HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2013-05-08 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD MAY 8, 2013
Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present: Thomas Robinson, Brandon
Kritzman, James McCann, Joe Laura, and Laura Toy. Absent: John Pastor and
Maureen Miller Brosnan.
Elected and appointed officials present: Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Mark
Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Don Knapp, City Attorney;
Terry Marecki, City Clerk and Jack E. Kirksey, Mayor.
President Toy announced there is new data on Items #147 #157 #167 #17 and #18.
President Toy wished Councilmember Maureen Miller Brosnan a Happy Birthday today
and Councilmember James McCann a Happy Birthday tomorrow.
Kritzman asked for a moment of silence for the Westland Firefighter, Brian Woehlke,
who gave his life in the line of duty earlier today and leaves behind his wife, Jennifer,
and their 13-month old daughter, Ava.
President Toy announced a Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at the Veteran's Park
Memorial Plaza on Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.; there will be a tribute to our
Veterans — complete with military salutes, a wreath-placing ceremony, special guests
and music. Anyone that would like to RSVP or would like further information; please
contact Ann Cox in the Parks and Recreation Department at (734) 466-2418.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
NEW BUSINESS
1. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE CITY'S NOISE ORDINANCE: Mark McGilvrey,
Minister, Memorial Church of Christ, re: to allow a band to perform from 10:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at their outdoor worship service to be held on Sunday, June 2,
2013 in the west parking lot of the church's property located at 35475 Five Mile
Road.
Mark McGilvrey, Minister, Memorial Church of Christ, presented his request to
Council and was ready to answer any questions from Council.
Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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2. REAPPOINTMENT OF GERALD TAYLOR TO THE LIVONIA PLANNING
COMMISSION: Office of the Mayor, re: for a three-year term, which shall expire
on June 9, 2016.
Mayor Jack Kirksey commended Mr. Gerald Joseph Taylor on all his great
credentials and his integrity, and he is recommending the reappointment.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
3. AWARD OF BID: Department of Parks & Recreation, re: for the replacement of
the spray pad flooring at the Livonia Community Recreation Center from
budgeted funds.
Lyle Trudell, Superintendent, Parks and Recreation, presented the request to
Council. The Department of Parks and Recreation has taken bids for
replacement of the spray pad surface at the Livonia Community Recreation
Center. Specifications were prepared by the Department, and an advertisement
for bids was placed in the Thursday, March 21, 2013 edition of the Livonia
Observer and on the MITN website. In response to our advertisement, one
company submitted documents. The bid was opened in the presence of the Bid
Committee at 2:00 p.m. on April 2, 2013. In the spring of 2012, the Department
made extensive repairs to the Recreation Center splash pad surface due to the
delaminating and crumbling of the surface, caused by the porosity of the surface
and the freeze/thaw cycles of Michigan weather. They have replaced this entire
surface once and experienced this phenomenon beginning in the first year after
installation, with continued deterioration until replacement. In addition, even
though they purchased additional material to make these repairs, the repairs did
not match the existing surface due to extensive fading of the surface. It became
obvious that they needed to replace the surface and find a more durable and UV-
resistant product, without sacrificing safety. They contacted communities in our
area and found they used concrete surfacing. Concerned with the safety of using
concrete, they continued their research and found the Aquaflex material that was
being used by communities across the country in all climates. All of the
communities they contacted regarding Aquaflex material recommended it for the
durability, UV resistance and safety. While there are a limited number of certified
installers for Aquaflex and the initial cost is higher, the durability of the product
does make it cost effective. In order to more accurately calculate cost
effectiveness, we chose to bid the resurfacing with three options; removing
existing surface and replacing with a concrete overlay (option 1), removing
existing surface then prepping and painting existing concrete (option 2) and
Aquaflex (option 3). The removal of the old pad material was also included
(option 4). They received only one bid even though they had contacted several
potential sources, which could have bid one or more of the options, and they
advertised in The Livonia Observer and on MITN. They chose the Aquaflex non-
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porous product based on safety, durability, UV resistance and cost-effectiveness.
They believe that rebidding the project would only delay the replacement process
and not give any pricing advantage. We are asking Council to award the bid to
Superior Play, LLC, 889 S. Old US 23, Brighton, MI 48114, in the amount of
$48,041.25 for removal and disposal of the old material and installation of the
Aquaflex non-porous spray pad. Attached for Council's review are bid
specifications and results. Bids are good for 120 days from bid opening. Further,
they would recommend that the City Council authorize the Mayor and City Clerk
execute a contract in the amount of $48,041.25. Sufficient funds have been
budgeted for 2012-2013 in Community Recreation. Council consideration of this
request is appreciated.
Robinson offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
4. PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (PRDA) ANNUAL REPORT
FOR 2012: Michael T. Slater, Treasurer, as submitted pursuant to Public Act
197 of 1975.
Mike Slater, Director of Finance, presented the 2012 Annual Report for the
PRDA for the information of the City Council. They respectfully request that City
Council receive and file this report.
At the direction of the Chair, this item was received and filed for the Consent
Agenda.
DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE CONSENT
5. REQUEST TO EXECUTE REVISIONS TO THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION
PLAN, CHANGE THE DEFAULT FUND , AND CHANGE THE FUND FOR THE
INVESTMENT CHOICE FOR THE FORFEITURE FUNDS WITH GREAT-WEST
FINANCIAL: Department of Finance, re: to replace the Guaranteed Fixed Fund
(GFF), which will close to all new deposits on August 30, 2013, with the
Guaranteed Interest Fund (GIF), to authorize the use of the Moderate Profile
Fund as the plan's default fund, and to authorize use of the Guaranteed Interest
Fund (GIF) as the investment choice for the forfeiture funds.
Mike Slater, Director of Finance, presented the request to Council. The City's
defined contribution plan provider, Great-West Financial, has notified the City
that the Guaranteed Fixed Fund (GFF) will close to new deposits on August 30,
2013. All balances in the GFF will continue to receive the guaranteed minimum
floor rate of 3.50%. Great-West is offering a replacement for the GFF called the
Guaranteed Interest Fund (GIF). The current rate on the GIF is 2.25%, with a
minimum guaranteed floor rate of 1.00%. In order to make this available to plan
participants, the attached Fixed Account/Guaranteed Sub Account rider must be
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executed by the City. In addition, because the GFF is the current default fund for
participants who fail to choose their own investment options and the GFF is also
the investment vehicle for the plan's forfeiture fund; alternative investments must
be selected for these purposes. The recommendation is to use the Moderate
Profile fund as the default fund and to use the GIF as the investment choice for
the forfeiture funds. Therefore, they request that City Council authorize the Mayor
and City Clerk to execute the Guaranteed Interest Fund (GIF) Fixed
Account/Guaranteed Sub-Account Rider, and authorize use of the Moderate
Profile fund as the plan's default fund and authorize use of the Guaranteed
Interest Fund (GIF) as the investment choice for the forfeiture funds.
Robinson offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
6. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE ONE (1) VEHICLE
UTILIZING THE STATE OF MICHIGAN BID PROCESS: Public Service Division,
re: a 2012 Ford Transit Connect Parts Van as a replacement vehicle in the Fleet
Maintenance Section of the Department of Public Works from budgeted funds.
