Work Session
There were no specific items for work session so the Council discussed the items on the agenda for Council meeting.
Council Meeting
Public Comment
Ken Cromar - Mr. Cromar stated he felt like a victim at the May 15th Council meeting as many residents complained about him. He warned the Council about potential lawsuits if he continues to feel attacked by what he considers propaganda. Compared this situation to Nazi propaganda. Feels the public comment on May 15th was a parade of misinformed individuals. Mr. Cromar was upset that some residents were given more than three minutes to speak though he was kept to three minutes. Feels he was defamed. He cautioned the Council against approving the May 15th meeting minutes until after legal counsel was consulted. He also warned the Council that on June 13th he copyrighted his name and that any unapproved use of his name would result in a fee of $500,000 to be paid to him. He warned the Council to not destroy any of the emails that he is requesting.
Paul Sorensen - Mr. Sorensen read a letter he prepared stating that on May 1st the Council meeting started 15 minutes late and that an illegal meeting between Council members occurred during this time. He wants a detailed account of what was discussed during that 15 minutes. He is also sending this complaint to the Utah County Attorney. **The 15 minute delay occurred because Councilmember Gygi was very kind and brought in a pie and ice cream to celebrate my birthday. The Council did meet in the grill to eat pie and ice cream and to wish me a happy birthday. Grill staff were in and out during this time and also included.
Marisa Wright - Mrs. Wright is upset about the additional money being included in the budget for legal fees due to residents who continue to bring forth lawsuits. She is disgusted that residents have to pay for this. Mrs. Wright stated she ran a background check on Ken Cromar and found out that he owes $800,000 in taxes and is being sued by the IRS. She said he doesn't pay his share yet continues to cause problems in our city.
Consent Agenda
Minutes were approved for the following Council meetings: April 3, May 1, and May 8.
City Reports
CM Augustus - No recent meetings with Planning Commission. He is working with David Bunker on Phase II of the CoRec.
CM Gygi - North Point Solid Waste met and are looking at new contract with Allied Waste. Utah Valley Dispatch is looking for a new physical location.
CM Martinez - Family Festival was amazing and she appreciates the help of staff, Council, and the many volunteers.
CM Rees - City will announce a contest to obtain emails from residents. This contest will take place in July, August, and September. More information will be provided on the website and in the newsletter. CM Rees and Martinez will be working together on goals and vision for the City.
Review/Action on Acceptance of Agreed-Upon Engagement Report Squire and Associates was hired to do a forensic audit of the City's financials after recent charges were filed against Mayor Richardson. These charges have nothing to do with his actions as Mayor; however, the Council felt it would be appropriate to have this additional audit done to reassure residents that nothing inappropriate has occurred. Squire and Associates looked into four different areas and their findings are as follows:
1. Squire reviewed all charges the Mayor made with his City credit card (there were only two) and verified proper documentation was included. They determined there were no instances of noncompliance with the City's policies and procedures.
2. Squire verified that the Mayor is not an authorized signatory on any City bank accounts. Additionally, they looked at online bank transfers that occurred between 2009 and 2012. They only found one exception - a transfer of money from the General Fund to the Cottonwood Well Capital Facility Replacemet Fund, which did not reach the intended account. Research found that this money had been transferred to the Cottonwood Improvement District's account, but was returned to the City on the next day. Squire commended city personnel for finding this error so quickly and having it resolved within one day.
3. Squire obtained the City's procurement policies and related internal control documentation. They sampled 450 disbursements from July 1. 2009 through May 21, 2012 and found three findings. Squire stated that having only three findings out of 450 is "amazing". The findings were:
a. Two check disbursements only had one of the two required signatures. One was to Black Clover for $49.25 and the other was to Tanner Lacey for $40.00.
b. One check had no signatures, that was to Home Depot for $523.61. Research on the check to Home Depot showed that payments made on the Home Depot credit card are generally done via EFT. The City's accounting system auto generates a check which is then voided. In this instance the unsigned check was accidentally mailed to the vendor, which was presented to the bank and honored by the bank.
c. One check did not have a purchase order as required by the City's policies. Further research showed that this check was paid to a relative of the former City Manager for services performed under contract. Other City personnel refused to sign the purchase order based on their concern of a potential conflict of interest.
4. Squire reviewed the transfer and use of $371,726 of impact fees that was transferred from the Capital Projects Fund to the Golf Course Fund. Their research shows that the dollar amount transferred matched the amount expended on the construction of the CoRec. Squire determined the transfer of this money is compliant with applicable accounting standards.
The Council approved the acceptance of these findings.
Public Hearing on Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Amendments
Nobody signed up for comments for the public hearing.
