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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-03-1997 Minutes MINUTES MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING JULY 3, 1997 COUNCIL CHAMBERS This is the time and place set for an adjourned regular meeting of the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino from the adjourned regular meeting held at 5:30 p.m., Monday, June 30, 1997, in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 300 North "D" Street, San Bernardino, California. The City Clerk has caused to be posted the order of the adjournment of said meeting held on Monday, June 30, 1997, and has on file in the Office of the City Clerk an affidavit of said posting together with a copy of said order which was posted at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 1, 1997, on the door of the place at which said meeting was held. The adjourned regular meeting of the Mayor and Common Council was called to order by Mayor Minor at 6:31 p.m., Thursday, July 3, 1997, in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 300 North "D" Street, San Bernardino, California. ~ ROLL CALL Roll call was taken by City Clerk Rachel Clark with the following being present: Mayor Minor, Council Members Negrete, Arias, Oberhelman, Devlin, Anderson: City Attorney Penman, City Clerk Rachel Clark, City Administrator Wilson. Absent: Council Members Curlin, Miller. BUDGET DELIBERATIONS - FISCAL YEAR 1997/98 - DISCUSS & TAKE POSSIBLE ACTION (Continued from June 30, 1997) (1) City Administrator Wilson submitted a memorandum dated July 3, 1997, regarding FY 1997/98 budget information. Deputy City Attorney Henry Empeno submitted a memorandum dated July 2, 1997, regarding the legality of utilizing gas tax funds for street lighting and street sweeping services. Deputy City Attorney Henry Empeno submitted a memorandum dated July 2, 1997, regarding fire prevention positions and fees. Mayor Minor read into the record a letter from Terry Shea, a CPA with Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott, regarding the inclusion of the lease payments or debt service related to the capital improvement portion of the lease revenue refunding bonds, City Hall Project Series 1996, in the City's proposed 1997/98 budget. 1 7/3/1997 REPORT - MEET & CONFER MEETINGS & PRIVATIZATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS - BARBARA DILLON, DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL Barbara Dillon, Director of Persohnel, provided an update on the privatization and meet and confer meetings. Ms. Dillon stated that she had met with the privatization committee and with General Unit representatives regarding the Police Department's use of police clerks. She stated that the General Unit had indicated they did not want to discuss out-sourcing of police dispatch, but had agreed to meet in six months to discuss out-sourcing of police records and to analyze the potential savings. She indicated that the police clerks were very concerned about this. Ms. Dillon stated that there had been four budget-reduction, meet-and-confer sessions. The General Unit wanted to meet once more regarding Finance: Parks, Recreation and Community Services: and Public Services. COUNCIL MEMBER CURLIN ARRIVED At 6:38 p.m., Council Member Curlin arrived at the Council meeting and took his place at the council table. Jeff Carr, Employee Representative, San Bernardino Public Employees' Association, thanked the Council and Ms. Dillon for their cooperation. He stated that tl:ere were police employees present who wished to address the Council with their concerns regarding out-sourcing of police records. He added that the Association believes said duties could be handled very well in- house by Typist Clerk I personnel: and indicated that it would cost $128,950 annually to out-source versus $106,140 for entry level Typist Clerk I employees. He requested that this matter be held in abeyance until further study could be cone. COUNCIL MEMBER MILLER ARRIVED At 6:41 p.m. Council Member Miller arrived at the Council meeting and took her place at the Council table. Pamela Rodriguez, 665 Kingswell Avenue, Banning, CA, a Police Department dispatcher, informed the Council that private personnel could come into the department and handle the service desk; however, there would still be a need for dispatchers. FINANCE Jeff Carr, Employee Representative, San Bernardino Public Employees' Association, stated that the Association did not agree with the proposed cut of the Composer/Bindery Clerk. He added that there is no one with the capability of doing the work this person performs. Council Member Arias stated that she could not support cutting this position. 