1993

Administration | Court | Development | Environmental Services | Finance | Fire | Parks and Recreation | Personnel | Police

ADMINISTRATION

1. Mayor Charles Salvaggio, Vice Mayor Robert Parrish, Aldermen Sharon Goldsworthy, Lisa Parker, Gary Pruitt and Jerry Tubb.
2. The Board adopted the 1993-94 Policy Agenda. The long term visions and goals for the city were:

1. 1. Quality basic services for living;
   2. Financial stability for the city; 
   3. A well-planned city, attractive with a strong sense of neighborhood and protected home values;
   4. Leisure and cultural opportunities and activities;
   5. Sense of personal safety/security;
   6. Quality education; and
   7. Leading city-first class with a sense of pride.

3. City attorney Tom Cates was listed as one of the nation’s top lawyers in The Best Lawyers America 1993-94. Only one percent of lawyers in the nation were listed in the publication. Mr. Cates was recognized for his work in real estate law. 
4. Germantown received the designation of Tree City, USA. In order to receive this designation, a city must meet the four standards of having a tree board, a community tree ordinance, a comprehensive forestry program and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
5. Mr. Carl F. Allen was hired as Chief Planner in the Department of Development.
6. Traditionally, municipal public works departments had shared resources during times of emergency. The agreements had been letters between municipalities, and Germantown had such letters with Collierville and Bartlett. The State Attorney General stated that a municipality going outside its corporate limits without proper authority could lose the protection of tort liability limits as per the State Tort Liability Act. The Board, in turn, approved a Mutual Aid Agreement with other government entities.
7. The Board passed an amendment to the Sign Ordinance, clarifying the section pertaining to signs on vehicles. The ordinance prohibited signs attached to vehicles for the purpose of advertisement, and allowed for notification and correction without immediate enforcement.
8. The Kiwanis Club made its final payment on the pavilion in Municipal Park. The club had agreed to make payments on the pavilion over a ten year period. Since 1983, the club had paid over $41,000, with the final payment being $3,625.
9. Private Charter No. 75, House Bill No. 1642, Private Acts of 1993, amendment to the Charter of the City of Germantown was approved. The amendments eliminated run-off elections and lowered the age requirements to run for Mayor or Alderman from 30 to 25. There had been debate on lowering the age to 21 and increasing the number of Board members from five to seven. It was determined that seven aldermen were not necessary and that 21 was too young for public office.
10. City Clerk Judy Simerson received the Certified Municipal Clerk designation. She was the 24th municipal clerk in the State of Tennessee and the first clerk in Shelby County to achieve this designation. She began working for the city in 1985 as Administrative Secretary for the Fire Chief and was appointed City Clerk in 1989.
11. The Youth in Government’s Youth Policy Agenda was presented to the Board. The purpose of the agenda was to focus the program on key issues that members felt were important to youth activities or issues in the community. There were ten topics in the presentation:

1. 1. Internships in business and government;
   2. Construction of a new library facility;
   3. Identify and promote scholarships in public service fields;
   4. Completion of the Performing Arts Center;
   5. Creation of a Youth Public Service Volunteer Program;
   6. Creation of a youth newspaper;
   7. Promote student art displays and the city’s art collection;
   8. Promote youth talent shows;
   9. Establish a youth fee to support a youth program; 
   10. Provide a youth coordinator to support youth activities. 

12. The Board passed a resolution calling on Congress to exempt cities from a proposed energy tax. The tax was a federal excise tax on fuel, and the City would have had to pay an estimated $11,780 per year.
13. Ordinance No. 1993-14, an amendment to Chapter 1, Section 1-10 (a) of the General Provisions of the City of Germantown’s Code of Ordinances, was passed to allow an increase in the monetary penalty for an ordinance violation from $50 to $500. Action taken by the General Assembly allowed municipalities across the state to increase the fines for misdemeanors.
14. The Board approved a $100,000 grant for the Memphis/Shelby County Library System for use by the Germantown Branch Library.
15. In order to be in sync with the state legislature, the Board passed an ordinance pertaining to an increase in fees for alcohol applications. The ordinance also put into place stronger and more specific language regarding suspension and revocation of the beer license.
16. The Board passed a resolution stating its problems with federally unfunded mandates, which are proposals passed by the federal government without funding, but are usually worthy and noble programs. These mandates cause financial burdens on municipalities. Some cities almost went bankrupt trying to comply with the mandates. 
17. The City established a “Sister City” relationship with Konigs Wusterhausen, Germany. The Germantown Youth Commission had been working on the project. The purpose of the project was to promote exchanges between the two cities relating to culture, civics, and ideals. The German city’s history went back over 300 years.

COURT

18. In 1992, the State ruled that municipal courts which hear State cases must be elected to do so, which made null and void the provision in the City’’ Charter to appoint judges. In response, the Tennessee Municipal league introduced legislation to allow for the election and appointments of City Judges. Olen Batchelor and Ray Clift were appointed to serve as Municipal judges until the next election. 