Donald Rohraff, Superintendent, Department of Public Works, presented the
request to Council. Rohraff said the 2013-2014 approved capital outlay budget
includes the purchase of one (1) 2012 Ford Transit Connect Parts Van vehicle for
the Fleet Maintenance Section of the Department of Public Works. Arrangements
were made to incorporate the new vehicle purchase through the State bid
process (Contract No. 071 81300005), an extended purchasing program made
available to local governments through the State of Michigan. The State bid this
year was awarded to Gorno Ford.
1. One (1) 2012 Ford Transit Connect Parts Van. This vehicle
will be assigned to the Fleet Maintenance Section of the
Department of Public Works.
Bid price $20,818.00 $20,818.00
The recommendation from the Fleet Manager as well as the backup
documentation has been provided to Council. The van will not increase our fleet,
it is a replacement vehicle. The replaced vehicle will be disposed of thru the
auction process (MITN or commercial auction). It is the recommendation of the
Public Service Division that Council authorize the following purchase from Gorno
Ford, 22025 Allen Road, Trenton, Michigan 48138, for a grand total of
$20,818.00.
1. One (1) 2012 Ford Transit Connect Parts Van for a total
of $20,818.00 from funds already approved in the capital
outlay budget for the Fleet Maintenance Section.
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McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
President Toy asked for this Item to be placed on the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
7. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE ONE (1) VEHICLE
UTILIZING THE STATE OF MICHIGAN BID PROCESS: Public Service Division,
re: a 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up Truck with plow and lift gate as a
replacement vehicle for the Fleet Maintenance Section of the Department of
Public Works from budgeted funds.
Donald Rohraff, Superintendent, Department of Public Works, presented the
request to Council. Rohraff said the 2013-2014 approved capital outlay budget
includes the purchase of one (1) vehicle for the Fleet Maintenance Section of the
Department of Public Works. Arrangements were made to incorporate the new
vehicle purchase through the State bid process (Contract No. 07181300005), an
extended purchasing program made available to local governments through the
State of Michigan. The State bid this year was awarded to Gorno Ford.
1 One (1) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up Truck
with Plow and Lift gate. This vehicle will be assigned to
the Fleet Maintenance Section of the Department of
Public Works.
Bid price $37,484.00 $37.484.00
The recommendation from the Fleet Manager as well as the backup
documentation has been provided to Council. This truck will not increase our
fleet, it is a replacement vehicle. The replaced vehicle will be disposed of thru the
auction process (MITN or commercial auction). It is the recommendation of the
Public Service Division that Council authorize the following purchase from Gorno
Ford, 22025 Allen Road, Trenton, Michigan 48138, for a grand total of
$37,484.00.
1. One (1) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up
Truck with plow and lift gate for a total of $37,484.00
from funds already approved in the capital outlay
budget for the Parks Maintenance Section.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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8. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE ONE (1) VEHICLE
UTILIZING THE STATE OF MICHIGAN BID PROCESS: Public Service Division,
re: a 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up Truck with plow and lift gate as a
replacement vehicle for the Parks Maintenance Section of the Department of
Public Works from budged funds.
Donald Rohraff, Superintendent, Department of Public Works, presented the
request to Council. Rohraff said the 2013-2014 approved capital outlay budget
includes the purchase of one (1) vehicle for the Parks Maintenance Section of
the Department of Public Works. Arrangements were made to incorporate the
new vehicle purchase through the State bid process (Contract No. 071 B
1300005), an extended purchasing program made available to local governments
through the State of Michigan. The State bid this year was awarded to Gorno
Ford.
1. One (1) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up Truck
with Plow and Lift gate. This vehicle will be assigned to
the Parks Maintenance Section of the Department of
Public Works.
Bid price $36,512.00 $36512.00
The recommendation from the Fleet Manager as well as the backup
documentation has been provided to Council. The truck will not increase our
fleet, it is a replacement vehicle. The replaced vehicle will be disposed of thru the
auction process (MITN or commercial auction). It is the recommendation of the
Public Service Division that Council authorize the following purchase from Gorno
Ford, 22025 Allen Road, Trenton, Michigan 48138, for a grand total of
$36,512.00.
1. One (1) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up
Truck with plow and lift gate for a total of $36,512.00
from funds already approved in the capital outlay
budget for the Parks Maintenance Section.
Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
9. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE TWO (2) VEHICLES
UTILIZING THE STATE OF MICHIGAN BID PROCESS: Public Service Division,
re: two (2) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up Trucks with plows as
replacement vehicles for the Parks Maintenance Section of the Department of
Public Works from budgeted funds.
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Donald Rohraff, Superintendent, Department of Public Works, presented the
request to Council. Rohraff said the 2013-2014 approved capital outlay budget
includes the purchase of two (2) vehicles for the Parks Maintenance Section of
the Department of Public Works. Arrangements were made to incorporate the
new vehicle purchase through the State bid process (Contract No. 071
B1300005), an extended purchasing program made available to local
governments through the State of Michigan. The State bid this year was awarded
to Gorno Ford.
1. Two (2) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up Trucks
with Plow. These vehicles will be assigned to the Parks
Maintenance Section of the Department of Public Works.
Bid price $32,821.00 $65642.00
The recommendation from the Fleet Manager as well as the backup
documentation has been provided to Council. The trucks will not increase our
fleet, they are replacement vehicles. The replaced vehicles will be disposed of
thru the auction process (MITN or commercial auction). It is the recommendation
of the Public Service Division that Council authorize the following purchase from
Gorno Ford, 22025 Allen Road, Trenton, Michigan 48138, for a grand total of
$65,642.00.
1. Two (2) 2013 Ford F250 Super Cab, 44 Pick-up
Trucks with plow for a total of $65,642.00 from funds
already approved in the capital outlay budget for the
Parks Maintenance Section.
Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
10 AWARD OF BID: Public Service Division, re: to purchase one (1) 2013 Model
Year 44 Super Duty, F550, 3 Yard Dump Truck for a total price of $67,420.00 to
be used by the Roads Maintenance Section of the Department of Public Works
from budgeted funds.
Donald Rohraff, Superintendent, Department of Public Works, presented the
request to Council. Rohraff said the Public Service Division has taken bids for
one (1) 2013 Model Year 44 Super Duty, F550, 3 yard dump truck in
accordance with the requirements of the Finance Ordinance and the approved
budget for the Roads Maintenance Section ( 401 -000-985-000). Specifications
were prepared by the Division, and an advertisement for bids was placed in the
February 10, 2013 edition of the Livonia Observer and Eccentric. The Finance
Director's office posted the bid documents on the Michigan Inter-Governmental
Trade Network (MITN) website. Bids were received and opened in the presence
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of the Bid Committee at 2.00p.m. on February 19, 2013. The department
received twelve bids that were evaluated and reviewed with three bids meeting
our specifications. Attached is a tabulation of all bids received, setting forth each
as well as the low bid meeting specifications. In addition, attached is the bid
evaluation and recommendation from the Fleet Maintenance Department. It is the
recommendation of the Public Service Department that Council proceed as
follows-
1.
ollows:1. Accept the low bid meeting specifications, submitted
by Gorno Ford, 22025 Allen Rd., Woodhaven, MI
48183, to supply the Public Service Division (Road
Maintenance Section) with one (1) 2013 Model Year
44 Super Duty, F550, 3 yard Dump Truck and
equipment for a total price of$67,420.00.
