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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,May 11,2020 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> Rief said with Paychex outsourcing,the City capitalized on some savings related to multiple brokerages <br /> and combination of streamlining for different softwares the City had and will no longer need.The City <br /> captured$24,500 of the$31,000 expense. The City also captured$14,000 in this situation, so there is a <br /> positive net gain on the cash side and a positive net gain on the total number of hours of work being able <br /> to be provided to the City. <br /> Johnson said it would be helpful to see the numbers, noting he has requested that any time a position is <br /> presented to the Council,he would like information such as the background of the position, what it was <br /> doing,what has been eliminated because of outsourcing, and where the deficiencies that the City <br /> currently has exist. He said a few hours before the meeting there was an email sent out,he was not able to <br /> go through it,and asked Rief to discuss it. <br /> Rief said this has been vetted through the Organizational Committee a number of different times. What he <br /> sent out was related directly to the impacts this unfilled position has had on the Finance Department over <br /> the last 4 months, and the duties that were not being completed versus the duties that were being <br /> completed by the Accountant and Finance Director.The primary challenge the Finance Department faces <br /> is that they can only handle the operations mode; and the City is struggling to get to budget,long-term <br /> finance,etc.,to keep the City going. The biggest challenge the Accountant has is, she is stuck being the <br /> Utility Billing Clerk. She is being paid as an Accountant and cannot get her daily duties done. The City is <br /> 41 days into this quarter and cannot yet present the Council with a first quarter financial report.That will <br /> now be pushed to the end of the month. Ung and Olson have been working extra hours,but high-level <br /> accounting duties are not being completed.The position handles the lower-end duties but they are <br /> essential, such as payroll and creating/collecting utility bills. The longer-term things such as audits and <br /> account reconciliations get delayed.The Auditors have given them a deadline that if the City does not get <br /> them information this week, the audit will be late. He said today was the first day they were even able to <br /> address the audit. Typically,the documents for the audit are done mid-March. They are putting in extra <br /> hours,but they can only put in so many hours without burnout. <br /> Printup stated it is important to note that had this process been approved 1-2 years ago, it would have <br /> looked very different. He said that Seals touched on it earlier; by keeping the pressure on and not just <br /> saying, "We'll approve it and replace the position because that is what we have always done,"he believes <br /> customer service and the support gaps are being improved. He reiterated that when he and Seals are <br /> putting pressure on, it is not to be jerks or eliminate positions, it is to make something that they see and <br /> hear about in the community better. They restructured things, and he thinks it will be a better position <br /> rather than saying, "Okay,we will just go with the half-time status that it used to be,"etc. They will keep <br /> exploring options and also push Staff to explore them.He said the committee was focused specifically on <br /> reorganizing to try to make things better for residents.He appreciates the comment about looking at <br /> where the capturing of dollars are. He suggested using the money saved by not replacing the position right <br /> away for a fall clean-up for residents, because it is something residents can see,feel, and utilize. The <br /> Council knows how successful the spring clean-up is,so a fall clean-up could be added. <br /> Seals said when Edwards met with Printup and herself, it made sense. She has been frustrated because the <br /> person that got beat up the most is Maggie Ung,because comments were made like,"Maggie is doing all <br /> of this extra work. Maggie is under water. We don't want to lose Maggie."When you are the department <br /> head or CEO of the City,your job is to take on the weight and lift the pressure off of your teams. She did <br /> not hear that as much as she would have liked to. Although it sucks,that is the job. She is sorry for <br /> Maggie Ung if her superiors did not support her in this time, because it never should have happened. "All <br /> Page 10 of 22 <br />