City of Hornell Charter Revision Commission Final Report 1 ...

City of HornellCharter Revision CommissionFinal Report1. BACKGROUNDA. Establishment Of The CommissionThe City of Hornell Charter Revision Commission (the “Commission”) wascreated on January 19, 2011 by the Mayor, Shawn D. Hogan, pursuant to the powersgranted in Section 36 of the Municipal Home Rule Law. In appointing the Commission,Mayor Hogan directed the Commission to examine the Hornell City Charter (the“Charter”) to determine whether it should be amended.The Mayor appointed the following individuals to serve on the Commission:David Logan, Chairman, Carol Topping, Vice Chairman, Michael Davidson, JosephGreenthal, Marie Labanoski, Joseph Liberto, Timothy Rosell, Daniel Smith, LauraVetter and Barbara Perrott, Secretary. City Attorney, Joseph G. Pelych, Esq. advised theCommission. Frank J. Rubino, Esq., of counsel to the law firm of Harris Beach PLLCserved as special counsel to the City Attorney and has had experience with CharterCommissions while serving as Corporation Counsel for the City of Yonkers.B. MeetingsThe Commission met on the following dates in 2011: February 17, 2011,February 22, 2011, February 24, 2011, March 3, 2011, March 17, 2011, and March 22,2011. At all meetings, a quorum of the Commission members was present. Meetingswere open to the public and conducted at City Hall. Notice of meetings was consistentwith the requirements of the Open Meetings Law.

C. Solicitation Of Recommended Charter ChangesAs one of its first acts, the Commission opened a dialogue with the Mayor andother City officials to solicit input regarding problems with the City administration andthe City Council. The Commission received input from Mayor Shawn Hogan andChamberlain Tolly Pelych with regard to the position of Chamberlain. Currently theposition is an elected position and both officials asked the Commission to review whetherthe City would be better served if the position was changed to an appointed positionsimilar to that of the Director of Public Safety or Director of Public Works. Thesepositions are appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the majority of the City Councilin office.The Commission was also asked to review the form of government currently usedand explore whether other forms of government such as the City Manager form or theStrong Mayor ­ Administrator form would better serve the City in the future. However,because of the complexity of that issue and the need to facilitate the process to allow thevoters to be heard on the Chamberlain issue, the Commission decided to focus itsattention on the issue of changing the position of Chamberlain from an elected office toan appointed position.The Commission sought the advice of City Auditor Wayne Drescher, of Drescher& Malecki. Mr. Drescher looked at other municipalities with a similar population andbudget as Hornell. Only one of the cities he reviewed had an elected treasurer who heldthe position for over 20 years. Four other cities had appointed positions of treasurer. Mr.Drescher agreed that an appointed position with minimum qualifications would be betterfor the City.2

The Commission also discussed whether using the Civil Service list would be asuitable alternative but decided that a larger pool of applicants was needed since the CivilService method required the City to choose its candidate from the top three on the list.Mr. Drescher recommended not using this method of selection. Mr. Drescher suggestedthat the Commission seek advice from a few Aldermen and someone from The SteubenTrust Company. The Commission also sought the views on the public in this matter andscheduled their meeting of March 1, 2011, as a public hearing. Many suggestions andcomments were taken at that meeting from members of the public.D. Public HearingAt the public hearing of March 1, 2011, Joe Duffy asked if the Commission wasreconstructing the whole City government process and questioned whether there was aneed for a Chamberlain if the City chose the City Manager form of government. MikeDavidson stated that there should be a separation of treasurer and city manager positions.Mr. Duffy asked if the Commission had reviewed why this similar suggestion was notapproved in the past but Dan Smith noted that the process was being handled differentlynow by the Commission. Alderman John Buckley agreed that the position neededstability and therefore should be an appointed position and asked whether theCommission had decided upon the length of the appointment.Chairman Logan stated that the Commission was leaning toward a four yearappointment. Amy Mikolajczyk agreed that the position should be appointed eventhough she liked the idea that the people made the decision in the past. Alderman Nortonalso agreed that the change to an appointed position was preferable. Jim Nicoloff fromSteuben Trust Company distributed a list of qualifications he felt necessary for the3

