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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1996/06/10MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING/WORKSHOP OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF TIlE CITY OF CHULA VISTA Monday, June 10, 1996 6:05 p.m. Council Conference Room Administration Building ROLL CALL: PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: CALl. TO ORDER Councihnembers Alevy, Moot, Padilia (arrived at 6:10 p.m.), Rindone, and Mayor Itorton. John D. Goss, City Manager; Ann Y. Moore, Interim City Manager; and Bcvaly A. Anthelet, City Clerk. ORAL COMMIINICATIONS Mayor Horton took Oral Comnmnications out of order since there were people present from the School District to make a special presentation. Lida Gill, Superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School, introduced Patrick Judd, 5728 Good Karma Lane, Bonita, stated that they did give the Hazel Go~s Collk award to the I'arks and Recreation Department last Tuesday. They received the award because of the many programs that they have developed in support of children and after school activities. Councilman Rindone commented that the city toLlBoil has ~mght hard lbr th~ staffing of the after school recreation program. The City has committed to providing liu' the dual staffing of both a male and t~male at each playground in order to provide opportnnities lbr general and specific activities. He t~lt this was the best dollars spent in the budget because it addresses the concerns of the after sch{~ol youth and helps the hitch-key children have a wholesome activity during the critical hours after school prior to parents coming home from work. If there were areas which needed to be cut fron} the bndget, as t~lr as h~ was concern~_~d, this would be the last area to be cut from the budget. Chuck Schrader, 440 "L" Street, Chula Vista, stated he was an en~ployee. John Goss has been having meetings with the employees to let them kmlw of the grave situation that the City is t;dcing. He has been talking about the potential twenty-eight jobs being laid off. A lot of them are jobs which have not been filled. He wanted to voice his concern about the layoffs. His complaint was that the State has not repaid the agencies that he took money to help balance the State bridget. Since the governor isn't doing this on his i~:vn, he snggested that the cities get together and file a class action lav,/suit a~ainst the State to g~t some of that money back. BUSINESS 2. PRESENTATION OF CAPH'AI~ IMPROVEMENT F'ROJECT (CIP) BUDGET Mr. Goss stated that he intended to go over the CIP Imclget and then start reviewing the departmental budgets. He felt that Council should focus first on the direct s~rx, ice departments such as Fire, Police, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and Library. After the CIP budget, tinless directed otherwise, he would like to go over the departmental overviews focusing on th~se fiv~ budgets. Once Council is infiH'med on the budgets, then it might be appropriate to have public testimony. Mr. Goss stated that one of the reasons wc find <lurs~'lves in the s~tuaticm in which we and other cities have been in is the fact there has been a period of tinge :~hcrc the Statt~ has basically reduced revenue which the City used to get. For example, the property tax revenue, that we are prt0cctin.V to ~,et next year, is less than it was in 1991. Also the recession has in~pacted the sales tax. In order m h'y ltl meet this issue, we have deleted 21 full-time equivalent positions in this fiscal vear. Fortunately, there :vere not any layofl~ of any full-time employees. We are still projecting that we may stiil have to use reser:'es to th~ tune of $2.5 million this year. It doesn't mean that expenditures are over the bndget, they ,,vetch't; they were significantly below. It is .just that the revenues did not come in as expected. Also, the paso devahlation h:ls hnrt |he ec~momy m Chula Vista. In the coming fiscal year, we are looking at a proposal in the proposed Budget ol eliram:ditto. deletion, freezing, and not funding the equivalent of 28 full time positions. Mr. Goss stated in order lbr the overall picture of putting the hud,~et together and acknowledge the Council's desire to have a hands-on approach in putting the budget telgerber', xvhat is being proposed is basically seven points; levels Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 2 1, 2, and 3 in expenditure cuts and levels I, 2, and 3 in revenue enhancements. The level I cuts in the operating budget refer to those in the proposed budget. Level 2 reducticms entail combining dcpartments. Level 3 would be more severe such as closing fire stations and comnmnity centers. Oil the revenue side, level I are those which the budget is based on. Level 2 which would geuerate mm~e concern, reluctance, and