HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/1994 Special Meeting 2 489
NOVEMBER 15, 1994
SPECIAL MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW
The City Council met in session on this date at 9:00 a.m. for a
special meeting for budget review, in the Council Chambers of City
Hall, Yakima, Washington. Mayor Pat Berndt, presiding, Council
Members Clarence Barnett, Ernie Berger, Bill Brado, Lynn Buchanan,
and Bernard Sims present. Council Member Henry Beauchamp absent
and excused. City Manager Zais, Director of Finance and Budget
Hanson, Accounting Manager Robert Wheeler, and City Clerk Roberts
also present.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Glenn Valenzuela, Director of Community and Economic Development,
introduced Don Skone, Planning Manager, Irene Gutierrez, Rebound
Rehabilitation Administrator, Wendy Warren, Cable Communications
Manager, Leonard Hall, Code Administration Manager, and Dixie
Kracht, Block Grant Manager.
It was the general consensus of the Council to review the policy
issues and then review the Department's individual budgets.
The Policy Issue (page 76) Initiate a 1995 Contract with
Consulting Firm, under Economic Development, was reviewed.
Mr. Valenzuela commented that staff would put out a Request for
Proposals for a consulting firm to identify grants in the areas of
economic development, and organize and schedule meetings with the
appropriate people in Washington, D.C. Staff is following Council
direction to seek a federal office in Yakima. Council Member
Barnett referenced several policy issues relating to consulting
firms and questioned if any of the services are being duplicated
by local agencies, such as Yakima County Development Association
(YCDA). He also questioned if several of these tasks could be
combined into one contract. Mr. Valenzuela explained the mission
of YCDA, whose primary function is to assist with industrial
development. He thought the tasks could be combined into one
contract, but felt that would be even more confusing. Mayor
Berndt related how impressed she was when she was in Washington,
D.C. with Scott Jackson, who had many contacts there and was
familiar with how that governmental system works.
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Policy Issue (page 77) Replace the Heating and Cooling Systems at
Southeast Yakima Community Center, under Southeast Yakima
Community Center, was reviewed. Mr. Valenzuela stated the
Southeast Center needs some capital improvements, which would be
funded from the Parks Capital Fund. Discussion followed regarding
the appropriateness of funding being from the Parks Capital Fund,
whether the furnace should be a central or zonal unit, and whether
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SPECIAL MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW
Council should consider selling the Southeast Yakima Community
Center.
Policy Issue (page 78) CBD Promotion /Development Consultant, under
Environmental Planning, was reviewed. Glenn Valenzuela explained
this policy issue evolved from the Yakima Downtown Association's
request to help fund a marketing specialist as a 50/50
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private /public partnership. This individual would be an extension
of the Association's staff and would work with City staff on the
1995 Downtown Plan. Council discussed the funding source for this
position.
Policy Issues (pages 79 & 81) Upgrade the DA II Position to a
DA III, under Environmental Planning, and Upgrade the DA II
Position to a DA III, under Code Administration, were discussed.
Mr. Valenzuela spoke to these two policy issues since they both
relate to DA II position upgrades. Regarding the Code
Administration DA II position, he reported there is no distinction
between the functions performed by the DA III and the DA II. The
Division has seen a significant increase in the volume of permits,
etc. to be processed. Council Member Brado disagreed with
Mr. Valenzuela's opinion regarding the continued trend in the
building industry, indicating his belief that the strong local
economic boom in the building construction will not continue.
Policy Issue (page 80) Shift GMA Associate Planner to General
Fund, under Environmental Planning, was reviewed and discussed.
Council Member Buchanan requested staff attach a map to their
annexation report indicating the areas proposed for annexation.
Council Member Sims inquired if there is an organization that
tracks gross domestic products enabling current trends to be
analyze. Mr. Valenzuela suggested that the City include an
economic forecast for the urban area (instead of region -wide) as
part of the City's contract with YCDA.
The Policy Issue (page 82) Irrigation Rehabilitation, under
Housing, prompted a debate regarding Irrigation District 308,
which is in dire need of rehabilitation. At issue was funding the
rehabilitation of the irrigation system on a piecemeal basis over
a number of years or whether that money would be better spent
leveraging additional funds for the housing rehabilitation
program.
The Policy Issue (page 83) Upgrade Community Programming Assistant
Position to Community Production Coordinator under Cable
Communications, elicited comments on the high caliber of work
performed by Randy Beehler.
The Policy Issue (page 84) Allocate $10,000 for Professional
Services for NII Grant Development, under Cable Communications,
was withdrawn. Mr. Valenzuela reported that, given the newly
elected Congress, it is staff's understanding this would not be a
high priority item.
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NOVEMBER 15, 1994
SPECIAL MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW
The Policy Issue (page 85) Increase Professional Services to
Augment Maintenance to Facility, under Capitol Theatre, was not
discussed at this time since Council had met earlier today and
heard from the Capitol Theatre Board and management.
I/ Hearing Examiner
Mr. Valenzuela commented that later today Council will consider
the contract for Hearing Examiner services. In the near future,
staff will recommend going out for bid for a Hearing Examiner
Pro -tem. Council Member Barnett pointed out the statistics given
as performance indicators do not correlate with the projected
$41,000 budget.
Environmental Planning
Mr. Skone explained the Division has shifted all support
administrative costs into one Service Unit. Overall, the total
budget is up about $60,000; the majority of that due to the
request to fund one planner from the General Fund, rather than GMA
funds.
