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Special Public Hearing Meeting
Monday, March 5, 2012 - - 4:00 p.m.

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Present: Mayor William D. Euille, Vice Mayor Kerry J. Donley, Members of Council Frank H. Fannon, Alicia R. Hughes, K. Rob Krupicka, Redella S. Pepper and Paul C. Smedberg.

Absent: None.

Also Present: Mr. Young, City Manager; Mr. Banks, City Attorney; Mr. Johnson, Chief of Staff, City Manager's Office; Ms. Evans, Deputy City Manager; Mr. Jinks, Deputy City Manager; Police Captain Ogden; Mr. Castrilli, Director, Office of Communications; Mr. Catlett, Director, Code Administration; Fire Chief Thiel; Ms. Triggs, Acting Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Routt, Office of Management and Budget; Ms. Collins, Assistant City Manager, City Manager's Office; Mr. Mason, Human Resources; Ms. Niebauer, Director, Human Rights; Sheriff Lawhorne; Mr. Baier, Director, Transportation and Environmental Services; Ms. Bryan, ITS; and Mr. Lloyd.

Recorded by: Jacqueline M. Henderson, City Clerk and Clerk of Council.

OPENING

1. Calling the Roll.

Mayor Euille called the meeting to order and the City Clerk called the roll. All members of City Council were present.

2. Public Hearing on the City Manager's Proposed Annual Operating Budget for FY 2013 (Including Schools) and the Proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for FY 2013-2022 (Including the School CIP.) Adoption is Scheduled for Monday, May 7, 2012. A Public Hearing on the Ordinance Establishing the Real Property Tax Rate Will Be Held on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.

The following persons participated in the public hearing on this item:

1. Jim Butler, 406 Skyhill Road, co-chair, Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee, spoke of the budget process, noting that it is tied to the seven goals of the City's strategic plan. They commend the City for looking at longer-range projects in the CIP by budgeting over a ten year period. They urge the City to work on coordinating the program budget among the seven program goals and priority setting in more detail to meet the goals. They consider it a prudent approach to revenues as positive and should be continued. The City should continue working with the ACPS to further improving the coordination of the City and School district budgeting and realistic approaches to funding the City's share of the ACPS overall budget. As relates to capital improvement, they emphasize a continuing focus on prioritization of projects, and ranking of all projects should continue. They will review the operating budget, especially personnel salaries and benefits. They favor a merit based approach to salaries and will examine steps moving in that direction, as well as benefits and employees share and benefit payments.

2. Mary Agee, 10455 White Granite Drive, president and CEO, Northern Virginia Family Service, thanked Council for its continued investment in non-profits and to make another request. She said the City's investment in the non-profit community means support for Healthy Families, the medication access program and for their gang prevention program in the City. She said there are other programs they provide in the City, such as foster care, language minority mental health services, dental care services and more. Ms. Agee said she spoke last year of the gap in the Healthy Families due to reductions of the State dollars in the amount of $57,000, and through work between Council and staff, that gap was closed, but it was for one fiscal year, and those funds will not be restored. The Governors proposed 11 percent cuts for Healthy Families Virginia would be restored, but that still leaves them with a $56,607 shortfall, and she hoped they could work together to find the funds.

3. Katherine Dixon, 700 Princess Street, executive director, Rebuilding Together Alexandria, said the work they provide helps preserve affordable housing and revitalizes neighborhoods throughout Alexandria. She thanked Council for its continued support. She said they are able to leverage the funding received from the City four to five times its value because of the in-kind labor and materials they receive to provide the free services to those in need. During the time of State budget cuts, thanks go to City Manager Young for retaining the Alexandria fund for human services budget and thanks to Council for its support of the value that non-profits in the City provide to their most vulnerable citizens.

4. Jacqueline Horstmann, 317 8th Street, NE, Washington, D.C., Achievement Fellow at Higher Achievement Alexandria, said they are a community-based non-profit providing after school and summer academic enrichment for over 500 middle school students in the Metro area and over 75 scholars at their Alexandria achievement center. She said she is also a member of the Alexandria Council of Human Service Organizations, and said she wished to emphasize the importance of maintaining the funding for human service organizations in Alexandria, and to provide an example of how their program makes a deep impact in the Alexandria community. She explained the Higher Achievement Program and how it helps youth succeed. She said they receive $14,000 from Alexandria, and they leverage more than $229,000 of private dollars every year. Ms. Horstmann said they need more to do more for the community.

