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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/22/2008 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes City Council Study Session April 22, 2008 — 4:00 p.m I. ROLL CALL Present: Council Member Henn, Council Member Rosansky, Mayor Pro Tem Daigle, Mayor Selich, Council Member Curry, Council Member Gardner Absent: Council Member Webb H. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. In response to Council Member Henri s question, City Manager Bludau stated that the City Council committee regarding Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) (Item S30) is not a Brown Act committee. Mayor Pro Tem Daigle requested and received clarification from City Manager Bludau that the City would be placing the order for the new paramedic vans now to save $14,000 before the next fiscal year (Item 16). He noted that rarely does the City use sole source for the purchase of vehicles. In response to Council questions regarding the Reformatted Civil Service Rules (Item 20), City Attorney Clauson reported that the original ordinance is uncodified. Human Resources Director Ramsey reported that the changes were only format changes, all the associations have reviewed it, and the Civil Service Board has approved it. 2. CITY S PUBLIC OUTREACH COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. Public Information Manager Finnigan provided a PowerPoint presentation to discuss the 2008 -2009 Communication Plan. She highlighted the customer satisfaction survey relative to communication, the City's communication goal, the target audiences, communication objectives, and strategies for meeting the goal and objectives. She noted the activities the City would like to conduct that would improve communication and outreach to the public, and the key messages that should be presented to the public. She highlighted the timeline and program budget. Council Member Webb joined the meeting at 4:07 p.m. Council Member Henn complimented staff on the high quality of the report. He suggested using focus groups in order to measure what NBTV programs are being watched and creating a blue ribbon panel of community leaders to be used as a sounding board. He recommended that the governance of content, input, and final decision making be made by senior managers with wide scope of issues important to the City, not just the IT Manager. He also suggested updating the City Manager's newsletter so it appears to be of greater importance. However, Council Member Rosansky indicated that residents have told him that they don't want the newsletters to look like advertisements. Council Member Curry noted that this demonstrates the value of the citizen survey and is a Volume 58 - Page 457 City of Newport Beach Study Session April 22, 2008 step forward. Mayor Pro Tern Daigle recognized members on the committee and recommended adding an airport page to the City's website. 3. COST OF SERVICES STUDY. City Manager Bludau noted that the cost of services study is one of Council's priorities. Erin Payton, PRM, reported that they looked at the City's fee for service activities, the time involved to provide the services, and support costs in order to develop the true cost for providing services. This was then compared to the fees currently being charged. She noted that the City has historically charged less than full cost for certain services. She believed that a comprehensive analysis should be conducted every three to five years, but the fees should increase by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the off years. She reviewed the results of the study by department, reviewed the exhibits, and reported that PRM looked at indirect and direct costs, noting that some departments are heavily fee - related. She reported that the study concluded that the City should yield just under $6 million in new General Fund revenues. In response to Council questions, Revenue Manager Everroad reported that costs were studied in 1996 and have been adjusted by the CPI each year. He stated that PRM identified and studied services, which has not been done since 1996. He reported that 271 increases, 62 decreases, 44 subsidized, and 33 new services are being proposed beyond the 1,000 services already in the current fee schedule. He indicated that the Restaurant Association has concerns with the permitting processes; the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission is concerned with increasing fees; the Business Improvement Association (BIA) is concerned about development fees; and the Chamber of Commerce thought it was appropriate to seek the increase from service recipients. He noted that every stakeholder group thought the City waited too long to do this study. Council Member Curry expressed concern relative to raising senior citizen fees and creating new service sports fees. He noted that it is appropriate to recover Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) review process /police fees. He believed that building, safety, and development should explain the value associated with the fee increases. Council Member Henn stated that the $5 million increase is a result of a study that is composed of 1) catching up on cost increases that have not occurred; and 2) establishing parity with other jurisdictions. He believed that the study was fair and objective, and very well done. He received confirmation from Revenue Manager Everroad that, after the Finance Committee reviewed the fees, some fees were phased as a result of stakeholder and staff input. Council Member Henn recommended that, when this comes back to Council, the fees that are phased be listed with the explanation of why the fees are being phased in, that a policy come back on how to handle interim fee increases and how often an extensive study will take place, and an estimate of how these fees will impact the 2008 -2009 budget. City Manager Bludau noted that the budget is being prepared without including any fee increases. Mayor Pro Tem Daigle noted that, when the City does not recover the full cost, it is borne by the taxpayers, particularly as it relates to building fees. Revenue Manager Everroad indicated that this study confirmed that the valuation basis is still less than the cost of providing the building related charges. In response to Council Member Henn's questions, Revenue Manager Everroad reported that they commenced a separate tidelands analysis from this study and hope to have a final draft in six to eight weeks. Council Member Henn noted that substantial fee increases are being proposed in service areas identified for overall improvement in customer service. He recommended describing how service levels will be improved in conjunction with raising fees. Volume 58 - Page 458 City of Newport Beach Study Session April 22, 2008 Revenue Manager Everroad indicated that this study did not include a performance component. He stated that the revisions to Municipal Code Chapter 3.36 will be presented to Council on May 13, with second reading on May 27, and the resolution establishing the fee schedule will go before Council on May 27. He added that there is a 60 day noticing requirement for development fees, and staff has spent 1.5 years on this. He confirmed that fees and services can be amended as new things come up. In response to Council questions, Revenue Manager Everroad reported that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) includes paramedic personnel, fire personnel, and other standby personnel. He identified what kind of recovery is realized through Medical and Medicare. Council Member Henn noted that the $14 million also includes training and administrative costs. Fire Support Services Manager Ulaszweski explained what happens when a call comes in so a faster response is provided. He noted that the $14 million also includes engine companies and paramedics showing up to a call, and explained the Fire Department's $29 million budget. Fire Chief Lewis added that most EMS calls need a minimum of five people on site and that paramedics are sent to every basic life support call. Revenue Manager Everroad indicated that there is no EMS cost recovery comparison because no other city studied EMS costs, but he can compare rates with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). III. PUBLIC.COMMENTS -None IV. ADJOURNMENT - 5:10 p.m. The agenda for the Study Session was posted on April 16, 2008, at 3:35 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. Citv Cie Recordi g Secretary Mayor Volume 58 - Page 459