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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 06-21-05 - Regular Meeting014339 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DOWNEY ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING JUNE 21, 2005 The City Council of the City of Downey held an Adjourned Regular Meeting at 6:34 p.m., June 21, 2005, in the Council Chamber of Downey City Hall, Mayor Anne M. Bayer presiding. PRESENT: Council Members: Anne M. Bayer Meredith H. Perkins Rick Trejo David R. Gafin Kirk O. Cartozian Mayor Mayor Pro Tem (arrived at 6:35 p.m.) ALSO PRESENT:Gerald M. Caton, City Manager Charles S. Vose, City Attorney/Economic Development Director Kathleen L. Midstokke, City Clerk Lee Powell, Assistant City Manager Desi Alvarez, Director of Public Works John Finch. Chief of Police Linda Haines, Director of Development Services Bonnie Kehoe, Director of Community Services James Makshanoff, Deputy City Manager John Michicoff, Director of Finance Mark Sauter, Fire Chief Angie Avery, Recreation & Social Services Manager Loren Behr, Executive Director Space Learning Center Roy Campos, Police Captain Mark Dryer, Police Captain Rick Esteves, Police Lieutenant Sung Hyun, Finance Manager Noreen Kimura, Theatre Supervisor Ron LeVar, Building Official Jim McCulloch, Police Lieutenant Mike Miller, Police Captain Sheila Pautsch, Recreation Supervisor Thad Phillips, City Librarian Erik Sund, Purchasing Manager Ed Velasco, Housing Manager Steven Yee, Principal Planner Ron Yoshiki, City Planner Susan Dornen, Executive Secretary The flag salute was presented by John Finch, Chief of Police. STUDY SESSION – PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005-2006 City Manager Caton briefly explained that this is an informal meeting and the process that would be followed. He noted that per the Charter, the final budget would be adopted at the next regular Council meeting on June 28, 2005. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/21/05 -1 - O 1 5 O U ! I Assistant City Manager Powell presented a Power Point presentation stating that the proposed budget for the 2005-06 Fiscal Year is $126,045,036 that is broken up into three main parts: the General Fund being 46%, the Special Revenue Funds being 37% and the Enterprise Funds at 17% He went on to present the breakdown of the General Fund budget: General Government at $4,187,504; Police at $24,768,627; Fire at $15,372,397; Public Works at $4,497,240; Community Services at $6,146,801 ; and the neWy formed Development Services at $2,861 ,331. The total Budget Revenues are projected as: Property Taxes $17,369,762; Sales Taxes $17, 282,729; Other Taxes $10,775,000; 1nterest and Rent $5,579,048; 1nter-governmental $19,030,513; Service Fees $19,691,921 ; and Other Revenue $6,912,226. He highlighted three areas of the budget: the State Budget problems, City revenue changes and new initiatives. The State budget problems created a loss in revenue of $1,893,908 in 200344; $1,384,262 in 2004-05; and projected $1,384,262 in 200546. In 200445 the initial operating deficit was $1,530,000; however, the current projection is only -$24,000. Based on the actual figures now known to the City the budget projects this operating deficit for 2005-06 to be $565,000 and therefore no City tax increase is being proposed. The City revenue has changed because of the Sales tax triple flip, where the state is now taking .25% of the 1 % the City receives in Sales Tax and replaces it with other revenue that is remitted in December and May; the historic Motor vehicle in-lieu fee (VLF) which the state took and is replaced with property tax revenue equaling approximately $6.2 million; the Cities share of local property tax increased from 14.5% to 21.8%; and the ground lease income from the former NASA property will be $780,000. The Service Fee revenue proposes to increase the Building Permit record keeping fee to fund a new computerized system; increasing the Recycling/Clean-up fee on water bills by $.50 per month; and other fees will experience small increases in accordance with the cost of providing the service. The new initiatives the City is working on are the new Development Services Department; the new park on the former NASA property; the Columbia Learning Center; Lakewood Boulevard improvements; increasing the after school day care programs; and the new upgrade to the Library computer system. The distribution of property tax revenue was explained as 37% to the Schools, 34% to the County, 22% to the City and 7% to others. Assistant City Manager Powell then gave a brief overview of the General Government section of the budget which includes the City Council, City Manager, City Clerk and City Attorney. He stated that the 200546 budget is up .6%, there will be no City election, the Police and general employee labor agreements expire in 2005-06, the Kaiser and Downey Landing projects are becoming more intense; and we will be working on the County owned property on Imperial Highway regarding redevelopment plans and issues. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins inquired if the two employee contracts, that are expiring, are included in the budget and was told no, they were not. Council Member Cartozian requested clarification as to how it is determined where the funding comes for specific departments such as the new Development Services. It was explained that some State and Federal funding mandates what the monies can be allocated to, and certain service fees cover the costs of particular services City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/21/05 -2- 015001 Finance Director Michicoff presented the Finance Department organizational chart, staffing levels, key activities, accomplishments and goals for the next fiscal year for each of the four divisions Mayor Pro Tem Perkins inquired if the City is breaking even on the ambulance service and was told that it is difficult to determine due to the subscription services but overall it is doing quite well. He suggested that the SEAACA program be reviewed. Police Chief Finch presented the Police Department organizational chart, staffing levels, annual workload, accomplishments and challenges for each of the three divisions. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins suggested looking at the numbers of surrounding Cities that work with the Sheriffs Department and how we compare to them. He raised the issue that the retirement and medical program offered to employees is becoming very cumbersome and expensive. Council Member Cartozian stated that staffing had always been a challenge with this department and he has some ideas he WII share at a later date when looking at the new contracts on how to help recruitment. Council Member Gafin noted that the City has a very good reputation in regards to safety but that it won’t continue if changes aren’t made. He asked the City Council to increase the staffing level by three sworn officers to help maintain a safe City and directed the City Manager to develop a four year plan on how to increase the staffing level of the Police Department. Fire Chief Sauter presented the Fire Department staffing levels, activities, accomplishments and goals for the next fiscal year for each of the five divisions. Council Member Cartozian inquired as to what the increase in the personnel cost under Fire Suppression is comprised of and Chief Sauter said he would be happy to meet with him and go over it line item by line item. Council Member Gafin asked for clarification on how the basic life support transport fees are determined and was informed that we adopted the fees set by the County for our basic life support transport and advanced life support transport; in addition we offer a subscription service which the Council sets the fees. Council Member Trejo questioned where the training for medical office buildings is funded and was informed that these tasks are done on regular hours and therefore there is no special funding category for them. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins noted that the minimum manning, retirement and medical insurance were becoming a red flag; questioned if the cost of working at the movie studios is reclaimed; and if monies had been set aside for the new ambulance. Chief Sauter responded that the monies are recaptured from the movie studios and the money has been set aside annua Sly since 1999 for the ambulance . Director of Public Works Alvarez presented the Public Works organizational chart, the budget fund breakdowns and some highlights of the department activities for each of the four divisions. Council Member Cartozian noted that the City receives a number of complaints regarding standing water and inquired if there are in plans in the future to correct this. Public Works Director Alvarez stated that the City is an extremely flat community and is difficult to acquire positive drainage. It would be cost prohibitive to resolve these relatively small issues. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/21/05 -3- 015002 Mayor Pro Tem Perkins noted that the retirement and insurance is becoming very cumbersome and inquired when Lakewood Boulevard would be completed. Public Works Director Alvarez responded that the current projects underway would be completed by the end of the year, however new phases would be beginning. Director of Community Services Kehoe presented the Community Services organizational chart, staffing levels, activities, accomplishments and goals for the next fiscal year for each of the divisions Council Member Cartozian inquired what the increases in Library personnel and Building Rental are caused by and was told that the personnel was due to the renegotiated contract that was approved last year and the building rental costs are determined by the Finance Department which is based on the bond issued to build the Library building. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins stated that the retirement and medical insurance is hindering the budgets and suggested that the curtain be replaced at the Theatre. He was informed that it had been included in the budget to be replaced. The meeting recessed at 8:40 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:50 p.m. Mth all Council Members present. Director of Development Services Haines presented the Development Services four divisions including the organizational chart, staffing levels, reviewed counter activity, accomplishment and development projects including the Downey Landing area reuse projects. Council Member Gafin raised a concern about hiring two new Building Inspectors with associated overhead instead of hiring outside contractors that could be released when the workload has lightened up. Council Member Cartozian reiterated the need to Council to provide the resources for this department. Director of Economic Development Vose presented an overview of the Economic Development Department and reviewed current projects, including the Downey Landing area reuse projects Mayor Pro Tem Perkins suggested continuing to put pressure on the County for the Rancho property redevelopment and the Imperial Highway property. He was told that they are currently actively working on both those projects with the County. Lennie Whittington, resident of Downey, indicated that he had reviewed the travel expenditure accounts of the City Council for the last five years and they have gone over budget every year. He suggested that the budget be raised and the monies divided equally among the Council Members. Larry Lewis, representing the Downey Symphony, thanked the Council for the $6,400 budget allocation and making the community needs a budget priority. Harold Tseklenis, resident of Downey, also thanked the Council for the support of the Downey Symphony and hopes that other quality of life issues can be funded in the future. Council Member Cartozian requested that the City Council Secretary’s pay scale be looked at for an adjustment. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/21/05 -4- 0150 03 Council Member Gafin noted that the Police Department is understaffed compared to the size of population and by adding three sworn officers it would only be .36% of 1% of the value brought in by sales tax and property taxes. With the growth of the City and the increase in gang activity, we need to address the issue now. It was moved by Counci\ Member GaIn and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Perkins, to add an additional three sworn officer positions with the Police Department and to direct the City Manager to develop a four year plan to increase the staffing levels to put us back in proportion with the population. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins asked the Police Chief if we were fully staffed at this time. Police Chief Finch responded that the department is understaffed five officers. It is difficult to recruit with the application return low and the high standards the department has for its officers. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins suggested amending the motion to just approving the three additional officers and holding off on the development of the four year plan until we can see if these positions can be filled. It was moved by Council Member Gafin, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Perkins and unanimously carried to amend the original motion to amend the budget to authorize three more sworn officer positions for the Police Department. Prior to the vote, Council Member Trejo inquired as to what makes the City safer and was told that there has to be a balance: Community involvement and sufficient number of officers. He added that neighborhoods are afraid to get involved and suggested the Council get involved to promote the Community helping out by being the eyes and ears for the Police Department and reporting crimes. Council Member Cartozian challenged the Council to make the decisions in contract negotiations to make it more appealing to be able to recruit quality officers. Council Member GaIn requested a report evaluating the subscription rates for the basic life transport; a review to consider hiring outside contractors instead of full time employees in the Building Department; and to consider increasing the Councils’ travel budget and allocating it equally between the Council Members. Council Member Cartozian requested that the next Council meeting be adjourned in memory of Francisco Lara, a longtime Downey resident; and requested a report breaking out the salaries and compensation for all positions be brought back. Council Member Trejo thanked all of the Department Heads for their presentations and noted that he had recently been to the Pike in Long Beach and would like to see this tw)e of development in Downey; he complimented the permit process and requested that the Library be re-opened on Sundays. Mayor Pro Tem Perkins requested that the Planning Survey that was presented in November 2004, be included in the fee schedule presentation next week; however, he would like included the cities of Bell Gardens, South Gate, Pico Rivera, Bellflower, Norwalk and have information on their Conditional Use Permit, Tentative Parcel Map, Tentative Tract Map, Zone Variance and Zone Change fees for evaluation. Mayor Bayer thanked the staff for putting together the budget and complimented them br working to keep the Citys costs down during the budget crises. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/21/05 -5- 015004 PUBLIC COMMENTS No one came forward to speak. ADJOURNMENT: 9:47 p.m. The meeting was adjourned to 6:30 p.m., June 28, 2005, in the Council Chamberof Downey City Hall. ql„aMy . ?rad„ab U– \-- e).:l KATHLEEN L. fMIDSTOKKE, City Clerk ANNE M BAYER, Mayor City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/21/05 -6-