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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/19/1981CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 19, 1981 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Thursday, February 19, 1981 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, John Towne, Martin Paulsen, William Burgess Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Gloria Yandow, Bookkeeper; James Goddette, Fire Chief; Don Whitten, Water Pollution Control; Lansing Reinholz, Charles Balserus, Kevin Hayes, Thomas Fraga, Robert Hawke, Peter Lavallee Agenda additions Under Old Business it was decided to discuss the inventory tax and receive an update on the Assistant City Manager. Meet with Police Department Union Mr. Farrar said the Council had studied the proposal made by the union and that a rough look at the cost of it indicated that it would be between 20 and 30% if everything was added to the present contract. The Council feels that increase is larger than is reasonable. Mr. Farrar said Council policy was unchanged - they wish to provide compensation such that if a policeman leaves the city it is for advancement, not for a similar job. He said the Council had looked at the surrounding communities and they feel that the city is about 5% ahead of the best of the others. Mr. Paulsen arrived at this time. Regarding specific proposals, Mr. Farrar said that the present pension plan seemed to be competitive and he asked why a request had been made to change it. Mr. Reinholz responded that it was different from the retirement plans in other city departments because of the mandatory age 55 retirement. Mr. Farrar said the plan was the same for all departments and he did not know where the mandatory retirement was written. Mr. Reinholz believed it was a State statute and said he would look it up. He said that retirement benefits for police who retire at the same age with the same number of years of service as employees in other departments were about half. Mr. Farrar explained that the only departments which have the option to retire at 55 were police and fire and that the reduction factor between 55 and 60 is 1/2 those available between 60 and 65. Other than the option for early retirement, the plan is the same for everyone in the city, according to Mr. Farrar's information. He went on to say that there was reasonable inflation protection built into the plan and that a policeman who retired might, with social security payments, have more money in his pocket after retirement than before. He felt the plan was fair and generous. Regarding life insurance, Mr. Farrar felt that request was reasonable and made good sense and he felt something along the lines proposed should be considered. The Council did not feel that disability insurance was as good a buy as life insurance. As far as holidays, the Council did not feel reducing the basic work week was reasonable under the present circumstances. Mr. Farrar did not have a complete analysis on the dental benefit but he felt this looked like it might make good sense to consider it. The Council wants to look farther into this item. Mr. Farrar was not sure either party to the contract could propose this item unilaterally but he wondered if the union would consider it. It is the way vacations are now stated in the plan, which is confusing. Mr. Reinholz added that the way the section read was also not the way vacations were allocated and he agreed to discuss it. He suggested the Council draft some language. As far as the total package, Mr. Farrar felt the city compared well to other communities and that it was in a leadership position as far as they could see. The union asked for an increase of 12% with a merit figure of 2% and freezing the salary at the third level. The Council feels that is not reasonable and proposes 7% with a longevity factor of 1 1/2%. The merit plan is modified so that the total between levels is about 3%. Mr. Farrar did not think other areas of the proposal were rational to add at this time, except for the detectives portion, where some language modification might be possible. The point made by the union that there is now only 1 detective instead of 2 and therefore that detective is doing more overtime than thought last year, is well taken. The police department budget includes a request for another detective but the question of more money might be put to the voters, in which case, it would be May before the city knew the answer. Mr. Farrar proposed language such that if the new detective were added the stipend would one figure, and if he/she were not, the figure would be another. Mr. Reinholz asked about Article IX, section 8 and was told it had not been discussed with the City Attorney, but there seemed to be no problem with it. Mr. Farrar said the Council had no problem with housecleaning items, but specific language had not been given to the Attorney for review yet. Regarding Article XIII Mr. Farrar noted that the city paid the highest clothing allowance of any department around and he noted that it had been raised last year. On Article XVII, Mr. Reinholz noted that there were two separate items here - protection of the job and the disability item. He asked if there was a problem with the job protection and was told the Council had not specifically looked at that but that they would. Mr. Reinholz said the two riders on the Blue Cross/Blue Shield would be very inexpensive. Mr. Flaherty stated that those riders, which are not yet in effect, could go up in cost dramatically next year. Mr. Farrar said the Council would look into the riders. Mr. Reinholz asked if the other money items were out and was told that was correct. He asked that the salary schedule at the 7% figures mentioned be run so that individuals could see what the proposal would mean to them. Mr. Farrar said the schedule could be given out before the next meeting, which was set for 8:30 p.m. February 23. Continue review of 1981-82 budget Mr. Don Whitten presented the Water Pollution Control Department budget. He said he might need one more man next year, and a few more in 5 or 6 years when the Airport Parkway treatment plant is upgraded. Prices for spare parts are up and there is a large increase for alum for the Bartlett Bay plant. Mr. Szymanski presented the Councilmen's Accounts. Two typewriters are needed. Raising the rate for the Board of Civil Authority was mentioned. Janitorial services were discussed. Minutes of February 2 and 9, 1981 Mr. Flaherty moved to approve the February 2 and 9, 1981 minutes and Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Review Planning and Zoning agendas Mr. Farrar mentioned the density shown on the plans of the proposed development on Spear Street. He wondered if it might set a precedent and said he would like to pursue it. Old Business Inventory tax - Mr. Farrar said the City Attorney would be giving him an opinion on the tax and whether it could be changed with a Charter change. He would like to put a cap on the value of inventories as of the highest value the past 2 years or a percentage of the actual value, whichever is least. Assistant City Manager - The list of applicants has been narrowed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.