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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1994-07-25 7-11-94 / 7-25-94 is presently being stockpiled, which allows further testing of sand samples, and the results of those tests will determine to some degree the quantity of compatible sand. COUNCIL CONCERNS Councilman Laszlo noted that the pier is now open and operational, and reported the success of the 4th of July I fireworks display at .the Armed Forces Reserve Center, sponsored - by three adjacent cities and the Rossmoor Service District. Councilmember Forsythe reported that oversized semi-trucks parking along certain segments of Pacific Coast Highway are posing a visibility problem for vehicle operators, the problem seeming to have started subsequent to the posting of no parking signs adjacent to the Weapons station. She noted the specific areas are the north side of Pacific Coast Highway in the vicinity of 12th Street/Balboa Drive, Bay city Center and in front of the Wherehouse, and suggested that the over-sized vehicle parking regulations be looked at for those areas. with regard to greenwaste, the City Manager advised that arrangements are being made to place two bins at the Public Works Yard for the disposal of excess greenwaste for possibly three to four weeks. with regard to his efforts to solicit donations for repair of the pier, Mayor Brown reported receiving a $1,500 donation from Health Net, also that Senator Feinstein is carrying the City's request to Washington, D. C. Councilman Laszlo asked that consideration of joining the Orange County Regional Airport Authority be placed on the next agenda. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no further Oral Communications. ADJOURNMENT I It was the order of t~e Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting until Monday, July 25th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m. Approved: '- --.-. cit .Qlerk a Ct;J,/Of Seal ~~/ of the Attest: /l ~1J..I-tA-l' ~/ c~ty Clerk Seal Beach, California July 25, 1994 I The City Council of t~e City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Brown calling the meeting to order. ,I I I 7-25-94 ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Brown Councilmembers Doane, Forsythe, Hastings Absent: Laszlo Also present: Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk ~ . APPROVAL OF AGENDA Forsythe moved, second by Doane, to approve the agenda as presented. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings None Laszlo Motion carried CLOSED SESSION By unanimous consent the Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:32 p.m. pursuant to Government Code section 54957.6 to discuss the item identified on the agenda, a conference with the City Manager relating to employee negotiations~with the Police Officers Association and the Orange County Employees Association. The city Council reconvenedAat 6:41 p.m. with Mayor Brown calling the meeting to order with all members present. The City Attorney reported that~the Council had discussed the item identified on the agenda, the City's labor negotiator gave a report as to negotiations with the Police Officers Association, and no action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 6:43 p.m. .~. r Cit~ C erk and ex-officio ci Beach the Approved: ~ I , , Attest: \. Seal Beach, California July 25, 1994. The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:02 p.m. with Mayor Brown calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: j Mayor "rown Councilmembers Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo 7-25-94 Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bankston, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development services Mrs. stoddard, Director of Administrative services Mrs. Yeo, city Clerk I APPROVAL OF AGENDA For information of the public, Mayor Brown read the items to be considered under the Consent Calendar. Councilman Doane requested Item "E" be removed from the Consent Calendar, Councilmember Hastings requested Items "H" and "0" removed, Councilman Laszlo requested Items "I" and "M" removed, and a member of the audience indicated a desire to speak to Item "0". Councilmember Forsythe requested that an item be added to the agenda as Item S-l to consider transmittal of a letter to the United states Department of Interior. Doane moved, second by Hastings, to approve the agehda as amended. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Brown declared ural Communications open. Ms. Dorothy Whyte, College Park East, referred to a July 14th article appearing in the Sun Newspaper that mentioned a BiXby Ranch Company representative having offered the BiXby tennis club as a site for a community center for College Park East. To a I telephone call from the reporter prior to printing of the article Ms. Whyte explained that in terms of being a supporter of a community center and as President of the College Park East Neighborhood Association she had no problem with the article being written correctly and with integrity, as has been her experience with the writings of the reporter, yet upon publication of the article she felt concern that personal conflicts might arise. She noted that subsequently an article appeared in the News Enterprise alleging negotiations with BiXby and containing several inaccuracies to which the Enterprise has since offered an opportunity for Mr. Siler and herself to respond. As a point of background, Ms. Whyte offered that in 1991 a group of people gathered together to form a Neighborhood Association to provid'c a public forum for both sides of issues of interest and matters of community service, which they have done, and the by-laws of the Association were.prepared in a manner that the Association would not be political, which she said it