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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 06-12-06 - Regular MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DOWNEY ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING JUNE 12, 2006 The City Council of the City of Downey held an Adjourned Regular Meeting at 6:35 p.m. , June 12, 2006, in the Council Chamberof Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Ave., Downey, CA, Meredith H. Perkins Mayor presiding. PRESENT:Council Members: Meredith H. Perkins Rick Trejo David R. Gafin Kirk O. Cartozian Anne M. Bayer Mayor Mayor Pro Tem 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 Roy Campos, Chief of Police Linda Haines, Director of Development Services John Michicoff, Director of Finance Thad Phillips, Director of Community Services Scott Pomrehn, Assistant to the City Manager Mark Sauter, Fire Chief Mark Dryer, Police Captain Rick Esteves, Police Lieutenant John Godlewski, City Planner Noreen Kimura, Theatre Supervisor Alvin Lam, Computer Systems Manager Maurina Lee, Finance Manager Ron LeVar, Building Official Jim McCulloch, Police Lieutenant Mike Miller, Police Captain Kevin O’Connor, Theatre Manager Sheila Pautsch, Recreation Supervisor Erik Sund, Purchasing Manager Ed Velasco, Housing Manager Steven Yee, Principal Planner Susan Dornen, Secretary to the City Clerk The flag salute was presented by Assistant City Manager, Lee Powell. STUDY SESSION – PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006-2007 Mayor Perkins briefly explained that this is an infbrrnal meeting and the process that would be followed . City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/12/06 -1- Assistant city Manager Powell presented a Power Point presentation stating that the proposed budget for the 2006-07 Fiscal Year is $128,628,597 and that it is broken UP into three main parts: the General Fund being 48%, the Special Revenue Funds being 31 % and the Enterprise Funds at 21 %. He went on to present the breakdown of the General Fund budget: General Government $4,433,401 ; Police $27,2761932; Fire $15,450,465; Public Works $4,833,704; Community Services $6,601,934; and Development Services $3,126,650. The total Budget Revenues are projected as: Property Taxes $21,430,834; Sales Taxes $19, 179,132; Other Taxes $11,174,000; 1nterest and Rent $5,602,376; 1nter-governmental $16,472,746; Service Fees $20,618,977; and Other Revenue $8,005,218. He highlighted three areas of the budget: the City budget status, focus on property taxes and new initiatives. This fiscal year there are no State cutBacks; the local economy is good; property taxes are up $3,975,00; sales taxes are up $1,421,000; and a budget surplus replaces the budget deficit The property taxes show the elimination of State diversion in the amount of $1,067,776; an assessed value growth of ten percent (10%); and, the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) for property tax swap with Downey receiving $7,800,000. Tbe distribution of property tax revenue was explained as 36% to the Schools, 34% to the County, 26% to the City and 4% to others. The new initiatives are increasing Police staffing by three officers and two communications operators; the construction of the NASA Park and Columbia Learning Center; continuation of the Lakewood Boulevard street improvements; construction of a new Public Works yard ; and beginning the Imperial Highway landscaping project. 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. noted that the 200647 budget is up nine percent (9%) due to a City election, the Fire labor agreements expire July 2006; a document imaging project/electronic storage of City records will begin; and there are no major litigation (non-liability) cases. He Council Member Cartozian asked where the funding for the Police Department budget comes from that is not allocated out of the General Fund and was informed that it comes from the Asset Forfeiture Fund Director of Economic Development Vose presented an overview of the Economic Development Department and reviewed current projects, including the Downey Landing area reuse projects and Downtown revitalization projects. Mayor Perkins noted he had requested a study session on the new park and movie studios and stated that it would be prudent to notify the studios of what types of uses the City would allow on the property before they got too far in making any new plans for the use of the property. Finance Director Michicoff presented the Finance Department organizational chart, staffing levels, key activities, accomplishments and goals for the next fiscal year. He introduced Maurina Lee, the new Finance Manager. Mayor Pro Tem Trejo asked why the secretary position was being downgraded and it was explained that the position is open and they are having recruitment problems so they opened it up to a wider field. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/12/06 -2- Mayor Perkins asked how the new program of paying water bills directly from checking accounts was being accepted and was informed that 3,000 users have signed up for the water bill payment system. Police Chief Campos presented the Police Department organizational chart, staffing levels, annual workload, accomplishments and challenges for each of the three divisions. He indicated that innovative recruitment tools have helped secure more qualified applicants for the vacant positions. Council Member Cartozian asked what the two additional administrative positions were and was informed that they were transferred from other divisions. He indicated that he would like to see the staffing levels in Code Enforcement increase to keep up with the workload. Mayor Pro Tem Trejo asked where the gang enforcement officers are classified and was informed that they are under the Detective Division. Council Member GaIn stated that an increase in the Police Department budget is an investment in the community. Mayor Perkins inquired how many officers would be retiring this year and was informed that it is expected to be three to four. Fire Chief Sauter presented the Fire Department staffing levels, activities, accomplishments and goals for the next fiscal year for each of the five divisions. He noted there has been a 10% increase in plan checks this past year. Mayor Perkins noted his concerns regarding the overtime and minimum manning hours allocated each year. He then inquired about how the ambulance service subscription fee and was informed that there will be excess revenue of $54,000 this year for the basic life support transport fees 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 Mayor Perkins clarified that one of the maintenance yards had already been closed and noted that there are two costly projects coming up that are State mandated and WII show an increase in tax bills for the sewer system and waste water. The meeting recessed at 8:43 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:53 p.m. Mth all Council Members present. Director of Community Services Phillips 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 complimented the breakdown given in the report. Mayor Perkins congratulated Director Phillips and noted he is looking forward to the upcoming Concert in the Parks series. Director of Development Services Haines presented the Development Services Department organizational chart, staffing levels, accomplishments and development projects. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/12/06 -3- Council Member Cartozian asked what the $24,500 designated for the Chamber of Commerce is for and was informed that it is the contract amount we pay the Chamber every year to promote the City. Mayor Perkins asked what is going on at the Dowley Studios and was informed that they are demolishing a building and making some other minor improvements. He then noted that lea\e time and retirement were getting very high. Mayor Perkins then inquired on whether the 501 (c) (3) status had been received by the Learning Center Foundation and was told yes. He then inquired if the money from the retail sale of Downey Landing is being used to fund the Learning Center and was told no, only a small portion of it would be used. The Learning Center was always planned to be funded by the General Fund with support from the Foundation. Mbyor Perkins then asked why there is an addition in attorney fees and it was explained that using the backup City Attorney's would allow for better allocation of the City Attorney/Economic Development Director's time. It vms noted that the Zoning Code update WII require a great deal of the City Attorney’s time. PUBLIC COMMENTS Lennie Whittington, resident of Downey, complimented the Police Department, Fire Department and all Department Heads for the work they do for the City. He asked how the Director of the Learning Center is being paid if the grants have run out; why the School District doesn’t pay for at least a portion of the Crossing Guard program; and, why the Downey Civic Light Opera does not receive funding. Bill Hare, resident of Downey, spoke on behalf of the Downey Symphonic Society requesting that the funding they receive from the City be returned to the original $10,000 grant. Harold Tseklenis, resident of Downey, echoed the comments from the previous speaker and noted that the School DistHct helps the symphony through the PTA programs and by providing bussing for the music in the schools programs. He stated that qualityof life issues are what keep residents living here. Gary DeRemer, resident of Downey, spoke on behalf of the Downey Rose Float Association requesting that the City increase their funding to $7,000 to cover the cost of the theatre rental. Council Member Bayer asked if the Rose Float’s donation could be raised to $10,000 and perhaps some of the other groups that don’t do as much for the community have their funds redistributed to other groups. Mayor Perkins stated that vdlen the cutbacks were made, they were done on a percentage and the same percentage was taken from all groups. Council Member Cartozian noted he would be interested in raising all groups to previous levels Council Member GaIn asked for further background on what is given to each group and whether any groups had been eliminated. City Manager Caton stated that he would not like to see any group cut and that staff is not opposed to raising either group to previous amounts or additional amounts. City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/12/06 -4- ADJOURNMENT 10:02 p.m The meeting was adjournedto 7:15 p.m June 13 2006 in the Council Chamberof Downey City Hall q@@,MMa b KATHLEEN L. MIDSTOKK£, City Clerk MEREDITH H. PERKINS, Mayor City Council Adj. Reg. Minutes 06/1 2/06 -5-