HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/26/2012 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP
(re CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
JULY 26, 2012
STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF BRAZOS §
Present:
Nancy Berry, Mayor
Council:
Blanche Brick
Jess Fields, absent
Karl Mooney
Katy -Marie Lyles
Julie Schultz
Dave Ruesink
City Staff:
L Kathy Merrill, Deputy City Manager
Frank Simpson, Deputy City Manager
Carla Robinson, City Attorney
Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary
Tanya McNutt, Deputy City Secretary
1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present
With a quorum present, the Workshop of the College Station City Council was called to order by
Mayor Nancy Berry at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, 2012 in the Council Chambers of the
City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842.
2. Executive Session
In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.071- Consultation with Attorney,
§551.072 -Real Estate, and §551.087- Economic Incentive Negotiations, the College Station City
Council convened into Executive Session at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, 2012 in order to
continue discussing matters pertaining to:
A. Consultation with Attorney to seek advice regarding pending or contemplated litigation; to
wit:
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• City of Bryan's application with TCEQ for water & sewer permits in Westside /Highway
60 area, near Brushy Water Supply Corporation to decertify City of College Station and
certify City of Bryan
• Chavers et al v. Tyrone Morrow et al, No. 10- 20792; Chavers v. Randall Hall et al, Case
No. 10 CV -3922
• College Station v. Star Insurance Co., Civil Action No. 4:11 -CV -02023
• Shirley Maguire and Holly Maguire vs. City of College Station, Cause No. 11 -0025 16-
CV -272, in the 272nd District Court of Brazos County, Texas
• Patricia Kahlden, individ. and as rep. of the Estate of Lillie May Williams Bayless v.
Laura Sue Streigler, City of College Station and James Steven Elkins, No. 1 1- 003172-
CV-272,in the 272'IdDistrict Court of Brazos County, Tx.
• Claim and potential litigation related to a June 24, 201 1 collision with a city vehicle.
B. Deliberation on the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property; to wit:
• Property located generally northwest of the intersection of First Street and Church
Avenue in College Station.
C. Deliberation on commercial or financial information that the City Council has received from
a business prospect that the City Council seeks to have locate, stay or expand in or near the city;
to wit:
• Administrative Services in College Station Business Park
• Behavioral healthcare facility
(O The Executive Session adjourned at 5:52 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, 2012.
3. Take action, if any, on Executive Session.
No action was required from Executive Session.
4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on items listed on the consent agenda.
No items were pulled.
5. Presentation and discussion regarding an update on the Economic Development Master
Plan.
Steve Spillett and Lawrence Stein, with CDS Spillett Market Research, presented an overview of
the Economic Development Master Plan general process. Phase One: Base Analysis and
Existing Conditions addressed economic and demographic trends and sector overviews. Phase
Two: Evaluation of Opportunities and Constraints will addressed a survey of area businesses;
economic development organization, policies, and incentives; and entertainment districts and
redevelopment. Phase Three: Goals and Strategies will be led and authored by staff, with the
advice of consultants.
Data gathered during the research process was obtained from the Census, the American
Community Survey, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
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among others. Interviews were conducted with business owners and bankers, economic
L er development or ganizations, tourism organizations, and commercial real estate professionals.
Opportunities and advantages include the TAMU graduate stream, the City's infrastructure and
public services, College Station ISD's reputation, the affordable cost for a good suburban
lifestyle, the quality of life for families and older residents, and the active pursuit of targeted
industries, especially knowledge -based industries. Challenges and barriers were identified as: a
limited commercial air service, a large stock of older multi - family housing, the larger metros'
appeal to new graduates and young adults seeking career path opportunities, the energy industry
consolidation in Houston, budget risks for publicly- sponsored ventures, and there is no real cost -
of- living advantage over the suburbs of large metropolitan areas. Additional challenges include
the relatively small size of the "adult market" to offset the impact of the student population,
travel is necessary for destination - quality retail and culture, and the possible trade -offs for high
development standards.