5. Michayla Noel, 317 8th Street, NE, Washington, D.C., an eighth grader at Frances Hammond, said she is in the Alexandria ward at Higher Achievement, and she spoke about how Higher Achievement has impacted her. She said it has helped her with her public speaking, her leadership and balancing her daily priorities in life. She said she has changed so much, as she has always been a very social and rambunctious child, but Higher Achievement has helped her do so much. She said she recently performed her poem "My Fathers Expressions" at the Kennedy Center and was featured in the Washington Post Metro section, and that is one of the things Higher Achievement helps their scholars do - to put them on the charts to do things.

6. Kari Galloway, 1 E. Luray Avenue, executive director, Friends of Guest House, said they help women transitioning out of jail and prison. She thanked the City Manager for retaining the Alexandria fund for Human Services budget for FY13 and thanked Council for its on-going support. She said theirs is the only facility providing the services in the entire Northern Virginia area, and because their facility is limited to ten beds, they began an outreach program four years ago. She said rarely does a single day go by when they don't receive an application for their services. She said she is part of several other organizations helping Alexandria's neediest citizens, specifically the Homeless Services Coordinating Committee, as well as the Alexandria Coalition of Human Service Organizations.

7. Giselle Pelaez, 1900 N. Beauregard Street, executive director, the Center for Alexandria’s Children, said they are a public private partnership with the City and are a member of the Alexandria Council of Human Services Organizations. She said that since 2006, children's advocacy centers have been supported by a State grant to serve children alleged and suspected to have been sexually and physically abused. She said that across the region, more people have been reporting and seeking help for child sexual abuse in the months since the media frenzy over the former Penn State Coach being charged with sexually abusing boys. She said that in Alexandria, their numbers are up 60 percent than during the same time period last year. She noted how they are being proactive in keeping children safe.

8. Fay Slotnick, 311 Second Street, director, Parent Leadership Training Institute of Alexandria, and a member of the Alexandria Council of Human Services Organizations, spoke of the greater, not lesser need for human services when budgets are constrained. She said that as the State of Virginia plans drastic cuts, do they take the risk of failing to provide medical or mental health services, early childhood intervention and education, teen pregnancy prevention programs and other human services. She said that as chair of the education and advocacy committee of ACHSO, she noted many of the ACHSO representatives who are present to collaborate and support the neediest residents, and she asked them to stand. She said the PLTI provides a safety net by expanding the network of those who will work for the welfare of Alexandrians, and she noted examples of their alumni and how they continue to serve. Ms. Slotnick asked Council to raise taxes to a level that will ensure the quality of life for all Alexandrians, as the money will be returned many times.

9. Ladonna Sanders, 1315 Duke Street, spoke in opposition to the cutting of $104,000 from the Northern Virginia Urban League's youth programs. She said the program has provided hundreds of youth with the necessary skills to become leaders and successful members of society. She said the ability of the new lights and new horizons program is to inspire and prepare youth to identify career goals, prepare for college, and provide mentorship opportunities is priceless. Support is essential for the success of the program and the students. She asked that Council not cut the Urban League's funding but instead help to empower communities and save lives.

10. Judy Guse-Noritake, 605 Prince Street, chair, Park and Recreation Commission, spoke about the open space fund a couple of years out coming into the budget itself instead of being the one cent for open space, and it is a good thing. She said they will be having an open space summit where they will bring back ideas about additional funding sources, but this is a good place to start. Ms. Guse-Noritake said the schools have put development of the field at Jefferson Houston School with artificial turf below their line, so it is something Council will have to look at funding. She said they can't afford to miss this opportunity. She said on Patrick Henry, they want to make sure they have the community pieces in that planning now. On the marina, the director has asked if they can work their way around a four month time frame for commercial vessels on the waterfront, and if they lift that, they may be able to get more commercial vessels on the waterfront and have more revenue.

11. Michael O’Rourke, 3103 9th Road, N., Arlington, executive director, Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless, said they are a proud member of ACHSO. He said he is co-chair of Alexandria's Homeless Services Coordinating Committee, which serves as Alexandria's continuum of care with HUD and is a collaboration of a cross section of the community consisting of 31 member agencies and organizations and individual citizens. He said that in 2011, three out of every 1,000 Alexandrian's were homeless, and is second only to Washington, D.C. in per capita homelessness and first in Northern Virginia. They recommend: 1. make affordable housing that is accessible to very low income households a top priority in the City; 2. create 96 affordable efficiency units, which will provide immediate relief to the issue of homelessness; and 3. limit or eliminate barriers such as zoning restrictions to allow for the creation or development of affordable housing options for homeless individuals and families. He said they stand ready to assist in the effort and hope to meet with Council to discuss key elements of the plan.