Robinson offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
11. REQUEST TO ACCEPT $50,000 IN FUNDING UNDER THE 2013 AMERICAN
RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT AS AWARDED UNDER THE BYRNE
JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM: Division of Police, re: for the
purchase of fourteen (14) Safety Vision/ICop mobile video systems with ten
percent (10%) matching funds from department budget to be reimbursed from
the State of Michigan once the project is completed.
Police Chief Curtis Caid presented the request to Council. He said the Livonia
Division of Police is requesting authorization to accept $50,000.00 in funding
available under the 2013 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as awarded
under the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program. This Byrne Justice
Assistance Grant funding was awarded to the police department pursuant to a
competitive application submitted to the State of Michigan by the City of Livonia.
The final grant award stipulates that funding can only be used for mobile in-car
video systems and must be used no later than July 31, 2013. Police equipment
purchased under this Byrne Justice Assistance Grant will include fourteen (14)
Safety Vision/ICop mobile video systems. These systems are quoted at
$3,995.00 each. The equipment purchased will be integrated into the larger
mobile in-car video replacement at the police department. There are ten percent
(10%) matching funds required under this grant, which equates to $5,556.00,
which will be taken from budgeted funds.
Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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12. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE TWO (2) REPLACEMENT
MARKED PATROL VEHICLES UTILIZING THE OAKLAND AND MACOMB
COUNTIES BID/PURCHASING CONSORTIUM PRICING: Division of Police, re.
for the purchase of one (1) Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicle and one (1)
Chevrolet Tahoe Police Package vehicle to be utilized by the Uniform Division
from insurance reimbursement, salvage and auction proceeds, and funds
budgeted for new scout cars.
Police Chief Curtis Caid presented the request to Council. The Livonia Division of
Police is requesting authorization to purchase two (2) marked patrol vehicles
which would be utilized by the Uniform Division. These vehicles would be
replacements for two vehicles that were totaled in accidents in March 2013.
Between the reimbursement by their insurance carrier and salvage/auction of the
vehicles, they received $16,300.00 for the totaled vehicles. They propose to
purchase one (1) Ford Police Interceptor Utility, in the amount of $26,058.00,
utilizing the insurance reimbursement and salvage proceeds ($6,975.00). The
balance of $19,083.00 will come from budgeted funds. They also propose to
purchase one (1) Chevrolet Tahoe, Police Package, in the amount of$26,114.95,
utilizing the insurance reimbursement and auction proceeds ($9,325.00). The
balance of $16,789.95 will come from budgeted funds. They are requesting a
waiver of the local sealed bid process, based on the Police Department's
association with the bid/purchasing consortiums of Oakland and Macomb
Counties. Upon receipt of various bids and specifications, the department
conducts an analysis and selects the low bidder, regardless of consortium
affiliation.
They request to purchase the Ford vehicle from the Macomb County bid:
(1) 2014 Ford Police Interceptor Utility in the amount of$26,058.00 from:
Signature Ford
1960 E. Main Street
Owosso, M148867
888-923-5338
They request to purchase the Chevrolet vehicle from the Oakland County bid:
(1) 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe, Police Package, in the amount of$26,114.95 from:
Berger Chevrolet
2525 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
616-949-5200
Police Chief Curtis Caid was available to provide any additional information that
Council may desire.
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McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
13. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE A THREE (3) YEAR
SUPPORT AGREEMENT FROM SOLE SUPPLIER, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS:
Division of Police, re: for the "Offendertrak" Jail Management System.
Police Chief Curtis Caid presented the request to Council. The Livonia Division of
Police is requesting authorization to waive the sealed bid process to purchase a
three (3) year support agreement for their "Offendertrak" Jail Management
System. Offendertrak is proprietary software owned by Motorola and, therefore,
only available through Motorola. This software is critical to the operation of our
Lock-Up. The cost of the three-year agreement is $56,748.00 and funds have
been budgeted for this purpose. By renewing this contract for more than one
year, Motorola extended a 2% discount off the total price.
They request to purchase this agreement from:
Motorola Solutions
13108 Collections Center Drive
Chicago, IL 60693
909-598-2964
Police Chief Curtis Caid was available to provide any additional information that
Council may desire.
Robinson offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
At the direction of the Chair, Items #14, #15, and #16 were moved to the end of the
Agenda.
17. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2013-03-02-07
submitted by JCD Middlebelt, L.L.C. to operate a full service restaurant with
drive-up window facilities (Jimmy John's) located on the east side of Middlebelt
Road between Seven Mile Road and Vassar Avenue (19190 Middlebelt Road) in
the Southwest 1/4 of Section 1.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the
request. This request comes before Council by way of the Planning Commission
who reviewed this petition on April 9, 2013. It is for a full service restaurant with
drive-up window facilities on property that is situated at the northeast corner of
Middlebelt and Seven Mile Roads. In 1998, the property received site plan
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approval for the construction of two buildings, both having drive-up window
facilities. It included a retail pharmacy store as well as a commercial bank. The
larger building is a CVS pharmacy, it is located closest to the corner, and that
building totals approximately 10,900 square feet in area. The smaller building
was originally constructed as a Michigan National Bank and that building is about
2,277 square feet. The bank closed in 2010 and has not been occupied since.
Jimmy John's would be occupying the entire former bank building. This would be
the fourth Jimmy John's in the city, all of which are operated by the same
franchisee, the Doelkers. The proposed restaurant would have a total of 58
seats; including 46 interior seats and 12 outdoor patio seats. Taormina
highlighted some of the unique elements of the plan. The first being the reverse
flow of traffic. As Council may be aware, the two buildings share an overhead
canopy that provides shelter for a pickup window services. One lane is for the
drive-up pharmacy; that lane will remain open and operational. Then there were
three other lanes, two of those will remain functional, the drive-up lane that is
closest to the proposed restaurant would be eliminated. It would be closed and
replaced with a walkway that would provide a secondary entrance to the
restaurant or emergency access. The traffic flow would reverse in this case,
allowing for a new order station and pick-up window along the north side of the
building, as opposed to what was originally the drive-up teller on the south side.
There would be ample stacking for four vehicles around the east side of the
building. The ordinance does require that the width of the driveway be at least 12
feet. The plan appears to meet that requirement. In terms of parking, they do
comply with the parking standards in the ordinance. They are creating new
landscape areas along the front of the property as well as along the rear. The
plan also shows where there are three parking spaces currently located behind
the building, but they have to be eliminated in order to provide for the operation
of the drive-up window facility. The petitioner is not proposing any exterior
modifications of the building. They are not proposing any changes other than
signage, as well as an awning that would run across the front of the building
characteristic of the Jimmy John's trademark. Back to the site plan, Taormina
indicated where they proposed to add outdoor seating located in front of the
building; there will be three round tables with four seats per table. At the Planning
Commission Meeting the petitioner agreed to remove a logo sign on the north
side of the building in order to allow a monument sign they also proposed;
however, that would require a variance because it would be the second
monument sign on the property.
Cheryl Doelker, 19369 Fairlane Court, was present to answer any questions
Council may have. Kritzman asked Doelker what was going to be done with the
existing drive-thru equipment. She said it does not belong to her and that she
would have to get an answer from the landlord. Kritzman asked Doelker if she
was aware that there is an outstanding water bill on the property. Doelker replied,
yes. She said she was just made aware of that today; she said it dates back to
2010 and said that issue would also have to be addressed by the landlord.
Kritzman said he would like those answers prior to the voting meeting.
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McCann said he too would like to see a plan of what will replace the existing
drive-thru equipment.
Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
18. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2013-03-02-08
submitted by Diane and Mike Coccia to operate a gymnastic training facility
(Gymnastic Dreams) located on the east side of Wayne Road between the CSX
railroad right-of-way and Schoolcraft Road (12830 Wayne Road) in the
Northwest 1/4 of Section 28.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, This is a
request to operate a gymnastic training facility on property that is located on the
east side of Wayne Road south of Schoolcraft Road and the 1-96 expressway.
The plan shows the location of the property on Wayne Road where Wayne Road
heads west and becomes Glendale Avenue and dead ends at that point. This
property is zoned M-1, Light Manufacturing, as are all of the surrounding
developed properties. The site contains an existing 16,700 square foot industrial
building that is currently divided into two tenant spaces. It was on August 29,
2007, that the northerly half of this building received waiver use approval for the
operation of a sports therapy and hockey training facility known as Power Shot
Hockey Academy. It is our understanding that Power Shot still leases the north
half of the building. Gymnastic Dreams would occupy the south half of the
building. The plan gives you a conceptual layout of the building. It shows the
building in its entirety. The white area on the left hand side is the space that is
occupied by Power Shot Hockey Academy, whereas the southerly half of the
building, shown here shaded in tan and gray, shows the floor space of the unit
that Gymnastic Dreams would occupy. This space is divided equally in half. It
would total about 8,350 square feet in total; that includes the shop area, which is
about 7,400 square feet and then some offices and restroom areas located at the
front of the unit which occupies the balance of the space, about 930 square feet.
Gymnastic Dreams would include such equipment within the facility in the shop
area including tumbling mats, balance beams, vaulting apparatus, and foam pits.
They are not proposing any exterior modifications to the building other than
maybe some signage. This site is required to provide parking that is sufficient for
the needs of the facility. The ordinance indicates that the parking required shall
be a sufficient number of spaces to adequately accommodate the needs of both
the gymnastic training facility and the Power Shot Academy, requiring one space
per employee plus a sufficient number of off street spaces for the safe and
convenient loading and unloading of students. The site provides a total of 28
parking spaces. There are parking spaces provided along the north side of the
building that are accessed from a drive aisle that is located on the adjacent
property to the north and then there are 18 parking spaces located in the rear
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parking area. Originally it was thought that the sports therapy and hockey training
facility required 21 of these 28 parking spaces based on four employees, two
patients being treated at the therapy clinic, and then 15 hockey training students.
That would leave only 7 parking spaces for the students and employees of the
proposed gymnastics facility. However, the petitioner feels that the on-site
parking is adequate for both uses since the sports therapy and the hockey
training facility uses far fewer spaces than originally estimated and because
many of the students of the gymnastic facility would be dropped off and picked
up. The Planning Commission reviewed this request a few weeks ago. A
neighboring business objected to the proposal. The Planning Commission
approved the plan and asked that the petitioner meet with the adjacent property
owner, as well as the owners of Power Shot Hockey Academy, to coordinate the
class schedules and how they affect the traffic flow and parking area.
Correspondence has been received, confirming that those parties met and
addressed the concerns regarding parking and traffic flow and have resolved the
issues. Taormina indicated he personally spoke with the owner of Steelcraft Tool
& Die and said they are satisfied and feel that this use will not interfere with their
business.
Diane Coccia, 14120 Ingram, said this has been a dream of hers since her
childhood. She will offer both competitive and noncompetitive classes. She said
looks forward to realizing her dream here in the City of Livonia.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
19. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LIVONIA CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS
AMENDED: Department of Law, re: to Sections 020 and 060 of Title 5, Chapter
69 (Precious-Metal and Gem Dealers) and to Section 040 of Title 5, Chapter 76
(Secondhand Merchandise Dealers) to require precious metal and gem dealers
as well as secondhand merchandise dealers to document items and utilize an
electronic transaction recordkeeping software specified by the Livonia Chief of
Police and provide all information requested through that software program to
assist law enforcement if stolen merchandise is sold to a local dealer.
Don Knapp, City Attorney, said this proposed amendment to the Code of
Ordinances comes before Council tonight as a result of a request from the Police
Department to assist them if stolen merchandise is sold to a local dealer.
McCann offered the first reading for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: FIRST READING REGULAR
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20. REQUEST TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE METRO PCS LEASE
AGREEMENT FOR A PORTION OF THE COMMUNICATIONS TOWER
LOCATED AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Department of Law, re: to allow
for modifications to the configuration of its equipment on the tower for five (5)
years, with the option of three (3) additional and separate five (5) year renewal
periods.
Don Knapp, City Attorney, said Metro PCS, one of the providers who have an
antenna on the tower by the Police Department, wanted to reconfigure some of
its equipment. Due to the fact that they wanted to move it more than a foot,
therefore an amendment to their lease was required; the good news is they
agreed to an additional $4,800.00 in rent per year on top of what is already being
required. The amendment didn't extend the lease; it simply provided an
opportunity for more revenue.
Robinson asked Knapp if this in any was affects the City's ability to capitalize on
lease deals in the future and when does their lease expire. Knapp said not for
about another 15 years and no it does not affect any other lease negotiation; this
is merely an amendment to their existing lease.
Robinson offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
14. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE LIVONIA POLICE RETENTION PROGRAM FOR
THE LIVONIA POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION (LPOA): Civil Service
Department, re: to retain current employees of the Livonia Police Department,
who would be eligible for retirement prior to November 30, 2014.
Mayor Kirksey said this is an unusual situation that goes back to the public safety
millage that was approved overwhelmingly by the citizens. He said the thrust of
the millage was to return to the 2010 service levels when they focused on the
police department. The objective was to use the millage to help get the City back
to the 2010 service levels as quick as possible. He said they have hired 26 new
police officers since the passing of the millage. During that period of time, 25
police officers have retired which has resulted in a net gain of 1 police officer.
The hiring process for police officers is very complicated. They are also focused
on the number of police officers that are eligible to retire and coming up with a
plan to diminish the number of retirements. He said if the program they are
recommending to Council tonight is approved it will help to get to those 2010
service levels approximately a year sooner than if they do nothing. He said the
plan is to be at or close to the 2010 service levels by the end of 2014. Otherwise,
it would take at least an additional year to get to those levels and during that year
of time there would be problems with the staffing and things would be very
problematic. He said the controversial aspect of this plan is that they would be
offering a stipend or a bonus to individuals retiring who agree to stay on for a
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period of time and postpone their retirement. This is something atypical of what
the City would normally do; they don't through money at problems to try to make
them go away. The funding would come from the public safety millage. It is
money set aside for salaries; the money is not being encumbered because we
don't have the bodies to pay those salaries to. It would be a matter of taking
those funds and using them for police operational purposes, so it would not be a
misuse of funds. By taking this action, it is a program that they believe will slow
down the retirements so that they can regroup and get to where they need to be.
