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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/11/1980 Adjourned Meeting 2 19 DECEMBER 11, 1980 ADJOURNED MEETING -- BUDGET REVIEW The City Council met in session on this date at 2:45 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, Washington. Council members present were Mayor Betty L. Edmondson, Lynn Buchanan, Lynn Carmichael, Bruce Crest, Shirley Doty and Don Hinman. Council member Henry Beauchamp absent. Mayor Edmondson announced that this meeting was scheduled for the pur- pose of studying the budget. 1. STREET DEPARTMENT Willis White, Director of Public Works, and Del Kary, Superin- tendent of Street Division, reviewed the $1,061,057 budget by service unit numbers with the aid of a slide presentation. Speaking about the leaf pickup program, Mr. White commented 11/ that people should be required to bag the leaves so that if the snow falls prior to the completion of the program, the leaves can still be picked up and not buried under the snow. Discussion followed on the street maintenance, comments being made that the permit for street inspection should cover the cost to do that inspection. A brief discussion followed on the vegetation control program, street maintenance, seal coat program, pedestrian and bike path program, snow and ice con- trol and capital outlay. Mr. White distributed a copy of the 1981 solid waste disposal fees to be charged by the County in 1981. There will be a 52% increase on land fill charges. Staff recommended a 20% increase in the refuse rates, which would provide a $20,000 reserve. Willis White reviewed the budget for the equipment rental service unit. He reviewed the positions in this division, stating they have two Mechanic II's and six Mechanic I's, and proposed one Mechanic II, seven Mechanic I's, and one Mechanic Shop Supervisor. A Mechanic II position and a Fleet Maintenance Specialist position were deleted. He stated that the difference between a Mechanic II and a Mechanic Shop Supervisor's salary is about $1,000. He also reviewed the replacement formula for equipment and ve- hicles and also the maintenance and operation rates. He spoke about the insurance savings in this division in the amount of $64,000 and his recommendation to keep that amount in his budget to cover a possible shortfall for fuel, parts and supplies budgeted for 1981, which are uncontrolled budget items. 2. FINANCE Art Zerbach, Director of Finance and Budget, reported that the City is in conformance with the State accounting principles, however, the State is not in conformance with the generally accepted accounting principles. He stated that this could be a problem when the City would want to issue bonds which would create an extra expense for the City. He stated that the Finance Officers in the State are attempting to change the State law, and in the near future the City may be faced with II/ revising its accounting systems. Mr. Zerbach mentioned that his department is having problems getting requested informa- tion to various departments with his staff level at a minimum. He reviewed the staffing level for his division since 1978 which shows an increase of not quite one full time person. In speaking about the Accounting Division, he reported that his staff will record the accounting time spent on a department and bill accordingly. He stated that the City service charge has nothing to do with accounting charges and will be billed separately. The City service charge is intended to allocate the charge of various administrative services, based on the department budget and number of personnel. There was a brief discussion regarding the functions of the Budget Analyst, Council expressing concern that this person will primarily do work for Public Works. Mr. Zerbach reported on a task force formed last year with the City Treasurer and other department staff to obtain infolmation on their needs and problems; however, the volcano eruption interrupted this project. He commented that he would like to continue this project in 1981. 720 DECEMBER 11, 1980 ADJOURNED METING -- BUDGET REVIEW (Council member Crest absent after 4:45 P.M.) Discussion followed on the budget format, Council members expressing their desire for more options. It was the general consensus of the Council to continue the discussion on the Payroll/Per- sonnel Management System and the budget review of the Infor- mation Systems Division some time next week. Mr. Zerbach and Don Horan, City Treasurer, reviewed the budget for the Treas- urer's Division. ,Council member Carmichael expressed concern about the poor system used for accounts receivables used on leases, PBIA, etc. Mr. Zerbach spoke about improvements that can be made to the accounting system with the use of the computer. He also stated that he would like to add aged billing information on the investment reports. The next service unit reviewed was Customer Service. Walt Feser, Customer Service Manager, distributed an information sheet regarding a proposal to change the parking meters to 25c fee. The initial expenditure would be about $75,000. Mr. Feser II/ stated that other proposed increases were for special parking permit parking in the City lots and for contractors special permits. Council member Hinman commented that if the new parking meters are not purchased, there would be a gain of $23,000 instead of a $13,000 loss. Discussion followed on the parking meter increase; however, no action was taken. Mayor Edmondson mentioned the proposed $10.00 dog license fee; however, no action was taken. (Council member Carmichael absent after 5:30 P.M.) It was MOVED by Buchanan, seconded by Doty that this meeting be adjourned at the hour of 5:40 P.M. to then meet on Tuesday, December 16, 1980. Unanimously carried by voice vote. Beau- , . champ, Carmichael and Crest absent. - .." READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY DATE 3, L I T / , •01 IL MEMBER /3 - COUNCIL MEMBER ATTEST: • , • 494440,704.47,s„ CITY ERK YOR