12. Patricia Sanders, 614 Oronoco Street, board president, Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation, said the Trust's sole function is the ownership and operation of the Lee-Fendall House/Museum. She said it contributes to the City's attraction as a tourist destination, directly impacting City revenue. She said they have a significant financial challenge - the revenue sources, donations, entrance fees, income from events and rental fees, they have no public funding and no endowment. Basic yearly operating and maintenance costs are $120-140,000, which does not include funding for restorations, preservation, staffing beyond one full time employee, nor unanticipated expenses. Ms. Sanders spoke of their high heating bill, storm damage from last summer during the hurricane, earthquake damage to chimneys, and deterioration of paint on the exterior of the house. She asked Council to support them again and appropriate $50,000 to help them deal with the major expenses.

13. Tammy Mann, 418 S. Washington Street, president/CEO, Campagna Center, said it appears they may be on the verge of seeing the partnership with the City jeopardized given the current state of affairs regarding space for Head Start at the newly proposed Jefferson Houston Elementary School. Currently, nearly 100 children under five are served in the annex adjacent to the school. She said there has been little public attention focused on what will become of the space, as ACPS and the community members continue to have dialogue about the new building. Neither the City's or Schools CIP budget includes funds to cover costs of replacing classrooms. Ms. Mann recommended making funds available to maintain the existing number of classrooms available in the new school. She thanked the City for its continued level funding to support vital safety net programs through the human service funds.

14. Nathan Macek, 724 Franklin Street, representing the Alexandria Waterfront Committee regarding the elements of the budget and CIP that relate to waterfront area issues. He noted their support for areas of funding that support waterfront plan implementation, specifically the Union Street traffic study, the valet parking pilot program, the flood mitigation design and engineering study, and the preliminary design and engineering plan. He said they support the creation of the office of program implementation. He said they support a central recommendation of the waterfront plan workgroup, an appointment of a senior director within City government accountable for integrated management of the waterfront, coordination of activities across City agencies, public entities and commercial interests and achievement of the waterfront plan vision. Mr. Macek said that as the budget improves, they hope projects that have been deferred over the years could be advanced, such as the Windmill Hill Park bulkhead repairs.

15. Gordon Kromberg, member of the board of directors of Senior Services of Alexandria, spoke of a cut to the senior taxi program that would eliminate their role in it. He said seniors contact Senior Services for taxi service, they arrange the rides with yellow cab, yellow cab bills Senior Services, and they pass those bills to the City. He said they also bill the City for their cost in running the program. He said the call center arranges over 18,000 trips a year. The increased costs in the program are not because of administrative bloat, but because of increased demand for the service. He said eliminating the role of Senior Services of Alexandria in the program will not necessarily reduce cost to the City but may raise them and result in worse service and significant confusion to seniors. He asked Council to defer the cut until changes to the program can be thoroughly thought through.

16. Jason Middaugh, 1005 N. Pelham Street, City representative to the Northern Virginia Community College Board, thanked the City Manager for support of NOVA's capital plan. He said that each year, each local dollar committed returns an average of $29 in State capital dollars. He said they are partnering with the Alexandria Workforce Investment Board to explore how NOVA can best respond to opportunities presented by the recent move of BRAC to Mark Center. The Alexandria campus is proud of its partnership with the Charles Barrett Elementary School and are providing free basic computer knowledge and skills to low income parents, and they are also exploring partnership opportunities with the Carpenter's Shelter program. Mr. Middaugh said their success in serving the City is beginning to stretch the limits of their facilities and support is critical.

17. Corbmac O’Connor, 2109 Mill Road, Apt. 204, member and leader of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, spoke of the DASH budget. He said DASH's mission when it was created was to make Alexandria more accessible and to give Alexandrian's more independence and choices in how they travel. He said the mission of making DASH more accessible hasn't been completely realized. Blind customers and others with disabilities want exactly the same service that sighted customers have, such as finding out when to get off the bus one is on. Metro has solved the problem by having automated stop announcers, and that is an easy fix and this is the time to fix it to help everyone in Alexandria.

Mayor Euille asked staff to prepare a budget memo to address the issue.

18. Saungi Fyffe, 5949 Terrapin Place, representing Computer CORE, said they are about finding and helping Alexandrian's to get viable living wage jobs, and their goal is to provide people and the community the knowledge, skills and abilities and the tools that will move them out of unemployment or under employment and into self sufficiency or on the path to homeownership and college or higher education. Ms. Fyffe gave examples of their most recent graduating class.

19. Barbara Ellsworth, 4600 Duke Street, #601, spoke for people who work for the City, who are hardworking, dedicated people, unsung heroes, noting that if it weren't for them, the City couldn't function for five seconds. She said they deserve and need a cost of living increase this year, and she asked Council to consider a cost of living increase across the board for all workers of the City.

20. Bob Eiffert, 1418 Juliana Place, member, Commission on Aging, thanked Council for its years of support for older adults in Alexandria. He requested that Council reconsider a request to add one licensed senior therapist to the geriatric mental health team, which was requested but not included in the City Manager's proposed budget. The cost of the position is estimated at $62,000, but that could be offset by Medicaid revenues, which would also come in from the position. Mr. Eiffert said there has been a marked increase in the overall referrals for geriatric mental health. He said the new position is needed to provide emergent clinical assessments for emergency custody orders, temporary detention orders or crisis interventions in the community prior to an individual being hospitalized. He urged Council to consider the request for another staff position to help meet the critical mental health needs of the older residents.

21. Richard Estes, 3600 Wheeler Avenue, vice president, Alexandria Government Employees Association, said he currently takes home $1.44 more every two weeks than he did in 2009. He cited the cost of gasoline in 2009 was $1.84 and is now $4.00, and the cost of food for a family of four was $803 and is now $1,024, an increase of 27 percent, and the overall cost of living has risen 7.19 percent. He said they have learned that the future merit increase will be based on pay for performance, and they were told that COLA's and market rate adjustments are a thing of the past, and he said that was unacceptable. Mr. Estes said employees haven't received a pay raise in five years and some have to use food stamps and live in public housing. He asked Council to give them greater consideration and do more for the employees if they wish Alexandria to remain as it is today. He asked Council to stop balancing the budget on their backs.

22. Stanley Bullock, 3600 Wheeler Avenue, member of the Alexandria Government Employees Association, asked for a cost of living raise. He asked Council to look at the prices of food, gasoline, and medical bills. He said he opposes the $400,000 capital bike share program. The employees will now pay 20 percent of their health care, which equals that $400,000.

23. Annabelle Fisher, 5001 Seminary Road, said they should eliminate the five percent tax on groceries. She said the budget doesn't list how much is being spent on consultants. She said on the Schools budget, she attached to her written comments an editorial from Alexandrianews.org which gives suggestions on what they can do about the ACPS. She said an increase in their request of 5.6 percent or $14.3 million will not be approved for their CIP projects. She said since the School Board continues to make financial decisions for the Superintendent and his administrative staff regarding increases in administrative pay, she believed they should implement a policy that School Board members should not be paid, as none of the other boards and commissions are paid. She said on parking ticket appeals, she asked why they needed to hire an outside contractor to have a parking ticket appealed. Ms. Fisher said Alexandria is a City that cares about its citizens, but when it comes to City Hall and the budgets, the Council doesn't care about the citizens and enough about the support staff to give them a raise, but it cares enough to keep the high paid senior staff.

24. Mary Anne Weber, 124 Roberts Lane, Apt. 201, chair, Community Services Board, expressed concerns over the budget. The budget guidance left the City Manager with little choice but to concentrate reductions on programs serving the most vulnerable. The budget contains reductions totaling more than $600,000 for the CSB. If the reductions are approved, the CSB would have had reductions totalling $2.5 million since FY 2010. It is difficult for board members and the community to reconcile the City's strategic vision of being a caring community with constant reductions in board programs. Ms. Weber said there are three critical needs for the board: the addition of a therapist for youth with intellectual disabilities; the addition of a therapist for older adults; and the restoration of an IT position. She said that while the board recognizes the financial challenges the City faces and accepts budget reductions are part of that process, they urge Council to reconsider the policy targeting safety net services to balance the budget.

Vice Mayor Donley asked staff to put together a budget memorandum regarding the CSB cuts, in particular the ones that have some type of revenue production to it.

25. Willie Russell, 3600 Wheeler Avenue, said he is an employee at the Police Department and is the low man on the totem pole. He spoke of his injury while at work and how his workers compensation claim was denied. He said he is here to serve Alexandria and the Police Department, but he was not getting service.

Mayor Euille asked the City Manager to have someone from Human Resources to look into his situation and have a meeting with him to address his concerns.

