COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY OF SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Shreveport, State of Louisiana, was called to order by Chairman Thomas Carmody at 3:10 p.m., Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in the Government Chambers in Government Plaza (505 Travis Street).

The Council stood in a moment of silence for the victims and families for the disastrous acts committed against America today.

On Roll Call, the following members were Present: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby (3:20), Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener (3:15), and Shyne. 6. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

Motion by Councilman Shyne, seconded by Councilman Stewart for approval of the Summary Minutes of the Administrative Conference of August 27, 2001, and the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 28, 2001. Motion approved by the following vote: Councilmen Stewart, Carmody, Serio, and Shyne. 4. Absent: Councilman Pearl Huckaby, Spigener and Burrell. 3.

Awards and Recognitions of Distinguished Guests of the Mayor and the Council Which Are Required By Law: Councilman Carmody: Mr. Antee, are there any communications today from the Administration? Mr. Antee: Not that I’m aware of and the Mayor will be here, he is just running late in a meeting.

Councilman Carmody: Thank you very much. I do understand that Councilman Burrell was not able to join us today. I believe that we are expecting Mrs. Huckaby and Mrs. Spigener to attend.

Councilman Shyne: Mr. Carmody, I would like to ask you if you would give your position at this particular time on the report that was given to us by the City Attorney in relation to the Public Safety Committee and I would like to make these statements.

This is not a committee that we have not set up before, this is not a committee that is designed to do any witch hunting, this is not a committee that is designed to be negative toward the Fire Department or the Police Department. This is a committee that would do the same thing that our Personnel Committee has done and we have Joe Lunt here from our Personnel Office who will come up when we get to Reports from Committees.

And I see the Public Safety Committee being a very, having a very positive impact on city government and on the quality-of-life that our citizens have come to expect from the City of Shreveport. So, to me this is nothing negative, I’ve gotten some criticisms in the paper and that goes with serving on the Council. I mean if I thought I was going to come down here and nobody was going to criticize me then, I need to go back home and sit on my front porch and even sitting on your front porch somebody is going to drive by say, look at that fool sitting out there on his front porch everyday, looks like he ought to be doing something else. So, people are going to criticize you, it doesn’t matter what you do but we know that what we are looking at is something positive and something that is going to improve and enhance the quality of public safety within this community.

Councilman Carmody: Mr. Shyne, I will address at this point, I am not sure if Mr. Lafitte is in the Chamber or not. Mr. Thompson: No, he’s out of town. Councilman Carmody: What Mr. Shyne is referring to is that I had requested the City Attorney to render an opinion regarding the formation of a committee as proposed by Councilman Shyne to basically outline the establishments of the committee, the powers that the committee would have, the limitations of the powers of such a committee, as well as the investigative results that the committee might have. What I would ask though, is that each Council member should have a copy of the City Attorney’s opinion. I do see the Chief here in the Chamber, if I could ask him to come forward as well. I had asked the Chief to provide us with the current system by which any complaint that is lodged with the Police Department is handled.

Councilman Shyne: Mr. Chairman, not cutting in on you, but could you also, maybe you might want to invite the Fire Chief up too. Because Public Safety Committee not only deals with and I think this is where we’ve gotten off track, we think it only deals with complaints that are lodged against the Police Department but the Fire Department, Chief Cochran is just as much a part of this Public Safety Committee as the Police Department is.

Councilman Carmody: Chief, thank you for joining us. Chief Roberts, if you could basically run down information provided to me and to all the other Council members, I believe ya’ll each have a copy, Mr. Thompson is passing out at this point.

Chief Roberts: Well basically it is a cover memo attached to a flow chart. The memo basically, is one that I written and respectfully declining my involvement in any kind of hearings that this Board may have because I’m duly bond to make disciplinary decisions in these cases and we have a system set up, and I must abide by that system. But I am available to help this committee in any form or fashion that I can and I’ll be willing to do that.

On down in the memo I would like to point out, kind of give you an idea of what kind of volume that we expect to have each year within the Police Department. As of this year, so far there were 148 total complaints involving 153 police officers. And of those complaints, 60 of those were traffic accidents which we logged through our Internal Affairs process as well and we handled those accordingly. But an interesting point that I might make, the remaining complaints, only 33 of those complaints are generated by citizens of Shreveport against our officers and additionally 55 additional complaints were made by our police supervisors on their own employees, their officers under them,so it evident to me that we are policing our own.

On the back, the flow chart, it looks somewhat intimidating, but it is really not. I think if you’ll just take a minute or so to look at that. It outlines the potential criminal cases on the right-hand side of the sheet an internal investigations where we investigate policy and procedure violations within the Department and it goes through the appellant process that is guaranteed to the officers.

Councilman Carmody: I appreciate you providing this information to us, Chief. I think Mr. Shyne has a very good suggestion and maybe I would Chief Cochran to provide us the same type information, basically a synopsis along with a diagram indicating how complaints of the Police Department are handled once they are received. If you could get that to us, I am sure we would appreciate it.

Chief Cochran: Yes, sir.

Councilman Carmody: I am sure it is very similar in nature to what we have in front of us. Chief Cochran: And I can get that to you and the Council.

Councilman Carmody: The reason I asked, what I would like the Council members to do is please take this information and if Chief Cochran can get his portion of it to us prior to the next work session, if each Council member could review what we’ve got in front of us, the City Attorney’s opinion, as well as both Chiefs breakdown of the complaint referral flowcharts, I think then we’ll have enough information to open discussions at our next work session.

Councilman Shyne: Mr. Chairman, I really don’t know what kind of discussion that we could open up at the next Council session, but I do want to make this observation and Chief I hope that both of you all would understand that this Committee is not about just dealing with complaints.

I mean, the Public Safety Committee was set up, I guess the Committee might have dealth with three or four complaints. The Committee is being, the way I foresee it and the way it was before, the Committee was set up in order to work with both departments to see what we could do to enhance the quality of work conditions that you all have. I mean, there might be some things that you might need in your department that the Administration over there, might say that you don’t need. You might feel like that you need them. We might be in a position to help you get that equipment, whatever it might be. It could be vests for your officers, it could be additional programs, it could be traveling money so that some of your officers might want to go to different national workshops because Fire Chief that goes for you too. I think what has happened and I don’t know how it did, it seems like our mindset got set on the negative side of what a Public Safety Committee would be all about. For an example, I’ve had some officers, Chief, who have approached me about a pay raise and to be truthful with you, I have to agree with some of them. Their response to me was, Councilman, we need a pay raise. As a matter of fact, you be talking about quality of officers, maybe if you paid a little bit more then you could get a little better quality of officers and the same thing with the Fire Department. I mean these are issues Chief that the Public Safety Committee is would be able to deal with that, that maybe we wouldn’t have to sit here at a Council meeting and deal with so long.

We have an Audit and Finance Committee. We don’t say well, lets not have an Audit and Finance Committee because we might accuse somebody of doing something wrong or we might be dealing with complaints. I would have hoped that we would have looked at this from a positive standpoint. Sure, we know we got people out in the— you got some people out in the community that God can’t please; so, if I thought that I could come down here and please everybody, I’d be sick in the head. I mean, I understand that it doesn’t matter what kind of decisions that we make, it is going to always be somebody that you are not going to be able to please, but I would hope that we would look at the Public Safety Committee from a positive standpoint on how we could help, how we could enhance, how we could improve the quality of what you all do. Not so much of having somebody looking over your back or somebody checking the complaints that come through your office, because probably 85% to 90% of the complaints that come through your office, Chief, to be truthful with you, most of us probably wouldn’t even want to deal with them. But there might be one or two complaints that we might want to look at. I feel like we have moral responsibility and moral obligation to do it.

I’m just as much a part of providing safety for this community as you are as Police Chief. Because I am one of the ones who are elected to make sure that we have a good police chief, to make sure that we have a good Fire chief. I had to give that thumbs up in order for you to be confirmed; so, I am a part of it. And don’t think people don’t call me all the time about dope dealers and this and that in their neighborhoods and I tell them, why don’t you call the Chief of Police. They say, that’s what we elect you for. You are suppose to help provide safety for our community, and Chief, they right. I mean, I can’t just throw it all on you and say look, this is the Chief’s job and he isn’t doing anything. I mean, how can I say, you are not doing anything, Chief Cochran, how can say you are not doing anything and I’m not doing what I am suppose to do. And Chief wile I am talking you can write this down and your officers won’t have, I mean this will be public knowledge: On West 68^th Street, 625, there is a house there that I’ve been called and I’ve gone out and looked at it this morning. I am told that quite a bit of drug activity goes on there and their response to me was, Councilman any time you got whites coming in and out of a community and going to a certain house, you got some drug activity going on. Anytime you have some foreigners coming in and out of the house, you got some drug activity going on; so, that is West 68^th, 625.

We all are a part of providing safety. So, I don’t look at this Public Safety Committee as something negative, but this is going to be something positive. You know, you might need a new fire truck or you might need whatever. You can come to us and work with the Committee and we can go to the Administration, we might have to do a little arm twisting or a little begging or whatever, even sometimes a little threatening, but we can help you out. I mean it is nothing—we have blown this Public Safety Committee all out of proportion. I mean this is the first Council that I’ve sat on where we’ve talked about a Public Safety Committee and all of a sudden it got to be a mountain. The charter gives us the legitimate right. I don’t know whether the Committee had a chance to meet, and I see Councilman John David Stewart who said that he would be Chairman. I would look for him to come up with what are the parameters in which that Committee would operate in.

We don’t ask the parameters in which the, the Personnel Committee. We just got through meeting. Nobody asked the, the Council didn’t ask the City Attorney now give us the parameters in which we have to operate within. I mean there was some people that hey look, we don’t have a money to give them a raise and there were some that say, we do. I believe we’ve reached a compromise and we reached a compromise in the committee. I look at a Public Safety Committee as being something positive. I mean it is nothing, I live in a community where the crime rate is high. I’d have to be out of my mind to want to, as somebody used the expression, shackle the hands of the police officer because I think District F is probably, Mooretown and Hollywood and that area, we have a quite a bit of crime in there. I live in the heart of the ‘hood, so you know I want good police protection.