position. He agreed that the bigger the budget, the more experience that would benecessary. Alderman Foreman agreed that the position should be separate from the CityManager position if that position is ultimately created.Alderman Foreman stated that about 8 years ago, the voters rejected a similarproposal because they were not properly educated on the issue. He stated that he was infavor of creating a new position with a four year term. Alderman Norton agreed, statingthat he too supported the change to an appointment. Dan Smith suggested that theCommission let the public know of the pros and cons of the change and what would beexpected of applicants. Alderman Norton stated that publicity was very important andasked that the newspaper keep the issue on the front page. Laura Vetter agreed that thepublic needed to be kept informed. Tim Rosell stated that if the public knew the processthere would be a better response.E. Analysis of Potential Charter ChangesThe Commission considered the possibility of changing not only the position ofChamberlain but changing the form of government for the City of Hornell. TheCommission did not choose to do that at this time after reviewing a memorandum to theMayor from the law firm of Harris Beach PLLC, dated January 13, 2011 and distributedto all Commission members, in which the various options available to the Commissionwere detailed. The Commission felt that changing the form of government would requirean extensive change in the Charter and that they would not have the time to adequatelyaddress that issue at this time.4

F. Recommendations of the CommissionThe Commission understands that the Common Council must set thequalifications for the position of Director of Finance. However, the Commissionwould like to suggest that the following elements be incorporated.1. That an interview committee be created by the Mayor which shouldinclude members of the Common Council as well as members of thepublic.2. That the minimum qualifications include a four year degree in accounting,public finance or a related field from an accredited university of study.3. That the applicants have at least 2 years experience in municipalaccounting and GASB.4. That the applicant have previous experience and knowledge of: propertytax collections; full annual audit process; employee supervision; auditingof double entry books or records of business; computer based accountingsystems; maintenance of governmental agency books or records;management of multiple budgets; bonds and notes as well as significantexperience making decisions regarding lending institutions.G. FINAL ACTION BY THE COMMISSIONAfter the public hearing, the Commission met to discuss all of the comments andinput received. Counsel advised the Commission and the Commission focused on theCharter as a whole, having reviewed the entire Charter. The Commission determined thatit would propose the amendment pertaining to the Chamberlain and leave the remainderof the Charter as is. The portions of the Charter left unchanged were found to be either5

satisfactory and not in need of amendment or in need of further study before responsibleamendments could be proposed. It became clear to the Commission that changing theform of government would require interviews of many officials and reviews of other citycharters including an intense review of the Hornell Charter once a new form was decidedupon. The Commission also realized that it could offer the public the option of selectinga form of government but that too would require much study, research and investigation.After analyzing the entire Charter as required by the Municipal Home Rule Law, theCommission, by majority vote of its members decided to propose one Charteramendment concerning the position of Director of Finance a copy of which is appendedas Exhibit A. The ballot proposition and ballot abstract are appended as Exhibits B andC, respectively.Adopted by majority vote of the City of Hornell Charter Revision Commission onthe day of April, 2011.So Certified:____________________Dave Logan, Chairman6

CITY OF HORNELL CHARTER REVISION COMMISSIONMAY 24, 2011 SPECIAL ELECTIONABSTRACTPROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 1This proposed amendment would create an appointive position of Director ofFinance replacing the current elective position of Chamberlain. The Director of Financewould serve for a four year term and have all of the powers and duties currently grantedto the Chamberlain. The qualifications for the position would be set by the CommonCouncil.7

CITY OF HORNELL CHARTER REVISION COMMISSIONJUNE, 2011 SPECIAL ELECTIONBALLOT PROPOSITIONShall the Hornell City Charter be amended to create the appointive position of Director ofFinance replacing the current elective position of Chamberlain?8

EXHIBIT A9

EXHIBIT B10

EXHIBIT C11

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF HORNELLCHARTER REVISION COMMISSIONWHEREAS the Mayor pursuant to his authority under the Municipal Home RuleLaw created this Charter Revision Commission; andWHEREAS the Commission reviewed the entire Charter and interviewed andconsulted with a number of officials and professionals with regard to outstanding issuesrelated to the City Charter; andWHEREAS the Commission decided to focus its attention on the electiveposition of Chamberlain; andWHEREAS the Commission heard the views of the current Chamberlain andmembers of the public as well as members of the Common Council with regard tocreating an appointive position of Director of Finance to function with the same powersand duties currently assigned by law to the position of Chamberlain;NOW THEREFORE be it resolved that one proposal be submitted to the publicat a special election for its consideration. That proposal being to replace the electiveposition of Chamberlain with the appointive position of Director of Finance as set forth inthe Final Report of this Commission along with the Local Laws attached thereto; and soinstruct the Secretary of this Commission to file said Final Report with the City Clerk.Dated: ___________2011_______________________Secretary to the Commission12