2 7/3/1997 Barbara Pachon, Director of Finance, explained that the position was not being eliminated, but would become a part-time position. She added that the person currently holding the position did have bumping rights into another position. Council Member Devlin made a motion, seconded by Council Member Miller, that the budget reduction measure to reduce the Print Shop Composer/Bindery Clerk hours from full-time to part-time be approved. The Members Negrete, motion failed by the following vote: Ayes: Oberhelman, Devlin, Miller. Nays: Council Curlin, Arias, Anderson. Absent: None. Council Members City Attorney Penman requested that the budget recommendation to consolidate the Treasurer's Office staff with Finance staff, thereby eliminating one Administrative Operations Supervisor II position, be continued until he had a chance to discuss it with the City Treasurer. Council Member Curlin made a motion, seconded by Council Member Arias, and unanimously carried, that the budget reduction recommendation to consolidate Treasurer's Office staff and Finance staff, thereby eliminating one Administrative Operations Supervisor II position, be continued to Monday, July 7, 1997, in the Council Chambers of City Hall. PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Council Member Negrete made a motion, seconded by Council Member Oberhelman, and unanimously carried, that the following Parks, Recreation and Community Services budget reduction measures be approved: Reduce parks maintenance services Close Cal State & Mill swimming pools Eliminate Senior Recreation Supervisor & reduce programming Downgrade vacant Recreation Supervisor Recreation Program Coordinator Eliminate one Typist Clerk II Total $123,700 6,800 (net) 66,300 to 19,000 28.800 $244,600 POLICE Council Member Miller made a motion, seconded by Council Member Oberhelman, and unanimously carried, that the proposed Police budget reduction recommendations totaling $431,900 be approved. 3 7/3/1997 PUBLIC SERVICES Council Member Miller made a motion, seconded by Council Member Negrete, and unanimously carried, that the following Public Services reduction measures be approved: Delete Lead Maintenance Worker I and Maintenance Worker II positions Eliminate funding for the computerized customer service system Reduce street sweeping frequency, and downgrade Maintenance Supervisor to Lead Worker and eliminate four Motor Sweeper Operators Shift costs of disposal operation to the Refuse Fund Shift costs of tipping fees to the Refuse Fund for debris collected by Street Sweeping Total PUBLIC SERVICES MOTOR POOL $ 68,200 17,800 272,400 69,400 175,000 $602,800 Council Member Anderson made a motion, seconded by Council Member Miller, and unanimously carried, that the Public Services' Fleet Division reduce fleet maintenance, parts support, and administrative staff for a budget savings of $201,200 ($100,000 General Fund Portion) FIRE DEPARTMENT Council Member Anderson made a motion, seconded by Council Member Miller, and unanimously carried, that the budget enhancement measure to establish a Fire Department plan review fee, be tabled. REDUCTIONS - ALREADY INCLUDED IN PRELIMINARY BUDGET City Administrator's Office Council Member Miller made a motion, seconded by Council Member Anderson, and unanimously carried, to approve the reduction of $108,700 in the City Administrator's budget. City Attorney's Office Council Member Devlin made a motion, seconded by Council Member Oberhelman, and unanimously carried, to approve the reduction of $194,000 in the City Attorney's budget. 4 7/3/1997 Mayor's Office Council Member Oberhelman made a motion, seconded by Council Member Devlin, and unanimously carried, to approve the reduction of $34,000 in the Mayor's budget. Manaqement Information Services Council Member Devlin made a motion, seconded by Council Member Miller, and unanimously carried, to approve the reduction of $102,600 in the Management Information Services budget. Risk Manaoement City Administrator Wilson stated that he would like to shift $15,000 in savings to 5161 (Insurance Premiums) and put funding back in the budget for outside attorneys. He added that the savings would be the same. Council Member Anderson made a motion, seconded by Council Member Arias, and unanimously carried, to approve the reduction of $277,500 in Risk Management's budget. DISCUSSION - RESTRICTIONS ON COMPUTER NETWORK FUNDING Economic Development Agency Special Counsel Sabo explained the structure of the 1996 City Hall refinancing issue, pointed out some of the limitations under the bond issue, and answered questions regarding same. He stated that two other projects which needed to be funded at that time were included within the financing as additional new money- -the computer upgrades and the City Hall elevator repairs required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorney Sabo explained that MBIA Insurance Agency was not willing to accept the computer equipment as sole collateral for the $3 million plus what was set aside for the computer purchases, and the Council was asked for authorization to include the parking structure as additional collateral fcr the computer purchase. Therefore, two facilities are subject to the bond issue--the City Hall and the parking structure. Mr. Sabo stated that since the parking structure is the security for the new portion of this bond issue, those monies are releasable at any time for a capital improvement project, and in actuality the proceeds can be used for anything that is of the nature of a capital improvement. However, since a detailed explanation of the computer upgrade program was included in the official statement to the bond holder, he would definitely want to give them notice if the money was to be used for some other project. 