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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/23/1991 COW minutes Minutes COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE July 23, 1991 I Roll Call The meeting was called to order at 7 30 p m Present at the meeting were Mayor Gerald L. Farley, Trustees Mark Busse, George Clowes, Paul Hoefert and lrvana Wllks Also present were. Village Manager John Fulton Dixon, Public Works Director Herbert Weeks, Deputy Public Works Director Glen Andler, Inspection Services Director Chuck Bencic, Environmental Health Coordinator Bob Roels, Solid Waste Coordinator Lisa Angell, Finance Director David Jepson, three members of the news media and one resident Trustees Timothy Corcoran and Leo Floros arrived at 7.35 p m. II Minutes The Committee of the Whole Minutes of June 25, 1991 were accepted and filed Trustee Wllks abstained from the vote. Mayor Farley called on Trustee Wllks to give a report on the Sister Cities Conference that she had attended Trustee Wilks reported that she recently attended a conference of delegates to the International Sister Cities Association At the conference she made numerous contacts with representatives from other countries and was impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment of the delegates Trustee Wdks stated that the Sister Cities Organization was started 35 years ago with the intention of promoting exchange programs and developing citizen/diplomats among the member countries. One of the highlights of the conference was the performance of the students of Mount Prospect's Suzuki Academy during the program The students received a standing ovation for their performance which was given under very difficult circumstances Trustee Wllks stated that the Mount Prospect Sister Cities Organization is still trying to select an appropriate Sister City for the Village She also suggested that momes be included m the 92/93 budget for a Village representative to attend the 1992 conference to be held in Oklahoma City. At this year's conference, Trustee Wdks received a colorful poster titled "Expressions of Harmony" which she had framed and presented to Mayor Farley. Mayor Farley thanked Trustee Wllks for her willingness to attend the conference and for the encouraging report that she presented There were no citizens who w~shed to address the Committee. IV M.edical Waste Ordinance Environmental Health Coordinator Bob Roels addressed the Comrmttee and explained that a model ordinance regarding the proper disposal of medical waste had been developed in conjunction with the Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC) Mr. Roels stated that the purpose of the ordinance was to educate the medical profession and the public regarding the proper disposal of medical waste such as hypoderrmc needles or "sharps" Additionally, the ordinance gave authority to follow up on complaints of violations In response to a question by Mayor Farley he stated there were an estimated 200 medical offices in Mount Prospect who would be targeted Mr Roels stated that slrmlar ordinances had been adopted in several NWMC municlpaht~es and had been well received Mayor Farley said he thought the intent of the ordinance was to ~nform and protect residents regarding the dangers of improper disposal of medical waste products He added that this action had been recommended by SWANCC because these ~tems have been barred from landfills Mayor Farley stated that he thought the Village would be better served with the ordinance than w~thout ~t and suggested that tt be adopted Trustee Busse expressed his concern over the amount of staff time to implement and enforce th~s ordinance Mr Roels said It would take approximately 6 months to implement and that xt would be worked on during non-peak t~mes of activity. Trustee Clowes asked how much of a problem actually exists. Mr Roels stated that there have been 2 - 3 incidents over the past 5 years Trustee Clowes stated that the Vdlage does not enforce the disposal of chermcal waste and preferred that the medical waste disposal problem be addressed at the County or State level. He added that there should be warnings and instructions on the packages that are purchased. Trustee Floros asked how this ordinance would apply to residents Mr Roels responded that landfills wall no longer accept medical waste and residents need to know how to dispose of medical waste. He added that the waste products should be returned to e~ther a doctor or a medical clinic Trustee Wilks commented that she had contacted a dentist and a mortician to see how it would affect them Their response was that tt would be mimmal The dentist said he would prefer a central location for d~sposal of the medical waste and the morttcmn said he currently returned the waste to a hospital. Trustee Wllks was also concerned about the effect on residents Trustee Corcoran stated that he thought the pubhc has been too casual m this area. He added that we need to be more careful and that he thought this was a reasonable ordinance. Village Managei' Dixon stated this ordinance was a starting pmnt and would help the Village when the bale fill becomes operational. A poll of the Committee ~ndlcated that Trustees Wflks, Corcoran, Hoefert and Busse supported the ordinance and Trustee Clowes opposed it. Trustee Floros was not sure at this time. 2 Detention Requirements Inspection Services D~rector Chuck Bencic reviewed the Vdlage's ex~st~ng detention reqmrements with the Commmee Currently, all commercial and industrial development and any restdennal development of 5 acres or more reqmres a provision for detennon Mr Benctc calculated the potential detention that would be reqmred for a 1 4 acre (4 lots) and a 2 6 acre (8 lots) res~dentml development by the same formula that currently apphes to the larger developments. The calculanons suggested that the 2 6 acre development would require one of the eight lots for the detention area. For the 1 4 acre development, It would have reqmred 2,100 feet of 30 inch p~pe for underground storage or 1.3 feet over the entire back 25 feet of the lot for above ground detention Mr. Bencm recommended that a hybrid method be adopted which ~ncluded any development of two acres or more or any development whmh covered more than 45% of the lot During the discussion that followed, the Trustees were reluctant to take any acuon that would d~scourage developers, but they generally agreed with the need for detennon. Mayor Farley stated that he thought there was support for the change but he recommended that the Village contact other mumctpahtles to see how they have addressed this problem. Addmonally, Trustee Wflks requested Mr Benoc to present some sample calculations to the Board VI Employee and Retirees Medical Benefit Costs ~ '~ Flr/~'ri~:~--D[iedtbr'Jepmn revie~ved Yecent medical benefit cost trends ~v~th the Committee ..... Mr. Jepson pointed out that the net cost to the Village