APPROVED
Minutes of a Work Session
Pittsfield Charter Township Board of Trustees, September 23, 2002
E.A. Jackson Morris Hall, The Robert A. Lillie Service Center
6201 W. Michigan Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
Members Present: Brostrom,Burhop, Conner, Lirones, Marine, Skrobola, Walter
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Nicole Hlavka (Recording Clerk), Judith Walter, Jan BenDor, Tracy Watkins, Kristin Orlowski
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1.0 Call Meeting to Order
Supervisor Walter called the
meeting to order at 7:30 p.m., a quorum was present.
2.0 Pledge of Allegiance led bySupervisor Walter.
3.0 Roll Call – all members present.
4.0 Open Meetings Act/Public Comment I-none.
5.0 Public Hearings/Presentations
6.0 Approval of Minutes
7.0 Consent Agenda
8.0 Items from the Treasurer
9.0 Items from the Clerk
10.0 Items from the Supervisor/Assessor
11.0 Items from the Office of Public Safety
12.0 Items from the Office of Municipal Services/Planning and Zoning
13.0 Items from the Parks & Recreation Department
14.0 Unfinished Business
15.0 New Business
15.1 Review proposed budget for 2003.
Accounting Manager Tracy Watkins explained that she gathered information from the department heads and estimated the revenues that the township should receive. She explained that state shared revenues depend on the economy and decisions made at the state level. She said currently the state’s website shows that the township will receive 2.6 million dollars, but that she reduced this number to 2.35 million dollars, since sales tax revenues are unknown at this time. She said fire reimbursements were discontinued, but these were only about $8,000. She said the township has changed its method of accounting for zoning and planning fees. She explained that the new ordinance provides for an escrow account which is drawn down, with a flat rate paid which is shown on the revenue side of the budget; this resulted in the apparent reduction in the Planning and Zoning Budget. She said the “reimburse: admin. charge” is a reimbursement fee to the general fund from the Building Department, which is done once a year. She explained that she figures out the costs of administration and transfers the money from Building’s fund back to the general fund to reimburse all the services that support the Building Department.
Supervisor Walter said the township has four millages this year: Public Safety, Parks and Recreation, general fund, and drains at large. He indicated that soon the township would be making the final payment on the drains at large. He said all of these millages are subject to rollbacks. He said the Headlee rollback can be overridden by a vote of the people and the truth in taxation rollback can be overridden after holding a public hearing. He said in this budget the Public Safety millage will be reset to 1 mill, while the Parks and Recreation millage and general fund millage will be at the same rate as this year, which is a partial override of the “truth in taxation” rollback requirements. He said the public hearing on October 8 would be both a truth and taxation hearing and a public hearing on the budget. He explained there would be a .15 mill increase due to the Public Safety millage reset, which was done by a vote of the people. He concluded by saying that the fire protection funds from the state had been $14,000, but the funds were vetoed by the Governor, and that veto had not been overridden, unlike revenue sharing.
Trustee Marine wanted to know why there would be a .15 mill increase.
Supervisor Walter said there was a vote of the people to reset the millage for Public Safety at 1 mill.
Trustee Marine asked where the .9644 truth and taxation multiplier comes from.
Accounting Manager Watkins explained that this number, which is the rollback amount, comes from the county Equalization Department.
Treasurer Skrobola said the only rollback affected is the truth and taxation rollback, not Headlee.
Supervisor Walter said if Board members are uncomfortable with any increase, they could roll some of the millages back or not levy the full 1 mill on the voted Public Safety millage. He said that he would not recommend this because there are substantial Public Safety expenditures within this ten year period.
Accounting Manager Watkins explained that the rate the township could levy without holding a public hearing for an increase is 4.857 mills. Since the residents voted for 1 mill for Public Safety, this increased one portion of the total amount the township can charge. This decreased the amount the township could levy without a public hearing for the general fund and Parks and Recreation fund, to 3.4 mills and .4432 mills respectively. She explained that this would mean a loss in operating revenue in the general fund and Parks and Recreation budgets. She concluded that the township wanted to keep the rates for the general fund and Parks and Recreation at the current level, so a public hearing was necessary to make up for the increase in the overall millage rate, due to the Public Safety reset to 1 mill.
