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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - May 26, 2020 - CC, Special MeetingCITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL MONDAY, MAY 26, 2020 – 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 Auditorium located at 213 E. Foothill Boulevard, Azusa, CA 91702. Mayor Gonzales called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Alvarez. ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by City Clerk Cornejo. PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: GONZALES, MACIAS, ALVAREZ, AVILA, MENDEZ ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ALSO PRESENT Elected Officials: City Clerk Cornejo. Staff Members: City Manager Gonzalez, City Attorney Martinez, Director of Administrative Services Johnson, Director of Economic and Community Development Marquez, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Delgadillo, Director of Information Technology and Library Services Graf, Director of Utilities Robledo, Director of Community Resources Carpenter, Chief of Police Bertelsen, Budget Administrator Lam, and Chief Deputy City Clerk Garcia. PUBLIC COMMENT Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, public comments were submitted via email and read onto the record by City Clerk Cornejo. Frank Allen expressed his opposition to the rotation of the Mayor position stating that it should have been brought up prior to the election and the funds that will be used on this item, should be allocated to the organizations losing the firework sales fundraiser; and he expressed his disappointment in the Mayor. Jorge V. Rosales inquired about the reason that budget revenues and expenditures drastically increased from last year; inquired about what the transaction use tax revenues are in Fund 10, non-property taxes Object 4108; inquired about whether a Deputy City Manager position is needed at this time; and expressed his opposition to spending approximately $100,000 on a Special Election to consider a rotating Mayor position. Jack Vander Loop expressed his opposition to the ban on firework sales; stated that more community education is needed regarding the rotating Mayor position as the current setup has worked for many years; and stated that besides these two issues, the Council is doing a great job. SCHEDULED ITEMS FISCAL YEAR 2020/21 CITY, AZUSA PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY, AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY PRELIMINARY OPERATING AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN BUDGET REVIEW Director of Administrative Services Johnson provided an overview of the budgeting strategy and economic outlook; potential significant budget impacts include uncertainty about when the economy will stabilize, higher unemployment rates, higher pension costs anticipated in FY 2022/23, years of underfunded insurance reserves, and infrastructure and facility needs. FY 2020-21 General Fund highlights include a projected $2.3M deficit due to anticipated impacts surrounding Covid-19; cash reserves are on hand to absorb the deficit; and it is projected that the City will end FY 20/21 with $14.6M in reserves. An overview of the Cash Reserve Policy was provided; the Reserves Target is $11.3M; it is projected that the Reserves Balance will be $14.5M with a projected $3.2M of undesignated reserves. Recommended Reserve Policy updates include an increase of budget stabilization and catastrophic event reserves from 15% to 20% of budget; increase of insurance reserves from $1M to $1.5M; and increase retiree benefits reserves from $1.5M to $2.0M. The FY 2020/21 General Fund Proposed Revenues includes property tax at 25% of the budget; a 42% increase in sales tax revenues due to the implementation of Measure Z; and decreased revenues are anticipated in all other areas due to the pandemic. The FY 2020/21 General Fund Proposed Expenditures include a $625K increase in unfunded liabilities due to CalPERS Costs; a $1.2M increase due to the removal of a one-time salary savings during mid-year; $1.1M in Capital-Outlay and CIP; a decrease of $451K due to Community Resources staffing cuts in anticipation of curtailing some services due to the Stay at Home Order; low outstanding General Fund Debt Service; the final year of the 2003 Certificates of Participation Bonds; and the only remaining debt is the Water Fund Loan. The proposed FY 2019/20 Citywide Budget was $176,462,077; proposed Citywide Budget Revenues and Transfers In are $165K; Citywide FTE Summary includes 275 full-time employees and 45 employees on a part-time FTE basis; and Personnel Requests amount to $211K with no change in overall FTEs. An overview of the Citywide Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was provided; the FY 2020/21 CIP proposed budget is $11.8M with $30K funded from the General Fund, $9.4M funded from Non-General Fund sources, $2.4M is currently unfunded. The Administration Department budget includes the elimination