05-20-1996 - Special Meeting - Minutes46
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MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
WEST COVINA CITY COUNCIL
May 20, 1996
The special meeting of the West Covina City Council was called to order by Mayor Touhey at
6:33 pm in the Management Resource Center at City Hall, 1444 W. Garvey Avenue, West
Covina, California.
ROLL CALL Mayor Touhey, Mayor Pro Tern McFadden, Councilmembers
Manners, Wong
Others Present: Starbird, Wylie, Buchanan, Mayer, Bommarito, Markham, Jones,
Hoppe, Miller, Fredrics, Bonaparte, Mclsaac, Glover, Ure, Collier,
Samaniego, Tong, Greene, Koniarsky, Tucker, Panas, Fong,
Yoshizaki, Distelrath
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA No comments offered.
BUDGET STUDY SESSION City Manager Starbird commenced the meeting with an overview
of the last study session (May 13) which reviewed the general
revenue and expenditure picture of the General Fund and the
general fiscal picture of the City's other funds for the upcoming
year. In that meeting, the City's Public Safety Departments'
budgets were discussed. He noted that this meeting would
attempt to cover the remaining City departments' budgets.
PUBLIC WORKS City Engineer Patrick Glover began his presentation with the
accomplishments achieved by the Engineering,'Building and
Maintenance departments in FY 1995-96. Mr. Glover emphasized
that the Maintenance Department is in the middle of its transition
plan, having reduced staffing from 75 to 67, resulting in $370,000
in savings to the General Fund in the current fiscal year.
Mr. Glover continued with a budget comparison of FY 95/96 vs FY
96/97, noting that the outlook for FY 96/97 will produce
approximately $300,000 in savings. He reminded the Council that
only 8% of the total department budget was from the General
Fund; adding that of the 8%, the majority was in the Building
Department which charges fees to offset services. Mr. Glover
cited that with the transition plan, staffing has been reduced
19.4% in three years.
Mr. Glover concluded his presentation with an overview of the
department's goals for FY 96/97.
Council comment Mayor Touhey requested information on the process the City has
been pursuing on the possible sale of the water company. Mr.
Glover responded that the City has received the document from,
Suburban Water Company it is being reviewed.
PLANNING SERVICES Planning Director Collier began his presentation with the 1995/96
Planning, Transportation and Code Enforcement departments'
accomplishments and goals for the upcoming fiscal year. During
the discussion, Mr. Collier presented the idea of a "One Stop'
counter of which City Manager Starbird described the concept in
detail. In addition, Mr. Starbird mentioned that he had asked the
Planning Director to pursue the possibility of utilizing some CDBG
funding to supplement Code Enforcement efforts. He stated that
the City's low -moderate income census tracts qualify for CDBG
funds.
Council minutes of May 20, 1996
Council comment Councilmember Wong suggested the City look into an "amnesty'
program relating to work performed without permits which, in turn,
may have some financial benefits to the City.
Mr. Collier continued with a look at the proposed budget for FY
1996/97 noting that the total budget is approximately a 5.5% to
6% reduction with most of the reduction being in Personnel
' Services.
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
Environmental Services Director Miller commenced his
presentation stating that the department's budget and work plan is
set up on a continuing basis. He continued with a review of
accomplishments and objectives of the following:
Waste Management
Landfill Enforcement
Air Quality
City Manager asked if the City is part of the group that is doing
planning on the electric corridor. Mr. Miller responded yes and
stated that staff has been working closely with the Council of
Governments for a recommendation on what projects the City
should be pursuing to be able to use AB 2766 moneys not limited
to electric vehicles.
Council comment Mayor Touhey requested a copy of the Siting Map and directed
staff to forward one to each member of the Waste Management &
Environmental Quality Commission.
Mr. Miller concluded by pointing out that the total proposed
department budget has an increase of only 2.2%.
WASTE MANAGEMENT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
Waste Management Enforcement Manager Steve Samaniego
began his presentation with highlights of the Agency's work
program and its accomplishments. He stated that among the
accomplishments was a decrease in the frequency of public
complaints, to which City Manager Starbird asked if the nature of
the complaints had changed or the number of complaints. Mr.
Samaniego responded that it is the number of complaints that has
changed due to the daily operations compliance.
Mr. Samaniego noted an overall savings of 34.8% in the proposed
FY 96/97 budget from the previous year. He explained that the
Personnel Services percentage change is due to the elimination of
limited service personnel, and the Materials & Services change is
the result in a decrease in legal and contractual services.
HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Senior Citizens' Center Senior Citizens' Services Supervisor Pat Bommarito gave an
overview of the Center's 1995-96 highlights, staffing, proposed
1996-97 budget, fee and charge revenue sources chart and goals
for FY 1996/97.
Council comment Councilmember Manners asked how many seniors were involved
• in the computer course. Ms. Bommarito responded that the
Center is not presently offering classes, but the seniors may use
the computer lab for practice until a concrete program has been
implemented.
City Manager Starbird noted that the senior program is
approximately two-thirds supported by fee and charge. He
continued with the fact that many of the Human Services
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Council minutes of May 20, 1996
programs are self-sufficient (i.e. the Meals Program, the County
Grant Program, Bingo Programs).
Mayor Touhey asked if any of the fee and charge programs are
outside of the Senior Center. Mr. Starbird responded that profits
from the fee and charge programs are combined into one "pot",
which makes it possible for other programs to "draw' from the
' "pot.,,
Recreation Services Superintendent of Recreation Services Greg Jones reviewed
Recreation Services 1995/96 highlights, 1996/97 goals, proposed
1996/97 budget and fiscal history for Recreation/Senior Center.
He explained that the proposed 1996/97 General Fund budget
increased by $12,000 due to limited service personnel, and Fee
and Charge increased by approximately $108,000 which reflects
an increase in the limited service staffing levels.
Council comment Mayor Touhey asked about the increase in limited service staffing
levels. Mr. Jones responded that the increase in staffing is due to
an increase in participants in the daycare programs, which
requires the City to maintain an 8 to 1 ratio. City Manager
Starbird added that any increase in Fee & Charge means that the
programs that generate fees are becoming more active.
Mayor Pro Tern McFadden asked if the increase in Fee & Charge
is due to the MSI study. City Manager Starbird explained that the
Fee & Charge increase is the result of a marketing of services,
along with the County Grant Program and removing some of the
overhead burden from the General Fund.
Transportation Funding Human Services Program Administrator Clarence Markham
Propositions A & C started his presentation, by noting that Propositions A & C funds
originate from sales taxes from the County. He then proceeds
with Prop A highlights of 1995/96, the 1996/97 Prop A program
and proposed 1996/97 budget.
City Manager Starbird requested some comparative figures on
Shuttle Service and Dial -A -Ride ridership with other communities.
He stated that it would be interesting to see how the City's
ridership compares to that of other cities.
Council comments In addition, Mayor Touhey requested ridership hours, noting that
there are times when the vehicles are without passengers.
Councilmember Manners asked if the complaints had decreased
on the Dial -A -Ride. She stated that she was still receiving
complaints regarding having to wait too long, not keeping
appointments, among other things. Ms. Manners also raised
concerns about entrance and exit railings on the vehicles.
Councilmember Wong asked how many complaints does the City
receive on an average in one month.
Mr. Markham emphasized that passenger sometimes complained
about not reaching their destination on time. He explained that
• there are times when there are three or more passengers that
may need to be at different destinations at the same time, which
. makes it difficult to accommodate everyone. He then continued
his presentation on the Prop A Appropriations, stating that the
proposed 1996/97 budget is basically a rollover from 1995/96, and
the increase in Materials & Services is a result of contract
renewals for the Shuttle Service and Dial -A -Ride, along with the
increase in the prices of fuel. Mr. Markham concluded his
presentation with the 1995/96 highlights of Prop C and the
1996/97 proposed budget, noting that there are no funds in
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Personnel Services because Administrative costs come from Prop
A funds.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES and GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
Assistant City Manager Steve Wylie began his presentation with
an overview of highlights of the following departments:
Finance
Reprographic Services
Information Systems
Personnel Services
Risk Management
Office of the City Clerk
City Manager's Office
Council comment Mayor Touhey asked staff to research the possibility of a senior
discount on pet licenses. Mr. Wylie responded that license
renewal notices had already been mailed to pet owners and the
City would possibly have to wait until the next licensing period to
offer a discount. City Manager Starbird noted that the Council
could consider a rebate for low-income senior citizens.
Mr. Wylie continued his presentation with the goals for the
upcoming fiscal year, including a detailed explanation of the City's
proposed installation of an Internet Website and the
implementation of a Geographic Information System. He
concluded the presentation with an overview of the proposed
budget for 1996-97, noting an overall increase of 4.6% over the
FY 1995-96.
ADJOURNMENT Motion by Manners, seconded by Touhey to adjourn the meeting
at 8:15 p.m. Motion carried 4-0.
M yor Michael Touhey
ATTEST:
City Clerk.Janet Berry
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