Committee Agenda for Finance Committee 05/17/2016

CITY OF WORCESTER

Finance Committee Meeting

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Esther Howland (South) Chamber

Convened: 4:17 P.M.

Recessed: 6:47 P.M. Reconvened: 8:37 P.M. Adjourned: 9:26 P.M.

Mayor Joseph M. Petty	www.worcesterma.gov	Clerk of the City Council Susan M. Ledoux
Committee Members		Clerk of the City Council Susan M. Ledoux
Chairperson Joseph M Petty
Councilor Morris A Bergman
Councilor Tony Economou
Councilor Michael T Gaffney
Councilor Khrystian E King
Councilor Konstantina B Lukes
Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson
Councilor Sarai Rivera
Councilor Gary Rosen
Councilor George J Russell
Councilor Kathleen M Toomey

City Hall - 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts

	Present Were:	All members were present with Mayor in the Chair except for Councilors Lukes, Rivera and Toomey. Councilor Rivera arrived at 4:19 P.M., Councilor Lukes arrived at 4:28 P.M. and Councilor Toomey arrived at 5:11 P.M. City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. Chief Financial Officer Thomas F. Zidelis Director of Budget Jarrett B. Conner City Auditor Robert V. Stearns City Clerk Susan M. Ledoux, clerk

	Also:	Head Librarian Geoffrey M. Dickinson Commissioner of Public Works and Parks Paul J. Moosey Assistant Commissioner of Administration and Finance Daniel Curtis Assistant Commissioner of Engineering and Architectural Services K. Russell Adams Assistant Commissioner for Operations Matthew J. Labovites Assistant Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Robert C. Antonelli, Jr. Inspectional Services Commissioner John R. Kelly Assistant Director of Elections Nikolin Vangjeli

FY 2017 Budget Hearing - Worcester Public Library



1a.	Worcester Public Library - IV-3, pg. 63	View Budget

	Budget Approved

FY 2017 Budget Hearings - Department of Public Works & Parks



2a.	Auditorium - XIV-1, pg. 191	View Budget

	Budget Approved


2b.	Administration - XIV-2, pg. 193	View Budget

	Motion Lukes @2b – That $311,000 be cut from the bottom line of the Department of Public Works and Parks budget. Motion denied on a roll call vote of 3 Yeas (Gaffney, Lukes, Rosen) and 8 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Russell, Toomey, Petty) Budget approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks report to City Council the cost for outsourcing median maintenance throughout the City. (Bergman)


2c.	Engineering - XIV-3, pg. 201	View Budget

	Budget Approved


2d.	Streets - XIV-4, pg. 203	View Budget

	Budget Approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager report to City Council the free cash history for the last ten years. (Lukes)
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks provide City Council with a report concerning when micro-trenching is used and how it’s done. (Petty)


2e.	Sanitation - XIV-5, pg. 205	View Budget

	Budget Approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager provide City Council with a report regarding options for decreasing trash bag fees for low income households. (Rivera)
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks decrease as best as possible liquid residue from trash vehicles. (Rivera)
	Request City Manager look into whether printing jobs for the City can be done by Worcester based vendors or Worcester Technical High School. (Toomey)


2f.	Central Garage - XIV-6, pg. 207	View Budget

	Budget Approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks talk with the Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools to discuss sharing services and responsibilities in relation to maintaining grounds. (Lukes)


2g.	Parks, Recreation and Cemetery - XIV-7, pg. 209	View Budget

	Budget Approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks recognize volunteers for the work they do around the City through social media and other available platforms. (Toomey)
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks report to City Council concerning who trimmed the trees in the Blue Bell Rd. area and the practices they used. (Economou)
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks review the location of GAR plaques in order to guarantee their preservation in a public location. (Lukes)
	Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning whether or not Hope Cemetery operations should be an enterprise account. (Lukes)


2h.	Golf Course - XIV-8, pg. 217	View Budget

	Motion Lukes @2h – That $150,000 be cut from the Golf Course section of the Department of Public Works and Parks budget. Motion denied on a roll call vote of 3 Yeas (Gaffney, Lukes, Rosen) and 8 Nays (Bergman, Economou, King, Mero-Carlson, Rivera, Russell, Toomey, Petty) Budget Approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager request Commissioner of Public Works and Parks look into other ways to water the Green Hill Golf Course that may offset its cost. (Toomey)


