REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
| MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2006

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, November 6, 2006 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Mayor Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.

QUORUM:

In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Mayor Pro Tem Brady, Councilmembers Conroy, Jenkins, Kroemer, Lyles and Turner; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Elissa Levan, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

Nicholas Horvath, Boy Scouts of America Troop 1559 led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

A. Councilman Kroemer moved the appointment of Octavia Henry Blake as a member of the Education Committee. Mayor Pro Tem Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Councilman Jenkins moved the appointment of John Dutrow as a member of the Community Recreation Committee. Mayor Pro tem Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

C. Mayor Robinson swore Ms. Blake and Mr. Dutrow into office in accordance with Section 92A of the City Charter.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager David Deutsch reported on the following items: 1) Leaf Collection - The annual leaf collection program has begun and will continue through November 22; neighborhoods will be served twice; 2) County Road Project On Race Track Road - The blockage of the detour ended last week and the road is now open; 3) State Road Project - Paving began on the new bridge over the railroad tracks at Old Rte. 450; the project will be completed by the end of the year, but if weather cooperates it should be completed well before the end of the year.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Councilman Jenkins moved approval of Consent Agenda Items: A) Approval of Minutes of October 3, 2006 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Proclamation P-20-06, Observing Veterans Day, November 11, 2006; C. Approval of Resolution R-87-06, By Two Thirds Vote Authorizing the Waiving of Bidding Requirements to Allow for Issuance of a Contract for the Installation of Police Equipment in Police Cruisers; D. Approval of Resolution R-88-06, By Two Thirds Vote Authorizing the Waiving of Bidding Requirements to Allow for Issuance of a Contract for the Purchase of Police In-Car Camera Systems; and E. Approval of Resolution R-89-06, Awarding a Contract for the Installation of Uplighting at the Belair Mansion to Atlantic Irrigation. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Ordinance O-9-06 - Amending Chapter 26 “Zoning”, Section 26-2, “Fences” to Provide for Side Yard Fences Under Limited Circumstances in the Huntington or Old Bowie Area of the City, Consistent With Similar Provisions Previously Incorporated With Respect to Front Yard Fences - City Attorney Elissa Levan summarized the ordinance and reported that the ordinance had come about because of an Administrative Review Board request to make the provision pertaining to fences in Huntington consistent between front yard and side yard fences; at a recent Council worksession, Council concurred in the recommendation of the ARB. She said language was added to Section 26-2(d) “Side Street Yard Fences” that permits fences under certain conditions in the side yards as they are currently permitted in the front yards in the Huntington section of the City.

Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

Councilman Kroemer moved approval of Ordinance O-9-06. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Resolution R-90-06 - Authorizing a Pay Plan for Police - City Manager Deutsch said Council has before them a proposed amendment to the pay plan that was adopted with the budget adoption on May 15; staff is asking for formal approval of the proposed amendment to the pay plan for the police positions; a regional comparison survey was conducted, looking at the County as well as seven municipalities. He reported a consultant was brought in who gave some advice and staff also talked to colleagues in the region. He said the goal in developing the pay plan is to have a pay plan that is competitive, that will allow the City to attract the best quality people, but one that is cognizant of cost impact; staff has suggested a starting pay for experienced police officers that is 6.3% less than the County pay for the same position, but 4.3% more than the average of the starting salaries of the seven municipalities; staff feels these salaries will be competitive and attractive and those aspiring to be officers will want to come to work for the new department. Mr. Deutsch concluded by asking Council to approve Resolution R-90-06.

In response to a question posed by Councilman Kroemer, Mr. Deutsch replied that duties will be fairly similar but the scope will not be as broad in the early years; there are other elements in decision-making beyond dollars and staff believes that having the opportunity to come in at the ground floor in a new venture will be attractive to some officers; one of the reasons a consultant was asked to review the pay plan was to get an outsider’s view who has had experience working in a number of municipalities in Maryland; the consultant felt that the City was positioning itself to be competitive.

In response to a question posed by Councilman Lyles, Mr. Deutsch replied that staff is working on the preparation of job descriptions; for certain upper ranks of officers college education will be required and for lower ranks college would be preferred or service in another department; the minimum age for officers is 21 years which is a state requirement; it would be preferred to hire local applicants, but it must be realized that Bowie is in a competitive region for law enforcement applicants and there are dozens of agencies that a qualified officer who is looking for employment can go to, whether at the town, city, county, state or federal level; a take-home-car program is provided in all municipalities with police departments no matter where the officer resides.