coutroversy while level 3 would be those such as a city-wide assessment district. The seventh area is the area of one-time revenues. Those are revenues identified which could be used R~r capital improven~ents or liar increasing the city's reserves, or be used to help support operations. Mr. Goss presented slides showing prc~jects clmlpleted during liscal year 1995/96, projects tinder construction, and proposed projects. Councilman Alevy asked if the funds being prclposed Ru' tile ILmce at tile golr course are coming from the golf course fund or is it from a general CIP fund? Mr. Goss replied it is coming frmn tile golf course fund. hi this case, we arc proposing to use golf course funds IBr operations where it is appropriate. Councilman Alevy stated that the last time he hx~ked at the prol~osal l'l~r tile ~?olf' course, they had a jogging trail that cut across the first fairway which nleans you would have to tear the l~nce down anyway. Wouldn't it be a good idea to take a look at this and not spend tile nloney. Mr. Goss stated that the question ,,viII be it' yml want t~ accept tile liability, ew:n if tile hotel goes ahead, for the year or so before the hotel is constructed. The basic point is that il' w'e can get them to build it in terms of realigning the jogging trail, then we shonld enclmrage that and save the City some mlmey. Councilman Alevy stated that we did not have money t~> put into> scmlething wilere we know the expenditure is likely to be tom down. He felt the $58,000 should be put intc~ the investn~ent pool. This is an example which he wanted to identify of money that did not need to he spel~t until it was determined whether the golf course and hotel is going to be built. Mayor Horton asked about tile status of the segment of the sidewalk south of Anita Street and east of Third Avenue? Several times in the past, Council has expressed concern about the salary l~tctor at this location. City Engineer Swanson responded that they had a previous pr{~ject on this using some SANDAG funds for the sidewalks. They did provide asphalt sidewalk where they could. They tried to work with the property owners; there are two where we did not have encmgh right-ol:way for a full width sidewaiL Those property owners chose not to dedicate right-of-way so we put in a temporary asphalt sidewalk. On the other side of the street, we have tried to work with the property owners to gct the gratis dedication. We have had no interest by those property owners, because in several of the places \re ch~ not have the right-of-way. We did put in a temporary walk on the west side of Third Avenue about two years ago. Mayor Horton asked if it still cut int<~ Third Avenue. Mr. Swanson replied that there was an asphaIt berm along that area. It is separated from the street and is safe. One portion of the walk is only about 3 t~et wide. Councilman Rindone stated that we have considered eminent domain in other pr<~jects where we did not have fight- of-way when there was a concern for safety. This has been an issue li>r at least three years. We need to do something to get this moving. He t~tt staff shonld take another look at this and try to bring this forth and include it in the next C1P tour which shmdd be soon. Councilman Rindone asked if all the monies listed on page I of the CIP budget are restricted to CIP projects. In particular, he was referring to the golf course revenne fired of approxinlatcly $52,000, he thought the golf course revenue fund was not restricted to CIP pr<~jects. Isn't that money coming into the City general fund? Mr. Goss replied that it goes into tile golf course revenue tired: but in Illis budget, we are proposing to transfer the accumulated money in that fund to the general IX. rod in an attempt to balance the budget. Councilman Rindone stated that Mr. Alevy's point was that tile money could he used in some other operation if we had other CIP money which could be used to address those issues. lte wanted this clarified that these funds were Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 3 not restricted for CIP prqjects, and they are going to be general l~.and monies; and we could find other monies which are restricted for CIPs to address tht~se golf'course issues. This would ti'ee up about $52,000 for general operating funds. 