HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/20/2012 14A Council General Information i 4
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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. ) 9/9-
For Meeting of: November 20, 2012
ITEM TITLE: Council General Information
SUBMITTED BY:
CONTACT PERSON /TELEPHONE: ,
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
1 Weekly Issues Report
2. Memo from Director of Finance and Budget, Cindy Epperson, and 11/13/12 Letter from
Washington State Auditor's Office
3 City Meeting Schedule for week of November 19, 2012
4. Preliminary Future Activities Calendar as of November 19, 2012
5. Preliminary Council Agenda
6. 2012 Study Session Schedule
III 7. Newspaper /Magazine /Internet Articles:
* "Gregoire says feds undecided about blocking new marijuana law," The Seattle Times, November
13, 2012
Resolution Ordinance Other
(specify)
Contract: Mail to:
Contract Term: Amount: Expiration Date:
Insurance Required? No
Funding Phone:
Source:
APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL: 6) City Manager
1
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
BOARD /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Click to download
❑ info packet
0
MEMORANDUM
November 15, 2012
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Tony O'Rourke, City Manager
SUBJECT: Weekly Issues Report
• CITY HALL CLOSED: City Hall will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November
22 and 23 for the Thanksgiving holiday
• CITY MANAGER LEAVE: I will be out of the office on Monday, November 19.
Chris Waarvick will be Acting City Manager during my absence.
M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: November 14, 2012
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Cindy Epperson, Director of Finance and Budget
RE: State Auditor Management Letter
The Washington State Auditor's Office (SAO) recently completed all of their field work for
the audit of the City of Yakima for the time -frame of January 1, 2011 through December
31, 2011 They had previously released the Financial Statement and Federal Grant
Compliance audit opinions, and the results of these were summarized for Council at the
October 16, 2012 meeting.
The SAO conducted our final exit conference on Tuesday, November 13, 2012. At this
meeting they distributed a draft of the Accountability audit report, and went over the
management letter recommendations. Councilmember Bill Lover was in attendance, along
with representatives of the management team.
All three of the reports included the best possible audit opinion (i.e. "unqualified "), and the
City was able to clear the "findings" from the previous year's Federal Grant Compliance
audit — this audit cycle we did not have any "findings ", which are reportable conditions of
non - compliance with the federal rules and regulation, or major deficiencies in internal
controls.
The next level of communication of issues by the auditors is the management letter. These
summarize conditions found by the auditors that need to be addressed, but are not
significant enough at the current time to be considered a finding. Attached is the
Management Letter issued to City Council, dated November 13, 2012.
The issues addressed in the Management Letter include.
• Allocation of shared costs: In the auditor's opinion, the City's current methods of
allocating central services, (i.e. Information Technology, Finance, Human
Resources, etc.), and utility customer services do not adequately demonstrate that
the self - supported funds were properly charged. Finance staff is working with the
SAO and other jurisdictions to develop a better methodology to allocate these costs
that will still be an economical use of limited Finance resources.
• Police Department (PD) citations: State law requires that all citations be accounted
for, and PD could not demonstrate that they audited citations, or properly
documented voids. PD is establishing procedures and training staff to be in better
compliance with state rules and regulations.
• Bus Passes: This is similar to the citation issue, in that Transit should account for
all bus passes, including those unsold. Transit is establishing additional procedures
for tracking and reconciliation of bus passes.
• Building Permit fees. State law allows cities to charge a reasonable fee for building
permits to cover the cost of taking a permit through all of its stages. The audit
concluded that the City isn't adequately tracking costs relating to this activity and
doesn't have adequate support for its building and land use permit revenues and
expenditures. The Finance and Code Administration staffs are reviewing this issue,
so that we can document compliance with state law.
The Finance staff would like to thank the State Auditors for their independent review of the
City's operation. We take these recommendations seriously, and are committed to work
with all departments to clear these issues, and to maintain an adequate internal control
structure.
2
I
) 14.