Trustee Marine said he thought the public was aware that the Public Safety millage was a renewal, not an increase. He was not sure that the public would have supported an increase in the millage.
Supervisor Walter said a renewal sets the millage back to the publicly stated rate. He asked if Board members wanted to levy the full one mill.
Treasurer Skrobola said for the other two millages, the Board could hold a public hearing relative to the truth and taxation act. He said this was only so that the general fund millage and other millages that were imposed in the year 2001 would not be reduced; they would stay at the current level. Regarding the Public Safety millage, he pointed out that when the public voted for the millage, it was clearly stated on the ballot that it was 1 mill. Because the public voted for it that way, it was his recommendation that it remain in that fashion. He continued that he had been dealing with the state shared revenue issue closely over the past two years. He related that the issue was complicated, and he thought the conservative approach of estimating 2.35 million dollars was on target.
Supervisor Walter said he is pleased that departments are controlling their expenditures.
Treasurer Skrobola reported that the projection for interest noted in last year’s budget would be reached this year. He noted that a Board member had thought the figure might be high, given market conditions, and he wanted to let the Board know that it would be achieved.
Accounting Manager Watkins noted that some items from the current budget have been carried over to the 2003 budget. She explained that several departments have expressed a desire for an increase in personnel. She said software is a capital expenditure from this year’s budget, but it will probably not be purchased this year and will be kept in the budget for next year. She went over expenditures from the administration department. She said the Historical Commission budget has increased due to the monthly payments for the Wilson Farm. She said insurance costs have increased also.
Treasurer Skrobola said he hoped to hold the insurance package to within ten to fifteen percent of this year’s figure. He said in regard to the Public Safety vehicles, he thought the township could be getting more life out of them, and was not sure if it was a necessity to acquire one or two new administrative vehicles a year. He added that he had a conversation today with a technician from BS&A about the software for the Accounting, Treasurer, and Utilities departments; it is being tested and the township should be ready to acquire it after the year end business.
Supervisor Walter said that Human Resources Manager Kristin Orlowski is present tonight to explain her reasons for recommending that the Human Resources Generalist position held by Jeff Poissant be made full-time instead of part-time.
Trustee Burhop requested a few minutes to review material handed out by Human Resources Manager Orlowski. The Board took a moment to read over the memo.
Human Resources Manager Orlowski said she was looking for an upgrade of the Human Resources Generalist Position from part-time to 40 hours per week at a salary of $30,000 per year. She said responsibilities have increased in her department. She said the employee policy handbook is in great need of revision and upgrade, and her role has become more expanded as far as her involvement in police and fire negotiations. She said there is increased hiring in the township and this requires more time. She said that Human Resources Generalist Jeff Poissant is doing an outstanding job and currently works three days a week. She felt his additional assistance would help out immensely.
Trustee Brostrom referred to Human Resources Manager Orlowski’s memo and wondered if these were added responsibilities.
Human Resources Manager Orlowski said many are ongoing, but there are some new issues. She said the number of union issues has increased, and consulting department heads on employee issues takes a large part of her day.
Treasurer Skrobola said from his perspective this list is not all inclusive. He said he would suggest the Board give solid consideration to Human Resources Manager Orlowski’s request. He said based upon her presented budget, this request would be a differential of $15,000 or $16,000 and is very worth while.
Trustee Marine referred to Human Resources Manager Orlowski’s memo and wondered it there were many employee issues.
Human Resources Manager Orlowski said there are some union issues through the grievance procedure and some non-union employee issues. She said there are not a large number of problems but individual issues require a lot of time.
Supervisor Walter said the current employee policy handbook has some problems and money is spent on attorneys that could be saved if the township had a clearer handbook.
