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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 01-03 SpecialMERIDIAN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 3. 1997 The special meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order by Mayor Robert D. Corrie at 5:30 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Walt Morrow, Glenn Bentley, Charlie Rountree: MEMBERS ABSENT: Ron Tolsma: OTHERS PRESENT: Will Berg, Wayne Crookston, Shari Stiles, Gary Smith, Chief Bill Gordon: Corrie: I am going to open the special meeting at Meridian City Hall, make the record known the meeting starts at 5:30. We have three councilman present, Mr. Morrow, Mr. Bentley and Mr. Rountree, Mr. Tolsma is absent. The special meeting, first is a request for beer and liquor license by Lynd Hoover and John Hyder for White Water Saloon. ITEM #1: REQUEST FOR A BEER AND LIQUOR LICNESE BY LYND HOOVER AND JOHN HYDER FOR WHITE WATER SALOON: Corrie: Chief, do you have any comments in reference to this request? Gordon: I have no problem with issuing a license to the White Water and Mr. Hoover. Corrie: Does Council have any discussion? Morrow: The only question I have is apparently there is a co -applicant Lynd Hoover and John Hyder. Who is he? Hoover: John Hyder at the moment is a plumbing inspector for the State of Idaho in Pend Oreille. The time we applied for this license was 1979 and since both of our names were on the application they both have to appear on the license according to the State of Idaho. Morrow: You applied in 1979? Hoover: Yes Corrie: Any further questions? I will entertain a motion for the application, it is a duel license. Morrow: Mr. Mayor, I would move that we grant the request for the beer and liquor license by Lynd Hoover and John Hyder for the White Water Saloon. Meridian City Council January 3, 1997 Page 2 Bentley: Second Corrie: You have heard the motion, and second any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Opposed? MOTION CARRIED: All Yea ITEM #2: DISCUSSION OF A FEDERAL GRANT FOR TWO NEW POLICE OFFICERS: Corrie: Chief? Gordon: Early last year I applied for a Federal grant for two police officers full time. At that time I had very little to give me any indication that grant was going to be approved, in fact if anything it was one of those one page grants and I just filled it out and shipped off. It was nothing major, no research was required. Last Friday I received notification that the grant was approved for two full time police officers over a three year period. I believe that I got all the facts and numbers to everybody. It is strictly wages and benefits, no equipment and no over time. It is totaling $108,000 over a three year period. The first year we are going to have to put in our share would be $21,966 and that is for a 12 month period. They have authorized payment for anything after December 1, 1996. We are already three months into our fiscal year so what we would probably, what I need to roll over would be 9 months worth of wages is approximately $16,000 is what I need to come up with for this fiscal year. The grant will run, the grant year and then our fiscal year. The grant year will be when it is authorized say from January to January and our fiscal year still runs October to October. So that is, we don't need the full $21,000 we will need $21,000 for that January to January but that is in the next fiscal year, does that make sense. Crookston: Is that $21,000 for one officer? Gordon: Two Crookston: For nine months? Gordon: Yes sir, that is our share. Morrow: That is our share of the Federal grant pays $48 and we pay $22. Gordon: The reason that it will be a little bit more for us, more than 25% for the first year because we have to pay clothing allowance and equipment and then the second and third year they have already got the equipment. This grant is solely wages and benefits, there is no equipment at all. I might add I have been associated with a lot of grants in my career and I have never seen one that is this Meridian City Council January 3, 1997 Page 3 void of strings and attachments. There are no requirements, they don't have to do anything special, just do police work. I have got to naturally do all the recording and reporting but there is no, they don't come out and check us. don't have to meet X number of weebles for this weeks and marbles for the week after. It is all just strictly police work. Rountree: You just have to post a Drug Free workplace sign. Sounds to me like, I thought I read that in there. Gordon: That is not a problem. Morrow: Let me ask you this, Chief, are your expenses going to be greater than $16,000 then by the time you do clothes and equipment? Gordon: No sir? Morrow: For this first year they are not? Gordon: I didn't bring my calendar and I was a little bit late. Morrow: That is okay, roughly we had Gordon: For a 12 month period for equipment and our share of the wages is $21,966, divide that by 12 and multiply that number by nine comes right about a little over $16,000 and that includes the equipment. Morrow: In your budget do you have $16,000 someplace? Gordon: Yes sir, I requested in Capital Outlay for that evidence building and you gentlemen didn't approve