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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - May 28, 2019 - CC, Special MeetingCITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL MONDAY, MAY 28, 2019 – 6:30 P.M. The City Council of the City of Azusa, met in Special Session at the above date and time in the Azusa Light & Water Conference Room, located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, CA 91702. Mayor Rocha called the meeting to order at 6:55 P.M. ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by City Clerk Cornejo. Councilmember Carrillo arrived at 7:10 p.m., after roll call. PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: GONZALES, CARRILLO, MACIAS, ALVAREZ, ROCHA ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ALSO PRESENT Elected Officials: City Clerk Cornejo. Staff Members: City Manager Gonzalez, City Attorney Martinez, Director of Finance Johnson, Director of Economic and Community Development Marquez, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Bobadilla, Director of Information Technology and Library Services Graf, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management Bragg, Director of Utilities Robledo, Director of Recreation and Family Services Carpenter, Chief of Police Hunt, Planning Manager Munoz, Assistant Director of Finance Honis, Police Captain Grant, Assistant Director of Public Works Delgadillo, Community Improvement Manager McMinn, Building Official Meyers, Storekeeper Alvarez, Economic Development Specialist Campos, Budget Administrator Lam, Senior Management Analyst Smith, Assistant Director – Resource Management Torres, Senior Electrical Engineer Vuong, Utilities Administrative and Financial Services Manager Tran, Assistant Director – Water Operations Macias, Utility Programs Specialist Reid, Assistant Chief Deputy City Clerk Juarez and Chief Deputy City Clerk Garcia. PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Jorge V. Rosales stated that he submitted a list of questions to the Director of Finance regarding the budget, which will be answered at a later time; and regarding City Council priorities, he encouraged consideration of low income and affordable housing, and not consider the Utility Users Tax Modernization at this time. SCHEDULED ITEMS FISCAL YEAR 2019/20 CITY, AZUSA PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY, AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY PRELIMINARY OPERATING AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN BUDGET REVIEW Director of Finance Johnson provided an overview of budgeting strategies, budget development, and the economic outlook; the FY 2019/20 General Fund Highlights include a structurally imbalanced budget with a projected shortfall of $2.3 million; the uncommitted reserve fund balance is expected to decrease to $9.9 million by the end of FY 2019/20; and the restructuring of the Recreation and Family Services, Library, and Public Works Departments. City Manager Gonzalez presented the proposed restructuring of the Public Works Department which would absorb Parks Operations from the Recreation and Family Services Department; the proposed renaming of the Recreation & Family Services to the Community Resources Department; and the Community Resources Department would absorb both the Library Department and the Transit Division from Public Works. Director of Finance Johnson provided an overview of the five year budget forecast which projects a $2.3M budget deficit in FY 2019/20; the Current General Fund Cash Reserve Policy includes $6.6M for budget stabilization and catastrophic events, $1.5M for capital and infrastructure replacement, $1.0M for insurance, and $1.5M for retiree benefits; cash reserves are projected to be approximately $767K below the current reserve target by the end of FY 2019/20. Three options to address the forecasted budget deficits are 1) Use reserves to cover projected deficits, 2) Make budget cuts by reducing services offered to the community, and 3) Enhance revenues, including consideration of extraordinary measure(s); and the City is currently undergoing a survey/outreach to assess Community wishes in order to gauge willingness to consider ballot measures to enhance revenues. CONSENT ITEM E-1 In response to questions posed by the Council, Director of Finance Johnson stated that the survey is currently being developed and will be done through the mail; community meetings will also take place; and information will be available soon. The FY 2019/20 General Fund Forecasted Revenues are $44.2M which is an approximate 1% decrease from the current year. The FY 2019/20 General Fund Proposed Expenditures include a 50% reallocation of the Senior Management Analyst position to the City Manager/Neighborhood Services Budget; $25,000 allocation to professional services for grant writing; $1.3M for citywide costs associated with filling vacant positions and retirements, and insurance premium increases; there is a ($1.3M) decrease to Library Services because it is being absorbed by the proposed Community Resources Department; $2.2M increase to Public Safety is due to increase PERS costs; Vacation and sick leave payoffs were removed from employee benefits and placed into respective departments which results in a ($1M) decrease to employee benefits; the fire safety contract increase by $795K; and