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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC, 2012 Budget Updates�W HILLS Request for Council Review Prepared By: Patrick Klaers, City Administrator Work Session Date: October 10, 2011 2012 Budget Updates 1. Elections 2. Engineering Services Discussion Topic: Ramsey County's proposal providing election services for the City of Arden Hills and the Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Roseville for Engineering Services. Supporting Documents: 1. Memorandum dated October 10, 2011, from Patrick Klaers, City Administrator, regarding Elections. 2. Memorandum dated October 10, 2011, from Patrick Klaers, City Administrator, regarding Engineering Services including a copy of the Joint Powers Agreement for the City of Arden Hills Part -Time Utilization of City of Roseville Engineering Employees. EN HILLS MEMORANDUM DATE: October 10, 2011 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilme ber FROM: Patrick Klaers, City Administrator SUBJECT: Elections Background/Discussion During the review of the 2012 budget proposal, Sue and I began discussing the costs and risks associated with conducting the municipal elections. Discussion items included: the recently proposed Voter ID legislation (as an example of how complicated and technical elections are becoming), the liability and financial exposure of the City to lawsuits related to recounts and contested election procedures, and the need for including an election requirement /experience in the position description for the Deputy Clerk position. Staffs review of the election issues led us to contact Joe Mansky, Ramsey County Elections Manager, regarding the City contracting with the County for election services. Ramsey County personnel are full -time professionals in the "elections business" and are already doing school elections in Arden Hills. Joe was happy to meet with us to consider our request because what happens during elections in municipalities reflects upon the County (remembering the state -wide Governor's recount) and due to the fact that Mounds View and Roseville had already requested election proposals from the County. ( "Networking" with staff from Mounds View got us thinking about asking the County for a proposal.) The County will only be considering contracts with Arden Hills, Mounds View, and Roseville for 2012 and any other City wanting to contract with the County for election services will have to wait until 2013 for consideration. Attached is the Ramsey County proposal. The proposal is identical to the Mounds View proposal except that the price of our proposal is less. The proposal from the County for all of the required elections services is $31,000 or $15,500 per year. We would want to pay half of the 2012 election expense in 2011 and the other half in 2012 to even out the expenses on an annual budget cycle. Excluding City Council Meeting P:\Admin \Council\Agendas & Packet Information\2011 \ 10 -10 -11 Work Session\Packet Information\ 10 -10 -11 2012 Budget Update.doc Page 1 of 2 staff time, the 2008 and 2010 elections averaged $20,000 or $10,000 annually. When compared to the County proposal, the extra cost to the City is $5,500 annually. Sue and I conservatively estimate that $5,500 annually is about the cost for staff time to manage the local elections. Sue and I have not done all the math, but if the Deputy Clerk spends 200 hours on elections over two years and all the other support staff (Public Works and Clerical) also spend 200 hours combined every two years on elections, then the cost to the City for the County doing the election is a "push" financially. It is not hard to image this amount of staff time being spent on such activities as conducting the actual primary and general election, training, attending County meetings, accuracy tests, nursing home voting, setting up and taking down the four voting sites, etc. Even with the County conducting the City elections, City staff (and the City Council) will still be involved in some election activities but it will be relatively minor compared to the amount of time currently invested in the election process. One side benefit to having the County do our City elections is that the City will gain significant storage space by having the election equipment located at the County facility. Another possible benefit to the City with this proposal is that the Deputy Clerk can now take all City Council meeting minutes. This would save the City about $9,000 per year on our Timesavers' bills. Sue will need to watch to see how this new assignment works out, but we think that Becky can do the minutes and her required Clerk duties if elections are largely being removed from her work schedule. Finally, having a "turn key" elections relationship with the County will reduce the stress factor at City Hall around election time and we will also not have to deal with all the issues related to election judges (i.e. recruitment and training). Recommendation Overall, staff thinks that the contract from Ramsey County represents a significant benefit to the City and we support the proposal. One reason that Sue and I have not "done all the math" is that the main reason for the recommendation