is not. She recalled that the BiXby representative presented their development proposal at a meeting last fall, a representative from the AFRC present as well, at that time the Bixby representative was invited to address the Association again for the information of and input from the neighborhood when their proposal was further defined, it was also at that meeting that the donation of a community center for use by College Park East residents had been mentioned in the event any I development receives approval given the fact that the North Seal Beach community Center is inconvenient and quite frequently in use. A letter followed, with the approval of the Association Board, which requested that if a BiXby project is approved in the future that consideration be given to a community center in close proximity to College Park East. Ms. Whyte said she was Chagrined at the newspaper attack of the Sun reporter whose articles she has foun~ to be accurate over the years, and of Mr. Siler whose only fault would be providing all available information to the residents. She stated that three members of .1 I I 7-25-94 the Association Board with whom she was able to contact had approved of her addressing the Council at this meeting, emphasized that the Bixby representative has never offered any amenities to her or members of the Association, merely acknowledged resident requests, nor has she used her position on the Parks and Recreation Commission to approach or negotiate with the Bixby Company or their representative. Mayor Brown said he personally felt it unfortunate that information is revealed and there is then an attempt to debate issues in the newspapers, and in this case as yet there is no completed environmental study, and at the appropriate time the proper procedure will be followed whereby the Planning commission and Council will hear any Bixby proposal that'comes forward, and until that time suggested the community act in a mature manner. To the business aspect he cited as an example a successful restaurant that was r~cently looking to locate in Seal Beach that chose Long Beach instead given the known difficulty to obtain approvals in this community. Ms. Whyte agreed with the Mayor's comments. Mr. Joe Palmer, member and current chairman of the Cable Foundation, noted that the Foundation meets approximately ten times per year on the third Monday of the month, consists of five Council appointed members serving four year terms, and are unpaid. He reported that Mr. Diller, co- producer and host of the Town Hall local access production has attended the last three meetings of the Foundation at which he appeared to be angry that his statements were not receiving the attention he thought they deserved. At the suggestion of the Board, Mr. Palmer stated he called, then met with Mr. Diller for approximately an hour 'during which he assured Mr. Diller that no Board member anticipated a time problem with his May show, in addition no member of'the Cable Foundation Board, to his knowledge, had spoken to any member of the City Council regarding his show prior to the telecasting." He acknowledged that prior to the recent changes to the Brown Act the Board had strayed from agenda items to topics beyond the limited authority of the Foundation, that he and Mr. Diller, agreed that the primary purpose of the Foundation is the monitoring of the dispersal of funds, and recently, following the lead of the city council, most of the two-way conversation between the audience and Board members has been eliminated during the meetings, where those exchanges have some times led to inter-discussions beyond the Board's jurisdiction. Mr. Palmer reported that Mr. Diller seemed to appreciate the information provided to him, the meeting was friendly, upon leaving the meeting a letter of apology was left for publication with the.local newspaper, and it would be his hope that the relationship between Mr. Diller, the City Council and the Cable Foundation-will now return to normal. Mr. Ron Diller, Catalina Avenue, said he was pleased to announce that he"would not be attending future Council meetings, expressed appreciation to and respect for-Mr. Palmer, and noted that the letter referred to does acknowledge that the Foundation had exceeded their authority with regard to scheduling and content of local programming. He said his complaint was legitimate as it related to a real and potentially serious issue, yet no one took the complaint seriously and viewed him as a political adversary'. Mr. Diller suggested that Seal Beach is too small for the Council to be more concerned with politics than addressing the real issues and problems. There being no further comments, Mayor Brown declared Oral Communications closed. CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "A" thru "0" "., Doane moved, second hi Forsythe, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except Items liE, H, I, 0 and M" to be considered~separately. 7-25-94 A. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver of reading shall be deemed to be given by all councilmembers after reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. I B. Approved regular demands numbered 5873 through 6027, reflecting corrected numbers, in the amount of $269,149.64, regular demands numbered 6028 through 6161 in the amount of $554,759.19, and payroll demands numbered 7464 through 7669 in the amount of $248,430.07 and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. C. Approved the minutes of the July 11th, 1994 regular adjourned and regular city council meetings. D. Adopted Resolution Number 4324 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ACKNOWLEDGING THE RECEIPT AND FILING OF THE ANNUAL STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT POLICY FOR THE YEAR 1994/1995." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4324 was waived. F. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report as of June 30, 1994. I G. Approved the introduction and first reading of Ordinance Number 1385 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 4 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH RELATING TO BEACHES AND PIERS." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1385 was waived. J. Received and filed the update report relating to AB 2742, Regulation at Liquor stores, authorized the Mayor to sign the response letter in support of AB 2742, and instructed staff to fo~ward same to the planning commission for information purposes. K. Received and filed the update report relating to AB 2788, Maintenance of Effort Requirements for Proposition 172 Sales Tax Revenues, and authorized the Mayor to sign the response letter in oppositi0n to AB 2788. L. Received and filed the staff report relating to AB 463, Alcoholic Beverages, authorized the Mayor to sign the letter in support of AB 463, and instructed staff to forward same to the Planning commission for information purposes. I N. Approved the annual Agreement between the City and th8 Orange County Transportation Authority for the Senior Nutrition Transportation Program for the period July 1, 1994 throug~ June 30, 1995. ,I I I " ' 7-25-94 P. Adopted Ordinance Number 1384 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING , ZONE CHANGE 94-2, CHANGING THE ZONING OF NINE (9) LOTS FROM RESIDENTIAL MEDIUM DENSITY (RMD) AND THREE (3) LOTS FROM GENERAL COMMERCIAL (C-2) TO LIMITED COMMERCIAL (L-C) AT 1600 PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (MITCHELL.LAND AND IMPROVEMENT COMPANY)." By unanimous consent full reading of Ordinance Number 1384 'was ' waived. ~ Q. Adopted Resolution Number 4326 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF INTENTION TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT BETWEEN THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4326 was waived. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "E" - VACANCIES - CIVIL SERVICE BOARD and DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Councilman Doane announced the recent passing of Mr. Maury Gutkin, member of the civil Service Board since 1983 with the exception of a period of six months, and Mr. Steve Gavlick, member of the Department of Water and Power Advisory Committee since 1986, and noted: their many services and contributions to the community and residents of Leisure World. He extended his personal sympathy t9 the spouses of these dedicated and caring individuals. Mayor Brown concurred and added his personal knowledge of the contributions of the gentlemen. Councilmember Hastings requested that resolutions be prepared in memory of Mr. Gutkin and Mr. Gavlick for transmittal to their families. ITEM "H" - SB 1839 - HOUSING ELEMENT REVISION Councilmember Hastings requested a brief staff explanation of this legiSlation for information of the public. The Director of Development Services reported that SB 1839. revises the process under which cities develop the Housing Element of their General Plan, revises the criteria for certification pursuant to State law, a major revision of how the regional ,fair share of low and moderate income housing is determined, as~well as an appeal process that a city w0uld follow if it is'felt the numbers established by the regional agency are inappropriate for the local community. The. Director offered that this legislation would provide the community greater flexibility in determining its own local needs. He noted that SB 1839 is a joint effort of the American Planning Association and the League of California Cities. ITEM "I" - AB 51 - HOUSING ELEMENT REVISION To a request of Councilman Laszlo, the Director of Development Services explained that AB 51 is another legislative bill that would impact the Housing Element laws of California, sponsored primarily by some of the major homebuilders and property owners in the State, and would establish a number of provisions that would require cities to automatically approve certain types of housing projects irregardless of the zoning or building standards of the comm~nity, and require that a certain percentage of a new housing development be approved whether or not it is in conforma:.-,ce with the General.:Plan. He stated the staff has concerns with this legislation in that it basically 7-25-94 removes local control over housing development within the state, and it is felt that the communities are where such decisions should be made rather than at the state level. The Director requested authorization for the Mayor to sign the letter in opposition to AB 51. with regard to an impact on low incom~ housing, the Director reported that an agency would,be requlred to issue building permits at least equal to the reglonal percentage, either seventy-five percent of its lo~ income fair share or require at least ten percent of each proJect to be affordable to very low income households, that would be an automatic provision 01' state law and cities would not have a mechanism to approve a project differing from that criteria. The Director reiterated that there is no staff opposition to SB 1839, concern is with AB 51, basically that the regional fair share is a non-appealable number as determined by the Southern California Associaticn of Governments for very low, low and moderate income needs. An example being if a housing development is proposed within the community that is not in conformance with the General Plan or zoning the city would be required to approve seventy-five percent of that development, the other major concern is with the process under which judicial review would occur where it would allow the individuals filing a lawsuit against a determination