PROPOSED
2002-2003 OPERATING BUDGET
May 24, 2002
PRESENT: Council Members Campos, Chavez, Cortese, Diquisto, LeZotte, Reed, Williams, Yeager; Gonzales
ABSENT: Dando, Shirakawa Jr. (excused)
STAFF: City Manager Del D. Borgsdorf, City Attorney Richard Doyle, Assistant City Manager Mark Linder, Budget Director Larry D. Lisenbee, Assistant Budget Director Jennifer Maguire, Mayor’s Budget and Policy Director Joe Guerra, Mayor’s Budget and Policy Assistants Jennifer Galliart, Julie Shioshita and Meghan Horrigan, Assistant City Clerk Nancy Alford, and Legislative Secretary Monica Perras
Documents Filed: Hard copies of
the Staff presentation on Strategic Support CSA-Employee Services; hard copies
of the Staff presentation on Fees and Charges
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 a.m. in Council Chambers, City Hall, for the purpose of reviewing the Proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2002-2003.
PROPOSED 2002-2003 OPERATING BUDGET (Continued from 5/23/02)
Strategic Support
CSA (Continued)
- Employee Services
Kay
Winer, Acting Director of Employee Services, explained that the CSA partners
are Employee Services Department, Finance Department, Retirement Services, and
Office of Employee Relations. She
provided an overview of the CSA’s Mission Statement, organization chart, the
three major outcomes – Employment and Benefits, Training and Development, and
Employee Wellness; 2002-03 Proposed Investment by Outcome, and the CSA
Investment Strategy. Alex Gurza,
Director of Employee Relations, reviewed Outcome #1, Employees to Meet Service
Needs of the Organization - Trends, Issues, Opportunities and Investment
Proposal; Outcome #2, High Performance Workforce - Trends Issues,
Opportunities; Outcome #3, Safe and Healthy Work Environment - Trends, Issues,
Opportunities and Investment Proposal.
Mayor
Gonzales expressed concern that he had received complaints from former
employees on the responses they received from Employee Services. Acting Director Winer responded that new
standards are in place that require phone calls be responded to within 24 hours
and that Customer Service Center Staff are being trained to better respond to
questions.
Council
Member Chavez, referring to page VII-81, expressed concern that there is not a
goal for the City to be “Employer of Choice.” City Manager Borgsdorf responded
that one of the City’s corporate priorities is to be the best public employer
in the State.
Council
Member Williams, referring to page VII-84, asked about the City’s training program.
Referring to page VII-86 A-1, he asked if there was a calculation for the
savings related to employees being well and healthy. Acting Director Winer responded that this is a new measure.
Council
Member LeZotte asked if the new employee orientation included discussion about
long-term employment, and expressed concern that as employees advance there is
a void left behind them in terms of trained personnel. Director Gurza responded that this would be
covered in the orientation and training of Staff.
Council
Member Campos asked if there is a designated position in the Office of Equality
Assurance monitoring prevailing wage for RDA projects. Nina Grayson, Director of Equality
Assurance, responded that the Compliance Manager provides this, as well as other
functions.
Council
Member Diquisto requested information on the number of job applications that
are submitted on-line.
Mayor
Gonzales, referring to page VII-83, expressed concern with the length of time
to qualify candidates for employment, and recommended that a performance
measure be added to reflect the amount of time from when a position is approved
to when it is filled.
Employee Services
Mayor
Gonzales asked when the revised new employee orientation would be offered and
if it would be available to employees who have not yet participated. Director Gurza responded that it will be
available in June and will backtrack to include those who did not receive the
orientation. Mayor Gonzales, referring
to page 167, asked if the target of 60% for health and safety services is
acceptable to those needing the services.
Acting Director Winer responded that to achieve a higher level there is
a need for expanded facilities and a commitment from the departments using the
services.
Council
Member Chavez, referring to page 168, requested information on the impact of
reducing contractual services.
Referring to page 172, she requested that there be a measurement
developed for training of non-management employees.
The
City Council recessed at 8:35 a.m. to meet as the Redevelopment Agency Board of
Directors and reconvened at 11:15 a.m.
Strategic Support
CSA
- City Facilities and Equipment
Jose
Obregon, Director of General Services, provided an overview of the CSA’s
responsibilities, City Partners, Vision and Mission, the 2002-03 Proposed
Investment by Outcome, Trends, Issues and Opportunities, and the Major
Strategies. Katy Allen, Director of Public Works, reviewed Outcome #1 – Well
Designed Facilities, Investments, Trends, Business Strategy, and Anticipated
Results. Director Obregon reviewed
Outcome #2 – Clean, Safe and Functional Facilities, Investments, Business
Strategies, and Anticipated Results; Outcome #3 - Appropriate and Available
Equipment, Investments, Trends, Business Strategies and Anticipated Results.
Council
Member LeZotte asked about the number of projects completed within ten percent
of budget, and confirmed with Staff that this was heading toward major
improvement. Regarding Outcome #2, she
requested that the title be changed to “Clean, Green, Safe and Functional
Facilities,” and indicated that she would like to see a performance measure for
public facilities built green.
Council
Member LeZotte complimented Director Obregon on the efforts to use alternative
fuel vehicles wherever possible and requested that the City continue
aggressively pursuing their use.
