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FINANCE COMMITTEE 2009/12/07 Minutes Page 1 The City of Lake Forest FINANCE COMMITTEE Proceedings of the December 7, 2009 Meeting 6:30 p.m. – City Hall Council Chambers I. Call to Order and Roll Call Chairman Grumhaus called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. Present: Mayor Cowhey, Chairman Grumhaus, Aldermen Novit, Goltra, Morsch, Hanrahan, Looby and Palmer. Absent: Alderman Widman. Quorum present. There were 4 present in the audience. Staff present: Robert Kiely, City Manager; Kathleen Reinertsen, Finance Director; Louise Breckan, Assistant Finance Director; DeSha Kalmar, Director of Human Resources; Michael Thomas, Superintendent of Public Works; Rosemary Haack, Public Information Officer; Diane Hall, Senior Accountant; Carina Walters, Assistant to the City Manager and Victor Filippini, City Attorney. II. Consideration of the Minutes from the Finance Committee meeting held on November 16, 2009 Alderman Looby made a motion to approve the minutes from the Finance Committee meeting held on November 16, 2009. The motion was seconded by Alderman Novit. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. III. FY2011 Fiscal Policy Ms. Kathleen Reinertsen, Finance Director stated that as part of the FY2011 Budget process, the Fiscal Policy is adopted for use in preparing the budget. She stated that there has been an addition to the policy, Special Service Area financing, and this is highlighted on page 4 and 5. She noted that these are guidelines and before each Special Service Area is approved, the proposed Special Service Area will be presented to the City Council. Alderman Looby made a motion to accept the FY2011 Fiscal Policy. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hanrahan. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. IV. Water Fund, Capital Improvements, Membranes, Meter Testing and Water Loss Report Mr. Michael Thomas, Superintendent of Public Works stated that the water loss topic has been reviewed at staff level since January 2009 and the findings will be summarized at tonight’s meeting. Water and Sewer Fund Capital Improvements: Mr. Thomas reviewed with the committee the seven proposed projects for FY2011 which total approximately $1.6 million. Membrane Module Replacement: Mr. Thomas explained that the initial life expectancy for a module was expected to be seven to ten years but with the colder Lake Michigan water, the average life expectancy has been reduced to a five to seven year life. Modules are made in Toulouse, France and take six months to produce and ship to Lake Forest. Eight modules were replaced in September 2009. He stated that City Council directed staff to investigate replacing the modules with other secondary modules, replacing the skids entirely with a different manufacturer or negotiating a replacement contract. City staff attended a membrane seminar in October 2009. At this seminar, staff inquired about a secondary market and the response was that there was nothing at this time, nor did anyone see this forthcoming. It was confirmed at the seminar that the membrane company selected by a water utility will determine the manufacturer module used for all future replacements. The cost of replacing the skids with a different manufacturer would cost approximately $5 million. Therefore, city staff is recommending that the City negotiate a long term contract with AquaSource’s US vendor, Infilco Degremont. The newly appointed President and CEO of AquaSource plans on visiting the water plant on December 14, 2009 so city staff will have the opportunity to speak with him. After discussion, the consensus of the committee was to negotiate a contract with Infilco Degremont. Finance Committee Meeting Minutes December 7, 2009 Page 2 Water Loss Report: Mr. Thomas reviewed several charts, each showing a five year history of billed and unbilled water usage. Staff has concluded that the unbilled water usage falls into two categories; water main breaks or leaks in the private water service lines of 6,500 residential customers. The leak detection survey does not include testing the residential service lines. The problem with performing a leak detection survey on the private residential water service lines is that the City would have to turn off the water using the emergency shut off valve. The City could incur additional costs if the emergency shut off valve did not function properly. Since the city code states the property owner is responsible for repairs to the emergency shut off valve and service lines, city staff would prefer not to turn off the valves. Mr. Thomas stated that staff will continue to read all city meters monthly, utilize the new software reports to monthly analyze individual meters, provide a monthly comparison of pumped vs. metered water in an IDNR format and continue to hold monthly staff meetings to further refine processes. A committee member asked about lining water mains. Mr. Thomas stated that staff could look into lining water mains which would extend the life of the water mains. After further discussion, the consensus of the committee was to continue the annual leak detection survey of water mains. The committee did not think that annually testing a certain percentage of water meters had a cost benefit so this estimated $13,000 expense was not approved. Mr. Kiely stated that if the committee is interested, the Public Works Committee could prepare a cost benefit analysis of performing a leak detection survey on the private water service lines. The committee agreed. V. IRMA Property, Liability and Auto Pool Coverage Study Ms. DeSha Kalmar, Director of Human Resources stated that the City has been a member of IRMA since the early 1980’s. Since May 2009, city staff has been meeting with IRMA, current and former members of IRMA and a city employee focus group. She stated that the City’s benefits consultant, Peter Wright with Wright Benefit Strategies, Inc. was hired by the City to analyze the City’s IRMA coverage. Ms. Kalmar stated that she met earlier today with Alderman Morsch and former Mayor Rummel to review the report that was included in the meeting packet. She stated that the recommendation from the group this morning was to increase the deductible from $2,500 to $25,000 and over a three or four year period, work towards implementing a strategy to move towards self funding and develop staff positions that can assume a risk management role. The consensus of the committee was to continue membership in IRMA for 2010 and continue to discuss self funding throughout 2010. Formal approval to continue membership in IRMA will be at tonight’s City Council meeting. VI. Other Business None. VII. Opportunity for the Public to Address the Finance Committee None VIII. Adjournment There being no further business, Alderman Looby moved, seconded by Alderman Palmer to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 p.m. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Louise Breckan Assistant Finance Director