You know I want them to be able to make sound judgements. You know I don’t want to put any restraints on them when it comes to the Police Department fighting crime and the same thing with the Fire Department. I don’t want to put any restraints on you when it comes to you fighting fire. I want to be able to help you if it is something that you need, because I live in an area where houses are close. One house catch on fire, and Chief you know it, if you are not there within 3 or 4 minutes, the next house will be on fire, the next house will be on fire. So, I am for public safety. I am for fighting crime and I really feel like that a Public Safety Committee would be beneficial in doing that. If it would not have been beneficial in doing it, I think the men and women who, if it was any women involved Pat, who wrote the city charter they would not have put that in there. I do feel like that they were just as wise as we are, had just as much knowledge and some of them probably had more experience in government than we had. So, and Chief I’m looking at you all, but I really am talking to my colleagues too, I don’t want you all to think that I am just giving this to you all, but I am talking to my colleagues too. I want them to understand that we are not doing anything that we shouldn’t be doing. We are not doing anything that is going be against fighting crime or against the Fire Department or against the Police Department. I feel like we have some of the best men and women that you could find anywhere on the Police Department and on the Fire Department. I’m proud of both of you all and I think I’ve told you all from time to time. As matter of fact, I tell you all, all the time, that you are doing a fine job. And you know if it is something that is going on that I think that need to be looked in, both of you know I am going to tell you because we are all professionals and we are all down here to do a job. We leave our feelings at home and like I told some of my colleagues some time, it is all professional, it is nothing personal. I am down here to do a job. I was elected. I feel like I have the moral obligation. We all have a moral obligation to make sure that we have a safe community and that is what the Public Safety Committee is about.

So, if I need to meet and I can’t say for any other Council members, but if I need to meet with you Chief or with the President of the local union or with any of your officers to explain to them what the Public Safety Committee is designed for, Chief Cochran, the same thing with you. If I need to meet with you or with the President of your union, because I think Margene was President of the union that last time when you had one, he can tell you. I mean it is advantageous. It is nothing that we want to do to apprehend or to keep you from doing your job and I don’t know why we are blowing it all out of proportion.

And I would like to say this to the Chairman, the committee is already set up. The main thing that we need you to do is, since Councilman Huckaby passed away, it is your responsibility to appoint a person to replace him so it would give us three on that committee. I wish you would do it in this Council meeting. I wish you would give the Committee an opportunity to meet, and let them to decide on who they want to chair that committee. The only remarks that I made to you in relation to Councilwoman Huckaby is that a lot of times these committees meet at 8 o’clock or 9 o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock in the morning or 2 o’clock in the evening or 3 o’clock in the evening and I wouldn’t want to put you in a position where you would have to maybe leave school in order to come to some of these meetings because I know how some of the principals can be. But if you feel like that, you have time to serve and I guess I am kind of preempting what the Chairman might do. He might not even consider appointing you on that committee, but my response to him was that if he offered it to you, because I felt the same way about the Vice-Chairman of the Council. I mean, Councilman Huckaby was Vice-Chairman of the Council. I feel like it should have been offered to you and giving you an opportunity to turn it down. The same thing about serving on this Public Safety Committee. I feel like it ought to be offered to you and if you refuse or turn it down, my response to Councilman Carmody was, I’d be glad to serve on it.

I don’t know, if you all understand what I am saying, but to wrap it up is that, the Public Safety Committee is something that will be positive. I mean, it is not nothing that will be negative so if you all need me at any time. . . Chief Roberts: I feel like there is a used car involved in this somewhere.

Councilman Shyne: Well, I had one, one time, Chief and it broke down on me, so I buy a compact car now before I buy a used car and it is nothing wrong with saying anything about used cars. But I do foresee this committee as being something that would be very positive for this community.

And now, you’ve seen some complaints in the paper, but I’ve gotten a lot of telephone calls saying, Joe, I think you do need one because I think it will be beneficial and it has been coming from both communities. I mean just like, and I hope that this Council will look at some of the lawsuits that we’ve had. We need to look at them and see what we can do to help prevent this. Maybe something I’m not doing because to be truthful with you, it was a constituent from Councilman Carmody’s district who called me and asked me about the lawsuits. It wasn’t anybody in Mooretown and he wanted to know what was I doing or what was the Council doing or what was his Council representative doing and I kind of laughed and tell him, sir, I really don’t know. And, he was exactly right. I mean, sometimes we can do a little bit more as Council members than maybe what we do than just come down and serve at Council meetings. That’s a part of what we do, but I think sometimes we could get a little bit more involved, so I look at a Public Safety Committee as being something that will be very beneficial and very helpful.

Chief Roberts: Well it will be very important, no matter what you do, it is set up right and specific goals and objectives and a mission is established for this board, which apparently there is none as of right now. It is being portrayed as being a negative situation and everything you pick up and read about it, so, that’s a hurdle that you are going to have to get over.

Councilman Shyne: But Chief, everything that you pick up and read about, those people that be reading, those people are not going to be on the Public Safety Committee. And those people out there, I guess, everybody’s got opinions, opinions are just heads, everybody got one. So you can’t let what you read in the paper, impact or determine the old expression about, you can’t judge a book by its cover and that’s true. That stuff that you read in the paper all the time, some of those people, God couldn’t satisfy because you don’t know what their agenda is. You don’t know what their motives are.

What I would ask you to do is just maybe kind of have a little patience and the only reason the committee hadn’t been in action is because we have not had the members on it and that is why I am asking Councilman Carmody if he would go ahead on and appoint another member on the committee. And, I think Councilman Stewart has indicated to me that he would be willing to act as Chairman of that Public Safety Committee and I don’t want to speak for him, but I would, I think the committee would meet and select a Chairman and I think they will get with you and with the City Attorney and determine what the missions and goals would be. I don’t think we can let them do that in the paper. I don’t think that we can let other folks who are not a part of the committee. I mean, this is not a citizen review committee, this is a Public Safety Committee that is set up by the Council. So, I wouldn’t let the newspaper, I don’t let what I read in the newspaper impact how I think about Chief Cochran or how I think about you, Chief and I would hope that you would not do that. I look at this as being something very positive and somebody else might look at it as being negative and if they do, hey. They have the right to have their opinion, but I am a duly elected official. I have a moral obligation to make sure that you and your officers, both of you all have the best working conditions that you all can have.

Chief Roberts: And I think you are on the right track, Mr. Carmody is on the right track of gathering as much information as possible, find out how the process works. Next Wednesday, you are more than welcome to come to the Civil Service hearing that we will have in the Police Building in the old Council Chambers.

Councilman Carmody: What time is that, Chief?

Chief Roberts: It usually starts at 8 o’clock.

Councilman Carmody: 8 a.m.?

Chief Roberts: 8 a.m.

Councilman Carmody: And this is the Civil Service committee, ya’ll are hearing a case?

Chief Roberts: The Civil Service Board.

Councilman Shyne: Chief, I will be there. Don’t think that I have not been to some because I have. I have been to some Civil Service hearings for both the Police and Fire Department and I’ve been invited by persons who were coming before.

But I foresee the Public Safety Committee as not necessary dealing with the same kind of issues that, you see the Fire and Police Board will more or less deal with disciplinary problems. I don’t foresee the Public Safety Committee dealing with so much with disciplinary problems because you all have something set up for that and we are not going to get into that.

And somebody suggested that the FBI is here to do any kind of investigations that we need and sometimes the FBI need investigating. But I don’t think that what we will be looking at will be getting into anything where we are going to need the FBI to do an investigation.

Our mission will be more or less what we can do to enhance and improve the quality of public safety within this community. I am not really, because I think you have a mechanism in place already to hear discipline and personnel problems, unless there would be a specific case that we kind of needed to look at. But, I would hope that the Public Safety Committee would not get involved, Councilman Stewart, of just looking at disciplinary problems and Councilman Burrell is not here, and looking at complaints. I mean, that is not what it is all about. I mean, I think ya’ll have a board to do that already.

Chief Roberts: That’ll be real important how you set up and how you establish it.

Councilman Shyne: Chief, I think what has happened, I would hope that those of us that are Council members, are intelligent enough to set it up right. I would hope that my constituents would not elect me and send me down here and I’ve matriculated through Grambling and Louisiana Tech, and LSU and I wouldn’t have sense enough to know how to set up a Public Safety Committee that I’ve served on before, and I’ve set up before where it was going to turn out to be something that would be very negative for the community. I would not dare do that, that’s why I would hope that we would go ahead on and set the committee up and then we can stop guessing at it. Then we don’t have to guess at how it is going to be set up. We don’t have to have all of anxiety attacks on what this committee is going to be doing. I think it is going to be extremely beneficial. Now, I’ve gotten a lot of calls about it and a lot of people have told me they, think it is a great idea. They are just not the kind who are going to write in and put it in the paper. Those that write to the paper are basically people who have very strong convictions about things, so Chief, I think you can go home and sleep well. Chief Cochran, looks like you been sleeping pretty good already.

Chief Cochran: I have.

Councilman Shyne: I appreciate that.

Chief Roberts: Both of us have been sleeping well.

Councilman Shyne: Okay, that makes me feel better. And back to you Councilman Carmody, I would hope, I would hope today that you would appoint that other member and let that committee meet and decide on who the chairman is going to be of the Public Safety Committee and let them get to work just like we did with the Personnel Committee.

Councilman Carmody: At this point, Council members who arrived late and the Mayor, we are at Item 5: under Awards, Recognitions, and Distinguished Guests and Communications of the Mayor. I am going to go back now that the Mayor has joined us and ask if he does have any communications for this Council today.