Code Administration
Mr. Valenzuela reported the Division's emphasis next year will be
to educate the public about the new codes and work on code
violations based upon neighborhood complaints. Council Member
Buchanan suggested that staff review the new State building codes
before they are adopted by the City and eliminate those that are
not pertinent to Yakima.
City Hall
Mr. Hall commented that the plan for the City Hall heating repairs
should be available soon, enabling us to go out for bids.
Mr. Zais remarked that the space utilization in City Hall will be
evaluated in 1995. After the Police Department vacates this
building, it is possible that other outlying offices may return to
City Hall.
Other than a few generic comments, there was no discussion
regarding the Economic Development, Office of Housing and
I/ Neighborhood Conservation, and Cable Communications budgets.
Rebound Plus Program:
Mayor Berndt announced that this budget includes a reduction of
one staff position. Ms. Gutierrez responded to Council Member
Barnett's question about the lack of activity forecasted in 1995
for abatement of dangerous buildings. There is no funding
available for that particular program; the funding for 1995 is
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NOVEMBER 15, 1994
SPECIAL MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW
from the Yakima County Substance Abuse Coalition and is targeted
towards their programs.
Metropolitan Yakima Comprehensive Plan
Assistant City Manager Rice was available to respond to questions.
,There was discussion regarding the results of the Commuter Trip
Reduction Program (CTR), which was contracted to the Conference of
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Governments (COG). Mr. Rice suggested Council request a
presentation from COG on the CTR program. Mr. Valenzuela reported
the development of the Comprehensive Plan is on schedule and
should be provided to Council in March.
Trolley (YVTS)
Mr. Rice suggested an informal meeting with the Yakima Interurban
Lines Association to discuss some of the concerns expressed by
Council relating to proposed capital projects.
Yakima Convention Center
Kathy Coffey, Manager of the Yakima Center, commented that 1994
expenditures will be under budget. The proposed expenditures for
1994 are lower than the 1994 budget and the projected revenue is
higher than for 1994.
There was no discussion about the Capitol Theatre budget since
Council had met earlier in the morning with the Capitol Theatre
Board members and executive director.
CBD Capital Improvement
Mr. Hanson reported the three primary expenditures for 1995 are
the $15,000 policy issue for a CBD promotion /development
consultant, $78,000 for the Yakima Mall expansion relating to the
street vacation, and $21,000 to complete the CBD Lighting Project.
Part of the downtown parking lot resources goes into this fund.
The Council recessed at 11:00 a.m. and the meeting resumed at
11:05 a.m.
CITY MANAGEMENT
LEGAL DEPARTMENT
Ray Paolella, City Attorney, introduced Assistant City Attorneys
Larry Peterson and Paul McMurray and Legal Assistant Linda Spence.
The Policy Issue (page 7), Hire Litigation Defense Attorney and
Word Processing Typist, under Civil Division, was promoted by Ray
Paolella. With the use of visual aids, Mr. Paolella stressed the
savings which would occur by hiring staff versus utilizing
consultant attorney services. It was noted that the hiring of
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SPECIAL MEETING- BUDGET REVIEW
another assistant attorney would not-eliminate the need entirely
for outside services, but would reduce it enough to create a
significant savings. Mr. Paolella also spoke in support of the
Policy Issue (page 9), Restructure Professional Legal Class
Specifications, which would create a tiered level for promotions
I/ within the Department. He stated a key element of this policy
issue is the paralegal service to assist the attorneys. Larry
Peterson and Paul McMurray spoke in support of the two policy
issues.
CITY COUNCIL
The Policy Issue (page 63) Rectuest from the Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce to Contract for Professional Services, under City
Council, was considered. Mayor Berndt suggested this be
considered with the requests from the other outside agencies.
ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
Assistant City Manager Glenn Rice, City Clerk Roberts, Personnel
Officer Sutton and Acting Purchasing Agent Ownby were available to
respond to questions concerning the Administration Department
budget.
The Policy Issue (page 66) Purchase a Records Management System,
under the City Clerk Division, was briefly reviewed. City Clerk
Roberts circulated photographs showing the current overcrowded
filing system and records vault, and the amount of records yet to
be filed. Council Member Barnett commented about the number of
file cabinets listed on the City's surplus list and Council Member
Buchanan commented about the file cabinets that should become
available in the Police Department.
The Policy Issue (page 70) Reinstate DA II Position, under the
Human Resources Division, was explained by Mr. Sutton. There is
an insufficient number of staff in the Division to meet all the
requirements of the Human Resources Division.
The Policy Issue (page 71) Salary Survey for
Supervisors /Confidential Employees, as well as the Policy Issue
(page 72) Reclassification Studies for the Charter Civil Service
Commission, under Human Resources, were outlined by Sheryl Smith,
I/ Deputy Personnel Officer, and support was urged by Mr. Sutton and
Mr. Rice. There was a commitment made to do a salary survey a few
years ago when these supervisors and confidential employees were
removed from the bargaining group. Mayor Berndt reminded Council
members that when an increase is granted to the management group,
it includes a wide range of positions at various salary levels,
not just Department Directors. (Council Member Brado absent at
11:40 a.m.)
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SPECIAL MEETING - BUDGET REVIEW
The Policy Issue (page 73) Investigative Services, under Human
Resources, was explained by Mr. Sutton. The Division is required
to do more extensive work locally even though workers compensation
is contracted to a third party administrator.
There being no questions on the budgets for the Legal and
Administration Departments, the meeting was adjourned at
11:45 a.m.
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AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: ) / 2-6t- f4 -7c3N6
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CITY CLERK MAYOR 0.7
An audio and video tape of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office
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