5 7/3/1997 Council Member Oberhelman stated that at the previous meeting a statement had been made that these funds could be used only for capital improvements with a life expectancy of ten years or greater, yet he could find no such restriction in the official statement on the bond issue. He added that he did not think any accountant would consider computer equipment as having a lifetime of ten years. Discussion ensued regarding the nature of a capital improvement versus a maintenance project. Mr. Sabo stated that anything that is at least a three-year or five-year asset could be considered a capital improvement. He also reminded the Council that the ten years would not be tied into the computer equipment anyway, because the MBIA Insurance Agency would not accept the computer equipment as collateral. Council Member Oberhelman contended that no where did the official document specify what a capital improvement is or any other thing; only that any amounts remaining in the capital improvement fund may be disbursed to the City upon receipt by the trustee of a requisition from the City. Mr. Oberhelman suggested, therefore, that this money could be used for any number of capital improvement items which the Council approved and committed to do last year, such as the $300,000- $400,000 for police cars. He noted that there are well over $3,855,000 worth of potential capital improvements that could be funded with this money. Mayor Minor stated that while they had been discussing this matter, he had read page 22 of the intent of capital improvements, wherein it states that the City will use the proceeds in the capital improvement fund to upgrade and expand its information system, upgrade the elevator system of City Hall, and other capital improvements. City Attorney Penman inquired as to how much money had been allocated for the elevator upgrades, and was informed that it was approximately $250,000. He pointed out that the City was required to do the elevator upgrades only if the restrooms on the first floor were not made handicap accessible; and since the restroom renovations had been completed, the Attorney General's Office had stated that there was no requirement to upgrade the elevators at this time. Therefore, the City has over $200,000 that can be used for other capital improvements. Mayor Minor stated that, in his opinion, the Council had two choices relative to the MIS upgradeuthey could fully fund the computers in the total amount requested, or they could choose not to utilize the additional funds requested through bond issuance and realize a savings of $400,000 a year at debt retirement. 6 7/3/1997 Council Member Oberhelman stated that based on information provided on June 30 by Janis Ingels, Director of Management Information Services (MIS), his suggestion would be that the Council approve the police and fire Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS) replacement for $2.1 million dollars, in addition to the police grant of $1,114,251. He added that this would certainly demonstrate an intention to use a substantial portion of the money as was stated in the official bond statement. This would still leave approximately $1.7 million which could be worked into other capital improvement costs for the coming year, thereby freeing up that amount of money from the General Fund. Janis Ingels, Director of Management Information Services, advised the Council that she had been informed by the vendor that he had made a big mistake in rushing to give the City a figure relative to "pulling the project apart", and he should have consulted with the contractor and subcontractors first. She stated that there is one prime contractor and nine subcontractors, and it would be necessary to do a complete reconfiguration and put together an entirely new set of technical specifications. This could take weeks, or even months, which would create a serious problem to the vendor and the Police Department. She stressed that the City truly needs to replace both systems, and the City would lose the discount it is receiving by doing one project rather than two higher priced projects. Council Member Devlin expressed concern relative to upgrading the computer system in piecemeal fashion, stating that the City has some antiquated equipment that would still need to be maintained at a higher premium each year. He stated that earlier the suggestion had been made that if the City took the entire $3.8 million there would be a savings of approximately $400,000; however, he wondered how much of the $400,000 would have to be put back into the old system in order to keep it running. He added that he was not sure there would be a savings. Director Ingels stated that maintenance costs increase