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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/09/1993 Adjourned Meeting 2 1 CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON NOVEMBER 9, 1993 ADJOURNED MEETING BUDGET REVIEW The City Council met in session on this date at 9:10 A. M. in the Council Chambers at Yakima City Hall, Yakima, Washington. Council members present were Mayor Pat Berndt presiding, Henry Beauchamp (present after 9:25 A. M.), Bill Brado, Lynn Buchanan, Skip Semon (absent after 10:55 A. M.), and Bernard Sims. Council member Clarence Barnett absent and excused. City Manager Zais (present after 10:55 A. M.), Director of Finance & Budget Hanson, and Department Assistant Moen were also present. Mayor Berndt announced Council Member Barnett is absent today due to illness. She stated this is an informal budget session and it will begin with a review . of the Police Department. POLICE DEPARTMENT Police Chief Green introduced his staff; Captains Don Blesio and Nina Vereb, Lieutenant Doug Bronson, and Administrative Assistant Marsha Devine. John Hanson introduced Bob Wheeler, Accounting and Treasury. Manager and Tim, Jensen, Accountant for the Police Department. Chief Green explained' the - Department retained the Police Lieutenant position from 1,993, which is a critical leadership position. Police Lieutenants have much administrative and operational responsibility. The Department did not fill this position because there was a possibility the individual might return to work. Staff reviewed the cost reduction impact of Initiatives 601 and 602; the. contractual Yakima County Jail cost increases, which may triple in 1995; and a 75 percent three -year funding grant for r commissioned officers. At the end of this period, the Department can absorb these people into the budget. Chief. Green stated the City's calls for services, are three times the workload of Yakima County. The City of Yakima Police Department is working at the maximum and he feels that credit should go back to the staff. (Council Member Beauchamp present.) . Chief Green explained how local laws and State laws correlate on felony type crimes. Mayor. Berndt stated citizens are asking how these people are getting out after all the recent shootings and crime? Council Member Beauchamp questioned the difference between people who commit violent crimes and people who do not pay traffic tickets. Council member Sims asked what type of statistics the City keeps on the rate of population and crime? Chief Green explained the City is not allowed to ask for the status of the records of the jail. . 2 John Hanson pointed out on Page 28 of the Policy Issues the Police Department has a proposal for the Tactical Channel improvement. Chief Green stated this should have been a•budgeted item. The City needs some repeaters due to dead spots. Council Member Brado referred to Page 279 in the budget, which states from 1992 through 1993 the number of incidents went up but the number of cases is less. He asked is there any reason? Staff explained the City is doing more follow -up on person- contact and not running everything through the Detective Division. Chief Green stated on a City -wide basis two commissioned officer and resource officer positions are being developed. Council Member Beauchamp asked what kind of emphasis is the City putting on community relation officers going to schools and is the Department dealing with kid's behavior and respect for the law? It is getting worse and there is more intimidation on the campuses. Chief Green reviewed'the good relationship the Police Department has with the schools. Council Member Beauchamp expressed concern regarding the middle school children. Chief Green explained how the Department presents the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in Yakima schools. Council Member Beauchamp asked whether the City receives any of the money from the tickets given to motorists? Captain Vereb explained there is a return from the forfeitures at court. Council Member Beauchamp asked where that is in the budget. Mr. Hanson referred to Page 149' in the budget, stating Traffic Infraction Penalties refers to citations. When a hearing is requested the case goes through a court. Mayor Berndt complimented the Yakima Police Department for their good job. She stated the Department has received compliments from all over the State of Washington, which may be one of the reasons Yakima has been successful in getting grants. FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Chief Beeson introduced his staff; Gene Martin, Deputy Fire Chief, Dave Bachmann, Support Services Battalion Chief, Mike Meyer, Training Division Battalion Chief, and Wayne Wantland, Communications and Electronic Technicians Supervisor. John Hanson introduced Edna Pettyjohn, Accountant for the Fire Department. Council Member Brado asked how the Fire Department is filling vacant positions? Chief Beeson stated the Department is the process of filling positions. The Department chose four candidates, that includes two females and one minority. There are now ten females in the Fire Department. He is also trying to address the minority issue of the City. Chief Beeson stated the women applicants meet the same standards as their male counterparts. Mr. Bachmann explained that affirmative action guideline says that 45 percent of the staff should be female. The only concern of the Department is that if they ever get to the 6 Y( J y . 