Police Chief Curtis Caid, provided some handout materials for Council to follow
along with his presentation. Chief Caid gave a slide presentation explaining how
the staffing problem came to be at the police department. He said 22 more
officers need to be hired to get to the 2010 staffing level. He said the problem
has been compounded by retirements and terminations. He said their standards
are high and some of the new hires didn't make it through probation and were
terminated. He said that equates to essentially 22% of their staff has left. They
have streamlined the hiring process which normally takes approximately a year
to 3 — 4 months. They have hired retirees as temporary employees to backfill
certain positions. They have transitioned targeted sergeant positions to civilians,
reassigning the sergeants to each of the three patrol shifts. This allows closer
oversight and supervision as the department continues to hire officers. It also
increases uniform presence on the street. They have hired officers from other
communities streamlining the training process. However, even with their last
recruitment, they are treading water at best. He said currently they are staffed at
155 employees. The police department hasn't been at this level of staffing since
1978. Chief Caid wanted everyone to know how extensive the training is for
police officers. He had the Deputy Chief bring up a stack of binders for everyone
to see and explained that this is what they are expected learn within a five month
period. He said until the can prove to their trainer and supervisor that they have
the skills and knowledge to be on their own they are like a brand new employee.
He said he can't ignore the fact that there are several employees who are eligible
now and will be eligible very soon to retire. He said many LPD retirees are
leaving for private security positions, especially at LPS. He said he took this into
consideration when they came up with the idea of a stipend and used that as
guidance. He said currently there are 12 employees that qualify to retire, by the
end of 2013 an additional 7 employees will qualify. In 2014, another 9 employees
will qualify for retirement. Add these numbers to current open positions (26) and
potentially there could be 54 open positions over the next 18 months. Chief Caid
said he would not have a clear conscience if he did not address this problem with
the Administration, Council, and the public. He said slowing this stream of
retirees will allow them to achieve their service objectives and retain senior staff
and allow a controlled generational transition of staff. He has had ongoing
meetings with LPOA and LSA. He has had discussions with POW He has the
support of the Mayor, Finance Director and Human Resources Director
concerning the LPD Retention Program. He has met with Council and
responded to questions and direction. He has had discussions with retirees and
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pending retirees. The elements of the LPD Retention Program are locking in
current health care benefits for those who qualify and volunteer for the program,
$2,100 monthly financial incentive to compete with post-retirement employment
opportunities, employee must commit a minimum of 12 additional months of
service, this program accelerates the potential of reaching 2010 service levels,
plan expires November 30, 2014, does not increase the eligible employees
pension, and employees cannot participate until employee is eligible to retire.
The cost of the program to the City, based on known refusals and acceptance by
70% of remaining eligible employees; cost estimate for 2013 is $182,000, cost
estimate for 2014 to program end is $380,055, and the total cost estimate is
$562,055. The projection if the plan is accepted is on average 20% of new
employees wash out, assume a gradual retirement rate following 2014, continue
with current rate of hiring, and by November of 2014 — 179 of 184 staff obtaining
service levels promised to the community. Chief Caid said the comments that
were made in the Detroit News Editorial were inaccurate. He hopes that people
listening tonight will have a more accurate view and better understanding of the
situation. Some of the comments were "JUST HIRE MORE PEOPLE!", "Hire
Contractors to train new employees", "Just make do with what you have",
"Duping the taxpayers to enrich public employees" "... it's not worth the cost.".
Chief Caid said they are continuing to hire more police officers. He said that he
hired back retirees as civilians to train newly promoted officers and offer their
expertise. He said there is no duping, this is not a bait and switch; he said
whatever direction the Council decides they will move forward with to get to the
staffing levels that were promised. He said the estimated cost was between
$500,000 and $600,000. He said what is the cost of a mistake? He said at the
Detroit News the cost of a mistake is a retraction. He said in his field the cost of a
mistake could be catastrophic. He said he doesn't say that to be all doom and
gloom but said that is a fact. He said the idea of hiring a contractor to train police
officers to level of their standards at $13.00 per hour is ludicrous. He said
$562,055 is a lot of money but he does feel it is worth the cost.
McCann commended Chief Caid on his presentation. He said when he first heard
of this proposed Retention Program he too was a little taken back. However, after
finding out more about the staffing issues at the police department he had a
better understanding of the need for this program. McCann said he was
confronted by his neighbor over this topic after he saw the newspaper article.
McCann said he spent 20 minutes discussing the details of the need for the
Retention Program with his neighbor. He said looking at the bigger picture of how
they got to this point; he recalled back in 2001 when the state revenue sharing
was cut. There were 760 employees and Mayor Kirksey started a hiring freeze.
Back then they used to exempt police and fire from hiring freezes and cuts.
During the time when Kuntz was the Police Chief he started putting in other civil
servant positions to try and reduce the load which resulted in a lower number of
trained police officers. Then when Jack Engebretson was Mayor they had Kuntz
become the Public Safety Director over the police department and fire
department; he tried to reorganize those departments over a period of about a
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year in an effort to reduce staff and costs but still produce the same quality
service to the residents. It was through the efforts of the police department that
they came up with the Police Service Aide system and replaced a lot of trained
police officers with the PSA's. They reduced the number of ranks of sergeants
and lieutenants while they reorganized it. He recalled when they had over 190
trained police officers and said when they got down to the 182 that still included
several civilian positions. He said as they moved forward they came into more
and more troubling times. In 2010 they were down to 160 police officers. They
got there by attrition; they had never laid off any police officers. He said when
they took a PSA in place of a trained police officer that was by attrition. Also, at
that time there was probably one police officer under the age of 30, the rest were
older. He said that is how they got to the point of where they are today and you
can't replace them all at one time. He remarked about the extensive training the
police officers go through. He said one lawsuit could cost the City more than
$500,000. The loss of someone's life is immeasurable in terms of dollars.
McCann said when he hears people make comments about how this is just
bonuses for a certain group of people it offends him. He said that is not the case.
He said the officers that would be eligible would be doing it to benefit the
community, he said they can retire and go make more money elsewhere. He said
it is not something that he believed in when he first heard about it but when he
became more educated on the subject, like he hopes many listening tonight
have, he realizes that it is something that is very important to the community.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
Robinson thanked Police Chief Curtis Caid for sharing his thoughts tonight and
with Robinson personally before tonight. Robinson started by saying Chief Caid
is a good, honest man and it is clear that he cares about serving this community.
