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Home My WebLink About09-23-2002 Meeting i": (.: .;~:.: -;. I ,..'. .... .,' ~ " . I I '-. - . .. , /_.~J.lvID\IISTRA TIVE SERVICES COMMITEE ". ..~ ... . . ... . . .~. :)[.,.'~ -- ScptcrEper:23, 2002: ~ ~'~}O TJ. IVI. COM},:iT'i' PRESENT: Hons. Bob Young, Mayor; Lee 'je~:ri, C;::.::.q'~2n; Kuhlke, Co- Chairman; Hankerson and Cheek, members; Jim Wall,. Altonley; George Kolb, Administrator; Walter Hornsby, Deputy Administrator; Brenda Pelaez, Hurnan Resources Director; Lena Bonner, Clerk of Commission. Also Present: Stacey Eidson of The Metropolitan Spirit, George Eskola of\VJBF Television, Heidi Williams of The Augusta Chronicle and Hons. Williams, Boyles, Bridges, Mays and Colclough, Commissioners. 1. Consider providing preferences to local businesses doing business with their local government. (Deferred from September 9 Administrative Services) Mr. Wall: This would not apply to professional service contracts; it would apply to those that are bid out. Where the lowest bidder is within 1 % or $10,000, whichever is the lesser, then the lowest local bidder would be allowed to match the bid of the lowest non-local bidder. The issue last time concerned the definition oflocal bidder, and we tried to change the language a little bit still carrying out the intent. They have to meet several criteria which includes having an office, distribution point and street address in Augusta for six months prior to receiving the bid, holding a business license and employing one full time or two part time employees whose primary place of employment is in Augusta. Mr. Cheek: I make a motion that we allow two additional weeks and have this come back to the committee for comment back from local businesses. Mr. Chairman: I think we could set up a committee of local business people who could make their comments about this. Mr. Cheek: I'll withdraw my motion. Mr. Kuhlke: Maybe we could ask the Administrator to send out a survey to local businesses to see how they feel about it. NIr. Chairman: I would like to see the Administrator look at the business sector and get a cross section of people to come in and discuss what they want. It could probably be done in one or two meetings. lvIr. Kuhlke: I make a motion to that effect. Mr. Cheek: Second that. Mr. Kuhlke: My motion is to ask the Administrator to get a cross section of business people in here, explain to them what we're trying to do and get their reaction. . ~ , ... . Iv11'. Cheek: Perhaps we cO'uld getsoi.TIe irAfOIm2.~iqn frem our local' Chamber of Commerce and get their input as welL' Motion carries unanimously.. " 2. Report from the Administrator regarding request from Indigent Defense Office to reclassify existing personnel and add additionaJ personnel to meet " new standards. (Deferred from September 9 Administrative Services) Mr. Wall: We are continuing to look at methods to get funding for this.. I have. been gathering information but I don't have everything, and I would ask that we delete this from the agenda and allow us to put it back on when we're prepared to make a recommendation, if that's agreeable. Mr. Cheek: A motion to delete. Mr. Chairman: Second. Motion adopted unanimously. 4. Approve Subordination Agreement for Jeanette Ella Hall, 1531 Wilder Street, Augusta, GA 30904. Mr. Wall: I recommend approval on that. Mr. Cheek: I so move. Mr. Kuhlke: Second. Motion adopted unanimously. 5. Implement reclassifications for Executive and Line Staff effective October 15,2002 (the first paycheck in November 2002). Implement career ladder, basic skills and tuition reimbursement programs. Approve Reclassification Administrative Procedures. Eliminate salary grades 30-35 and begin Salary Structure at Salary Grade 36. After a discussion of the plah, Mr. Cheek: I would like to make a motion that we move forward with this to the full Commission with approval on Recommendation I from staff. Mr. Chairman: I'll second that for discussion. I would also like to include the Clerk in this. Ms. Pelaez: We can include that in the Executive Staff recommendations. 2 t,.: ~ ~ , . I; I I I . NIr. Cheek: And include the Ckrk's Of~'.'.~(',:...;: ;'::'::.;;;.~:si}1cation'. Ithink we'll have to go back and study the other two: . . ',' - After further discussion., the motion \vas ad0i,ce,:1. 'Nitl: ~...ll'. Hankei"son voting "No" . 