of the city to introduce new evidence at the time of the lawsuit that was not presented during the determinations by the Planning commission or the City council. To the seventy-five percent requirement, the Director cited as an example if there were a vacant parcel identified in the General Plan for industrial purposes and if a developer was able to negotiate with the property owner a proposal for three thousand homes, at least seventy-five percent of those housing units would be required to be approved to meet the low and moderate income needs otherwise the developer could take legal action against the city. To Councilman Laszlo's inquiry as to how SCAG views this city's provision of low and moderate income housing, and to SCAG's power to impose such regulations on the cities, the Director ~xplained that the current Housing Element indicates there is a future demand for additional low and moderate income housing in the community, and as a result of the State budgetary- process in 1994 the update of Housing Elements was postponed, where technically the update should have been done in 1994 and new fair share numbers adopted, the numbers currently reflected are from 1989. with regard to the powers of SCAG, the Director explained they are a multi-purpose planning agency established by state law and authorized under various federal guidelines, one of the provisions of State Housing Element law is that the regional agency in which this county is located is authorized by state law to develop the regional fair share housing needs f~r all of the cities in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties( a process that generally covers a period of four years. He noted that the fair share is a goal that a city is supposed to attempt to achieve, not a regulation, that no action would be taken by SCAG should the goal not be achieved, however if a city does not take realistic steps to achieve those needs there are many public interest law agencies that could take action against a city. He acknowledged that the City does receive federal funding through the Housing/Community Development Block Grant Program of between $90 to $120 thousand per year, and that SCAG has no authority over that funding program. A member of the audience suggested that the citizens, in addition to the City Council, express their opposition to this bill through the City's state legislators. ITEM "M" - AB 13 - SMOKING and TOBACCO CONTROL For information of th2 public, Councilman Laszlo pointed out that the smoking initi.ative on the November ballot is sponsored by the tobacco indust~-y, and if passed that ini tiati ve will take I I I ,I I I ." ll..t::"':...."', ,. . ~ - , 7-25-94 away the ~ow7r of the cities to regulate smoking and would repeal ex~st~ng locally adopted regulations. He suggested that ~h~s7 a~ainst smoking in public areas should vote against the ~n~tlatlve. He added that after the November election, and if deemed to be legal, he will propose a smoking initiative for S7a~ Beach. The Mayor noted ~lso the increasing number of cltles that have enacted smok~ng ordinances. Councilmember F~rsyth7 explained that AB 13 is reasonable legislation recently s~gned lnto law by the Governor, where the initiative is misleading and removes local control, and indicated concern with ~mposin~ a total ban pn smoking in this community given the lmpact ~t may have on'some businesses. Vote to approve the recommended action for Items "E", "H", "I" and "M" as presented: I Hastings moved, second by Doane, to declare the District Five positions on the civil service Board and the Department of Water and Power Advisory Committee to be vacant; to receive and file the staff report regarding SB 1839, Housing Element Revision, and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter in support of same; to receive and file the staff report regarding AB 51, Housing Element Revision, and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter in opposition to AB 51; and received and filed the staff report relating to AB 13, Smoking and Tobacco Control, and authorized the Mayor to sign the letter in support of same. AYES: NOES: Brown,Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried ITEM "0" - RESOLUTION NUMBER 4325 - LOCAL BASIC TIER CABLE TELEVISION RATES/CHARGES - REGULATION OF Councilmember Hastings requested a brief explanation of the city's roll with regard to cable television rates and charges. The City Manager first noted a correction.to the fifth paragraph of the proposed resolution, explaining that the City has made application to the Federal Communications. Commission for certification, however that application is currently pending as to the regulation of local basic tier cable television rates and charges. He explained that the FCC has a time frame to review the initial application, then, if they choose, the City is granted an opportunity to present a plan for certification wherein there must be a description of resources available to administer the plan, that there is the capability and mechanisms to monitor and regulate, only then will they consider whether to grant the City the authority. He noted that most California cities are seeking certification, however he was not certain if any have received approval. The City Attorney. added that the FCC has thirty days to make a determination, that some cities have received approval and are now seeking rate information from the cable providers, a rather lengthy process. The Manager clarified that the rate regulation authority that may be granted to the City would pertain only to basic service, not to premiums or premium tiers. I1r. stark, Seal Beach, 'complained about the accounting procedures of the cable provider, and suggested that if the City does receive rate regulation authority the accounting process should be improved. Councilman Laszlo noted his understanding that cable is provided on a prepayment basis. Hastings moved, second by Doane, to adopt Resolution Number 4325 as amended, the fifth 'whereas' to read "the City applied to the Federal Communications Commission for certification, and the City's application is currently pending to regulate local basic tier cable television rates and charges." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4325 wa~waived. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried 7-25-94 COUNCIL ITEMS Councilman Laszlo said he did not wish to speak to Item "R", a response to the Sun Newspaper article relating to the Bixby Project. As to a status report on the Bixby project, councilmember Laszlo stated that a committee was formed several years ago at the request of citizens from colle~e Park East to open discussions with Bixby on their future proJects, one of the I major concerns was that the proposed housing at the end of the runway would force the Disaster Service Area to relocate, further concerns were that if the military were to leave that either general aviation or massive development would,be built on the airbase, causing traffic impacts on the surround1ng areas. He said the group voted to disband when it became apparent that negotiations were going in a direction not originally intended. At this time many are concerned about the individual negotiations inasmuch as the environmental impact repo~t has yet to be completed, and not knowing the contents of the EIR one could negotiate something that the EIR might not even allow, some residents are concerned that Bixby's offer of amenities to the committee may be taken as an inducement to get the project approved, this approach, used by Mola, promised baseball fields and parks in an attempt to get the project approved, but what it did is divide the community. Councilman Laszlo said his feedback has been let's wait until the environmental impact report comes out to see what can and cannot be allowed and proceed from there. COMMUNICATION - DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR - PROPOSED LAND SWAP The City Attorney explained that to place this item on the agenda, as requested, the Council must make a finding that it came to the attention after the posting of the agenda and that immediate action is r0quired. Councilmember Forsythe said she I' had been made aware of this information prior to the posting of the agenda however she did not believe the other members of the Council were, and there is an urgency in that it relates to a proposed development just south of the city to which the Council has previously shown great concern. Forsythe moved, second by Hastings, to accept the findings and amend the agenda to consider this item. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried Councilmember Forsythe reported that a copy of a letter had been provided to her by the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, that the United States Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service has sent a letter to the Land Trust stating that they are interested in looking at the Bolsa Chica in the sense of a land swap with some of the military:'losures that are occurring throughout the State, specifically in regard to acquiring and protecting the important wetlands at the Bolsa Chica, the letter signed by Marvin Plenert, the Regional Director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Councilmember Forsythe requested Council authorization for the preparation of a letter, a draft of which was provided the Council, in support of the concept of a land swap in order to protect the Bolsa Chica wetlands from the development that is c~rrently pending of' nearly five thousand I homes, which would destroy the Bolsa Chica area. Councilmember Forsythe read an amendment to the draft letter proposed by Councilmember Hastings, the closing sentence of the second paragraph to contain the language in essence to read "it is one of the few large wetland areas left on the Southern California coast and it is imperative that we preserve this significant and biologically diverse ecosystem." Hastings moved, second by Doane, to approve tra~1smittal of the letter as amended to the Secretary of Interior and other federal agencies. Councilman Laszlo said should th'~ AFRC close he would not want that to be the land swap. I I I , .', '. ~.' 7-25-94 AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council to , declare a recess at 8:05 p.m. The Council reconvened at 8:13 p.m. with Mayor Brown calling the meeting to order. BUDGET PRESENTATION / WORKSHOP Noting that the public hearing on the proposed 1994/95 fiscal year budget has been noticed for August 8th, the City Manager sought direction as to whether the Council wished a detailed presentation or summary of the budget at this meeting and if a budget workshop was desired. At the conclusion of some discussion, Hastings moved, second by Doane, that the staff provide a summary review 'of the budget at this meeting, that a workshop be held on Monday, August 1st from 7:00 p.m. to ' approximately 9:00 p.m., and carried by cable television if possible. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried Ms. Stoddard, Director of Administrative Services, presented an overview of the city's projected revenues for fiscal year 1994/95. Ms. Stoddard reported the total projected revenues are $23,105,102, of which fifty percent are non-restricted General Fund; restricted funds, which are identified for a specific purpose such as Measure M, gas tax, in-lieu, etc., are fifteen percent of the budget; Redevelopment Agency tax increment is $1,399,350; the enterprise funds, water and sewer, represents twelve percent; the other funds, which includes the TRAN, public liability, workers comp, refuse collection, etc., represent seventeen percent of the budget. She pointed out that General Fund revenues represent sixty-five percent taxes, six percent licenses and permits, five percent fines, .forfeitures and penalties, four percent franchises, three percent use of money and property, subventions are monies received from the state, two percent service fees, and administrative reimbursements are monies received from other funds as overhead. The city Manager stated that the revenues of the City, in comparison to the Consumer Price Index, for the seven years prior to fiscal year 1991/92 were greater than the CPI, as an example in 1987/88 the CPI was 4.1 percent and revenue was 5 percent; in 1988/89 the CPI was 5.1 and revenue was 10; in 1989/90 the CPI was 5.9 and revenue was 5.4; in 1990/91 the CPI was 4 ~nd revenue was 6.8; in 1991/92 the CPI was 3.6 and revenue increased only 1.1; in 1992/93 the CPI was 2.6 and revenues declined by 11.14 percent, this primarily due to the State budget and the economy. He noted the decline of ;ecured property taxes between 1991/92 and 1992/93 was $522,000, the loss in 1993/94 was $175,247, and in comparing the property taxes of 1994/95 to 1991/92 the amount is $650,000 less than 1991/92, and when the State says there will be no new take-aways there is likewise no restoration of what has already been taken away, an accumulated loss below the 1991/92 level. The Manager acknowledged that the State has adopted its budget however is borrowing money and looking to a two year payback, yet in reality the amount of deficit that has been carried over makes that nearly impossible, the bonds have dropped and the lenders of the short term loans have either specified or received a condition from the State that should the State fail by mid-budget year to be at its projections and there is a determination of the inability to pay the loans or portions thereof due the following six months, there will be budget adjustments, therefore the city could once again be in jeopardy as a result of the State budget. In that ,regard he offered that should the City's pro?osed budget be adopted it will be important to be prudent with regard to expenditures, possibly 7-25-94 defer some until later in the budget year, in order to be prepared to better absorb whatever action that may be taken by the state between November and January. with regard to appropriations the Manager pointed out that the 1991/92 budget reflected the TRAN payments in the Non- Departmental account rather than its own fund, and the transfers to other funds was reflected more in the adjustment to the revenues rather than as a line transfer, therefore in looking at 1991/92 and 1992/93 budgets as an example, one will see varying figures reflecting the transfers and the TRAN, the TRAN now reflected in its own separate accounting fund and the transfers are reflected as an expenditure from the General Fund rather than an adjustment of revenues. He noted that the general operating budget has increased by $300,000 from that of four years ago, far below the inflationary impacts, and had pace been kept with the inflation rate the budget of $11.6 million would have actually been $13.3 million, which reflects the fact that cuts have been made to meet revenues, as well as an absorption of inflationary costs and mandates. with regard to specific departmental budgets, the Manager noted a $2025 appropriation to the Orange County Human Relations council in the council budget, $3,000 for membership in the Coastal cities Coalition has been deleted; the department of Lifeguard Services has now been consolidated with community services/recreation; the former Lifeguard Chief has been transferred to the city Manager's office as the Assistant to the city Manager, a no cost item as the retirement program, etc. are less; and funding is provided for a full time clerk typist in the city Clerk's office which will allow the secretary that is assisting in that office part- time to return to the city Manager's office thus the Administrative Assistant will then be available to handle personnel matters. H~ pointed out there is no Election budget proposed; the City Attorney services are now by a retainer agreement, a reduction in litigation services is anticipated, the litigations that had been most costly have either been resolved or at a point where the continuing litigation is significantly less; u~ing the Administrative services budget as an example it was pointed out that staff has been successful in keeping below budget ~stimates and deferring expenditures during this past year, however noted that can not be accomplished year after year; the combination of revenues and below budget expenditures generated approximately $700,000 to the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year as compared to $34,000 the prior year and before that a reverse; however significant deficits remain, the Cash Basis requirement is $1 million, public liability requirement is $900,000, compensated absence liability is $1.4 million, none of which are funded. Should there be no further take aways by the State, Mayor Brown inquired as to an estfmated time frame to reduce the utility Users Tax. The city Manager responded that if there was Council concurrence with the recommendation of staff it would be at such time as the fund liabilities have been cleared, in other words if upcoming years were to end with a fund balance equal to this past year, which is not foreseen even next year, it would be about four more years, unless new or increased revenues are generated. He added that it would be staff recommendation 'that the Utility Users Tax be lowered in a corresponding amount equal to what is placed in the reserves in order to bring the city's