He said if anything, he feels that an apology is owed to Chief Caid, as this
problem is not of the Chief's own making. It is more of a problem that he has
encountered in his role of Police Chief and he is doing everything within his
power to resolve it. He said he feels an apology is due to all the public safety
employees in this community for creating this problem. He said he understands
how they got here and one of the things he would like to do is assist Chief Caid in
solving this problem. He said that he also wants to make sure that they avoid
from ever allowing this to happen again. Robinson asked Chief Caid how they
would avoid finding themselves in a similar situation in years to come. Chief Caid
said they can somewhat plan for retirements factoring the age of an employee
and the number of years of service. However, the fact that they were not fully
staffed to begin with compounded the problem. He feels that if they were at their
full number of staffing this problem would not be as severe. He said that he has
been trying to coordinate strategies with the Administration and the Human
Resources Director to stay ahead of the curve to avoid this problem again in the
future. Robinson asked Chief Caid, in 2011, if it was their plan for the number of
positions, which was at 160, to be temporary or permanent. Chief Caid said that
he had a budget to work with and as far as he was concerned, that was a
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permanent number. He said the economic state of the community and the State
of Michigan played a role in budgeting and they felt that the only way they were
going to come out of this was a very gradual increase over time that was
dependent on the housing market and the value of homes because that is where
much of the general fund monies come from. He said the rate of return is limited
because of Proposal A. He said in order to get back to that same level of staffing
monetarily would take a long time; hence, the millage. Robinson asked Mr. Slater
for his answer to the question, was the number of positions, which was 160,
temporary or permanent. Mike Slater, Director of Finance, said the only way that
it was going to go back up was to find more revenue. He said the City started
cutting staff in 2001. He said for almost a decade they held the police and fire
harmless. He said the fire department is still held somewhat harmless because
they have Charter mandated staffing levels. He said the cuts the police
department took were smaller than the general employees. In 2012 when the
millage was passed, they had Council meetings, Town Hall meetings, and there
was over 6 million dollars in revenue loss. He said we can say it shouldn't have
happened and he would agree; however, he said you can't spend what you don't
have. In order to be fiscally prudent in adopting balanced budgets and not
dreams, the Council did what it had to do at that time. Luckily in 2012 the
problem got fixed. Robinson said it does beg some questions then. Robinson
asked why they didn't put the public safety millage forward in 2010 in anticipation
of this issue. Slater said that was up to Council, he said he couldn't answer for
Council. Robinson said he didn't think it was entirely up to Council to put forward
a millage. Robinson asked Slater if 160 was a sufficient level for staffing in 2011
why it wasn't in 2012. Slater said 160 was not sufficient, as Chief Caid explained
earlier that cuts were made in several bureaus, some eliminated entirely. Slater
said it was problematic at 160; he said you can't just go by headcount. He said at
that time they found ways to operate with less people more efficiently by some
restructuring of the police department they put some officers in the office back
out on the street and filled those positions with civilians, they have fewer
sergeants and lieutenants, they eliminated a captain from the command staff. He
said you have to look at the whole picture and 160 was challenging and it wasn't
a perfect situation. Robinson said in fairness to the people that have concerns
regarding what is being discussed and the action that is taking place here
tonight, he said we often speak of public safety being our top priority. Robinson
said he feels we lost sight of public safety as a top priority when the budget was
adopted with a staffing level of 160 for the police budget. Robinson said Slater
was correct in saying that it comes down to the issue of funding and money. He
said they could have had discussion back in 2011 regarding the projected
declining staffing levels and decrease in revenue but they did not. He said this is
a prime example of what happens when you lose sight of your priorities and you
don't properly fund these things they come back to bite you in the long run. He
said what he wants to do in part of fixing this problem is to make sure that this
doesn't happen again. Robinson asked Slater approximately how much money is
left over from the 2012 Police Department Budget. Slater replied approximately
$2,000,000.00. Robinson said what he would like to see happen is to take that
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left over money and establish a Police Department or Public Safety Rainy Day
Fund as a protective measure to ensure that this doesn't happen again in the
future. He said that would certainly help avoid this from ever happening again or
at least make it less likely. Robinson asked Slater why that would be a bad idea?
Slater said he wasn't saying whether that was a good idea or a bad idea. He said
that is whole other discussion and said he did not come to Council this evening
prepared to discuss that, he said not that he is trying to avoid answering that, but
rather he is not prepared. Robinson said that was a fair answer. He said he
would encourage his colleagues to look at this as an opportunity, not only to fix a
problem, but also to have some type of measure in place to help avoid it from
happening again in the future.
Robinson asked through the Chair, to the Law Department, why this proposed
Memorandum of Agreement, requires Council approval? Don Knapp, City
Attorney, said there are both labor implications and funding implications. Knapp
said he would have to defer that question to labor counsel since Knapp did not
participate in the meetings. Robinson said that was fair. Robinson asked if labor
counsel was present tonight. Chief Caid replied no. Robert Biga, Human
Resources Director, said this is a compensation issue and by City Charter both
Civil Service Commission and City Council have to agree to any compensation
issues. Robinson thanked Biga for that answer. He then asked Biga, for the best
interest of both parties, whether or not this may be something that is best worked
through a contract bargaining discussion. Biga said the LPOA and LSA
agreements have both been signed by the Executive Boards of the respective
bargaining agents. Robinson said it is his understanding though that it was done
outside the bargaining contract. Biga said that it was done outside the contract
because the contract does not expire until November 30, 2013. He said this is a
separate agreement and both bargaining units have approved their respective
agreements. Robinson asked Biga, might some of the struggles that were
conveyed through the presentation and discussions this evening be better
addressed long-term through contract negotiations (i.e. the competitiveness of
the environment, wanting the most professional people, most skilled). He said is
this not just a short-term solution. Biga replied stating this is a short-term solution
to a short-term problem. He said the long-term solution; things are going to be
different in the future. Labor contracts carry with them an opportunity to correct
items that are in existence at that time. He said there have been significant
changes in the collective bargaining agreements. In the compensation package,
the 25 and out concept has disappeared with the defined contribution pension
plan; he said he does not anticipate that the City will see a repeat of this
circumstance in another 25 years. Robinson asked Chief Caid if the City is
competitive in the marketplace. Chief Caid said he assumes Livonia is in the
ballpark but said he has not done a comparison to give a definite answer.
At the direction of the Chair, the meeting was recessed at 10:49 p.m. for a short
break.
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President Toy called the meeting back to order at 10:57 p.m.
Robinson asked Biga if the City is competitive with other municipalities and
government agencies with respect to compensation and benefits for newly hired
employees in a public safety position. Biga answered yes, the City is competitive.
Robinson said since the public safety millage was passed to ensure the City has
a professionally staffed Public Safety Department and the contract is nearing its
expiration, he said this presents an opportunity to revisit the compensation
package for new hires and make sure that Livonia is most attractive to the best
qualified candidates for the Public Safety Department; he said this may help fill
those vacancies. Robinson asked Chief Caid what answer should be given to
any resident who is against this Retention Program, who says the City leaders
shouldn't have allowed the City to be in this position. Chief Caid said that is
difficult to answer without knowing the basis of their decision. He said he hopes
that residents who may have been opposed have listened to all the discussion
this evening will have a better understanding of the situation and be supportive of
their efforts rather than opposed.
Mayor Kirksey said as it was mentioned earlier, this is a temporary fix to a
temporary problem. This is a matter of trying to slow down the number of
retirements so that the staffing levels at the police department can get to the
number it needs to be. He said the way they are suggesting that this be done is
not appealing, they wish there were another solution but it is the only solution
that they know will actually correct the problem. There is a sunset on it so it will
not continue. It was brought about by the fact that they went from a 27 year
commitment before you could retire that was negotiated down to 25 years; as a
result you can expect the outcome to be a greater number of retirements. What
people did not anticipate was it would be the perfect storm and coupled up with
the real concern of those getting ready to retire that upon their retirement will lock
in the retirement benefits at levels that stand a strong chance of being
compromised in the near future. The Mayor said this is another reason why there
have been so man retirements, people want to lock in their benefits before there
are changes to their retirement benefit and they lose valuable benefits. He added
that he does not feel that the City lost sight of public safety being a top priority.
He said 65% of the General Fund budget is allocated for public safety and that it
has always been a top priority.
Robinson asked Slater if the Council chose to create a Fund Balance how would
it be done mechanically. Slater said as part of the budget that would be adopted
this fall; he said it would be a point of discussion. Robinson asked if they could
go about drafting a resolution now that would earmark that money in the future.
Slater said Council can react to the Mayor's budget when it is presented. He said
it is up to the Mayor to present a budget and it is up to the Council to react to that
budget. Robinson asked Slater if they could assign that money now. Slater said
the audit is done; the next formal document is the budget. Robinson said his
intentions are to support a solution but at the same time avoid this from
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happening again. Robinson said also, it is unlikely that they will not be able to
spend all of the public safety millage money until they are at full staffing level.