45 percent, there may be._=something, consider regarding the labor intensive work which females sometimes cannot handle. Chief Beeson stated in no way has the Department made exceptions. Mayor Berndt commented some individuals may resist accepting females in this line of work. Council Member Beauchamp explained I/ that Seattle had that concern with some initial resistance to it. Council Member Buchanan commented the military has had to make changes in their pre- induction physicals due to strength. Council Member Beauchamp stated Seattle made arrangements to have women go to the Y.M.C.A. for a body building program. Mr. Bachmann stated the Department will fill all positions by December 1, 1993. Council Member Brado asked if the City accomplished its goals to improve its rating for the Washington State Rating Bureau Standards? Staff is working on making the changes. Chief Beeson and Deputy Chief Martin are on a committee to grade and evaluate the ratings for the State of Washington. They will estimate a system that is a current rating and reviews the needs for the State of Washington. It may take a year to complete. Staff will be coming back for an evaluation next April and Chief Beeson says he is confident the City will maintain its four rating. In answer to the Council member's the rebuild questions regarding of the ladder tower /pumper, staff reviewed the suggestions of the Rating Bureau. The Fire Department found to recycle would be less than half the price of a new apparatus. It will be re- titled as a new vehicle and takes about three months to rebuild. Mayor Berndt stated at the =: informal meeting this morning she mentioned contracting out for a fire investigator position. She feels that $70,000 is too much money. Chief Beeson stated that person will work together with every Police Department in this county so he thinks it has some strong benefits for everyone and to address the arson problems. Mr. Martin stated the $70,000 on Page 27 of the Policy Issues includes start -up costs. The Department estimates, $70,000 for year one operation cost with the City share at 50 percent. Chief Beeson commented the first year is getting this person on board at mid -year. Council Member Brado asked if the State Fire Marshal position is reinstated, will there be a reason for this position? Staff feels the position is a central focus for investigations since the Fire Marshal is sometimes on the other side of the state. Mayor Berndt asked if I/ they re -fund that position in the State does staff think there will be a likelihood of the smaller districts wanting to contract? Chief Beeson stated he does not know. Mr. Meyer asked whether the State plans to re -fund the Deputy State Fire Marshal position, however, the outlook at this time is not to re -fund it. Council Member Brado asked is it possible to do this with a private enterprise? Mr. Wantland reported the Policy Issues on Pages 28 and 29 are Police Department issues. He stated the additional repeater on Page 29 will benefit all departments. 4� After a brief recess, Mayor Berndt reconvened the Budget Review meeting at 10:35 A. M. FINANCE John Hanson, Finance and Budget Director, Bob Wheeler, Treasury and Accounting Manager, Rick Pettyjohn, Information Systems Manager, and Bert Tabayoyon, Customer Services Manager was present to answer questions for the Council members. (Council Member I/ Beauchamp absent) CUSTOMER SERVICES Council Member Brado asked what is a Parking Enforcement Officer Lead Position's pay in comparison to a regular position? He asked why are we requesting a lead position? Mr. Hanson explained that a new employee would receive instructions from that person. He stated on Page 110 under Budget Summaries, a parking checker's pay range 8.5 is $9.70 per hour. A lead parking position is $10.14; about $34,000 a year. He stated the addition of one more officer may generate $25,000 additional revenue. Council Member Brado stated he cannot support the addition of a lead position. He asked why have a parking enforcement if you are not going to enforce it? Mayor Berndt stated she agrees, and does not understand why there needs to be three people. Council Member Semon stated to effectively manage in the Central Business District you will have to make a City Council policy decision on people moving their cars every two hours. He stated he is an advocate of free downtown parking. He feels the City needs to make parking available for people to shop downtown. Then, parking enforcement will need more people. Council Member Semon stated other communities have dealt with this situation very effectively and all shopping centers deal with this. He stated people working downtown are taking up parking in the downtown area lots created for shoppers. (Council Member Beauchamp present) In answer to Mayor Berndt's questions, Mr. Tabayoyon stated staff made an effort to encourage City employees to use the free transit, however, it did not go over at all. Council Member Semon stated the P.B.I.A. did not create those parking lots for that reason, they are for shoppers going downtown. Mr. Hanson stated people don't understand that the City took over those lots when Diamond Cab walked out, with the two people we have. Council Member Buchanan asked if the City has gotten away from the Ordinance where a person gets a ticket if they park too long downtown? Council Member Beauchamp stated the City needs to find a positive way to address parking downtown. Yakima County has a parking lot for their employees Council Member Buchanan commented that the County bill their employees for the parking lot they use. He stated he thinks the employees have a right to a parking lot too, as well as downtown customers. Council Member Brado stated one area for consideration is next to the railroad tracks across from Track 29. He suggested the trolleys stop at that area; however, •.��' y�'+'r ,i r�..� �a� yre F t o �t,sn �;?.. r � if the City gets involved.it may ,,get more expensive. Council Member Beauchamp referred to'" Page 14 ' the Policy Issues and the last paragraph on that page. He asked if the City of Yakima has made a comparison of rates? Mr. Tabayoyon stated a couple of years ago Yakima made a comparison and Yakima was right in the I/ bottom. Yakima contacted Longview, Everett, Seattle, and Spokane. Mr. Hanson suggested the City of Yakima continues as they are doing, add another person, and add a $25:00 ticket for violations. (Council Member Semon absent) Mayor Berndt asked how staff determined the after -hours for paperwork for Animal Control. Mr. Tabayoyon explained the officers are in the field most of the time and get behind on paperwork. The Officers have asked to deliver the Council books on Saturday due to paperwork and some concern in the areas they must go into. The Council members questioned whether the officers go into these areas in response to their calls? Mr. Tabayoyon explained when the officers go on a call, the Police can provide a backup. Mr. Hanson pointed out a decrease in the budget due to the DA II shifting from part -time Animal Control to full -time City Clerk's Office. Mr. ,Hanson stated by using a cellular mobile telephone the City has tried to have officers in the field more. Mr. Tabayoyon ' explained if someone calls their office, the voice mail receives the message. An officer in the field may call the office for messages and continue on calls from wherever they may be. There is also 'a radio system for these officers through the Police Department that helps on travel time. Council Member Buchanan stated the Animal Control Office and Rebound Office is in the old fire station on 7th and Chestnut Avenues near St. Elizabeth Hospital. There are no lights in that parking lot and he feels it not safe for the employees. He stated the Hospital has a security person who walks employees to their vehicles. Discussion followed regarding this lot and it was the consensus of the Council members to have staff obtain lighting for this parking lot. TREASURY /ACCOUNTING _ Mr. Hanson reported that the City combined the Treasury and Accounting Funds into one budget this year. I/ INFORMATION SYSTEMS Mr. Pettyjohn stated several divisions developed the Automated Maintenance Management System (AMMS) and implemented a budget. Council Member Beauchamp asked how the City bills AMMS to the appropriate people? Mr. Pettyjohn stated each division will have their own maintenance schedule. The printer will notify each division when this needs to be done. City Manager Zais complimented the staff for their work, using current personnel and 6 not seeking additional_ staff. Council Member Beauchamp questioned the $577,102 budgeted for transfer from the General Fund to the Parks and Recreation Fund in 1994. City Manager Zais stated that is included with the Parks budget. LIBRARY City Manager Zais stated the Library budget was set up on the old mil system of property taxes. He stated the City Council has the right to increase this budget as they determine. INTERGOVERNMENTAL Mayor Berndt stated Yakima County is considering pulling back on all of these services and that means all the rest of us will pay more or we must cut back on services. She stated these agencies need to be held accountable as well. City ,Manager Zais stated one area of concern for the City is the future Health District and State funding. Mayor Berndt, adjourned the budget meeting at 11:30 A. M., to then resume the City Council meeting back in the Council Chambers at 2:00 P. M. for City Council Business Meeting. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY I/. I A aft , /. ./I - COACIL MEMBER DA I A-c*. " CXY OUNCIL MEMBER DATE ATTEST: C)/6- DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT MAYOR An audio and video tape of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office