MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE

Wednesday, April 11, 2001

Council Chamber

Members Present:  Susan McLain (Chair), Carl Hosticka (Vice Chair), Bill Atherton, David Bragdon, Rex Burkholder, Rod Monroe, Rod Park

Members Absent:  None (Councilors Park and Atheton were late)

Chair McLain called the meeting to order at 2:12 PM.

1.  Consideration of the Minutes of March 13, 14 and 20, 2001 Budget and Finance Committee Meetings.

Chair McLain reserved the right for absent councilors to bring any corrections up when they arrived.

2.  Ordinance No. 01-896, Amending the FY 2000-01 Budget and Appropriations Schedule for the Purpose of Transferring $20,000 from the General Fund Contingency to Interfund Transfers to Fund Costs Related to Council Redistricting; and Declaring an Emergency.

Peggy Coats, Council Analyst, spoke to the ordinance. Councilor Monroe noted that the Redistricting committee’s work (of which he is chair) should be done well before the June 30, 2001 deadline.

3.  Resolution No. 01-3052, For the Purpose of Confirming the Appointment of Leroy Patton to the Metro Investment Advisory Board.

Brian Williams, ASD (Administrative Services Department) Cash Manager spoke to the resolution.

4.  Resolution No. 01-3055, For the Purpose of Approving Metro's Entry Into the Local Agency PERS Pool for Purposes of Determining Contribution Rates.

Kathy Rudkowski, ASD Budget Coordinator, reviewed the resolution. In response to earlier questions from Councilors Hosticka and Park she said 1) Employees who had worked for more than one government would no longer have to keep track of each separate account if the new pool was enacted; 2) The rate was higher for schools than for government because demographics of each pool determined its cost rate; employee turnover was much lower in the school pool; 3) Metro demographics rate was 8.96% vs. the proposed pool demographic of 8.99%; and 4) At this time no one could predict what would happen to Metro’s future rate in the pool. Councilor Monroe asked if the pool would have any effect on benefits for future Metro retirees. Ms. Rudkowski said no; it would be transparent for employees. Councilor Burkholder asked for assurance that joining the pool would not result in higher rates for Metro. Ms. Rudkowski assured the committee that the PERS board would review the pool in June once they know who had opted to join in order to certify that it was a viable pool with a strong base. The City of Portland and Multnomah County were on record as planning to join while Clackamas and Washington counties were currently undecided about joining.

5.  Ordinance No. 01-891 For the Purpose of Adopting the Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2001-02, Making Appropriations, and Levying ad valorem Taxes, and Declaring an Emergency.

Alexis Dow, Auditor, resumed review of her memo, Budget Questions and Issues: Office of the Auditor Revised 3/20/01. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. John Houser, Council Analyst, noted that the current average salary for the three senior auditors was $64k while the 2001-02 figure was $68.8k. Chair McLain asked about Ms. Dow’s comment that her auditors actually were equivalent mid-size office managers/directors, since at Metro a manager/director must have a certain number of staff to manage. Ms. Dow said her auditors assumed the responsibilities of managers of audits. Mr. Houser asked what percentage of Audit recommendations addressed potential cost savings vs. procedural or management oriented recommendations. Ms. Dow said she would get back to Council with the information. She noted that she also had a .5 FTE professional in addition to the 3 FTE auditors. Although she managed the department, she said she was actively involved in all phases of the audits.

Councilor Burkholder asked if the Auditor had an advisory committee and if so, how it was appointed. Ms. Dow said there was an advisory committee that included people she had sought out and also those who had expressed an interest in serving. Councilor Park asked if she had considered including MCCI (Metro Committee for Citizen Involvement) as a part of the committee. Ms. Dow said she shared information from the advisory committee with MCCI and a staff member attended all of their meetings, but MCCI had not shown an interest in being a part of the committee. This completed department responses to analyst questions.

Chair McLain began the discussion with FY 2001 Proposed Budget Fiscal Impact Summary of Budget Amendment Requests - Technical Adjustments. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Councilor Hosticka asked if Parks Amendment 14 included the Wilsonville track. The response was that it did not.

Chair McLain went on to FY 2001 Proposed Budget Fiscal Impact Summary of Budget Amendment Requests - Substantive Amendments. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Ms. Coats noted that Councilor Burkholder had withdrawn Council Amendment 6, regarding RACC. Councilor Hosticka asked about the remainder of Parks Amendment 3 funds that were not allocated. Charlie Ciecko, Parks and Greenspaces Director, noted that these funds were in the control of the Corps of Engineers; who had approval over any projects; it was a placeholder at this time. Councilor Atherton asked about REM Amendment 2. Mr. Houser said the funds were specifically designated for organics projects.

Chair McLain went on to FY 2001 Proposed Budget - Budget Notes. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Auditor Budget Note 5 and Council Budget Note 15 were passed out. Copies are included in the public record of the meeting. Ms. Coats noted that Council Budget Notes 9-14 were the result of global issues of agency-wide concern as discussed at the last committee meeting.

6.  Councilor Communications

Councilor Hosticka said that he and the Chair proposed that the next meeting be on April 18 at 1:30 pm, in place of the Natural Resources committee, rather than on April 19. Natural Resources would meet April 25 in place of Budget/Finance at 2:00 pm. Councilor Atherton noted that he was late due to testifying in Salem on the Metro bill on self-insurance. Councilor Monroe had to leave early in order to attend a public hearing in Vancouver on transportation regarding the I-5 corridor and I-5 bridge.

Chair McLain adjourned the meeting at 3:29 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat Weathers

Council Assistant

ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF APRIL 11, 2001

The following have been included as part of the official public record:

i:\minutes\2001\budget&finance/041101bdm.doc