Slater said between the revenue from the public safety millage equates to
approximately $15,000,000. He said they spend $35,000,000 on public safety, so
they spending $20,000,000 in excess of the public safety millage revenue. Point
being they spend every single dollar of the public safety millage money and
more. Robinson said that is a technical financial answer; he said the residents
were promised that they would not reduce the amount of general fund money
spent on public safety. He said as presented he will not be able to support this.
He hopes that he can discuss this further with his colleagues and Administration
to find a way to put something in place to prevent this from happening in the
future.
McCann said after listening to Robinson he can agree with a lot of what
Robinson said; however, when Robinson made reference that Council should
have put forth a resolution back in 2010 before that budget with the reduced
staffing in public safety was approved -- McCann said did Robinson miss that
they went through the greatest depression since the grapes of wrath. The whole
country was devastated by the economy. At that time every department in the
City had to make cuts. He did note that the City came out of it all surprisingly
well. He said they went through a very difficult process. Every department had to
do with less and made sacrifices. He said he doesn't look at it as a failure, but
more as a reality of coping and dealing with the economic hard times the country,
including Livonia, was going through. He said property values are on the rise
again. The City has come through this largely in part due to the skill, dedication
and hard work of all the City employees. He said they waited until the last minute
before they went to resident for the public safety millage when they felt it was
appropriate. He said as far as earmarking money to ensure that this never
happens again; he said Mr. Biga has already explained that changes to benefit
packages have taken place and there is no longer a defined benefit package
available to new employees. The defined contribution plan will change things
considerably. He said he takes pride that when Livonia is faced with an issue
they always find a solution, such as the one that is presented here tonight.
President Toy said to Chief Caid that as an elected official she has to be
sensitive to the entire community and sensitive to every employee of the City.
Many of the City employees have taken furlough days and continue to do so. She
said as McCann said previously, they have weathered a very tough storm and
now have encountered yet another storm. President Toy said there is something
troubling her underneath this whole issue. She said she also wants to see some
solution. She said she is not sure if that would take a special committee that the
Mayor, Council and Administration to devise a long range plan because as was
stated earlier, this is a temporary fix. She commended Chief Caid for taking the
time and effort to explain things here tonight in a manner that sheds light on the
issue. She hopes that this meeting is broadcast over and over so that more
people will have an opportunity to see it and hear what is being discussed here
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this evening and hopefully will have a better understanding of the issue. She said
what troubles her is that after listening to everything, she hasn't heard any
mention of a Plan "B" or Plan "C" to deal with the issue in the future. She said
also, it was troubling to hear that they did not make any comparisons to other
communities to know what they are doing with their forces. She said they while
Council approves most everything public safety related they are still losing staff.
She said while his presentation did enlighten her on several points of the issue
she said she still is getting a feeling that there is something deeper that has not
been brought to light. She said while it appears to truly be just a matter of people
coming to retirement all at the same time; she thinks the issue is deeper and
needs to be addressed. There is something that just doesn't click with her on this
issue. Chief Caid said her comment that there is something deeper is somewhat
troubling to him. He said the staff leaving is due to retirement, they aren't
employees that have worked here a couples years and are leaving to go
elsewhere. He said he can respect that as an elected official she has an
obligation to the constituents of the community. He said that he too is held
accountable for many things. He said that is why he is here tonight; he feels it
was the right thing to do.
Robert Stevenson, 37 years with the Livonia Police 7 of those as Chief of Police,
retired from Livonia for the past 1 '/2 years now working as the Executive Director
for the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, said in his current position he
has the opportunity to travel all around the state to many other cities. He said
most other cities aren't doing anything about it other than watching their
departments continue to shrink. The problem is retirements. Due to recent
legislation passed in Lansing, changes to pensions are taking place. He said
many police officers were told that they wouldn't make a lot of money but they
would have good benefits when they retired. In light of the changes resulting from
enacted legislation, many police officers have decided to retire to preserve the
benefits they have worked many years to achieve. Also, many cities around the
state have continued to watch their police force shrink in size and are doing
nothing about the issue. Stevenson said Livonia is the only community that he is
aware of that is doing anything to be proactive about the issue.
Kritzman said a lot of information has been presented here this evening. He
thanked the police chief for his presentation. There is a lot of information to
process. Kritzman said he was told when both sides of an issue are presented it
allows people to have a better appreciation for the decisions made. Kritzman said
to Caid that he believes the solution presented is the only viable one to solve the
issue at hand. He also realizes there a limitation to how many new hires can
come in at a time due to the number of trainers available to train them. Kritzman
asked Caid if he increased the number of Field Training Officers since this effort
to increase the staffing level at police department and if he had to force a
situation where you needed more capacity is it there. Could we reach out and
have more Field Training Officers? He understands that you want the Field
Training Officers to have experience themselves. Chief Caid said at this point
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they do not have any additional capacity. He said it would be a disservice to the
community and officer to put inexperienced officers into a training officer position.
Patrick Moug, President, LLSA, said he has 24 '/2 years with the Livonia Police
Department. He said his retirement date is in September. He said even though
he is eligible for the Retention Program he will not be participating in the
program. He said the LLSA is in support of the Retention Program. He wanted to
point out the need for this program. He gave an example of a new sergeant
working on midnights recently promoted from the detective bureau, he was with a
group of police officers he had not worked with before took a poll to see who was
the senior officer, one officer replied that he was, the sergeant asked him how
much time he had, the officer replied one year, the sergeant said ok, so you have
one year on the road, the officer replied no sir, I've been here one year, the
sergeant asked him how long he had been on his own, the officer replied three
months. Moug said the reason he wanted to tell this to them is there is a lot of
leadership at the police department, Chief, Deputy Chief, Captains, Lieutenants,
Sergeants. He said then there is that unofficial leadership. He said when you
become a police officer and you're done with training that training doesn't stop.
One year, two years, three years, four years - - you don't get to take the test for
sergeant until you have been here for five years. He said the time is now; he said
they need to slow down the retirement that has been going on.
Tony Latarski, 11300 Loveland, said he has many years of experience in law
enforcement and a Master's degree in Public Administration. He said the problem
is the perception of passing a millage to fill vacancies and then giving stipends to
keep police officers from retiring gives the wrong impression to the residents.
Latarski volunteered his experience and education should a task force or
committee be assembled to address this issue.
Rob Domenzain, President, LFFU, said he would like to point out that the public
safety millage was a great benefit to the police department and the fire
department. He said the fire department has been able to fully man all fire
stations 365 days a year; he said in recent years they weren't always able to do
that. He thanked the residents for passing the millage and allowing that them to
be able to do that. He said they have made contract concessions and not taken
any raises, they have decreased their healthcare benefits, and all new hires are
enrolled in the defined contribution plan as opposed to the former defined benefit
pension plan. He wanted to make sure that the residents know that they too are
making sacrifices by agreeing to the concessions and decreased benefits. He
said he is not sure that the Retention Plan should be fully funded by the public
safety millage, he feels that some alternative funding or partial alternative funding
should be looked at to fund the plan. He thanked Council for their time.
Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster Road, said he heard the term `perfect storm'
used several times earlier this evening. He expressed his thoughts on the public
safety millage. He also expressed his view on some spending that Council has
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approved that was equal to approximately $250,000 for replacement vehicles.
