CCW Minutes

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE The Council Committee of the Whole met on December 10, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. with Council President Anderson presiding. Members of Council present were Ms. Arndt, Mr. Hare, Mr. Lewis (via WebEx and out at 6:46 p.m.), Mr. Neil, Dr. Pillsbury, and Mr. Rocha. Mr. Boggerty and Dr. Sudler were absent. Mayor Christiansen was also absent. Civilian members present for their Committee meetings were Mr. Garfinkel, Mr. Shevock (Legislative, Finance, and Administration), and Mr. Iriowen (Utility). Mr. Wilson (Utility) was absent. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Dr. Pillsbury moved for adoption of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried. Council Reports – November 2024 First District Dr. Pillsbury reported that she participated in the Ethics Ad-Hoc meeting and qualified in the weapons training with the City of Dover Police Department in November. Mr. Rocha reported that he held a meeting regarding the Academy of Dover to address parking and traffic concerns. The discussion focused on strategies to increase parking capacity and improve traffic flow during school drop-off and dismissal times. He explained that they are working with Dr. Marinucci to resolve those issues. Second District Mr. Hare reported that someone was camping and sleeping in a pine tree at Dover Park, and he received complaints from neighbors. Ms. Duca, Assistant City Manager, had the Parks and Recreation Department respond and they removed the mattress and other debris from the area, and he has been gone ever since. Mr. Hare thanked Ms. Duca and the Parks and Recreation team. Mr. Lewis had nothing to report. Third District Ms. Arndt reported that she attended the Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association Annual Planning Conference. She emphasized that several awards were given, and the Planning Project of the Year went to a Dover project, the Rail Haus – Beer Garden. She expressed congratulations to Donny and Kim Legans who were there to accept the award. She also explained that they asked how many people in the room had been to Rail Haus in Dover, and she was impressed to see that at a meeting in Newark, a lot of hands went up. She stated that it is drawing in folks from far and near and she wanted to express that good news. Mr. Neil reported receiving multiple emails and phone calls regarding the stormwater charges. He met with 40 residents of Wild Meadows to help prepare a stormwater appeal from the Homeowners Association (HOA) on their behalf. He also met with the HOA president and Mark Nowak to discuss the appeal. He attended a meeting with Dover Speedway officials, Sharon Duca, Assistant City Manager, and Councilwoman Arndt. He sent an alert to the Third District’s HOA and civic

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2024 PAGE 2 leaders on the demise of the stormwater service fee for the year. He reported that he inspected the Gift of Lights event on the Firefly grounds which will be available through New Year's Day. He filed a formal complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the attempt of RHP Properties to collect property taxes paid to the city and county from 2023 and 2024, in 2026 rent increases through the Wild Meadows homeowners. The DOJ ombudsman for the manufactured housing community has stopped the attempt. He explained that the state law guarantees lease land community owners a profit without oversight. He participated in various events and meetings, including the Downtown Dover Partnership meetings, Kent County Tourism meetings, a ribbon- cutting ceremony at the John Dickinson Plantation Visitor Center, the Bayhealth Medical Center ribbon-cutting at the Blue Hen Mall, a groundbreaking ceremony on Ann Avenue for Habitat for Humanity, a Library Foundation meeting, the Dover Speedway Charity Luncheon Award Ceremony, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony. Additionally, he gave an interview with WBOC TV regarding the shopping cart ordinance set to be introduced after the beginning of the year. Fourth District Dr. Sudler was absent; no report was given. At-Large Mr. Boggerty was absent; no report was given. Council President Anderson Council President Anderson reported receiving numerous inquiries regarding the stormwater utility and marijuana ordinances. He explained that at the National League of Cities, he found the discussion on transportation and infrastructure hubs particularly useful. He also reported that they have worked successfully with Milford, securing grants, and would love to work with Dover. Also, the Delaware League of Local Governments is interested in helping as well. In addition, he reported that he attended several community events where Thanksgiving dinners were provided to those in need, including the giveaway of 125 turkeys with all the fixings. LEGISLATIVE, FINANCE, AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE The Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee met with Chairman Rocha presiding. Adoption of Agenda Mr. Garfinkel moved for adoption of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Anderson and unanimously carried. Discussion – Additional Information Regarding the State of Delaware Pension (Naomi Poole, Human Resources Director, David S. Hugg, III, City Manager, and Stephenie Tatman, State of Delaware Deputy Pension Administrator) Ms. Stephenie Tatman, State of Delaware Deputy Pension Administrator, reviewed the background and analysis of the State of Delaware County and Municipal General Pension Plan. This item was informational, and committee action was not required. Responding to Mr. Garfinkel, Ms. Tatman stated that pension calculation is based on the employee’s years of service and compensation. For example, if someone retires at sixty-two with

