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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/29/2005 Adjourned Meeting 3 61, ADJOURNED MEETING NOVEMBER 29, 2005 - 8:30 A.M. - 12:45 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL 1. RoII Call Present: Council: Mayor Paul George, presiding, Council Members Ron Bonlender, Dave Edler, Neil McClure, Mary Place, and Susan Whitman Staff: City Manager Zais, City Attorney Paolella and City Clerk Roberts Absent: Bernard Sims (excused) 2. Capitol Theatre (Budget Page E49 -55) Steve Caffery, Capitol Theatre Manager, spoke about the declining ticket sales in their Broadway series due to a product line that is not meeting consumer demand. They tightened their belts and began looking for ways to generate market support. They anticipate ticket sales will decline for the next two years based on the available product. They need to enlarge their market base so they hired a person to expand their programming, who did a market analysis and started a for - profit venture of media buying services. Ticket sales for the last show, Thoroughly Modern Millie, increased about ten points based on the findings of the market surveys. They are looking at other ways to diversify their facility to provide more services to a broader constituency. The capital expansions are going well. They purchased the property in back of the theatre and are in negotiations on property at 3rd Street and Yakima Avenue with a willing donor to fund it. They are also beginning a legislative initiative to create a public facilities district, about a $17 million project. In the meantime, the realities are that cash flows are going down and they are anticipating a $100,000 deficit on a $2 million budget. They are doing all they can to increase revenues. Mr. Caffery then discussed the cash reserves. 3. City Management Department (Budget pg B1 —B104; Policy Issues pgs B63 -74) • City Council City Manager Zais pointed out that the most significant change for 2006 is the adjustment in salaries that were earlier approved for the newly elected City Council members beginning service January 1, 2006. Also budgeted is a higher level of participation in professional services, training and lobbying efforts at the state and national levels and increased use of transportation. It is important we have a voice in Olympia and a lot of participation in Washington D.C. ADJOURNED MEETING — NOVEMBER 29, 2005 BUDGET REVIEW • City Manager City Manager Zais explained how the 2005 budget for this division was transitional due to Glen Rice's retirement and cash out obligations. Those were one -time expenses that have been concluded. There is also a planned transition in the area of the executive secretary. The City Clerk is retiring, Debbie Moore will be replacing her and Sonya Brandt will be replacing Debbie. There is also a new Assistant City Manager, Dave Zabell, included in this budget. Policy Issue Increase City Manager car allowance from $250 to $300 per month ($600 Budgeted) The current rate was set in 1997. It is much more cost effective to have a car allowance than a City vehicle. The average allowance in the state for other cities our size is $400 a month. • Legal City Attorney Paolella noted that 2006 reflects an entire year's implementation of the .3% criminal justice tax. He gave an overview of the department workload. In the Criminal Division there are five full time prosecutors attending to almost 14,000 court hearings a year which does not include infractions that are not criminal. On the Civil side there are three Assistant City Attorneys as well as some outside legal counsel support due to the need for specialized areas of expertise, the volume of work, and occasional conflict of interest issues. There are 50 or more damage claims each year plus 30 -40 litigations pending at any time. The City of Yakima has the highest per- attorney caseload in the state. In answer to a Council question of what is needed to be in line with the rest of the state, Cynthia Martinez, Assistant City Attorney, answered another prosecutor. It was also noted that every time more police are added, their needs increase as well. City Manager Zais said the policy issue to address the public safety study will also need to include Legal's requirements. • Risk Management Helen Harvey, Assistant City Attorney, and Rita Anson, Director of Finance and Budget, reviewed the City's insurance coverage. The City is self- insured and has a risk management reserve fund supported by an allocation from all departments. Ms. Anson discussed other insurance coverage for the city; such as the new Washington State insurance pool for transit services and gave an overview of a proposal to convert our liability coverage program to a new program with Cities Insurance Association of Washington. • City Clerk / Records Policy Issues Add one Public Records Officer position in response to statutory amendments to Public Disclosure Act ($ 56,300 Budgeted) Ray Paolella, City Attorney, said that this request is in response to a state law that went into effect mandating a formal designation of a public records officer. Generally, the Public Disclosure Act has caused an increase in the amount of time required to