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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1990-01-09 1-8-90 I 1-9-90 I" Beach Police Dep~rtment is the focus of an investigation by the Orange County Grand Jury, reporting she is one of several that has testified. In response to Council, the City Manager advised he could not respond to the previous comments, however the City had been advised by a Grand Jury committee that they were inquiring into matters brought to them however there is no investigation. Mr. Bruce Stark, Seal Beach, made reference to the agenda item relating to State mandated recycling and litter reduction, suggesting that free enterprise be encouraged to make proposals to the City and that the program not be automatically turned over to the City's refuse contractor. He said he understood one proposal has been submitted for pickup of recyclable items at no cost to the citizens. Mr. Stark commended Mr. Hunt's proposal for'ethics standards, noted the inevitable loopholes to such proposals, and charged that the regulations of the Fair Political Practices Act have been ineffective. He predicted that if the two ballot measures proposed were approved they would then be declared in conflict with each other, and questioned if ethics extend to Leisure World'and'access by candidates to that area of the City. Mr. Charles Antos, 210 - 8th Street, spoke in favor of an ethics coder one that applies to elected and appointed officials, staff, police personnel at the level of sergeant and above,'and the City Attorney, and that there should be agreement prior'to adoption of such code that violations will be referred to and prosecuted by the District Attorney. There being no further comments, Mayor Grgas declared Oral Communications closed. .1 CLOSED SE~~lQ~ No Closed Session' was held. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn"the-meeting until'Tuesday, January 9th at 6:00 p.m. for a mid-year budget review. The meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m. '1 Attest: ,'Seal.Beach;.California January 9; 1990'"" The City Council of' the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Grgas calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. 1-9-90 ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Grgas Councilmembers Hunt, Laszlo, Wilson Absent: Councilmember Risner Hunt moved, second "by Wilson to excuse the absence of Mrs. I Risner from this meeting. " AYES: NOES: ABSENT: :Grgas, Hunt, Laszlo, Wilson None Risner Motion carried Also present: Mr. Nelson, City Manager Mr. Thomas, Finance Director Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Jue, Director of Public Worksl City Engineer Chief Stearns, Police Department Captain Maiten, Police Department Captain Garrett, Police Department Mr. Osteen, Recreation Department Chief Dorsey, Lifeguard Department Mr. Archibold, Assistant to the City Manager Mr. Zaharas, Assistant Finance Director Mr. Cushman, Lifeguard Department Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW The City Manager' outlined the,sequence of presentations for I the mid-year budget session, an overview of the City's financial status, status of specific funds, consideration of _ multi-year projections, departmental updates, City Council comments, goals, and objectives, and requests for mid-year budget adjustments. The Finance Director reported most of the City's funds are in fairly good position with a few exceptions. He noted the audited balance for 1989 of $5.124 million, close to the staff's estimate of $5.16, and little change from the June 1988 figure of $5.186 million, however pointed out there is a downward trend to the fund balances. He said another method of looking at the financial strength is through cash flow, $3.1 million in cash and investments in June 1987, $2~5 million in June 1988, the drop the result of not having received the reimbursement of monies from FEMA, $3.167 million in December 1989, and projected to be $3.133 million in June 1990. Mr. Thomas again noted that although the cash flow and fund balances are holding they are not showing the gradual'increases that were expected. Mr. Thomas presented an overview of the various funds, pointed out that of the $105,000 audited balance for the CRA Surfside fund, $96,000 constitutes the State mandated twenty percent housing set-aside, and that a good portion of the $2.7 million CRA Riverfront fund rerates to the asset acquired through the Zoeter acquisition, the majority of the balance held by the City's fiscal agent as debt service on I the bond issues. He reported the combined Water funds are showing the benefit of the past rate increase and it is hoped at year end the balance will be $201,000, likewise the Sewer funds anticipated to be $143,000 at year end, and although the Tideland fund is improving it will continue to require a considerable subsidy from the General Fund at year end. The Finance Director reported the Workers Comp Fund is a concern with only $52,000 as opposed to an anticipated $141,000 as of July 1st, as well as the less than adequate Public Liability Reserve of $562,000 even though $400,000 of the FEMA money had been placed in that Reserve. The City 1-9-90 I Manager advised the goal for the Liability Reserve is $900,000 under the OCCRMA program. Mr. Thomas referred to the General Fund as being an on-going concern, the audit showing $838,000 as opposed to the staff estimate of $909,000, where the balance of the previous year was slightly over $1 million. He projected that reserves may be close to $5.3.million by the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Thomas reported staff had estimated an increase in the property tax category of seven percent, however as of December 1989 eleven percent has been realized which could be conservatively estimated as a $30,000 increase by year end. He advised. that the Utility Users Tax is nine percent higher than a'year ago, basically the result of imposing the tax on international and inter-state telephone calls, that sales tax revenue was up six percent as of December which could result in a $20,000 to $30,000 increase for the year, that the State had projected a Motor Vehicle In-Lieu revenue figure of $981,000 however based upon the distribution through the' first half of the year the estimate has been revised lower at $945,000. The Assistant to the City Manager referred to the City's liability insurance under the Orange County Cities Risk Management Authority, providing ten million dollars coverage with a self-insured retention of $300,000, thus requiring a $900,000 reserve. .He said he believed that Seal Beach is the only City that has not met the self-insured reserve, and that he has requested consideration of reducing the self- insured retention to $200,000. Mr. Archibold reported there were thirty-four workers compensation claims filed in the prior year, twenty-three in 1989, and he felt the lesser number was largely due to the Safety Committee's efforts towards reducing job related accidents. He said he felt workers comp expenditures will be within the 1989/90 budgeted amount, however noted recent legislation that has increased temporary and permanent disability payments and death benefits; all of which will impact the City's workers compensation expenses. He noted that the City is self- insured for workers comp in the amount of $200,000, and above that the City has reached the statutory limit under Firemans Fund Insurance. Mr. Archibold reported one hundred twenty-five' full time and ninety-eight part-time employees, with three positions presently vacant, and on June 30th the memorandums of understanding for the Police Officers Association', the Orange County Employees AssOCiation, and non-represented employees will expire. He cited as an example a one percent increase for those employee groups as $20,169 for the,POA, $13,383 for the OCEA, and $20,842 for non-represented. As a result of AB 939, Mr. Archibold reported local agenCies are mandated to reduce their solid waste to the landfills twenty-five percent by 1995 and fifty percent by the year 2000, therefore it will be necessary to address funding to achieve that requirement, and noted that a number of cities are developing curb-side recycling operations. He also stated the staff was seeking input and/or direction from the Council with regard to developing a two year budget, possibly commencing with the 1990/91 fiscal year. The,Council indicated their desire to develop a two year budget, and staff offered to prepare the format. Captain Maiten, Police Department, commenced the departmental reviews. He noted that the maintenance and operation accounts for the 1989/90 fiscal year budget were held to a five percent increase, however operational costs have increased beyond that percentage, specifically pointing .out costs for County services which were previously at no charge, assessment of court and jail construction costs attached to each court processed citation, etc., resulting in an anticipated shortfall in the current funding level of I I 1-9-90 $46,324.00. The Captain also reported the need for a new logging recorder costing approximately $19,000, a computer system for the administrative assistant, $1,300, and an automatic parking ticket printer system, $3,700, for a total maintenance/operation and capital outlay request of $70,325. Chief Stearns added that the Department has achieved its goal during the past six months of reaching full authorized strength in both sworn and non-sworn positions, which in I turn relates to increased costs due to making more arrests and issuing more citations. He noted that the Saleen Mustang has aided the City's recruiting efforts against other police agencies, that full strength personnel has allowed the staffing of the second motorcycle position and the transfer of Office Paap to public relations and the ' teaching of 'a drug education program at McGaugh School, and reported the tri-city crime suppression team has made a significant impact on the drug problem. The Chief advised that the jail lease proposal is still awaiting State approval. The complete text of the Police Department report was presented to the Council in written form. With