3. REVIEW OF DEPARTMENTAL BIJDGETS: POLICE DEPARTMENT Mr. Goss stated that this is the larg¢st budgut in tile City whcre apprtlximately 31 percent of the total general operations is spent in police. It is proposed to g{i t'I'~m~ $17.7 to $18.3 million. The increase hides the fact that there are a number of proposed reductions in the budS, el. What is proposed liar organizational restructure is: (1) restructure crime prevention services to allow Ih~~ Senior Volunteer Patrol Pro:4ra~n to take over crime prevention activities and in the process delete two p{lsitions: the Senior Crinle Prevention Specialist and a Community Service Officer. The CSO would be transferred to a vacant position and the S¢nior Crime Prevention Specialist would have the option to go back to a posititm she ti~rmerly h¢ld with the department. (2) The department currently has 6 desk agents to perfi~rmjail fimctions, ARJIS, prisoner mcluiries atld l~ookin:4 activities. What is being proposed through a combination of grants is to replace two of those desk a,~ents that would go into the community policing effort by two new positions which are called Correctional Officers who would be perfi}rming some of the prisoner and booking functions. (3) ls to delete one of th~ five mtm}rcycle officers in Traffic. (4) Freeze one Captain position upon anticipated retirement. Councilman Rindone stated he wouhl like to see a b¢ti~re and al'ter ~rganizatmnal chart, with and without the Captain's position. It would help Council to have a better understanding of xvhat is being proposed. Councilman Moot asked how the rcducti{m tit' {lne ~fficer in the Traffic Unit would affect our ability to control traffic violations and where would Illis person hc transt'crrt~d Chief Emerson stated he wonhi he transl'~'rred t~ Patr~l so that would mean the person riding the motorcycle working traffic dew~ting a m:,:iority of their time to Trail'it wtmld he hack in Patrol answering calls for service and handling traffic as time alloxvs. It does reduce our dcclicated cl'f~>rt fi>r traffic enti~rcement. Councilman Moot asked if it was his assessment that the nccd was greater hawng the extra Patrol Officer. Chief Emerson replied that the possibility exists th:lt with slime COPS grants we could take a look at still funding Traffic and make the cut at the call fi~r service level. It is one of the things they are currently looking at. The dollar amount for the reduction would I~e the sanae. Wh~ther the pt:rson came out of Traffic or Patrol the issue would be whether a call fi~r service d~n~:mtls, whM1 are priority calls that the public wants us to respond to, are a bigger priority than traffic enli~rcement. Councilman Padilia asked if the fimdm.~ lin- School Resllurce Offic~-rs was an even split with the school districts. Chief Emerson replied that at the high school district it ~vas a 50-50 match. At the elementary school district, the district provides funding ~r one of the thr~e ~lfficers. We are talkm,g with the school district to see if that match can be modified. Councilman Padilia asked if the term ti~r the HIDTA grant which helps to prt~vide the ability to add agents to the Marine Air Group with Customs was fi~r on~ year ~mly. Chief Emerson replied that all of the federal fundin~ come in ti~r a one year period but is usually laoked at beyond one year. They have a twelve-month timdin:2 cycle which begins in October. Councilman Padilia asked if it was his intent ttl try It) retain the ageIll positi{m. Chief Emerson responded yes if ther~ was timdrag. I Iv has been apl~I~inted to th~ CBAG Board of Directors which determines where HIDTA funding goes. tie w<luld hope that he would be able to influence that so there is continued funding ~r that position. It' l'unding giles a\vay froin specialty grant positions. then the basic concept is that the officer position will also go away. Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 4 Councilman Padilia asked if he was going to address the coverage of Senior Crime Prevention Specialist with a volunteer by the virtue of a scheduling commitnlent over tile term liar that group. He assumes the position has been a quasi-professional civilian position. Chief Emerson stated that it had been and has the specilic traiuing to do the j{~b that they have done. They are looking for those who have the potential skills who would like Io v{lltmteer to do some of that. Or the potential exists to have some of the patrol ol'ficcrs, wheu time is a,,ailablc, tt~ take on some of those tasks. Councilman Padilia asked if he viewed this as a temp{mu'y solution tl~ tile fiscal situation with an eye to get back to full staffing? Chief Emerson stated that when there is enough mm~cy, they think this is an essential component for the proper balance for the way we do business. This is a hard cut to make. Councilman Padilia stated he would not want to see it pernlanently replaced with a sitnation that we are faced with. FIRE DEPARTMENT Mr. Goss stated that this budget is prt>l}osed to be incleased hy $168,000 to $7.4 million. There is no major changes in the Department. The Deparhnent is really oriented t~>ward service that is provided by the fire stations. We have been carrying one vacant position at the firefighter Icyel. If we cut two or three in the coming fiscal year, you effect the minimum stafling resp<mse that we have to provide 24 htlurs a