DEVELOPMENT

19. The Board approved Project Development Contract No. 951, Baptist Memorial Hospital Addition. The proposal was for a 30,900 square foot building that would connect the existing hospital with the Professional Office Building at the Baptist Hospital campus at 2100 Exeter Road.
20. The City worked with the Tennessee Department of Transportation on several projects. One project included signal improvements at five state road locations along Poplar Avenue and Germantown Road. The total value of the project was $206,000. Another project was to widen Germantown Road from Poplar Pike to Mimosa. This project widened Germantown Road to five lanes.
21. Phase II of the Village Shops of Forest Hill was approved. The second phase was to include 82,000 square feet with one out-parcel.
22. The Board approved funding for the City’s share of construction cost for extending Farmington Boulevard to Johnson Road. The project also included extending Forest Hill-Irene Road to Farmington. The project was jointly funded by Shelby County and Germantown, with the county’s share being an estimated $4,447,355 and the city’s $192,489. 
23. Intersection improvements and traffic signals were approved for Johnson Road at both Poplar Avenue and Dogwood Road.
24. Project Development Contract No. 956 was for the extension of Riverdale Road from River Reach Road to Wolf River Boulevard. The project was funded by private funds. 
25. Project Development Contract No. 958 was approved, for a 3,000 square foot Wendy’s Restaurant in the Village Shops of Forest Hill.      

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

26. The employees of this department composed a philosophy statement:

We, the employees of the Environmental Services Department are here to serve the citizens of Germantown to their highest expectations. Our goal is to provide an accountable, yet prosperous service for the community. We feel that to pursue excellence in our growing community, we will institute loyalty, pride, teamwork and most of all, communication.

Loyalty
Loyalty is part of the process that we use to provide a polite and faithful community service, adapting to the needs of this thriving community.

Pride
The feeling that all employees take in doing a job that brings forth the best effort to serve the citizens in a way that provides a positive appearance in the public eye.

Teamwork
An act of all employees working together and performing like a unit making stability of the job more beneficial.

Communication
Communication is the one thing we need as employees of Environmental Services. Without a good line of communication between employees and citizens, our job becomes much more complicated. The employees of our department appreciate all feedback, positive and negative.

27. Forcum-Lannom, Inc. was awarded the contract for constructing the two million gallon Reservoir and pump building at Johnson Road Park for $1,400,600. It was determined in 1988 that the growth in the northeast section of the city would require this reservoir and eventually a new water treatment plant.
28. The Howard Road Drainage Study was presented. The study identified the drainage problems for the Mimosa Gardens Subdivision. It was determined that more inlets needed to be added and the box culverts needed to be improved. The estimated cost of the project was $1,250,000. 

FINANCE

29. The following fees and revenues were restructured for the FY94 budget:

1. 1. Increase of vehicle registration fee from $20 to $25;
   2. Reduction in sanitation fee from $11.50 to $10.50; and
   3. A restructuring of the Germantown Centre membership fees.

30. For the ninth year in a row, the City received the National Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Award. Since the inception of the award in 1984, only 530 cities across the United States out of more than 100,000 had been given the award.
31. The property tax rate was increased from $1.31 to $1.72 per $100 of assessed valuation. The increase was to be used for specific capital improvement projects that were identified in the five year CIP as top priority items for the Board.
32. For the eleventh consecutive year, Germantown received a Certificate of Achievement of Excellence in financial reporting. This was the longest stretch of time that any city in the state had been given this award. Only 1,500 out of 82,000 governmental entities had received this award.
33. The Board passed a Capital Improvements Program for 1994 to 1999. Two major bond issues were associated with the CIP. In 1994, a $4.9 million General Obligation Bond issue, from which $60,000 was for capital improvement items, the $4.3 million went for the completion of the Performing Arts Center; in 1995, there was a planned issuance of $3.5 million in General Obligation bonds for the construction and land acquisition of the new library facility. 

FIRE

34. The City purchased a quintuple fire engine for $334,062 to replace a 1964 engine in reserve service.

PARKS AND RECREATION

35. The Parks and Recreation Commission was reduced from thirteen members to nine and the Planning Commission liaison was removed as a voting member. The change was initiated because it was felt that better results are achieved when there are seven to nine members on a commission.

PERSONNEL

36. Ms. Pat McConnell, the city’s Personnel Officer, was given the Mayor’s Award of Merit for her work on the Employee Wellness Program. The program was a tremendous success in contributing to a healthier life style throughout the work force, and also helped keep the overall health care costs down for employees. This program helped Germantown become one of the top five employers in the State.

POLICE

37. The 26 surplus police vehicles were sold by sealed bid.
38. Chief Boatwright told the Board that there were serious problems with the “911” system that they needed to be aware of.
39. Eight officers were sent to specialized firearms training at a cost of $3,500. Funds from the Federal Drug account were used.
40. Chief Boatwright gave a brief overview of the action plan that the Task Force on Vandalism had developed. Vandalism had increased 76% in the past year. These were the recommendations:

1. 1. The Police Department spoke with the Shelby County Juvenile Court to enlist their assistance to handle Germantown’s problems within Germantown, and to allow the referral back to Germantown agencies of youth who live in Germantown.
   2. A plan of zero tolerance for various infractions committed by juveniles less than 18. There was midnight curfew for those less than 18.
   3. The City was funded to pay for information leading to the arrest and conviction for acts of vandalism or other crime. 
   4. Visits were planned for the schools to inform youth of penalties associated with vandalism.
   5. A deal with cellular phone companies to have a direct access toll-free number to the Police Department.
   6. A media blitz to inform the public.

The Task Force would meet again in 30-60 days.

41. Chief Boatwright was invited to attend the Executive Law Enforcement Academy in Quantico, Virginia, for FBI school. Mayor Salvaggio stated that “This is an honor and an example of Chief Boatwright’s dedication and leadership for the City because only a few people are chosen for this school each year.
42. The Department purchased a 1978 30’ Allegro motor home to be used as a remote operations command center for $10,500, funded by the Federal Drug Fund.