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DRAFT 2 Administration/Finance subcommittee report as of 9.11.12

David Beatty, Phil Dodd, Jean Olson Process The Administration/Finance subcommittee decided, given the timeframe, to review the City Managers Office and the Finance Department in depth. Matrix issued four recommendations for the City Manager and 16 for the Finance Department. The status of these recommendations is in APPENDIX XYZ. This review included consideration of these Matrix recommendations, meetings in person with Bill Fraser and Sandy Gallup and compiling focused data from comparable Vermont municipalities: Barre City, Bennington, Brattleboro, Middlebury and St. Albans. We also reviewed the offices of the City Clerk/City Treasurer, Assessor, Cemetery and Community Justice Center. While this process was less extensive, the data includes information from the same six municipalities gathered by telephone and email. The following information is by individual department. We are grateful to the key contacts for each municipality who were: Barre City: Carol Dawes, City Clerk and Treasurer and Elizabeth Somaini, Assistant to the City Manager/Human Resources Administrator Bennington: Stuart Hurd, Town Manager Brattleboro: John OConnor, Director of Finance Middlebury: Kathleen Ramsay, Assistant Town Manager Montpelier: Bill Fraser (City Manager) and Sandra Gallup (Finance Director) St. Albans: Peg Strait, Director of Finance and Administration Description of the Montpelier City Manager Office Matrix describes this office as generally responsible for the overall administration and management of the City of Montpelier under the policy direction and guidance of the City Council. Key Questions What is the FTE staff in the City Managers Office? (See Chart XYZ) What are the roles of the staff in the City Managers Office? (See Chart XYZ) What is the budget for the City Managers Office? (See Chart XYZ) Do you have an Assistant City Manager? How much time? Is the position filled? What are the core responsibilities for this position? (See Chart XYZ) How is right-size staffing determined and by whom?
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Notes from Each Community How is right-size staffing determined and by whom? Barre: Staffing levels are predominantly driven by the voters and the budgets they approve. The city has cut staff in recent years to get budgets passed. Bennington: The Town Manager and the Board have a pretty good handle on what is needed. We have little turnover and reduce by attrition. Brattleboro: Decided by the Town Manager and the Select Board. Recently one FTE retired and the Town Manager wanted to replace with two new FTE. The Board did not agree. Middlebury: When there is an open position, the Town Manager reviews the roles and responsibilities of that position and recommends adjustments in staffing, if any, to the Personnel Committee, which, in turn, recommends to the Select board for consideration. Montpelier: The City Manager, with input from department heads, determines right-size staffing. The citys budget process allows for city council involvement in decisions regarding staffing levels in city departments. St. Albans: Lots of growth currently. Reduced Assessor position, recently added Downtown Manager and, two years ago, Director of Planning. Description of the Montpelier City Finance Department Matrix describes this office as generally responsible for all financial functions of the City including financial records, accounting, payroll, payables, insurance, billing program, and audit preparation/coordination. The Finance Department also leads the development of the annual budget, capital improvement plan, and equipment replacement program. The Finance Department provides grant oversight for the entire City operations. The Finance Department works closely with the city Treasurer on many duties and functions including ensuring adequate financial reporting of all receipts and the monthly reconciliation of accounts. Key Questions What is the FTE staff in the City Finance Department? (See Chart XYZ) What are the roles of the staff in the City Finance Department? (See Chart XYZ) What is the budget for the Finance Department? (See Chart XYZ) Where is the City Treasurer housed? Who collects your delinquent taxes? How much time is allocated for this? What is the volume of work? What is your delinquent tax rate?

Who collects delinquent taxes? How much time is allocated for this role? What is your delinquent tax rate?
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Barre: City Clerk/Treasurer also serves as Delinquent Tax Collector. Estimate 30 35 hours per week devoted to collections of delinquent taxes and water/sewer charges. Delinquent tax rate averages about 5% per quarter. Bennington: By charter, it is the role of the Town Manager. About 6% rate, billed monthly. Brattleboro: The Town Manager gives to Billing and Collections. Takes a lot of time for Tax Sale process. Currently working with 75 properties in this process. About 4.4% go to tax sale. Middlebury: Assistant Town Manager, supported by the Finance Department. About 10 hours per month. Delinquent Tax Rate is just under 3%. Montpelier: The Tax Collector who is working 0.6 FTE in the Finance Department and handles collections for delinquent taxes, water and sewer fees. The delinquent tax rate is 0.66%. St. Albans: Has an aggressive policy and, with a hired attorney, reduces the rate from 10% to 2%. Description of the Montpelier City Clerk/City Treasurer Office Matrix describes this office as generally responsible for the maintenance of all essential records of the City of Montpelier, vital records, recording of land documents and collection of various payments including tax payments, licensing payments, water and sewer payments, parking tickets and other municipal charges. In addition, the City processes fishing and hunting licenses on behalf of the State. The office is also responsible for the administration of elections. Key Questions What is the FTE staff in the City Clerks office? (See Chart XYZ) What are their roles? (See Chart XYZ) What is the budget for the City Clerks Office? (See Chart XYZ) Description of Montpelier City Assessor Office Matrix describes the Assessor office as generally responsible for the assessment and tax levy for all real estate and personal property owned within the City of Montpelier in accordance with State regulations. Additionally, staff is responsible for the maintenance of all property records, sales information and tax maps for the City of Montpelier. Key Questions What is the FTE staff in the Assessors Office? (See Chart XYZ) What is the budget for the Assessors Office? (See Chart XYZ)

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Cemetery Discussion by Municipality Barre: Budgeted at $60,000 but the Cemetery Department is in flux. Recent charter changes took the Cemetery Department out of the control of the cemetery commissioners and created a Cemetery Department under the control of the Manager. Final budgeting and other financial arrangements have not been completed. Bennington: $43,900. We have three cemeteries, most are full and we will maintain them but not expand them. We have one large private cemetery with room to expand. Brattleboro: $28,000. Middlebury: No. Montpelier: The Cemetery Commission oversees the Green Mountain Cemetery policies and operations. The City employs the staff and provides all fiscal services. The Cemetery budget is $207,092 and the City provides $117,855 in annual support. St. Albans: No. Community Justice Center Discussion by Municipality Barre: The Greater Barre Community Justice Center is located at the Barre Civic Center. The city provides in-kind support through space, utilities, phone, heat, postage. Other financial considerations are under the control of the CJC. Bennington: $3,000 from the city. It is financed through several nonprofits and corrections. It has no municipal function. Brattleboro: No Brattleboro funding. Financed through grants from the state. Middlebury: No. Montpelier: Yes. Financed through grants with the cost to the city at $24,400. Staff are city employees. St. Albans: No city funds. Self-sufficient with a strong director who funds $500,000 a year through grants. Recommendations 1. Because there appears to be constant flux of employees within city departments, we recommend the City Manager provide a one-page synopsis of personnel, with any projected growth in FTE, to the City Council each year at the start of the budget process. We recommend also that the City Manager provide a one-page organizational chart per

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department to the City Council at the same time. This is intended to be a simple snapshot of city personnel as background for City Councils decision-making process 2. City staff FTE have grown from 106.85 in 1992 to 117.28 in 2013. In about the same timeframe, according to the US Census Bureau, the population of Montpelier has shrunk from 8247 to 7855. We recommend that City Council and the City Manager work together to carefully review new hires and potential projects that may be handled more efficiently and effectively by other local or regional organizations. 3. In our review of four other communities that are served by Community Justice Centers, Montpelier is the only municipality to bring on these staff as city employees in addition to providing space and other in-kind benefits. Barre City provides only in-kind resources. Bennington allocates $3000. Brattleboro and St. Albans are served by independent nonprofits. St. Albans noted their CJC has a very active executive director who raises $500,000 to support the organization. Using this as an example, we recommend that City Council reexamine the relationship between the Community Justice Center and Montpelier City to analyze the possibility of recreating the Center as a separate entity to which Montpelier may agree to continue contributing some form of in-kind benefits or other resources. 4. When retirees are hired to return to Montpelier City, we recommend that it is with a contract for a specific time period and with clearly stated compensation and benefits. This recommendation is intended to clarify staffing roles, succession planning and budgeting.