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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1998-06-16 6-16-98 Seal Beach, California June 16, 1998 The city council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 4:08 p.m. with Mayor Brown calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. R~LC~L Present: Mayor Brown Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Yost I Absent: None Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Chief Sellers, Police Department Captain Maiten, police Department Ms. Beard, Director of Recreation and Parks Captain Cushman, Lifeguard Department Lieutenant Summers, Lifeguard Department Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk APPROV~ OF AGENDA There appeared to be consensus of the Council to approve the order of the agenda as presented. BUDGET WORKSHOP The City Manager commenced an overview of the City of Seal Beach budget proposed for fiscal year 1998/99, and noted the final budget will be presented for consideration under public hearing on June 22nd. Comments and inquiries to the presentation/discussion included, in part: I * The General Fund is primarily revenues derived from Taxes, Licenses and Permits, Fines and Forfeitures, Franchises, Use of Money and Property, Subventions, Services Charges, Fees, and Other Revenue, those are discretionary funds, the majority of which is for public safety; * Lighting and Landscape Maintenance District funds can be only used for that purpose; the Supplemental Law Enforcement Grant (COPS) can only be used to supplement law enforcement; it was mentioned that the Governor's budget proposes to increase COPS grant funds this year; The Recreation Services Fund could be described as similar to an enterprise fund as program fees are to offset costs; there continues to be a recreation program subsidy; request for a breakdown specific to revenues versus expenditures; * I * The Tideland Beach Fund is for beach operations, funding for lifeguards, etc.; revenues accrued to the Tideland Fund can only be used for that purpose; requires an annual General Fund subsidy; * Transportation program Funds include parking impact fees, about $4 to $5 thousand per year; the cumulative I I I 6-16-98 amount as shown on the Fund Balance Sheet is about $24,000; * Water Operations too is an enterprise fund for water services and maintenance thereof; confirmed that the budget does include the recent increase, the term standby fee now identified as a capital fee; * Sewer fees are a percentage of the water fee; comment was that sewer charges are a double fee in that the Sanitation District also imposes a fee; about ninety percent of the sewer lines are under jurisdiction of cities, the main lines are County; the County fee goes to the Sanitation District, none comes to the cities; * Redevelopment Fund includes the Riverfront low/moderate housing twenty percent set aside, about $235,000 plus that of Surfside; the cumulative low/moderate housing fund is about $2.25 million; a housing rehabilitation program will be forthcoming for consideration; the property rental category represents Zoeter parcels Band 0, parcel A is separate; * Noted that the Utility Users Tax is $3.9 million, down from $4.1, the difference being the ten percent electric utility reduction; * Business licenses are up about $40,000; explained that the two manufacturing businesses pay on a gross payroll basis, that is Boeing and Accurate Metals; the business license fee was also increased this year by about $30; * Vehicle Code Violations, noted that the law changed allowing a greater return; * Parking Citations, question was if still losing monies to the County; response was yes, may change this year; * Cable Television, questioned getting last year's fee this year; response was that it was received in 1997/98; * Street Sweeping and Tree Trimming fees are down; response was that they are on utility bill therefore are cyclical; * Motor Vehicle In-Lieu, in two years that could be a severe impact on the City; once State funds get short the State will take a percentage and it will likely never come back to the cities; there needs to be passage of ACA 42, ACA 42 will also keep other revenues from being taken; noted that the vehicle tax is a federal and State write-off thus the State would have no revenue change for now; the desire is to lower the utility users tax however this potential take could be dangerous for the City; * Question was raised as to the increase in special event revenue, also the Detention Facility fees; federal inmates were not being referred to this facility for a period of time, now they are; * Refuse Charges, the City no longer bills for commercial service that is why those fees are down; 6-16-98 * The difference from $4,200 to $51,000 in the Recreation Services Fund, Youth Activities, was questioned; response was that a couple of programs were combined this past year; Brochure Advertising is new, is anticipated to help with the brochure cost; As for departmental budgets, there are three primary categories, personnel, maintenance, operations and supplies, and capital outlay; there are few instances of capital outlay; a detail of expenditures is shown as backup to each budget; the first of the individual budgets are primarily General Fund funded, then restricted fund budgets, enterprise fund budgets, etc.; the attempt was to keep cost increases within one and a half percent