6. . Discuss abandoned properties. (Requested by Commissioner Williams) rv1r. Williams: I've gotten several calls about the conditions on some abandoned properties. What can we do about these? Mr. Wall: We will have an attorney who will be working with the Land Bank Authori!:'f and getting that process moving. Mr. Williams: I have had calls from people about the large number of rats coming from some of these abandoned lots. They are very concerned about it and problems that they facing. Mr. Wall: I think that we will begin to see some progress soon. .Mr. Cheek: I would also like to see something done about the boarded up buildings. I Mr. Kuhlke: I move that we accept this as information. Mr. Chairman: I'll second that. Motion adopted unanimously with Mr. Cheek out. 3. Discuss Special Grand Jury recommendation/concern regarding Purchasing Department. (Recommendations 1 through 7) (Requested by Commissioner Shepard) (Deferred from September 9 Administrative Services) Mr. Shepard: I would like to know if we are going to have a budget shortfall as the repOlt has suggested there would be. Mr. Kolb responded that as far as he knew there would be no budgetary impact. Mr. Shepard: I think we should also have a policy regarding a purchase order cut- off date. I :Mr. Kolb: That is really the preference of the fmance manager and it is probably a good idea. But I don't think it rises to the level of this Commission implementing a policy of this nature. 3 Mr. Shepard: I would like to see a cum;,~imlce audit done including the cost of that, the time involved and the disruptior. iny~lvcd.. We might also need to consider I having a uniform policy regarding the purchase of items such as uniforms and vehicles . because we seem to spend a great deal of time looking at those types of purchases in our committees. I'd like to see what the other consolidated governments are doing and use this information for guidance. Some presently place the Purchasing Department under the supervision of the Finance Department. Regarding some vendors owing this government money, I think we can look at payment plans that address that. I also think that we do not need to create any type of purchasing department at the Sheriffs Department since this would probably increase the cost of government. Mr. Kuhlke: I'd like to make a motion that we go ahead and ask the Administrator to implement a compliance audit in the Finance Department. In addition to that I'd like for him to bring back to this committee a policy on purchasing from people that owe us tax money. I would like for him to make a presentation to us, which he said is already being done, on how the reorganization of the Purchasing Department would be done. I'd like for a presentation back to this committee on how we can standardize purchasing in contracts in conjunction with the attorney and then a written report on whether or not or why we should not have a cut off date for the issuance of purchase orders. I'd also like to recommend that he come back to this committee and maybe the Finance Committee - we've gone for several years without an in-house Internal Auditor. I think that's an important position that we need to have in this government. We're presently paying an external auditor to do the internal audit work, but we as commissioners need to have an internal auditor that we can go to ourselves if we see I some things that we want investigated. So I'd like to make that in the form of a motion. Motion dies for lack of a second. Mr. Williams: I'd like to know how much money we have spent on these reports. Mr. Cheek: I move that we receive it as information. Mr. Chairman: Second. Motion adopted with Mr. Kuhlke voting "No". ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Lena J. Bonner Clerk of Commission nwm I 4 I ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AGENDA COMMITTEE ROOM - September 23, 2002 1:00 P. M. 1. Consider providing preferences to local businesses doing business with their local government. (Deferred from September 9 Administrative Services) 2. Report from the Administrator regarding request from Indigent Defense Office to reclassify existing personnel and add additional personnel to meet new standards. (Deferred from September 9 Administrative Services) 3. Discuss Special Grand Jury recommendation/concern regarding Purchasing Department. (Recommendations 1 through 7) (Requested by Commissioner Shepard) (Deferred from September 9 Administrative Services) 4. Approve Subordination Agreement for Jeanette Ella Hall, 1531 Wilder Street, Augusta, GA 30904. 5. Implement reclassifications for Executive and Line Staff effective October 15, 2002 (the first paycheck in November 2002). Implement career ladder, basic skills and tuition reimbursement programs. Approve Reclassification Administrative Procedures. Eliminate salary grades 30-35 and begin Salary S1ructure at Salary Grade 36. 6. Discuss abandoned properties. (Requested by Commissioner Williams)