He said he thought the City could get more use out of those vehicles before
replacing them. He encouraged Council to place this Item and the following two
items in the Committee of the Whole so there is a real solution to this issue. He
said he thinks it will happen again in the future. He said he thinks this is a result
of years of poor planning. He thinks there is a lot of wasteful spending that
occurs, such as the pick-up trucks that are being replaced with only 80,000 or
100,000 miles on them.
Robert Stevenson, said he would like to make some additional comments, as a
citizen, he said he thinks this is a temporary problem and doesn't believe it will be
a problem in the future. He believes the proposed Retention Plan is a good
solution. He applauds the City for addressing the issue and investing in the City
by ensuring that the new police officers are being properly trained to protect the
residents of the City.
President Toy asked Knapp if there will be a contract drawn up guaranteeing
these employees will stay on for as long as the City needs them; holding them
accountable. Knapp said it is his understanding that the benefit of freezing their
retirement healthcare benefits would be contingent upon their staying for the
contracted period of time of one year. If the employee only stayed for three
months, their healthcare benefits would not be guaranteed.
Laura said it was his understanding that if the employee on stayed for three
months that they would have to repay the stipend. He said if that is not the case
then he would not be supporting this item.
Chief Caid said that the way the plan works is if the employee signs up they are
paid a monthly stipend and their healthcare benefits would be frozen. If the
employee only stays three months and leaves the penalty is they would lose their
healthcare benefits.
Laura said he has a real problem with that. He said they don't know what the
healthcare benefits will be in the next contract, it could be exactly the same as it
is now. He said this then becomes a windfall for those employees who participate
in the plan. There is no sacrifice at the other end. He said this is an unusual
circumstance, it can't be one sided. He said in order for him to support this that
will have to be spelled out in the Memorandum of Understanding. He said he
thinks that is only fair that if they don't stay for the full length of time that the
stipend be repaid.
McCann said there is a monetary benefit to the employee to retire now, the cost
of the healthcare at this time is $35.00 per month to the employee, last year the
same healthcare coverage cost the employee about $125.00 per month. It is
projected to go back up again next year. The extra cost of the health care per
month, using the figure from last year, for the remainder of their retirement
25
equates to $1,080 per year, every year for the remainder of their retirement. He
said right now is a good time for employees to retire if they are eligible; that is
why this is needed.
Robinson said he thinks everyone here wants to find a solution. He said he
believes they are looking to ensure that the solution is palatable to themselves
and the community that they serve. He said it was his understanding that this
would be for 12 months and he heard earlier that it was for 18 months; he said he
thought after the 12 months that it would have to come back before Council for
an approval of an extension. Biga said the length of the agreement has always
been through November 30, 2014. He said at one point there was some
discussion of a provision that it could be extended by the Mayor but that was
removed. Any extension would require approval by the Civil Service Commission
and the City Council. Robinson asked Biga what would need to be done to
address Laura's concern regarding including language that if they didn't stay the
full length of the agreement it would have to be repaid. Biga said it would have to
be renegotiated and as he said earlier he didn't believe a Council Meeting was
an appropriate forum to have contract negotiations. Robinson said we are not
having negotiations, he merely asked what would have to be done. Biga said you
are having a negotiation by making a change right here at the meeting. Robinson
said to Biga that they are discussing things that they would have a preference
for, he said he is not negotiating with anyone, and said quite frankly wished that
Biga would be more cooperative in working with Council as opposed to telling
him what he can and can't ask questions about. Robinson said he thinks it is very
legitimate that they are being asked to make a difficult decision for a lot of good
reasons as they represent the tax payers. He told Biga not to tell him that he
can't ask a question without it being called a negotiation. He asked Biga if they
are looking for some conditions to have this approved and support where he
would suggest they do that at. Biga said a Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Robinson offered the resolution referring to the Committee of the Whole for its
report and recommendation.
Laura said to Biga that he was saying this was a contract negotiation — Laura
said he thought this was a Letter of Understanding. Biga said it is a
Memorandum of Understanding that was jointly approved by the unions and
management that is being brought to Council for concurrence. Laura said he
cannot support that, he said it cannot be that one-sided. Biga said the
Memorandum of Understanding specifies that if they leave before the 12 month
commitment they lose the guarantee of the healthcare benefit. Laura said he
didn't care about the healthcare, he said he cared about the money. He said that
must be in there spelled out that if they leave prior to the 12 months it must be
repaid, he said if they want to tie it into their pension, he didn't care just so long
as it is repaid if they leave early.
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McCann asked Biga when they would know the new rates for the healthcare.
Biga said they would not have those figures any sooner than January 2014.
Mayor Kirksey said it would be a closed Committee of the Whole meeting.
Laura asked the Law Department for clarification of what the course of action
would be for Council to accomplish what they are trying to accomplish, have the
proposed resolution amended to modify the language of the Memorandum of
Understanding regarding this item to address the concerns the Council has
mentioned to night, prior to a vote being taken. Knapp said a Memorandum of
Understanding is a short-term labor contract. He said any discussion between
Council and management regarding proposed changes Council would like to see
to the proposed Memorandum of Understanding is best discussed in a closed
Committee of the Whole Meeting. He said any change to the Memorandum of
Understanding would have to go back to the unions and a new agreement would
have to be negotiated.
Robinson suggested that between now and the voting meeting that the parties
reach a new agreement addressing the concerns discussed by Council this
evening. Knapp said theoretically he supposed it would possible but realistically
he said he didn't think it would be possible. Knapp said three (3) bargaining units
would have to sign off on it and Administration would have to come up with a
plan to tie-bar the rainy day fund for the public safety millage funds that
Councilmember Robinson is striving for which is out of the realm of normal
accounting practices. Knapp said realistically he doesn't think it can be done by
the next Council meeting.
President Toy pointed out that as presented if it were voted on at the next
Council meeting and failed, then the three (3) bargaining units would have go
back and renegotiate as well.
DIRECTION: (1) APPROVING REGULAR
(2) REFER TO COMMITTEE
OF THE WHOLE
15. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE LIVONIA POLICE RETENTION PROGRAM FOR
THE LIVONIA LIEUTENANTS AND SERGEANTS ASSOCIATION (LLSA): Civil
Service Department, re: to retain current employees of the Livonia Police
Department, who would be eligible for retirement prior to November 30, 2014.
The Item was discussed during Item #14.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
Robinson offered the resolution referring to the Committee of the Whole for its
report and recommendation.
27
DIRECTION: (1) APPROVING REGULAR
(2) REFER TO COMMITTEE
OF THE WHOLE
16. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE LIVONIA POLICE RETENTION PROGRAM FOR
THE POLICE COMMAND: Civil Service Department, re: to retain current
employees of the Livonia Police Department with the command classification of
Captain, Deputy Chief and Chief, who would be eligible for retirement prior to
November 30, 2014.
The Item was discussed during Item #14.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
Robinson offered the resolution referring to the Committee of the Whole for its
report and recommendation.
DIRECTION: (1) APPROVING REGULAR
(2) REFER TO COMMITTEE
OF THE WHOLE
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION:
Tony Latarski, 11300 Loveland, said with relation to transparency in government, he
suggested amounts be listed on the Agenda for the Agenda Items.
President Toy said prayers go out to Councilmember Brosnan for her father.
As there were no further questions or comments, President Toy adjourned the Study
Session at 12:18 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 2013.
DATED: May 17, 2013 TERRY A. MARECKI
CITY CLERK