Washington State Auditor
Brian Sonntag
November 13, 2012
City Council
City of Yakima -
Yakima, Washington
Management Letter
This letter includes a summary of specific matters that we identified in planning and performing
our audit of the City of Yakima from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011 We believe
our recommendations will assist you in improving the City's internal controls and compliance in
these areas.
We will review the status of these matters during our next audit. We have already discussed
our comments with and made suggestions for improvements to City officials and personnel. If
you have any further questions, please contact me at (509)454 -7848.
We would also like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to your staff for the
cooperation and assistance given during the course of the audit.
Sincerely,
Troy Niemeyer, Audit Manager
Attachment
Insurance Building, PO Box 40021 • Olympia, Washington 98504 -0021 • (360) 902 -0370 • (866) 902 -3900 • TDD Relay (800) 833 -6388 10
tJ FAX (360) 753 -0646 • http: / /www.sao.wa.gov
Management Letter
City of Yakima
January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011
Allocation of shared costs
The City has two cost allocation plans Those plans are
• Central service cost allocation plan
• Utility customer service cost allocation plan
The City incurs costs from central services, such as financial services, human resources, legal,
purchasing, and information services shared among departments that benefit from the services.
The City also incurs costs from customer service center for salaries and benefits, postage,
printing and collection services that are charged to the utility funds that use its services.
State law prohibits resources restricted for certain uses, such as utilities, from benefitting other
funds without receiving true and full value in return (RCW 43.09 210). Federal best practices
recommend that costs be allocated to funds based on the benefit received and be supported by
formal accounting and other records.
Central services
In 2011, the City allocated $2,401,947 of shared costs to restricted funds such as utilities and
transit. We found
• The City allocates costs based on prior year budgeted expenditures. The City does not
reconcile these costs to current year's actual costs
• The City's allocation method does not demonstrate that the self - supporting funds
received the full benefit of the services charged
• The City was unable to provide documentation to show the amounts charged to the
funds were fair and reasonable
Utility customer service
Additionally, the City allocated $1,218,380 of Utility Customer Service costs to restricted funds
such as Water, Wastewater, Refuse and Irrigation. We determined.
• The City allocates costs based on percentages established 13 years ago.
• The City could not provide documentation to show how the percentages reflect the
actual cost of benefits received by each fund
We recommend the City ensure shared services costs charged to each fund correlate to the
service or benefit each fund receives Specifically, the City should.
• Follow a policy that governs how it calculates and charges shared services costs to all
funds and departments. Costs should be charged in proportion to the level of service or
benefit provided to each fund or department. The policy should specifically require the
City to
• Reconcile and adjust estimated overhead costs to actual costs at least once a
year.
• Provide documentation to demonstrate the funds benefited from the full value of
the services charged.
• Use factors that equitably allocate central overhead costs.
• Periodically review and update the cost allocation plan for charging shared
service costs.
Police Department citations
The City of Yakima Police Department issued approximately 11,800 citations in 2011 Our audit
found
• The City does not reconcile and monitor all citations to ensure each is accounted for, as
required by state law (RCW 46 64 010).
• The City does not perform monthly audits of all citations as required by state law (RCW
46.64.010)
• The City does not have adequate controls over voided citations and is not complying
with Yakima Police Department policy 516 4.
Without a reconciliation and monthly audit of all citations as required by state law, the City
places public resources at a higher risk of loss, misappropriation or misuse.
We recommend the City's Police Department.
• Develop a process to ensure all citations are properly recorded and accounted for
• Perform monthly audits of all citation as required by state law.
• Establish a process to ensure voided citations include the reason, date, officer's name
and personnel number on the face of the citation and be approved by a supervisor as
required by City policy
Bus passes
The City received approximately $167,000 from the sale of monthly bus passes in 2011 The
City sells the passes at 13 locations. The price depends on whether they are adult, youth, or
reduced —fare passes. Each location is to record sales on log sheets. We found the City does
not have a consistent process for monitoring and reconciling all bus passes sold to amounts
received
The Transit Department performs monthly reconciliations of passes sold at 11 of the 13
locations It does not do reconciliations at City Hall and Public Works. We found
• Passes sold are not always recorded on the log at Public Works
• The City is not performing reconciliations at City Hall or Public Works and therefore
cannot determine if all revenues are received and all unsold passes are accounted for.
