04-04-1955 - Regular Meeting - MinutesH
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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
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