for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1991 was $1,059,024 compared to $415,492 for 1985/86 (Net cost is the Village's actual share of the cost, i e total cost less employee, library, and retiree contributions) Dunng the five year period since 1985/86, the net cost per employee increased from $1,746 in 85/86 to $3,879 ~n 90/91, for a jump of $2,133 per employee, or 122% Because medical costs are increasing faster than had been expected, the revised esumate for the current fiscal year (91/92) increased to $1,205,385 and the projected net costs for 92/93 are $1,418,300. The net cost per employee is estimated at $4,415 for 91/92 and will jump to $5,195 in 92/93. Mr. Jepson stated that at the current rate of increase, Village costs wall double every four to five years The Village is not alone in facing this dilemma. Most ne~ghbonng communities are experiencing similar increases, and a recent series of amcles in the Chicago Tribune stated the average corporate increase is expected to be 24 to 32 percent, i Mr Jepson then explained two financial schedules which had been supphed to the Committee The first schedule categorized 90/91 costs by group (Village Employees, Library Employees, and Renrees) and by the type of cost. The second schedule shows the actual costs for 90/91, estimated costs for 91/92 and projected costs for 92/93 During the explanatmn of these schedules Mr. Jepson stated that for 90/91 the Village underfunded medical costs by $135,463 and that due to the revised estimate for 91/92 a budget amendment of $160,000 would be needed for 91/92. For the 92/93 budget year, the V,11age contribution ~s estimated at * $1,400,000, some $500,000 more than was provided m 90/91. He said that the increase from (~ what was originally budgeted ~n 91/92 to the amount projected for 92/93 is $375,000 This amount ~s $93,400 more than the entire tax levy increase proposed for the 1991'tax levy 3 Mr. Jepson then stated that he had remewed the Village's Plan with Ed Stasica, a health care econormst and a Mount Prospect resident Mr Stasica said the Village had a very generous plan and recommended changes in the following areas 1 Join a Preferred Provider Option (PPO) network It is estimated that this will cost about $4,900 per year but that the Village should realize approximately $25,000 to $30,000 in sarongs through discounts 2 'Develop a more equitable cost-sharing arrangement with plan members. Higher deductibles, co-payments, and higher contribution levels could help accomplish this Mr. Jepson pointed out that when the deductible and the employee contribution were added together, the employee paid 14% of the total cost ~n 1985/86 compared to 8 8% in 90/91 3 Establish wellness programs to help prevent or rmtigate medical costs in the'future Mr Jepson commented that the escalating costs are also hamng a serious effect on Retirees because they pay the full cost of the calculated premium He concluded by echoing the concern that at the current rate of ~ncrease medical care will become unaffordable in the future The Comnuttee members generally agreed that the Village should move toward more cost- sharing wath employees Trustee Corcoran stated that medical costs should be mewed as a partnership between the ~'~ Village and employees. He said we should be moving in the direction of establishing a benchmark of the 14% that employees paid in 1985/86. Trustee Hoefert said he agreed with Trustee Corcoran He also suggested that the Village look at Cafeteria Plans which put a cap on the amount of benefit dollars paid to an employee and which allows the employee to select their level of benefits. Trustee Floros said he believes the Village Plan is very generous as he currently pays 50% of the cost for his coverage. He added that ~n many cases people don't realize the benefits they are receiving He agreed that employees should pay a higher percentage of the cost. Trustee Ciowes stated that he has found that most municipal benefits are superior to benefits m the private sector. He said that deductibles could be in the $300 to $500 range but that the Village should move toward the 14% threshold Mayor Farley said he would be requesting the NWMC to look into establishing a PPO network for member commumues. VII Multi-Family Waste Collection Solid Waste Coordinator Lisa Angell reported to the Committee that the bid specification for the new solid waste contract called for two options regarding multi-fanuly charges The first option was a fee based on the number of multi-family residential umts and the second was 4 a fee based on the number and capacity of the refuse containers An analysis of the two options indicated that for the first year of the contract the charge based on the number of units would total $779,078 compared to $540,595 for a rate based on the number and capacity of refuse containers The total charge for the Arc container rate is actually $188,396 less than the total amount being paid to BFI under the current contract. Over the three year term of the contract, the savings are $432,006 over the current contract Ms Angell said the analysis of the contmner charges indicated there were some inequities in the distribution of the charges between townhouses and apartments Under the container charge, some townhouse complexes would pay considerably more than they are currently paying and some apartment complexes would pay less. An equitable solution seemed to be to contract with Arc for the container fee and then for the Village to bill the multl-farmly complexes on a unit fee basis for their share. The advantage of this arrangement would be that the Village would realize the lower container cost and at the same time maintmn lower rates for all the multi-family units It would also provide means whereby an incentive discount for recycling could be estabhshed The recommended plan included maintaining the current monthly unit rate at $4.30 per umt for the first year and increasing that amount 8% per year for year 2 and year 3 of the contract. Any multi-farmly complex that actively recycles would be eligible for a 10% discount from the stated rates Ms. Angell will be meeting with each multi-family association and explain the potential (""h ~_[e~.~cychng discount The discount will go into effect February 1, 1992 The Committee members approved the plan to elect the volume-based charge option and to bill the multi-family complexes on a unit charge basis VIII Manager's Report Village Manager D~xon reported that door hangers are being placed on each residence prior to the 1st pick-up by Arc Disposal Co. Also, Public Works personnel will assist if there are any rmssed pick-ups He also stated that as soon as information on the surcharge and property tax legislation is available he will pass it on to the Village Board. IX Other Business No other business was discussed. , X Adjournment There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 9:39 p m Respectful!yc submitted David C. Jepson, Finance Director 5