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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes_2004_06_01 229 Brookings City Council Tuesday, June 1, 2004 The Brookings City Council held a planning meeting on Tuesday, June 1, 2004 at 5:30.;p.m., at City Hall with the following members present: Mayor Scott Munsterman, Council Members Tom Bezdichek, Tom Bozied, Tim Reed, luiie Whaiey, Doris Roden, and Mike McClemans (left at 6:55 p.m.). City Manager Alan Lanning, City Attorney Steve Britzman, and City Clerk Shari Thornes were also present. City Conflict of Interest Ordinance. The Council reviewed a request from the Brookings Human Rights Committee to modify the language in the City Conflict of Interest Ordinance (10-03).and City Charter to add "sexual orientation" as protected areas in the anti-discrimination sections of both documents. Steve Marquardt, Committee Member, gave a chronological background on the issue. He noted that the Committee voted unanimously (7-0) to recommend this policy addition at their December 4, 2003 meeting. Over the past several years, the Committee noticed that sexual orientation was not part of the City's anti-discrimination policy. Precedence already exists in South Dakota whereby other governmental agencies already have sexual orientation as part of their non- discrimination policy. Minnehaha County has had the policy for its county employees since 1979. Besides SDSU, at least two other employers in Brookings have sexual orientation as part of their non-discrimination policies. These employers are 3M and Wells Fargo. The Human Rights Committee is also recommending that sexual orientaiion be added to Section 7.02(a) of Article VII of the City Charter. This will require review and recommendation by a charter commission and final approval by the Brookings electorate. There was Council discussion that all city policies should be consistent and should be review�d. There was agreement for staff to revise city policies to be brought back to the City Council for action. Retire and Rehire. Tracy Dahl-Webb, City Human Resources Director, reported that with the many changes to the South Dakota Retirement System that were signed into law following the 2004 legislative session, a request has been made for the City to again review our position on Retire and Rehire. Under the South Dakota Retirement System, employees have an option of retiring prior to normal retirement age with a full benefit if they meet an established rule for their given retirement class. For Class A employees, which are all employees other than Public Safety and ludicial employees, they must reach the "Rule of 85" and be at least 55 years of age. For Class B, Public Safety employees, they must meet the "Rule of 75" and be a minimum of 45 years of age. The rule is calculated by adding the years of credited service and the age of the employee. A 55 year old, Class A employee who has 30 years of service can retire with a full retirement benefit even though he has not met the normal retirement age of 65. Likewise, a 50- year-old Police Officer who has 25 years of service can retire with a full retirement benefit. � Employees can also retire early under the Special Early Retirement option with a reduced retirement benefit. This is an important distinction when discussing the Retire & Rehire issue. If a , retiree receiving a re uced benefit is re-employed by a Participating Employer with SDRS, his/her monthly benefit payments will cease while the member is re-employed. In contrast, if a member retires without any reduction in benefits (normal benefit), he/she will continue to receive their monthly lifetime retirement benefit even when re-employed by a Participating Employer. In addition, if the position is full-time permanent (as defined in SDCL), they are required to participate in SDRS. With the recent legislation, there were other changes that impacted the calculation of benefits, especially for those employees that have accumulated large termination pay amounts (payouts of sick leave and vacation accumulations). Therefore, the issue of retiring now rather than six months from now can be a very significant financial decision for some of our employees. The law allows an individual to retire from their employment and be rehired almost immediately. One requirement is that the employer must sign off that there is no contract in place for rehire at the time of separation. When the retired employee returns to work, their benefit continues as outlined above, and if they are working in a fulltime position, contributions to the system by both employee and employer are required, a new vesting period is required during the new employment period, and the Cost-of-Living adjustment of their retirement benefit will be stopped z3 � for the duration of employment. If they are working pprt-time (as defined by the law) or in a temporary position, contributions are not made. It was also noted that both the Brookings Hospital and, for a longer period of time, the Utilities allow the practice of employees retiring and being hired back. CITY ISSUES AND RETIREMENT ANALYSIS If the City of Brookings would consider allowing our employees to retire and be rehired, we would also need to evaluate how the City, as well ps the employee, could be benefited by this action. Some of the possibilities are: ■ To require that those individuals begin paying a larger portion of their health insurance, as is outlined in the policy manual for retirees. Currently, individuals who go on SDRS retirement go on our retiree health plan and pay 50% of their health insurance with the City paying the other 50%. If an employee were to return part-time, that savings could continue. • We could look at placing individuals closer to the bottom of their pay range, rather than returning them to where they were. ■ We could maintain experienced and valuable employees for a period of time while conducting a search for a replacement. An analysis of our employee population shows that four employees are fully qualified for retirement (have reached and surpassed the Rule of 85). Twenty employees have less than 5 years to qualify for full retirement, with five of those being less than one year. Twenty more employees have more than five years, but less than ten until full retirement. This calculates to 40% of our current employee population having less than 10 years until retirement. Therefore we may need to evaluate the opportunity to draw upon our experienced retired staff to assist with the transitions we have before us. These changes will go into effect July 1, 2004. The Council asked the City Manager to return with a proposat. SD Retirement System Special Pay Plan. Tracy Dahl-Webb, Human Resources Director, reported that during the Legislative Session the SDRS Board of Trustees proposed and the Legislature adopted the South Dakota Retirement System Special Pny Plan ("SPP"). This type of plan is new to public employers, employees and retirement systems across the nation. The SPP allows lump-sum termination payouts to be free of Social Security taxes. That includes both employer and employee portions. In addition, the employee's income taxes on these lump- sum termination payouts are delayed until the employee withdraws the funds, either as a lump- sum payment or in the form of an annuity. Thus, the plan can be an additionai retirement vehicle for our senior employees. Employers are not mandated to participate in the SPP; rather, it is up to each employer's governing body to decide whether to take advantage of the plan's benefits. Because the SPP follows Internal Revenue Service rules and guidelines (IRC 401 a) it is mandatory for all employees of a participating employer who are age 55 or older. Further, the plan only applies to payouts of $2,000 or more. If a terminating employee is less than age 55, or if the special payment is less than $2,000, there is no option for that employee to participate. Also, the plan's provisions apply only to special payments made at the time of termination. Bills & Claims Policx. The City Manager requested reconsideration of the December 4, 2003 Bills and Claims Policy and return to their 1999 policy per Resolution 79-99. He noted that he is bound by the City Charter, state law, an annual audit, and local code on how fund expenditures are handled. Once approving the annual budget,the Council should not be involved in the expenditure process. The Council agreed to review the policy in October after completion of the budget process. Liquor Operatins� Agreemenl. The Council reviewed the two applications for the liquor operating ag�eement received from Dakota Pub and Skinner's Pub. Discussion and possible action on this issue will be scheduled for the June 8, 2004 action meeting. {t was noted that CM Reed will be absent on June 22nd, The Council discussed when the next license would be available. The Attorney responded that one would not be available until the 2010 Federal Census. The Council questioned the difference with a "club" license. The Council discussed the possibility of combining the two clubs inta one license. (McClemans left at 6:55 p.m.) Resolution 32-04 - City Cab. A motion was made by Reed, seconded by Whaley, to approve Resolution No. 32-04, an amendment to the subsidy agreement with the Brookings City Cab Service. All present voted yes, except Bozied abstained, motion carried. 231 RESOLUTION NO. 32-04 AMENDMENT TO SUBSIDY AGREEMENT WITH BROOKINGS CITY CAB SERVICE THIS AMENDMENT TO THE SUBSIDY AGREEMENT WITH BROOKINGS CITY CAB SERVICE AGREEMENT is made and entered into effective as of the 1 st day of June, 2004, by and between the CITY OF BROOKINGS, a Municipal Corporation, and BEHREND MANAGEMENT, INC., doing business as the BROOKINGS CITY CAB SERVICE, (and hereafter sometimes referred to as the "Cab Service"); The parties to the existing Subsidy Agreement with the Brookings City Cab Service do hereby authorize the following amendment to Section I. d., which is intended to supercede Section I. d. of the current Agreement of the parties. I. That its charge for all fares will not exceed the following: Rare if gas price Fare exceeds $1.50 Is between $1.50& $2.00 All non-ADVANCE customers: $4.50 $4.75 $5.00 All seniors: $3.25 $3.50 $3.75 All ADVANCE CUSTOMERS: $3.00 $3.25 $3.50 However, in the event the cost of gasoline or ethanol (referred to above as "gas") used by : the Cab Service exceeds $1.50 per gpllon, then each of the above-referenced fares in Column 1 may be increased by $.25 per ride. If the cost of gasoline or ethanol used by the Cab Service exceeds $2.00 per gallon, then each of the above-referenced fares in Column 1 may be increased by $.50 per ride. II The terms and conditions of the Subsidy Agreement not affected by this Amendment shall remain in fuH force and effect. The ending term of this Amendment shall coincide with the ending term of the Subsidy Agreement that is currently in force between the parties. City Manager 6-month review process. Council members Bezdichek, Reed, and Whaley volunteered to write a review process proposal to present to the Council within the next 60 days. Mayor's Council on Communit�Wellness. Mayor Munsterman requested comments from the Council members regarding the concept. He pians to form an ad hoc committee of 7 who will be instructed to develop a plan in six months. He will bring appointment recommendations for action at the lune 22^d meeting. Executive Session— Legal Contract Issues. A motion was made by Roden, seconded by Reed, to enter Executive Session at 7:15 p.m. for the purpose of discussion contractua) issues with the City Council members, the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk present. All present voted yes; motion carried. A motion was made by Whaley, seconded by Roden to leave Executive Session at 7:45 p.m. All present voted yes; motion carried. Adjournment. A motion was made by Roden seconded by Bozied,to adjourn. All present voted yes; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. OF Sco D unsterman,Mayor A?p•" O• 'i I%� 2 9 a�►;?�" es, City Clerk ��lq 'S��\`r