02 Council Minutes (12/10/01) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Minutes of the City Council December 14, 2001 Page 16 City Manager Malone noted that Finance Director Gene Anderson has received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded to the City of Paris by the Government Finance Officer's Association of the United States and Canada for Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of government account and financial reporting. It represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. Gene Anderson came forward advising the City Council that he has made progress on the use of Visa and Master cards for citizens to make payments to the City. He said it is going to be more complicated than the traditional commercial accounts. Mr. Anderson advised that he has been in touch with Lynk Systems, Incorporated who work in the Dallas and Ft. Worth area. They handle cities of the size of Paris. He has set up a meeting with them this week to work out the final details and mechanics of credit card billing for the City. Mr. Anderson said the Water Billing Office will be the first place that this service will be used, and when the mechanics have been worked out, then it will be provided for payments to the Municipal Court. City Manager Malone said that the Police Department currently has three officers in the Police Academy and there are two openings. He said that a Civil Service test was given and nine people took the test. Eight of the applicants passed the test and four of those failed the physical agility test. He advised that there is one opening for a Police Dispatcher and the city is currently taking applications for that position. They have been working on the computer aided dispatch system and making some progress with that. He advised that many of the programs were working properly. City Manager Malone reported that the Police Department has arrested over 2,800 people this year, which is up from 2,600 arrests last year. The City Manager reported that eighteen firefighters are taking EMT training at Station No. One. Paris Junior College is acting as the provider for this course which began in October, 2001 and is on schedule.