a $2.2M increase to Public Works is due to the absorption of the Parks Operation In response to questions posed by the Council regarding an increase in the Economic Development Department, Director of Finance Johnson stated that it is partially due to salary, as well as The Promenade. The FY 2018/19 General Fund Proposed Expenditures are $46.5M which is a $4.2M increase from the current fiscal year; and an overview of General Fund Expenditures by function, was provided. The proposed FY 2019/20 Citywide Budget was $170,824,858 and summarized as follows: General Fund - $46,566,793; Internal Services Fund - $13,008,680; Special Revenue Fund - $16,758,085; Debt Service Fund - $3,641,315; Enterprise Fund - $85,846,997; Capital Projects Fund - $608,688; and Successor Agency Fund - $4,394,300. Personnel requests have a Total Estimated Impact of $137,230; there are currently 272 full-time positions, the proposed budget increases the number of full-time positions to 274 and decreases the number of part-time positions accordingly; Total full-time equivalent (FTEs) positions for FY 19/20 is 332; and a summary of FTE positions over the last 10 years was provided. An overview of the Citywide Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was provided; the proposed Five-Year CIP budget is $43,135,135 with $30K funded from the General Fund, $11.6M funded from Non-General Fund sources, $2.9M is unfunded, and $29M includes carryovers from FY 2018/19; an overview of Citywide CIP major categories and new funding by category were provided. Director of Finance Johnson presented the Finance Department budget which included $4,200 for a salary range update for the Assistant Director of Finance; A non-personnel budget increase of $266,060 includes $6,200 for a mandatory GASB 75 OPEB study, $1,470 for the year-end auditing contract, $25,180 for the scheduled Water Loan repayment increase, and $215,918 for the cost of insurance premium increases. Director of Human Resources and Risk Management Bragg presented the Human Resources/Risk Management Budget; Operating (non-personnel) Highlights include an overall HR/Risk budget increase of $162,055 which includes a ($165,450) decrease in professional services for the ADA Compliance Study, $40,200 increase in workers compensation premiums, $243,300 increase in General Liability premiums, and a $36,335 increase of Property Coverage premiums. Director of Information Technology and Library Services Graf presented the Information Technology Budget; Highlights include an overall non-personnel budget decrease of ($13,222) which includes ($15,100) for reduced telephone and cell phone contracts, $25,000 for an email migration study, $28,890 for an increase in hardware support costs, and a ($56,000) decrease for telecom study performed in FY 2018/19; Significant Capital Outlay requests include $150,000 for the phone system cabling infrastructure for continued phone system replacement project, and $328,500 for an HDL system replacement for the Building/Planning/Code divisions. Director of Economic and Community Development Marquez presented the Economic and Community Development Budget; A non-personnel budget increase of $81,170 includes a Planning/Building/Community Improvement net decrease of ($57,630), Economic Development increase of $67,200 for real estate market analysis and place making, Real Estate Development increase of $71,600 for costs associated with leasing spaces at 890 The Promenade, and a Capital Improvement Project request of $30,000 for tenant improvements for 890 The Promenade. In response to questions posed by the Council, Staff stated that there has been some interest from possible tenants at 890 The Promenade; and once tenants are secured, the Item would be presented to the Council in Closed Session for Real Property Negotiations. Acting Assistant Fire Chief Inman provided an overview of the Los Angeles County Fire Services Contract which includes an increase of $794,455; credits may be accumulated depending on services provided in the City, and those credits will offset the cost of the Contract. Staff added that credits are recorded as revenues. In response to questions posed by the Council, he stated that the majority of increases are due to contract negotiations with County personnel. PAGE TWO –5/28/2019 Chief of Police Hunt presented the Public Safety Budget which included $53,080 for the addition of a full-time Administrative Technician and deletion of a part-time Administrative Technician, and the reclassification of the Police Administrative Manager to Police Administrative Services Manager and Custodian of Records; a non-personnel budget increase of $194,626 includes a $63,821 increase for crossing guard, jail, and human services contracts, a $46,671 increase for police IT cost increases, and a $84,134 increase for various police safety and EOC costs; and Significant Capital Outlay requests include $183,595 for four vehicles with fittings, and $84,975 for a FARA Laser Scanner. Director of Recreation and Family Services Carpenter presented the Community Resources Budget which included $47,015 for the addition of a new full-time Recreation Coordinator position and deletion of a part-time Office Specialist I; non-personnel budget increases include $18,277 for an earlier swim season, and $10,000 for various maintenance and