HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/04/1988 Study Session 475
•
: OCTOBER'4, 1988 . - .;
,...; _ STUDY' SESSION : • -
1. ROLL CALL
' The City Council met in session .on this date- at. 2:00 P.M.'-in the
Goincil -Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, -Washington. Mayor Pat
' Berndt, presiding, Council- members Henry Beauchamp,i'Lynn.Buchanan,
Jerry .Foy and - , 'Bernard Sims present -. "on. roll:- •call.. Council
. member Lynn Carmichael present after 2:15 p.m.'- Council member
Clarence Barnett ' absent 'and excused. City'.--Manager- 'Zais, City -
Attorney-Vanek,,and City Clerk Roberts' also present. •
2. INVOCATION -1.
'The Invocatioh-was given by member Foy..
3. - OPEN GOOD -OF THE ORDER
4.' 'AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
•
. Tyler Kimbro, representative from the Seattle Guardian.- Angels,
reported the local Guardian ''Angels have:- 'established its
headquarters at the Spruce Street Apartments, :214 :S. Naches,
' Apt. 11: -He reported the Chapter'started-about three weeks ago,
however, no patrolling has been'done since -they are -still in the
'training' - phase. He'-'reported there are 'suspicious: activities
occurring at several residences' - in the Naches Avenue /4th= Street"
area, that drugs -are present : - He statedJtheir :members
found about 40 -50 ) syringes between yesterday and . =today : at 210 and
212' -5. Naches.Avenue; last•name of owner =is Putney. He
'said there'tis suspicious alley. activity withz traffic -=back and forth
at 203 S: Naches; last ,name : property owner is Flores: -' He> stated
the drug problem _ seems to."thave spread i• to Spruces and - 3rd ' St. and
Spruce and 4th St; -They also :talked to some people in the 500
block -of , S : • Naches - . there is a lot-of . out : :traffic all
night - at: 505 I /2; S.' . Naches.' 'stated :''there'_ are ' and
prostitute problems in 'that area. `Mayor . Berndt .asked -if this
information has been given to .the Police Department. Mr. Kimbro
stated' they are 'sharing - this information • with ''the.: Police
'Department.
5. - PRESENTATION-OF 1989 : - BUDGET FORECAST`:
'-Referring to the'1988 Budget document ,:City :Manager Zaisicannounced
this is the second year in -a' row the City has received the
Distinguished' Budget: Presentation award from - both - the Washington
'Municipal'Finance Officers Association' -and the Government Finance
Officers Association- (GFOA-). He acknowledged the assistance
provided by'=City management`, -'as well-as the Finance -.- Department
`staff, John Hanson; Director Bob Wheeler Chuck Greenough, Heidi
Wright, Judy Leavitt, Marsha�Graaf,• and Teresa- .Far-ren and askel
• those' employees in the audience to stand and be recognized. He
circulated the award - received from•the State. Association and said
the award from the GFOA would be received 'in: the next-month-or so.
• City Manager Zais reported ` that -an addition this year to the 1989
Forecast'Lis the- summary-'of policy issues. -He stated he thought it
would' be -- helpful: to' - Council.. to see! =the: • breadth' of - policy: issues
' brought- to- management's attention. -He- .- stated -that not all these
• request's •have : been • funded` in% the . 1989. - budget,- and may not get
funded. He commented :.• that - - the overall message , he • tried , toy project
in the 1989 ' Forecast- is .that the 1989 budget .balanced) and the
• ' C -ity is in a position to maintain .'critical - services .next-Tear. He
. said-there are some disturbing trends, the revenue.base is
- leveling- off. The' only General Revenue :Fund. responsive to
• ' inflation is sales tax and the other sources are declining or
'holding steady. The City has fixed costs for _labor, utilities,
A/AD /1
•
476
OCTOBER 4, 1988
fuel, medical costs, etc. He commented that the Parks budget has
been increased to reflect priorities already established and the
Street budget is down about. 1 /2%. (Council member Carmichael
present after 2 :15 p.m.) City Manager Zais stated negotiations
with the bargaining groups have not been completed, with the
exception of the Fire Union.
City Manager:,Zais reviewed the _Forecast, stating,,the first..section
covers an overview of.the general government condition for 1988.
He referred, to the second section, trends for 1989, and commented
the..property tax ,rate. lid was further impacted, - by,,,the devaluation
of ' the property tax, which cost the City ,about , $125, 000,., He said
if the City had not reached the tax lid in 1987 and property tax
had been,-allowed, to increase 6% each year, revenues_ from that
source would have been over $800,000 greater in 1989. The utility
taxes are showing no change or some reduction because of_the State
mandated requirement to reduce the utility tax (ramp down that
continues to 1992; limited to 6%)..He reported_a.slight reduction
this year in gambling tax . receipts; however, other
intergovernmental revenues are not changing appreciably. He stated
the chart on page 13 shows what has transpired in the General
Government Fund revenue base. He reported there were several one-
time revenue sources in 1988, such as the CMSI settlement. He said
the-cash balance that is carried over into 1989 budget , is, down 29%.
Mr. Zais stated pages 17 & 18 really shows why the 1989 budget is .
going.up. He said pages 21 -22 reflect the general government group
and how it's to be balanced 1989, while page 23 reflects the
comparison to .prior years. He stated other operating and
enterprise budgets are summarized for 1988 and 1989. He. commented
...staff tried to highlight those that have. policy.,issue proposals.
Referring to utility rates, he stated there will. be on rate
increases for refuse service__or water; however, sewer rates are
proposed to _increase. as budgeted in the. Comprehensive ; Financial
Sewer Plan. Referring -to the Lcapital _improvement listed
on page 28, he- stated the. list is ..incomplete because some
expenditures are.not ,included;,some have not been budgeted, and-
. , additional projects have-been added to the list within the last two
weeks.. Referring to ,the Employee Benefits -. Reserves .Fund on
pages 30 -31, City Manager, Zais stated this fund has suffered some
_ financial reverses within the last couple of years. He stated some
cost savings have been negotiated with the Fire Union. in the
current contract. He said it is. still management' s. goal to, reserve
a, one .million dollar fund. _He commented the City Hall water .
project .needs to be_ completed,,this year; we can't risk_ equipment
and records for another year. He said pages 33., and ; 34 ._outlines
the plans for presenting a balanced budget. He spoke about the
Parks Fund in relationship to the 2% In Lieu Tax granted by Council
last year; commenting it is anticipated this tax would increase by
about_ $22,000 from 1988, ,primarily due , to the lifting of the
$159,000 limit set for. the. .year 1988. Council member Foy
, interjected it was, his understanding. Council made,a commitment with
the Chamber of, Commerce with. regards _ to the limit on_ -that tax.
.City Manager Zais replied it is his recollection that the Chamber
of Commerce requested the .revenues from that tax be held at
$159,000; to be reviewed each._ succeeding,__ year. He stated it is
proposed because we need continuing funding for on -going Parks
. programs; cemetery funding which, used to be funded through, FRS, and
to , offset reductions.in property tax. He said the Sewer Fund
reflects, the increase of the proposed 16$ rate, -adjustment. He
commented the question was asked if that increase adds to the
City's In Lieu.Tax, and the answer is yes; it's $80,000 and we need
it. He. said Council has the final decision. He further commented
staff has prepared a series of alternative, cost reduction scenarios
that might be applied to .the _General Government budget, if needed.
He said some of changes have been implemented; some are being
considered; and some. are being researched_ further. He said this
budget does.not have any lay offs, but that has happened in the
past. He commented we need to look at new rtax, resources,_ too; and
there maybe State funding available after. the Legislative session.
With that in mind we . have enhanced_ the„ . Police's level of
operations to,.meet labor and capital needs., He pointed, out the
addition the policy issues on page 40. He spoke briefly about
A/AD /2
411
OCTOBER 4, 1988
the requests for additional personnel in the Personnel and
Purchasing Divisions.
•
Council member Foy complimented the City Manager and his team on
this Budget Forecast. He commented in the next budget draft, he
would like to see the Transit Operating budget include the cut -outs
• for buses, rather than have it in the Street Fund. Referring to
the beginning cash balance estimated for 1989 on page 23, and
considering declining property taxes, Council Member Foy commented
it is easy to see why we can't hire more Police Officers. Council
member Carmichael concurred with Council member Foy that the City
Manager and staff have done an outstanding job in preparing this
Forecast. She commented' she doesn't want to see annexations
thought. of as a panacea to our problems; we have on -going
obligations.,to those areas to bring them up to the standards of the
rest of the City. She said the same amount of tax money the County
received for these properties does not ,come.to the City; it is re-
divided. Council member Foy inquired about the schedule for
reviewing the budget. John Hanson, Director of Finance and Budget,
stated he will try to have the calendar available for Council next
week. City Manager .Zais reported the preliminary budget is
.scheduled for distribution to Council for the November. .4th packet.
•
6. OTHER BUSINESS
Information Items:
Items of information supplied to Council were: Letter to the
Yakima Herald-Republic. from Assistant City Manager regarding
'September 25, 1988 guest editorial, "Basin Enhancement Plan Needs
Some Leadership." 9/29/88; Memo from Director of Public Works
regarding Removal of Mid -Block Crosswalks on Yakima Avenue.
9/29/88;. Agenda.. for the September 27, 1988 Yakima Center Advisory
Commission meeting and minutes of its June 22, 1988, meeting;
and Agenda. of.: the September. 28, 1988 Yakima District Board of
Health meeting and 'minutes of its August 24, 1988 meeting. .
7. _EXECUTIVE. SESSION REGARDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
It was MOVED by Foy, seconded by Sims, to move into Executive
Session for approximately 15 minutes-for-the purpose of discussing
collective bargaining and prospective .litigation, to be followed by
immediate adjournment. Unanimously carried by :voice vote. Barnett
. absent. .
It was the general consensus of the Council to consider an off -
'agenda item.prionto moving into Executive Session..
A. APPROVAL OF OUT-OF -STATE TRAVEL FOR FRED STOUDER, ASSISTANT
CITY MANAGER, TO WASHINGTON, D.C.
It was MOVED by Foy, seconded by Carmichael, to approve the out -of-
state travel' for. Fred Stouder, Assistant City Manager, to
Washington, D.C., October 4 -5, 1988, at a cost of $744.00, to
negotiate. application funding for John I. Haas UDAG. application.
Unanimously carried by voice vote. Barnett absent.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Following completion of the Executive Session, the meeting was
adjourned at the hour of 3:40 p.m.
READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: 0 1 G 210--
CIL M is R DATE
I � /
ATTEST: a r : DATE
•
Gp. � - • ,l II r /. ' •
CITY CLERK, CMC MAYOR
•
(Minutes prepared by Karen S. Roberts.)
A/AD /1