to contract with the County for election services is due to potential new laws that will make elections much more difficult to administer (i.e. voter photo ID requirement) and due to the recent state wide recounts where the actions of election judges (and therefore the actions of Cities) were placed under the microscope because every vote in every precinct was important. Staff simply believes that the City is best served by leaving the election to the professionals; which in this case is Ramsey County. Even if this proposal was not cost neutral, staff would still be recommending accepting the County contract proposal. City Council Meeting P:\Admin \Council\Agendas & Packet Information\2011 \ 10 -10 -11 Work Session\Packet Information\ 10 -10 -11 2012 Budget Update.doc Page 2 of 2 CONTRACT BETWEEN RAMSEY COUNTY AND THE CITY OF ARDEN HILLS FOR ELECTION SERVICES This is a contract between the County of Ramsey ( "County ") and the City of Arden Hills ( "City ") for the provision of election services by Ramsey County. 1. Duration of Contract This contract will be in effect for the period beginning on January 1, 2012 and ending on December 31, 2012. 2. Contract Renewal and Termination This contract may be renewed for an additional four year period beginning on January 1, 2013 by written consent of the County and City. An amendment to this contract for renewal must be executed by all parties no later than December 14, 2012. This contract may be terminated by either party by written notice no later than June 1 of any year, effective on January 1 of the following year. Upon termination of this contract, the City -owned voting equipment, election supplies and related materials will be returned to the City. 3. County Responsibilities Except as otherwise provided in this contract, the County will provide all services, equipment, and supplies as required to perform, on behalf of the City, all election - related duties of the City under the Minnesota election law and other relevant state and federal laws. These duties will include but are not limited to: • Recruitment, training, and supervision of staff to carry out the duties specified in this contract; • Annual inspection of polling places to verify compliance with all state and federal accessibility requirements; • Recruitment, training, and assignment of election judges; • Payment of election judges' salaries in an amount determined by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners; • Operation, maintenance, testing, demonstration, storage, and technical support for voting systems; • Maintenance, storage, and replacement of voting stations for each polling place and for absentee voting purposes; Agreement for Election Services with City of Arden Hills, effective 1 -1 -12 1 of 6 • Preparation and transportation of voting systems, voting stations, and other election materials to and from each polling place; • Providing election forms, supplies, and other related materials for each polling place; • Conducting preliminary tests and public accuracy tests of voting systems; • Programming, layout and printing of ballots for City elections; • Compilation and reporting of election results and election statistics for dissemination to the appropriate canvassing boards and the public; • Providing election - related information on the County web site; • Conducting recounts for City offices and ballot questions; • Preparing, posting, and publishing election notices; • Providing information and assistance on election laws and procedures to City officials, candidates, the news media, and the general public; • Administering absentee voting, including processing and counting all absentee ballots, filling requests for absentee ballots by mail, providing absentee voting for health care facilities in the City and providing absentee voting services for persons who choose to vote in person at the County elections office; • Administering campaign financial reporting and economic disclosure activities; • Performing duties of candidate filing officer, including acceptance of affidavits of candidacy and petitions; • Analyzing proposed state and federal laws on election - related matters to determine impact on the City; • Maintaining a database and preparing maps of election district and precinct boundaries; • Providing technical assistance to the City in redrawing precinct boundaries as required; Agreement for Election Services with City of Arden Hills, effective 1 -1 -12 2 of 6 • Retaining election records for at least 22 months following each election; and • Retaining permanent archive of election results. 4. City Responsibilities The City will perform the following election - related responsibilities: • Provide absentee voting services on behalf of the County for voters who choose to cast an absentee ballot in person at the City offices during a time period designated by the County not to exceed 15 days before each election in the City; Conduct official canvass of election results following each City election; • Provide the title and text of City questions to be placed on the ballot; • Provide final approval for polling place locations; and • Designate a person who will be the principal contact for the City. 5. Office Space and Equipment Storage The County will provide suitable office and warehouse space to conduct all election - related activities and for storage of election equipment and supplies. 