of two full-time positions and an addition of a new full- time Deputy City Manager position which results in a $31K cost savings; and a $91K decrease to the non-personnel budget due to the elimination of March 2020 Election costs and reduction in banking contract costs. The Administrative Services budget includes $30K for mandatory accounting reports; $65K increase for the implantation of Measure Z; $611K increase in insurance claims; and a $39K increase for property insurance. The Economic and Community Development budget includes $35K for a comprehensive development impact fee and nexus study; and $91K for architect services and owner’s representative construction management for The Promenade at Citrus. The Public Safety budget includes a $178K increase for the LA County Fire Services contract; $181K Police non- personnel budget increase for crossing guard, jail, and human services contracts, police IT, and various police safety and EOC cost increases; and $224K for four vehicles. Director of Community Resources Carpenter presented the Community Resources budget which included a $450k decrease in expenditures; elderly nutrition revenues have increased 50%; the number of seniors served has doubled and the County has requested that senior meals continue to be provided by deliver only; a proposed personnel reorganization includes the reclassification of a Recreation Supervisor position to a Family Services Manager; summer recreation recruitment has paused; Recreation Staff are offering virtual recreation classes and senior offerings; and Transit services are assisting with senior meal delivery. In response to questions posed by the Council, she responded that the reclassification of four part-time Recreation Leaders to four part-time Senior Recreation Leaders allows growth opportunities and advanced trainings; the proposed elimination of a vacant part-time Custodian and part-time Recreation Leader will allow for the addition of a full-time Senior Recreation Leader which is for nutrition programming; and the eliminated positions indicate where the funding for the new positions will come from, the functions of those positions are being performed by other Staff. The Library & Information Technology budget Library Operating (non-personnel) highlights include the utilization of grant resources to increase the number of programs offered and the expansion of youth and young adult programming; IT Capital Outlay highlights include the continuance of the phone system upgrade and new VOIP phone system. The Public Works budget is mostly funded by special revenue funds; however, there is a $76K increase on the General Fund, the majority ($65K) is for biannual palm tree trimming costs; there are also Capital Outlay requests for streets and parks staff to be able to do their jobs more efficiently; Capital Improvement Project requests include $1.2M for residential sidewalk improvements, $1.6M for the raising of the median on Arrow Highway, and $20K for bus stop improvements. Utilities Director Robledo presented the Light & Water personnel requests which include a new full-time GIS Analyst position and reclassification of the current Senior IT Analyst/GIS to a GIS Coordinator; salary adjustments for the Water System Engineer and Senior Water System Engineer to bring them closer to market value; redeployment of 5 Meter Readers to Customer Service Representative III and Field Service Representatives; reclassification of a Meter Reader to a Water Distribution Worker I; and reclassification of a Meter Reader to Water Production Operator Lead. In response to questions posed by the Council, he stated that Field Service Representatives are able to do manual reads of meters if the communications fail; Field Service Representatives have a higher level of functions which allow them to take care of turn-ons and turn-offs as well as read meters; and the Water Production Operator Lead position will not be filled until all meters have been changed and the positions will be filled through attrition. Utilities Director Robledo presented the Light & Water budget highlights which include a 2-5% reduction in sales, however, it is expected that sales will recover; it is projected that the Department will have a $3M positive cashflow which includes operations and personnel; the Department will be able to fund $2M in Capital Improvement Projects and $400K in Capital Outlay on a pay-go basis; non-personnel expenses include $530K for the purchase of replacement water to recover the water table from the drought and a $623K decrease in the budget due to a carryover of funds to purchase PAGE TWO –5/26/2020 transmission rights; Capital Outlay requests include replacement of old equipment and vehicles, and a new HVAC Unit for the Gladstone Yard; Capital Improvement Projects include infrastructure replacement projects such as water mains and wood poles, advanced metering infrastructure, new customer facility expansions, and LED streetlight deployment; public