proportionately each year because maintenance vendors do not want to continue maintaining extremely old equipment. However, of even more importance is the fact that the City is basically at a standstill. We can't continue to upgrade the system--it's beyond upgrading--and we can't add new users. She noted that requests to add users is far beyond what the system can accommodate at this point, and the City is in a position where it can't continue to do the work. Ms. Ingels added that throughout the discussion regarding the office automation replacement it sounded like there is public safety and non public safety; however, the biggest user of office automation in the City is the Police Department, and the Fire Department would like to be one of the biggest users. She stated 7 7/3/1997 that office automation is not the City only and CAD/RMS is not the police only; the complete system affects all departments. Council Member Oberhelman explained that when the Council approved submission of the proposal for the grant, it was not contingent on upgrading the City-wide office automation system. The Council is now being told that if they don't approve the expenditure of $4.7 million dollars, including the grant money, that the City can't take advantage of the grant. He stated that his suggestion was based on information provided by Ms. Ingels on June 30, that the City could do the police and fire CAD/RMS replacement for $2.1 million dollars, in addition to the $1,114,251 from the grant. Council Member Oberhelman continued, stating that the $1,238,000 includes the City's match in the grant; therefore, they could protect the grant, provide the needed replacement of the Police Department CAD/RMS systems (including the Fire Department because they need to be a part of the system), by spending $2.1 million of the $3,885,000 and applying the balance towards current budget problems. Council Member Devlin stated that not only would it take a lot more time to "pull the proposal apart", but it would probably cost significantly more than $2.1 million dollars. He noted that at this time the total cost stood at $2.8 million. Ms. Ingels reiterated that the vendor, after talking with the contractor and subcontractors, was very upset that he had given that figure out. Mayor Minor inquired as to the total amount the City had asked for in the bonds for the capital improvement of the computer. Special Counsel Sabo answered that $3.3 million had been requested. Mayor Minor stated that if the Council and staff had something less than full implementation of this MIS system in mind, they would have asked for less money in the bonds so they would not have to make the debt service payment on it. He stated that when this action was taken, he was working under the assumption that they were doing the whole package, and he thought everyone else was under that assumption also. He added that he could think of no other reason why they would ask for that much money if that was not what they were going to do. Council Member Member Devlin, that (Note: There was no Negrete made a motion, seconded by Council the computer network funding be approved. vote taken.) Council Member Oberhelman urged the Council not to approve this, stating that there was no dollar amount in the official statement, and when the Council approved the refinancing there was 8 7/3/1997 a great deal of discussion that they were not approving the complete computer system upgrade. He stated that the Council was told repeatedly that it would be brought back to them, and when they approved paying for the consultant to develop the Request for Proposal, they were told they were not approving the computer upgrade. He stated that the reason they decided to do the bond issue for that amount was because the interest rates were very favorable. Council Member Curlin stated he was prepared to support the Mayor's call for approval of the complete computer upgrade project. Council Member Anderson stated that she concurred with Council Member Oberhelman; that the Council needed to use their unique skills and the money they have to balance this budget. Council Member Miller stated that the Council knows it will be necessary to do the whole City system, and the Request for Proposal was done this way because they knew it would cost less than if the two projects were done separately. Ms. come to discount Ingels informed the them on July 21; and they could not Council that the proposal was ready to that the City was getting a volume just pull the project apart. City Administrator Wilson explained that Ms. Ingels would bring forward all the purchase agreements and approvals at the second meeting in July, which would be the meeting when the Council would actually make the decision to award the contracts. The project was brought forward this date for informational purposes only and there was no need for a motion at this time. Council Members Negrete and Devlin rescinded their motion. There was no further action taken on this matter. MANAGEMENT/CONFIDENTIAL UNIT - SALARY & BENEFIT ISSUES Deborah Biggs, President of the San Bernardino Confidential- Management Association, stated that the association represents 126 employees--101 general management-confidential, 15 police management, and 10 fire management. She pointed out that said employees have had only two salary adjustments since 1989; the last one being two and one-half years ago, although the safety employees did receive increases during this time frame. Ms. Biggs added that the management-confidential employees are not opposed to continuing negotiations for any form of reductions; however, this should be done equally, across the board to all employees. Ms. Biggs pointed out that the last salary survey performed for the Management-Confidential Unit indicated that the average salary of management-confidential employees was 7.5 percent below 9 7/3/1997 the market median; in fact, one-fourth of the positions in the study were between 11 and 23 percent below the market median. She asked the Council to consider the following items if they were going to consider cutting the compensation of the management- confidential employees: First of all, the retention problem. Since said employees are already below the market median, reducing compensation would force employees to seek employment elsewhere. She stated that she had been with the City for ten years, and only two of the present department heads were here when she was hired. The others have gone on to greener pastures. She pointed out that recently it has become necessary to offer top-level management the top step of their salary range and car allowances in order to interest them in San Bernardino versus the first step of the salary range offered ten years ago. Secondly, there is compaction of salary. If the compensation and benefits of the management-confidential personnel are decreased as mid-manager and other employee rates are increased, it creates a compaction of salary, which again causes a retention and recruitment problem. Discussion ensued regarding the cost of the benefit package for management-confidential employees; and Barbara Dillon, Director of Personnel, clarified the options and costs for management- confidential employees and their families, versus that of the other employee organizations. Also discussed were car allowances, and the fact that certain employees have car allowances included in their contracts. It was also pointed out that the Mayor and Council and other elected officials get the same benefits as the management-confidential unit. City Attorney Penman stated that in addition to the written agreements that the City has, there are a number of management- confidential personnel who came to the City after negotiations, and benefits played a big part in their recruitment/retention. He also pointed out that the management-confidential unit is not exclusively high-paid, highest-level department heads, but includes many employees in the confidential unit who have much lower paying jobs; particularly the clerical personnel. Mr. Penman explained that by law the confidential unit is composed of people who have access to confidential labor-management negotiations and must be in a unit separate from the general employee. He also used the City Attorney's Office as an example of the fact that attorneys can earn a great deal more money in private practice; however, the benefits offer an enticement when recruiting for these positions. In summation, Mr. Penman pointed out that most of the management-confidential employees are very dedicated people, and in - 10 7/3/1997 attempting to reduce their salaries and/or benefits the Council needs to look at the whole picture and understand that they would not just be reaching out and hitting eight or nine highly-paid individuals, but a lot of other people as well. Mayor Minor spoke in support of the City's department heads and management-confidential unit and asked the Council to discard the idea of reducing their salaries and/or benefits. Council Member Arias commented on the outstanding management staff within the City that she has worked with since being elected to the Council. COUNCIL MEMBER CURLIN EXCUSED At 8:43 p.m., Council Member Curlin left the Council meeting. Council Member Oberhelman stated that he was familiar with the theory relative to using benefits to attract and retain the best employees; however, these theories were advanced under different economic times, and he did not feel any reluctance to suggesting that modest adjustments be made in the benefits of 126 people, if through that action even one person's job could be saved. There was no further action or discussion on this matter. PRESENTATION OF FINAL REPORT - AD HOC BUDGET COMMITTEE (2) There was no action taken on this matter. ADJOURNMENT At 8:47 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. meeting of the Mayor and Common Council will be Monday, July 7, 1997, in the Council Chambers North "D" Street, San Bernardino, California. (3) The next regular held at 8:00 a.m., of City Hall, 300 RACHEL CLARK CITY CLERK BY No. of Items: 3 No. of Hours: 2 11 7/3/1997