of what they were previously, the exception to that was the contract employees and when it was seen that efficiency would go down; * I City Council budget - Chamber of Commerce item is for the membership of the City; noted there is a proposal to combine the Chamber and the Business Association which may reduce membership cost; question of SCAG membership since City does not participate, $1,800; response was that SCAG disperses a lot of information to agencies, last year the City was eligible through SCAG to receive computers and land use data; suggestion was to delete SCAG membership; confirmed that dues are paid to both the State and County Division of the Leag~e of California Cities, the Orange County Division is very active, provides considerable information at a reasonable cost; noted that Seal Beach is in the Santa Ana River Flood Control basin, there is considerable federal funding at the State for the Santa Ana River project; the City aquifer is fed by that River; the City Manager to provide additional information with regard to that organization; as to reimbursement of mileage for attending certain meetings, it was noted the Council $300 per month stipend is for that purpose; * As to the City Manager budget, question was raised as to the nearly triple amount of fringe benefits since 1995; response was that there are four full time employees, 1995 is thought to be when the Assistant position came into being; the PERS rate is also a factor although the rate is fairly good for non-safety employees; contract fingerprinting will be for all new employees, the personnel function is in the City Manager's office; budget includes a new computer; * I * It was noted that the revised budget pages now reflects a position for Deputy City Clerk, the question being if there are funds for that position; response was that there are funds for the same staffing as in the current and previous year, possibly $27,000; the new phone system will provide an auto operator function when the Clerk needs to leave the office; I * No elections budgeted for 1998/99; * Comment was made as to the variable amounts from year to year for City Attorney services; it was noted that from an expenditure standpoint the reimbursable amounts are shown; the increase from $17,000 to $100,000 for litigation services was questioned; it was mentioned that since about 1992 about $100,000 has traditionally I I I 6-16-98 been budgeted; even though the amount may appear to be arbitrary it is actually an unknown; it is expected that possibly a third of the total may be reimbursable through agreements relating to proposed development; * In the Finance Department budget, Contract Professional Services includes the audit, accounting services by contract rather than a full time accountant, hired as needed, the State Controllers report, etc.; 'when the Assistant retired the position was not filled, replaced with a contract employee, a part time principal accountant who used to be an auditor; noted that the personnel recap shows that the trend is completely reconfigured, more flexible, part-time professionals at less cost and benefits; this budget contracts out payroll for a savings; it was noted that pay periods are bi-weekly; also, an upgrade DOS computer to Windows, the amount deleted from the departmental budget and shown in the Capital budget; * Non-Departmental budget shows no employees yet $86,000 in fringe benefits; response was retirement benefits; Contract Professional Services questioned as varying amounts from $126,911 to estimated $70,000 and $97,500 requested; response was part of that amount is a request to hire a contract grant writer; Machinery and Equipment was explained to be computer software; * The Police Department budget reflects the departmental reorganization; personnel distribution reflected between Field and Support Services; Police Support Services reflects the contracting of dispatch; lease payments are for the 800 MHz; suggestion to look at consolidation of records services; response was that there is some interest in doing so, Los Alamitos is interested, Cypress is uncertain, certain other options may be considered as well; reference made to the three replacement vehicles and cost of parking control vehicle; response was that the attempt is to replace vehicles about every 100,000 miles, there are twelve in the fleet, the parking control vehicle is a right hand drive, very few manufacturers, looking at Subaru; complaints reported with the use of foreign PC vehicles, research shows that American made right hand drive vehicles are actually made elsewhere, they do not meet crash test requirements; it is a world economy; electric vehicles were looked at for parking control use, yet they are not made with a right hand drive as yet; it is good to get away from the purchase of the Cushman vehicles, they were not considered to be safe, the Subaru is a multi-function vehicle, preference would be to purchase three at one time, the same manufacturer and dealership; With regard to the cost of the Crown Victoria vehicles, explanation was that Chevrolet no longer makes the Caprice vehicle, the Victoria is the only rear wheel drive vehicle that can be converted, Ford Motor Company, through the Highway patrol, has assured production through 2005; options are the Tahoe or the Expedition, however they are more expensive, are two wheel drive, have different wheel, brake and