benefits funds are set aside for city building improvements. In response to questions posed by the Council, he stated that the replacement of LED streetlights will be done on employee overtime as it is more cost effective than hiring a contractor to complete the project; and this will be the first year of a three year program to replace streetlights with energy efficient LED lights. Director of Administrative Services Johnson concluded the presentation stating that there are no proposed cuts in services other than what is legally mandated in light of the pandemic; the uncommitted reserve fund balance is expected to be $43K above the recommended Reserve Target; the five-year budget forecast is expected to be balanced with anticipated reserves above the recommended target ranging from $43K to $2.4M annually. She responded to questions posed by the Council stating that overall, the City is spending $2.1M above what was spent last year; the projected $2.3M deficit is largely due to the increase in the 2003 Certificates of Participation, the removal of the $1M salary savings, increase to Fire Safety Contract, retiree medical benefits, and CalPERS; the Pension Obligation Bonds were put on hold due to the pandemic because of current market conditions and also, the courts have delayed the item due to closures and reduced hours; the fire services contract will increase $177K and of the $188K increase to Police costs, $93K is for crossing guard, jail, and human services contracts; it is estimated that Measure Z will bring in $3.3M; and Staff is being prudent with the budget due to the circumstances of the pandemic. Director of Public Works/City Engineer Delgadillo responded to questions posed by the Council stating that the increase in tree maintenance costs is for an annual palm tree trimming which is the majority of the cost, and also a biannual trimming of Chinese Elm Trees; all other trees are on a four year cycle. City Manager Gonzalez stated that the salary of the proposed Deputy City Manager position will be similar to that of other Department Heads which is an estimated $160K; when you combine the salary and fringe benefits of the two positions of Senior Management Analyst and Neighborhood Services Coordinator, the position of Deputy City Manager would save approximately $31K annually; and the hiring freeze that was discussed last year would only be replacing critical positions, this new position is a cost savings and efficiency proposal. City Manager Gonzalez provided details regarding The Promenade at Citrus Project which will be leased for a security office and yield approximately $200K annually in revenues; it is hopeful that the tenants will occupy the building within 6-12 months; and an update will be provided to the Council in the next month. Chief of Police Bertelsen responded to questions posed by the Council stating that Police Officer overtime budget for two years ago due to special units in the community; the Department has since worked to reduce costs and overtime; the current overtime budget is related to mandatory details and shortages; there are some officer special details in which overtime is funded by grants; the issue with hiring police officers is nationwide; there are currently 5 vacancies and two officers are nearing retirement; details regarding patrol vehicle costs were provided; there is currently 1 traffic officer and 1 reserve traffic officer; IT cost increases include an offsite backup system, hardware, and desktops; and an overview of recruitment issues was provided. City Manager Gonzalez provided an overview of the differences between a Deputy City Manager and Assistant City Manager positions. There was discussion regarding concerns about the proposed Deputy City Manager position. Director of Administrative Services Johnson responded to questions regarding relief funds and Covid-19 stating that at this time there are no funds available for revenue recovery; Staff is working with the State to obtain relief for any expenditure incurred as a result of the pandemic. City Manager Gonzalez provided an update on available funding. Director of Administrative Services Johnson and City Manager Gonzalez provided an overview of the forecasted budget, revenue expectations, and reserves balances. Director of Economic and Community Development Marquez provided an update on the Edgewood Shopping Center. Discussion ensued regarding the budget and direction to Staff; there was interest in allocating addition funding to the Police Department for traffic enforcement and additional officers; concerns were expressed regarding the Deputy City Manager position and there was support for the position expressed as well; and interest in having future budget workshops televised in the auditorium. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by consensus of the City Council. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 8:40 P.M. _________________________________________ CITY CLERK PAGE THREE – 5/26/2020