Meeting Summary
This city council meeting featured comprehensive presentations from the City Attorney, Expo Center Manager, Utility Director, City Clerk, and City Manager. The presentations provided detailed overviews of departmental operations, budgets, challenges, and recent successes. Key topics included legal services, Expo Center growth and needs, water and wastewater infrastructure, utility billing, and city-wide initiatives and future plans.
Upcoming Community Events
Central Districts Livestock Show
Held at the Expo Center, featuring youth participants from several counties.
Financial Matters
City Attorney's Office Budget
Account number 0130 356 000, plus Court Clerk 564. Uncollected fines exceed $2 million, with efforts to write off old, uncollectible amounts.
Expo Center Employee Budget
Budget for employees, including benefits, is over $539,000.
Expo Center Operating Budget (2013)
Operating budget was $620,000, with expenses at $631,000.
Expo Center Rodeo Budget
Rodeo operating budget was $612,000, with expenses at $581,000, indicating a profit.
Expo Center Capital Improvements
Receives $100,000 annually from the city for capital improvements.
RV Hotel/Motel Tax Contribution
The Expo Center contributes $1 per RV stay to the hotel/motel tax, estimated at $30,000-$40,000 annually.
Kiosk Utility Payments
Kiosks collected $212,281.32 last year, with 2,573 uses, and have already surpassed these numbers in the first nine months of this year.
Utility Billing Collection Practices
Collection practices for old bills and landlord checks brought in $44,000 last year.
Online Credit Card Payment Fee
The fee for online credit card payments was recently removed, with the city absorbing the cost, expected to increase usage.
Pension Choice Savings
The new pension choice plan saved almost $1 million in its first year by incentivizing employees to switch to a defined contribution plan.
General Fund Revenues
The general fund revenues need to be increased, as the 'third penny' sales tax, used for capital improvements, has been squeezed by debt financing.
Police Overtime Grant
The Attorney General's office is providing a grant to pay for police overtime in a high-crime area of the city.
Coming Up
Watch For
- City Code update (City Attorney plans to dedicate Tuesdays to this).
- City Commission Retreat to discuss new initiatives and priorities.
- 9-1-1 consolidation for county-wide service.
- Workforce stabilization and addressing turnover, especially in lower-paid positions.
- Strategies to increase general fund revenues.
- Continued efforts to address homelessness and poverty in the community.
- Potential hiring of a Purchasing Person, Public Information Officer, and Grants Administrator, dependent on sales tax figures.
- Fire Department assessment and branding initiatives.
- Transition of Animal Control from gassing to lethal injection, with the Mayor pushing for faster implementation and in-house training.
- Solutions for vacant buildings downtown, including a potential rental registry.
- Resolution of the Bryan Street interchange project funding.
- Improved tribal relations and partnerships.
Announcements
- City Attorney has made multiple presentations for OML on Emergency Management.
- Expo Center's IF YR Rodeo will be in its 23rd year.
- Good Sam's RV rallies bring significant economic activity to the city, with participants collecting receipts from local businesses.
- Recognition was given to utility workers for their dedication in all weather conditions.
- City Manager's office staff regularly speaks at OML, City Managers Association conferences, Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis Club, and AARP.
Agenda Summary
City Attorney's Office Presentation
Overview of the City Attorney's duties, staff, court representation, contract review, labor negotiations, internal investigations, policy development, Shawnee Housing Authority support, unemployment claims, ordinance drafting, training, code updates, deferred sentences, prosecution of adult offenders, meeting attendance, emergency management, budget monitoring, employee supervision, open records requests, and municipal court oversight.
Expo Center Operations Presentation
Report on the Expo Center's history, trust authority, staffing (11 full-time, currently 3 down), budget (operating, rodeo, capital improvements), growth in building space and RV spots since 1988, increasing event days and visitor numbers, RV business revenue, and the success of the IF YR Rodeo. Needs for building remodels (roofs) and additional staff/supervision were highlighted.
Shawnee Municipal Authority (SMA) Utility Operations Presentation
Detailed overview of Utility Administration, Lake Operations (Shawnee Twin Lakes, Wes Watkins Reservoir levels), Water Treatment Plant (24/7 operation, daily flow), Water Distribution (194 miles of lines, 11,500+ meters), Valve Crew (2804 valves, 1400+ hydrants), North Side Wastewater Treatment Plant, South Side Wastewater Treatment Plant, and Wastewater Collections (185 miles of lines, 16 lift stations).
City Clerk and Customer Service/Utility Billing Presentation
Review of the City Clerk's duties including record keeping (historical documents, electronic scanning, secure storage needs), agenda preparation (24 regular, 9 special calls in 2013), minute preparation, public nuisance liens (255 in 2013, 221 in 2014), open record requests, mail distribution, and payroll. Utility Billing operations covered payment schedules, cutoff notices, payment arrangements, various payment options (kiosks, online), and collection practices.
City Manager's Office Presentation
Overview of the City Manager's role as chief executive officer, staff (2), special event permits, special projects (branding, PR), complaint department, CMO Treasurer role, and speaking engagements. Discussion of current projects and needs including 9-1-1 consolidation, workforce stabilization, increasing general fund revenues, homelessness, and the need for purchasing, public information, and grants administrator positions. Successes highlighted included pension choice, water/sewer rate increase, master plans, pool renovation, Kickapoo Street project, police accreditation, and airport improvements. Future opportunities included a commission retreat, fire department assessment, branding, animal control changes, vacant building solutions, Bryan Street interchange, and tribal relations.