FM20050111
FINANCE COMMITTEE - CITY OF MUSKEGO Approved
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005
The meeting was called to order at 6:45 PM by Mayor Slocomb with Committee
Members Salentine, Madden and Schroeder present along with Ald. Melcher and
Buckmaster. Also present were Assessor Laura Mecha, Deputy Clerk Blenski and
former Finance Director Dawn Gunderson. Those present recited the Pledge of
Allegiance. Ald. Patterson and Clerk-Treasurer Moyer arrived during the meeting.
Mayor Slocomb stated the meeting was noticed in accordance with the open meeting
law.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ald. Salentine moved for approval of the minutes of the meeting held December 14,
2004. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
LICENSE APPROVALS
Renewal of Dog Fancier License for Schachner
Ald. Salentine moved to approve renewal of a Dog Fancier Permit for Tanya
Schachner. No complaints were received. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
Renewal of Dog Fancier License for Hassmann
Ald. Salentine moved to approve renewal of a Dog Fancier Permit for Gerald and Judith
Hassmann. No complaints were received. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
Renewal of Dog Fancier License for Brzezinski
Ald. Salentine moved to approve renewal of a Dog Fancier Permit for Donald and
Nancy Brzezinski. No complaints were received. Ald. Madden seconded; motion
carried.
Dog Fancier License for Geske
Ald. Salentine moved to approve a Dog Fancier Permit for Jamie Geske. The Mayor
noted that the neighbors were notified. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
PERIODIC LICENSE REVIEW
As a condition of the Operator’s License issued to Joshua Stewart, a periodic review
was done. The report submitted by the Police Department did not reveal any new
issues.
Review Violation at Bushy’s Bar & Grill
The Mayor stated the Police Department provided information regarding an incident
that occurred in October of 2004 at Bushy’s. Ald. Salentine moved to invite the license
holder to the next Wednesday Finance Committee meeting to discuss the violation.
Ald. Schroeder seconded; motion carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Recommend Approval of Waukesha County 2005 Contract for CAMA
This item was deferred at the December 8, 2004 meeting. Information Systems
Director Joe Sommers recommended striking the following: “In the event the County
would need to purchase replacement parts to maintain this infrastructure, the cost of
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January 11, 2005
the parts and staff time for said repairs will be preapproved and paid by Municipality.
Waukesha County will not be responsible for any corrupted data, or loss of current
data, as a result of server failure.” Ald. Salentine moved to strike said language and
recommend approval of the revised Agreement. Ald. Madden seconded; motion
carried.
Recommend Approval of Nonrepresented Personnel Salary Increase for 2005.
This item was deferred at the December 8, 2004 meeting. Ald. Salentine moved to
recommend approval of a 2% increase effective January 1 and an additional 1%
increase effective July 1 for nonrepresented employees. Ald. Madden seconded;
motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Approve 2004 Budget Transfer and Approve 2005 Budget Transfer
Ald. Salentine moved to approve the transfer of $5,600 from the 2004 Revaluation
Budget to the 2004 Contracted Services Budget and to approve the transfer of $5,600
from 2005 Contracted Service Budget to the 2005 Revaluation Budget. Ald. Madden
seconded; motion carried.
Approve 2005 Tractor Capital Budget Purchase for Parks and Recreation
Ald. Schroeder moved to approve purchase of diesel tractor in the amount of $22,850.
This was the amount that was budgeted. Ald. Salentine seconded; motion carried.
Recommend Approval of Park Arthur (South Section) Farming Lease for 2005
Mayor stated that there are several leases on the agenda. They all reflect a consistent
price of $55 per tillable acre. This lease has been approved by the Parks and
Recreation Board. Ald. Schroeder moved to recommend approval of Lease with Eddie
Schaefer for the south section of Park Arthur. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
Recommend Approval of Engel Conservation Land Farming Lease for 2005
Ald. Schroeder moved to recommend approval of lease. Ald. Madden seconded;
motion carried.
Recommend Approval of Kelsey Drive Conservation Land Farming Lease for 2005
Ald. Schroeder moved to recommend approval of lease. Ald. Madden seconded. Ald.
Schroeder asked what happens if a pond gets built on the property this year. The
Mayor stated the lessee would not have to pay for anything taken out of service.
Motion carried.