Mayor
Gonzales asked that the overview of the New Civic Center Project on page 513 be
updated to reflect the final decision by Council and to include a more detailed
timeline including planned dates for groundbreaking, completion, etc. Regarding the performance measure for
completion of construction projects on page 524, he suggested that the measure
be redefined to “Number of Construction Projects Completed on Time and on
Budget.” Referring to the measures on
page 534, he requested that two additional performance measures be added: “Number of labor compliance violation
investigations” and “Average time for investigation.”
Council
Member Reed expressed concern with the City’s approach to the prevailing wage
ordinance and stated it is an incentive to use illegal workers. Noting that enforcement of the ordinance is
difficult, he suggested that the District Attorney prosecute offenders to
ensure greater compliance. He suggested
that the City become certified by the State so that fines could be levied or
alternatively, that compliance be built into the contract cost for capital
projects. Mayor Gonzales, concurring
that the District Attorney should be involved, requested that City Attorney
Doyle discuss the matter with District Attorney George Kennedy.
Council
Member Williams suggested a measure be added to track when the contingency
amount on a construction project is not used, rather than just noting when a project
stays “within budget.”
Council
Member Chavez noted that she agreed that there should be significant penalties
for violations of the prevailing wage ordinance and asked for information on
how projects are being monitored for compliance and suggested that discussion
of the matter come back to Council or a Committee for further review.
The
Council recessed the Operating Budget Session at 12:00 noon and reconvened at
1:40 p.m.
General Fund
Capital, Transfers and Reserves
No
Questions.
Council Appointees
City Attorney
Mayor
Gonzales, referring to page 46, expressed concern with the amount of work
contracted out. City Attorney Doyle
responded that most work is done in-house, but there is need for contractual
Staff, and he will report back mid-year.
Referring
to page 44, Council Member Diquisto asked about the training budget.
Council
Member Cortese expressed concern with the reduction of Risk Management Staff
and how it relates to the City Attorney’s Office. Staff responded that this is a team effort and that the process
with regard to contracts with non-profits is being streamlined.
City Auditor
Mayor
Gonzales referred to page 65, Performance Overview, and noted that there were a
number of “to be determined” designations.
Gerald Silva, City Auditor, explained that Staff is working on the
customer survey software and that the process has taken longer than
expected. Regarding Activity and
Workload, Mayor Gonzales asked if there would be an increase in costs next
year. City Auditor Silva responded that
there will be an increase after development of a workplan.
City Clerk
Regarding
Performance and Resource Overview on pages 74 and 75, Mayor Gonzales expressed
concern that no methodology has been developed. Referring to page 73, he requested that the wording be changed to
indicate which Commissions are specific to the City Clerk’s Office. Referring to page 75, Performance Indicator,
he stated that he believes the 100% target is unrealistic.
City Manager
No
questions.
City Auditor
Recommendations
City
Auditor Silva provided a summary of the recommendations needing action by the
City Council – four have not been recommended for funding by the Administration
because of budget constraints; two, regarding Utility Billing, are going
through an RFP process; two have been included in the budget process; two are
being reviewed by Administration; and one, regarding Hazardous Material Storage
Permit Fees, he is recommending be reviewed for possible revision at Finance
Committee.
Fees and Charges
Jennifer
Maguire, Assistant Budget Director, provided a brief overview of proposed fees
and charges and indicated that cumulative revenue is projected at over $54
million, $49 million of which will go to the General Fund. She explained that the overall fee program
cost recovery is at 90%, with a $12 million gap between costs and
revenues. She reviewed the Fees and
Charges Summary and Highlights of Departmental Changes – Development, Building,
Planning, Public Works, Fire, Environmental Services, Housing, and other
departments.
Regarding
Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, Mayor Gonzales stated that he wants to
be assured that the City is in touch with the development community for
feedback as new fees are implemented.
Regarding fees for the Rental Dispute Program, he requested that the
Rental Housing Task Force review this program and develop recommendations for
funding.
Council
Member Williams asked how building fees are established. Director Haase responded that Staff is
required to analyze new fees to assure that cost recovery is not exceeded and
that some fees are for services that are already provided.
Council
Member Reed, referring to page 75, Tree Removal Program, noted that there is no
fee for removal of dead trees. Staff
responded that this is a free service.
Council Member Reed noted that free parking for veterans, seniors, and
the disabled is not reflected on page 52.
Council
Member Cortese expressed concern that the In-Lieu Utility Fee Program
encourages developers to pay for underground work rather than do the work
themselves and recommended that this be addressed in the near future. Mayor Gonzales recommended that this be
included in meetings with developers.
Council
Member LeZotte asked about the non-cost recovery fees for animal services on
page 30. Staff responded that this is a
very expensive service and that the cost will decrease once the City’s animal
facility is completed, although all services are not cost-recovery.
Council
Member Yeager, referring to page 94, questioned the adequacy of the fees for
massage parlor licenses because of the additional need for Police services and
suggested that Staff reassess the fee.
Council
Member Reed asked Administration to explain the Hazardous Materials fee. Budget Director Lisenbee explained that an
attempt has been made to charge a fee equitable to the amount of risk for a
hazardous permit, and that there are only a few businesses that pay a fee; and
Staff may have to review this.
Mayor
Gonzales, referring to page 94, expressed concern that cost recovery for the
Driving Under the Influence fee was low, indicated he would like to know what
percentage of fees will never be recovered, and suggested that the fee might be
higher.
The
Council adjourned the Operating Budget Session at 2:40 p.m.
NANCY
ALFORD, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK