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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-08-1998 - Special Meeting0 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Special Meeting June 8, 1998 - 4:10 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Debay, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Edwards, Mayor Pro Tem O'Neil (arrived at 4:15 p.m.), Council Member Hedges (arrived at 4:20 p.m.), and Council Member Thomson (arrived at 4:45 p.m.). Absent: None CURRENT BUSINESS 1. PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR THE 1998 -99 FISCAL YEAR. City Manager Murphy summarized the items that have been placed on the Budget Checklist to date: streetlights, Balboa Parking Lot, Balboa Yacht Basin, JamboreelBayside slope improvements, water quality in the West Newport channels, Coast Highway - Dover Drive - Irvine Avenue landscape improvements, flag holders on bridges, Newport Boulevard retaining wall and City Hall electrical upgrade. • City Manager Murphy stated that Council Member Hedges has also asked for building excise tax, landscaping improvements around Newport Elementary, and supplemental allocation to the airport program for public information newsletters to be placed on the Budget Checklist. City Manager Murphy stated that staff reports will be prepared for each of the Budget Checklist items and provided to the City Council for action at the June 22, 1998, City Council meeting. City Manager Murphy went through a four -page handout providing various breakdowns of the 1998.99 Expenditures. City Manager Murphy pointed out that over half of the $111,597,688 budget is in Salaries & Benefits, that 87% of the salaries goes toward public safety and field services and that employee benefits account for 32.5% of total salaries. Council Member Glover commented on the need to increase the money spent in Planning in the future because, as the City matures, it will require more upgrading. City Manager Murphy confirmed with Council Member Glover that she was referring. to Advance Planning, and agreed that significant cuts have been made in Planning in recent years. Council Member Glover stated that she was concerned because the older parts of town need more attention and stricter restrictions. Council Member Noyes asked about the number of Police hours spent on the Peninsula. City Manager Murphy stated that such a breakdown was not available, that the breakdown was done by department division. City Manager Murphy stated that some Peninsula numbers could be provided Volume 52 - Page 51 INDEX 1998 -99 Preliminary Budget (40) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes June 8, 1998 • such as number of calls for service, number of arrests and number of beats on the Peninsula. Council Member Noyes asked if the number of calls had increased or decreased since last year. Police Chief McDonell stated that the number of arrests Citywide are up slightly. Council Member Debay asked about West Newport and Police Chief McDonell confirmed that calls in West Newport have decreased. Council Member Hedges asked why, in the budget document, revenue history goes back to 1992 -93 but only to 1994 -95 for the expenditure history. Administrative Services Director Danner stated that there was no specific reason, but that a complete history of both the revenues and expenditures can be found in prior budget documents. Council Member Hedges stated that, despite the fact that it is said that positions have been cut, the overall position count has remained fairly steady and salary negotiations have been approved with the associations. Mayor Edwards, referencing Council Member Glover's comments about the future planning needs of the City, suggested that a future study session item might be to discuss the reorganizing of the Planning Commission, possibly making it provide more of a planning function than an administrative • function. Mayor Edwards, referencing Council Member Hedges' comments about the lack of real downsizing in employee costs, stated that if the cuts that had been made hadn't been made, the City's position would be significantly worse. City Manager Murphy asked the council members what their preference would be for reviewing the operating budget at this meeting. Council Member Hedges suggested that each department director inform the City Council of what stands out in their budget and what has changed from the prior year, such as new positions. City Manager Murphy began with the an overview of the City Council budget, and mentioned that the only change was the addition of a newsletter publication, with enough being budgeted for four editions during the fiscal year. Council Member Hedges confirmed with City Manager Murphy that the health & dental expenditure reflects only those council members participating in the program. Mayor Edwards confirmed with Council Member Noyes that the newsletter was successful and should be continued. Council Member Noyes added that • the City Council needs to decide what the topics should be for the next edition, and asked that this be placed on a future agenda. Volume 52 - Page 52 INDEX City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes June 8, 1998 • City Manager Murphy stated that the only differences from the prior year in the City Clerk budget was the representation of the three full-time positions for the full fiscal year. In the Elections section of the budget, he stated that money was budgeted for the upcoming elections, which only occur every other year. City Manager Murphy stated that the City Manager budget has no significant changes from the prior year, except that the Airport Control Fund was transferred to the City Attorney budget. Mayor Edwards asked if any new positions would be added to the City Manager's office in the upcoming year. City Manager Murphy responded that an administrative intern has been discussed, if funds are available in the future. City Attorney Burnham stated that the only change in the City Attorney budget was the transfer of the airport issues, and that the office would be going to CD Rom, which would save money by eliminating hard copies. City Manager Murphy added that the City Attorney budget includes the elimination of a vehicle. Council Member Hedges asked for the airport control issue to be added to the Budget Checklist. • Administrative Services Director Danner stated that the Administrative Services Department is comprised of five divisions, and the only significant change to report in the upcoming fiscal year budget is the addition of an Accountant I position in the Accounting Division. Administrative Services Director Danner stated that the addition of the position was achieved by reducing the amount spent on outside accounting services. Administrative Services Director Danner added that the Citywide network maintenance was transferred from the Capital Project budget to the M.I.S. Division budget. City Manager Murphy stated that the proposed budget includes the implementation of the changes that were approved last year to the Human Resources. Division staffing. Council Member Hedges asked if the Print Shop, a part of the Fiscal Services Division, could be privatized or if it had ever been studied. Administrative Services Director Danner responded that, in prior years, the idea was looked at, and he recalled that the savings were not significant. Council Member Hedges requested receiving information on the possibility of privatizing the Print Shop, .including.the costs of staffing, machines and space needs. Council Member Hedges asked if the IDEA program had become a failure. City Manager Murphy stated that the IDEA program was devised to reward employees who provided ideas, but that the key element it lacked was a person on staff to give it the direction and attention it needed. City Manager • Murphy supports the program, but staffing it adequately was difficult. Council Member Hedges stated that he supports the program also and feels Volume 52 - Page 53 ISO0I City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes June 8, 1998 • that there are potentially a lot of savings to be seen, plus it provides the employees with a vehicle to be heard. City Manager Murphy stated that the challenge was to evaluate the ideas as they came in. The employee typically did not provide, the detail work and the research for their idea, and considerable, staff time was spent looking into each one that was submitted. Council Member Hedges requested that the IDEA program receive more attention. Council Member Noyes inquired about line item 9904, debt service expenditure, and why the amount went from $104,000 to $13,000, in a two year period. Administrative Services Director Danner stated that the amount is for computer equipment leases that were paid off. Police Chief McDonell stated that the biggest change in the Police budget is the addition of one full-time position, a motor officer, made available through funds received by State legislation. Police Chief McDonell stated that there is approximately a two- percent increase in maintenance and operations. Police Chief McDonell responded to Council Member Debay's question about the volunteer program, by stating that efforts are underway to start a citizens academy, which will act as the training grounds for drawing volunteers into the program. • Council Member Hedges asked how many jurisdictions do not have a Police Chaplain program, and Police Chief McDonell responded that the City might be the only one without one. Council Member Hedges offered the City Council's assistance in starting one. Council Member Hedges asked how much radar enforcement is being done in the City, specifically on Santiago Drive. Police Chief McDonell responded that he feels the Police Department is doing an appropriate amount of radar enforcement, and that a trailer has been added that is equipped with a computerized printout, providing information for use by the department in follow -up enforcement. Council Member Hedges wanted to make sure that radar was being used since last year, some speed increases were justified due to radar enforcement being held up in court. Fire & Marine Chief Riley stated that the Fire & Marine budget has only a few minor changes, including the reorganization approved by the City Council last year and the addition of two sections: Community Education (2354) and Disaster Preparedness (2355). City Manager Murphy added that, like the Police Department, the Fire & Marine Department has budgeted for personnel and costs associated with the possible annexation of Newport Coast. The items are in the New Programs section of the budget and would only be used if the Newport Coast annexation went through. • Council Member Noyes asked for an explanation regarding the overtime in Fire Operations decreasing from $1.6 million in 1997 to $1.06 in 1998. Fire & Marine Chief Riley explained that it was due to a change in the amount of Volume 52 - Page 54 INDEX City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes June 8, 1998 INDEX • holiday time the employees selected as time off versus straight pay, which is also reflected in the holiday pay amount for those years. Council Member Hedges asked about the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) account' (2340) and how the paramedic program is reflected in that account. Fire & Marine Chief Riley stated that the entire EMS program is based upon that amount of the Firefighter /paramedic pay charged to the paramedic program. Fire & Marine Chief Riley stated that the revenues are forecasted at $200,000 for the membership program and $810,000 for direct service fees. With the cost of the program expected to be $936,000, the EMS program is, expected to be fully self- funded. In response to Council Member Hedges' question, Fire & Marine Chief Riley stated•thataseparate section, Community Education (2354), was created in the budget to better reflect the cost of the community education program. Council Member Hedges asked why a Public Information Officer (PIO) is needed in both the Police and Fire & Marine departments. City Manager Murphy said that it could be looked at but that both PIO's are kept busy, and that the PIO in Fire & Marine is necessary for fire prevention and education. Council Member Hedges discussed the cost to operate the large ladder trucks with Fire & Marine Chief Riley, and asked what portion of that cost is attributable to trips to the grocery store. Council Member Hedges stated • that the truck should be used for its purpose, and that alternates to food preparation should be looked at. City Manager Murphy stated that he and Fire & Marine Chief Riley both agreed that it would be beneficial to get the fire crews out into their districts more often, such as routine inspections and trips that keep the crews together. Planning Director Temple stated that the Planning Department budget reflects a couple of changes in staff allocations. Planning Director Temple stated that savings from last year's budget will be used for the creation of a second full-time code enforcement officer, and that the budget also includes reinstating a paid student intern program. Planning Director Temple stated that the department will also complete the second phase of a computer hardware and software upgrade program. Assistant City Manager Wood noted that the Economic Development Program budget includes $30,000 to prepare new sign regulations for the Peninsula and $289,800 for Peninsula Revitalization. Building Director Elbettar stated that there are three significant changes to the Building budget. Building Director Elbettar stated that the first change is to add a temporary building inspector to handle Bonita Canyon, the second is to establish a sub - account, professional/technical services (80801), to handle additional plan check services for Bonita Canyon and the third is to increase the special department expenses account (8250) to handle Pacific Bay Homes. • General Services Director Niederhaus stated that the General Services budget reflects the loss of seven positions as a result of the privatization of Volume 52 - Page 55 • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes June 8, 1998 I I ON III parks maintenance that occurred last year, with a couple of the positions being moved to other divisions. General Services Director Niederhaus stated that the budget includes an increase in the money spent on tree trimming and an increase in the landfill fee account due to the additional residents and homes in the City. Lastly, General Services Director Niederhaus stated that seventeen electric vehicles are also included in the budget. Council Member Hedges stated his concern that the City has too many signs, and that many of them are too big. Council Member Noyes confirmed with General Services Director Niederhaus that there is money budgeted for restroom cleaning, but that money being spent on maintenance of the restrooms is possibly lower than it should be. Council Member Noyes requested that restroom maintenance and repair be added to the Budget Checklist. Community Services Director Menitz explained that the Community Services budget is divided into five divisions with two of the divisions, Recreation and the Library, also divided into sub - units. Community Services Director Kienitz stated that the library budget reflects an approximate 1.8% increase in salaries as the result of a personnel classification study, and in the Arts & Cultural Division, an increase of one full-time position. • Per the request of Council Member Hedges, Community Services Director Kienitz outlined the tasks of the new full -time Arts & Cultural position. Community Services Director Kienitz also responded to a question about the building excise tax by stating that, as far as the Library Trustees's preference, the money would be requested to go towards an art collection. Council Member Hedges requested that this item be placed on the Budget Checklist. Council Member Glover confirmed that, per conversations she has had with Jim Wood, Chairman of the Library Board, money towards an art collection is desired. Council Member Hedges confirmed with Community Services Director Kienitz that there are no parks' needs at this time, beyond what is budgeted in the Capital Projects budget. City Manager Murphy stated that the General Services budget also includes 15 - 20 projects for a variety of capital needs at park facilities, and continued that new parks being considered in the future are at Bonita Canyon, Sunset Ridge, and Hoag. Public Works Director Webb stated that the Public Works budget has no new positions proposed, and the only division that shows a significant change is the water division, due to some operational cost changes. The proposed water division budget is up about 4.2% over the prior year. Public Works Director Webb, responding to Council Member Hedges' question about the employee rideshare program, stated that the expenditure was moved from the administration division to the A.Q.M.D. division. City Volume 52 - Page 56 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes June 8, 1998 INDEX • Manager Murphy stated that currently the mandate for the program has been removed, but that the City is still responsible for trying to remove emissions. Council Member Hedges requested that the entire A.Q.M.D. division (2766) be placed on the Budget Checklist. Council Member Glover confirmed that the mandate is being reviewed by the Assembly, but that the City is still required by the State Air Resources Board to do a volunteer program. There were no public comments at this time. ADJOURNMENT" 5:45 p.m. The agenda for the Special Meeting was posted on June 4, 1998, at 8:30 a.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. City Clerk • a F1 k rvlayor Volume 52 - Page 57