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HomeMy WebLinkAbout23-Council Office , .; CI. OF SAN BERNARD~ - REQU.T FOR COUNCIL A.ON From: Councilman Steve Marks Subject: Ways & Means Committee Report Dept: Council Office Date: April 4, 1986 Synopsis of Previous Council action: Recommended motion: ~ " 1. That minutes of the Ways & Means Committee meeting 1986 be received and filed. held March 17, ~-/ 2. Authorize position of CATV Coordinator (See attached). 3. Discussion of Hiring Freeze. Qs;g,~.'~ Contact person: Phil Arvizo Phone: 383-5188 Supporting data attached: Yes Ward: N/A FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: N/A Source: . Finance: Council Notes: 75-0262 Agenda Item No.8 . . . . WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE March 17, 1986 ATTENDEES: Councilman Steve Marks - Chairman; Councilman Dan Frazier, Councilwoman Esther Estrada; Acting City Administra- tor - Ray Schweitzer; Director of Parks, Recreation' Com- munity Services - Annie Ramos; Mayor's Project Coordinator - Patti Gonzales; Community TV Commissioners - Russell Lackner, Stephanie Congdon. 1. SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACT ANALYSIS REPORT - Committee reviewed report by Community Services Division on social services needs of the City and directed further effort be undertaken by the Department Director to identify all the major social services provided in the community regardless of fund source. 2. NEED FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL - PRIVATE SECTOR HUMAN SERVICES TASK FORCE - Committee concerned about the impact of federal revenue cutbacks (Gramm-Rudman) on needed human services. Committee believes a joint-effort between the . ~ City, the County and the private sector (e.g. Arrowhead ~ United Way) is needed to leverage limited available dollars for human services And identify - implement more efficient service delivery system so as to minimize, as much as pos- sible, service cutbacks to the community. On March 18th County Supervisors Riordon and Hammock agreed in the appro- priateness of such a strategy. Committee recommends that City Council formally endorse this strategy and authorize its Ways & Means Committee to interface with the County Board of Supervisors to initiate the formation of a San Bernardino Human Services Task Force charged with the objectives of studying the issue as identified herein and making ap- propriate recommendations. 3. SAN BERNARDINO STARS SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION REQUEST ~ FOR FUNDING SUPPORT ($6,000) - Softball Association provided ~ . funding earlier this fiscal year. Additional funding is not warranted, especially in light of Gramm-Rudman. Committee recommends denial of request. 4. CABLE TV COORDINATOR - Committee recommendations: (approval of the Cable TV Commission and Deputy City Admini- strator proposal for the Cable TV function - SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT .23A) A. Establishment of a Cable Television Coordinator position in the Office of the City Administrator. ... . . . .. Establishment of pay Range .1i31 <$28,128 - $34,260) for the Cable Television Coordinator position. C. Authorization for the recruitment of the position to begin immediately. . B. D. Funds for the position to come from a special fund earmarked for such purpose from a specified alloca- tion of l' of the 4' franchise fees collected from the CATV franchise operators in Ban Bernardino. (This action is consistent with the stipulated purpose for which the City enacts CATV franchise laws and collects fees therefrom.) It should be noted that the position, its assigned duties and responsibilities and the public access channeling objectives of the Cable TV Commission on behalf of the community are consistent with similar legislative body findings and actions.in California and elsewhere. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A TEMPORARY HIRING FREEZE (GRAMM- RUDMAN INDUCED) - Committee directed the Deputy City Admini- strator to develop a temporary Hiring Freeze Proposal to be presented and discussed at the April 7th Council meeting. Proposal to be predicated upon the following concepts: A. The City Administrator to have the responsibility for recommending or denying Personnel Action hiring requests from All departments. B. The freeze would be in effect upon adoption until rescinded or modified by the City Council. C. Critical and emergency type positions would be exempted from the freeze. D. Appeals by affected Department Heads to the City Council can be considered. The City ought to engage in significant cost-cutting actions now in anticipation of serious cutbacks of federal revenue sharing later. Staff estimates that the City could save approximately $84,00Oper month if the proposed hiring freeze is emplemented on April 7. (SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT '23B FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR.) Meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, ~~ Councilman steve Marks Chairman Ways , Means Committee SM:ej CI. OF SAN BERNARD.O - REQUeT FOR COUNCIL A~ON From: Councilman Steve Marks Subject: Ways & Means Committee Special Meeting On Liability Insurance Problem Dept: Council Office Date: April 4, 1986 Synopsis of Previous Council action: Racommended motion: 1. That minutes of Ways & Means Committee Special Meeting On Liability Insurance Problem held March 31, 1986 be received and filed. 2. That Committee recommended actions be approved and appropriate departments implement these actions as necessary and as soon as possible. Sds;,~.'~ Contact person: Phil Arvizo Phone: 383-5188 Supporting data attached: Yes Ward: N/A FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: N/A Sou rce: Finance: Council Notes: 75-0262 Agenda Item No. ~5 . . . WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING ON LIABILITY INSURANCE PROBLEM March 31, 1986 ATTENDEES: Councilman Steve Marks - Chairman, Councilman Dan Frazier, Councilman Jack Reilly, Mayor Evlyn Wilcox, Admini- strative Assistant - Richard Bennecke, Acting City Administr- ator Ray Schweitzer, Assistant City Attorney -William Sabourin, Council Executive Assistant - Phil Arvizo, Risk Management Director - Ron Solheim. Staff reported extreme difficulty in locating a company which will provide liability insurance to the City, problem not unique to San Bernardino problem a local government tragedy nationwide! (See attached newspaper article on Task Force Report on insurance problem.) Last year the City paid $250,000 for $25 million coverage with a $250,000 deductible. The year before, the City paid $48,000 for $25 million coverage with a $100,000 deductible. A slight possibility exists that the City may be offered a policy for $15 million coverage for approximately $1.2 million premium with a $1 million deductible. In all probability the City will be .self-insured. as of 12:01 a.m. on the first of April. ACTIONS BY THE COMMITTEE: 1. Directed that the City Administrator immediately prepare an appropriate report outlining the City's experience in liability claims and other appropriate information, that the report include an analysis of needed modifications to municipal services due to liability insurance considerations. 2. Directed that the City Administrator immediately prepare an appropriate analysis on the issue of liability insurance coverage versus self-insurance break-even point, i.e., At what point is it more cost-effective for the City to be self-insured rather than buy into a liability insurance policy from an external source taking into account such factors as premium, policy limits and deductible. . - . I I . . . . 3. The possibility exists that an inter-city insurance pool will be created for select California. cities. - -Such efforts will be predicated upon minimizing risks at reason- able costs for the cities involved. Mr. Ron Solheim was directed to explore the feasibility of inter-city pools in general and the Fred S. James and Company of Irvine proposal specifically. Mr. Solheim was authorized to spend up to $5,000 for the James Company proposal analysis as required. NOTE: TO BE CONSIDERED AS ADDITIONAL ITEM TO AGEHDA ITEM NO. 23. Meeting adjourned. SM:ej Respectfully submitted, _d~ >J~ ~ Councilman Steve Marks Chairman Ways & Means Committee , . . . . . IIos.AnJete8 he. Ahernative Is Federal Subsidy, Official Says Reagan to Seek Limit on Insurance Costs By ELEANOR CLIFl', Times Staff Writer SANTA BARBARA-President make Insurance available at a rea- Reagan has decided to ask Con - sonable cost" gress for legislation to cap sky- The task force, headed by As- rocketing Insurance costs because slstant Atty. Gen. Richard K. WH- the only alternative "to averting a lard, suggested that liability be crisis in the insurance industry restricted to whomever is found would be some federal subsidy," a directly at fault in an incident, and White House official said Monday. use of higher standards for medical The form of the legislation is not and scientific opinions in court. In yet clear, but the President has addition, so-called "pain and suf- embraced the recommendations of fering" ~wards should be limited to a report by a Domestic Policy $100,000 and contingency fees, in Council task force, including limits which attorneys take a percentage on attorneys' contingency fees and of an award, should be limited, the on "pain and