suspension systems; suggested that the purchases be staggered; response was that the vehicles may not be available until about April, the estimated price is reflective of State and * 6-16-98 * County bids, the schedule to order does not coincide with the budget process; The Fire Service budget reflects the orange County Fire Authority cost increase; stated that the Fire budget goes back to the issue of staffing levels, if there is interest in another paramedic position or paramedic engine, as an example, can a cost figure be provided; concern is that there is greater utilization in Leisure World and the north portion of the City, where unit 48 is committed, a second unit then comes ,from Westminster or elsewhere; the desire is to explore the option of what the cost would be, possibly there could be a tradeoff of services; there could possibly be a different personnel configuration, however the intent would be to keep the current two engine companies and a van; it is possible that the resources of the Authority are over-concentrated in one area where they could be spread out and realize better coverage with some cost savings; 'I * With regard to Animal Services, question was raised as to the fluctuation of veterinary costs; part of the 45100 fund reflects a license canvass, the return of license fees to the City will far exceed the cost of the canvass; the Animal Control budget was criticized, comparison was made to two animal control employees at a cost of $150,000 while persons complain about the expenditure of $250,000 annually for legal services; historically this service has been two animal control officers, at a point one issued a statement that they were retiring, that position was replaced with a part time officer, then hired full time, now the service is two full time employees; question was raised if the service could be contracted; question if volunteers could be utilized for some services; if a savings could be realized on personnel costs then possibly $5,000 to $10,000 could be put into the shelter; this is a small city to be spending $150,000 annually for animal control, the animal problem is not felt to be that big; the County shelter is some distance away, they intend to build a new facility, possibly in Orange, the cost to the participating agencies will increase; Seal Beach has a unique shelter, the City provides some funds, required to provide for veterinary services for an injured animal, however the question is whether taxpayer dollars should be used for animals that become ill while being held long term; it was noted the shelter has recently decreased the number of animals being housed; this is an important service to this town; the shelter deserves support; if present employees were to go out on disability or retire the City will pay for years; options could be to downsize personnel and services, or a joint authority by sharing the service with other cities, utilizing the City shelter and one officer, or contract with the County; statement was that the County is not the best option; sharing would likely be best; what then is perceived by the public as being an acceptable level of service; point was made that many people support and donate to this service through fund raising efforts, the monies raised are separate from what the City contributes, a suggestion that there needs to be some accountability as to how much of the cost is being offset by the volunteers and contributions, a thorough study, yet not to discourage the volunteer I I I I I 6-16-98 * services; animal control services in Leisure World are basically with wild animals; care needs to be taken to distinguish between the shelter itself and the facility that maintains dogs permanently, this the tax payer should not be involved with; request was made as to the number of animals in and out of the shelter; Planning Services, question was posed as to the zero balances for Contract/Professional Services and Abatement funds; response was reimbursement for costs to process EIR's for the Bixby and Hellman proposals, consultant fees for Hellman; question also about $5,500 for microfilming; response was filming of plans, etc. covering a period of about twenty-five years that have not been filmed, this year going to CD Roms, more expensive on a per page basis but a staff time saving; inquiry, filling of Assistant Planner position, response was with either an Assistant or Associate Planner; * Building and Safety - 49600 fund, the building inspector vehicles are paid off; * Public Works - what do we contract for, why can't we contract more, do not upset anyone but explore the contract aspect of public works; there is some attrition taking place, that gives more flexibility; * Street Maintenance - suggestion that this be looked at to see if there is a better way given the employee costs and benefits; inquire if Surfside would be interested in sweeping services for a fee, Riverbeach and the Navy as well; that would lower overhead however do not want to expand to the degree that another sweeper is needed; * Landscape Maintenance - should look at that for contracting; maintenance is not a beautification program, some beautification needs to be undertaken as time goes on, even though in some years maintenance may be primary; * Fleet Maintenance - question was whether this is a service that could be contracted; response was that it could be, whether it should be is another