2i.	Snow Removal - XIV-9, pg. 223	View Budget

	Budget Approved


2j.	Streetlights - XIV-10, pg. 227	View Budget

	Budget Approved


2k.	Sewer - XIV-11, pg. 229	View Budget

	Budget Approved


2l.	Water - XIV-12, pg. 235	View Budget

	Budget Approved


2m.	Off Street Parking - XIV-13, pg. 243	View Budget

	Budget Approved

FY 2017 Budget Hearing - Inspectional Services



3a.	Inspectional Services - XII-1, pg. 181	View Budget

	Budget Approved

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager provide City Council with a report outlining how funds are used concerning the “Other Personal Services” section of the Inspectional Services budget. (Russell)
	Request City Manager provide City Council with a report concerning how the City plans to account for the new rules for granting overtime to its employees in the FY2017 Budget. (Toomey)

FY 2017 Budget Hearings - Legislative Offices



4a.	City Council - III-1, pg. 31	View Budget

	Motion Lukes @4a – That $8,611 of salary increases be cut from the City Council Budget. Motion held as a result of the budget being held. Budget Held - Economou

	Chairman's Orders
	Request City Manager provide City Council with a report outlining reducing all benefits for the City Council in the FY2017 Budget. (Mero-Carlson)
	Request City Manager provide City Council with a list of payments and stipends made to any board, commission or committee for review for the FY2017 Budget. (Lukes)


4b.	Mayor's Office - III-2, pg. 35	View Budget

	Motion Lukes @4b – That a cut be made to level fund the Mayor’s Office Budget. Motion held as a result of the budget being held. Budget Held - Economou


4c.	City Clerk - III-3, pg. 37	View Budget

	Motion Lukes @4c – That City Council cut $42,000 from the recommended City Clerk budget. Motion held as a result of the budget being held. Budget Held - Economou


4d.	Board of Election Commissioners - III-4, pg. 41	View Budget

	Motion Lukes @4d – That City Council cut $22,000 from the recommended Board of Election Commissioners Budget – Not Put Budget Approved

Fiscal Year 2017 Budget



5a.	Communication of the City Manager transmitting informational communication relative to the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget proposal. # 8.36A CM May 10, 2016	Attachments

	Recommend Hold

Communications of the City Manager



6a.	Transmitting informational communication relative to an estimated assessor's tax recap using the proposed FY16 tax levy with current real estate assessed values and actual FY15 assessed values. # 8.23A CM June 09, 2015	Attachments

	Recommend Hold


6b.	Transmitting informational communication relative to the Bond Anticipation Notes (BAN) rating. # 8.28A CM June 09, 2015	Attachments

	Recommend Hold


6c.	Transmitting informational communication relative to the FY16 Capital Improvement Plan. # 9.24A CM June 23, 2015	Attachments

	Recommend Hold

Communications of the City Auditor



7a.	Transmitting unaudited financial reports on the budgetary basis for results of operations in Fiscal Year 2015 for the General and Enterprise Funds (Schedules A through B-3). Also attached are summaries of the activities in the Special Revenue, Capital Project, Debt Service and Trust Funds (Schedules C-1 through C-5). # 11a CC Tuesday, November 10, 2015	Attachments

	Recommend Hold


7b.	Transmitting the Monthly Report on the Status of the City Budget. # 10a CC May 10, 2016	Attachments

	Recommend Hold


7c.	Transmitting report concerning recommendations as to where cuts may be made in the City's budget. # 10b CC May 10, 2016	Attachments

	Recommend Hold


7d.	Transmitting a corrected copy of the Monthly Report on the Status of the City Budget. # 10d CC May 10, 2016	Attachments

	Recommend Hold

CHAIRMAN'S ORDERS

	1.	Request City Manager develop a process to allow the Department of Public Works and Parks to handle the installation of handicap parking spaces administratively, with City Council still maintaining an appeal process. (Lukes)
	2.	Request City Manager provide City Council with a report regarding the money the City is paying to its constables, comparing that to what they are claiming when they pay their fees to the City. (Russell)