In order to determine if a reconciliation could be done with information already available, we
reconciled passes sold for the second quarter at City Hall We selected the second quarter as it
was first full quarter after we recommended City Hall perform this reconciliation during the prior
audit. We found the City could not account for 21 adult, 13 youth, and five reduced - fare
passes, totaling $538. Total passes sold at City Hall in the second quarter of 2012 were
877 adult, 117 youth and 172 reduced -fare.
We asked the City to perform the same reconciliation for the same period and found $569, or
approximately 49 passes sold were not deposited. We also found 839 passes, or 399 adult
passes at $17 each, 224 youth passes at $12 each, and 216 reduced -fare passes at $5 each,
worth a total of approximately $10,500 could not be accounted for.
We recommend the City:
• Develop a uniform process for monitoring and reconciling bus passes and revenue for all
13 locations
• Establish a process to ensure all locations keep a log of all bus passes sold by type to
help monitor and track all passes issued and sold.
• Follow -up on any missing logs and passes to ensure all passes are accounted for
Building permit fees
State law allows cities to charge a reasonable fee for building permits to cover the cost of
"processing applications, inspecting and reviewing plans, or preparing detailed environmental
statements" (RCW 82.02 020).
The City collected approximately $1,135,778 in building permit and planning review revenues in
2011 It records all revenues and expenditures related to building permit activity in the General
Fund.
The City sets building permit fees using building valuations from 2006, adjusted each year by
the Consumer Price Index The City does not know how the original fees were established.
Our audit found the City has no method to track costs associated with issuing permits to ensure
the fees set each year are reasonable. We also found that the City does not have adequate
support to ensure the revenues from building and land use permits are only used for allowable
activities
We recommend the City develop a process to track building permit revenues and expenditures
to ensure compliance with state law.
The City recently estimated the salaries and benefit cost of those employees issuing permits or
performing plan reviews totaled $846,426 We recommend the City continue to determine the
costs of permitting service to ensure permit fees cover the cost of providing allowable services
CITY MEETING SCHEDULE
For November 19, 2012 — November 26, 2012
Please note: Meetings are subject to change
Monday, November 19
10:00 a.m. City Council Media Briefing — Council Chambers
Tuesday, November 20
10:00 a.m. County Commissions Meeting — Council Chambers
2:00 p.m. Bid Opening — Council Chambers
3:00 p.m. MLK Bid Opening — Council Chambers
2:00 p.m. Yakima County Gang Commission Meeting — ESD 105
6:00 p.m. City Council Meeting — Council Chambers
Wednesday, November 21
12:00 p.m. YVVCB Board Meeting — Convention Center
12:00 p.m. PAL Board Meeting — PAL Center
3:30 p.m. Arts Commission Meeting — CED Conference Room
Thursday, November 22
CITY OFFICES CLOSED
Friday, November 23
CITY OFFICES CLOSED
Monday, November 26
12:00 p.m. Capitol Theatre Board Meeting — Capitol Theatre
12:00 p.m. Greenway Board Meeting — Greenway Visitors Center
Office Of Mayor /City Council
Preliminary Future Activities Calendar
Please Note: Meetings are subject to change
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Mon. Nov. 19 .._
10:00 a.m. City Council Media Briefing Scheduled Meeting Adkison Council Chambers
Tue. Nov. 20
12 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley, Adkison, TBD
Coffey
2:00 p.m. Yakima County Gang Scheduled Meeting Adkison ESD 105 - Yakima Room
Commission
6 Vim. Ci Council Meetin• Scheduled Meetin• Council Council Chambers
Wed. Nov. 21
1200 p.m. YWCB Board Meeting Board Meeting Adkison Convention Center
12 00 p.m. PAL Board Meeting Board Meeting Coffey PAL Center
3 30 ell Arts Commission Scheduled Meetin• Adkison CED Conference Room
Thur. Nov. 22
CITY OFFICES CLOSED
Fri. Nov. 23
CITY OFFICES CLOSED
Mon. Nov. 26
1 2.00 p m. Capitol Theatre Board Board Meeting Bristol Capitol Theatre
Meeting
12 00 m. Greenwa Board Meetin• Board Meetin Ettl Greenwa Visitors Center
Tue. Nov. 27
10 00 a.m. City Council Study Session Scheduled Meeting Council Council Chambers
12 00 • m Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meetin• Adkison, Cawle TBD
Wed. Nov. 28 ,,....,.w�.�w.�..m .�.