Review/Action on Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Amendments
Five budget amendments needed to be made for the current fiscal year.
1. Transfer of $500,000 from the General Fund to the Capital Projects Fund - State law mandates a maximum amount of money that is allowed to be in the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year. In order to be compliant it was recommended that we approve this transfer of money from the General Fund to the Capital Projects Fund.
2. Transfer of $8,000 from property taxes to pay for forensic audit - The forensic audit discussed above was an unexpected expense. The money used to pay for this came from an overall increase in property tax revenue. Our increase in property tax revenue is a result of us having a 96% collection rate for FY 2012, which is higher than usual.
3. Transfer of $4,000 from property taxes to pay for contract labor used for building plan checks and inspections - The City has been using contract labor for these plan checks and inspections as we no longer have a Building and Zoning official.
4. Transfer of $8,000 from property taxes to fund separation agreements - Severance packages for Konrad Hildebrandt, Kim Holindrake, and Brad Kearl were not anticipated in the 2012 budget so this required a transfer of funds.
5. Transfer of $50,000 to be used for the Public Works Building - All City staff are moving to the Public Works building and the Public Safety Building will be used only by Lone Peak Public Safety. This required some reconfiguration of the basement and parking areas of the Public Works Building. The $50,000 was transferred from the money set aside for the building of a Civic Center.
These budget amendments were approved.
Review/Action on Changes to the Fee Schedule
A study was performed by Bowen & Collins on the City's water, sewer, PI, and storm drain accounts to determine if our rates are accurate. The study can be found at http://www.cedarhills.org/sites/default/files/utility-rate-study-2012.pdf. Bowen & Collins did recommend increases to all but the PI fund. I included a breakdown of this in a prior post as well.
CM Jackman previously recommended that we adjust the culinary water and PI rates to more accurately reflect the actual cost of these items as currently the PI revenue subsidizes the culinary water fund. Becky Tehero recommended we not make this change at this point as we have around 130 new residents who are not currently connected to the PI system and would be greatly affected by this change to the culinary rates. The Council agreed to not make this change all at once but gradually over time.
The Council approved the utility rate increases suggested by Bowen & Collins. Please feel free to contact any Councilmember and/or the Mayor with any questions.
Review/Action of the 2012 Certified Tax Rate
Traditionally the City has kept the tax rate the same each year instead of adopting the certified tax rate suggested by the County. This meant that as property values dropped the City received less property tax revenue and as values went up the City received more property tax revenue. For the past few years the City has received less revenue as values have gone down. The City tax rate is .003153. The County is recommending .003183 in order to keep 2013 revenues consistent with what was collected in 2012. The Council discussed this and concluded that we would go with the County Certified Tax Rate, which means property taxes will not go down this year. The Council reached this decision as we are already cutting services to residents to pay for additional legal fees and we felt it would be very difficult to cut even more out of the budget by keeping the tax rate at .003153 and lowering revenue.
Review/Action to Adopt the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget This has been a topic for discussion during several Council meetings. A few of the most recent changes:
1. $95,000 transfer from the CARE tax fund to the Capital Projects Fund. $75,000 will be used to pay for equipment for the CoRecc and $20,000 will be used to construct restrooms and a storage facility at Mesquite park.
2. An increase from $75,000 to $115,000 for legal services. The original budget was $75,000 in 2012 but the Council had to approve a budget amendment to increase the 2012 amount to $115,000. Because we continue to be threatened with legal action and complaints we have no reason to believe that our 2013 legal expenses will be any less than they were in 2012. In order to increase the budget for legal expenses the following items were cut from the budget:
a. Park maintenance was reduced by $5,000
b. Contract labor for building and zoning was reduced by $5,000
c. Eliminated the resident Decisions Survey
d. Family Festival budget was reduced by $10,000
e. Utilities expenses for the Public Safety Building were reduced as we are moving all staff to the Public Works Building. However, LPPSD has not included this additional expense in their budget so we are unsure how this will work at this point.
The FY 2013 budget was approved.
Review/Action on Fireworks Restrictions
Utah law changes the dates for fireworks to be June 26th through July 26th. The Lone Peak Public Safety District has expressed concern about the very dry conditions and the possibility of fires due to fireworks. LPPSD recommended a ban of all fireworks and open fires on the East side of Canyon Road. After discussion with the Fire Marshal the Council agreed to ban ALL fireworks east of Canyon Road but will allow open fires. LPPSD will be posting signs in the firework closure areas and will also supply all stores in Cedar Hills, Alpine, and Highland with flyers to be handed out stating guidelines, laws, and penalties.
The Council did have an executive session.