Mayor Hightower: I don’t have anything from the agenda, but I did want to just briefly bring you up to date. We have meet, all day long starting this morning with the Office Emergency Preparedness. Chief Cochran actually took the lead and called the group to order this morning. Emergency Preparedness groups from all over the (inaudible) and I want to commend each and ever one of them for being prepared at least for something that could possible happen here, certainly it is the whole nation was gripped and didn’t know what to expect next or where something might happen next. Nobody was really concerned about us being, in the Ark-La-Tex, being the target of a terrorist attack but certainly we do have concerns about copycats, prank phone calls, those type of things that we certainly ask all of our citizens to take this threat on our country as serious and certainly any attack or prank phone call on any city in this country will have harsh penalties to pay for that. So, it is not a time to play. It is a time to pray and hope that everything ends quickly. But again, I think all of the agencies around Shreveport-Bossier, Caddo and Bossier parishes have come together. They were pro-active instead of re-active this morning and it certainly made me feel good, it made me feel good to know that we live next door to Barksdale Air Force Base that was ready and alert early on to not only protect our area but the entire country as well. And then to confirm how secure Barksdale is, the President landed here, was here briefly and then I’m sure everybody watched the news and saw him take off again. Again, I think the entire nation has responded well, but I was particularly proud of the way and the confidence in which our emergency agencies handled the national crisis this morning.

Councilman Carmody: Thank you sir, you all are to be commended.

Public Hearing: None.

Confirmations and/or Appointments: None.

Councilman Shyne: It seems like we do have some special guest with us. Chief, did you want to acknowledge our special guests, some of our fine ministers in this great City. Did you want the Chairman of that group, Dr. Calvin Kimble?

Chief Roberts: Pastor Kimble, will you come up. I think they would like to address the Council.

Councilman Shyne: Pastor, let me confess. I missed Revival this year, but next year you don’t have to worry, I’ll be there and I’ll bring the Mayor with me.

Pastor Calvin Kimble: To the Mayor and the Council, I’ve come to just to state a couple of issues that I’d like to state. 1. I don’t feel that one individual can speak for 1. the people that I lead, the people that I know, and especially in Mooretown when it comes to irrational things such as beating up on the Police Chief.

I’ve come to just basically say that, that I think Chief Robinson is one of the best Police Chief that Shreveport has every had, as far as I’m concerned. He is a good person. I’ve had a chance to be around him and I think that when one police officer make a mistake or whatever they do, I think it ought to not just reflect on the whole Police Department. I think, I bought apples, as a matter of fact, I bought a bag the other day and I pulled out one and it had a bad spot on it, but it had some value. So what I did, is cut the bad spot out and went on and ate the apple.

And I am here to say that I also heard you mention about, in so many words about what you read in the paper. Sometimes it wise to ignore it and that is true, some things but are some things that I read in the paper that I don’t’ ignore such as, as Commander for the Pastor Police Program which represents 20 pastors, white and black all over this City, and of course there was a statement that was made in the paper that it was the worst gimmick, that this program has been the worst gimmick that every was. And, I’ve come today because I’m the leader of it and because I brought it to Shreveport and to say that 1. we are not gimmicks, we are pastors and what we are doing in this City is a ministry and we are here to minister to police officers as well as citizens of this City and this program has been successful for one year and it hasn’t been a gimmick and we are not gimmicks. We are not persons that, we are used as gimmicks, we are pastors. I just wanted to make that because that statement was made in the paper. And however, my people that I pastored along with these other pastors, had many members that was insulted by that statement and I thought it was just the right thing to do to come and speak to the Council and say publicly, that we are not gimmicks. We are proud of what we do, we are proud of the Police Department. It would be nice if some of you Council men could get out and ride, ride along with some of the police officers, you would get a chance to see what they do first hand, that would be a good thing to do. I just wanted to say that, and I appreciate you all letting us come.

Councilman Shyne: Let me respond to a couple of statements that you made, you didn’t call my name, but you said you and I’m figuring that you were directing that at me when you said, you.

If you are talking about the remarks that I made to the Chief or talking about somebody, beating up on the Chief, I want you to understand that you don’t determine what I say to anybody down here, I want to make that clear. I think the Chief understands, I am one of the Chief’s greatest supporters but if I feel like that there is something that I need to say to the Chief, I want you to understand that, I am elected by people not only in Mooretown, but I am elected by people in District F to make the kind of statements that I make to the Chief or to the Mayor or to anybody else or even to you.

I don’t have to account for my record, because I have a good record of serving people, not only in Mooretown, but in District F. Now, if you had read the paper well that was a statement that was made by the pastor, by another pastor that, you all are a gimmick. What you have to understand, everybody is entitled to their opinion. You can not keep people from saying, what they want to say. Now, you might disagree with it, but Pastor Lamar Holden, has the right to say whatever he wants to say. He has that right to say, that’s just like you have the right to say. So, if you think you can come down here and keep people from saying what they want to say, Pastor I want to tell right now, you are running down the wrong track.

And I think the Chief understands that he and I have a nice relationship. We have a friendly relationship but it is a professional relationship. He looks for me to do a good job, my constituents look for me to do a good job. Now all of them might not agree with me all the time. I might now agree with them all the time, the Chief and I might not agree all the time, but he understands that when he disagrees with me, I am looking for him to tell me. I don’t look at it from the standpoint that, he’s beating up on me. If I disagree with the Chief, I am going to tell him and I think he is man enough or he is professional enough to let me know when he thinks that I am beating up on him and I think he is, as they say, a big boy. He can defend himself and I don’t think, Pastor that he needs you to come down here to defend him by somebody beating up on him. I don’t think anybody in this Council Chamber has beat up on the Chief.

We appreciate you coming down. We appreciate you expressing what you have expressed, but I do want to let you know that I am duly elected official from District F and whatever I need to tell the Chief or any other department head, I will do that.

Councilman Carmody: Pastor Kimble, let me ask at this point because what’s happened is, that I believe that we’ve kind of been taken into Public Comments and at this point, I would ask for a motion for Pastor Kimble to have 3 minutes to address but, I would ask you please, for the record, to identify yourself, give us your address and limit your remarks to 3 minutes. (Motion by Councilman Shyne to allow Pastor Kimble to address the Council, seconded by Councilman Carmody; motion approved.)

Public Comments. Pastor Calvin Kimble (3431 Frederick Street), I Pastor Longstar Baptist Church in Mooretown: Mr. Shyne, I think, first of all, that you really misunderstood me.

Councilman Shyne: Well, if I did, I apologize to you.

Pastor Kimble: Let me say this, why. I’ve always been a man been taught well, trained well, that whenever I get ready to tell a man something, I look him in his face and call his name. I didn’t come here to make any issues on what you’ve done or what you said, that wasn’t what I was talking about.

I was basically saying that, there were persons who came to this Council meeting and said negative things to this Council, about the Chief, and they brought up the issue of races and racism. And, I also said, and I still say that what was said in that paper, in as much as right as the other minister had a right to say it, I have a right to say what I don’t like about it and with this program as a leader, that’s why I’m here, you mistaken me wrong. I didn’t say anything was to offend you. I think you really misunderstood me, that’s really wasn’t what it was about and that is what I wanted to say.

Councilman Shyne: Pastor Kimble, if I misunderstood you, I apologize to you. But I do want you to understand that, that this is a democracy, this Council Chamber belong to the people of the City of Shreveport. Just like you come down here and say what you want to say, other people have the right to come down here and say what they want to say, whether you agree with them or whether I agree with them or not. They still have that right to say that. So I would hope that you would leave here with the understanding that, it is going to be some other folks that is going to come down here that is going to say, the Chief is a racist, some of them are going to come down here and say that, I’m a racist, some of them are going to come down her and say that Councilman Carmody is a racist or some of them (I see the Mayor is ducking on that; thank you Mr. Mayor. Councilman Carmody: The Mayor is not a racist.) But I want you to understand that, that’s a part of what I expose myself to when I go and knock on your door and tell you that I want your vote. I expose myself to public ridicule, to positive comments and negative comments. So, when people come down to this Chamber, this Chamber belong to the people, and when they come up, Pastor they can say whatever is on their heart. Some of it I agree with, some of it I don’t agree with, but they have the right to do that.

Pastor Kimble: And I have a right to do it too as well.

Councilman Shyne: You do.

Pastor Kimble: Thank you.

Councilman Shyne: You have the right to do that. Now, I apologize to you, because there were some things that you made that you were looking right at you when you said, you because I did make the statement to the Chief about what you read in the paper you can’t believe all the time.

Pastor Kimble: I think you are just sensitive there.

Councilman Shyne: Well, maybe I am. If I am just sensitive, my mother raised a very sensitive son, and I appreciate being sensitive because it gives me a compassion to reach out to people and to be a little bit more compassionate so, I like that sensitive side about me. And I’d rather be a little bit too sensitive than not to be sensitive at all. Pastor, we appreciate you coming down, feel free to come back any time you want to.

Councilman Huckaby: I’d like to say this Pastor Kimble, I have read about your organization and I think that you pastors are doing a wonderful job for the City. And as you said, I wished that we Council men, would some times ride because I’m sure there is a lot to learn out there.

Councilman Shyne: I don’t know about riding with the police, I have done that in the past. But I don’t think that there is a Council member on this Council that ride any more than I do in my district, if you think I am—and Mrs. Huckaby, I know I have more time to ride than you do because you be at J. S. Clark between what: 7 something and about 3 something and if you leave there, hey 2:30. If you leave there and do some riding, you are going to be retired, just like I am.

Councilman Huckaby: I don’t think so.

Councilman Shyne: I know so. I know so and I think you can ask any department head, its nobody on this Council that does any more riding in their district, matter of fact I was up in District A last night. I ride all over the City so, now what you might want to say is that, Chief or Pastor Kimble, I am going to start doing some riding. Pearl Huckaby is going to start doing some riding. And, I don’t think you need to put yourself in a position to speak for the other members of the Council, because I don’t think you can speak for me, because I do as much riding, I do more riding than a lot of the Council members put together.

Mayor Hightower: I do think that it is unfair that Councilman Shyne would make those comment when Councilman Burrell is not here to defend himself.

Councilman Carmody: Thank you for bringing some levity to today’s proceedings, Mr. Mayor.

Reverend Ernest C. James, Pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church located in the northwest section of the City. I would like to say first of all, glad to see our Councilman from that district, good to see you and all of you here today.

I came to speak on behalf of the Department as a whole and to speak a word of support in the fact that we know that policing and law enforcement is a universal work and if there was not a need for it, it wouldn’t be in place. And, I stood mainly to give an opinion that when you undo, undermine and unarm a department or an establishment you simply take away the authority for that establishment to work. And it seems to me like there is a great deal of emphasis being put on police behavior but what about the public behavior. If the public did not misbehavior there wouldn’t be a need for a policing agency. So, what I come to say is we need to support our law enforcement agencies.

I’ve always had a deep respect for the law and since I been riding and I ride just about practically every week, I attend all of the roll calls, and after the roll call we pray and minister to the men and women of our City. And I’d imagine it is disheartening and discouraging to know that they are out there risking their lives everyday and to be under the kind of stress for simply caring out their jobs. I mean I could tell you some horror stories as to what actually happens on the street and a lot of what we hear as public cry mainly is from people who are out of order. Most people who respect the law and have an infinite for the law enforcement, you don’t have that problem with them.

And I say, to the Councilmen today, you can not destroy law and order and not end of with chaos; so, we need to be about supporting these agencies. Sure there is some corruption, federally, state, locally and you can go on and on, you can find corruption anywhere, but that no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water. When you have a watch dog, if you take the watch out of the dog, all you’ve got is a dog. If he watches but he can not do what he has been assigned to do because he has been disarmed.

And all I’m saying is that, we know why the police exist and we need to help them to do their job as effectively as they can and to do it with the idea of respecting a community and so forth. And we just finished celebrating one year of serving with the law enforcement agency and our theme is bridging the gap between civil service and sacred service. Do you know what I’ve discovered and I’ll be finished, that policemen are just like pastors. People don’t want to see them and don’t want to hear until they need them and that is tragedy and the travesty of the kind of world we live in.

And I’m saying that, they are needed. We have one of the best chiefs that I know anywhere. I traveled all over this country and I’ve even been abroad and so we have a good program in place. We need to be supportive of the men and women who hazard their lives day in and day out to make us safe.

Councilman Carmody: Reverend James, amen, I say to you. You could not have put it better.

Councilman Shyne: Reverend James, I appreciate what you said, but I don’t agree with Councilman Carmody that, you couldn’t put it any better because I am not one of those persons who don’t want to see a pastor until I need him or don’t want to see the police until I need him. Now maybe Councilman Carmody might be that, but I lived with a preacher because my daddy was one and I was glad to see him all the time. I have a brother who is a preacher and I am glad to see him all the time whether I need him or not. My pastor of my church, I am glad to see him and I don’t necessarily need him. I have some police officers who are very good friends of mine and if you know anything about the history of this Council, I’ve been very supportive of the Police Department. I’m very supportive of law and order, I’ve always been supportive of law and order. I think that the Chief would tell you and if you will ask him, I’ve been one of his strongest supporters. I can’t speak for the other members of this Council, but I have never advocated even when Councilman Huckaby was advocating a public review committee, he was not advocating the disrespect or the disloyalty to the Police Department. We think you do a fine job. That is just like some people say that they wouldn’t be a police officer. I tell the guys who work on the garbage truck or who work in the Water and Sewerage Department, Mike, that I wouldn’t want to do what they do because they put their hands and all and be exposed to all kinds of germs that they can carry home and can cause all kinds of health problems. So, I’ve been very supportive of the Police Department and I wouldn’t want you to put me in the group that we are not supportive of the Police Department because I have been very supportive of the Police Department, but I now I do want you to understand that if I do have some comments or some questions that I want to make toward the Police Department, I am going to do it and I am going to continue to do it and I think the Chief understands that and I hope that my other colleagues who serve with me long enough understand that. So, I appreciate you coming down, but I just want to let you know personally, I am in support of the Police Department.

Councilman Spigener: Reverend James, I want to just echo what Councilman Carmody said, you have made your statement beautifully. I think that many times we don’t put the blame where it is, many times, with the public that we are dealing with and it is refreshing to see your group here supporting our Police Department because I would agree with you and Councilman Shyne that we do have a wonderful Police Department, but you have stated it beautifully. I couldn’t have been stated any better and we appreciate you being here.

Joe Lee Robinson, Jr. (4147 Robinhood, Shreveport, in Mooretown): I was born in DeSoto Parish. I ran from the police when they had the bloodhounds out. I move here in ‘40s.

I am here to say that I support the Council, Chief Roberts and anyone that stand for right. But what really bother me is when I hear people down people when they are doing here a good job. I feel that when Peter said in 1 Corinthians, we are laboring together for Christ and out of all of our labors, we find someone looking for a bug. And I tell my congregation that, if you want a bug, you talk enough trash, you’ll find it. I know you can’t stop people from speaking no opinion, but when you say some things bad about a person, you have others there waiting to hear it and they can take it and go like wildfire but I feel when you have some good people doing their best, you will support them.

No one knows what a police go through until those that ride with them. Mr. Shyne, you make me feel good when you say you ride with them but I am wondering do you ride with them as much as we do?

Councilman Shyne; Well, I probably don’t ride with them as much as you do, but I ride my district more than you do. I ride District F looking for a whole lot of other problems and I do ride, and I do see how the police interact with persons in our community.

Mr. Robinson: I know you could. And a lot of time, I said in our meeting, that the polices wives, when they leave home no one no how they feel look to get a word at any time that they had got shot down or something happen. To hear the people talk, the words they say, the words they call the police. You have got to be good, to keep a cool because your foot will almost slip. It is just some of the people say things and the police hands is tied. We don’t get out, we just get to hear what they are saying and they will get a group and come back and cry, brutality or something. But you know one thing I was learned, Captain Huckaby, he passed down, he from Red River down there, when he had them bloodhounds. He told me, he say, Son I want to tell you something. As long as you live, long as people call you what you are not, don’t worry about it. When they start to call you what you is, then you got something to think about.

Councilman Shyne: Before you all leave, I do appreciate you all coming down, but I hope that you would understand what my position is. I’m elected by the people and I am elected to listen to everybody and I can’t make a judgment. I am not elected to make a judgment. If somebody brings a complaint to me about anybody, I can’t say, well I know Chief Roberts, he is a good man and what you are saying boy, has got to be a lie. That’s not the position that I am in and I hope that you understand that. Now, if they bring a complaint to me, what I have to do is call it in to the Chief or tell the Chief and let him check it out. Because I have moral responsibility to do that and you understand that your role is different from my role.

And you understand that there are a lot of times that I ride that I don’t necessarily want to ride with the police. I want to ride to see how the police and community is going to interact and I think the Chief will tell you, when was that last summer, Chief. I believe I told you and I don’t know whether I gave you a letter of commendation for those officers that worked out at Airport Park. Didn’t I tell you that they did an outstanding job. Now, Reverend you all were not formed, I don’t believe at that particular time, but I was out there every Sunday. I was out there every Sunday, I mean sometimes it was one hundred degrees from about 3 o’clock until about 9 o’clock every Sunday. So, I saw what took place, I saw how professional the officers were. I saw some of the things that those youngsters were saying to those officers, that’s a part of your job.

Do you think everybody commend me on doing a job? You’d be surprised at how often folks curse me out, some pat me on the back, but just because they curse me out, I can’t jump back at them or I can’t take it personally. I just tell them that, I mean I had them to curse me out because the street light went out or it’s a hole in the street. They have the right to do that. That is what I asked for when I knocked on their door and said, I want your vote. Being a school teacher, there were a lot of times kids said things to me that I could have slapped them upside their head, but I couldn’t do that. The same thing with the police officers, they understand that they are professional. They understand that they are not out there teaching Sunday School.

Chief, we have some good officers, but now if there are some complaints I want you to understand that I am going to bring them to you, that I am not in the same situation that your pastors are in and I’m going to call you up before the Council and I am going to ask you for an explanation. They can’t do that. I can because I voted on you to be confirmed. I have a moral obligation to the public out there and that is what I have to do. So, if people bring me complaints, I mean, this is being televised so I want the folks out there to understand that if they bring me a complaint, I am not going to tell them to don’t bring it to me, if they have a complaint. I can’t be like the pastors there, if the people have a complaint they have to bring tem to me and Chief if I feel like I need to pass them on to you, I will because that is what I am suppose to do, that is what I am elected to do. We don’t have the same role and pastors, I wish you all would understand that.

I do ride the area. I ride it sometime at 10 and 11 and 12 o’clock at night. I don’t necessarily have to ride in car with a police officer. Sometimes I can see better by riding by myself, I do that quite often. I have a reputation of riding my area, Councilman Huckaby, and I’ve been on this Council for a long, long time and anybody out in my area, and Pastor Kimble can tell you. He’ll tell you what his members will say about Joe Shyne. They might look up any time and see me. I do. Gentlemen, I appreciate you all coming down and before you all leave, I want to let you all know that, I do love you.

Councilman Stewart: Gentlemen, I very much appreciate the objectivity that you brought forward today. You are setting a very positive example in more ways than one. And your participation and your efforts to reach a solution benefits everybody in this City, are a true mark of what we really need throughout our entire area.

Reverend Eddie Giles: To the Council and all that assembled, I am W. Elbert Giles. I pastor the Salem Missionary Baptist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana. . . . views on the issue of the Chief.

I have not been or I am not a politician. I am not one of those who are a part of the big groups so called, but I am a child of God. And, I am here in support of Chief Roberts because I didn’t know him, but being in the public eye and being in radio, he came by where I worked and from that I sensed a person who was a friendly person. A person who tried to mingle with people of the community to see what can be done to be helpful to the community as a Chief.

I think the Pastors Police Program is a wonderful program and after asked to be a part of it, I gladly wanted to serve. First of all I think 1. that it should be part of the city government because I am reminded of Niccodemous who was a rich man, but when he got ready to get some good advice, he went straight to Jesus. And this is what I hear crying out coming from the Chief and all those who work under him in order to make the right decision to be able to do the proper things for those that they come in contact with. When ministers ride with the policemen, the Bible says all things work together for good. It didn’t say everything was good, but it worked together for good for those who love the Lord and to those who are called according to his purpose. So, in that, as a minister and a real minister riding with the police officer there may come a time that he needs a word from the Lord or the situation at hand may need a policeman there and that is what they are there for. So, I fully support the program and I support the Chief for his effort of allowing this type program to be implemented.

I don’t know a lots about him, but I do know that he a man who love people and that’s what Jesus was about, loving people and I think that when we all come to that conclusion then we will realize that we all have to work together. Whenever policemen ride, they are human just like anybody else. Pastors are human just like anybody else. Their families are hurt when they are caught in various situations, so we are all trying to be there to be in supportive of one another. A man is not a complete man if he doesn’t have all the things that it takes to make up a man, so I think this program is part of completing the program for the City.

Councilman Carmody: Thank you sir for bringing us those words. Thank you, all you gentlemen for everything that ya’ll do. One last comment that I would like to make before we leave this issue. It was mentioned that in this community and in any community there is a relationship that exist between the citizens and the police officers. And it is an understanding that in order for us to live in a civilization, we have to be civil to one another. You made the comment that we are all only human; that is true. Human beings make mistakes. We are not all perfect, but we should all be working toward the good of the whole and I believe that that is what ya’ll emphasis is, I believe that is what our emphasis and this Administration’s is, and that that is what we strive to do. I wanted to personally thank ya’ll for your efforts. I appreciate ya’ll coming down today.

Adding Legislation to the Agenda: None.

CONSENT AGENDA LEGISLATION

INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES ON CONSENT:

There were no Resolutions or Ordinances on the Consent Agenda for Introduction.

RESOLUTIONS: None.

ORDINANCES: None.

ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES ON CONSENT:

There were no Resolutions or Ordinances on the Consent Agenda for Adoption.

RESOLUTION: None.

ORDINANCE: None.

REGULAR AGENDA LEGISLATION:

RESOLUTIONS:

RESOLUTION NO. 109 OF 2001

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT WITH THE CADDO PARISH SCHOOL BOARD RELATIVE TO THE MUTUAL USE OF FACILITIES, BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO.

WHEREAS, the City of Shreveport ("City") and the Caddo Parish School Board ("CPSB") are political subdivisions of the State of Louisiana; and

WHEREAS, City and CPSB are owners of various athletic facilities and other buildings located in the City of Shreveport and in Caddo Parish which are used by children and adults of the City and Parish; and

WHEREAS, City and CPSB each have a long history of sharing the use of facilities and equipment for the mutual aid and benefit of the other; and

WHEREAS, City and CPSB desire to enter into this Cooperative Endeavor Agreement to govern the mutual use of athletic facilities, other buildings and equipment owned by the respective parties for the benefit of the citizens of the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish for a public purpose.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Shreveport in due, legal and regular session convened that the Mayor is authorized to execute an agreement with the Caddo Parish School Board substantially and in accordance with the draft thereof which was filed with the original copy of this resolution for public inspection in the Office of the Clerk of Council on August 28, 2001.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any provision or item of this resolution or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this resolution which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items or application, and to this end, the provisions of this resolution are hereby declared severable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all resolutions or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

Read by title and as read motion by Councilman Stewart, seconded by Councilman Spigener passed by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 5. Nays: None. Out of Chamber: Councilman Pearl Huckaby. 1. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

RESOLUTION NO. 110 OF 2001

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR WITH THE STATE OF LOUISIANA FOR THE PURPOSES OF CONSTRUCTING THE SHREVE PARK FRONTAGE ROAD, AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO.

BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Shreveport, in due, legal, and regular session convened, that the Mayor is authorized to enter into cooperative endeavor agreement with the State of Louisiana for the purposes of constructing the Shreve Park Frontage Road

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any provision or item of this resolution or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this resolution which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications, and to this end, the provisions of this resolution are hereby declared severable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all resolutions or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

Read by title and as read motion by Councilman Spigener, seconded by Councilman Shyne passed by

the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 5. Nays: None. Out of Chamber: Councilman Pearl Huckaby. 1. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

RESOLUTION NO. 111 OF 2001

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT CONCERNING BROADMOOR AREA "YOUREE DRIVE" FLOOD CONTROL IMPROVEMENTS, AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO.

WHEREAS, funds have been appropriated out of the Statewide Flood Control Construction Program as authorized by the provisions of Title 38 of the LSA R.S. of 1950, as amended, to finance flood control improvement projects under the direct administration of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD); and

WHEREAS, the City of Shreveport has requested an appropriation of said funds to finance a portion of a flood control improvement project consisting of a 6' x 10' RCB, 2-60" diameter RCPs and catch basins (CB-08). The project begins at Sand Beach Bayou and ends at the intersection of Youree Drive and Southfield Road. The proposed 6' x 10' RCB is located on the west side of Youree Drive and is approximately 2500 feet in length; and

WHEREAS, the DOTD is agreeable to the implementation of this proposed improvement and desires to cooperate with the City of Shreveport as provided in the agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Shreveport, Louisiana, in due, legal, and regular session convened, that Keith Hightower, Mayor, be and he is hereby authorized and empowered to execute on behalf of the City of Shreveport an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, in a form essentially as attached, concerning Broadmoor Area "Youree Drive" flood control improvements (S.P.N. 576-09-0020).

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any provision or item of this resolution or application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items, or applications of the resolution which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications and to this end the provisions of this resolution are hereby declared severable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all resolutions or ordinances or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

Read by title and as read motion by Councilman Carmody, seconded by Councilman Stewart for passage.

Councilman Carmody: Seconded by the entire Council.

Councilman Shyne: Mr. Chairman, I thought you was going to let the Mayor second that.

Councilman Carmody: I am about to personally thank the Mayor again and I said I would do it when it was first on the agenda, when I was first faxed a letter confirming that he had secured these funds from the state. Mr. Mayor, I commend you again for being good to your word, it is what we need and it certainly is going to benefit our area of Shreveport as well as all the citizens who have to travel that particular artery going north-south when it rains heavy, thank you for your word.

Councilman Shyne: Mr. Mayor, that is why I voted for it in the beginning because I trusted you from the beginning. I knew that you were a man of your word from the beginning, I had no doubt.

Councilman Serio: Now that Bayou Pierre is going to be widening, your water will have a place to go.

Councilman Carmody: Actually it is going to go into Sand Beach .

Councilman Serio: Which goes to Bayou Pierre.

Councilman Carmody: That’s true. I just want to get it to the south of 70^th, then it is your problem so, I am going to vote yes.

Councilman Shyne: I thought you all were friends. I thought you and Tom were friends.

Councilman Serio: I got mine.

Resolution passed by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS:

1. Resolution No. 112 of 2001: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an agreement between the City of Shreveport and KPMG for an external audit of the City of Shreveport for fiscal year January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2001, and otherwise providing with respect thereto.

2. Resolution No. 113 of 2001: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with Caddo Parish for the purposes of constructing a new roadway (Southern Loop) from Wallace Lake Road to Linwood Avenue, and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

3. Resolution No. 114 of 2001: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute grant documents, with the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and otherwise provide with respect thereto.

Read by title and as read motion by Councilman Shyne, seconded by Councilman Serio for Introduction of the Resolutions to lay over until the September 25, 2001 meeting. Motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES:

1. Ordinance No. 130 of 2001: An ordinance to amend and reenact Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances relative to alcoholic beverage dealer’s permits for caterers and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

2. Ordinance No. 131 of 2001: An ordinance to amend certain provisions of Section 10-182 of the City of Shreveport Code of Ordinances relative to alcoholic beverages and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

3. Ordinance No. 132 of 2001: An ordinance amending the 2001 Airports Enterprise Fund Budget and otherwise providing with respect thereto.

4. Ordinance No. 133 of 2001: An ordinance amending the 2001 Water and Sewerage Enterprise Fund Budget and otherwise providing with respect thereto.

Read by title and as read motion by Councilman Serio, seconded by Councilman Spigener for Introduction of the Ordinances to lay over until the September 25, 2001 meeting. Motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

5. Ordinance No. 134 of 2001: An ordinance authorizing the Purchasing Agent to dispose of surplus real property Lot 288, Cedar Grove Addition and otherwise providing with respect thereto.

Read by title and as read motion by Councilman Serio, seconded by Councilman Spigener for Introduction of the Ordinances to lay over until the October 9, 2001 meeting. Motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

Councilman Shyne: I would like to commend Mrs. Marqee Winnfield for working so hard with me and with the City Attorney for 130. Mrs. Marqee, you did a fine job, a graduate of Haughton High School.

ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND FINAL PASSAGE:

1. Ordinance No. 110 of 2001: An ordinance amending Chapter 106 of the Code of Ordinances, the City of Shreveport Zoning Ordinance, by rezoning property located on the south side of Claiborne, 275 feet east of Hearne Avenue, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, from R-2, Suburban, Multi-family Residence District to B-3, Community Business District and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

Having passed first reading on July 10, 2001 was read by title and on motion ordered passed to third reading. Read the third time in full and as read motion by Councilman Stewart, seconded by Councilman Carmody for adoption. The Deputy Clerk read the following amendment:

Amend Section II of Ordinance No. 110 of 2001 by modifying Stipulation No. 1 to read as follows:

1. Development of the property shall be in substantial accord with a revised site plan showing detailed landscaping and screening fence along the entire south and east property lines (fence to be constructed as detailed in attached letter to Councilman John David Stewart, dated September 5, 2001); said site plan to be submitted to and approved by the Planning Director prior to issuance of any permits, with any significant changes or additions requiring further review and approval by the Planning Commission.

Motion by Councilman Stewart, seconded by Councilman Shyne for adoption of the amendment. Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

Motion by Councilman Stewart, seconded by Councilman Shyne for adoption of ordinance as amended.

Councilman Stewart: I would like to read something into the record so that there is clarity. This was a significant vote by the body to not approve. Therefore my discussions with them, I would like to make part of the record and I believe everybody at the Metropolitan Planning Commission, those on the board understand but for the record: 1. Mr. Smith who is an active member of one of those boards, is the owner of the property. It is rental piece of property situated on the south side of Claiborne near interstate, Claiborne and Hearne Avenue. 2. We have two comments to the contrary, one by a neighbor to the rear and another by an additional person relative to another property on Hollywood Avenue, not this location, but the maintenance and upkeep which has been addressed by the applicant in writing. 3. In favor of it was representatives from the Bray Estate which has a significant number of properties and then also a personal letter written by a lady who resides across the street, requesting that we approve this. The perspective simple is, we have a house next door that is rented, next to it is a vacant lot, next to it is a house that is boarded up, next to it is a vacant lot across the street, is a boarded up store. Behind we have houses that go down to the station. The unfortunate part about it is, is that it is vacant all the way to the west, so this will be built on a vacant lot that is directly across the street from a vacant lot in the interstate with the exception of a brand new motel so that it is not really in conflict with the issue and I am uncertain as to how they originally arrived at it, but it does abut the entrance to and the exit from interstate.

The issue is, the applicant has volunteered to do the following: 1. He would add the fence that is in the same keeping with portions of the fence, Wendy’s that ya’ll approved earlier, which effectively blocks those behind and to the side, which is the basis. I think that the concern and furthermore in writing has said, he will amend pick up hours on the dumpsters in order to embrace the neighbors issue and concerns that were not registered in that particular part. He will also win at product delivery and that issue and also approved the design. I give that to you strictly as a matter of record, not to bore you with it because of the significance of the vote, but I think that it is appropriate and request that you approve it.

Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

2. Ordinance No. 128 of 2001: An ordinance amending Chapter 106 of the Code of Ordinances, the City of Shreveport Zoning Ordinance, by rezoning property located 400 feet east of Shreveport-Blanchard Hwy and 150 feet north of Woolbert Street, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, from R-1H-E (SPI-2), Urban, One-Family Residence/Extended Use (Industrial Park Overlay) District to R-1H-E (SPI-2), Urban, One-Family Residence/Extended Use (Industrial Park Overlay) District limited to a "250 foot communications tower" only, and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

Councilman Huckaby: Mr. Kirkland has assured me that there is no opposition to the extension of this communications tower, therefore I would like to ask the Council if they will vote approval of this ordinance.

Having passed first reading on August 28, 2001 was read by title and on motion ordered passed to third reading. Read the third time in full and as read motion by Councilman Huckaby, seconded by Councilman Shyne adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

3. Ordinance No. 129 of 2001: An ordinance amending Chapter 106 of the Code of Ordinances, the City of Shreveport Zoning Ordinance, by rezoning property located on the west side of Youree Drive, 500 feet north of Ardmore Avenue, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, from SPI-3 (B-1) Commercial Corridor Overlay (Buffer Business) District to SPI-3-E (B-1) Commercial Corridor Overlay/Extended Use (Buffer Business) District limited to "an 800 square foot, one-operator barber shop" only and to otherwise provide with respect thereto.

Having passed first reading on August 28, 2001 was read by title and on motion ordered passed to third reading. Read the third time in full and as read motion by Councilman Carmody, seconded by Councilman Stewart for adoption.

Councilman Carmody: As I mentioned yesterday, this is actually a relocation of an existing business along the Youree Drive corridor in the SPI-3 District which requires for a barbershop to have an "E". I appreciate ya’ll following my lead in voting to allow this gentleman to continue his business in my district.

Councilman Shyne: Would you recommend me to go by there and get me a shampoo?

Councilman Carmody: He might like to see you, Mr. Shyne.

Ordinance adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

The Ordinances, as amended, follow:

ORDINANCE NO. 110 OF 2001

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 106 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, THE CITY OF SHREVEPORT ZONING ORDINANCE, BY REZONING PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CLAIBORNE, 275 FEET EAST OF HEARNE AVENUE, SHREVEPORT, CADDO PARISH, LOUISIANA, FROM R-2, SUBURBAN, MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENCE DISTRICT TO B-3, COMMUNITY BUSINESS DISTRICT AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO

SECTION I: BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, in due, legal and regular session convened, that after having earlier been considered and denied at a public hearing by the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, that the zoning classification of Lots 8, 9, and 10, Claiborne Subdivision, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, property located on the south side of Claiborne, 275 feet east of Hearne Avenue, be and the same is hereby changed from R-2, Suburban, Multi-Family Residence District to B-3, Community Business District.

SECTION II: THAT the rezoning of the property described herein is subject to compliance with the following stipulation:

1. Development of the property shall be in substantial accord with a revised site plan showing detailed landscaping and screening fence along the entire south and east property lines (fence to be constructed as detailed in attached letter to Councilman John David Stewart, dated September 5, 2001); said site plan to be submitted to and approved by the Planning Director prior to issuance of any permits, with any significant changes or additions requiring further review and approval by the Planning Commission.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items, or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are hereby declared severable.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that all ordinances or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

ORDINANCE NO. 128 OF 2001

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 106 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, THE CITY OF SHREVEPORT ZONING ORDINANCE, BY REZONING PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF YOUREE DRIVE, 500 FEET NORTH OF ARDMORE AVENUE, SHREVEPORT, CADDO PARISH, LOUISIANA, FROM SPI-3 (B-1) COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR OVERLAY (BUFFER BUSINESS) DISTRICT TO SPI-3-E (B-1) COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR OVERLAY/EXTENDED USE (BUFFER BUSINESS) DISTRICT LIMITED TO "AN 800 SQUARE FOOT, ONE-OPERATOR BARBER SHOP" ONLY, AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO

SECTION I: BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, in due, legal and regular session convened, that the zoning classification of Lot 406, Broadmoor Subdivision, Unit #2, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, property located on the west side of Youree Drive, 500 feet north of Ardmore Avenue, be and the same is hereby changed from SPI-3 (B-1) Commercial Corridor Overlay (Buffer Business) District to SPI-3-E (B-1) Commercial Corridor Overlay/Extended Use (Buffer Business) District limited to "an 800 square foot, one-operator barber shop" only.

SECTION II: THAT the rezoning of the property described herein is subject to compliance with the following stipulation:

1. Development of the property shall be in substantial accord with a revised site plan showing landscaping to be submitted to and approved by the Zoning Administrator, with any significant changes or additions requiring further review and approval by the Planning Commission.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items, or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are hereby declared severable.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that all ordinances or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

ORDINANCE NO. 129 OF 2001

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 106 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, THE CITY OF SHREVEPORT ZONING ORDINANCE, BY REZONING PROPERTY LOCATED 400 FEET EAST OF SHREVEPORT-BLANCHARD HWY AND 150 FEET NORTH OF WOOLBERT STREET, SHREVEPORT, CADDO PARISH, LOUISIANA, FROM R-1H-E(SPI-2), URBAN, ONE-FAMILY RESIDENCE/EXTENDED USE (INDUSTRIAL PARK OVERLAY) DISTRICT TO R-1H-E(SPI-2), URBAN, ONE-FAMILY RESIDENCE/EXTENDED USE (INDUSTRIAL PARK OVERLAY) DISTRICT LIMITED TO A "250 FOOT COMMUNICATIONS TOWER" ONLY, AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO

SECTION I: BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, in due, legal and regular session convened, that the zoning classification of property located 400 feet east of Shreveport-Blanchard Hwy and 150 feet north of Woolbert Street, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, legally described below, be and the same is hereby changed from R-1H-E(SPI-2), Urban, One-Family Residence/Extended Use (Industrial Park Overlay) District to R-1H-E(SPI-2), Urban, One-Family Residence/Extended Use (Industrial Park Overlay) District limited to a "250 foot communications tower" only.

Commencing at a found concrete monument, monumenting the SW corner of Section 18, T18N, R14W, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana;

Run thence N0°7'41"E a distance of 2665.97 feet to a point;

Thence S89°51'24"E a distance of 957.27 feet to a 5/8 inch rebar set in place on the east R/W line of the Shreveport-Blanchard Hwy (LA Hwy #173);

Thence continue S89°51'24"E a distance of 375.29 feet to a found concrete monument and the POB proper.

From said POB proper, thence N0°8'36"E a distance of 450 feet to a 5/8 inch rebar set in place;

Thence S89°51'24"E a distance of 450 feet to a 5/8 inch rebar set in place;

Thence S0°8'36"W a distance of 450 feet to a 5/8 inch rebar set in place;

Thence N89°51'26"W a distance of 450 feet to the POB proper, containing 202,500 sq. ft. or 4.65 acres, M/L.

SECTION II: THAT the rezoning of the property described herein is subject to compliance with the following stipulation:

1. Development of the property shall be in substantial accord with the site plan submitted with any significant changes or additions requiring further review and approval by the Planning Commission.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items, or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are hereby declared severable.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that all ordinances or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. ABO Card appeal: Derrick P. Wilson. (Residence - 6801 W 70^th [G/Burrell]; Employer - 515 E Kings Hwy. - Phillin Station, [B/Stewart]) (Postponed on August 27)

Councilman Carmody: I believe it was postponed by Mr. Burrell or was it Mr. Stewart?

Councilman Stewart: It was postponed by Mr. Burrell, the location is in my district. The gentleman in question—Councilman Shyne: He lives in Councilman Burrell’s. Councilman Stewart: He lives in Mr. Burrell’s district. I would be happy to move that we bring it to a table to vote. Councilman Shyne: I would be happy to second that and I would be happy to make a motion to deny.

Motion by Councilman Stewart, seconded by Councilman Shyne to remove the matter from the table. Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

Motion by Councilman Shyne, to deny the ABO Card appeal, seconded by Councilman Stewart.

Councilman Shyne: I forgot to bring to the attention of the Council. I believe Councilwoman Spigener invited the Mayor, either last week to come down in her district and speak to a group and I don’t think she has ever invited any of the Council members to come to a meeting down there. I am just kind of puzzled about what is going on.

Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 5. Nays: None. Did not cast a vote: Councilman Pearl Huckaby. 1. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

2. BAC-73-01, BROADMOOR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 836 Anniston; Special Exception Use in an R-1D District, church community house and educational building operating until 10 p.m.

Councilman Carmody: This is in my district. This is the Broadmoor United Methodist Church. I am going to make a motion to, and I would look for some direction here. I would like to uphold the ruling. The appeal I believe was based upon asking for a reduction in the hours of operation, I don’t see Mr. Kirkland in front of me.

Motion by Councilman Carmody, to uphold the ruling, seconded by Councilman Stewart. Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

Councilman Shyne: That was a very wise motion, Mr. Chairman.

Councilman Carmody: I have a quick comment, I know that we have already voted. There is not another, I don’t say that.

I received a petition from a number of residents around this particular church. I am not a member although I do know that our Mayor is a member of this church. I am there closest neighbor. In 10 years of living in this location, I found them to be excellent neighbors. I expect that they will continue to be excellent neighbors.

The concerns that were brought to my attention by the neighbors especially on Albert Street was that some of the lighting from the parking lot when the church removed the house on the corner to extend their parking lot, they removed some trees, and it made the lights intrude into their back yards. I had said that I would ask the church to look into the possibility of shielding the lights away from the backyards of the residences along Albert Street. If I could ask my neighbors to work with me to do that, I would certainly appreciate it. Again, expect them to be good neighbors as they always have been and I am sure that if my constituents feel that they are not, I will hear from them, but I believe in good faith that they are going to be good neighbors as they have been.

Councilman Shyne: Mr. Chairman, is that a Protestant/Catholic issue. I just got through watching the news the other day.

Councilman Carmody: I think we are all Christians. I know we are all Christians, lets put it that way.

Councilman Shyne: I just didn’t want it to be a Protestant/Catholic issue.

3. BAC-74-01, APOLLO TOBACCO, LLC, 559 E. 70th Street, Special Exception Use in a B-3 District, lounge with package liquor sales.

Motion by Councilman Carmody, to deny the application for the lounge, seconded by Councilman Serio.

Councilman Carmody: I did receive a telephone call from the applicant, who said that he was rather confused by what has taken place. I explained to him my position and he had said that he would be agreeable with that, I am sure that it was not his intention to purchase this property without the ability to do a lounge. But, having heard the concerns of the neighborhood and heard the concerns of the other Council members, I explained to him that my position was that he be approved for the package liquor sales, but not for on premise consumption for the lounge. So, again, I believe that my motion is to uphold the ruling of the, probably the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Councilman Serio: Mr. Chairman, I realize that this is in your district, but it also backs up to my district and it has absolutely more impact on my district than it actually does in your’s because that is a narrow strip that extends down 70^th Street that is in your district. And the Pastor that came and spoke to us yesterday from Saint Catherine’s and also in light of the businesses that finally have developed in that area of Cedar Grove, I am so glad to see that I finally got some new businesses developed and I think that this will be better for the community, better for the businesses if this is denied and I appreciate your leadership.

Mr. Thompson: That is with the stipulation to approve the ZBA’s decision with the stipulation? Councilman Carmody: That is correct.

Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Serio, Spigener, and Shyne. 6. Nays: None. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, AND COMMITTEES.

Councilman Carmody: Mr. Shyne, I believe as the Chairman of the Employee Pay Committee, you have a report to give to us today?

Councilman Shyne: I do and thank you for being so hospitable. Mr. Lunt as soon as you get through shaking hands, I would appreciate it if you and your assistant, would you like to bring your assistant with you? Mr. Lunt: She is here to interpret. Councilman Shyne: I know that she has never had an opportunity to come before the Council and I did not want to deny her of that opportunity, but I asked Mr. Lunt and I think each Council member has some information that was passed out to us in the Employees Pay Committee.

I asked Mr. Lunt to come down and to kind of give an overview on what we discussed and I would like to say that, he did an excellent job in the committee and it seems like we might have a window of opportunity. We have not really had an opportunity to sit down and talk to the Mayor yet, but I been getting some vibes from the Mayor I feel like that he might be in a position to kind of do something positive. I don’t know when the date will be, when you kind of give us a synopsis of the beautiful charts and graphs that you’ve prepared to show us what kind of economic, I am going to use the word, hardship or what kind of economic impact that the raises would have on the city budget. And you could take the category of Classified Employees and show what a, I believe you have what, a 1% maybe 2% or 3% or 4% and a 5% raise would do. Did you prepare a copy of this for the Mayor?

Mr. Lunt: Thank you for inviting me down. I would like to introduce my associate, who is Angelita Jackson, who is the person that actually prepared these charts and pulled the data together that we’d all assembled and scribbled out and made it into a I think, understandable and legible format.

Councilman Shyne: Mrs. Jackson, you did a beautiful job. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you was teacher; beautiful job. You’ve made it so simple until my two colleagues, Roy Burrell and Tom Carmody could understand it.

Mr. Lunt: What you have in front of you should establish four things: 1. Who are the people that this particular effort is focused on. 2. How much is involved in terms of assets. 3. What the possible effect on the General and other funds of the City is. And 4. Some places to begin to look to see if in fact the support for this can be developed; so, that’s the short (inaudible) on your handout here.

To define who those individuals are that are the focus of this particular effort, the first sheet captures the full-time, general classified employees of the City that were on the payroll actually as of the end of August of this year. They are displayed by race, sex, and by the standard federal job categories that we use to report data to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The letters A through H are explained in the legend at the bottom of this sheet and the remainder of the sheets that you will see and these are standard categories that are used to categorize various types of employment that the City has, and again, that we use to make our federal reporting whole.

Of the 1,305 full time general classified employees on the payroll at the end of August, you can see that pretty much the last two, G and H, that’s categories G and H, account for ½ or maybe a little more of all of the individuals we had on the payroll. Those are predominately individuals that work outside: field service employees housed mostly in DOS Public Works and DOS Water and Sewerage and parts of Parks and Recreation. The administrative backbone of the City will be captured in categories E and F and those are the individuals who work in office based occupations, who support the administrative processes of the city of Shreveport, that accounts for roughly about 1/3 of the total number. And part of what Mr. Shyne was inquiring about when we first met, if you will recall was sort of, where are these people located, who is actually engaged in direct point of service occupations as opposed to people that support point of service occupations or serve in management supervisory roles. So, all together, about 2/3rds of this number, I believe are located in point of service occupations. About ½ of that number in outside endeavors, about 1/3rd of that number are actually inside office based occupations that support the administrative process and turn back up in more direct client services. So, this is who the people are that are involved in this particular point of focus today. This is the demographics for the general classified full-time employees of the City of Shreveport.

The next page down if you have the hand-out will begin to try to establish how much is involved. And this will display the same, starting at the left-hand and working over, by the same EEO categories, you will see it is the same number of employees involved. And, we took their salaries as of that date, which was the end of August of this year, and we extended those salaries to arrive at an annual figure. Our numbers include only salaries and wages and at some point in time, there are implications for the fringe benefits that we have to pay–the retirement and health insurance primarily, there are also other direct wage expenditures that have to be considered in the mix but this is sort of the threshold.

My numbers will probably differ from those that Mr. Dark will cover, somewhat. Mine will always run a little lower than his but he is including some other things that I did not include in these numbers. I wanted to say purely with the salary data to start with to see whether or not there was some validity or to see how much validity there was to how I am going to try suggest where to go look for some money. Bu this will display by these same categories what those annual salaries are in each of those categories and then the arithmetic involved in deriving what a 1%, a 2%, a 3% and we ran it out to 5% just to give a band, a context, in which to consider the smaller increases.

The third sheet down begins to speak to the effect on funding sources. Councilman Shyne: Joe, could you go back to that sheet just one minute and lets just say, could you do an example of lets say, a 2% increase, could you?

Mr. Lunt: The way and again, using just the salary data not the other direct labor expenses that may have implications for the funding of it, but we pretty much rolled up with the annual salary. We took, to get the salary data, we took the payroll at the end of August, we multiplied that in order to arrive at an annual figure, that’s what is down on this piece of paper for this 1,305 employees.

Councilman Shyne: Can I suggest this, if any of the Council members have any questions, would be alright if they would stop you at any point for an explanation? Mr. Lunt: Absolutely, no problem at all.

Councilman Carmody: If you will go back, I know Councilman Shyne asked you for the example. It does appear that your annual salaries are calculated right now at $29,136,426? Mr. Lunt: For these employees. Councilman Carmody: Right and then a 2% increase would $582,729 additional to that amount? Mr. Lunt: Yes. I am sorry I didn’t answer your question directly, but that is correct.

Councilman Shyne: I wanted you to give a concrete example so that they would understand what at 2%.

Mr. Antee: But keep in mind, that is only the base salary and it does not include overtime, which would have to be 2% or 3% or 4% or 5%. It does not include fringe benefits, for retirement and/or any of the other things. That’s just purely if you took what the base salary was, multiplied it by 2% which is not the total picture.

Councilman Carmody: A 2% increase would be much substantial than what this basic salary level reflect.

Councilman Shyne: Lets don’t say much more, but lets say a more substantial. Does Mr. Dark have those numbers at his figure tips on what it would be? Mr. Dark: Just look at that, if I am not mistaken and I’ve run these numbers a couple of different ways since your meeting the other day, the chart up there shows 1% at about $290,000. I think if you include the big overtime numbers and retirement which are the two things are affected and will go up if salaries go up, you are looking at about $330,000/$340,000, something like that. You are taking about maybe 15% more for each of those numbers up there, but 1% for all the funds, I think is between $650,00/$675,000 something like that–excuse me, half of that, about $340,000/$345,000 something like that.

Mr. Lunt: I would agree that 15% as an initial factor to try to evaluate these numbers is, certainly, its legitimate.

Councilman Shyne: Lets say a 2% raise instead of looking at $582,000 we would probably would be looking at maybe what? Mr. Dark: You are looking at between $650,000 and $700,000. Councilman Shyne: I was going to say, top end about $700,000. I am just guessing now. I’ve been known, since Roy is not here, I’ve been known to guess pretty good.

Mayor Hightower: One other thing you’ve got to consider too, that we don’t know what will happen. You have to keep in mind on the health insurance, the City pays a portion of that.

Part of the reason that we want to look at a cost-of-living increase, is to afford some of our employees that may not currently be on the insurance, the opportunity to get on the insurance. The down side is, insurance is going to go up as well, this year. Last year, we brought a reprieve when changed companies, but now we have been hit back with semi-realty and then next year we’ll be probably back up, pretty close to market speed on insurance. But we don’t know how many employees may opt into the insurance program once we provide them with a little more cash to be able to do that, but when they do that, it also increases the City’s exposure.

Councilman Shyne: Would we know by January. Would we have any idea by?

Mayor Hightower: Open enrollment is over the end of January, isn’t that correct, Joe?

Mr. Lunt: Yes, sir.

Mayor Hightower: So. we wouldn’t know until the end of January.

Councilman Shyne: So lets say somewhere, February or March we would have some idea?

Mayor Hightower: We’ll know by then. And then again, we don’t know what’s going to happen on overtime either, but we think that we’ve got a better handle on that than we had last in particular, but all it takes is a tornado or a disaster and your overtime budget is in trouble. Our overtime budget now, looks bad. I have got to tell you. Joe, again, I think just about in every category, I think overtime-wise we are ahead of where we ought to be. Some of them will catch up and be okay at the end of the year, some of them were over timed out back in the Spring when the tornado did come through. It is hard to figure, but $700,000 still may be conservative on a 2% which is what we were looking at.

Councilman Shyne: When you get a handle on those figures, Mr. Mayor, would you mind meeting with the committee and we kind of take another look at where we are?

Mayor Hightower: We will be glad to do that and we talked in the past and we were looking at trying to figure out how we were going to do a cost of living along with continuing our merit pay system which is the way we should pay employees based on their performance.

But taking a look at insurance and other cost of living things that have happened over the past several years, we want to do something and 2% is what we’ve been working toward. Tom has done a good job to try to find those dollars in the face of the lawsuits that we’ve seen and the claims that are filed against the city, insurance going up, the struggles that we do have, but we do think that we got to take care of the people that take care of us, which is city employees that are out working on the streets every single day doing the job. So, we are committing to finding the money to do the 2% even though we don’t know what 2% is going to cost, but who knows it is going to cost us, we think at least $700, probably three quarters of a million dollars to do that and when sales tax revenues are not doing what we thought they would do, it makes it tough and the Council will have to make some tough decisions, but we are on board with you.

We think that they deserve some sort of cost-of-living type increase. All of us work and are experiencing gasoline prices at $1.35 or .55 a gallon. Who knows what they will be next week and electricity and everything else that is going on. And we are going to work as hard as we can to get there, but we do want the Council to be cautious on how much it really is going to cost us and I think that this set of figures that Mr. Lunt’s presenting to you, are not good figures to deal with. And I want to apologize to the Council for these figures being presented to you when they really don’t reflect the additional benefits and the overtime that is going to be involved in the pay raise.

Councilman Carmody: Mr. Mayor, I appreciate Mr. Lunt though kind of prefacing all of this to say that these are very conservative figures and did not include anything over and above that, but I did have one question. As I appreciate it, the Administration would like to look at a possible 2% raise but want to verify that the information that the Committee received was that, the employees did not want to loss the opportunity for the merit increase as well. You are not talking about taking that portion away?

Mayor Hightower: No, we are operating on the merit pay increase system and those employees that have had the ratings necessary to get a merit pay raises over the last several years have gotten them and many employees have gotten the max, that’ll continue to happen. I believe we ought to pay the good people for the good work and the ones that can achieve those excellent ratings from their superiors, that I don’t think that those are the people that we want to pay. The city made the decision several years ago to get out of every since year we do a cost of living increase, lets pay the people that are doing the job. We are going to continue to do that, but every once in a while, I think you do have to step back and say, even with the merit increase it may only amount to what the CPI has been over the past several years. So, are you really rewarding the good ones or are you only giving them to the ability to keep up with inflation and we think every once in a while you have got to step back and say that now we ought to do an inflationary measure and that is what this is. Does this 2% address that? It doesn’t but 2% is what we can afford to do.

Councilman Shyne: And Mr. Mayor, you are probably right, it doesn’t but what I think it does too and I’ve had employees, lets say work in Operational Services working in water and sewerage. They’ll stop by the house and say, Joe you know you all always bragging on the Police Department and commending what they are doing and saying that you wouldn’t like to have their jobs. Well how would you like to ride with me. How would like to go with me and clean out a sewer. And I’ve told them, well look, let me follow you. To be truthful with you, I was afraid to get out of my car because I was afraid that I’d step in some of that stuff Tom, and track it back in my car and then track it in my house and you don’t know what kind of germs are out there. You put your life on the line.

And just like some of the guys, Chief Cochran who on the sanitation truck, now I wouldn’t want to work on the sanitation truck. Because I followed one of the trucks, to smell that and to be exposed to what they have to be exposed to, you don’t know what kind of germs that they are coming in contact with. Everybody who works for the City does a fine job. And Chief I don’t mean any harm, not only just the Police and Fire Departments because we see them in their uniforms and little boys and little girls say, I’d like to be a fireman because I think that is what you said when you was living over on the rear of some street and I’ve heard you tell that, and it sounds so good. And like one of the Pastor say, I guess I am very sensitive and my heart goes out. You don’t hear little boys and girls say, I want to work on the garbage truck or I want to clean out the sewerage system.

And Ken you and I are very fortunate. You and I would, we would go to work, we’d go to work hating to go to work everyday if we had get down and clean out some of those sewerage lines. Now, I’d like for those pastors to do that some times, to jump on the back of one of those garbage trucks or even Chief, to jump on the back of one of those fire trucks. If they think it is tough riding in an air-conditioned police units. Let them jump on the back of one of those fire trucks or jump in one of those garbage trucks or jump in one of those sewerage trucks and have to go down in one of those manholes and come into contact with what they have to come in contact with, their sermons on Sunday would be a little bit different.

And so I think all of city employees go above and above the cost of duty and I think we have some fine city employees in all of the department. We have secretaries who work over time, we work 3 or 4 hours over time that could be home with their kids, so all of our City employees do a fine job.

I see Mr. Bowie back there, Mr. Bowie your group do a fine job because some time, some of your inspectors go out to put a red tag or something on a car or something, and their lives are in danger because they don’t know what kind of people they are coming in contact with, so they all do a fine job.

Mr. Lunt: The next sheet down, the third sheet displays along here.

Councilman Carmody: This is funding sources?

Mr. Lunt: Correct. Councilman Carmody: And again, I’ve developed these numbers at the request of the committee. Councilman Shyne: Right. Mr. Lunt: And under the direction of the committee (inaudible) to display.

What I attempted to do was show the impact on the General Fund as opposed to any other fund most of them operate as revenue funds or enterprise funds. So, again, as the decision begins to be mulled over and you have an idea how much actually comes out of which pieces of the revenue stream available to the City. My information and my numbers indicate to me that by-in-large 2/3rds to a little bit more of any change that is made to the payroll will come out of the General Fund. But a significant amount is available out of other funds that are self-sustained or revenue generating so in going back into, I assume you’d want me to illustrate again. Councilman Shyne: Please.

Mr. Lunt: At the 2% then the split or the affect on the General Fund, from a total adjustment of $582,000 would actually be about $392,000 for a little more than 3/5ths of whatever that number would be to derives us to the $650 level that Mr. Dark mentioned first. Again, roughly 3/5ths or a little bit more is going to actually have to come out of the General Fund budgets as opposed to budgets that have other sources of revenue. Again, it just gives it larger context in which to evaluate any increase, doesn’t all come out of the same pot. Do you want me to continue, Mr. Shyne.

Councilman Shyne: You’ve hit the meat part of it. And Mr. Chairman, I wanted Joe to come down and do it, because they did such an excellent job and ‘cause the last time Mr. Dark had some numbers. And Mr. Dark, if you want us to, we will wait until the next time and you can bring your numbers forth.

Joe, you did an excellent job. It gives us a benchmark. It gives us something that we can look at and we know that this is just basic salary and we probably be looking at a 15 or 25% increase for all of the extras that go into it. But I do think that we have a moral responsibility to at least look at doing something for the other city employees. Those that are out there everyday when it is cold, when it is raining, when it is freezing, when it is 100 degrees because I hear them, I hear them crying, I hear them complaining and I still see them going out giving 110 and 120+, so we just appreciate what you’ve done and we’ll be getting back and meeting again.

Councilman Carmody: Mr. Mayor, I did want to ask because I know it was alluded to. I realize that the Administration is trying to work toward some sort of cost of living increase knowing that we are heading into the budget hearings. Are we anticipating being able to possible fund that by this next budget? Mayor Hightower: Yes. Councilman Carmody: Oh, very good. I think that will be of some comfort to our city employees.

CLERK’S REPORT: None.

COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.

The Council resolved itself into Committee of the Whole on motion by Councilman Shyne seconded by Councilman Huckaby. Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Pearl Huckaby, Stewart, Carmody, Spigener, and Shyne. 5. Nays: None. Did not cast a vote: Councilman Serio. 1. Absent: Councilman Burrell. 1.

There being no report from the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

/s/Thomas Carmody, Jr., Chairman

/s/Arthur G. Thompson, Clerk of Council