Clerk Lirones said she totally supported this proposal. She said Human Resources Manager Orlowski has increased the professionalism of the staff by various workshops and trainings. She said addressing the issues in the employee policy handbook will save the township legal fees and Human Resources Manager Orlowski cannot get to this because of the lack of clerical support. She said it made financial sense to make the Human Resources Generalist position full-time.
Trustee Brostrom asked if more time has been put into the hiring process.
Human Resources Manager Orlowski said the process is growing. She said the township is getting more applicants for various positions and is trying to do a more thorough job with the reference and background checks.
Trustee Burhop asked if Human Resources Manager Orlowski would feel comfortable with Human Resources Generalist Poissant performing some of these duties on his own.
Human Resources Manager Orlowski said she likes to be involved in everything that is going on, but that she is very confident in his abilities and that he would be able to handle interviewing, scheduling, coordinating and handling the day to day operations. She said that he needs to gain experience in some areas but that is just a matter of time and he would do a fine job.
Trustee Burhop asked who controls the building and grounds expenditure budget.
Accounting Manager Watkins said Building Official Kurt Weiland handles that budget.
Trustee Burhop asked who controls the Phase II EPA/DEQ Compliance Program.
Accounting Manager Watkins said Clerk Lirones and Deputy Clerk Jan BenDor.
Clerk Lirones said Senior Planner Mark Spencer also contributes.
Trustee Burhop wondered what happens to any money that comes in when the township receives a grant under Phase II.
Accounting Manager Watkins said it would go under the line item titled Reimburse: Phase II EPA/DEQ Grant.
Trustee Burhop asked on page 1 what the account titled PA 425-Saline stood for.
Supervisor Walter said it is the old Phillips property where there is a fifty year lease with Saline which is part of the sharing of tax revenue through Public Act 425.
Trustee Burhop referred to page 3 and wondered about the $91,905 budget for Phase II EPA/DEQ Compliance Program and if it requires a Board decision to spend this much money.
Supervisor Walter said the township is not spending this money, it is just the budget. He said if, for instance, a grant comes in which would be a contractual obligation between the Board and the granting agency, this would come to the Board for review. He said it was similar to any other department budget.
Trustee Burhop said she would feel more comfortable knowing that the Board had some control over some of these expenditures. She said this triggered something she was thinking of, which is that if this is under a department’s control she wondered why this item would be housed in the Clerk’s Office when the Clerk has other responsibilities by law.
Supervisor Walter said there are a number of things housed in the Clerk’s office. He said there is a separate Elections budget and even though it is a function of the Clerk’s Office it is budgeted separately. He said in the Phase II EPA/DEQ Compliance Program, the biggest item is the contracted services and typically when the township signs a contract it comes to the Board.
Deputy Clerk Jan BenDor handed out information to the Board from the DEQ draft permit that was issued a year ago and the public comments on it. She said she has been to many meetings with other municipalities that do not have a department in which to place this program. She said some of the very large municipalities have an Environmental Department and at some point the Board will want to look at where this responsibility should be housed. She said she is currently developing a program to meet the township’s responsibility to get a permit. She said the County Drain Commissioner is going to try to support local jurisdictions as much as she can by providing information, resources, and coordination. She had hoped to partner with other jurisdictions in a watershed and apply for a watershed based permit but she has not been able to get any partners. She said the Municipal Services Department had been very helpful, considering how busy they are. She said the permit must be approved by March of 2003. She said this budget is a very conservative in terms of minimizing administrative overhead which is only 6% of the total. She said each item in the budget corresponds to one of the 6 measures that must be included in the permit application and program. She said she hoped that Pittsfield would be considered a model township.
Trustee Burhop said she thought Deputy Clerk BenDor had answered the question she didn’t ask, because her question is, why would this be housed in the Clerk’s Office? She said she did not understand that, and she did not think Deputy Clerk BenDor had answered that question.
