Board President Jamey Abercrombie presented a plan at a special meeting last Thursday on a system that would allow employees to either swipe a card, use their fingerprint or type in a pin number to record when their workday begins and ends. He said the system, hooked up to a computer inside city hall, would be able to track lunch breaks and vacation usage. Last Thursday's meeting was the latest in the discussion originally initiated by Mayor Roy White, who accused city employees in April of excessive pay for overtime and vacation use. Last week, he presented a cost estimate for the installation of three punch card time clocks and four security cameras. The entire cost, excluding installation, would be $1,226.39, according to White. He believed the cameras could be installed for as little as $200. White repeatedly told the board he would pay the difference if the project exceeded $1,500. However, aldermen did not want to act on White's proposal until getting a firm installation cost, prompting the board to meet again at last week's special session. Abercrombie told the board the system was similar to one currently used by the Wright City R-II School District. He said school officials reported minimal problems. However, much like White's earlier proposal, Abercrombie did not have a known cost. He indicated the cost would most likely surpass the $1,500 that White has presented a week earlier. "It's going to cost more up-front," Abercrombie said. "But over the year, by the hour, how much is it going to save (us)?" Along with the board of aldermen, City Clerk Christine Martin, Parks Director Curt Kehoe, Public Works Director Larry Janish and Economic Development Director/Treasurer Karen Girondo attended last week's special meeting. Currently, city employees fill out their time cards on their own. "We need to do something and make it work," Alderman Tom Black remarked. Abercrombie also said the new system should cut down the amount of time Martin spends working on payroll. The computer program will keep track of accrued vacation time, according to Abercrombie. The city still needs to see how the system would hook up with its current computer software. The board and department heads agreed the time clock could be installed on the outside of city hall for all city employees to use at all hours. Originally, city officials had talked about getting three time clocks and having them available at the city shed for the public works department and the new city building at Diekroeger Park. Abercrombie said the time clock system he presented consists of a utility box that could be installed on the outside of city hall and eliminate the need of having a full-time employee present to open a city-owned building for part-time employees. Plus, city hall provides a safe and secure location since it's lit and right next to the police department. Abercrombie suggested the department heads help put together a policy and other problems the city may encounter should all employees be required to use a time clock. Aldermen planned on discussing the situation again Wednesday night following a special meeting with Warrenton officials. A vote on what direction to take could come as early as Thursday night's aldermanic meeting. "I'm tired of talking about it," Abercrombie stated. "I want to put it to rest. I want to get a time clock in, get a policy and get it implemented. The time clock actually protects you (department heads)." The only concern raised at last week's issue was how to keep track of hours for lunch breaks. Alderman Jim Schuchmann said it might be unnecessary to have an employee from the public works department travel from a job site to city hall on a daily basis. Larry Janish, public works director, said employees would have to be trusted, prompting White to fire back that the "honor system" did not work previously. White also cited Janish for failing to cut down on his overtime use when asked by White to do so last April. When questioned by Schuchmann on why he didn't dispute the hours earlier, White responded by saying "We as a board failed to address the issue." White said the alleged misuse of vacation and overtime is being investigated though he has yet to comment further on the issue.