day, seven days a week at six fire stations. Therefore, if we want to make a m~t/or cut. we can only delete a life station which would also require modifying the Memorandum of Understanding with the Fire Fighters Unilm. That is uot being reconunended, and what was described earlier as a Level 3 expenditure cut. M{~st {~1' the issues relating to this department are in the CIP. Councilman Padilia asked the Chief to comment on the referral {if certain equilmlcnt purchases in the current fiscal year and to what degree has this fluctuated from a normal replacement within the Department with regard to some of these items since some are pretty important. Chief Hardiman replied that in reference to cuts in equipment. there were two in particular: the hose equipment and the wearing apparel. Hose purchases are somewhat cyclical, thereli~re, we make large purchases every several years. This will require an increased level of funding in the subsequent year liar that item. The wearing apparel account includes all the turn-out equipment: pants, boots..jackets, brush .jackets, etc. We are recommending a $4,000 cut in that account; we work closely with the ofl'icers in charge of' controlling that account, and we are fairly comfortable that it can be met. Councilman Moot asked if tile self-contained breathin~ appalalus. which came tip earlier in the year, were the changes that were proposed at that time? Chief Hardiman responded that the m~jor difl~rent is that there was sonle technology that was not perfected at that time. It has been tested and been perlibeled and are recolmnending that in addition to what was proposed in the December and January proposals. PARKS AND RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE Mr. Goss stated that this department has a number of proposals which are some of the most negative proposals being proposed in the overall budget. It is proposed that the Administrative Secretary position to the Department Head be frozen. There will be some part-time hourly wages to back fill the position liar certain periods of time during the year. In the area of Park Maintenance, it is proposed that one Senior Park Supervisor be increased to two, that the organizational structure both in Maintenance and Aquatics be llattened and that the Parks Supervisor position be eliminated which woold require some bumping down to blwer level positions such as Senior Gardener or Gardener II, and finally that the three Gardener I positi<ms be f'roz~n. It is reconm~ended that one Gardener II position be transferred to Open Space Administration. It has also been recommended to "Y" rate employees so salaries would not be affected. These proposals would reduce the services from this department. Mr. Goss stated that the recommendation in tile Recreation Division is to flatten the structure, and that the Aquatics Coordinator position be eliminated and one of the two permanent, part-time managers would be upgraded to full- time. It is also recom~nended to eliminate a .5 FTE senior lil~guard. Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 5 Mr. Goss stated that in the area of Cnltural Arts we are looking at some ~tnding possibilities outside of the general fund. In this case, there is an Arts Ftmd which is administered by the Redevelopment Agency. Also, there is an offer by MCA, if the amphitheater gets rallying, to suppclrt the colrural arts. He snggested looking at a combination of those funds to see if the Cnltural Arts Ct~ordinator conld he upgraded to 3/4 time and to cooperate in a participative manner in a partnership with the Sweetwater High School District to help support the theater manager at EastLake High School so the City would have the ahility to operate that thcility part of the year as if it were a City facility. Mr. Goss stated that in the recreational area, the dclxu'tment is proposing that the Recreation or Community Centers be closed at times when they have rainmini nse perhaps up to two hours per week. For example, the closure of Norman Park Center for four hours on Friday evenings and Satnrday afternoons. For a staffing fee of $8.12 per hour, the Centers could be reopened. It is recommended that the Oxford Senior Program at Lauderbach be eliminated and combined with the Norman Park Center. It is recommended that the theater production budget be eliminated. Mr. Goss suggested that the after school recreation program be elimimtted in areas which are within walking distance of recreation fhcilities programming which is already available. It is also proposed that the program be eliminated one week of the winter holiday season. Mr. Goss snggested that in the area of Therapeutics the hndget be reduced from $36,000 to $20,000 and the remainder be picked tip by Block Grant Funds. Mr. Goss stated that the total rednotions in the Recrcalitm Program would he $103,000. Mr. Goss