5:30 p.m. Historic Preservation Scheduled Meeting Bristol Council Chambers
Commission
Thur. Nov. 29
1 p.m. EMS Board Meeting Board Meeting Lover (alt) Yakima Regional
5 p m. Yakima Valley Visitors & Scheduled Event Open Convention Center
Convention Bureau Annual
Rece•tion
Mon. Dec. 3.�.....�,_�,.�..
10:00 a.m City Council Media Briefing Scheduled Meeting Ensey Council Chambers
Tue. Dec. 4 ���.
12:00 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley TBD
12 p.m. YWCB Executive Scheduled Meeting Adkison Zesta Cucina
Committee Meeting
00 p.m. (T) City Council Executive Scheduled Meeting Council Council Chambers
Session
6 •.m. Cit Council Meetin• Scheduled Meetin• Council Council Chambers
Wed. Dec. 5
4:00 p.m. Regional Fire Authority Scheduled Meeting Adkison, Cawley, Station 95
Coffey
Thur. Dec. 6
4:00 p.m. Gang Free Initiative Steering _Scheduled Meeting Ettl, Adkison, TBD
Committee Meeting Coffey
Fri. Dec. 7
8:00 a.m Sister Cit Meetin• Scheduled Meetin• Adkison CED Conference Room
Mon. Dec. 10
8:30 a.m. Pension Board Meetings Board Meeting Coffey HR Conference Room
1000 a.m. City Council Media Briefing Scheduled Meeting Coffey Council Chambers
Tue. Dec. 11
12:00 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley, Adkison TBD
2.00 m Cit Council meetin Scheduled Meetin Council Council Chambers
Wed. Dec. 12
9.30 a.m. Yakima River Basin Water Scheduled Meeting Lover Arboretum
Integrated Plan
3 p.m. Planning Commission Scheduled Meeting Ensey Council Chambers
Meeting
5 p m Parks & Recreation Scheduled Meeting Adkison Council Chambers
Commission
Thur. Dec. 13
1 00 p m Harman Center Board Board Meeting Adkison Harman Center
Meeting
1:30 p.m Yakima Regional Clean Air Scheduled Meeting Lover Council Chambers
Meeting
5.30 • m YCDA Board Meetin• Board Meetin Adkison New Vision Office
PRELIMINARY FUTURE COUNCIL AGENDA
November 27
10 00 a m City Council Study Session — Council Chambers
• Gang Free Initiative
December 4
5:00 p.m. Executive Session — Council Chambers
• Consideration of Matters Concerning Real Estate
6 p.m. Business Meeting — Council Chambers
• Resolution authorizing Interlocal agreement with Selah to provide building
inspection services
• Resolution authorizing Certain Uncollectible Central Accounts Receivables to be
written off
• Resolution authorizing Certain Uncollectible Utility Bills to be Written Off
• Resolution authorizing Certain Uncollectible Parking Citations to be Written Off
• Resolution declaring Cougar or Husky Day in conjunction with Yakima Downtown
Rotary Auction
• Resolution withdrawing Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezone from further
Council consideration and rescinding the Council's direction to remand this matter
back to the City of Yakima's Planning Commission
• Resolution authorizing amendment to the existing Professional Services
Agreement with Pharmer Engineering for the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
(UASB) Bioreactor and Electrical Improvements project
• Memorandum of Understanding with the Washington State Liquor Control Board
for office space for a liquor agent in YPDs building
7:00 p.m. Public Hearing — Council Chambers
11/15/2012
7.29 AM
2012 STUDY SESSION SCHEDULE
Council Chambers
10:00 a m.