repairs at the Senior Center; and Capital Outlay requests include $32,850 for furniture replacement at the Senior Center, $27,375 for renovations at Memorial park, and $10,950 for updates at the Woman’s Club. In response to questions posed by the Council, Director of Recreation and Family Services Carpenter stated that the Department increased the number of swim classes offered; and Staff has made a proactive approach to put groups from other cities on a schedule. Director of Public Works/City Engineer Bobadilla presented the Public Works Budget; non-personnel budget increases included $55,442 for increased landscaping and tree maintenance costs, $31,220 for contract increases for projected engineering projects, and a ($31,400) decrease for the removal of one-time facilities costs; Significant Capital Outlay requests include $474,830 for a sewer truck, $177,905 for a sewer backhoe/loader, and $98,550 for a wide area rotary mower; Capital Improvement Project requests include $30,000 for the fencing upgrade at Pioneer Park, $232,220 for the Library HVAC replacement, and $115,000 for city-wide sidewalk improvements. In response to questions posed by the Council, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Bobadilla stated that Staff will evaluate lighting at all city parks. Director of Utilities Robledo presented the Light & Water Budget which included $32,935 for the addition of a new Environmental Programs Manager classification, the freezing of the Utilities Communication and Environmental Specialist position, and the reclassification of three Customer Service Representative III positions to three Utility Billing Specialist positions; non-personnel operations include total water operations increases of $230,404, and total electric operations increases of $2,900,367; Significant Capital Outlay requests include $110,776 for four vehicle replacements for field staff, $151,110 for a water backhoe, and $150,690 for an electric line crew supervisor replacement truck; Capital Improvement Projects include continued AMI deployment, multiple water transmission and main replacement projects, and city facility energy efficiency improvements. In response to questions posed by the Council, Staff stated that old equipment is either auctioned or rotated amongst other departments. City Manager Gonzalez provided an overview of the criteria for how he approves personnel requests; expressed the importance of investing in capital outlay equipment while funds are available; recapped the personnel positions that were presented to the Council; explained the importance of making city facilities more energy efficient; and further described the restructuring of city departments. Discussion ensued regarding the absorption of the Parks Division by the Public Works Department, job requirements, and the bargaining groups; employees will continue performing the same job duties, benefits will not change. In response to a question posed by the Council, City Manager Gonzalez stated that outreach regarding the budget deficit will begin over the next few months; Staff is expecting to bring a report back to the Council in October. THE CITY COUNCIL RECESSED AT 8:20 P.M. AND RECONVENED AT 8:30 P.M. CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020 City Manager Gonzalez proposed City Council Priorities that focused on the following areas: Economic Development, City Image, Financial Sustainability, Environment, Infrastructure, and Public Safety; and provided a detailed description of goals for each of the areas. Discussion ensued regarding the presented priorities; Staff will be presenting an oversize vehicle ordinance to the Council at the June 17, 2019 meeting; a subcommittee of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Government is currently working on a Regional Coyote Management Plan; the completion of The Orchard, attracting an investor for the Block 37 site, attracting tenants for the Former D Club Site, the renewal of the license agreement for the I-210 Electronic Billboard is a top priority; the continuation of city median beautification, and public safety on the Gold Line were all priorities. Chief of Police Hunt provided an update on Gold Line patrolling, enforcement, and outreach. Further discussion ensued regarding the revitalization of the Santa Fe Depot and Staff will be presenting a Letter of Agreement with Metro in the near future; and the Wayfinding Program Signage Assessment. Planning Manager Munoz provided an update on the Wayfinding Program. Discussion ensued regarding the condition of the alleyways in the City. PAGE THREE –5/28/2019 Director of Public Works/City Engineer Bobadilla provided an overview of alleyway maintenance; and Chief of Police Hunt added that increased parking enforcement in the alleyways began approximately two months ago. Discussion ensued regarding the need to evaluate softball fields to locate a permanent softball field for the little leagues. City Manager Gonzalez stated that he will begin working with Department Heads on achieving the specified goals and priorities; and will provide quarterly updates to the Council. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by consensus of the City Council. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 9:13 P.M. __________________________________________ CITY CLERK PAGE FOUR – 5/28/2019