stated the Department also sulm~itted a number elf revenue enhancement ideas such as creating or increasing a rental fee at the Community Centers: increas~ of the r~ntal t~r the main hall at Norman Park Center; introducing a fee tBr the rental of Parkway Gym: expansion and extrnsion of rental season for picnic shelters; rent spaces in areas of the parks l~r connnercial cclmpanics: increase special interest class t~e by $1.00; increase the tennis court light fee; create a t~e for the Chuhl Vista community Youth Center; to charge for teams in tournaments; increase rental of ball fields; charge a parking t~e at Rohr Park: increase t~e for school ose of pools; increase aquatic fees. Mayor Horton opened the meeting tin' public testimlmy. Addressing Council in opposition to the suggested cuts and fee increases were: Margaret Helton, 162 Mankatl~ Street. 91910 Kay Dennison, 659 Jefferson Ave., 91910 Mark Basnight, 10285 Prince Seal. Santee. 92071 Anne Taylor, 857 Cuyamaca A:'¢.. 91911 Helen Stokes, 1543 Max Ave., 9191 l Larry Livesay, 456 Shy Lane, 91911 Ricardo Medina, 186 H Street. 91910 Sandy Lucero, 80 E. Oxli~rd St.. 91910 Billy Gene Birdsong, 3104 Bonila Mesa Rd.. 91910 Carmen Sandolval, 666 Rne Avalhm. 91913 Tom Class, 859 Daylily Court. San Mar.~s Larry Ellason, 245 Sierra, 919 1 1 Steve Palma, 176 Montgon~cry, 01911 Don Jones, 1545 Oleand¢r Ave., 91911 Otto Willjams. 288 F Street. 91910 M. J. Diosdado, 276 Fourth Ave., 91910, addressing the Police Department budget, opposed the Senior Crime Preventi,m Officer cut. Wendell Prude, P. O. g{ix 722891, San Diego, 92172, representing SEIU L.L. 202g Lars Lindelins. 565 Citrusa. hnperial Beach, addressing the Public Works/Operations bndget, opposed the mechanic cuts m Public Works. In responding to Wendell Prude's comments that Council make balanced cnts throughoat the entire organization including Management, Mr. Goss pointed out that we have tried to do this over the last three years. Administrative departments like Personnel, Administration, and ManagcmLmt aud h~lk~rmatitln Services these three departments have been cut roughly from 45 FTE positions to approximately 30 FTE. In the coming year, we are recommending that Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 6 4 management assistants be deleted. and there is an Executive Management position, a Police Captain, which is being proposed to be frozen upon retirement. LIBRARY Mr. Goss stated that the reductions prop<~sed tllr the Library ix 4.8 percent. The proposals indicate revenue enhancements of public access computa l~. processing l~e ~,' bo~k~ lost. charge patrons to postage to mail back books borrowed from other libraries through the inter-library k,an prt)~laul. Proposals made l~>r the creation of a new Library Aid position which would combine two positions. clerical aid and shelving aid, in order to provide the department greater llexibility. There is a proposal to reclassil}' the level of the Literacy Coordinator. R~o~ended reductions are: reduciug hours at the Civic C~utcr Main Library, eliminate a .5 Senior Library (a ~d-management position), reduce a .5 clerical aid in Literacy to .25, eliminate .75 FTE Administrative Office Assis~t II at the South Chula Vista Library, reduce a permanent .5 FTE Librarian I at South Chula Vista Libra~ to .45 hourly Librarian, eliminate .38 FTE Library Aid at South Chula Vista. reduce expenditures for new vid~s, eli~nate issuing plastic library cards instead using in-house card struck. climimfle biuding of Spanish language books, eli~nate mailing overdue courtesy n{~tice. reduce nulnber of theft detection strips in circulating books to every third new book, reduce the security guard service at the two lar~er libraries, and eliurinate OCLC ter~nal mainten~ce t~hnical services. Mr. Goss stated that we are recommending tile c<mtinued operation ot tile .ll~int use Library with the School District at EastLake. Councilman Rindone asked if the hour between five and six o'clock at the main library and South Chula Vista Library still productive hours on Friday evenings. Director Palmer responded that they were very busy at tile end of' the day on Friday. People stop by the Library on their way home from work between 5 and 6 p.m. Councilman Moot stated that it appears that the decision had been nlade to reduce early morning hours on Monday and Wednesdays. Was that correct? Director Palmer responded that they looked at all of the usage by hours and by day. Generally speaking their circulation was quite consistent; they check out the same munber of bo¢~ks evcr'y hour of the day. However, their door count is lower on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Sundays and Monday nights are their busiest times of the week. Councilman Moot asked how he arrived at the trade oil I~ct\vccn hllurs as opposed to books. Director