November 15 Downtown development — Ian Thomas, Consultant
November 27 Gang Free Initiative
TBD North 1 and signage issues
11/15/2012
730 AM
Gregoire says feds undecided about blocking new marijuana law I Politics Northwest I Se... Page 1 of 2
MKScatiteiritues
Winner of a 2012 Pulitzer Prize
Local News
POLITICS NORTHWEST
The Seattle Times political team explores national, state and local politics.
November 13, 2012 at 4:19 PM
Gregoire says feds undecided about blocking new
marijuana law
Posted by Beth Kaiman
By CHRIS GRYGIEL
The Associated Press
Gov. Chris Gregoire says the federal government still hasn't decided whether to take action to
block new laws legalizing marijuana in her state and Colorado.
Gregoire met with Deputy Attorney General James Cole in Washington, D.0 on Tuesday. She
told Cole she would prefer to know "sooner rather than later," because Washington state is in
the process of getting ready to decriminalize pot, which is still illegal under federal law.
"I told them,`Make no mistake, that absent an injunction of some sort, it's our intent to
implement decriminalization, "' Gregoire told The Associated Press. "I don't want to spend a lot
of money implementing this if you are going t� attempt to block it."
Initiative 502 passed last week with 55 percent of the vote in the state. It decriminalizes the
possession of up to an ounce of marijuana beginning Dec. 6. The state would license the
growing, processing and labeling of marijuana, but state officials have a year to come up with
those rules before sales can begin.
Colorado also passed a measure legalizing the drug.
Federal lawyers are reviewing the two new state laws, trying to determine what their response
will be, Gregoire said.
"It's not a simple analysis for them," she said. "There's a difference between our two initiatives,
and they want to look at that. They clearly want to know how things are going to flow, how
regulations develop, how enforcement would be taken, taxes would be gathered."
She said she pressed Cole as to whether the ultimate federal response would treat both
Washington and Colorado the same way, and Justice Department officials indicated to her that
that was their intent.
In Washington, home - growing marijuana for recreational reasons remains barred, as does the
public display or use of pot. The measure also establishes a standard blood test limit for driving
under the influence, and Gregoire says the head of the Washington State Patrol has to begin
training officers to enforce that portion of the measure.
http: //blogs. seattletimes .com/politicsnorthwest/2012/ 11 /13 /gregoire- says -feds- undecided -... 11/14/2012
Gregoire says feds undecided about blocking new marijuana law I Politics Northwest I Se... Page 2 of 2
"He can't wait, he's got to start doing this," Gregoire said.
Gregoire said she promised to keep the Justice Department fully informed as to the progress
the state is making in implementing the new marijuana law.
Colorado's governor and attorney general spoke by phone Friday with U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder, with no signal whether the U.S. Justice Department would sue to block the
marijuana measure.
If Colorado's marijuana ballot measure is not blocked, it would take effect by Jan. 5, the
deadline for the governor to add the amendment to the state constitution. The measure allows
adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, and six marijuana plants, though public use of
the drug and driving while intoxicated are prohibited.
Colorado's new law also directs lawmakers to write regulations on how pot can be sold, with
commercial sales possible by 2014.
Latest news:
• McMorris Rodgers fends off insurgent rival to win House conference chairmanship
• Inslee names WSU president, Microsoft exec, Renton superintendent to lead transition
• Have you had a problem with drug testing for marijuana at your work?
• Wednesday briefing: GOP goys soul - searching, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, pot
prices
• Port commissioner Tarleton to step down to serve in statehouse
•
•
http: //blogs.seattletimes .com/politicsnorthwest /2012/11 /13 /gregoire- says -feds- undecided -... 11/14/2012