Discuss Interim Finance Department Structure
Mayor Slocomb stated that an interim Finance Director is needed, as there are official
City documents that require the signature of that individual. He has asked Sharon
Mueller to be the “go to” person for Finance Department questions. A direct supervisor
is needed for staff. The Mayor will handle personnel issues for now. Ald. Salentine
asked about compensation. The Mayor stated the practice in the past has been to pay
an employee 80% of the midpoint of the position. The responsibilities will be reviewed
and compensation determined at that time. Ald. Schroeder moved to recommend that
the package for an interim Finance Director be put together by the Mayor and
presented at the January 20 Committee of the Whole meeting. Ald. Salentine
seconded; motion carried. Ald. Schroeder also requested a job description to identify
what responsibilities the employee will have during the interim period. Ald. Buckmaster
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January 11, 2005
also requested the job description for the Administrator/Human Resource Director
position that was created several years ago but not filled for financial reasons. He
would like to see anything the Mayor believes would be helpful for the Committee to
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make a decision, which Ald. Buckmaster would like to accomplish on the 20. Ald.
Schroeder requested the information ahead of time.
Review Request for Refund for Operator’s License
Ald. Schroeder moved to approve refund in the amount of $40 to Mandy Mayrand as
requested by the Clerk-Treasurer. Ald. Salentine seconded; motion carried.
Approve Mileage Reimbursement Rate
Mayor Slocomb explained that the City’s mileage reimbursement rate has been based
on the rate set by the Internal Revenue Service the previous year. He would like to see
the rate be current. Ald. Salentine stated she agreed and moved to approve that the
mileage reimbursement rate be the same as the current rate set by the IRS. Ald.
Madden seconded. Ald. Schroeder expressed concern that if the City paid a rate
higher than that set by the IRS, the additional money would be taxable. Mayor
Slocomb explained why the City began the practice of using the previous year’s rate.
Money had to be budgeted for mileage reimbursement for the next year and the IRS
rate was unknown. This was at a time when there were fewer City vehicles. That has
now changed and there is less reimbursement than in the past. The IRS now sets the
rate much earlier than in the past. Ald. Buckmaster noted that the IRS could publish a
new rate during the course of a year depending on fuel prices so the rate should be
checked periodically. Motion carried.
Review Agreement with Waukesha County for Senior Nutrition Program
The Agreement is the same as in the past. Ald. Schroeder moved to recommend
approval. Ald. Salentine seconded; motion carried.
Review Amendment to Agreement with Ruekert & Mielke - 2005 Rates
Ald. Salentine moved to recommend approval of 2005 rates. Ald. Schroeder seconded;
motion carried.
Review Amendment to Agreement with R. A. Smith - 2005 Rates
Ald. Salentine moved to recommend approval of 2005 rates. Ald. Schroeder seconded;
motion carried.
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS
Ald. Madden moved to approve invoice in the amount of $272 for maintenance of eight
City typewriters. Ald. Salentine seconded; motion carried.
VOUCHER APPROVAL
Ald. Salentine moved for approval of payment of General Vouchers in the amount of
$659,699.58, Tax Checks in the amount of $18,658,973.04 and Utility Vouchers in the
amount of $75,440.06. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS (Continued)
Review and Recommend Approval of Travel Policy
Ald. Schroeder prepared proposed revisions to the draft. The Mayor questioned the
statement, “The department head will retain a copy for his/her records” under 3. A.
Request for Travel Approval. Ald. Schroeder stated he wanted the record kept for
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January 11, 2005
whatever period of time the department head would need it to reconcile the receipts
with what was budgeted for the year. The Mayor suggested adding “for the calendar
year” at the end of the sentence.
Mayor Slocomb stated that currently employees do not have to submit an itemized list
of estimated travel expenses to the department head for approval. Ald. Schroeder
believes specific travel expenses should be reviewed by the supervisor before lodging
and transportation arrangements are made. The Mayor stated that is being done
informally now. Ald. Schroeder stated department heads should be making some of the
decisions regarding travel arrangements. Ald. Buckmaster stated the costs should be
able to be calculated in advance. He does not agree that the department head should
necessarily choose lodging. He believes employees are motivated to keep the costs as
low as possible so events can be attended in the future. Ald. Schroeder suggested
renaming 3. A. “Receive Travel Approval.” Most of the language could be removed and
replaced with “Prior to departure, your Department Head has approved travel plans.”
The last sentence would remain. Ald. Melcher said we have to look at changing the
system to require preauthorization using forms or keeping it as it currently is, which is
very informal. The Mayor noted that the City does not have that much traveling during
a year. Ald. Schroeder requested that the dollar amounts for meals listed in C. 4. be
consistent with those for the Police Department.
Under Car Rental, Ald. Buckmaster stated that a midsize vehicle should be standard. A
larger vehicle would have to be approved by the department head. He also suggested
a specific dollar amount for meals be established whereby a receipt would not be
required. Ald. Schroeder disagrees. When the employer is public, you need checks
and balances. He believes the proposed policy is already very liberal. Ald.
Buckmaster stated the proposed policy allows non City expenses to be charged on the
City credit card, which he does not approve. Ald. Schroeder noted there was only one
instance where that could happen (a hotel room upgrade). He could support removing
that exception. Mayor Slocomb does not agree. Ald. Madden stated she travels often
and uses a corporate credit card. Her employer has a very strict policy that personal
expenses cannot be charged to the company card. She has not experienced any
problems putting only the company-related travel expenses on the credit card and
paying cash for her personal items. The Mayor asked what the consequence would be
if the City card were used for personal expenses, which could occur unintentionally.
Ald. Madden said in her case, the employer would take the card away.
Ald. Buckmaster does not believe the credit card should be used for travel expenses.
He also brought up the issue of compliance. A compliance policy is needed.
Schroeder stated it appears the hang-up regarding the policy is the exception identified
in Section 3. E. Schroeder moved to approve the Travel Policy, including his revisions
and changing Paragraph 3. A. to be renamed “Receive Travel Approval” to read as
follows: “Prior to departure, travel expenses shall be approved by the department
head. The department head will retain a copy for his/her records for the calendar
year.” In addition, the sentence at the end of 3. B. and the sentence at the end of 3. E.
shall be removed and the words “with the exception of Section 3. E.” shall be removed
from Paragraph 6. Total Expenses. Salentine seconded; motion carried. Schroeder
requested the Finance Department review the Policy and create any necessary forms
the policy requires.
Discussion of the Review and Possible Amendment to Business Credit Card Policy
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January 11, 2005
This item was sent back to the Committee by the Common Council. Ald. Schroeder
stated that Paragraph 5 (Page 2) should read, “Non City business charges are NOT
permitted on a City of Muskego credit card” and the rest of the paragraph removed.
The Mayor explained the rationale for allowing employees who are not department
heads to be issued credit cards. Ald. Madden stated she does not have a problem with
additional credit cards being issued if 1) the employee would be able to obtain the
credit card on his/her own and 2) the employee is totally responsible for the card if
abused. The employee should also have to sign a statement saying the responsibilities
of the card are understood. Ald. Buckmaster also stated he did not have a problem
with additional cards being issued. However, he did feel a compliance policy was
needed. Mayor stated credit cards are not issued for the benefit of the employee; they
are issued for the benefit of the City to keep operational costs at a minimum. He
confirmed that the statements are scrutinized very carefully and there have not been
any problems. Discussion took place about using the word “will” instead of “may” in the
last paragraph on Page 2. Ald. Schroeder said the word “unauthorized” should be
struck from the last paragraph on Page 2. Ald. Schroeder suggests making the
revisions that were discussed tonight for now and waiting to decide if additional cards
will be issued until a compliance procedure is in place. Ald. Schroeder moved to
amend Paragraph 5 (Page 2) to read “Non City business charges are NOT permitted
on a City of Muskego credit card.” Ald. Salentine seconded; motion carried. Ald.
Schroeder moved to strike the word “unauthorized” in Paragraph 7 (Page 2). Ald.
Madden seconded; motion carried. Page 1 of the policy would remain as it exists for
now, which means only department heads can be issued credit cards. The Mayor
stated no monthly fee is paid for the cards and payment is made on a monthly basis so
interest charges are not accrued. Ald. Madden moved to defer until a compliance
policy is established and can be reviewed by the Committee with this policy. Ald.
Salentine seconded; motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS AND OTHER BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW
Ald. Schroeder asked if City vehicles could be used for City business rather than an
employee using his/her own vehicle and being reimbursed. Ald. Schroeder also
discussed the letter received from Virchow Krause & Company, which informs the City
that the fees quoted earlier for services will increase because of the departure of the
Finance Director. It was determined that this would be discussed at the 1/20
Committee of the Whole meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Ald. Salentine moved to adjourn at 8:45 pm. Ald. Madden seconded; motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Jill Blenski, CMC
Deputy Clerk