Palmer replied that the book and materials budget fi~r the library is broken u13 into four primary categories: circulating books, reference books, periodicals. and audio/visual materials. The circulating budget which in 1991/92 and 92/93 was $249,000. That purchased the circulating copies of the buoks that you would find at the Civic Center and EastLake Libraries. This year, and proposed liar uext yt_'ar, that circulating book budget is $60,800. That is approximately the same level of circulating book support that the library had in 1968. The busiest library is the Civic Center Library where there is a circulation of about 900,000 compared to 350,000 at the South library. We still have 2-1 usage higher at Civic Center with a book budget ill $60,000 coml~ared to South Chula Vista's about $350,000 to $400,000 out of the CIP. Councilman Moot asked if that money was to go to new book i~urchases or to replace existing books which have been worn out or a combination of hoth. Director Palmer replied that it was a combination of both. Riglit no~v we would be prominently buying material that has been worn out. If you are looking f~r something new, we might have it - we might not. Mayor Horton asked what year did the Library open on Sundays. Mr. Goss stated that it was in the mid-80s. One of the concerns at that time was being able tu cover it with full time staff and we were able to do it with part time stall'. Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 7 Mayor Horton stated she noticed that nlost of tile c~thcr l~cilitie. s nsed in c~mlparisons are closed on Sundays. Are most of the people using the thcility residents of Chnh~ Vista t~r arc we getting a lot of residents from outside the Director Palmer stated that they have not snrveyed that sl~ecilically. He t~lt that it would be consistent with our regular usage which does have a high hi,n-resident usage. Chuht Vista is uniqne that it offers its community three branch libraries open on Sunday, a time when pc~ll~le are avaikdMe after chnrch to come to the libraries when they are not working. Mayor Horton asked if San Diego had a South Cmmty Irainch? Director Palmer stated that they had the Otay Mesa branch and they are open on Sundays. PUBLIC WORKS Mr. Goss stated that tilere are three sections in Ptlhlic Works: engineering, operations, and transit. The budget commentary focuses mostly on engineering and transit. In the cnrrent fiscal year, there are 9.75 FTE positions which are frozen in engineering. What is proptlsed in engineering is that live Senior Civil Engineers and the Traffic Engineer, which is at that level, be rednc,.~d to lime Seni~r Civil En:4ineers in engineering with one of the Seniors moving into operations to replace a position which will he vacated hy retirement. This means that a Senior Civil Engineer will be supervising two Divisions instead of just imc. This is an ef'li~rt to organize at the management level to do that in a more efficient way. Ther~ ar~ a numhcr of other staffing reccmm~endations: that the Engineering Tech II be filled with an Engineering Tech I; that ;re add .48 FTE A&ninistrative Office Assistant IIl in sewer billing for the conling fiscal year only. There are three ptlsitions that want to take advantage of the Voluntary Time Off policy, and it is recommemled that one Senior Puhlic Works Inspector position be frozen. Mr. Goss stated that there were also a nunsher of revem~e enhancenwnt ideas such as selling the street light system back to SDG&E. Also, to enc{lurage SDG&E to pay fill' staff tnne inwdved in preparing plans for utility undergrounding and to levy fines on businesses li,r NPDES vi{ikltion tit regulations, initiate a tee for performing sewer variances. From the Public Works/Operations, it is recommend~:d that one of tile two Management Assistant positions be frozen. It is also recommended that one of two Maintenance Worker II positions which handles graftill removal be eliminated, and the traffic control supl~lies he reduced. There is a d{r, vn sizing in tern'ix of the Mechanics in the garage which is in part because of onr efti~rt to rt'duce the size elf the overall fleet. In trying to eliminate the possibility of having people laid off or bump~_-d cltlwn, it has been suggested that the position be transferred to the sewer. Because of the need liar wl~rk there, it is recomn~endcd tiltit two person sewer crews be created: one for inspection of sewer lines and stornl drains and the ,>llqcr to p~q-form sewer nlain cleanouts and other maintenance. Mr. Goss stated that they are recommemlin.