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08FEB2010

City Council Struggles with Sewer Issue

The City Council struggled with its policy goal of completely sewering the city during tonight’s discussion of a bill to extend the sanitary sewer to residents in the general area of Lakehill and Muir in southeast Springfield.

Councilman Scott Bailes, whose zone includes this particular project, said he understands the overall goal and environmental benefits of sewering the city, but said he can’t support the project at this time because of the financial burden on the affected property owners.

Councilman Nick Ibarra added that the current economic circumstances warrant the City pulling back on its goal of completing sewer connections because of the costs property owners bear for hooking into the sewer. He made a motion to table the bill for six months, but the motion failed.

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky said she understands the financial situation, but felt that it wouldn’t be appropriate for the Council to stop now considering how many others are participating in the program under the same financial conditions.

The bill was approved 6-2. But during open discussion at the end of the meeting, Councilman Ibarra returned to the subject by bringing up the idea of a six-month moratorium on any future sewer extension projects. City Manager Greg Burris said Public Works would provide a “white paper” on the topic to Council, which could then consider whether it wants to make any changes to its current policy.

The Council also completed its 2010 Legislative Policy at tonight’s meeting with a potentially controversial amendment failing to win approval for addition to the full policy.

The Council rejected an amendment that would ask the Missouri Legislature to require the statewide LAGERS public-employee pension system to offer a defined-contribution plan along with its defined-benefit options.

Mayor Pro Tem Dan Chiles, who chaired tonight’s meeting, joined the opposition to his own amendment for this year’s policy, but noted that he was glad the issue was raised and said it merits further discussion.

Despite reservations expressed by several Councilmembers about supporting an overall document where they may disagree with certain planks contained within, the Legislative Policy was approved 8-0. Councilmen Chiles and Ibarra suggested that Council may consider some different ways to tackle the policy for next year’s Legislative session.

In approving a bill to move the recent $4.5 million telecommunications settlement money from AT&T Missouri into the Police-Fire Pension Fund, the Council also agreed to ask citizens to review a complex issue involving the city and employee contributions into the fund.

The Police-Fire Pension Fund Citizens’ Task Force has agreed to review the issue in addition to asking the upcoming Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee to consider it. Councilman Bob Stephens proposed the Task Force looking at it initially because the Oversight Committee is in the process of being selected.

The issue regards whether the City bears any portion of responsibility for the amount of the Additional Funding Contribution that Police and Fire employees pay in exchange for a higher multiplier benefit negotiated in 2000. After that, the Tier I plan was closed. City Manager Greg Burris said he believes closing the plan affected the employees’ AFC amount and proposed a citizen review of the process.

posted by Louise Whall, Public Information

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04FEB2010

Council Committee Reconsiders Storage Containers

The City Council’s Community Involvement Committee today agreed it wants to recommend a “minimalist” approach as it revisits the issue of storage containers.

The City has an administrative delay in place until this fall on enforcing most current City regulations on storage containers at business or residential locations. The delay was approved after  this topic stirred up a lot of debate among suppliers and users of the containers when it came before previous City Councils dating to 2006. (The Committee received a binder of materials ((31mb)) offering background on the issue.)

Planning Director Ralph Rognstad briefed the newer Councilmembers on the background of this issue. He said the reason the issue arose several years ago was because the number of storage containers in use in Springfield started proliferating from industrially zoned areas to retail and residential areas. The City’s Zoning Ordinance at that time didn’t account for issues like how far the containers should be set back from the street, the aesthetics of how they looked in neighborhoods, and the impact on the property tax base if businesses used temporary units on a long-term basis instead of built storage.

The Community Involvement Committee agreed it wanted to back off some of the more detailed conditions included in earlier drafts of a resolution to update the Zoning Ordinance.

They agreed that the aspects dealing with life-safety issues regarding materials stored in the containers and making sure containers don’t block exits of adjacent buildings were paramount.  They also want to make sure whatever regulations are truly necessary can be applied consistently across the various zoning districts.

