1995-01-17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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120 Ms. Daugherty recommended that either the job requirements of the position be scaled backed or the salary increased. Mr. Toscano suggested exploring the possibility of a job share with the University of Virginia Real Estate Foundation. No support was expressed for lfiring a executive search firm. It was agreed that efforts should be made to advertise the position outside of Virginia and that there should be more flexibility in the job description and salary. In the interim, Ms. Daugherty recommended: 1) that those business leaders who wrote positively about the business improvement district be contacted to ask for their suggestions on how to proceed; 2) that staff identify any goals of the Visitors Center that could be spearheaded by contracting with a private firm; 3) that staff continue to contact and make attempts to retain businesses in the City, and report to Council on these efforts; and 4) that staff talk to Kirby Hutto about the possibility of the Charlottesville Downtown Foundation increasing the number of events downtown. OTHER BUSINESS Ms. Slaughter asked for more information on the General Relief Program. Mr. Vandever asked about the status of continuing the Greenbelt Trail from Free Bridge to Pen Park. The meeting was adjourned. Pre'dent COUNCIL CItAMBER - January 17, 1995 Council met in regular session on this date with the following members present: Ms. Daugherty, Ms. Slaughter; Mr. Toscano, Mr. Vandever. Absent: Rev. Edwards. PUBLIC Mr~ Tom Hill, 1204 Rugby Road, applauded Council's decision not to hire a consultant to find an economic development director, and recommended that a decision on building the proposed grade separated interchange at Route 29 and Hydraulic not be made until a western bypass is constructed. Mr~ Hill drew attention to the City's pension plan's unfunded liability, expressing concern that the level has risen to 84% unfunded as a percentage of the City's payroll. Mr. Hill advised Council to contact some of the financial experts within the community to see if his concerns are justified and, if so, ask them to come up with a reasonable solution to the problem. In response to Mr. Hill's concerns, Ms. Rita Scott, Director of Finance, explained that the pension plan, which currently has net assets of $32.6 million at cost, is healthy. Ms. Scott stated that the unfunded liability increased as a result of a second early retirement program and other changes which increased benefits. Ms. Scott noted that in 1992 a more conservative method of funding the unfunded actuarial accrued liability was adopted, funding it over a fixed 30 year periOd (versus the former 40 year rolling period), and a decision was made to fund any future increases in benefits over a fixed 20-year period. Ms. Scott stated that she had discussed Mr. Hill's concerns with the actuaries who had indicated that they were not concerned about the percentage of unfunded liability as it is not unusual for it to increase or decrease periodically, adding that they felt the City is moving in the fight direction. Ms. Scott added that the actuaries noted that the City, unlike many private entities, is on-going and not subject to closing down in the future.