financial picture back to where it was some eight to ten years ago. Councilmember Forsythe noted that the budget shows a consistent decline of revenues and likewise expenditures, which means that the citizens level of service is also declining, thus if the trend continues the level of service will be considerably impacted, in addition to the shortfall of the fund balances no monies are being set ",side for infrastructure replacement, there is an uncertainty whether staff can continue to maintain the I I I I I I 7-25~94 work load at the present staffing level, therefore the utility Users Tax should remain in place for the present and until the City's financial situation is more secure; It was noted that the personnel force has been reduced from one hundred twenty- nine to ninety-nine, to which the Manager pointed out that personnel costs in 1990/91 were $7.3 million, the most current budget was $6.7 million, which is not adjusted for retirement, insurance, etc. increases, yet personnel costs have been reduced by about a half million. with regard to recovery of costs through the collection of user fees, the Manager made reference to the Parks and Recreation Department where three years ago the General Fund was subsidizing the expenditures of that department by over sixty percent, the 1994/95 budget'. is $500,000 and the subsidy is $191,000, also acknowledged that the fee schedule is being looked at further to accomplish a greater equity between the cost and the service provided an individual user rather than the general citizenry subsidizing the service. He made mention of the $1.8 million funding transfers which offsets the costs of services and activiti0s that have no means of generating off- setting revenues, that amount equal to the revenue produced by the utility Tax increase. A suggestion was made that the public should be made aware of the expenses involved to maintain the beach area even though it is an asset to the community. The City Manager pointed out the elimination of the Secretary to the Police Chief position to be replaced with a secretary, the positions authorized by the prior budget are now funded for a full twelve months in the proposed budget; as well as funding for the reserve program, unsalaried positions however if the reserve service is twenty hours per month the individual receives an equipment maintenance reimbursement which is found in the Other Pay Uniforms account. with regard to vehicle replacement, the Manager reported three vehicles were replaced last year primarily through the Asset Forfeiture Fund, the request this year was replacement of six vehicles, however only two vehicle replaceme~ts are contained in.the budget and lease/purchase will ba analyzed based upon costs and interest rates which may allow the purchase of additional vehicles. As to inclusion of overtime pay for the purpose of retirement benefits, the Manager said he did not believe that overtime is reportable for retirement purposes, uniform allowance and holiday pay is reportable, and although overtime is included in the payroll it is then broken out for the purpose of reporting to PERS. He explained that a comp time cap has now been established and while there was a budget expense, approximately $104,000 bought down the comp time to the level that was set as a maximum cap. Councilman Laszlo requested the employee salary ranges. Councilmember Hastings asked if the reserve officers will tend to reduce overtime hours, to which the Manager replied that it should, five persons serving twenty hours each per month, however explained that overtime for sworn personnel is generally the result of an extension of a .shift due to an unforeseen incident, and in those instances the reserve officers would not have an impact. He clarified that the overtime account includes hours devoted to special events however is offset by a like reimpursement for those services. COUNCIL CONCERNS The City Manager indicated that temporary containers for the disposal of greenwast9 are anticipated to be at the Public Works Yard next week for a period of approximately two weeks. Councilmember Hastings read a brief communication from the Disabled American Veterans expressing appreciation for the installation of curb cuts allowing access to the pier and surrounding beach areas. Mayor Brown acknowledged the recent Apollo Moon Landing Recognition at Rockwell International, and expressed pleasure at having Rockwell as part of this community. He announced that Leisure World residents.have contributed 7-25-94 / 8-1-94 approximately $1,500 towards the pier repair thus far and encouraged residents to continue to do so. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Brown declared Oral Communications open. Ms. Fran Johnson, Coastline Drive, reminded all that a telethon will be held on the local cable channel on Wednesday, July 27th for three hours commencin~ at 7:00 p.m. to benefit the Animal Care Center. There being no further comments, Mayor Brown declared Oral Communications closed. ,I ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting until Monday, August 1st at 7:00 p.m. for a budget workshop. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. an ex-officio Beach the APproved:~7~&~ffI/ i, / -------Ii 11 I Attest: / Seal Beach, California August 1, 1994 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 7:05 p.m. with Mayor Brown calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Brown CounciJ.members Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo Absent: None Also present: Mr. Ba~kston, City Manager Mrs. Stoddard, Director of Administrative Services Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Doane moved, second by Forsythe, to approve the agenda as presented. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried