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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/24/1998 Adjourned Meeting 326 NOVEMBER 24, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW The City Council met in session on this date at 8:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers of City Hall, Mayor John Puccinelli, presiding, Council Members Clarence Barnett, Henry Beauchamp (present after 8:50 a.m.) , John Klingele (present after 8:40 a.m.) , Mary Place, and Bernard Sims present on roll call. City Manager Zais (present after 9:25 a.m.); John Hanson, Director of Finance and Budget; Cindy Epperson (present after 9:15 a.m.), Accounting Manager; Tim Jensen, Accountant; Chris Waarvick, Director of Public Works; and City Clerk Roberts were also present. PUBLIC WORKS Administration (Budget Page No. 393; Policy Issues Page No. 116) Chris Waarvick, Director of Public Works, explained the policy issue for ventilation system improvements is to accommodate a health and safety issue for the bus barns and the fleet maintenance garage. The issue is the hazardous atmosphere from welding and running the buses. There is an exhaust system in place that no longer works nor meets code. This policy issue is for $180,000 to cover design, construction, and inspection. That money will come out of the Environmental Fund that is supplied by a surcharge on fuel paid by everyone. Mr. Waarvick, introduced John Haddix, Administrative Assistant /Transit Planner, who was available to answer questions on the Administration Budget. Mr. Waarvick explained the paragraph on page 395 concerning the wash rack that has a sump to collect the materials from the heavy -duty Refuse and Streets vehicles. Because the Department of Ecology has changed their rules the sump waste can no longer go to the landfill. Staff will be researching alternative disposal methods in 1999. Council Member Barnett asked if the City challenged the DOE and Health Department and requested staff to investigate the feasibility of doing so. Discussion continued on possible alternatives and steps being taken on the west side of the state to deal with this problem. Council Member Barnett questioned the Plant Distribution Chart on page 397. asking if there was a change in space distribution due to the variable nature of the percent increases for each plant. Mr. Waarvick said they would check the chart and prepare an explanation. 327 NOVEMBER 24, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW Council Member ,Barnett asked about the large administrative fee increases for Cemetery, Parks & Recreation and Transit shown on page 402. John Hanson, Finance Director, explained that there was a policy issue that redistributed costs to reflect the actual administrative cost of providing the service to the departments. City Manager Zais explained how there had been a disproportionate distribution to the divisions of administrative overhead to support Parks and Cemetery services and this is the beginning of correcting that distribution. He advised this distribution change will be seen again next year as it will take several years to redistribute. • Council Member Barnett questioned the relationship between the Revenue Source chart on page 402 and the statement on the bottom of page 416. The chart is showing an increase and the statement says the 1999 budget is at the 1998 level. City Manager Zais said the budget printout and the narratives are correct. These totals did not change from one year to the next, it is the table on page 402 that is incorrect. Mr. Waarvick will check for accuracy and make the appropriate corrections. Refuse (Budget Page No. 441; Policy Issues Pages Nos. 117 -118) The policy issue to upgrade two permanent seasonal refuse positions to full time and eliminate one and one -half temporary refuse helper positions was reviewed. The sentence on page 118 that references that the increase equates to less than a .75% rate increase was discussed. It was explained that this comment was for comparison purposes only and not indicative of an increase in yard waste charges. Nancy Gaudette, Refuse Manager, explained the difficulty of using temporary people due to hours and training requirements. She went on to explain that the two permanent positions would be for a nine month period (a total of 18 man - months) and would equate to the one and one -half temporary positions (a total of 18 man - months). There is no increase in th'e yard waste rates. Ms. Gaudette responded to questions regarding the landfill tipping charge, replacement of refuse containers, and diversion of waste by recycling. Council Member Buchanan requested information on how the refuse rate structure is subsidizing the , previous years' loss from the yard waste program. Parks and Recreation (Budget Page No. 464; Policy Issue Pages Nos. 125 -137) Denise Nichols, Parks and Recreation Manager, was present to present the 1999 Parks and Recreation Department Policy Issues and Budget. Council Member Place spoke to the policy issue at 2 323 NOVEMBER 24, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW the City Pools disagreeing on the proposed rate increase for youth. There was discussion on the rates at the various pools. The question was asked what impact would it have on the budget if the youth rate was reduced to or maintained at $1 at all of the pools. Mr. Waarvick advised Council that staff would work to develop options on this issue for Council's decision for the budget wrap -up session. In response to the question of the need for the rate increase, Ms. Nichols explained it was required due to increases in operating costs. She advised the pools are currently receiving subsidies from the general fund and there hasn't been an increase in the pool fees since 1996. Ms. Nichols discussed the staffing and labor cost difficulties they experience. Various alternatives were discussed to increase revenue without impacting youth fees. Reviewing the Parks and Recreation budget, Council Member Place asked how many of our restrooms do not meet ADA standards. The response was a large number, probably 60 %. Ms. Nichols advised that although these restrooms are grandfathered in, an effort is being made to bring them up to code. The required changes were discussed. Ms. Nichols advised that although there is not a dollar amount on page 469 for new trees being planted, there are plans for new trees. Because this is a new category, the figure had not been filled in. Council Member Place asked the status of the skate . park. Ms. Nichols said they are hoping to build it in 1999 and that they are within $10,000 of reaching their goal. Upon completion of the budget review, City Manager Zais suggested Council needs to be thinking about how the new minimum wage law will impact the Parks and Recreation budget. Traffic Operations (Budget Page No.406; Policy Issues Pages Nos. 138 -139) Shelley Willson, Acting Streets and Traffic Operations Manager, explained the policy issue to upgrade two part -time to two permanent Traffic Aids was in response to taking over the maintenance of collision data from the Police. Mr. Waarvick noted that this increase does not address the concurrency resource issue. 3 • 329 NOVEMBER 24, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW Phil Lamb, Hearing Examiner, spoke in support of this policy issue which will allow Traffic Engineering to complete a traffic count program and allow staffing to operate the traffic counting devices. He stated this will supply information for development . reviews and impact analysis on what the rate of growth in traffic is in our intersections. Mr. Waarvick brought up the subject of sidewalk sweepers mentioning that some vendors had come in previously and had presented information. He questioned whether Council desires to include a Council generated policy issue for them at this time. Information from the vendors is available and will be distributed to all Council members. Ms. Willson will also research leasing options for this equipment. During the budget review portion, Council Member Barnett questioned the statement in the narrative about the challenge of complying with transportation concurrency as mandated by the Growth Management Act. Mr. Waarvick responded that there is uncertainty about what will happen with this transportation concurrency ordinance. There was also discussion about the dust abatement program, costs, and areas requiring treatment as well as requirements from the Clean Air Authority. Council Member Place asked how many of the City's traffic signals are going to be Y2K compliant. Mr. Waarvick said that he has asked about that and has been told by the manufacturers that they are compliant, although they have not yet been tested. Testing will be done in the spring. • Transit (Budget Page No.430) No Policy Issues) Bill Shultz, Traffic Manager, was present to answer questions on the Transit budget. Council Member Barnett questioned how the ridership could go up yet farebox revenue go down. Mr. Shultz explained there are several factors affecting this, such as people who ride free because they are Dial -A -Ride eligible, as well as the school district buying fewer and fewer youth passes each year. The major increases in ridership are among people who I/ are riding with passes, which increases the number of trips taken but causes very little increase in revenue. Information had been provided previously to Council Member Place on this issue and that information will be provided to Council Member Barnett as well. 4 330 NOVEMBER 24, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW Council Member Barnett questioned the second chart on page 435 showing the 1999 proposed expenditure increasing by $100,000. Mr. Shultz explained this was the result of Dial -A -Ride, although this is still below the 1998 budget level, they are anticipating that much of an increase. In answer to Council Member Place's question regarding the references on page 433 to changes taking place in fare revenues, Mr. Shultz and Mr. Waarvick said they would supply Council with that information and highlight those changes. Council Member Klingele asked about Account 560 Interfund Transfers for Street Improvement projects, the last item on page 439. Cindy Epperson, Accounting Manager, explained that item is being eliminated in the final budget. It was a carryover from last year and does not need to be in this year's budget. Council Member Place said she has been asking people why they do or do not ride Transit and the reason she has been given is the buses do not arrive and depart on time at the westerly edges of the community. She suggested that bus pull -outs need to be considered so the buses could wait without backing traffic up behind them. There was discussion on bus service, schedules and pull -outs, and the goal of meeting the needs of citizens. Equipment Rental and Revolving (Budget Page No. 450; No Policy Issue) Council Member Place asked if there was a night shift in fleet maintenance. Don Toney,• Fleet Manager, said, no, except in emergencies like snow and ice control. Mr. Waarvick said they will be providing a report early in 1999 discussing evening service. Council Member Barnett questioned the increases in the Equipment Rental Rate Comparison chart on page 453; specifically Refuse (17 %) and City Hall (14 %). It was explained that Refuse has very old trucks that require a lot of maintenance. Mr. Toney also explained that City Hall increased because the Codes Department got a new vehicle last year. It was recommended by Council that the title "M &O" costs be changed to M only since it does not include fuel which would be considered the Operating portion of M &O. Mr. Toney explained that what is driving the increase in this year's budget is labor settlements and salary increases due to reclassifications for the mechanics. There was a discussion on what prompted the mechanics' reclass. Mayor Puccinelli commended Mr. Waarvick on the job he has done this year. 5 • 331 NOVEMBER 24, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW It was MOVED BY PLACE, SECONDED BY BUCAHANAN, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 10:54 A.M. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: COUNCIL MEMBER DATE 4 ;7 Agr / • of CIL MEMBER DATE ATTEST: ) („1„ (_ fal. CITY CLERK JOHN PUCCINELLI, MAYOR An audio and video tape of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office. Minutes prepared by Pension /Records Clerk Watkins. • • • 6 •