question; something must be done for the utility users tax, therefore it seems this could be privatized; as to contracting for public works services, contact other cities for their experiences; fuel for all City vehicles may have been an estimate of cost; * Building Maintenance - Contract/Professional Services, explained that there is no longer a janitorial employee, the contract for the Police Department facility was placed under building maintenance rather than the Police budget, combined for the purpose of seeking an RFP for all janitorial services; savings expected to be about $25,000; * As to attrition, no one wants layoffs, however a statement was made that if monies were very tight, if Vehicle License Fees were lost as an example, a fifteen percent layoff could be a consideration to save eighty- five percent of the workforce; with attrition it may be time to look at some reorganization; expenditure of $23,000 for elevator service was questioned; explained that there is an elevator at City Hall and the Police 6-16-98 Department: * Mention was made that there is need for traffic signal maintenance on Seal Beach Boulevard at Rossmoor Center Way: * Supplemental Law Enforcement Fund - question was what is it specifically allocated for, as more monies are forthcoming can it be used for a new full time employee, salaries, whatever: response was that it could be used for salaries, that not advisable, generally used just for replacing equipment: other recommended purchases will likely be forthcoming during the year: I * Main Street Tree Fund - zero balance questioned: response was to not be presumptuous that the public would be offering financial assistance, the fund set up so that the public can see that the monies are kept separate: * Recreation Aquatics - noted that funding sources are from fees and General Fund: suggestion that a commitment be made to the pool, possibly for maintenance: response was that that would come from the Park Improvement Fund under the Capital budget: noted that a large portion of the users are from outside the City, thus not property tax contributors: * Park Improvement Fund - inquiry as to funds designated for Luraschi house relocation: response was that the $30,000 is a carryover, is based upon fees the Luraschi family paid when their property was subdivided: this money designated in 1995: I * Question if there is intention to fund a restroom at Heather Park: response was that it is not believed to be included in the CIP budget as yet: response too that restrooms are quite expensive, controversial as well, people who reside near a park do not want them, if this is proposed there will need to be considerable community discussion: if no restroom facility, there then needs to be assurance that there is a porta-potty at the location: * Beach Maintenance - again, there needs to be an effort to recover costs from whomever it is upstream that is polluting the water and beach: the San Gabriel River primarily serves Los Angeles County cities: suggestion that there be a group of individuals to work with the cities upstream to resolve the problem, this is a regional issue: this City has an obligation to the taxpayers as this is costing Seal Beach considerable money, the EPA enforces such violations, the pollution is terrible: it was mentioned that a grant proposal has been requested to address this problem: it was noted also that the Surfrider Foundation has a formula that applies, given the size and population of the beach, to what a day at the beach is worth, that would apply when the beach is closed for a day or portion thereof plus cleanup costs: question was raised as to the impact on Main Street when the beach is closed: noted too that Long Beach could be contacted with regard their methods of cost recovery: other upstream cities are impacted as well: I 6-16-98 / 6-22-98 * Question was raised as to the reduction of Beach Maintenance Rental/Lease Equipment fund, $74,997 last year, zero this year; staff was requested to provide explanation; * Redevelopment Agency, Debt Service - confirmed that the debt service is for bonds; those monies generated from Redevelopment Agency property taxes; with reference to Interest Expense, question was raised if retiring some of the debt has been considered, or refinancing; response was that refinancing has been looked at, was not possible this year, possibly in the future; question raised also as to the time frame for payoff of the lease and interest for the Zoeter parcels; guesstimate was that the agreements were twenty-five to thirty years; suggested that refinancing be looked into for this as well. I * with regard to the Capital program, fuel pumps, a $235,000 one time cost, it was noted that an individual at the Naval weapons Station indicated that it would not be out of the question to have an arrangement for fuel services in emergency situations. I ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Campbell suggested a possible presentation by Ms. Ducey, Newport Beach, on June 30th. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting until Monday, June 22nd at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 6:12 p.m. Attest: Approved: Seal Beach, California June 22, 1998 I The regular adjourned meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. this date was canceled due to the lack of Closed Session items req . ing consideration. C~y Clerk of "the City