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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/10/1979 Study Session 396 STUDY SESSION -- BUDGET REVIEW DECEMBER 10, 1979 The City Council met in session on this date at 8:30 A.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, Washington; Mayor Betty L. Edmondson presiding, Council members Lynn Buchanan, Don Hinman, Nadine Lee, Frank Roberts and Gordon Wonder present on roll call. Council member Henry Beauchamp absent. AIRPORT Carol Darby, Director of Community Development, introduced Hardy Acree as the new Airport Manager. She named the goals for this Division next year as follows: address Airport leases, continue communications with the County re Airport finances, and deal with the financial and physical aspects of long range planning for the Airport. She stated that capital improvements or repairs have not been budgeted for 1980 and warned Council that the Airport was experiencing problems with its plumbing. Also excluded from the budget are: 1/2 of Assistant City Manager's II/ salary for 6 months time; the Fire Station; and funds for the ADAP program. for 1980. She stated that a fence around the Airport is pro- bably going to be required. She. also reported that she expects a $100,000 deficit for next year. - Councilman Wonder expressed concern regarding the need for the Assistant City Manager, the Director of Community Development, the new Airport Manager and the Airport Commis- sion to spend that amount of time on the Airport. Ms. Darby stated that as her responsibilities grew, it was difficult to spend much time at the Airport last year. She stated that she expects FAA to tell the City that more people are required at the Airport. She stated that the Airport Manager will be working on Airport operations and the Assistant City Manager, the Commission and herself will be looking at the adminis- tration of the Airport management. PLANNING Ms. Darby stated that this Division has a lot of citizen participation and service type work. Larry Wright, Principal Planner, distributed a personnel chart and explained that one Associate Planner would be funded by the Community Development Block Grant to do housing..planning and aid in the census, and another planner is funded in the Sewer budget. He stated that 'staff will bring a new fee schedule to Council. Ms. Darby stated that no new personnel will be added to this division next year. Mr. Wright reviewed the revenue and expenditure figures for this divi- sion and stated that the 1980 general fund requirements have decreased by 31%. ENGINEERING Carol Darby introduced Dennis Covell, City Engineer. Mr. Covell stated that the Office of Traffic Engineering and Engineers have been combined in the Office of City Engineer, and spoke about some of the functions of the divisions. He reviewed the revenues and expenditures for 1980, and stated that the 1980 General Fund dependence has decreased by 3%. He reviewed the personnel chart for this division. Ms. Darby stated that this division will have the capability to do most of the work II/ in-house. Mr. Covell reviewed the cuts in service that will be the result of personnel reduction in this division. Ms. Darby stated she is concerned about the proposed reduction in staffing of the two Traffic Engineers. She stated that funds for sidewalks have not been budgeted except for sidewalks around the schools for safety purposes. She stated that the sidewalk repair work on Naches Avenue is partly the responsi- bility of the City, and part of it is wear and tear. She stated that the former Street Division Head's letter obligates the City to address this problem. Councilman Hinman questioned if a City-wide taxing dis- trict for sidewalks has been considered, or a City-wide LID for side- walks and bike paths. CODE ADMINISTRATION Carol Darby stated that the Capitol Theatre Project has been supervised by this division. She stated that the one-stop permit center will become a reality next year. She reported that the Street Inspector position was eliminated from the Public Works Department and either Code _ _ STUDY SESSION -- BUDGET REVIEW 397 DECEMBER 10, 1979 Administration or ,Engineering will do that function. She stated another aspect for Council to consider is the transfer of fire inspection to this division. Lou Roederer, Code Manager, reviewed the organization chart for his division for 1979, and proposed 1980. He stated that in the past there were different inspectors for different codes. He re- ported that following a class training period, each inspector will inspect for any code violation. He reviewed the expenditures and reve- nues for this division. He reported that housing safety inspection is a service for the mortgage industry and the fee charged for this service does not cover the City's expenses. Ms. Darby stated that she will be asking Council to raise the fee schedule on building permits, and re- ported that the County is raising their rates. Councilman Roberts inquired if the number of inspectors are cut, will that still leave an II/ adequate staff for inspection. Mr. Roederer stated that the inspections are done on a request basis. Council requested the following information: a copy of the charts presented today; a list of those positions being deleted and added to each department; information on additions and deletions of general reve- nue; and a legal opinion if Phase IV reclassification can be made retro- active to the first of the year. There being no further information or business to come before the Coun- cil, the meeting was adjourned at the hour of 5:05 P.M. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY 0 , DATELfiI COUNCILMAN ow 11 DATE IL Jr COUNCI ATTEST: 1 ,P - ,__ '-••--.: _ 4 CITY C RK / 'YOR