suffering" damage report said. awards, the official said. In a study of asbestos clalma, for The task force report, delivered example, it was found that only 37 to Reagan on March 17, was cents out of every dollar in trial prompted by the growing difficulty clalma were paid to the victims, the encountered by local governments, White House official said Monday. business and professionals in ob- Without reform, "the ultimate talning Insurance. The report said victim of this crisis is the consumer. that "explosive growth" in damage People just will not write insurance awards compared to the relatively on a given subject," the official low return on investment income said. from premiums because of declin- He noted that, for the first time, ing interest rates had severely the renowned roller coaster at damaged insurance industry prof- Coney Island, N.Y., is not operating itability. because of a lack of insurance. The report proposes a number of The average medical malpractice reforms, mostly in tort laws, de- jury verdict has undergone a five- signed to make insurance "more fold increase in 10 years, from affordable and more available," the $220,018 in 1975 to $1,017,716 in official said. "It's essentially con- 1985. sumer protection that continues to In 1985 alone, the number of '-- product liability suits in federal courts escaJated by 758%. The movement toward no-fault Insurance has also contributed to higher costs by imposing liability on persons and companies that have done nothing wrong and prompting them to file claims as well. It is unclear whether the reforms proposed by Reagan will include corresponding caps on insurance rates or profits, or whether it will attempt to simply help the industry through restrictions on the extent of liability awards that can be collected. . C I T Y o F4It A N B E R N~ R DIN 0 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM 8603-653 o . TO: Ways and Means Committee FROM: Raymond D. Schweitzer, Acting City Administrator SUBJECT: Requested Comments on Job Freeze DATE: March 31, 1986 (6665) COPIES: On June 28, 1982 and March 9, 1985, the City Council institu- ted job freezes requiring the City Administrator's approval prior to new hirees being placed on the Council Agenda. On August 2, 1982, Council authorized the City Administrator to present requests to fill budgeted positions directly to the Mayor and Council for Police Officer, Firefighter, Dispatcher and CETA participants. Attached are five exhibits. Eynibit 1 describes the person- nel procedure now; Exhibit 2 describes the procedure that has been followed during job freezes in the past; Exhibit 3 describes the future recommended procedure; Exhibit 4 lists justification procedures while Exhibit 5 shows current vacancies. There is no control over which positions became vacant. Many times very critical and productive positions become vacant rather than those of a less essential nature. During a job freeze, Department Heads and this office have kept positions vacant in order to comply with budget limitations. The failure to fill these positions always has had an adverse impact on the departmental operations. The personnel positions currently vacant indicate that a freeze implemented at this time would save approximately $83,802 (please see Exhibit 5). The recommended procedure provides for Mayor and Council to serve as an appeal process from the decision of the city Administrator RDS/md ~j . . . EXHIBIT 1 . . Current Hirinq Procedure 1. Department Heads with a vacancy contact the Person- nel Department to determine if an Eligibility List existed. If the List is available, a request is sent by the Department Head to the City Administra- tor requesting authorization to hire from the List. 2. The city Administrator reviews the request and approves or rejects. 3. If the request is approved, the Department Head conducts interviews and initiates a Personnel Action which is placed on the city Council Agenda. 4. If an Eligibility List does ment Head completes a form of the List and forwards Department. not exist, the Depart- requesting the creatin it to the Personnel 5. The Personnel Department submits create an Eligibility List to the tor. the request to city Administra- 6. The City Administrator reviews and approves or. rej ects the request.' 7. If the request is approved, ment initiates the testing, forwards the List to the conducts the interviews. the Personnel Depart- develops a List and Department Head who 8. The Department Head makes a selection and the Personnel Action is placed on the Council Agenda. . . . Exhibit 2 . . Hirinq Procedure Durinq Previou~ Freeze 1. Departments submitted requests to fill vacancies totheCity Administrator. The requests had to be submitted no later than the Monday prior tothe Council Personnel Committee meeting. 2. The ~equest was reviewed by the City Administrator with appeals from his decision to the Mayor and approved or rejected. The requests are prepared to justify overruling the freeze. (Note: in the last "freeze", the POlice, Fire & Parks & Recreation were exempt) . 3. Hiring requests approved by the City Administrator with appeals to the Mayor were submitted to the Council Personnel Committee. The time span between the submission of the request tothe city Administrator and to the Personnel Committee have been up to a maximum of 10 working days. The Personnel Committee generally met every 2 weeks on the Friday after the Council Meeting. 4. Personnel Committee reviewed the request to fill the position and approved, rejected or referred the. time back for more information. The Committee was asked to approve an Eligibility List at the same meeting if a List existed or requested to authorize the establishment of a List. 5. At the next meeting of the Council Personnel Committee which was usually 2 weeks but could have been as long as 3 weeks, the request to establish an Eligibility List or an existing Eligibility List was submitted tothe Personnel Committee for appro- val. 6. The Committee reviewed the Eligibility List or the request for the establishment of the List. If a List did not exist, the Personnel Department initiated the testing process which could take an average of 2 months to complete. The List is presented at the first Personnel Committee after it is prepared. After a List is approved, the Depart- ment Heads conduct interviews and make a selection. 7. The Personnel Action selecting a particular indivi- dual for a position is presented to the Personnel Committee. Depending upon the number of candidates involved, Personnel Actions were submitted to the Personnel Committee at the meeting following the approval of the Eligibility List which was on the average of 2 weeks but could take up to 3 weeks. 8. The Committee reviewed the proposed appointment and accepted or rejected. 9. Personnel Actions for the approved appointments . . were Placed4ltn the next ~ity Council Agenda. Depending upon the date of the Committee meeting, there was sometimes a delay of 1 week between the Committee approval and submission to the City Council. In emergencies, the Personnel Committe did grant approvals on the basis of Committee phone surveys. . . . . . EXHIBIT 3 Proposed Hirinq Procedure Durinq Freeze 1. The city Administrator will review all requests to fill budgeted positions recommending or denying Personnel Actions. The Personnel Actions are sent to ~he city council and no proposed hiree shall commence employment prior to the time such Person- nel Actions are formally approved. All Personnel Action Form denials can be appealed to the City Council. 2. The freeze would affect all departments. 3. Only critical filled. All vacant. and emergency type positons would be others would remain temporarily . C I T Y o F tt A N B ERN. R DIN 0 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM 8603-654 . EXHIBIT 4 TO: All Department/Division Heads FROM: Raymond D. Schweitzer, Acting City Administrator SUBJECT: JOB FREEZE JUSTIFICATION DATE: March 31, 1986 (6665) COPIES: ------------------------------------------------------------- During the current Administrative Freeze, below are listed some guidelines to assist you in preparing justification for Requests to Fill Vacant, Authorized, Budgeted Positions: 1. Identify and describe the specific activity or program associated with the position and the actual tasks performed on a daily basis. 2. Identify all positions involved in program and indicate whether they vacant. the activity or are filled or 3. provide workload data to support the immediate need for the position. Also provide your department's authorized strength for previous ten years. 4. Discuss the impact of the position not being filled. This information should be related to the workload data and to specific impacts on clients and/or citizens. 5. Provide recommendations on alternative methods of providing the activity or program including modif- ications to other activities and programs and/or redistribution of the workload to others involved on the same activity. .. INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM:~8603-654 JOB FREEZE JUSTIFICATION March 31, 1986 Page 2 . . The above is not meant to be all-inclusive but should only serve as a guideline. Each justification should be fully documented so that a decision can be made regarding the need to continue or-modify the program or activity. 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