Deputy Clerk BenDor said this is a program that is being developed and it does not formally exist yet although the township has been in preparation for some time.
Trustee Burhop said she had seen expenditures come through, and they all are programs that were initiated under the guise of this program, and they come from the Clerk’s Office. She said if it was not housed there, she did not know where it was housed.
Deputy Clerk BenDor said she was not aware of it coming from the Clerk’s Office so much as it has come from a mandate of this Board to get this work done.
Treasurer Skrobola said this was not an unusual circumstance from his experience. He said as a municipality grows, there are new matters that need to be attended to, and there are not individuals on board to handle each one of those matters as they arise. He said he handles issues such as roads, highways, and insurance that do not relate to the Treasurer’s Office. They were taken up by administrators as the township grew, and this happens in other municipalities. He said from his perspective he did not mind doing these things because it rounds out his involvement as far as the township goes. He feels satisfied in doing that and gets the sense that his co-administrators feel the same way in the things they take on
Trustee Conner said it is not as much who administers this as it is the money being applied for and what it is being granted for. He said the township has an obligation to administer the grants as a contract to spend the money as approved by the Board.
Trustee Burhop said she had been told two stories, one that this is a grant, and one that it isn’t, that it comes from general funds.
Supervisor Walter said it was not a grant yet, that the township was preparing to become eligible for grants. He said it was general fund money right now. He described other positions and departments that had been developed over time, with the functions overseen by administrators until a full time position was created, such as the human resources and utilities departments. He said this was a new program, and the township looked to Deputy Clerk BenDor as one who had knowledge and experience in this area, and that Clerk Lirones was willing to have her do it. He said this is not a matter of where it naturally belongs, and probably one of these days the township will have an Environmental Coordinator or Department of Environment, but the township is not there yet and the Clerk’s Office seemed to be a reasonable place to house it.
Trustee Burhop said this concerns her because she sees this mess in the front and back of this building, and this was all done under the guise of this program. She said that if that is the quality of what comes out of this area, then it is really not satisfactory in her opinion. She said she certainly had never heard anyone say, “Oh, isn’t that pretty?”
Clerk Lirones asked Deputy Clerk BenDor if the budget she had handed out was any different than the draft budget.
Deputy Clerk BenDor said it was just more detailed. She said because this program is an unknown area, she thought things would change and hoped as she got more of the drafting done she could come to the Board with a more formal presentation to show where the permit application is going.
Trustee Marine asked about the $5,700 dollars in wages in the budget, and about the $65,000 in contracted services.
Deputy Clerk BenDor said she has put into the budget $1,300 for an intern to help with a lot of the basic work, and the $5,000 is a stipend paid to herself to take on this responsibility. She said the contracts vary, but the largest ones would be for cost shares should, for example, the U.S. Army Core of Engineers contract to help with the Wood Outlet sub-watershed work. She said there was money in this budget for the mapping and inventory for the Natural Features Ordinance, and a number of activities that will be going on for the Central Area Preserve. She said preserving open space is highly recommended as a feature of this permit application. She said at meetings when she had talked about what this township has accomplished in that regard, the permit department staff was very complimentary. She thought this would be regarded as an important part of the program, so these were the largest contractual items in the budget.
Trustee Burhop said she did not think the Board should be discussing this document right now, because the Board members had not had a chance to read it. She said members could not read it right now when they were supposed to be talking about the budget and everything, and she did not know how many pages it was, but it was unfair to the Trustees to be presented with it now and insist that it be discussed when the members have not even read it. She asked that the Board members be given a chance to read this stuff before they vote on it. She said that if the budget was presented to the Board tomorrow and the Board members vote then, then they will have a chance to assimilate this information.
Supervisor Walter said that this was just a working session on the budget.
Trustee Burhop said she realized that, and she would like to work at reading this first.
Supervisor Walter said that was fine and the budget will not formally come before the Board until the first meeting in October, so members would have plenty of time to digest this. He said tonight’s session was to raise questions and let members know what was going on, so that information can be digested.
Trustee Conner asked when Deputy Clerk BenDor would be giving her more formal presentation to the Board.
Deputy Clerk BenDor said the goal is to have a draft permit by December provided the township receives the final regulations, and to coordinate with the Board so this can be presented at this point. She could not be certain because if the township didn’t know what the regulations are it is hard to draft a permit.
Trustee Conner said Deputy Clerk BenDor’s qualifications to administer a program like this are better than anyone else’s he knows of, and he was glad she is involved in this.
Deputy Clerk BenDor thanked him.
Trustee Marine asked if the budget for the Phase II EPA/DEQ Compliance Program would be greater than $91,905.
Deputy Clerk BenDor said it will be a little less.
Trustee Burhop asked on page 4 in the Legislative Board section if Memberships and Dues had to do with the Trustees.
Accounting Manager Watkins said it has to do with the Board in general, they were not for salaries.
Supervisor Walter said there are several organizations that the Board is a member of, such as SEMCOG, WATS, and WDC, which could be substantial.
Trustee Marine referred to the Elections Department budget. He said in 2001, the budget was $7,800, and it was obvious why it had increased immensely this year, but in 2003, which he believed was a non-election year, it was $31,000, which was a pretty substantial increase.
Accounting Manager Watkins pointed out that the amount shown for 2001 was not the budgeted amount, it was the actual expenditures.
Trustee Marine asked why $31,000 would be budgeted if in the last non-election year only $7,800 was expended.
Accounting Manager Watkins said because there was always the chance that there could be a special election and this had always been done.
Trustee Marine asked if in 2001 there was actually much more budgeted than the expended amount.
Accounting Manager Tracy Watkins said yes.
Trustee Marine asked about the increase in salaries in the Accounting budget.
Accounting Manager Watkins said the budgeted amount includes a new person, which she may come to the Board and ask for. She said the 2002 actual expenditures will be nowhere near $90,000.00.
Trustee Marine referred to the capital expenditures line item under the Accounting Department budget and asked Accounting Manager Watkins if she was planning on buying something.
Accounting Manager Watkins replied that this tied into the software package the township was looking into.
Trustee Burhop referred to the Clerk’s Office budget. She said that the salaries for 2001 were $100,435, and in 2003, they were $105,212. She asked why they were so high, and added that in the bottom figures, there was more of a disparity, in the total Clerk’s Office.
Accounting Manager asked if she could rephrase her question.
Trustee Burhop said yes, that the 2002 budget for the total Clerk’s Office was $254,325, and the proposed was $266,937. She said that was a bit of an increase. She asked why.
Accounting Manager Watkins said a lot of it is in the wages. She said the staff has not turned over and there are people there with seniority that will earn a higher wage. She explained how wages are calculated for union and non-union employees.
Trustee Conner asked if she was reflecting projected increases in salaries throughout the budget.
Accounting Manager Watkins said yes, but the percentage changes were unknown. She said her projections were conservative. She also pointed out that increased personnel may have been included in the department heads’ narratives.
Trustee Conner wondered if some of these narratives could be included in the final budget.
Supervisor Walter said typically it is not included, but any information received is available. He said he did not think it would be useful in the budget.
Trustee Burhop referred to the legal services item in the Human Resources budget and wondered if it was the same gentleman that talked about the Fire Department.
Supervisor Walter said no, this is mostly Attorney Mel Muskowitz that handles the township’s non-Public Safety personnel issues.
Trustee Marine asked if there was a projected increase in expenditures on these issues.
Accounting Manager Watkins said a lot of the cost will be for the employee policy handbook.
Trustee Brostrom asked if the revision of the employee policy handbook would be a purely internal administrative matter or if it would be coming to the Board.
Supervisor Walter said it would go to the Board.
Trustee Burhop asked what the Administrative Department is.
Accounting Manager Watkins said it is everything that does not fall under an individual department.
Trustee Marine asked who handles the purchasing and how much of the purchasing in the township they actually handle.
Treasurer Skrobola said nothing has changed since the last discussion on this topic except now the acquisition of office supplies for the Public Safety Department is done through the Purchasing Department.
Trustee Marine wondered about the purchasing procedure.
Treasurer Skrobola explained this procedure to the Board. He said generally on a day to day basis his Office handles about 75% of the purchasing in the township, and the purchasing department consisted of one person. He explained the monthly supply purchasing procedure.
Trustee Burhop asked if Building Official Kurt Weiland handled the Building and Grounds budget for 6201 W. Michigan Ave., 701 W. Ellsworth Rd., and 797 W. Textile Rd..
Accounting Manager Watkins said yes.
Supervisor Walter said the Clerk’s Office has traditionally done the mowing and snow removal contracts and Utilities does some of their own snow removal and some maintenance, but it is spread around.
Trustee Burhop asked if it would be better to centralize it more efficiently in Buildings and Grounds and not get the Clerk involved in this stuff again.
Supervisor Walter said the Clerk would be delighted not to have to bother with those contracts.
Trtustee Burhop asked if the Board could just say that’s the way it will be then.
Clerk Lirones said the township would probably have to hire someone then, and that Building and Grounds Official Weiland could not do everything on a $5000 per year stipend.
Supervisor Walter said that Building Official Weiland oversees a lot, and if this is all added to Buildings and Grounds it might be too much.
Treasurer Skrobola said Building Official Weiland’s principal function is that of Building Inspection and all that is involved with that, and the additional efforts he is putting in in terms of buildings and grounds very frankly for $5,000.00 is a good bargain and he was not sure how much more Building Official Weiland can or is willing to take on. He said, as had been discussed previously, as the township grew, this might be the type of thing that is split off from a department.
Clerk Lirones agreed, and said she would not mind splitting off the F.O.I.A. department and that there are quite a few things she wouldn’t mind getting rid of.
Trustee Burhop said it seems more sensible to have things like that under certain departments. She said the township is not like it was ten years ago.
Supervisor Walter said if we create more departments we will need more space for them. He said right now this is a shared responsibility.
Trustee Marine referred to the Building and Grounds section on page 9 and wondered if the prairie restoration was included in the line item Ground Maintenance.
Supervisor Walter said this was included in the Phase II EPA/DEQ Compliance Program budget.
Trustee Marine asked where the $70,000 that was moved from the Historical Commission to the general fund for the Wilson Farm went and if there is sufficient money to temporarily fix the roof on a barn on the Wilson Farm to make it last another winter so eventually something can be done with it.
Accounting Manager Watkins said the Historical Commission is part of the General Fund and the money was not spent, so this is where it is. She said if there is a need to fix the roof then Building Official Weiland would need to come to the Board and ask for that expenditure to be transferred out of the general fund to cover that expenditure.
Clerk Lirones asked if $36,000 of this $70,000 was used to pay Harold Wilson.
Accounting Manager Watkins said the township has just started to pay that this year.
Trustee Burhop referred to page 12 and wondered if the Schooling/Certifications line item in the Police Department budget and the Schooling /Seminars / Conference line item in the Fire Department budget would be negotiated.
Accounting Manager Watkins said this is on-the-job training and none of this has to do with them getting their own schooling.
Trustee Burhop asked which line item would include schooling.
Accounting Manager Watkins said this is under the line item Fringe Benefits.
Treasurer Skrobola said the Board should take a look at that area. He went on to the Highways and Streets section and said some of the projects that had been expected to be accomplished this year are not going to be accomplished due to negotiations between private sector, Washtenaw County Road Commission, and the township. He said he is looking forward to having these projects done next year and said he would come to the Board and ask to carry over the unused portion of this year’s budget to next year’s budget to accomplish these tasks. He said there would be a major overlay of project in the Clubview Subdivision that would be a primary expense in the Highways and Streets budget.
Trustee Marine asked what the salaries and wages line item was for in the Housing Commission budget.
Supervisor Walter said this pays part of his salary and part of Deputy Supervisor Ruth Turner’s salary.
Trustee Marine asked if the $36,000 for the Wilson Farm would show up on next year’s actual budget.
Accounting Manager Watkins said she had a list of budget amendments and that have already taken place.
Trustee Marine wanted to know why the Historical Commission was continuing to pay for the Wilson Farm when this Board removed the oversight of the Wilson Farm to the Parks and Recreation Department.
Accounting Manager Watkins said the Historical Commission budget committed to the purchase, and the township delayed payment because of contract terms and therefore the original agreement was set in the Historical Commission. She added that it was easier to track there.
Trustee Marine said this Board voted for the Historical Commission to no longer have the oversight of the Wilson Farm and did not understand why it would be going through the Historical Commission.
Supervisor Walter said it could be placed in Parks and Recreation.
Trustee Conner agreed that it should be placed in a different area.
Treasurer Skrobola said it could be placed on the following page under the Other Activities Charges budget.
Supervisor Walter asked Accounting Manager Watkins if this would be a problem.
Accounting Manager Watkins said no and that she would come to the Board with an amended budget to move it out of the 2002 budget to the Other Activity Charges budget.
Supervisor Walter said not to worry about the year 2002 budget, just the 2003 budget.
Trustee Marine said he did not care where this money was put as long as it is reasonable.
Trustee Burhop asked what the Tax and Weed Adj. line item was for under the Other Activities Charges budget.
Accounting Manager Watkins said it was the Board of Review adjustments for taxes.
Treasurer Skrobola said this is also where the township notifies a property owner to mow their lawn, and if they do not do so, the township hires a contactor to mow the property and charges the property owner. If it remains unpaid, it is put on the tax bill.
Trustee Burhop said on page 19 the heading needs to be changed. She added that on page 20, the revenue total is $661,660 and the expenditures are $985,095, but it says this is an excess of revenues over expenditures, but revenues are not over expenditures.
Supervisor Walter said that is why it is in parentheses to indicate that the excess is negative which would be the same as deficit.
Trustee Burhop said the verbiage is odd.
Supervisor Walter asked if the proposed increase in refuse was budgeted in.
Trustee Marine asked if this would be a deficit in the refuse budget.
Accounting Manager Watkins said it could be because the township is spending the Washtenaw County money that needs to be spent on this item. She said the township is expending the Washtenaw County recycling money, and that is always going to be depleting, and we have a surplus there. She said overall the bottom line is positive.
Supervisor Walter said there is a significant reserve that can only be used for solid waste reduction and a portion was used for Environment Day and to help subsidize the Earth Machines.
Accounting Manager Watkins said this will not be just for the everyday collection of the residents.
Supervisor Walter said the Great Lakes price increase goes into effect December 1st and the increase will be the smaller of 3% or the CPI. He said the problem is that the CPI for this fiscal year does not end until September and a decision was needed in order to warn residents ahead of time, since the township is on a three month billing. He said in September the tentative rate will be $9.80 a month and if this passes in October, the November bills will have the new rate.
Trustee Conner pointed out a few errors on page 25.
Trustee Burhop thanked Accounting Manager Watkins for her work on the budget and for her patience with the Board’s questions.
16.0 Public Comment II-none.
Motion by Treasurer Skrobola, supported by Trustee Burhop, to adjourn.
17.0 Adjournment by Supervisor Walter at 9:32 p.m.
_____________________________
Nicole Hlavka, Department Assistant II
Recording Clerk
Pittsfield Charter Township
_____________________________
Christina L. Lirones, ClerkPittsfield Charter Township
_____________________
James R. Walter, Supervisor
Pittsfield Charter Township
MINUTES APPROVED, AS CORRECTED, AT THE PITTSFIELD CHARTER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 8, 2002.
