Meet and Confer Ordinance Modifications
The following three amendments were passed 6-1 by the Council. (Council member Sentz voted against them):
1) The Town will no longer administer payroll deductions for each employee’s Union dues. The current practice is that the Town performs the task of payroll deducting the dues and then sending the total to each of the 3 Unions (aka “employee organizations”);
2) To assure that the Unions are representing a majority of those eligible, the recertification threshold will go from 50% +1 to two-thirds of all eligible employees;
3) To conform to Prop 113, approved by Arizona voters in November 2010, recertification of official and exclusive employee organizations will be repeated through a secret ballot.
Four town employees, all of whom are SEIU members, spoke out against the modifications, including employees Dante Bevineau, Fernando Villalobos, Rachel Lopez Delgado, and Ena Narvaez.
There are 487 employees eligible to be represented by SEIU, but only 96 are dues paying members. Of these, 63 are from the Public Works Department.
In contrast, of 166 sworn fire fighters eligible to participate in the IAFF, all are dues paying members. Of 193 eligible sworn police officers eligible to participate in the GPLA, 186 are dues paying members.
Budget Report for October 2011
Budget Analyst Dawn Irvine reported that the Town experienced slow, steady revenues. Between revenues and expenditures, the Town is in the black by approximately $4 million.
Non-Profits: Encouraging Self-Support.
The Council voted to delay setting a timeline for eliminating General Fund support to non-profits until the first meeting in February.
The Council approved establishing a Gilbert “For Our City,” which will be headed by Council Member Victor Petersen. “For Our City” invites a collaboration of the faith community, nonprofit community, and business and community leaders to meet on a regular basis to discuss community needs, sustainable solutions to community issues, and to pool resources to bridge the gaps in the community. "For Our City" connects those wanting to give to those in need.
Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement with the Maricopa County Library District.
The Council approved this agreement, and in doing so it means that Gilbert will make about $360,000 in revenue (from the Maricopa County Library District based on 28% non-Gilbert patrons utilizing the Southeast Regional Library) and an estimated one-time grant of $69,000 in library inventory for fiscal year 2011/2012.
The agreement may be termed with a 60-day notice. Community Services Director Jim Norman stated that,if the Town took over operation of the library, the Town will still be eligible for reciprocal borrowing.
The Council approved hiring a Recycling Administrator.
The administrator will be expected to encourage Gilbert residents to divert more recyclables from the garbage can to the recycling bin. Every 1% that is diverted equates to $73,700 annually. The success of the administrator will be evaluated in 6 months.
DCS Contracting, Inc., the lowest bidder for the $4,427,412.45 project for Queen Creek Rd. improvements from Val Vista Dr. to 164th Street, came in under budget by $114,818.04.
Ok, it’s only 2.5% under budget, but still…..
To read the Town of Gilbert’s full Minutes: http://www.gilbertaz.gov/minutes/default.cfm
To view video of Council Study Sessions and Meetings: http://gilbert.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=4