In response to Councilman Conroy’s question regarding the pay scale, Mr. Deutsch said that the City has a pay for performance plan for employees since 1992 with a minimum, mid-point and maximum plan; a pay for performance is expected to be operated for the police department as well.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady said he felt the City is going to get what it pays for and that the Pay Plan is a good starting point; with each budget cycle adjustments will be made as experience is gained in house. Mr. Deutsch replied to Mr. Brady’s question concerning the range of the Pay Plan by saying that they are difficult to assess in this format; some data was obtained from some cities, but the formats varied widely. He felt there is competitiveness throughout the Pay Plan. Mr. Brady asked about Attachment #2 to the memorandum and asked if this would be an attachment to the resolution. Mr. Deutsch replied that it would.

Councilman Jenkins spoke about the competitiveness of the pay scale and said he was afraid there would be seepage of experienced people as they progress up the ladder. Mr. Deutsch replied that the vast amount of recruitment dilemma that police agencies have in the region is at the entry level; there are fewer vacancies in the higher levels and some departments rarely have turnover; there are other reasons why Bowie would be attractive than other communities and monitoring the pay scale would be done on an ongoing basis.

Councilman Turner asked about qualifications and said he would feel more comfortable knowing what they are and how the positions are to be advertised. Mr. Deutsch said staff is examining draft job descriptions and they will be provided to Council as soon as they are ready. Councilman Turner then asked if staff was considering some sort of tax benefit for applicants. Mr. Deutsch replied that this would be done at the lower end of the pay scale, particularly if an applicant has to be sent to the Academy; the applicant would be required to stay with the City for a certain period.

Mayor Robinson said he felt the Pay Plan is competitive and can be amended. He said he would like to look at the job descriptions; must continue to be creative. Mr. Robinson asked if this package put the City in a competitive position to recruit, select and appoint. Mr. Deutsch responded that it was.

Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady moved approval of Resolution R-90-06 with Attachment #2 of the memorandum being made as attachment to the resolution. Councilman Turner seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Support for the Bowie Hospital - City Manager Deutsch summarized the memorandum to Council dated November 2, 2006, which reported that the Maryland Health Care Commission would meet on November 16 to decide the fate of the proposal for a new 100-bed hospital in Bowie. He said that the Commission recertified the 1970’s era Certificate of Need (CON) last year; letters were sent to the Commission and Dimensions in October 2005 supporting the new facility in Bowie. Mr. Deutsch urged the Council to support the letter to the Chairman of the Maryland Health Care Commission. He added that in developing the data, it shows that there are 106,132 people residing in a 5-mile radius; representatives of the other two hospitals that were objecting because they felt there was not enough demand in Bowie; the 106,132 people ought to produce the demand.

Mayor Robinson referred to the letter and asked that the word “deserves” be changed to “requires”. Council concurred.

In response to a question posed by Councilman Lyles concerning issues with Dimensions, Mr. Deutsch said the issues revolve around money; they are significant and they have had various health care consultants advising them over the last 2-3 years; part of Dimensions is a public hospital which is a significant issue in trying to find a new operator.

Councilman Lyles then asked if the problems that Dimensions is experiencing would impact their Certificate of Need (CON) and the request for a hospital. Mr. Deutsch said that it is his understanding that it won’t necessarily impact the CON; whether the Health Care commission is convinced that someone can step up and produce and 185 million dollar plan to build the facility remains to be seen.

Councilman Turner said he supports the letter and asked that copies of the letter be sent to the 23rd Delegation and the County Executive.

Councilman Conroy said he would like to see numbers used in the letter from the 2010 census. He pointed out that there are no other cities of this size in the state that operate without a hospital for 24-hour emergency care which further emphasizes the need.

Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

Councilman Turner moved approval of the draft letter as amended. Councilman Lyles seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Pro Tem Brady moved to adjourn the meeting into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a legal issue. Councilman Kroemer seconded the motion and it carried by those members present. The meeting was adjourned at 9:02 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk