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04-04-1955 - Regular Meeting - MinutesH • MINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF WEST COVINA,. CALIFORNIA April 4, 1955 Meeting was called to order at_7:45 p.m. by Chairman Hurst, Present: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline; Mayor Hurst Absent: Councilman Brown Also Present: City Clerk, City Administrator, City- Attorney, City Engineer (part time) -- — FINAL MAP City Engineer presented Final T4ap of Tract No. 20663 Tract No. 20663 covering subdivision of 20 acres (48 lots) located at the Frank Layton northwest corner of Vine Avenue and Citrus Street in APPROVED Area District III. Motion by Councilman Sperline, seconded by Councilman Kay, and carried, that Final Map of Tract. No. 20663 be approved subject to the following recommendations of the City Engineer: 1) City Engineer's approval of plans and profiles. 2) Receipt of Utility Certificates from Edison Co., Gas Co., and water company. City Engineer recommended City's participation in the lowering of Vine Avenue not to exceed $1928.00. Motion by Councilman Sperline, seconded by Councilman Kay, that the City participate in the Vine Avenue improvements not to exceed 1928.009 provided that suitable arrangements are made with the County for their participation. Passed on roll call as follows: Ayes: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline, Hurst Noes: None Absent: Councilman Brown • PROPOSED PERSONNEL SYSTEM Several members of the West Covina City Employees' ORDINANCE Association were present with Malcolm Gerschler, Don Mild, and Bill Ryan as their spokesmen. Mr. Gerschler read the following letter from Bill Guerin, President of the Association, to the Council: "Gentlemen: "The membership of the West Covina City Employees' Association wishes to thank you for this opportunity to present the 'Proposed Personnel System Ordinance'. The Association will make every effort to supply you with whatever supplemental information you may ..desire. "The three men selected to present this ordinance, and any explanation required, will be responsible for making known to your Honorable Body, the opinions and beliefs of the Employees' Association. "We should like to point out that, although this proposed ordinance would furnish the basis for an effective personnel program, it must be supplemented by -2- CC 4/4%55 Proposed Personnel System --Employees' Asstn. letter--contd. the rules and regulations which would be recommended by the Personnel Commission for adoption by the City Council. Section VII, Rules and Regulations, of the proposed ordinance has-been left open to accommodate this. "Our Association has formed a special committee to assemble and compile data concerning the formulation of the rules and regulations. It is our intention to keep this data up to date and to supply you with any such information you might • request. "Respectfully yours, (Sgd.) Bill Guerin, President WEST COVINA CITY EMPLOYEES? ASSOC." Mr. Gerschler also read the proposed personnel system ordinance. City Attorney raised the following points which he questioned or felt should be changed. 1) Page 1, line 5 - "the legislative body of any city in the State of California" is superfluous --should be deleted. 2) Page 1, lines 16 & 17 -- "and known advocates of Civil Service Reform" should be deleted. 3) Page 1, lines 19 through 23 - Attorney asked if Council wanted terms of office to be 5 years. 4) Page 1, line 26-ttFour fifths vote" should be changed to ttsimple majority" since the ordinance is adopted by simple majority and this section could be amended by simple majority. 5) Page 2, line 2 - the word "pay" should be "authorize payment oftt. 6) Page 2, line 9 - "and shall meet regularly if so required by the rules," should • be changed to "and to meet at least once a month". 7) Page 3, lines 7 - 12 - delete sentence beginning "It shall be the duty..." and ending tt... by the City Council", because the Personnel Commission does not have the right to issue subpoenas. 8) Page 3, line 12 - Only the chairman should administer oaths, not any member of the Commission. 9) Page 3, last paragraph - Attorney asked if Council felt these requirements were satisfactory. 10) Page 4, lines 10 through 17 - Attorney suggested Council might wish to exclude Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and City Engineer front Civil Service coverage. 11) Page 4, line 24 - after tteligible list,tt add "if any." and delete rest of sentence. Attorney stated that during war time personnel are hard to obtain and there might not be an eligible list. &_a -3- CC 4/4/55 12) Page 6, line 14 - "rejected" should be changed to "dismissed". 13) Page 6, lines 15 through 18 - Attorney stated that this is a matter of policy for the Council to decide. 14) Page 6, last paragraph - Attorney asked if Council wanted to include all present employees in this ordinance. 15) Page 8, lines 13 through 15 - Hearings should not be held informally, and whether • the hearings are open or closed should be up to the Commission, not the employee. Phrase beginning 'rand such hearings ... tt to the end of sentence should be deleted. 16) Page 8, line 25 - Attorney asked if Council felt 30 days notice should be given. 17) Page 9, lines 4 through 8 - Delete sentence beginning on Line 4. 18) Page 10, line 5 - t'city office" should be "city employment" to avoid confusion. The Council and Employees Assn. representatives then discussed each of the points Mr. Cornyn had brought up: 1) Council agreed with Attorneys recommendation. 2) Don Mild of the Employee's Assn. stated that the known advocates of Civil Service Reform could be answered in an oath given to the Commissioners.at the beginning of their term of office. After discussion, Council agreed to leave out that phrase as suggested by City Attorney. 3) It was agreed to change the term of office from 5 to 4 years, with 2 terms expiring June 30, 1957, and omitting the last term to end June 30, 1960. 4) Council concurred in Attorneys recommendation. 5) Council concurred in Attorney's recommendation since Council does not pay, but • does authorize payment. 6) It was agreed that once a month is not too often to hold meetings of the Commission. 7) Mr. Cornyn stated that although the Personnel Commission could not issue subpoenas they could request the City Council to issue them. 8) Council agreed to change tteach membertt to 1tChairman". 9) It was agreed that these requirements are reasonable minimums for a Personnel Director. 10) Mr. Gerschler read a resumd of the reasons for including Department Heads under Civil Service ad follows: "Department Heads should be included because: "it would round out a promccd.onal system, whereby an employee would have -.4- CC 4/4/55 Proposed Personnel System--contd. the opportunity to compete for the top job in his department, through open competition; "in effect, non -inclusion would be the same as patronage and could possibly mean changes in important position (positions where experience and familiarity with personnel are of utmost importa?•.ce) whenever political changes occur - a tremendous cost to the taxpayers and a needless waste • breaking in an outsider, if competition could prove the best man was already with the city; ttcourt action would not necessarily be avoided in the case of dismissal, anyhow, and protests might be resolved by the Personnel Commission; ttit would subject department heads to other portions of the ordinance (aside from right of appeal) i.e., political neu_tralit , vacation, sick leave,and other forthcoming rules and regulations; "Civil Service rules would provide a more systematic way of hiring department heads, as well as systematic punitive measures (dismissal, sus- pension, etc.); '?basically, department heads are used for technical knowledges and abilities, and therefore might easily be excluded from the class of ?agent for the City Council? under which we find the Chief Administrative Officer and the City Attorney. Their duties are to execute policies clearly defined by the City Council, Chief Administrative Officer and City Attorney, and not for policy development." Mayor Hurst stated that with West -Covina, the case is different from most cities, because there is no city comparable to West Covina with its tremendous growth, and that a Department Head who is capable of doing the job at one time may not be able to handle it in a few years, but that he should not necessarily be dismissed, but might be made an assistant, and that he could not be replaced • except by filing charges agairs t him. He stated that it might become necessary to go outside the City to bring in help and that w uld not be possible with this system. Don Mild stated that this was a valid point, but that the Association felt that putting Department Heads on a patronage basis should not necessarily be the solution. That in the even a Department Head was no longer able to handle his duties in two years or so, and was replaced by a more qualified man from the outside, there would be nothing to prevent a "newt? City Council from replacing that Dept. Head for purely political reasons two years hence. Also the City might find it more difficult to recruit a desirable man for a Dept. Head if no real security was offered. Mayor Hurst stated that it would indeed be unsatisfactory to have such a situ- ation, and that some solution would have to be found that would permit the City Council freedom of action in the face of all the new problems arising from our growing pains. Perhaps if all Department Heads could be classified as assis- tants, it would take care of the problem. This thing needs a great deal of thought and study. -4- -5- CC 4/4/55 Proposed Personnel System--contd. 11) It was agreed to add "if any" to this section. 12) Council agreed to change suggested by Attorney. 13) It was felt that when an employee is promoted but cannot handl the new position, he should not, in most cases, be dismissed altogether, but the Council felt that they should not be required to keep him on either. It was agreed to • change "shall" (in line 16) to ""may"". 14) Council agreed to include all present employees. 15) Council agreed with Attorney"s recommendation to hold hearings formally, and that holding them open or closed should be at the discretion of the Commission. 16) It was agreed that 30 days notice is satisfactory: 17) Mr. Mild explained that the reason for this sentence is to eliminate the possi- bility of dismissing an undesirable employee in the name of economy --to force the issue. It was agreed that the sentence should be deleted and that this would be a problem for the Personnel Director. 18) Council agreed with Attorney"s recommendation. Councilman Kay stated he would like to see this ordinance adopted before the next fiscal year. After discussion, Mayor Hurst stated it will have to be ready for its first reading by the middle of May. The proposed ordinance was held over for further study. RESOLUTION NO. 693 City Attorney presented Resolution No. 693 "A RESO- MERCED-WALNUT STORM DRAIN LUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA, Project No. 301 CALIFORNIA, APPROVING PLANS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ADOPTED MERCED-WALNUT STORM DRAIN AND ADOPTING AND APPROVING REPORT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE LOST ANGELES COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT OF JULY 15, 1952.1" Motion by Councilman Kay, seconded by Councilman Sperline, and carried, that the reading of the body of the ordinance be waived. Motion by Councilman Van Horn, seconded by Councilman Kay, that Reso- lution No. 693 be adopted. Passed on roll call as follows: Ayes: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline, Hurst. Noes: None Absent: Councilman Brown RESOLUTION NO. 694 City Attorney presented and read Resolution No. 694 STREET NAMES ""A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST ADOPTED COVINA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AND ESTABLISHING THE NAMES OF CERTAIN STREETS WITHIN SAID CITY." (Garvey Avenue service roads along Freeway, Cameron Avenue underpass) Motion by Councilman Sperline, seconded by Councilman Van Horn, that Resolution No. 694 be adopted. Passed on roll call as follows: M CC 4/4/55 Resolution No. 694--contd. Ayes: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline, Hurst. Noes: None Absent: Councilman Brown SUBURBAN WATER SYSTEMS City Clerk presented application of Suburban Water INTERIM RATE INCREASE Systems for an interim increase in rates. Matter was • referred to City Attorney. SO. CALIF. PLANNING CONGRESS City Clerk announced that there will be a meeting of MEETING the Southern California Planning Congress April 15 in PARKS & RECREATION COMM. Bakersfield. The entire meeting will be devoted to parks and recreation. Motion by Councilman Kay, seconded by Councilman Van Horn, that expenses be authorized for 2 representatives of the Parks and Recreation Commission to attend. Passed on roll call as follows: Ayes: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline, Hurst Noes: None Absent: Councilman Brown PROPOSED BILLS City Clerk presented notice of proposed bills in the STATE LEGISLATURE State Legislature which vitally affect our City. Matter was referred to City Administrator and City Attorney for study to be brought up at next meeting. SALES TAX ORDINANCE City Administrator reported that sales tax ordinance is ready to be passed except for setting the per cent of the tax. Councilman Kay felt it should be adopted as soon as possible. • LUTHERAN CHURCH SIGNS City Administrator reported that Safety Committee had DENIED disapproved request of the Immanuel Lutheran Church to post directional signs leading to their church. Motion by Councilman Kay, seconded by Councilman Sperline, and carried, that the Council concur in the recommendation of the Safety Committee and deny the request. NEW EMPLOYEES On recommendation of City Administrator, motion by SANITATION & PARK DEPTS. Councilman Kay, seconded by Councilman Sperline, that Nat Carwile be hired in the Sanitation Division at $450.00 per month. Passed on roll call as follows: Ayes: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline, Hurst. Noes: None Absent: Councilman Brown City Administrator recommended hiring of Ted Adsit in the Sanitation Division at $350.00 per month. Councilman Kay requested that this be held over until the next meeting. -6- -7- CC 4/4/55 New Employees--contd. On recommendation of City Administrator, motion by Councilman Kay, seconded by Council- man Sperline, that Warren Dale Burkett be hired in the Park Department at $300.00 per month. Passed on roll call as follows: Ayes: Councilmen Kay, Van Horn, Sperline, Hurst. Noes: None Absent: Councilman Brown • TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF City Administrator reported he had received request BARRICADE AT COVINA MOTEL from Mrs. Lockhart of the Covina Motel to remove temp- orarily the barricade erected by the City behind the motel to provide access while the State Highway Division has the front entrance blocked off. It was agreed that Council action would not be necessary but that it would be all right. FUTURE CIVIC IMPROVEMENTS Councilman Kay urged that the beginning steps be taken now and that a target date be set for building a new City Hall, Police and Fire Departments, and swimming pool. City Administrator will talk to the architect who designed the County buildings. Meeting adjourned at 9:55 P.M. APPROVED: JOE HURST Mayor ROBERT FLOTTEN City Clerk -7-