6 Election Judge Recruitment The City will encourage City employees to take time off from work to serve as election judges. 7 Upgrading or Replacing Voting Systems The County will assess the need to upgrade or replace the voting systems used for state, County and City elections held on and after July 1, 2011. The County will provide the City with an estimate of the cost of upgrading or replacing the voting systems no later than March 1, 2012 if adoption of a replacement voting system is either required by law or otherwise deemed necessary by the County. The cost of upgrading or replacing voting systems is not included in this contract and will be the subject of a separate agreement. Agreement for Election Services with City of Arden Hills, effective 1 -1 -12 3 of 6 8. Special Elections The County will conduct all special elections required by law during the term of this contract. The County will submit an invoice payable within 30 days of receipt to the City for all costs incurred by the County to conduct a special election. The City will pay all costs of any City special election that is not conducted on the date of a regularly scheduled City, County or state election. The City will also pay all costs applicable to the City of any state special election that is not conducted on the date of a regularly scheduled City, County or state election. 9. Insurance During the term of this contract, the County and City will maintain, through commercially available insurance or on a self - insured basis, property insurance coverage on the voting equipment each owns, for the repair or replacement of the voting equipment if damaged or stolen. Each party shall be responsible for any deductible under its respective policy. Each party hereby waives and releases the other party, its employees, agents, officials, and officers from all claims, liability, and causes of action for loss, damage to or destruction of the waiving party's property resulting from fire or other perils covered in the standard property insurance coverage maintained by the party. Furthermore, each party agrees that it will look to its own property insurance for reimbursement for any loss and shall have no rights of subrogation against the other party. 10. Indemnification Each party to this contract will defend, hold harmless, and indemnify the other party, its officials, agents, and employees from any liability, loss, and damage it may suffer as a result of demands, claims, judgments, or costs including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees and disbursements, arising out of or related to the indemnifying party's performance or failure of performance under this contract. This provision shall not be construed nor operate as a waiver of any applicable limits of or exceptions to liability set by law. This provision will survive the termination of this contract. 11. Legal Representation The Ramsey County Attorney's office will advise and represent the County in all election- related matters, except that the Arden Hills City Attorney will advise the County on any election - related matter applying to the Arden Hills municipal code. 12. Election Costs and Payments Payments to cover the costs incurred by the County in the performance of the provisions of this contract for regularly scheduled elections in 2012 will be made by the City in four equal amounts to be billed quarterly, based on invoices Agreement for Election Services with City of Arden Hills, effective 1 -1 -12 4 of 6 submitted by the County. Payments will be due on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of 2012. The cost of election services for 2012 will be $31,000. 13. Data Practices All data created, collected, received, maintained, or disseminated for any purpose in the course of this contract is governed by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, any other applicable statute, or any rules adopted to implement the Act or statute, as well as federal statutes and regulations on data privacy. 14. Alteration The provisions of this contract may be altered only by mutual written consent of the County and City. Any alteration, variation, modification, or waiver of the provisions of this contract shall be valid only after it has been reduced to writing and duly signed by all parties. Any alterations must be approved no later than June 1 of any year for implementation on January 1 of the following year. 15. Entire Agreement This contract shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties and shall supersede all prior oral and written negotiations. This space intentionally left blank. Agreement for Election Services with City of Arden Hills, effective 1 -1 -12 5 of 6 IN WITNESS THEREOF, the parties have subscribed their names as of the last date written below. RAMSEY COUNTY By: Julie Kleinschmidt Ramsey County Manager Date: Approval recommended: By: Mark Oswald, Director Property Records and Revenue Department Approved as to form and insurance: By: Assistant County Attorney Funds are available: By: Budgeting and Accounting 4 -6 -11 