Our fastest - growing industries are restaurants/bars and the health care industry. There is a
significant dependence on the government /public sector, and our unemployment rate is lower
than Texas overall. There has been a 38.2% increase in population from 2000 to 2010. Over
30% have higher education levels. There is a concentration of affluent older households, with
38% of the households headed by individuals age 25 or older with an income of $75,000 or
more. 82.8% of the metro -area residents within the life, physical, or social science occupations
live in College Station. The pay for most occupation categories is lower than the state average.
Retail and commercial is experiencing a small spending recovery at the gross level, but the
spending per capita is remarkably low. There is some question as to whether there is an internet
�s sales threat, and there is regional competition. There is some potential for increased "adult"
retail, and we have relatively high lease rates.
As for office /industrial uses, the demand for space is stagnant or declining. In the long term, as
the population grows, there will probably be incremental growth for local professional services.
For industrial uses, employment growth has stopped since the recession, with facilities focusing
in Bryan.
Healthcare and wellness continues to be a significant part of the local economy with 20% of the
job base in the greater Brazos Valley region. Job growth for 2008 -2018 is projected to be 30 %.
College Station residents have a high rate of insurance coverage, attracting health care uses.
Some of the new facilities and entities include HSC, Scott and White, and the MED campus.
Technology is part of the economic development focus though it is still a small part of our
economy. Biosciences are the most visible, and digital /software developers are more under the
radar. Staffing recruitment challenges include competition with major metro areas and the
research vs. commercialization experience.
Hospitality and entertainment has been impacted by the recession. There is a change in the types
of organizations coming to College Station; facilities are limited for meetings, and there is major
competition from larger metro areas. The leisure tourism market revolves around TAMU and
amateur sporting events. There is potential for non - student entertainment.
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We have a large number of government and higher education employers in area; nearly 20% of
the populace is employed in education, training, and library occupations. Per the Texas
Workforce Commission, the state government is the largest industry by employment in
Bryan/College Station area.
Construction and development has a sizable employment sector. Permitting ranges from
$200,000,000 to $500,000,000 valuation annually, and significant land exists in and near the
City. Annual gross sales of goods related to construction ranged from $60,000,000 to
$110,000,000 in the period from 2002 to 2011.
The Council recessed the Workshop at 7:02 p.m. in order to open the Regular Council meeting
on time.
The Council reconvened the Workshop at 7:36 p.m.
6. Presentation, possible action, and discussion concerning the City Internal Auditor's
Payroll Policies and Procedures Audit.
Ty Elliot, Internal Auditor, presented his findings in the Payroll Policies and Procedures Audit.
Over 25,000 paychecks for $40 million are processed by the City each year to pay over 1,000
full -time, part-time, and seasonal City employees. Therefore, a comprehensive payroll audit was
conducted from March through May 2012. The audit report had three main areas of findings: (1)
c s. ghost employees, (2) information systems, and (3) sick leave.
One of the first areas investigated were ghost employee schemes. Ghost employees are
individuals listed in the payroll register, who are not providing services, but who are receiving a
payroll check. In order for a ghost employee scheme to work, three things must happen: (1) the
ghost must be added to the payroll, (2) timekeeping and wage rate information must be collected,
and (3) a paycheck must be issued to the ghost and the check must be delivered to the perpetrator
or an accomplice. No evidence of fraud was found; however, a risk was found when a ghost
could be added to the payroll. When an employee ends employment, the HR department relies
upon the departing employee, or the departing employee's department, to inform the City of the
departure. In addition, the process of timely removing employees from the payroll is not always
effective. For example, 97 employees were found who remained on the payroll for an average of
526 days after receiving their final paycheck. Manual timekeeping processes and practices allow
some department supervisors custody over the paper timesheets of their employees.
Consequently, these supervisors have the ability to (1) receive or create the paper timesheets of
former employees who have not been timely removed from the payroll, (2) manually record time
(not actually worked), and (3) then approve the timesheet for processing.