~ in street tree maintenance that the l~e ti>r replacement of street trees be increased from $10 to $50. Alsc~ recommending a rednctitln of the tree crews t¥om three to two. In the area of street maintenance, it is recommended that coinerr-to repair contract he reduced from $60,000 to $40,000. In the area of building maintenance, it ix reccmunended that the Building Maintenance Superintendent position be unfrozen and filled. While the number of nlanLig~'m~.qll positillns in Public Works will be reduced, it is felt that there will be a need with the elimination <it' the, Principal Managemrnt Assistant in Opaations for a person at the Street Maintenance level as well as at the Building Services l~zvel. Also rec<lnqmending that the experiment with outside contract for custodial maintenance be replaced with three part-tinle employees. Also recommending that we not fill the Construction Specialist [I position (tile painter specialist), hut that it be filled as needed using part-time hours. It is also recommended that the money neecl~-~d tin' minor capital inlprovement prc~jects throughout the city be reduced from $93,000 to $50,000. There is alscl a recolmncndaticm fl~r reducing the retiring Mechanic II position in August. There were also a nunlhel of rc\'rnue iclclts including having a sanitation charge to cover street sweeping. Mayor Horton did not understand tile comnwnts nla,.lc by tile gentleman in Public Works when he mentioned that the one mechanic was retirin~ who handled certain fire dcp:u'tment vehicles. How will we accommodate that neM in the ~ture if we don't hav~ somcon~ on stat'l wh~, hcis th~ ability to handle that type of work? Director Byers stated that tile mechanic who \\,ticks tin th~ iire ;tpparatns is not retiring. What has happened is that in the current year budget, the Mechanic I p,lsititm was c. Iiminated. The person was not laid off but was allowed to overfill. There is a Mechanic II position who ix retirin~ in August. He had been the heavy equipment mechanic Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 8 and also the mechanic who provided I~ackui~ im fire apl~aratus, With his retirement. we will train someone else to provide that backup. One of the other Mechanic II's has already stalled working on heavy equipment, and we will either train him or someone else to provide backup on fire apparatus. Councilman Padilia asked if this person was State certified tier lire appalatus? Director Byers replied that he was not certain. He v, as a difl'el ent classification and has received extensive training funded by the fire department and the centraI garage to ~o to the fire academy. He would find out. However, if the fire mechanic is certified, the backul~ was not certified. The fire mechanic is a separate classification which makes more money. Councilman Padilia asked what happened iI the prinmry persire rcsptmsil~le was not available. Director Byers stated that the backup person would provide that service. The primary thing which a normal mechanic would not be able to do would be the puml~ nlitinlt~nallce on the fire trucks. There are five pump mechanics who are in the sewer section who work on fill stations who conld work on the pumps. In case of emergency and someone was not available or we did not have the expertise, we would ask another agency such as the City of San Diego for assistance or go to a private contractor if we had to. We would make sure that the equipment was properly maintained hy someline wbo was qualified. Councilman Rindone asked what was tile procedure liar monitoring overtime? Director Byers responded that we had line item I~ndget acctlunts lot overtime m each division. When a person is called out on an emergency whicb entails ovcrtm~e, there are lotins which are made out and signed indicating the actual times of the overtime. The supervis<lr rex tows these liarms. Knowing al31~roximately how long it should take to care for a particular problem. he will check to scc if the lime seems apl~{lpriate and then signs the overtime slip. Councilman Rindone was surprised about the excessive ovcrtin~e al tile El Dorado Milding. Director Byers stated that the El Dorado building was origimtlly owned by tile Redevelopment Agency. When it was, it seemed easier to clean it using custodians on an ovcrlin~e basis rather thar~ hiring individuals. We looked at this closely this year and determined that it was prubably more efl~,ctive to use temporary hours during the day time. We have been relactant to put ten~porary staff by themselves nnsupcrvised. By switching them to days, they would be supervised. This would be less expensive and would give us more flexibility than using overtime. Richard Schuman, 108 Jefferson, 91910, speaking liar the Chair of the Board of Ethics. He expressed concern about the message that was being sent as to the way Ihe Elbics snpport funclion is being handled. This is the second year in a row that this position has been aflEcted by budget problenls. They were not lobbying for a particular individual, but were concerned about the limction. * * * Mayor Horton left at 9:00 p.m. * * * PARKS AND