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2024 PAGE 3 only five years of service, their pension is not going to be anywhere near what someone who worked thirty years is going to be. Therefore, they may receive a couple of hundred dollars for a pension versus $3,000 for someone who works thirty years. Responding to Mr. Garfinkel, Ms. Tatman stated that the reduction would be because of age. For example, if someone was sixty and had at least fifteen years of service, they could retire with no reduction. The reduction could only come into play if they have fifteen years of service or more and are under the age of sixty. A more detailed example would be if someone were fifty-seven and had sixteen years of service, they would be eligible to retire because they would have fifteen years of service and are at least fifty-five but there would be a 0.4% penalty for the thirty-six months that they fall short of the age of sixty. Responding to Mr. Garfinkel, Ms. Tatman stated that another way to look at it could be if the employee was fifty-five and started collecting a pension, they would withdraw more from the funds than if they had worked until the age of sixty. That is what the reduction is for, to help offset the impact on the fund from people who retire at an earlier age. Responding to Mr. Garfinkel, Ms. Tatman stated that the city could purchase any amount of service for their employees. She explained that the state could provide a multi-tier option. They would request an estimate from their actuary on what the buy-in costs would be for sixty employees, for example. For example, if the city had sixty employees and wanted to purchase one year of service for all of them, the state could prepare an estimate for what that would cost the City of Dover. She also clarified that the city could purchase any number of years that it chooses. Responding to Mr. Garfinkel, Ms. Tatman stated that the city share would be 5.7% of the salary. She also clarified that the driving factor for the employer rate is salary. If the city were to give a significant pay increase to the employees, that could have an impact in the long run. However, inflation does not impact the employer contribution rate. Responding to Mr. Shevock, Ms. Tatman stated that the Office of Pensions administers the program. The City of Dover's Human Resources Department would provide the state with information about the employees participating in the plan and would submit monthly payroll details, including employee and employer contribution rates. Responding to Mr. Shevock, Ms. Tatman stated that the Board of Pension Trustees holds the ultimate oversight responsibility and that they have a sub-investment committee comprised of highly experienced veterans. The committee's members bring a range of expertise, including experience with DuPont and the University of Delaware Endowment. Responding to Mr. Anderson, Ms. Tatman stated that dental and vision coverage are separate, and the employee would be responsible for paying for the coverage. Responding to Mr. Anderson, Ms. Tatman stated that the employee would be given the option to choose coverage at retirement and again each year during open enrollment, with the option to waive coverage altogether.

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2024 PAGE 4 Responding to Mr. Anderson, Ms. Tatman stated that he was correct. If the city chose to buy a five-year service buy-in but an employee had only worked three years, the city would only pay for the three years for that employee. Responding to Mr. Anderson, Ms. Tatman stated that it must be a one-size-fits-all approach. The city cannot give the secretaries five years and the utility workers ten years, it must be the same number of years for everyone participating. Responding to Mr. Anderson, Ms. Tatman stated that the prior service is generally a point of contention when trying to make the same decisions in other municipalities. Depending on the plan that is currently offered, if an employee is close to retirement in the existing plan, that is when they have individual factors to consider. She explained that purchasing prior service helps but is expensive, so she recommends submitting a cost estimate to their office. Responding to Mr. Anderson, Ms. Tatman stated that anyone who is close to retirement and chooses to stay in their current 401 or 457 plan will be offered a one-time irrevocable option to join the plan. Annual Review of the Investment Policy (Patricia Marney, Controller/Treasurer) Ms. Patricia Marney, Controller/Treasurer, reviewed the background and analysis regarding the Investment Policy. Staff recommended approval of the policy with no changes. Mr. Hare moved to recommend acceptance of the staff recommendation. The motion was seconded by Dr. Pillsbury and unanimously carried. Sole Vendor Purchase Approval for the HVAC System Upgrade – Dover Police Department (Chief Johnson) Chief Johnson reviewed the background and analysis regarding the sole vendor purchase for the HVAC system upgrade. Staff recommended approval of the sole vendor purchase from Service Unlimited, New Castle, DE. Mr. Hare moved to recommend acceptance of the staff recommendation. The motion was seconded by Ms. Arndt and unanimously carried. Mr. Rocha moved for adjournment of the Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee meeting, hearing no objection the meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m.

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2024 PAGE 5 UTILITY COMMITTEE The Utility Committee met with Chairman Neil presiding. Adoption of Agenda Mr. Rocha moved for adoption of the agenda, seconded by Dr. Pillsbury and unanimously carried. Annual Engineering Consultant’s Report on the Operation and Maintenance of the Electric System – Fiscal Year 2025 (Patricia Marney, Controller/Treasurer, and Paul Waddell, Electric Director) Ms. Patricia Marney, Controller/Treasurer, and Mr. Paul Waddell, Electric Director, reviewed the background and analysis of the Engineering Consultant’s Report on the Operation and Maintenance of the Electric System for Fiscal Year 2023. Staff recommended acceptance of the report. Ms. Marney clarified for the record that the report is for the Fiscal Year 2023. Responding to Ms. Arndt, Ms. Marney stated that she is correct in that all utilities are having the same issues regionally because expenses are higher because of the cost of natural gas and the Indian River Power Plant. Responding to Ms. Arndt, Ms. Marney stated that she is correct in noting that it seems the city is being penalized because expenses exceed revenue. She further explained that, according to the bond resolution, the city must maintain a specific ratio. With the draft financials, the city is currently at 0.98, but it needs to be at 1.25. Responding to Ms. Arndt, Mr. Waddell stated that to the best of his knowledge, the Indian River payments are complete for the Reliability Must-Run (RMR). He clarified that this payment represented the additional amount that had been required monthly. He stated that all of the electric providers in the area went through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and tried to get the rate reduced and they were able to get them drastically reduced from the initial costs. Responding to Ms. Arndt, Mr. Waddell stated that natural gas prices have settled back down. He explained that the report was based on data from two years ago when natural gas prices went through the roof. He added that they had budgeted for that year on the lower side, as such a rise had not been anticipated. Responding to Ms. Arndt, Ms. Marney stated that she is still working on the fiscal year 2024 report along with the engineering consultants and they will be working on that over the next few months. Mr. Hare moved to recommend acceptance of the staff recommendation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Iriowen and unanimously carried. Mr. Neil moved for adjournment of the Utility Committee meeting, hearing no objection the meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2024 PAGE 6 Mr. Anderson moved for adjournment of the Council Committee of the Whole meeting, hearing no objection the meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. David L. Anderson Council President