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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-22-1997 City Council Minutes MINUTES SARATOCxA CITY COUNCIL TIME: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 - 5:30 p.m. PLACE: Administration Meeting Room, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue TYPE: Adjourned Regular Meeting Closed session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6: CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Agency negotiator: Larry Perlin Employee organization: Saratoga Employees Association A. Roll Call - 7:00 p.m. The meeting was reconvened to open session in Senior Day Care Center, 19655 Allendale Avenue. Councilmembers Bogosian, Jacobs, Shaw, Wolfe, and Mayor Moran were present. The Mayor announced that no actions had been taken in the closed session. B. Report of City Clerk on Posting of Agenda The Acting City Manager announced that pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on April 18. The notice of adjournment from the April 16 Council meeting was properly posted on April 17. C. Oral Communications from the Public on Non-Agendised Items - None. D. Selection of Interim City Manager SHAW/WOLFE MOVED TO APPOINT LARRY PERLIN AS INTERIM CITY MANAGER. Passed 5-0. Mayor Moran congratulated Mr. Perlin. E. Review of Third Quarter Financial Results The Finance Director reviewed the written report and answered Councilmembers' questions. F. Budget Workshop 1. TEA Update Interim City Manager Perlin reviewed his written report and answered Councilmembers' guestions. He noted that the budget was based on a worst-case scenario, assuming the full TEA reduction will be applied by the County in FY 97-98, the City's new TEA base will be approximately $235,000 in FY 97--98, and no transition funds will be forthcoming from the County. After discussion, there was consensus to proceed as suggested in the report. Council also supported revised language of SB 1272 and agreed to send a delegation to Sacramento on May 7 (Clerk's note: later changed to'May 14) to testify before the Local Government Committee. Staff to coordinate details with Senator Sher's office. 2. Development Fees - Legal Limitations and Allocation of Costs to Development-Related ~ctlvitles Interim City Manager Perlin introduced James Walgren as Interim Planning Director to review the written reports. Mr. Walgren explained the staff efforts to achieve full cost recovery for development related services. A $257,696 shortfall exists in the 1997- 98 budget. Staff recommends an increase in building permit fees to cover costs for planning services which are integrally related to building activity and the costs of which have not been previously recovered. In answer to Councilmembers' questions, he stated that Saratoga's fees are either comparable to or lower than those of other jurisdictions. Councilmember Wolfe asked about the future, when presumably Saratoga will have fewer new home building applications and more remodeling applications. Mr. Walgren stated he had reviewed applications for the past ten years and taken account of fluctuations during that time. City Council Hinutos 2 ~pril 22, 1997 Joe Oncay, City Codes Administrator, expressed concern as to how fees are collected. He disagreed with various statements in Mr. Walgren's report, stating that 76% of the permits issued last year did not require Planning Division review. He felt it would not be fair to raise building permit fees across the board. Interim City Manager Perlin stated that staff could look into this point, perhaps segregating applications and increasing fees more than 10% on those applications that do require Planning involvement. He also suggested checking with other Cities to see how they handle cost recovery. There was consensus to direct staff to propose a reasonable rate structure with full cost recovery in connection with the portions of planning and code enforcement which relate to building. The Finance Director noted that the fee resolution would'be presented as part of the budget. 3. Status of Ancillary Arrangements affecting revenues and expenditures Mr. Perlin's report was accepted with the following comments on specific items: a. 8RO The Council discussed how much funding to provide for the School Resource Officer and how much funding to expect from the schools. There was consensus for staff to stretch the SRO budget over the full nine months. Further, the SRO will prepare a plan using the $24,000 in matching pledges from the schools to supplement the City's 50% funding for the SRO. b. crossing Guards Jennie Loft, Administrative Analyst, stated that the budget had been prepared on the assumption that the Council would pay half the cost of five crossing guards. Several schools have made pledges to support the program, but Sacred Heart School has not yet responded. Interim City Manager Perlin explained how locations for crossing guards are selected. He noted that there are two guards at Saratoga Avenue and Fruitvale, although with the current configuration of the intersection, only one may be required. Hugh Hexamer, Public Safety Commission