2014-06-23 Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

University City is the only entity that has made a commitment for its portion of the installation. Mr. Crow stated that he was unsure of how the Collaborative was created, why University City is the only funding source and who would be receiving the funds. Ms. Riganti stated that one component of the EDRST fund is to perform studies and activities that will generate economic development benefits and the study indicates that the installation of fiber on Olive Boulevard will assist in the generation of funds. She stated that this phase is a precursor to the actual construction and development of the project and if Council elects to do so, then the project will move to implementation. She stated that the project has received a letter of endorsement from the Chamber of Commerce, and the concept is supported by the Regional Chamber as well as other entities. Mr. Crow stated that he really does not see a lot of problems with the budget, and while he does not want to hold things up for $45,000, but the Collaborative just doesn’t seem to quite fit. Ms. Riganti stated that the application as originally submitted had one scope of work and staff felt that it needed to be revised in order for the work to be more beneficial to the community. She stated that staff would be closely monitoring the use of the funds to ensure that it adheres to the intended purpose. Mr. Crow asked if there was a mechanism in place that will allow the City to receive regular updates. City Manager Walker stated that updates would be provided to Council on a quarterly basis. Dr. Carr stated that there are many good things in the budget however her primary problem is that the firefighters were not included in Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). She stated that her assumption is that this is a result of the City’s inability to reach an agreement with the Union, which then led to the $60,000 surplus that is found in the budget. Dr. Carr stated that her specific concern with respect to the EDRST funding the Collaborative and Mr. David Sandel is the fact that this is a no-bid project. She stated that while it is very possible that the City would have reached the same end result, the process would have appeared to be more cohesive if an RFQ had been issued and the normal process had been followed. She stated that she had also conducted research on other cities that have invested in high speed internet and determined that Chattanooga had received roughly 200 million dollars from a Federal grant to initiate their project and that Olive Boulevard already has fiber which was installed by AT&T. Dr. Carr stated that while she has some uncertainties about the context of this particular contract she does believe that high speed internet will be a valuable asset and therefore it would be foolish to say that University City does not need it. Dr. Carr then noted several minor budget concerns:  The $30,000 increase in legal fees  The increase in salary for the City Clerk Dr. Carr stated that she would like to see all of the City’s employees treated fairly, and her belief is that all salary increases should be based on merit, unless there is a change in the parameter of an employee’s job duties. In spite of her concerns, she stated that this appears to be a budget that basically supports the operations of the City and she would be voting in favor of its approval. City Manager Walker stated that there were a couple of points that he wished to clarify. Number one, with respect to the cost of living adjustment. During negotiations firefighters had been offered the same two-percent cost of living increase that was offered to all other City employees. He stated that the firefighters’ union rejected the increase and given the agreement that the City has with the Union, the City is not in the position to make a unilateral decision on this increase. Number two, with respect to legal fees, he stated that