10-14-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23, 2019 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 10 of 11 Crosby stated he has recently become aware of the need for the assisted living center to have a larger sign. During the day it is very difficult to see the sign and it is worse at night, especially if emergency personnel need to respond. Walsh stated the Long Lake Fire and Police Department softball game was this past Wednesday and the Orono Police Department won. The annual mayors’ rowing competition is this Sunday and the police and fire departments will be participating. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT 16. LABOR AGREEMENT WITH PATROL OFFICERS LELS LOCAL #40 Rief provided an update on the Labor Agreement with the Patrol Officers LELS Local No. 40. The City has agreed to a three-year term starting on January 1, 2020, along with wage increases over those three years of three percent, three percent, and two percent. Insurance contributions by the City was strongly negotiated and have been maintained at the City’s current cost of $1,472 for a family in 2020. The contribution for a single individual has not changed. The new established rate will be 50 percent of the increase for 2021 and 2022. The City’s general policy on increases has been kept across all union and nonunion personnel. A longevity step was added for police officers at 18 years. As it relates to vacation time, eight hours of vacation time has been added for employees over 20 years, with no changes to the rest. Compensatory time was modified for 12-hour shifts. Not agreed to was an increase the sick pay bank, an increase in the vacation bank, specialty pay for investigators and other personnel, and health savings account contributions. Crosby moved, Seals seconded, to approve the Labor Agreement with Patrol Officers LELS Local #40. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT, CONTINUED Rief reported he has a meeting with the city managers this week along with his staff. A meeting is typically held once a year around the budget timeframe to see if there are any issues. Last year there was probably 25 city managers and administrators at the meeting. The meeting is a good opportunity to express any concerns Orono may have. Rief stated he will bring up the issues with the roads CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Mattick noted he occasionally speaks with representatives from the Minnesota League of Cities, and that if there are specific issues the City Council has, they should let him know. Recently there has been a lot of noise about some of the fees cities charge their residents and it is something that is coming under scrutiny. Fees charged by cities will likely be discussed at the 2020 legislative session. Fees can be a big component of a City’s revenue and there has been some discussion about how the fees on a building application are determined.