RECREATION (continned) Councilman Alevy stated that he was tired of Parks and Recreation being hit every year to have money taken out of their budget when this department affects more citizens than any other department in the city, except for police. When you take cuts in this department, it represents potential safety hazards which will not be a cut in the future. He felt that there were ways to raise money. and we nccdcd to inlplcmcnt those things. The leagues have been playing for free fBr years using our water, our maintenance. Although this was great, the reality was that it is time for them to pay a little more. He wotdd not stand t~r cnts to Parks and Recreation. He requested that staff return with a chart that shows every department in the City and what their budget was in 94/95, 95/96, and what is proposed for 96/97. He would like to see the dif'l~rence between what they had in 94/95 and what is proposed for next year. He would like to see that the cuts are bahu~ced across lhc hoard and that some of the departments who have taken a hit every year, don't have to take the hit again. Councilman Moot stated that sooner or later we have to make a philosopl~ical decision about what we are going to do with the Parks and Recreation Department. Last year. we tried to raise revenue in Aquatics and everyone said you could not raise revenue in Aqaatics. This year ;re try another apl3roach in cutting back staff time. That Minutes June 10, 1996 Page 9 appears to be an equally unacceptable approach to many. Solonet or later we are going to have to decide how we are going to approach this difficnlt problem. This is an important service which the City provides, but we need to understand how we are going to do it without piecemealrag it year flier year. We need to come back to a core level of parks and recreational services that we can agree tm that should be provided and maybe not to provide services in other areas unless we ask the people who us~ them to pay t'or them. tie wanted to see us come to some decisions at a macro level on exactly how we are going to approach it. n¢lt jnst ibis year. bnt in the years to come. Councilman Rindone stated he was not :villin~ to make cuts in Parks and Recreation either. In the six years he has been on the Council, one of the thin~s in which hc was most proud is the growth inade, particularly with the after school playground program. He l~lt we were committed hi this. He was not in thvor of cutting out the staffing for the after school playground for one ',reek during the ~vinter holidays in order to save $4,400. He was willing to make deeper cuts in other areas, and h¢ wonld he more supportive of revenue enhancements than cuts to services to people. He also wanted staff to ? hack and h~ok at tbc $103,000 tier the position at the Norman Park Center. Councihnan Padilia felt that there were still areas where. if we have to look at revenue enhancements, we can do that in a manner that makes sense and ',','ill hclp to solve the problem. Everyone wants basically the same thing -- want the parks to be attractive and us¢r fi*iendly, have them maintained, the grass is cut and watered, and that they are safe. We are not ~oin~ to ,;o alter ~lemcnts m the:/mclg~'t that are ~oin,.4 to adversely impact the basic maintenance of parks. or elimimde fin~dam~'nt:d recreatitm prepgrains. When you ~et into tight budget times, you have everyone across the btmrcl shar~ in thai I',urd~:n, E\!crytlnc has to share in this equally. This particular department in recent years has taken extlalu'dinary cuts and made extraordinary el'li~rts in being creative in trying to avoid negative impacts. We need ttl send the si~n:d that ct~tlin~ int{~ personnel that administer programs or that will have their availability to tend to the things that they n~cd to attend tel be suddenly reduced, things that will reduce the maintenance of parks; ltliDslz things ar~: pretty basic. Wc I]ecd Ill IllIlk at other areas. Councilman Moot summarized that it ',v:ls clear that Illis is an extremely important department and that we want to try solutions that work. We are all he.~lnnin~ to reco.~nize that in ~lrder to provide in this area, we may seriously have to look at the kind of revenue enhanceroe'his that ',',,ill make this department what we want it to be. He wanted to encourage the Parks and Retreatjim C<mm~issi,ln, who hax'e de',,clt~d a lot of time thinking about these issues. to participate with us and the Director lid m:lke '4ure the s.lution :re come tip with is one we can all live with. ORAL COMMIINICATIONS OTIIER BUSINESS CITY MANAGER'S REPORT(S) - N~me. 5. MAYOR'S REPORT(S) 6. COUNCIL COMMENTS - Ntme. ADJOIIRNMENT The meeting aqionrned at 9:30 p.m. to the: next rc~stll;lr ('itV C, lunc:il meeting on June I I. 1996 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. City Clerk