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Home My WebLink About10/18/2006 '\ DIGITAL RECORDING e e COUNCil APPROVED .IOV 1 5 2Q~~ CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, October 18, 2006 The weekly meeting of the City Council of the City of Bremerton was called to order in the City Council Chambers, of the NORM DICKS GOVERNMENT CENTER 345 6th Street, Bremerton, Washington, Wednesday, October 18, 2006, at 5:30 PM, with Council President Cecil McConnell presiding. Council members present were Nick Wofford, Will Maupin, Carol Arends, Dianne Robinson, Adam Brockus, and Brad Gehring. Council Members Wendy Priest and Mike Shepherd were absent. Also present were City Attorney Roger Lubovich; City Clerk Paula Johnston; and Council Assistant Christine Grenier. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Brad Gehrinq followed by the invocation provided by Pastor Rick Beaudry of Calvary Chapel. President McConnell announced that a 10-minute EXECUTIVE SESSION to "EVALUATE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF AN ApPLICANT FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT" per RCW 42.30.110 (1) (g) and a Pre- Council Session were held in Council Conference Room 603 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM; and Item 6C will be heard before Item 6B on tonight's agenda. MAYOR'S REPORT . Invited Wvn Birkenthal, Parks and Recreation Director presented the Employee of the Month Award for the Month of September 2006 to Lena D' AQostino of the Parks and Recreation Department. . Met with representatives with Harrison Hospital and hopes that the City can help with signage issues and continue to support their needs. . Provided an update on passenger ferry service and future plans that would impact Bremerton . Thanked Pam Ransier of Community Development who has volunteered to be the City of Bremerton's Employee United Way Campaign Coordinator for this year's campaign. . Was pleased with the progress of the Harborside Park project. . Proclaimed October 22, 2006 as "Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church 94th Anniversary Celebration Day" and the proclamation was accepted by Deacon Farrior; and . Introduced Joanie Pearson as the candidate for the Arts Commission. 'PUBLIC RECOGNITION & ANNOUNCEMENTS Gordv Bvrd asked Council Members to not support Kitsap Transit and any of its proposals since the service rates have increased and service routes have been decreased. Ed Pietras of the Knights of Columbus invited Council Members to attend the 24th Annual Italian Spaghetti Festa which will benefit the Olympic Peninsula Kidney Center on Sunday, October 29th from 1 :00 to 7:00 PM at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Hall located at 6th & Veneta Streets. The cost is $3 for children ages 6 to 12 and $6 for adults. Dianne Robinson announced on behalf of Council Member Mike Shepherd that a Community Halloween Party will be held on October 31st from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Seaside Church located next to Evergreen Park which will include safe and fun activities as well as free photography. Adam Brockus invited the public to attend the next District 3 Community Meeting to be held on Thursday, October 26th at the Manette Community Church located at East 13th Street & Hayward Avenue from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The program will include a presentation on "Property Taxes 101" from Laura Lyon, Financial Services Director. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Page 2 of 5 CONSENT AGENDA A. Check Numbers 312010 through 312038; and EFT-9293 through EFT-9306; and EFT-9308 in the amount of $1,162,706.43 (#AB06-214) B. Appointment of Joanie D. Pearson to the Arts Commission (#AB06-215) C. Purchase of 4 Traffic Signal Cabinets off State Bid List from CASCADE SIGNAL CORPORATION, and 4 Traffic Signal Controllers off State Bid List from ECONOLlTE, INC. (#AB06-216) D. Reclassification of three (3) Firefighters to three (3) Lieutenants (#AB06-217) E. Ordinance No. 4982, amending Section 2.09.060 of the Bremerton Municipal Code (BMC) relating to the duties of the Human Resources Manager (#AB06-218) F. EPA Grant Acceptance for Phase II Environmental Site Assessment of Old Bremerton Gasworks & McConkey/Sesko Properties (#AB06-219) G. Bremerton Tunnel Construction Cooperative Agreement (#AB06-220) H. Sale of Tennis Court Property located at corner of 11th Street and Warren Avenue (#AB06- 221 ) There were no comments from the public 05:48:51 M/S/C (Arends/Robinson) Move to approve the CONSENT AGENDA as presented. Voted in favor of Motion: Gehring, Robinson, Arends, Maupin, Wofford, McConnell Abstained: Brockus Motion carried: 6-Yes; i-Abstention GENERAL BUSINESS 6A - ORDINANCE NO. 4983. AMENDING CERTAIN CHAPTERS OF TITLE 2 OF THE BREMERTON MUNICIPAL CODE (BMC) RELATING TO ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL (#AB06-222): Laura Lvon, Financial Services Director and Phil Williams, Public Works & Utilities Director proposed amendments to Title 2 BMC relating to the reorganization of certain offices in order to obtain greater efficiency in the provision of administrative and support services for the City. The recommended change includes moving Information Technology functions to the Public Works and Utilities Department and adding responsibility for management of the Conference Center Operating Fund to the responsibilities of the Director of Financial Services. There were no comments from the public. Mrs. Arends expressed her concern about the additional workload being added to Public Works & Utilities and believed that Information Technology should be a separate department. She asked if there were any money saving outcomes achieved by this move. Ms. Lvon indicated that there are no true savings by this proposed change but there is a convergence of technology and coordination of services. Mr. McConnell agreed with Mrs. Arends concerns. 05:52:55 M/S/C (Robinson/Wofford) Move to approve Ordinance No. 4983 amending Title 2 BMC relating to reorganization of certain offices. Voted in favor of Motion: Brockus, Robinson, Maupin, Wofford, Gehring Voted opposed to Motion: Arends, McConnell Motion carried: 5-Yes; 2-No City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Page 3 of 5 6C - ORDINANCE NO. 4984, AMENDING CHAPTER 2.50 OF THE BREMERTON MUNICIPAL CODE (BMC) INCORPORATING RECOMMENDED CHANGES BY THE MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (#AB06-224): Council Member Will Maupin explained that the Management/Professional Compensation Advisory Committee comprised of Nick Wofford, Brad Gehring, and himself have completed their review of all Management/Professional benefits as outlined in BMC Chapter 2.50 as part of the Management/Professional Compensation Study. Employees requested that the committee review and consider the benefit package for management/professional, since the benefits offered to this group have not changed for at least 10 years; while in the interim, represented employees gained additional benefits through negotiations. A survey was completed by Human Resources based on those benefits that management/professional employees expressed interest. The recommended changes to BMC Chapter 2.50 incorporate the additional benefits proposed by the Committee. Bob Tulp, of Public Works & Utilities, did not support the change in study timeframes from three years to five years; and emphasized that the vision component of the benefits plan is being proposed since it is already offered to all other employee groups. 06:04:10 Main Motion was made and discussion among Council Members continued... Ms. Arends asked what reasoning the committee had for changing the timeframe for review from three to five years. -Mr. Maupin responded that the process was quite extensive and time consuming, and five years seemed reasonable. Mr. GehrinCl decided that keeping pay competitive with Puget Sound is important and hoped that his concerns over the pay plan itself could be addressed at a later time. Mr. Maupin added that there was discussion on the structure of the pay plan, specifically the number of bands and the number of steps, and the related rate of progression through the pay system. Mr. Brockus appreciated the effort by staff members and committee members who participated in bringing the proposal forward. 6:09:28 M/S/C/U (Arends/Wofford) Move to approve Ordinance No. 4984 and the amendments to Chapter 2.50 of the BMC incorporating recommended benefit enhancements for Management/Professional employees and to authorize a budget adjustment from the 2006 General Fund non-departmental budget labor set aside to the appropriate departments to cover the additional cost for implementation of the recommended benefits. 6B - ACCEPTANCE OF MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (#AB06-223): Council Member Will Maupin summarized that the Management/ Professional Compensation Advisory Committee which was comprised of Council Members Nick Wofford, Brad Gehring, and himself, have completed their review of all Management/Professional positions' classifications and pay band assignments. This was accomplished by an in depth review of salary information gathered and prepared by the HR staff at the direction of the committee. A second review was undertaken for those positions that did not have good com parables including an internal review rating by the committee and/or expansion of the survey area to get better matches. To complete this process, a final appeal hearing was held for one incumbent, who did not feel the recommended band assignment was correct. The Management/Professional Pay Plan as recommended by the committee also takes into account internal equity, parity, and compression issues as identified in the course of this review. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Page 4 of 5 Bob Tulp, Public Works and Utilities, thanked everyone who participated in this process and offered his support for the proposal. 06:16:26 Main Motion was made and discussion among Council Members continued... Mr. GehrinQ thanked staff for their patience and time spent on this process. 06:18:48 M/S/C/U (Brockus/Arends) Move to remove asterisk from Band 17 City Auditor on the Management Salary Plan. Mr. McConnell believed that several moves of directors on the pay plan were unfair based on the type of work these directors are involved. Ms. Robinson asked for clarification on the new Band 23 that has been added. Carol Conley explained that Band 23 was added to allow for any future changes in salary ranges and is allowed by the Bremerton Municipal Code. Mrs. Arends asked why comparable positions were not kept at the same level. Mrs. Conley answered that the survey and relative median that resulted from the study allowed for the proposed placement. Mrs. Arends also asked for clarification regarding salary difference between bands. Mrs. Conley stated that 15 to 20% is the usual difference between directors and managers. Mr. Maupin stated that the initial goal is that the positions are paid the same as comparable positions in other cities and while some positions may be grouped together, it turned out that the study countered what are assumed pay for the city is normally set at. He also thanked Laura Lyon, Financial Services Director; Carol Conley and Charlotte Belmore, Human Resources for the time they spent on this process. 06:30:48 M/S/C (Brockus/Wofford) Move to approve the Revised Management/Professional Pay Plan and to authorize a budget adjustment from the miscellaneous non-departmental budget labor set aside to the appropriate departments to cover the additional cost for implementation of the recommended Pay Plan. Voted in favor of Motion: Maupin, Wofford, Gehring, Brockus, Robinson, Arends Voted opposed to Motion: McConnell Motion carried: 6-Yes; 1-No COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Carol Arends thanked City staff and Council Members for their efforts on the pay and classification study process. Adam Brockus encouraged people to vote this election. Brad GehrinQ reported on the Emergency Management Class he attended today regarding rapid damage assessment as it relates to earthquakes and natural disasters; and encouraged people to have an emergency kit at home. President McConnell thanked Council Members Brad Gehring, Will Maupin, and Nick Wofford for the time they committed to review employee salaries and benefits, as well as Finance and Human Resources staff who put together all of the information for the committee. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Page 5 of 5 With no further business, President McConnell adjourned the Council Meeting at 6:34 PM. The Council then reconvened in the 6th Floor Council Conference Room for a STUDY SESSION to receive an "UPDATE ON THE MUNICIPAL COURT BUILDING AT 8TH STREET AND PARK AVENUE", CM:PJ:ls:cg Prepared and Submitted by: /J#, . u I /hAA/P~ ~/vJ/)A. '-. , CHRISTINE GRENIER Council Assistant