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS By: David Grant Mayor Date: Approval recommended: By: Patrick Klaers City Administrator By: City Attorney Funds are available: By: Finance Director Agreement for Election Services with City of Arden Hills, effective 1 -1 -12 6 of 6 EN HILLS MEMORANDUM DATE: October 10, 2011 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Patrick Klaers, City Administrator i,li f SUBJECT: 2012 Budget Update — Engineering Services ///' Background/Discussion Staff (Sue, Terry and myself) have been discussing the cost of engineering services that we are receiving from the City of Roseville through the 2005 Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). This agreement is attached for your reference. The JPA calls for Arden Hills to receive a minimum of 1 ,670 hours of engineering staff time. This is equivalent to 80 percent of a full time employee. The staff time hourly wage is then multiplied by a 1.9 factor to include overhead expenses. The industry norm for consultants is a 2.5 factor. Early on, in 2006 and 2007, Arden Hills may have struggled to use all 1,670 hours but recently this has not been an issue. In fact, last year we asked Roseville to hire an additional temporary employee to address our needs. Not all of the 1,670 hours comes from Civil Engineer Kris Giga as we also use their GIS division, have Roseville do drainage and survey work for us, and get charged some time from their Public Works Director (Duane Schwartz) and the City Engineer (Deb Bloom). However, Kris offices here at City Hall three days a week and the majority of the 1,670 hours are generated by Kris. The Roseville engineering expenses are funded by both the General Fund and also by specific projects (i.e. Pavement Management Program, sewer lining project, Indian Oaks pond project, etc.). Most of Roseville's time is funded by the City one way or another with only a small portion being funded by assessments, grants or developers. The situation in Arden Hills today is much different than what it was in 2005. The JPA began when the City Public Works Director was not also an experienced Civil Engineer. This is now the case with Terry Maurer being employed as the Public Works Director. Therefore, how the City wants to use Kris' time and the Roseville services has also City Council Meeting P: \Admin \Council\Agendas & Packet Information\2011 \ 10 -10 -11 Work Session\Packet Information\ 10 -10 -11 2012 Budget Update.doc Page 1 of 2 changed. Terry and I want to discuss with the City Council some options for changes in the JPA. One of the options includes the hiring of an engineering staff member. If we go in the direction of hiring a staff member, the Personnel Committee will want to meet and review the proposal. City Council Meeting P:\Admin \Council\Agendas & Packet Information\2011 \ 10 -10 -11 Work Session\Packet Information\ 10 -10 -11 2012 Budget Update.doc Page 2 of 2 c � E JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR THE CTI'Y OF ARDEN HILLS PART -TIME UTILIZATION OF CITY OF ROSEVILLE ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES THIS AGREEMENT, entered into by and between the CITY OF ROSEVILLE ( "ROSEVILLE "), a Minnesota municipal corporation, and the CITY OF ARDEN HILLS ( "ARDEN HILLS "), a Minnesota municipal corporation, is effective upon the execution of this Avfreemen.t by the named officers of both cities. RECITALS WHEREAS, ARDEN HILLS is in need of additional engineering and technical support services: and 'WHEREAS, ROSEVILLE has a full service Engineering Department and other technical employees that are able to provide the services required by ARDEN - TILLS; and WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute 471_59 authorizes political subdivisions of the State to enter into Joint Powers Agreements for the joint exercise of powers common to each, and also authorizes one of the parties to an agreement to exercise powers on behalf of another party. NOW, THEREFORE, it is mutually stipulated and agreed to as follows: 1. SERVICES. A. ROSEVILLE shall provide qualified engineering services employees ('ErnpIoyees') to perform civil engineering and related technical services required by ARDEN HILLS. These se vices include the following: 81872 1 C Coordination and necessary updating of State Aid system requirements, projects, reports, funding, etc. Li Oversight of infrastructure record drawings and mapping. • Coordination of infrastructure replacement and construction, capital improvements planning, development review, project coordination with contractors and consultants, and coordination with residents ofARDEN HILLS. LI Provision of customer service to the residents of ARDEN HILLS. u Provision of assistance to other ARDEN HILLS staff regarding building projects, traffic control and management, infrastructure issues, and maintenance management assistance. v D Attendance at City Council_ Planning Commission, and other City- related v � City -related as necessary. LI Staffing of an office at ARDEN HILLS City Hall by a Civil Engineer a minimum number of hours as agreed upon by the parties for service to ARDEN HILLS residents. B. ROSEVILLE shall be solely responsible for compensating the assigned Employee(s) engaged in providing technical services under this Agreement, including any overtime wages incurred, as well as any insurance or employee benefits provided under the policies or agreements of ROSEVILLE. In addition, ROSEVILLE shall be solely responsible for training, workers' compensation, reemployment insurance benefits, and other employee related laws, including OSHA, ERISA, RLSA, and FIALA. 