Two industry representatives who attended the meeting said they took to heart the concerns and issues raised during earlier discussions of this issue to educate their customers and employees. Brenda Teeslink with Mobile Storage Solutions said her employees work with customers when delivering or moving the units to make sure they weren’t going to be placed to block building exits or too close to a public street. She offered to help with the education process to make sure the containers are being used appropriately.

Rognstad said he would prepare a draft resolution using the “minimalist” approach to take back to the Committee within about 45 days. Committee Chairwoman Cindy Rushefsky said her goal is to get the issue resolved once and for all before the current administrative delay expires in September.

posted by Louise Whall, Public Information

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03FEB2010

With New Qualifications, Fire Department Eyes 17 Hires for 2010

This week the Springfield Fire Department announced it has adjusted its hiring requirements for new fire fighters in an attempt to broaden the pool of applicants for the next Fire Academy.

Starting immediately, applicants may be eligible if they meet at least one of the following minimum qualifications:

Previously, candidates would need to possess certification for both EMT-B and Firefighter I and II; now applicants would need one or the other. The minimum qualifications for college or military service have been added as options to having the EMT-B or firefighter certifications. Other requirements that remain in place: Candidates must be at least 18 years old; be high-school graduates or have completed the G.E.D.; have no felony convictions at all and no serious misdemeanor convictions for the past five years; have vision correctable to 20/30; and be in excellent physical condition.

This all being done to create more flexibility in recruiting for the Fire Department. Much of the knowledge and training that comes with the EMT and Firefighter I & II certification is already taught in Springfield's Fire Academy anyway. The Department will now be able to pull from a wider pool of applicants while still providing all the necessary training in the academy.

Why is this significant now? Well, the current job market is obviously a big reason. Starting pay is $32,011. But this is also significant because of the hiring freeze the City has been under since January 2009. While sales tax revenues are still in negative territory compared to a year ago, the voter-approved sales to shore up the Police-Fire Pension Fund will provide some relief for the City's General Fund. This will in turn allow the City to backfill some of the frozen police officer and fire fighter positions once the new fiscal year begins in July. That's when the new academies for Police and Fire will begin, and the departments will be in the applicant vetting process leading up to that time.

The Fire Department expects to hire about 17 new firefighters to fill positions that have been frozen for more than a year. This is a larger number of hires than in the recent past, and with so much attention on our community's first responders during the last few years, the Fire Department wants to ensure its doing all it can to add highly qualified people to the already well-trained yet understaffed ranks.

Applications are being accepted through 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. Applicants can apply online at www.springfieldmo.gov/jobs (click on “firefighter”) or in person at the Busch Municipal Building, 840 Boonville Ave., during normal business hours. Applicants will be scheduled for written exams on March 9-10. Those who pass the written exam will be scheduled for physical-agility exams the week of March 15. Follow-up interviews will take place in March and April.

posted by Mike Brothers, Public Information

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02FEB2010

Safety & Justice Roundtable Receives 6-Month Report

City and County leaders today updated the members of the Safety & Justice Roundtable on the seven main recommendations that resulted from 18 months of research by the citizen-based group.

The PowerPoint covering the top seven recommendations is available for download, as is a table outlining all of the SJR recommendations and where progress stands on each. (This is an over-sized document, so if you are having trouble reading the text, use your browser's zoom function to enlarge it.) Video of the full presentation is available for streaming as well.

The top recommendation in the report issued last July centered on addressing the Police-Fire Pension Fund shortfall – that one was fulfilled by voters who approved the Nov. 3 referendum for a sales tax to help address the funding shortfall, City Manager Greg Burris told the group. He also noted that the City Council is on the verge of fulfilling its other commitments made before the election, such as restructuring the Pension Board and putting telecommunications settlement money into the Pension Fund.

