Slater Regular City Council 

Meeting January 21, 2008

 The regular meeting of the Slater City Council was called to order by Mayor Gary Halverson at 7:30 P.M. on January 21, 2008, at City Hall, 105 Greene St. , Slater, Iowa .  The roll being called the following Council members were present as follows: Gene Staples, Steve Ransom, Mike Higgs, and Tim Locker; Absent - Mark Pritchard.  Also in attendance were Mary Beth Chinery, Jennifer Davies, and several residents.

Mayor Halverson recognized the departing mayor and council members and thanked them for their service to the city.  Retiring Mayor Rick Rewerts was in attendance and was presented with his plaque.

Chris Young wanted to express his thanks to Chinery for her work in gathering flood plain information. 

It was moved by Staples and seconded by Locker to approve the consent agenda, January 7, 2008 minutes and expenditures totaling $ 23,369.90 as follows:

The motion passed with record vote as follows:  Yes:  Staples, Locker, Ransom, and Higgs.  No: none. 

Discussion continued about the floodplain.  Shawn Kyle wished to thank the city, Jim Sievers and Mary Beth Chinery for helping the homeowners in this area.  It was mentioned that the city may want to require detention ponds in any new developments.  

Chinery informed the council that the next items on the agenda regarding the water supply discharge equalization system would have to be tabled as she discovered an omitted publication.  The council will set new public hearing and bid letting dates at the February 4, 2008 meeting.  The council also expressed an interest in getting more specifics about the back-up power generator that is associated with this project.

The council discussed the pros and cons of setting the wages of the open positions hourly vs. salaried.  It was decided that traditionally the employees in the city had been paid hourly and the council wished to continue doing so to be better able to track hours spent.  

Staples made a motion to offer the Public Works Director position to Mark Estrem with a starting salary of $16.83/hr increasing to $18.03/hr upon completion of required certifications (Grade II Water, Grade I wastewater and CPO).  Certifications must be obtained within 6 months or termination is possible.  Higgs seconded the motion.  The motion passed with record vote as follows:  Yes:  Staples, Higgs, Locker, and Ransom.  No: none.  Mayor Halverson contacted Estrem with the offer.  Estrem stated that he would like to have a higher salary.

Staples defined the Clerk/Administrator job as being 70% Clerk and 30% Administrator.  He also stated that he would like to see the other office position be 70% Deputy Clerk and 30% Economic Development Coordinator.

Staples made a motion to offer the Clerk/Administrator position to Mary Beth Chinery with a starting salary of $19.25/hr and vacation and sick being awarded from her original date of hire with the city.  Locker seconded the motion.  The motion passed with record vote as follows:  Yes:  Staples, Locker, Ransom and Higgs.  No: none.  Chinery asked if she would still be subject to the 1 month waiting period before being eligible for medical insurance.  The council stated that she could begin those benefits on February 1, 2008.  Chinery accepted the position.  

Ransom made a motion to offer the Deputy Clerk/ Economic Development Coordinator position to Jennifer Davies with a starting salary of $19.25/hr and vacation and sick being awarded from her original date of hire with the city.  Locker seconded the motion.  The motion passed with record vote as follows:  Yes:  Ransom, Locker, Higgs and Staples.  No: none. The council asked Davies to complete a job description including some form of evaluation for the economic development element for them to approve at a later date.  Davies accepted the position.

The council decided that there was no longer a need for a part time employee at city hall since 2 full time positions were now filled.

The council further discussed the Public Works Director position.  Higgs made a motion to extend a second offer to Mark Estrem for the Public Works Director position with starting salary of $17.31/hr increasing to $18.51/hr upon completion of required certifications (Grade II Water, Grade I wastewater and CPO).  Certifications must be obtained within 6 months or termination is possible.  Higgs seconded the motion.  The motion passed with record vote as follows:  Yes:  Staples, Higgs, Locker, and Ransom.  No: none.  The council informed Estrem of the offer.  Estrem asked about the possibility of increasing the amount of vacation that would be accrued annually.  He indicated that he would think about the offer and reply to the Mayor the following day.

The council discussed adding compensatory time to the employee policy handbook.  The council will look again at the handbook during the February meetings. 

The council clarified that they are asking departments to request 15% less funding than they did last year.  Departments should subtract the current year’s budgeted revenues from the expenditures, take 15% off of then add their projected revenues to calculate the amount they can budget for 2008-09. 

The council will meet on February 4 and 11 to work on budget.  The regularly scheduled 3^rd Monday is being moved to the 11^th due to council member availability.

Staples moved that the clerk and deputy clerk be authorized to sign for the city.  Locker seconded the motion.  The motion passed with record vote as follows:  Yes:  Staples, Locker, Ransom, and Higgs.  No: none. 

 It was moved by Staples and seconded by Locker to adjourn at 10:58 P.M., the motion carried and the meeting adjourned.