regard to reduction of overtime costs, the Chief reported no statistics have been compiled since the Department has gone to the ten plan. The Finance Director offered that gross revenue from parking citations is anticipated to be $100,000 over the budget estimate. The City Manager.referred to the Orange.County Fire Department contract for fire/paramedic services of $1,850,600, and'stated within the next five years the City will be faced with a major change in the formula to allocate the costs of those safety services to the contract cities. He reported a recent cost/revenue study showed that Seal Beach receives approximately $2.4 million of service value I as opposed to $1.8 million cost, however in evaluating the cost to reestablish local fire services it is felt that it is in the City's best interest to continue with contract fire services. He acknowledged that the Council may need to consider passing on some of the fees being charged by the County. The Director of Public Works reviewed in detail the accomplishments of each of the various divisions of the Public Works Department and the goals for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Director of Development Services presented a summa~y of revenues and expenditures for the Planning and Building Departments for the first half of the fiscal year, noting that $20,000 of the salary expenditures were for interim personnel services provided by contract with Willdan Associates, and that a $37,048 contract expenditure is a reimbursable expense related to the Mola project. Mr. Whittenberg reviewed his memorandum relating to consultant proposals to update the General Plan and Local Coastal Plan, the cost ranging from $78,500 to $302,580, reported the City 'has a current budget of $24,000 for that purpose, and stated after further staff review this item will be presented to Council for consideration. Mr. Whittenbe~g.reviewed the major activities of the Departments I from July through December 1989 and the activities anticipated. from Janua~y.through June, 1990. He reported Building Department generated revenue for the first six months was, $275,820 or.eighty.-eight.percent of the $328,000 estimate for the entire fiscal year, also reviewed the comparison of building activity with the previous year, daily inspections up about twelve percent, a large portion of the increased actiVity attributable to work at Rockwell. Mr. Whittenberg stated his intent to look into an automated building permit issuance and inspection tracking system, and a parcel based land information system for building and 1-9-90 I planning records, the cost of which may be between $3,000 to $5,000. He projected that if the rate of activity continues, building department revenues could be up by $120,000 to $150,000 by year end and that consideration could be given' to using a'portion of those monies for the General Plan updates. Mayor Grgas spoke favorably of the automated system mentioned by the Director. The Recreation Director reported the administration budget is on target for the first half of the fiscal year, the recreation' programs are at forty-three percent and the aquatic programs"are'at ninety-five percent of projections, that recreation program charges are presently exceeding revenue projections by thirty percent and pool fees by forty-five percent. He noted soccer and football goals for College Park have been completed, refurbishing of Marina Center is planned pending approval of the plans and specifications for handicapped restrooms, and improvements to the North Seal Beach Center will be completed during the fiscal year. He' reported a considerable cost saving is being realized as a'result of the new heater and cover at the pool, and that. grant monies have been. secured to improve the lighting system at the Zoeter field, thus allowing the budgeted funds to be used for other recreation projects. Mr. Osteen noted a'number of new programs initiated by staff, and that. the various leagues have been filled, and there are' waiting. lists of' interested participants.' He added that. the American'Cancer Society 10K generated $30,000 to that cause. The City Manager directed special attention to the Camp Marina and Special Projects Club initiated by the Recreation staff. Chief Dorsey read the prepared Lifeguard'Department report, citing beach related activities during the first half of the fiscal year with projections and Changes anticipated in the future.. The Chief also pointed out the statistical' data of' departmental safety and public services for' the calendar year 1989. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to declare a recess at 7:55 p.m. The Council reconvened at 8:01 p.m. with Mayor Grgas calling the meeting to order. Councilmember Wilson stated her preference that the budget format of the previous year be continued, and asked that repairs to Rossmoor Alley and the Leisure World soundwall be considered. Councilmember Wilson spoke for the City making a commitment in the form of a $100,000 loan, with a like amount from the Golden Rain Foundation, in an attempt to secure a commitment from the Transportation Commission for early construction of the one thousand nine hundred ten foot soundwall adjacent to Leisure World, with the City performing the design work. She reported a meeting with Supervisor Wieder scheduled for the following day in an attempt to encourage a commitment from the Transportation Commission. The City Manager stated the City Engineer has estimated the CalTrans contingency between five to ten percent, and if the City does the design, subject to CalTrans approval, and loans are made by the City, Golden Rain, and the Orange' County Transit District, the funding necessary to construct the project early may be realized. He explained that when the project comes up on the regular priority list the City would be repaid based upon actual construction costs and possibly, what would have been realized through investment of those funds. Councilman Hunt noted that'the Leisure World soundwall is one hundred fifty- ninth on the State priority list, and possibly around eighteenth or nineteenth on the Orange County Transportation Commission list given the thirty plus sound walls proposed for Orange. County, and it is felt the financial participation will be a significant factor as to what priority the project may be. The City Engineer estimated I I 1-9-90 the design cost at approximately $57,000 and taking about one month,'then'four to six weeks for CalTrans approval, noting that it will be necessary for the project to be awarded by June 30th. After further discussion, there was agreement in principle to authorize staff to pursue the priority of the soundwall project with CalTrans and the Orange County Transportation Commission, that the Engineering Department be au~horized to provide the design I work, and that there be a $100,000 commitment to the project from General Fund Reserves. Councilman Laszlo requested that consideration be given to including some College Park East street reconstruction in the next fiscal year. budget. Mayor Grgas said he would encourage the continuation and completion of the alley reconstruction program in the downtown area, noted the immediate need'for patching of certain alleys, also stated his desire that improvements to Seal Beach Boulevard be pursued as well as any outside funding for such improvements. He said he felt the recent sidewalk repair and slurry seal projects had been very successful, that the sand replenishment and groin projects should be kept in mind for the future, and dependent upon the outcome of Mola and other developments in the City, it may be possible to eventually accomplish those projects. After some,di~cus~io~, the following motions were made: Grgas moved, second by ~aszlo, to allocate $1000, possibly in the City Council. budget, towards the City's anticipated participation in the Sister City Program. It was explained that although the International Frlendship organization is raising funds for the Sister City program, there will be certain expenses incurred by the City when officials from the Sister City are guests in this community. fl . ~ I AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Grgas, Laszlo, Wilson Hunt Risner Motion carried Grgas moved, second by Laszlo, to authorize a $500 participation in' AIDS Walk, 1990. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Grgas, Hunt, Laszlo, Wilson , None . Risner Motion carried Hunt moved, second by Grgas, to authorize participation in the tri-city fireworks show on July 4th in an amount not to exceed $4500. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Grgas, Hunt, Laszlo, Wilson None Risner Motion carried In response to Council, the City Manager explained that requests for funding, as the ~IDS Walk, is paid from the amount budgeted 'for such purposes. I ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no Oral Communications. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. 1-9-90 1 1-22-90 the I Approved: Attest: . _c ~~_' . _~: ." ......: Seal Beach, California " . . . January 22,' 1990 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach me~ in regular session at 7:02 p.m. with Mayor Grgas calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. I ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Grgas Councilmembers Hunt, Laszlo, Risner, Wilson Absent: None Also present: Mr. Nelson, City Manager Mr. Barrow, Assistant City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Archibold, Assistant to the City Manager Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk WAIVER OF FULL READING Wilson moved, second--by Laszlo, to waive the 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. AYES: NOES: Grgas, Hunt, Laszlo, Risner, Wilson None Motion carried I ~R~SENTATION Dr. Harry Strohmaier, Seal Beach Rotary Club, introduced Mr. Jim Speck, the 1989/90 President, who extended an invitation to the City Council to attend the second annual Sweetheart Ball in their honor to be held February lOth, and announced that recognition of a "Policeman of the Yearn has been added to their program. Mayor Grgas expressed appreciation for the invitation on behalf of the Council.