Committee Report - Finance - 6-11-18 — File 206214

Finance Committee Page 1 of 3 Printed 7/16/2018 June 11, 2018 REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived William A. White Jr. Chair Present Mary Jo Rossetti Vice Chair Present Ben Ewen-Campen Ward Three Alderman Present Matthew McLaughlin Ward One Alderman Present Katjana Ballantyne Ward Seven Alderman Present Jefferson Thomas ("J.T.") Scott Ward Two Alderman Present Jesse Clingan Ward Four Alderman Present Mark Niedergang Ward Five Alderman Present Lance L. Davis Ward Six Alderman Present Stephanie Hirsch Alderman At Large Present Wilfred N. Mbah Alderman at Large Present Others present: Michael Mastrobuoni - SomerStat, Frank Wright - Law, Bruce Desmond - IT, Jill Lathan - P&R, Jeff Winsor - P&R, Glenn Ferdman - Libraries, Peter Forcellese - Legislative Clerk. The meeting took place in the Aldermen’s Chamber and was called to order at 6:00 PM by Chairman White and adjourned at 10:20 PM. The following department heads presented their FY-19 departmental budget. Law - Frank Wright The Housing Counsel position was changed from a part-time position to full-time in the new budget. Chairman White asked for a detailed list showing where pay increases occurred since FY-18. Alderman Rossetti inquired about outside legal service fees and Mr. Wright will provide the information. Alderman Scott inquired about the reduction in the request for outside legal services fees for FY- 19 and Mr. Wright said the city had some big cases in FY-18, but he thinks that the coming FY won't be as high. Alderman Ewen-Campen asked why the city does not provide legal assistance to residents and Mr. Wright said that he would look into it. The request for line 542008 is higher than usual because the department is attempting to expand

Finance Committee Page 2 of 3 Printed 7/16/2018 its law library. Mr. Wright said that the $307,065 expended amt for FY-18 does not include the $200,000 transfer approved by the BOA. Alderman Rossetti questioned why $5000,000 was used in this line item, not including June and July, and Mr. Wright stated that these matters are complex and require someone with the expertise to litigate them. Chairman White asked that a breakdown of the costs be provided for the cases that were outsourced. Information Technology - Bruce Desmond Equipment expenditures will now be covered under the Capital Projects budget, not the operating budget. Routers, switches and networks for the School Department will be handled by IT. Beyond that, e.g., computers and software, are handled by the School Department’s IT Department. Moving to a Software for Service system allows the city to move and set up its system within a day. Mr. Desmond stated that the city is moving to integrate various city data sets in an attempt to expand shareability. Alderman Mbah asked if money could be saved by outsourcing the city's website and Mr. Desmond said that he would look into it. Alderman Hirsch asked about the DPW's work order system and Mr. Desmond replied that he has not been involved in looking for any such software and thinks that the DPW used the 311 queue alert system. Alderman Ballantyne requested a breakdown lines 524033 and 530028 and Alderman Rossetti commented that those lines should be consolidated. Alderman Rossetti asked for the balance of line 542007. Parks & Recreation - Jill Lathan Mr. Mastrobuoni said there is an error of $34,000 in this department's budget and that a revised budget sheet will be online tomorrow. The amount is for payment to DCR for the boat house rental and a new line for this expense was omitted. Ms. Lathan spoke about the revised field use fees. Alderman Hirsch asked that a budget be prepared for expanded facilities use, e.g., pool, gyms. Aldermen Ballantyne requested a breakdown of line 524001 and asked Ms. Lathan to look at a June 21, 2017 letter for reconciliation. Chairman White asked for an explanation of why nothing was expended from line 524001 and why there is a request for an additional $30,000 on top the FY-18 request. He asked for a breakdown of how the requested $70,000 is expected to be spent. Alderman Ballantyne requested a breakdown of line 551006, by sport, including a gender breakdown and what was expended during FY-18. Parks & Recreation - Field Maintenance - Jeff Winsor Enterprise Funds The data was received by the committee late this afternoon so this item will be rescheduled for the night of the public hearing. There will also be an Executive Session to discuss union negotiations the same evening. Libraries - Glenn Ferdman This budget increased partly due to additional staff, according to the union contract.

Finance Committee Page 3 of 3 Printed 7/16/2018 Alderman Davis inquired about bridging the technology divide and Mr. Ferdman replied that the department has invested in tablets for the public's use and asked the School Department to provide training to library staff, to keep them current with how they're being used in the schools. The West Branch library will be temporarily relocated during construction and the search for a location has been resumed. The timeline for construction is 14-15 months. Alderman asked if the WSNS could be used as a temporary facility. There are no plans to renovate the East or Central libraries, but both are on the Capital Project list. Mr. Ferdman is also working on the establishment of a library foundation. Alderman Rossetti asked for a breakdown of line 513000 for the past few years Alderman Rossetti inquired about the large increase in line 542004 and Mr. Ferdman explained that the department is replacing computers systematically and that the cost for toner and other supplies has increased dramatically. He is trying to get to a 4 year replacement cycle. Handouts: • 6-11-18 Erate Summary-1 • 6-11-18 IT BOA Responses • 6-11-18 FY 17 Legal Services by Firm & Case • 6-11-18 FY 18 Legal Services by Firm & Case • 6-11-18 Legal Services Breakdown 6-8-18