26. Sean Casey, 119 S. Iris Street, president, Alexandria Committee of Police Local 5, an employee group that represents numerous rank and file sworn members of the Alexandria Police Department, and said he was troubled by the lack of employee compensation in the budget. While it is proposed that employees will receive merit increases, there will be no market rate adjustment and none of the benchmarking studies will be funded. Mr. Casey said that with the rise in health care cost, a large amount will be seeing less money in their paycheck on July 1, 2012, because they will not receive a merit increase until later in the fiscal year. Mr. Casey said there is nothing in the budget to address the fact that Alexandria has the lowest starting salary for a police officer amongst the five comparative jurisdictions and they start out making $2,000 less than their counterparts. Mr. Casey spoke of his opposition of the pay for performance for all employees, and if implemented for Police Officers, it would take away all discretion and force them to write every ticket and make every arrest no matter how petty they are, as it would be the only way for them to attach tangible results in their daily work activity. Mr. Casey asked Council to reassess the budget to put employees first, and if it requires a minor tax increase, as a citizen he would accept it knowingly, knowing that its necessary to maintain the excellent quality of life officers of the Police and other employees provide.

27. Kyle Summers, 3014 Colvin Street, general manager, Alexandria Yellow Cab, spoke to reinforce the importance of the Senior Services of the City, as they provide a valuable service for the senior citizens, give them transportation to doctors offices, pharmacies, and to the grocery stores. He said they appreciate and enjoy working with them. He said he hoped Council would consider the needs of the senior citizens as they work on the budget.

28. Brenda D’Sylva, 3600 Wheeler Avenue, president, Alexandria Government Employees Association, said she speaks for employees who are deeply troubled by certain aspects of the proposed 2013 budget. She said they have waited for the results of various market studies, with hope and anticipation to finally be compensated appropriately, and five years later, they are still waiting. Ms. D'Sylva said general employees are seven percent behind in pay of the surrounding competitors. The City's fix is to move the payscale close to seven percent in order to be in line with the market, but not to adjust 85 percent of employees within the scale, which is 1,360 employees who will see no change in pay. She said the right thing to do is bring them up to par by allowing all employees to remain at their present grade and step on the new payscale, which means increasing employees salaries the seven percent they are behind.

29. Jim McCaffery, 3217 Old Dominion Blvd., board member, Computer CORE, spoke in support of funding for human service organizations in general and for organizations like computer CORE. He said that currently the City provides approximately $245 for each Alexandria resident in the program, and they are able to leverage City funds to raise an additional $1,688 in cash donations from foundations, corporations and individuals. Mr. McCaffery said they appreciate anything Council can do to keep the funding at the same level.

30. Tom Ground, 3600 Wheeler Avenue, president, Alexandria Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, said he is encouraged to see that the City Manager has recommended including merit increases to City employees, however, he was concerned about several other issues. He said they will no longer be receiving a cost of living increase ever again, and that did not make sense. There have been talks about the public safety pay scale and moving them towards a pay for performance system. He said pay for performance works, but only in the private sector and not for Police. Even if all employees were recommended for outstanding and recommended for a pay increase, there would not be enough money allotted to pay everyone. Several Councilmembers have commented on having their salaries increased, and maybe they are due for an increase, but public safety has been asking to have their pay fixed for over five years, and they are still waiting. He asked that Council keep Public Safety personnel in their thoughts when talking about fixing any groups pay issues.

31. Bill Rivers, 15 W. Mount Ida Avenue, chair, Miracle League of Alexandria, said they entered into a partnership with the City to install a miracle field at the Lee Center in 2012. Last May Council approved $285,000 in the 2013 CIP as the City's share of the miracle field. The Miracle League pledged to raise $135,000 in private sector funds to complete the $420,000 needed for the field. He said they have made considerable progress in raising those funds and fully expect to have the entire amount by the time Council votes in May on the 2013 CIP. He said they have approximately $96,000 to date. Mr. Rivers noted the fundraising activities they are doing. He thanked the Park and Recreation and Transportation and Environmental Services staff for their help, said Simpson Development will oversee the installation of the field, and they plan on working with the City to set up a ground-breaking ceremony for late June and the dedication in the Fall.

Council asked for: information on the cost of living/merit across the board; information on the last ten year history of what the City's given on pay increases and COLA, to highlight the increases that happen with the merit increases; and to revisit in a work session the issue of compensation.

32. Sherry Kelly-Williams, 3102 Wilson Avenue, with the Alexandria Day Care Professionals, said she is a licensed Alexandria child care provider, said they provide an essential service to children zero to five years old. She said quality child care is even more important for the healthy development of their children. She said they urge Council to include the child care funding stimulant in the 2013 budget. Child care funding can help parents have affordable child care, and she asked Council to not cut their program.

33. Lindsay Vick, 3102 Wilson Avenue, said she is the parent of two children in day care facilities with Ms. Williams, who just spoke. Ms. Vick spoke of the value of healthy child care providers, noting that when parents go back to work, their number one concern is whether their children are in a safe environment. She said expanding their program and providing health insurance will be beneficial to the City and to the parents who live in the City.

34. Rokshana Bhuiyan, 5355 Truman Avenue, with the Alexandria Day Care Professionals, said she is a state licensed child care provider. She said they do not have health insurance, and she asked Council to consider granting them health insurance.

35. Scott Gordon, 12 W. Uhler Avenue, spoke to the pay for performance system for the workforce. He said he has been told by members of the Police Department that the system is meant to keep long time officers from ever reaching their full lifetime pay for performance potential. Moving to a pay for performance system makes no sense and will inevitably cause animosity between what is now an extremely close knit community. He asked Council, before implementing a pay for performance system at the civilian level, and before doing so at the law enforcement level, to rethink the end result and understand how poorly it will effect morale and safety of the City.

36. Meredith MacNab, 408 S. Royal Street, said she and her husband are committed DASH riders and avid supporters of public transportation. She spoke of the cutting of AT-7, the Saturday service and connection to the Metro. She said ridership does change over time, and if there were more coverage in their quadrant on weekends, folks would rely on it more. Ms. MacNab said if there is thought to extending the 3-4 loop to cover their end of town, she would encourage DASH to consider taking it to Hunting Towers and not just the Safeway.

37. Kelly Merrill, 5463 Sheffield Court, Apt. 213, vice president of the Beauregard Tenants Association, spoke for affordable housing and said they have an affordable housing crisis. She said they have a problem that needs a creative solution of some sort. Ms. Merrill said that last year, when she looked at the values of Alexandria, she saw that they value diversity, multi-cultural, multi-racial communities, but she didn't find that this year when she looked. She said she looked forward to working with the City and other civic associations to address affordable housing in general.

38. Blanca Conteres, 5831 Quantell Avenue, said she is an Alexandria child care professional, said they need to be off when they are sick, as it is hard to provide quality child care when they are sick.

39. Kalsoom Akhlak, 511 Four Mile Road, Apt. 1102, said she is a child care provider. She said they are a cost effective resource for the City's child care placement, and they have not received an increase in compensation since 2004. She said they are only paid when they provide service.

40. Vanessa Guiterrez, 5412 Taney Avenue, said she is a child care provider, and their goal is to teach and shape the future of their community, which they do well. There are 250 business days in a year, and they are asking for seven days of pay for emergency sick leave.

In response to a question from Council, Ms. Vick stated that the day care providers are asking for two things. The first is there was a State budget cut that funds the pay for the child care providers. In addition, they are asking for health insurance and seven paid days of sick or emergency leave.

Mayor Euille asked staff to provide a budget memo on that.

41. Shirley Lee, 1100 Quaker Hall Drive, said family child care providers give quality care and their goal is to teach and shape the children for preschool and kindergarten. She said they are asking for for help with benefits.

42. Anita Davis, 5787 Winston Court, #162, said she is provides child care in the City. She said they have not had a raise for the last seven years.

43. Meftihie Afchork, 4431 Raleigh Avenue, #404, said she is a child care provider. She said she is allowed to watch two children since she is in an apartment. She asked for help with their situation on restricting the number of children allowed in apartments in the day care program.

WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Krupicka, seconded by Councilwoman Pepper and carried unanimously, City Council closed the public hearing. The voting was as follows:

Krupicka "aye" Donley "aye"
Pepper "aye" Fannon "aye"
Euille "aye" Hughes "aye"
Smedberg "aye"

City Council asked for budget memos and requests for the following:


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THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO BE CONSIDERED, upon motion by Vice Mayor Donley, seconded by Councilman Smedberg and carried unanimously, City Council adjourned the March 5, 2012 special public hearing meeting at 6:56 p.m. The voting was as follows:

Donley "aye" Fannon "aye"
Smedberg "aye" Hughes "aye"
Euille "aye" Krupicka "aye"
Pepper "aye"



APPROVED BY:

_______________________________
WILLIAM D. EUILLE MAYOR


ATTEST:

_______________________________________
Jacqueline M. Henderson
City Clerk and Clerk of Council



This docket is subject to change.

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