning Commission rather than a non-resident member.

Procedural – USPS Meeting Date:

Mayor Arteaga stated the New Melle’s Post Office is required to hold a public hearing regarding possible relocation and asked the Board to arrange a date and place to hold this public hearing.  The post office will post and advertise this meeting.

Discussion of appropriate meeting places took place and a suggested date of June 2, 2010.

Payment Drop for City Hall:

Mayor Arteaga stated this will be informational only until we work through the budget and priorities.  Handouts and proposals of various drop boxes were available for the Board to review.

Chief Burkemper explained to the Board suggestions for placement and type of drop box that would best suite the needs of the public and city staff.

Consensus of the Board was to make this a top priority as it directly benefits the public and allows the City to better serve the people.

Flag Estimates:

Mayor Arteaga stated this item will be tabled for now; however, he has requested estimates on instillation costs including electric and will forward them to the Board when received. 

Financial Issues:

            a. Bank/Credit Union – Addressed out of order, see Financial Priorities above.

            b. Financial Officer/Bookkeeper – Addressed out of order, see Financial Priorities above.

Guidelines for Code Enforcer – Addressed out of order, see Code Enforcement Report above.

West Hwy “D” updates:

Mayor Arteaga stated Lucy Smith, from the Missouri Department of Transportation, would be unavailable until June 2010 for further contact regarding this matter.  He referred to emails he had sent the Board members and Code Book where it refers to dropping down of speed limits.

Alderman Bice stated an ordinance would be needed to revise the speed limits.

Code Book processes:

            a. Additions

            b. Adapted Building Codes (2003) and George Butler Associates (GBA)

Mayor Arteaga tabled these items due to the fact it was getting late and he wanted to move on to other items.

Cross of Merit – Chief Burkemper – Item moved to end of Agenda.

Groundbreaking Ceremony – Daniel Boone Elementary:

Alderman Bice announced the ceremony is scheduled for Friday, May 28, 2010 at 9:30 A.M. and the Board is invited to attend.

Equipment updates relating to Municipal Court software:

Chief Burkemper explained that during preliminary preparation for the possibility of running REJIS software, we found a cost savings of about twenty dollars per month by having one faster DSL internet line and eliminating one of the two current incoming DSL lines to the City Hall.  A cost estimate from Computer Paramedics for wiring the City Hall’s computers to the Police Department is included for the Board’s consideration and Chief Burkemper will look into getting another estimate which may provide more cost savings. 

Mayor Arteaga asked that this item be placed on the next regular meeting agenda.

Off the Agenda:

Mayor Arteaga stated he called the water district regarding the loan that was taken out by the City of New Melle.  In 1997, the City borrowed $168,000 at 8% for a 20 year loan.  The balance is now $93,000 and the payoff date is September 2017.  He asked the water district if the City could refinance this loan at a lower interest rate and they would get back to him on that.

Cross of Merit – Chief Burkemper:

Alderman Bice stated Officer Nixon would like the Board to sign a certificate to be awarded to Chief Burkemper at a public forum.  Phil Blanton had written an article about Chief Burkemper and his accomplishments in serving the New Melle Police Department.

Mayor Arteaga read the Cross of Merit Award aloud to the Board and suggested it be announced in the Boone Country Connection after being awarded to Chief Burkemper.

Adjournment:

On motion of Alderman Bice, second by Alderman Hendrich, the Aldermen voted 3 “Aye”, 1 Absent (Proveaux) to adjourn the meeting at 9:45P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,                                            Accepted,

DeeAnn Burwitz, City Clerk                                      Ernest Arteaga, Mayor