the building but you left the money in there for radio equipment or remodeling depending on what we came up with later as far as a police station and location. The money would be there but it isn't earmarked for anything other than expansion or radio equipment. Rountree: Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to make a couple of observations in the budget, the cost per officer broke down to about $45,000 an officer. In this break down it costs about 35,000 an officer and the difference being primarily vehicle and office space and miscellaneous items. Which are not really accounted for in your expense items for the grant officers. I would assume that those costs would still be there. I guess I have a question, do we have enough vehicles, are we in the cycle of having to budget for an additional vehicle or what capital outlay you have now accommodate them. And, in terms of considering rolling over to get that amount the possibility of reducing one by one the four new officers that would come on for six months and replace one with two for nine months. It Meridian City Council January 3, 1997 Page 4 doesn't look to me based on your budget and the budget for these officers that you have accounted for all of these costs. Gordon: I haven't no. In the break down, in the budget where I break down everything per officer these two have not been figured in. I didn't think there was a need at this time to run those through on that break down because they are not going to be here for a full year. Plus they are going to be in training probably the entire year so the vehicle was out. The equipment that I did add was the hand gun, vest and clothing allowance which they need the uniforms and then the radio. The medical and physical which is required by the State. But no I didn't add equipment or the vehicles paperwork, I didn't add in for the prosecutor for the additional people. I really think that is going to be minimal this year for those two. I will just have to suck it up from somewhere else. Does that answer your question? Rountree: Yes, I am just trying to so we can somewhat justify the budget numbers and the additional expense. It is going to cost $16,000 to get the two on and $16,000 from someplace else has got to be rolled out of your budget and rolled into this to pay for it. Gordon: No, just $16,000 onetime for two officers. Rountree: Right I understand that, but it has to come from someplace. Gordon: Yes it does, that $16,000, there was nothing in the budget for these two. I am still kind of amazed that I got that grant as easy as it was. Morrow: Mr. Mayor, so we don't get into this, I don't have a problem with this pressing forward with this deal. I guess from my perspective is that Councilman Rountree makes a really good point in terms of cost that aren't accounted for that could be there. I think it is very important that all department heads and all staff understand that in the future there needs to be a contingency plan for any grant that is applied for. I think that as a matter of policy for budgeting purposes this grant was applied for long before our budget hearing last July, August and September, it was never mentioned in any of those budget hearings. I think that what I would like to see a matter of policy from this Council that no grants be applied for without total inclusion of the Council at least being made aware of the grant that is being applied for and the potential cost and so on and so forth so that we don't have surprises. Fortunately in this case the amount is small enough by doing some shuffling that Chief Gordon can make it work. If it was an earlier type of deal and vehicles were needed then obviously it would be of substantially greater amount than $16,000. It would be more like $32,000 that you would have to come up with. So I think that I am supportive of this, I think the two learning curves are one is that the department head have a contingency plan in case that there is a grant obtained so that they can work with that. And secondly I think it is Meridian City Council January 3, 1997 Page 5 an automatic that the Council be informed prior to application so that no only is everything of record but there is also a plan in place to deal with the grant if it is successful. Particularly through budget hearings. Corrie: Any other comments? Rountree: I support the grant, I think it is a good thing. Corrie: I entertain a motion to approve the grant. Bentley: Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that the City of Meridian approve the grant for the two police officers. Rountree: Second Corrie: Motion made by Mr. Bentley, second by Mr. Rountree to approve the police department's grant for the two officers, any further discussion? Hearing none all those in favor? Opposed? Corrie: Hearing no further business before the Council I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Rountree: So moved Morrow: Second Corrie: Motion made and seconded, all those in favor? Opposed? MOTION CARRIED: All Yea MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:45 P.M. (TAPE ON FILE FOR THESE PROCEEDINGS) APPROVED: ROBERT D. CORRIE, MAYOR ATTEST: Meridian City Council January 3, 1997 Page 6 WILLIAM G. BERG, JR., CITY CLERK