gather documents, form a response, coordinate legal 2 3 63: ADJOURNED MEETING- NOVEMBER 29, 2005 BUDGET REVIEW involvement, etc. We are proposing the position be staffed within the City Clerk's office as a central receiving point. Karen Roberts, City Clerk, explained that public disclosure work is not the only task that this person will do, although it may turn out to be the major portion of their job. Another function will be records management. The person will also help research an electronic agenda program. This position is the blending of two separate requests from different managers. Upgrade of Pension Records Clerk position to Deputy City Clerk ($9,400 Budgeted). Two people (out of three) in the City Clerk's Office will be leaving during 2006. We are losing expertise, knowledge and history. Karen Roberts, City Clerk, explained that the other significant part of this budget is election costs received from the County. This is non - controllable. Although we're hoping that mail -in voting will significantly reduce our costs in the future, it hasn't yet and the costs are very high. • Human Resources Archie Sutton, Human Resource Manager, said their budget is stable except for cash -outs due to his retirement in February. He noted that we have seen a decrease of applicants, particularly in the police area (about 50 %). They are working on some innovative ideas to help increase the number of applicants. Employees' Health Benefit Reserve The City is self- insured and governed by an employee representative board, empowered to define medical benefits. Collective bargaining determines the amount of out -of- pocket the employee unit pays. Mr. Sutton introduced Dan Fisher, the City's insurance broker, who helped explain how the insurance board works and how rates and benefits are determined. City Manager Zais said that City employees contribute approximately $1.4 million to the cost of medical coverage for premiums and cost sharing, about the highest percentage in the state. The biggest share of increases is insurance costs in prescription drugs. Mr. Fisher outlined some actions that have been taken to help control costs. Policy issue Employee Compensation Benefits Study (up to $75,000 Unbudgeted) In their report, the Budget Strategy Team suggested there be a more comprehensive look at public versus private and unionized /non - unionized employees with regard to compensation. They realize this will be an extensive effort, particularly with the public safety contracts. The BST recognized that the Human Resource Division was not staffed to do this, therefore suggested an outside consultant be hired. Staff will develop a proposal and cost estimates for funding the study. It is the intent to look at the regional marketplace, both public and private and develop some comparative data for use in negotiating contracts. There was quite a bit of discussion on this subject. Some points made were: - If money is spent on outside consultants, citizens are going to want to be sure there is a benefit. - Bothell's study cost about $92,000 and resulted in some substantial salary increases. - It will be a challenge to have the private sector release their information - If you get the information, you have to take action on it. 3 3 6'4 ADJOURNED MEETING - NOVEMBER 29, 2005 BUDGET REVIEW - Some information may have to be statewide, or even national, when considering recruiting areas - The biggest cost drivers don't have comparables (police /fire) and even if it is discovered we're paying them too high, it won't make any difference. - It should be on the legislative agenda to change some of the comparables in order to keep in mind that it is cheaper to live in Yakima. • Purchasing Sue Ownby, City Purchasing Manager, and Debbie Anderson, County Purchasing Manager, gave a coordinated presentation depicting what has been done to increase efficiencies in purchasing. There are over 60 entities involved in interlocal agreements, sharing services, combining programs, and doing cooperative contracting. Following a short recess, the meeting resumed at 10:00 a.m. • Community Relations Randy Beehler, Community Relations Manager, spoke about the discussion on the federal level to rewrite portions of the Telecommunications Act originally passed in 1996. From the early drafts of the Senate legislation, it appears to be a significant threat, as it would pre -empt much of the authority for occupants of the right of way, the telecom providers. They will be watching it very closely. He also spoke about various grants they receive and their expected capital outlays for next year. They have requested a vehicle to support the expanded YPAC coverage. They plan to purchase a used vehicle for a lower price. The biggest capital expense would be $100,000 for television equipment, minor lighting, and audio equipment in the proposed joint assembly hall. That money will only be spent if we go forward with leasing the space in the Bank of America building. • Wastewater Max Linden, Utility Engineer, and Doug Mayo, Wastewater Manager, were available for questions. They reviewed the status of current projects and those planned in 2006. They did note that this year was a drought year resulting in the billable flow being down about 6 %, and revenues down about 1 %. Policy Issue Add one Pretreatment Technician Position for the Fat, Oil, and Grease Program ($52,900 Budgeted) This person's main function would be to visit the establishments that do cooking. Although we're doing better, we need more frequent contact for grease control. We could consider assessing fines with repeat offenders. Water /Irrigation Irrigation System Improvements Dave Brown, Water and Irrigation Manager, gave an update, noting that a lot of work (listed on page 97 of the budget) has been accomplished. Two - thirds of the west Yakima system will be done in the coming year. He also gave a breakdown of the funds for the various improvement projects. 4 3 6.5 ADJOURNED MEETING — NOVEMBER 29, 2005 BUDGET REVIEW Jim Barnhill, President of the Lake Aspen Homeowners Association, spoke about the open ditch in front of Lot 53 of Lake Aspen Village. He said they have met with Dave Brown about the feasibility of piping this ditch. Mr. Brown advised them it is being looked into, but it is not an irrigation project. The Old Union Canal Company has the budgetary decision on it and their annual meeting isn't until January. He noted that it really is an engineering project. Council Member Edler recommended our staff pursue this and make it work for all parties involved. Policy Issue Add one Cross Connection Control/Water Meter Crew Leader position ($56,800 Budgeted) Mr. Brown explained that currently there are three Crew Leaders and two Cross Connection Control positions. As cross connection gets bigger and bigger with additional rules applied, they need another person to handle them. Discussion ensued on various duties that need to be covered. This position isn't just growth related, but also the result of many mandates. Also discussed was the portion of the budget going to the Yakima Storage Basin Alliance that is working on the Black Rock effort. Mr. Brown said his concern is that, if it is ongoing beyond another year, another rate increase would need to be considered to cover it. Currently, because it is unbudgeted, it has been coming from reserves in water and irrigation. 4. Library (Budget Page 1 -2; Policy issue 162) Monica Weyhe, Library Director, read from a letter she had written to the Council regarding three interrelated issues for library services for the three libraries: 1) The Library District's offer to pay $100,000 to purchase the jointly owned downtown library in lieu of the City's proposed reduction of $100,000 for its contractual payment for library services in 2005 2) The recommendation by the Budget Strategy Team for the City to divest itself of its special relationship with the Library District and vote to annex to the district instead and, 3) The City Managers recommendation to cut the 2006 contract for library services by an additional $100,000. Mrs. Weyhe referred to the offer made last year by the Rural County Library Board of Trustees to transfer $100,000 cash to the City in exchange for all interest in the land and building known as the Downtown Library. She announced that the offer is subject to the Council's determination that annexation to the Library District is in the best interest of its citizens, and then passing the required ordinance and resolution, preferably in time for the May 16, 2006 special election. She also asked the Council to not support the City Manager's recommendation to cut the 2006 payment by another $100,000. After much discussion between Mrs. Weyhe and Mr. Zais, it was clarified that the original offer to purchase the interest in the land and building was now being conditioned on the Council supporting holding an election for annexation to the Library District. Mrs. Weyhe confirmed that they are asking the City to not 5 366 ADJOURNED MEETING — NOVEMBER 29, 2005 BUDGET REVIEW reduce their 2006 budget payment by $100,000 and to pay for it out of reserves. She assured the Council that money would be returned when the annexation was approved through an election. Mr. Zais identified that as problematic due to the changing Council. The current Council is being asked to review the proposal yet it is the next Council that would be calling for the election. The 2005 budget relies on the $100,000 from the sale of the property agreed to last year. The 2006 budget is balanced by an additional $100,000 reduction. Discussion continued on the Budget Strategy Team's recommendation of annexation to the Library District and the need for and benefit from a successful election. Mrs. Weyhe emphasized the importance of this Council voicing their support of the annexation to the new Council. 5. Executive Session PLACE MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES REGARDING PROPERTY DISPOSITION WITH ADJOURNMENT THEREAFTER TO DECEMBER 6, 2006 AT 8:30 A.M. FOR THE BUDGET WRAP -UP. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote; Sims absent. 6. Adjournment Following the Executive Session, the meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY CO_ ON :ER / DATE � COUNCIL MEMBER DATE ATTEST: e&e-02 CITY CLERK PAUL P. GEORGE, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. An audio and video tape of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office 6