81872 ROSEVILLE shall retain the sole authority to control the employees, including the right to hire, fire and discipline them_ C. ARDEN I- IILL.S will provide the necessary office, equipment, and supplies for the assigned Employee(s) when holding office hours in ARDEN HILLS City Hall, and will bear all costs attendant thereto_ D. A. EN LULLS and ROSEVILLE shall coordinate scheduling of work to be performed by the assigned Employee(s) and shall receive prior approval of all scheduled hours to be performed under this Agreement from the ROSEVILLE City Manager or the Manager's designee_ E. The assigned Employee will be under the direct supervision of the ROSEVILLE City Engineer for the purpose of perforn-ance review and any discipline related issues. It is understood that while the assigned employee is providing services for ARDEN HILLS, the employee will be under the work direction of the ARDEN HILLS City Administrator. ARDEN HILLS shall notify ROSEVILLE of any and all complaints about the services rendered by the assigned Employee and cooperate in the documentation, investigation, and resolution of the sane in any manner. F. ARDEN HILLS and ROSEVILLE will participate jointly in the interviewing of applicants and hiring of the p -irnary assigned staff (Civil Engineer), including replacement for this position if necessary. However, the final decision on selection shall be made by ROSEVILLE. G. All costs related to training.. licensing, equipment, and other matters concerning the professional development of the primary assigned Employee necessary to 81872 3 provide these services contemplated by this Agreement shall be borne by ROSEVILLE. Reimbursement for these costs shall be- included in the reimbursement formula under the payment section for engineering services. 2. PAYMENT. ARDEN HILLS will compensate ROSEVILLE for services rendered in the amount of L9 tines the base salary of all staff, including the assigned Employee, providing services to ARDEN HILLS. ARDEN HILLS agrees to a minimum annual billing of 1670 hours of engineering staff time. ARDEN HILLS shall make monthly payments, upon presentation by ROSEVILLE of a monthly billing equal to costs incurred for that month. The last monthly bill in a years' cycle shall, if necessary, include an amount required to meet the minimum annual billing set forth above. 3, INDEMNIFICATION. ROSEVILLE agrees to assume sole liability for any negligent or intentional acts of the assigned Employee(s) while performing the assigned duties within the jurisdiction of either City. Each City agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the other from any claims, causes of action, damages, loss, cost or expenses including reasonable attorney's fees resulting from or related to the actions of each City, its officers, agents or employees in the execution of the duties outlined in this Agreement, except as qualified by the previous sentence. 4_ TERMINATION, SEPARABILITY. A. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon three-hundred- sixty-five (365) days' written notice provided to the respective City. Manager of ROSEVILLE or Clerk /Administrator of ARDEN HILLS. 81872 4 B. Upon termination, any and all records or property of the respective Cities will be returned to the appropriate City within 90 days. C. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota. D_ In the event that any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the other provisions remain in full force and effect. E. In the event ARDEN HILLS elects to terminate this agreement, and ROSEVILLE incurs reemployment insurance or other costs attributable to the termination, ARDEN HILLS shall compensate ROSEVILLE for these costs based on the percentage of the assigned Employee's time spent on ARDEN HILLS work compared to the total amount work performed by the assigned Employee. For example, if 80% of the assigned Employee's time is spent on ARDEN HILLS work, AMEN HILLS would be responsible for 80% of the costs. 5. REVISIONS TO AGREEMENT. Both parties acknowledge that codifications to this Agreement may be necessary to ensure an effective, on- going working relationship_ To that end, ARDEN HILLS and ROSEVILLE shall use their best efforts to ensure the viability of this Agreement into the future. However, any alterations, variations, modification_ or waivers of provisions to this Agreement will only be valid when they have been reduced to writing and duly signed, and attached hereto. 81572 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Cities of ROSEVILLE and .ARDEN HILLS have caused this Agreement to be duly executed effective on the day and year last entered below. Dated: lh34,..<— Dated: 81872 CITY OF ROSEVILLE B By: Klausing Its Mayor ------ /ir Neal Beets Its City Manager CITY OF ARDEN HILLS By: Its Mayor By: IV_ 11, 6 Its City Administrator