County Administrator Tim Smith said some progress has been made on the second recommendation of reducing the jail population. The average daily population at the jail decreased from 538 in 2008 to 493 last year. Smith attributed the decrease to better coordination between justice officials to move cases through the courts.

Several of the recommendations lack funding sources so progress is slower on those. While the goal of improving the family and juvenile justice system has been helped by a new Family Court judge who started last fall, the County lacks resources for additional services and for re-filling frozen positions. The SJR’s general recommendation to increase staffing throughout the system also is affected by lack of funding resources.

Greene County is moving ahead, however, on plans for improving and coordinating emergency response facilities, which the SJR group cited. The new Public Safety Coordinating Center – funded through the 911 sales tax, federal grants and County bonds – will break ground this year. The Emergency Operations Center and the Emergency Communications Center (911) will move out of their cramped and outdated facilities into this building.

The SJR also recommended expanding facilities for Municipal Court; while the City has some land available, Burris said he doesn’t expect to have a funding source in place for at least several more years.

There was better progress on the recommendation to improve data sharing and inter-agency cooperation. The Springfield Police Department is in the process of installing a new records management system that will give officers the same computer access in their vehicles that they have in the stations. Both the Police and Sheriff are using the state MoDEX system for information sharing.

In addition to those top recommendations, the City and County distributed a more detailed summary of progress on the other issues addressed in the full SJR report. They pledged to meet again with the group this summer for a one-year update.

posted by Louise Whall, Public Information

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01FEB2010

City Weekly Events

This week will feature a pair of notable updates related to the City. The first will happen on Tuesday afternoon during the regularly scheduled City Council lunch meeting. That's when the City and Greene County will update the Council and County Commission on progress on recommendations made by the Safety & Justice Roundtable, six months after that group issued its final report. The meeting will be held in the Office of Emergency Management media briefing room.

Also, Springfield-Branson National Airport Director Gary Cyr will present a "State of the Airport" presentaiton at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, the Chamber of Commerce building, 202 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway. Cyr will be joined by aviation analyst Michael Boyd, co-founder of aviation research and analysis firm The Boyd Group.

The Landmarks Board meets Wednesday and the Planning & Zoning Commission meets Thursday night. The Watershed Committee meets Friday morning.

posted by Mike Brothers, Public Information

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28JAN2010

City Seeking Applications for Pension Board, Sales Tax Group

Want to get involved? Once again, we're looking for more volunteers. First it was the Listening Tour, and then the Planning Groups that will help shape the next long-term plan, and now we have two more chances for people to volunteer.

Pension Board of Trustees

This week City Council voted to change the structure of the Police-Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees. Besides changing the number of people who will serve on the board, the new requirements call for board members with specific professional backgrounds. The new board will be formed soon, and the City Clerk's Office is taking applications for four positions. Three of new members will be required to have a background in either finance/investment; medicine; and the legal field. The fourth new member of the board will be an at-large citizen representative.

The seats designated for citizens with financial, actuarial/auditing and medical backgrounds are not required to be city residents. But if they are not residents, they would be required to have businesses or employers within the city limits. The at-large representative must be a city resident. To fill out an application online, visit: www.springfieldmo.gov/boards and click on “Apply to Serve.” For more information, see the full news release.

Sales Tax Oversight Committee

We're also seeking applications for a brand new group: a Citizens' Sales Tax Oversight Committee.

The group’s charge is to review and monitor the collection of the ¾-cent Pension Fund Sales Tax revenues and allocations to ensure that the revenues received by the City are properly deposited into the Pension Fund. The Committee Chair will be asked to report to the City Council at least once every six months. The Committee’s role may be expanded in the future to include monitoring other sales-tax revenue sources.

The application form is available online at: www.springfieldmo.gov/taxcommittee, and the application deadline is 5 p.m., Feb. 9, 2010.

posted by Mike Brothers, Public Information

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