Chair, stated it may be possible to eliminate one guard, but he is concerned about the right hand turn from Saratoga onto Fruitvale at the intersection. Jennifer Crotty, Parks and Recreation Commissioner, suggested that the City continue to solicit funds from Sacred Heart School and St. Andrews School. There was consensus to do so. c. Code Enforcement Mayor Moran noted that the memo from Hugh Hexamer of the Public Safety Committee was very useful. There was consensus to accept the commission's recommendations to pursue development of a hybrid program with the Sheriff and to also implement various streamlining measures. d. Sheriff,s Contract Mayor Moran stated that the Council does not wish budget cuts to have an adverse effect on public safety. Mr. Perlin stated he would be developing the upcoming year's level of service plan in the next couple of weeks with Captain Wilson, and that he will attempt to stay within the current adopted budget for FY 97-98 for the law enforcement contract. e. Refuse Franchise - Report noted. f. Hakone Gardens City Council Minutes 3 ApriI 22# 1997 Mr. Perlin explained that the proposal concerning Hakone would probably be ready by mid-May. It is being prepared primarily by staff. Daryl Becker of the Hakone Foundation commented that the Foundation has been awaiting a reply to its proposal so they can begin the transition. Mayor Moran stated that the staff needs to meet with the Foundation, but the problems may not be able to be resolved by July 1. She directed Mr. Perlin to contact Mr. Becker this week to arrange meeting over the proposed agreement. g. Heritage Orchard Mr. Perlin stated that the funds for the proposed new well could come from the Park Development Fund. The well would replace an existing well and would not be metered. This will reduce long term operating costs for the Orchard. Staff will also be meeting with the Orchardist to see what else could be done to reduce the cost of maintaining the Orchard. h. Sports Leagues Mr. Perlin explained that the sports fields could be maintained even if one parks maintenance person is laid off. The City will be doing less work maintaining medians, which are being planted with low-maintenance materials, so personnel can be shifted from medians to other park maintenance tasks. Joan Pisani, Recreation Director, says she believed a $10 surcharge is reasonable because they pay $19 in Danville, for instance. Mayor Moran said she would like to consider a fee charged to the organization rather than the individual persons. Mrs. Pisani responded that the organization would collect the fee and submit it to the City in a lump sum. CATV - Report noted. Chamber of Commerce Agreement - Report noted. k. SASCC Agreement Mr. Perlin explained that what needs to be updated concerns the use of buildings, assets, etc. The agreement needs to be made current and clarified. If the City agrees to maintain and repair all of SASCC'S assets, expenditures could amount to $2,000 per year. Councilmember Shaw stated that the City has maintained SASCC assets in the past in accordance with the 1987 agreement. Finance Director Fil stated that in recent times the City has maintained the facility but not assets. Mr. Perlin stated that over the years the City has made various different arrangements, but now the issue must be settled. Dane Christensen of SASCC stated the agreement should be resolved before July 1. He said SASCC wrote the City a year ago on this issue but has not received a reply. Olga MacFarlane of SASCC stated that the City has repaired and replaced assets for SASCC in the past. Office equipment was under contract and maintained until one year ago, when the City cancelled its maintenance contract. 1. Library Bond Irene Jacobs, Administrative Analyst, pointed out that the City would not be permitted to pursue funding from the County which has to do with building improvements. As to bond consultants, Finance Director Fil noted that fewer of them were taking work on a contingency basis, so presumably the money might City Council Minutes · April 22, 1997 need to be paid; up front. However, there would be a $200,000 contingency fund which could be used for that. He stated he would check with associates to locate consultants who might work on contingency. Mayor Moran asked for a list of anticipated expenses, since she had the impression it would be free of charge. Mr. Fil noted that the cost of services could be added to the debt, which would then be recovered through the bond. Council consensus was to include the $20,000 in the budget rather than relying on the contingency. Mayor Moran recessed the meeting from 9:10 to 9:20 p.m. 4. Impacts of Reorganization Proposal on Service Delivery Councilmembers discussed cost recovery in the Recreation Department. Mr. Perlin stated the department planned to recover 100% of direct costs and 100% of avoidable indirect costs. Mr. Fil noted that this policy could be reduced to writing in the Goals and Objectives part of the budget. As to dollar amounts, Mr. Fil estimated the unavoidable indirect costs at $300,000 and the avoidable indirect costs at $20,000. Mayor Moran then asked about accountability concerning the funds raised by the Youth Commission for the Warher Hutton House~ she wished to ensure that the money is used as the Council intended. Concerning the expectation that counter hours would be reduced, Councilmember Shaw asked if volunteers could assist at the counters. Mr. Perlin said volunteers have been tried with little success. Mayor Moran suggested a.kind of triage system whereby those with simple needs could be served by volunteers. She also suggested that rather than state that inspection delays could be expected, they'could be scheduled farther apart so that unexpected delays would be less likely. Mr. Perlin agreed that the inspectors could limit the number of inspections they would perform. in a given period of time. Concerning infrastructure degradation resulting from a reduced Pavement Management Program, Mayor Moran asked for a dollar figure concerning long-term expenses which would become necessary due to neglect of short-term maintenance. Concerning Hakone'Gardens, Mayor Moran stated that it should continue to be maintained to a very high standard. Concerning the elimination of the minutes clerks for Planning Commission and City Council, Mr. Perlin stated that the staff considered action minutes a viable alternative. City Attorney Riback noted that many other cities do have action minutes. Mr. Perlin also stated that an index counter on the tape recorder can be used to mark items on the agenda as they are discussed. Councilmember Bogosian expressed concern about the scope of the minutes~ he felt direction to staff, while not necessarily part of the Council's action .per se, can be critical and should be included in minutes. Furthermore, he felt an outsider, as opposed to a staff member, could be more impartial when interpreting the Council's discussions. Other Councilmembers noted that if a councilmember wanted a particular point included in the minutes, he/she could request its inclusion. The Council also has the authority to amend and add to the minutes when they are reviewed at the next meeting. In addition, the fact that the meetings are televised and tape recorded, and the video and audio tapes are retained for a certain period, gives the public ample opportunity to review deliberations which have occurred. Councilmember Bogosian felt that paper copies of detailed minutes are more easily accessible to citizens than tapes are, and it should be thought of as one of the costs of democracy to provide detailed minutes. Cit~ Council Minutes 5 ~pril 22, 1997 There was consensus to have action minutes for the Planning Commission and City Council and all other commissions and committees. Mayor Moran asked about lists of budget cuts received from the public. Mr. Perlin said those would be considered later in the budget process. Mayor Moran then brought up Art Nartinger, the consultant who had been discussed to assist the City with implementation of the reorganization. She stated his contract would be on the May 7 Council agenda for approval. 5. Approval of Reorganization Plan Councilmember Jacobs asked about the ratio of management to non- management personnel. Finance Director Fil stated that the current percentage was 16% management and the proposed percentage, 14%. In ratio of management to non-management personnel, Mr. Perlin stated that the current ratio was one manager per 5.4 non-managers; the proposed ratio would be one manager per 6.4 non-managers. Mayor Moran noted that an ex parte communication dated April 18 had been received from Joe Oncay, City Codes Administrator. JACOBS/WOLFE MOVED TO APPROVE THE REORGANIZATION PLAN BUT NOT DOLLAR AMOUNTS. (Clerk's note: The motion was not voted upon but was approved by consensus.) City Attorney Riback mentioned that the staff should be directed to prepare a resolution reflecting the Council's action. Councilmember Jacobs stated that before the Council adopts the plan in final form they should get the budget because they are interrelated. Mr. Riback then noted that the Council was not required to meet and confer on the reorganization, but only on the impact of the reorganization. The Council should approve the plan in concept subject to financial impact. Mayor Moran thanked the Finance Advisory Committee for their assistance with the budget and reorganization. Rick Van Hoesen, Chair of the Committee, said the Council and staff had done a good job under very difficult circumstances. 6. Additional Direction to staff on development of FY97-98 and FY 9S-99 budgets - Covered under above discussions. G. Self-Evaluatlon of Previous Meeting - No comments. H. Agency Assignment Reports Councilmember Bogosian stated that the Cities Association had discussed welfare reform bill implications for the County and cities. The County Executive feels it is important to fund youth programs which may be related to welfare programs. Councilmember Wolfe said the Saratoga Business Development Council was reducing the number of meetings; the next one is in June. I. Other - None. J. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Larry I. P i Interim City Manager