Additionally, it was discovered that incomplete direct deposit change forms were processed
without identifying criteria such as SSN, previous bank account information, or an attached
voided check. It was also found that these forms could be submitted without the employee
being required to appear in person. Therefore, an employee's supervisor has the ability to change
a former employee's direct deposit bank account to the supervisor's own account by submitting
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an incomplete payroll direct deposit form that contains only the former employee's name and the
supervisor's own bank account information. In response to the audit, the Department of Finance
has implemented a policy requiring all employees desiring to make direct deposit changes to
submit completed forms in person to authorized Payroll staff
Next, they examined payroll information systems, in other words, the computer system used to
manage the City's payroll processes. Forty -one employees, primarily payroll timekeepers, were
found who had the power to alter paycheck amounts; most of them had no need for this type of
system access. When this control deficiency was found, an interim audit report was issued to
management on February 24, 2012. Management acted immediately to change system
functionality to mitigate the risk. Last year's transaction history of these forty -one employees
has since been examined, and no evidence of material fraud was discovered.
Part of the scope of the audit included a review of sick leave. Most city employees are given
twelve days of sick leave a year and use approximately nine days on average a year. As a result,
the City's sick leave policy costs over a million dollars a year. Therefore, the potential for sick
leave abuse was investigated. Some indications of sick leave abuse were found. Ty presented a
table showing employees who ended their employment with the City in the last four years and
received a vacation payout. Those employees were broken into groups based on the percentage
of the sick leave used during their employment. There were a disproportionately large number of
employees who used more than 95% of their sick leave and received a vacation payout. Overall
the table does not describe actual sick leave abuse, but rather it serves as a possible indicator that
some employees may be using sick leave in lieu of vacation time as they approach retirement.
The indicators in the report may deserve additional review by management.
Five recommendations were addressed strengthening controls related to process improvement or
information systems. Management concurred with all five of the control related
recommendations and has begun implementing many of them. It was also recommended that
management investigate implementing an automated timekeeping solution to eliminate the use of
paper timesheets and the cumbersome, time consuming, manual process, while also reducing
many of the risks associated with human error and fraud. An automated timekeeping system also
provides more detailed records than a manual system and increases accountability. A
representative from Kronos met with management on June 27, and management is currently in
the process of evaluating the feasibility of implementing such a system. Another
recommendation related to trigger points was not approved by management. A trigger point is a
mandatory action to be taken when an employee reaches the trigger point. For example, some
cities require their employees to certify each sick day taken after reaching the trigger point of
five sick days taken in a year. Other organizations require employees to review their sick leave
usage with their supervisor after reaching the trigger point.
The Council recessed the Workshop at 7:02 p.m. in order to open the Regular Council meeting
on time.
The Council reconvened the Workshop at 9:54 p.m.
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7. Council Calendar
‘ftow. • July 27 Scott & White Hospital Tour on Rock Prairie, 9:00 a.m.
• August 2 P &Z Workshop/Meeting in Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m. (Katy -Marie
Lyles, Liaison)
• August 8 BV Food Bank's Feast of Caring at Brazos Center, 11:00 a.m.
• August 9 City Council Executive/Workshop /Regular Meeting at 5:00, 6:00 and 7:00
p.m.
Council reviewed the Council calendar.
8. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on future agenda items: a Council Member
may inquire about a subject for which notice has not been given. A statement of specific
factual information or the recitation of existing policy may be given. Any deliberation shall
be limited to a proposal to place the subject on an agenda for a subsequent meeting.
There were no requests.
9. Discussion, review and possible action regarding the following meetings: Animal Shelter
Board, Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Arts Council Sub - committee, Audit Committee
Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Advisory Board, Brazos County Health Dept., Brazos
Valley Council of Governments, Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications Task Force
BVSWMA, BVWACS, Code Review Committee, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Design
am , Review Board, Historic Preservation Committee, Interfaith Dialogue Association
Intergovernmental Committee, Joint Neighborhood Parking Taskforce, Joint Relief
Funding Review Committee, Landmark Commission, Library Board, Metropolitan
Planning Organization, National League of Cities, Outside Agency Funding Review, Parks
and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission, Research Valley Partnership.
Regional Transportation Committee for Council of Governments, Signature Event Task
Force, Sister City Association, TAMU Student Senate, Texas Municipal League,
Transportation Committee, Zoning Board of Adjustments.
Mayor Berry reported on BVSWMA and an Open House she attended.
10. Adjournment
MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the
College Station City Council at 9:56 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, 2012.
Nancy Berry, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary
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