RULES/AGENCY RULES COMMITTEE

Meeting Report

May 14, 2003

 

PRESENT:    Chair Dando; Members Chavez, Cortese, Williams and Yeager

 

ABSENT:       None

 

STAFF:          City Attorney Rick Doyle, Assistant City Manager Mark Linder, City Clerk Patricia O’Hearn, Council Agenda Manager for the Mayor’s Office Jennifer Carlino, Assistant to the City Manager Deanna Santana, and Redevelopment Agency Liaison Gary Miskimon

 

Chair Dando called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.

 

A.        Redevelopment Agency

 

             1.        Review May 27, 2003 Draft Agenda

 

The Committee recommended approval of the May 27, 2003 Redevelopment Agency agenda.

 

             2.        Add New Items to May 20, 2003 Agenda

 

There were no changes to the May 20, 2003 Redevelopment Agency agenda.

 

             3.        Staff Reports Outstanding

           

                        Documents Filed:  Report from Redevelopment Agency Liaison Gary Miskimon, dated May 14, 2003, stating there are no staff reports outstanding for the May 20, 2003 Redevelopment Agency meeting.

 

                        Discussion/Action:  The Committee noted and filed the Redevelopment Agency Liaison’s report.

 

B.        City Council

 

             1.        Review May 27, 2003 Draft Agenda

 

The Committee recommended approval of the May 27, 2003 City Council agenda.

 

 

                        a.         Additions/Changes

 

                                    (1)       Move Item 2.4(c), Approval of various actions related to the Downtown Business Improvement District, from the Consent Calendar to the Economic & Neighborhood Development section  (Chavez)

 

                                    (2)       Approve an ordinance relating to rates for potable water

                                                (City Attorney)

 

                                    (3)       Present a plaque to Elbert Reed for 4 years, 9 months’ service on the Campaign Finance Review and Ethics Board  (Mayor)

 

                                    (4)       Approve the RFP for the Utility Billing System 

                                                (City Manager)

 

                                    (5)       Approve various actions related to the Recycle Plus rate increase  (City Manager)

 

             2.        Add New Items to May 20, 2003 Agenda

                       

The Committee recommended the following additions to the May 20, 2003 City Council agenda:

 

a.         Present a commendation to the American Lung Association (Santa Clara County Chapter) recognizing their hard work in promoting air quality and the conservation of energy resources throughout Santa Clara County during May, Clean Air Month  (LeZotte)

 

b.         Approve fiscal actions related to the Alviso Pool Emergency Repairs Project  (City Manager)

 

c.         Approve various actions related to the Guadalupe River Trail, Reach 12 Phase 1  (City Manager)

 

d.         Approve various actions related to Building and Planning fees

            (City Manager)

 

e.         Approve various actions related to the Kelley Park Service Yard Renovation Project  (City Manager)

 

 

 

             3.        Staff Reports Outstanding

 

                        Documents Filed:  Report from City Manager dated May 14, 2003 listing three staff reports outstanding for the May 20, 2003 Council agenda.

 

                        Discussion/Action:  The Committee noted and filed the City Manager’s report.

 

C.        Legislative Update

 

            1.         State

 

There was no report.

 

            2.         Federal

 

There was no report.

 

D.        Meeting Schedules

 

There were none.

 

E.        The Public Record

 

Documents Filed:  Memorandum from City Clerk Patricia O’Hearn dated May 8 2003 transmitting items received for the Public Record for the period April 30-May 6, 2003.

 

Discussion/Action:  Regarding Item (a), Member Cortese, liaison to the Housing Advisory Commission (HAC), stated he would contact Mr. Sam Peng from the Santa Clara County Housing Action Coalition and suggest Mr. Peng coordinate with the City’s HAC to address City Council in August during the Open Forum portion of the agenda.  The Committee noted and filed the Public Record.

 

F.         Boards, Commissions and Committees

 

1.         Police and Fire Retirement Board

Request from Police and Fire Retirement Board to consider revising the definition of “surviving child” to include children born to retirees, or who were adopted after the person retired

                        (Deferred from 5/7/03)

 

Documents Filed:  Memorandum from Ed Overton, Secretary to the Police and Fire Retirement Board, dated May 1, 2003 submitting a request from the Board to revise the definition of “surviving child.”

 

 

Discussion/Action:  Ed Overton, Secretary to the Police and Fire Retirement Board, and Alex Gurza, Director of Employee Relations, were present to answer Committee questions.  In reply to Member Cortese’s query, Mr. Overton stated that the Police & Fire Retirement Board (P&F Board) did not officially receive City Manager Del Borgsdorf’s April 28, 2003 memorandum commenting on the Board’s request to amend their retirement plan regarding the definition of “surviving child.”  Mr. Cortese then brought up the issue of whether or not the proposed request can be considered outside the collective bargaining process.  Alex Gurza replied that bargaining units do not represent people who have retired; that City

Administration normally follows a process that considers plan amendments during the collective bargaining process; then, subsequently, Council may separately decide whether to extend those same benefits to retirees.  City Attorney Rick Doyle explained that if Council grants the P&F Board’s request to current retirees, this same benefit would not apply to future retirees.  The Committee directed the City Manager and City Attorney to submit a detailed response to the Police and Fire Retirement Board indicating, with specificity, the full force and effect of their request in relation to the collective bargaining process.  The Committee also directed Mr. Overton to place this issue on the June 5th Police and Fire Retirement Board agenda.

 

Items F2 through F11:

Documents Filed:  Memoranda from City Clerk Patricia L. O’Hearn dated May 6, 2003 forwarding ten lists of commission applicants, as submitted by the Project Diversity Screening Committee; nine memoranda from the City Attorney’s Office dated March and April 2003 reviewing commission applicants for conflict of interest; from Council Member Forrest Williams dated May 14, 2003 recommending appointments to the Arts Commission; from Council Member Yeager dated May 9 and 13, 2003 recommending appointments to the Community Development Block Grant Steering Committee, the Library Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Traffic Appeals Commission; from Council Member Judy Chirco dated May 13, 2003 recommending appointments to the Early Care and Education Commission, and the Human Rights Commission; from Council Member Linda J. LeZotte dated May 14, 2003 recommending appointments to the Senior Citizens Commission; and from Council Member Chuck Reed dated May 12, 2003 recommending appointments to the Small Business Development Commission.

 

Discussion/Action:  The Committee directed the City Clerk to conduct a blind drawing for those commissions with more than one vacancy and varying term ending dates, with the results of the draw noted in the Rules Committee report.  The Committee recommended the following appointments:

 

 

 

          2.           Arts Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Maxwell Crumley (Incumbent), Ben Miyaji (Incumbent), Jess Moreles, and Ruth Tunstall-Grant to terms ending June 30, 2006.

 

          3.           CDBG Steering Committee

The Committee recommended appointment of Lisa Jensen (Incumbent), Rodolfo Nasol (Incumbent), and Steven Sosnowski (Incumbent) to terms ending June 30, 2006.

 

          4.           Early Care and Education Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Thomas Paramo, Hyacinth Stephens and Kathleen Swineford to unexpired terms ending June 30, 2004; and Jemima Munoz to an unexpired term ending June 30, 2005.

 

          5.           Human Rights Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Tahir Anwar to an unexpired term ending December 31, 2005.

 

          6.           Library Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Lynn Green to an unexpired term ending June 30, 2005; and Cong Do to a term ending June 30, 2006.

 

          7.           Mobile Home Advisory Commission

The Committee directed the City Clerk to readvertise in August for the neutral representative.

 

          8.           Parks and Recreation Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Mark Swineford to an unexpired term ending June 30, 2004; and directed the City Clerk to readvertise in August for the remaining vacant position.

 

          9.           Senior Citizens Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Surendra Amin to an unexpired term ending June 30, 2004; and Marilou Cristina to an unexpired term ending June 30, 2005.

 

        10.           Small Business Development Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Jason Loia to an unexpired term ending December 31, 2003 and the subsequent three-year term ending December 31, 2006; and Daisy Chu to an unexpired term ending December 31, 2005.

 

        11.           Traffic Appeals Commission

The Committee recommended appointment of Matthew Hall to an term ending June 30, 2006.

 

G.        Council Referrals for Assignment to Administration or Council Appointee

 

There were none.

 

H.        Administrative Reviews and Approval

 

            1.       Request from City Auditor to remove an audit of the City Clerk’s Office from the City Auditor’s 2002-03 workplan  (City Auditor)

 

Documents Filed:  Memorandum from City Auditor Gerald A. Silva dated May 8, 2003 recommending removal of the City Clerk’s Office audit from the City Auditor’s 2002-03 workplan

 

                       Discussion/Action:  The Committee recommended approval to remove an audit of the City Clerk’s Office from the City Auditor’s 2002-03 workplan.

 

I.          Oral Communications

 

None were presented.

 

J.         Adjournment

 

            The meeting adjourned at 2:35 P.M.

 

 

 

Pat Dando, Chair

Rules/Agency Rules Committee

 

 

Discussion/Action:  Ed Overton, Secretary to the Police and Fire Retirement Board, and Alex Gurza, Director of Employee Relations, were present to answer Committee questions.  In reply to Member Cortese’s quiry, Mr. Overton stated that the Police & Fire Retirement Board (P&F Board) did not officially receive City Manager Del Borgsdorf’s April 28, 2003 comments regarding the Board’s request to amend their retirement plan regarding the definition of “surviving child.”  Mr. Cortese then brought up the issue of whether or not the proposed request can be considered outside the collective bargaining process.  Alex Gurza replied bargaining units do not represent people who have retired; that City Administration normally follows a process that considers plan amendments during the collective bargaining process; then, subsequently, Council may separately decide whether to extend those same benefits to retirees.  City Attorney Rick Doyle explained that if Council grants the P&F Board’s request to current retirees, this same benefit would not apply to future retirees.

 

The Committee directed the City Manager and City Attorney to submit a detailed response to the Police and Fire Retirement Board indicating, with more specificity, the consequences/full picture/ramifications of their request in relation to the collective bargaining process.  The Committee also directed Mr. Overton to place this issue on the June 5th P&F Board agenda.

 

Dave:  Board hasn’t seen Del’s letter.  Ed:  No.  Dave:  Board hasn’t had a chance to review and discusss the Manager’s response.  Dave:  suggest we send Del’s letter back & make it clear to Bd that they’re free to pursue remedies again through Rules.  Make it clear We’re sending ltr back so Bd can have a full discussion not because Rules rendered any judgement.  Dando:  we think it may have crossed in the mail.  Dave:  2ndly: helpful to have some correspondence to Board from CAO addressing whether or not, from a legal standpoint, this does need to be taken up as a bargaining issue – are we precluded from taking this issue up outside of the collective bargaining process.  Otherwise this will ping-pong back & forth to us.  Dando:  Alex did you want to comment?  Alex:  it depends on whether a plan amendment would apply to active employees or only people who have retired?  We believe Bargaining units do not represent people who have retired.  If an amendment is only going to cover them (retirees) the City Council could increase benefits for just them.  Whereas, if it’s going to apply to current employees we would have to go through the bargaining process, If we were to do it outside the normal cycle it would have to be a decision to reopen the tri-partite retirement contract that doesn’t expire until next year.  Having said that, we have a process that we follow that if we’re going to make plan amendments for people already retired, they normally are considered after the bargaining process.  So, for example if the City were to enhance a benefit for the active employees, the City Council could then separately after that decide whether to extend those benefits to people already retired.  That’s the process that we’ve mostly followed.   Dave says this request is to cover children born to or adopted by retirees.   Alex:  what the City Manager’s Office usually says when these plan amendments come forward is that we take those up during the normal bargaining process.  That is how this one originally came.  Now, (correct me if I’m wrong) they’re saying that for future retirees it has to go to the bargaining process.  But we want the City Council to consider it now extending it to people who haven’t yet retired.  After questions from Pat Dando, Alex & Rick explained that if this request were granted to current retirees, then someone who retires the day after Council approves such a request would not be have that plan amendment.   The Committee directed the City Manager and the City Attorney to work out a detailed response to the Police and Fire Retirement Board,that would indicate with more specificity whatever commitment is being made re the collective bargaining process; and to place this issue on the Board agenda for the 1st Thurs. in June meeting – ask P&F Bd to handle this issue ASAP.  Ed will reagendize the issue with the CM/CAO response.