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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPCC Minutes 1991-06-19SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGE, HEARINGS Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1991, AT 7:00 P.M. Special Meeting: Present: Lawrence E. Mulryan, Chairman/Mayor San Rafael City Council/ Albert J. Boro, Member/Councilmember San Rafael Redevelopment Agency Dorothy L. Breiner, Member/Councilmember Michael A. Shippey, Member/Councilmember Joan Thayer, Member/Councilmember Absent: None Also Present: Pamela J. Nicolai, Executive Director/City Manager Gary T. Ragghianti, Agency Attorney/City Attorney Jeanne M. Leoncini, Agency Secretary/City Clerk Ransom E. Coleman, Finance Director 1. BUDGET HEARING - PRELIMINARY 1991-92 BUDGET - File 8-5 x R-103 TRANSPORTATION & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Public Works - Page 38 Consolidated - Page 38 Public Works Director Bernardi explained they are freezing approximately 13,000 hours of labor by freezing various positions over the past 6 years. He stated San Quentin provides approximately 2,200 manhours of labor. He stated they are looking at the service levels they are providing particularly in island maintenance. They are looking for the results of the management study to reorganize the Parks and Islands divisions so they can be consolidated for more efficiency. Admin./Engineering - Page 40 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained this reflects one frozen position. She stated the salary costs reflect increases through the MAPE agreement for non- management positions. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Engineering budget in concept in the amount of $870,050. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Street Maintenance - Page 44 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained this part of the Public Works Budget, stating they were adding one more to a pre-existing frozen position, making it two frozen positions. She indicated it is taking longer for the street maintenance to be done due to stricter regulations on various components used on the streets, i.e. paint. She also stated that this work is seasonal, depending on the weather. Member/Councilmember Shippey stated his understanding was the much of the work on his street was being done by contractors. Public Works Director Bernardi answered affirma- tively. Mr. Shippey asked what the relationship of effort was of contractors vs. employees and can it be adjusted in view of the current budget situation? Mr. Bernardi stated that the City employees provide basically maintenance to the streets. The street resurfacing program uses more specialized equipment requiring outside contractors. This is more cost effective, due to the fact that the City does not have this equipment and it would be very expensive to purchase it. Mr. Shippey asked what the effect would be if the City went more to the use of contractors. Mr. Bernardi stated it would be more expensive to have a contractor do the mainten- ance that the City employees do now. Member/Councilmember Breiner asked if the City ever resurfaced its own streets. Mr. Bernardi answered negatively. Member/Councilmember Shippey asked if this division between the contractors and the City employees has always been in place. Mr. Bernardi answered affirmatively. Member/Councilmember Boro asked how many miles of street were paved last year. Mr. Bernardi answered 3, miles and stated they should be paving 10 miles per year. Mr. Boro asked if this was the Department responsible to spot sidewalk movement as a result of trees growing, which the City is consistently receiving claims for. Mr. Bernardi stated there are two responsible divisions: 1) the tree division is SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 1 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 LJDGET HEARINGS Page 2 responsible for the tree that causes the problem, and 2) Street Maintenance Division is responsible for the sidewalk. Mr. Bernardi stated they have contracted out some of the sidewalk work to contractors in order to get the work done, due to lack of time available. Mr. Boro stated the City was getting these claims after the damage is done or someone is injured and he wanted to know which division takes care of spotting these problems before this happens. Mr. Bernardi stated that anyone from the Department who is out in the field and notices any damage will report it to the Street Maintenance Division. They are responsible to go out and replace the asphalt over the tripping hazard and log it so that some time in the future, they can go back and physically replace the sidewalk. Mayor Mulryan asked whether, given the present budget constraints, they are able to replace the asphalt where needed. Mr. Bernardi stated that this is a temporary measure and they do need to go back and make a better repair job. He stated there is a significant exposure in terms of square feet yet to be repaired. The staff can do these repairs, but they cannot affect the long-time repair. Member/Councilmember Boro asked about the statistics on Page 43 in regard to the pounds of crack sealing and what this relates to. Mr. Bernardi stated that this is for City repair of streets to keep up their maintenance. He stated there are too many problems on the sidewalks, so as the crews are working in the field and notice the tripping hazard, they will notify the supervisor in this division for action. Mrs. Breiner and Mr. Boro asked if Public Works has statistics and is logging these. Mr. Boro stated he thought they would be better off having a list and then indicating that there is a liability that is not being solved rather than having residents finding this the hard way and the City paying for the liability of fixing the problem and paying the claim. He stated they would be better off assessing it and finding some way to fund it even if they have to go to a third party. Mayor Mulryan stated there is some problem with this in that if they document the problem acknowledging that the department knew about it, then not handle it, that would set up the City for liability. Member/Councilmember Shippey asked about the survey done in 1989. Mr. Bernardi stated that at that time (1989) Public Works noted and logged approximately 60,000 square feet of sidewalk that needed to be replaced. He approximated adding another 1/3rd to that figure now, noting that to replace a sidewalk is roughly $10 to $12 a square foot to remove and replace it. Mr. Shippey stated it was hard to relate how much they are short in terms of dollars to how much is being paid out in claims. Ms. Nicolai stated that out of four Capital Improvements projects, $25,000 is just for sidewalk repair. She stated it was over $100,000 a year ago. She stated they can get a full scope of this if they are talking about generating a new revenue option or allowing them to address it. Part of this is timing, if it is addressed quickly enough. There have been quite a few areas that have been patched and the Division does know about this. Mayor Mulryan stated that if they had a list of the dangerous areas that have been patched and identified as tripping hazards they could go no farther. Mr. Boro suggested having a reserve fund for this need. Member/Councilmember Breiner asked if a program could be put into effect by setting up a fund to deal with this, where the homeowner is willing to pay one-quarter of the cost and the City will pick up the remaining three-quarters of the cost which would make the homeowners go out and inspect their own sidewalks, as well. Member/Councilmember Shippey stated that the average homeowner does not know how much money the City is paying out on these types of claims. Mr. Bernardi stated that the homeowner has not been liable in the past unless the problem is because of something they have done. He also stated that they would like to work on the suggestion of Member/Councilmember Breiner about divesting them- selves of some of the trees by possibly giving them to the property owners. Member/Councilmember Thayer brought up the fact that another city on the Peninsula found that they could not do this. Ms. Nicolai stated that long term it might be worth it if they could come up with a Landscaping and Lighting Act or some new revenue source to put a significant amount of money into getting street trees trimmed and the sidewalks repaired and then divest it so that they eliminate any future ongoing maintenance responsibility. This would be a significant investment up front, but get rid of an ongoing obligation and possible liability. She stated it could be also dovetailed in with the Tree View and Preservation Ordinance. Member/Councilmember Breiner asked if the department is inspecting the downtown street trees on a more regular basis. Mr. Bernardi answered affirmatively and stated all of the trees in the downtown have been planted with root guards. Mrs. Breiner stated there were some sidewalks on Fourth Street that needed replacing. Mr. Bernardi stated that these are more the responsibility of the property owner because there SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 2 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 bJDGET HEARINGS Page 3 is nothing that the City has done to cause the deterioration of the sidewalk. Mrs. Breiner indicated she thinks the City should be giving the merchants notice on this. Chairman/Mayor Mulryan stated he thought it was a good idea to have a program tied with an Ordinance on some way to fund this at one time, and then in the longer term try to shed this responsibility. Mr. Boro asked on Page 43, re cracked sealing, because of the high amount done in 1988 and the reduction in pounds used in 1990 does this mean the streets are going to start to deteriorate. Mr. Bernardi stated they did a lot of cracked sealing in 1988 so they would get ahead of it for a number of years and devote themselves to other areas. He stated they have not gotten to the point of being able to use that much sealing since then and have devoted their time to other endeavors. Member/Councilmember Thayer expressed her concern with the hours spent handsweeping and asked if they could get some more people from the prison system to do this hand - sweeping more often. Mr. Bernardi stated they have used the prisoners from San Quentin in the Canal area and it has been very effective. The other possibility is with the Marin Conservation Corps if they can get a grant with some foundation to hire local people. This would serve a local need and instill pride in the community. He stated they are looking at a number of different options. He stated moving of parked vehicles creates a number of logistics problems, especially for the Police Department in their enforcement of this. He stated he has talked with the Police Chief about a possible volunteer program and they concluded it would not work because there really is no place for the cars. If they started ticketing and towing, it would hurt those people who could least afford to pay to get their cars back which would create some other social problems. Member/Councilmember Boro stated that this was an issue they talked about often in the East San Rafael Neighborhood Task Force in the past year. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Street Maintenance (Consolidated) budget in concept, in the amount of $1,692,645. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Garage - Page 46 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained this section reflects one frozen position. The only significant issue in this Division is they are asking for some capital outlay funds related to the emission testing analyzer and items that are necessary to maintain the vehicles and monitor the systems for vehicle registration, etc. Public Works Director Bernardi stated the State requires them to do an emissions audit of one-half of the fleet every year. He stated they can perform that test on the vehicles for about $7.00 per vehicle as opposed to $25.00 or $30.00 on the outside. Member/Councilmember Shippey asked a question relating to Supplies and Services. He asked if this is the Division that purchases the cars for the City. Mr. Bernardi answered that Supplies and Services covers parts and labor only for all the City vehicles, with the exception of the Fire Department. Member/Councilmember Shippey moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Garage Budget in concept, in the amount of $498,302. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Land Development - Page 48 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained this division's activities, noting that one position is going to a half time position. She stated if the building fees go up, there might be enough financing to make this a full position again at a later date. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Land Development Budget in concept, in the amount of $392,503. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 3 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 edDGET HEARINGS Page 4 Parks, Street Trees, Islands & Parkways - Page 50 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained that these two actual divisions should be put together because there is some overlap. There has been discussion this year about adding land and expanding and enhancing parks. She stated they are trying to divest the City of some of the school pools maintenance to the Redevelopment Agency, as well as the playing fields. She indicated they are con- tracting out to have most of the street trees done, noting they had problems recruiting and keeping people in the three person street tree crew and Workers Compensation liability has been an ongoing problem. Member/Councilmember Shippey asked if this ties in with the reclaimed water project and is the lack of funds limiting this process. Mr. Bernardi stated that the Water District is extending the main lines in the streets to serve Kaiser Hospital and Freitas Park. The Water District will, at no cost to the City, extend a line from the main in the street to the Park and basically install the water service and the meter to provide the reclaimed water service to the City. As soon as this is done, the City's system will be ready to accept the reclaimed water within the irrigation system and can get the ponds working, etc. Mr. Shippey asked about the timing. Mr. Bernardi stated MMWD is looking at August to have that much completed. Mr. Shippey asked if MMWD is doing it all for the City and the City is not being hurt on the funding aspect. Mr. Bernardi answered affirmatively. Member/Councilmember Boro asked on Page 52 about the 4 year span of increases in wages and salaries, which is considerably higher than the previous page for the same number of employees. He stated that over 4 years, this is a 75% increase in Salaries & Wages compared to the prior page with the same number people which is a 15% or 16% increase. Mr. Bernardi stated that it was a contract year and it was a split increase so that this year when looking at the costs, they are looking at a higher basis. Also included in this are step increases. He stated they did not add any additional personnel. Ms. Nicolai stated that they should look at the bottom line. Part of what happened in this Division was going from having City employees to contract employees for the tree trimming. Mr. Shippey asked if contract would fall under Salaries and Wages. Ms. Nicolai answered negatively. She stated it would be under Services and Supplies, in an account called Contractual Services. Mrs. Breiner suggested that they have some of these facts narrated to the Council when there are those differences from year to year because it makes it more difficult for them to see what is cost efficient. Ms. Nicolai agreed with this for the future budget. Chairman/Mayor Mulryan stated that there could have been vacant positions. Mr. Boro asked if staff could compare again these two budgets and see how comparable they are in the number of staff. In 3 years the salaries went up 10% overall and the other went up 20% overall. Mr. Boro asked if staff will be able to sustain the life in the Parks with these cuts in the budget. Mr. Bernardi stated the Street Trees, Islands and Parkways Division spends only 35% of its time on the Islands and Parkways. The rest is spent on Parks. Next year will be a consolidation of these two divisions. There will no longer be any Islands, just one large Parks crew with a number of different responsibilities. Mr. Bernardi stated that in his opinion, the Parks are a real primary asset and the City should spend as much resources as they need to, to maintain those. He stated the Islands are not being maintained. He then gave some examples. Mr. Boro stated that he was recently at a homeowners' meeting where they talked about this, but they have a concern about the insurance issue. He stated that parts of the highway are being maintained by various clubs and wondered if the local neighborhoods might be interested in doing this type of project. Mr. Bernardi stated they have expanded into an "Adopt a Park" program where some of the neighborhood residents pitch in to maintain these parks. Mrs. Breiner asked about some of the areas that are not being maintained at this time. She wanted to know that new landscaping being put into these parks will not be labor intensive and will be water conserving. She asked when they would know what is going to happen with these changes. Mr. Bernardi stated it would be hard to estimate at this time. They need to take a look at the reorganization that needs to be done to accom- plish this. Mrs. Breiner asked how they could coordinate between the Parks, Recreation Department and Public Works to do this. Ms. Nicolai stated she has asked Recreation Director McNamee to have the Parks and Recreation Commission look at this. Then Mrs. Breiner noted on Page 50, it refers to a small amount of overtime and wanted to know what necessitates overtime. Mr. Bernardi explained that these crews are used in storm patrol in the Winter to supplement the street crews, which involves overtime. SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 4 SRRA/SRCC MSN UTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 uJDGET HEARINGS Page 5 Mr. Shippey asked about having an automated irrigation system to make parkettes less labor intensive. Mr. Bernardi explained that they converted these last year to automatic irrigation. It is now a question of how often the mowing crew can get out to mow the parkettes. They are mowing every 10 days now and will be moved back to every 15 days. Mr. Shippey noted there was a difference between the Parks Budget Services and Supplies where it went down while it went up in the Street Trees, Islands and Parkways, which was very curious. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Parks Budget in concept in the amount of $709,964 and the Street Trees, Islands and Parkways Budget in concept in the amount of $783,150. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Electrical Maintenance - Page 55 Public Works Director Bernardi stated they have an informal contract with a local electrical company to maintain the traffic signal system and perform any repairs on City buildings that require an electrician. Member/Councilmember Breiner asked about the $4,000 used under the Tree Lighting Program on Fourth Street. Mr. Bernardi stated this is used for two reasons: 1) vandalism, and 2) as the trees grow, the lights need to be redistributed. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Electrical Maintenance Budget in concept, in the amount of $90,000. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Building Maintenance - Page 56 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained they have a 3 person maintenance crew who do minor repairs on facilities and paint, etc. Member/Councilmember Shippey asked about the Salaries & Wages part of this budget. Ms. Nicolai stated that an employee retired and the person promoted into this position started at a much lower step than the prior employee. There was significant savings because of this change. Member/Councilmember Thayer moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Building Maintenance Budget in concept in the amount of $147,706. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Sanitary Sewers - Page 57 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai stated that this is contracted to the San Rafael Sanitation District to take care of the sewer system. This Division is fully funded through a contract with the San Rafael Sanitation District who approved the budget this morning. The funds are transferred directly from the Sanitation District to cover this Division. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Sanitary Sewer Budget in concept, in the amount of $464,620. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Gas Tax - Page 85 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai stated the City receives money from the State from gas tax every year. The amount depends on the volume of gasoline sold in any particular year. Some of this money is transferred into the General Fund to offset some of the street maintenance functions. She stated these funds are restricted to certain types of uses - street overlay and right-of-way improvements. This year there will be some additional funds because of the ballot measures passed by the voters in SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 5 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 6 California and a gradually increasing gas tax that is being applied since last August. She stated they are proposing having $150,000 for miscellaneous right-of-way improve- ments, $500,000 for street resurfacing, traffic control replacement and the transfer to the General Fund. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Thayer seconded, to approve the Gas Tax Budget in concept, in the amount of $996,000. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None SAFETY SERVICES FIRE - Page 60 Consolidated - Page 60 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai stated that they recommend freezing one pend- ing vacancy at the position of a Firefighter. She stated that in the Disaster Preparedness Budget the Chief and his staff have been preparing, is the Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness program which is ready to be printed, distributed and get training out in the community. She stated she feels this is a very important program. She suggested using $14,000 in funds to be able to hire someone to get this program up and running. There will be tremendous interest within neighborhood groups. City - Page 62 Fire Chief Marcucci stated they have frozen one Firefighter's position, although there is no vacancy now. He stated this position cannot be filled for 3 months due to one Firefighter being out on Disability, but in the long run it should be filled because this is an overlapping position, filling in when someone else is gone on vacation or illness. Chief Marcucci stated that they looked into what they need in terms of interaction with other city fire departments. He stated the critical vacancy is a Fire Prevention Inspector. This position is vacant, but not frozen. He stated to eliminate the Fire Prevention Inspector impacts the Building business and Planning and the effective- ness of these departments. Member/Councilmember Breiner asked if they could anticipate the cost of the overtime needed for this vacant position vs. the cost of hiring a new person. Chief Marcucci stated they would be monitoring this on an ongoing basis. Ms. Nicolai stated that with the three months they have to look at this, they might be able to come back with more answers at that time. Member/Councilmember Shippey moved and Member/Councilmember Boro seconded, to approve the Fire Department's City Budget in concept, in the amount of $5,049,157. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Disaster Preparedness - Page 63 Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Fire Department's Disaster Preparedness Budget in concept, in the amount of $32,000. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Bob Parr, Firefighters' Association, stated their concern was in the Fire Prevention position. He stated they feel rotating different firefighters through this position would save on overtime and fill a critical position. CSA #19 - Page 64 (County Service Area) Chief Marcucci explained this is contract service with the County to provide fire protection in the unincorporated areas of the County which are beneficial to the City. SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 6 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 7 Member/Councilmember Shippey asked about the vacillation of the budget between 1989-90 and 1990-91 and now 1991-92, raising between 1989-90 and 1990-91 and lowering between 1990-91 and 1991-92. He stated it appears most of this is reflected in the salaries. Chief Marcucci answered affirmatively. He stated it is going down this year because of the tighter budget constraints on the City and the retirement cost to the City is down approximately 2% which is significant in looking at the dollar figures within the salaries. Ms. Nicolai stated the current budget compared with the proposed budget does not include salary increases, where last year's budget did include the salary increases. Member/Councilmember Thayer moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Fire Department's CSA #19 Budget in concept, in the amount of $764,710. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None EMS (Emergency Medical Services) - Page 66 Chief Marcucci stated that this is the Division with the largest increase in service calls which are up 11%. He stated they are responding to over 3,000 medical calls a year. He indicated they are doing an analysis now to determine where the medical calls are coming from most frequently and what types of calls they are. He stated as an example convalescent homes are putting a major impact on the Department. After determining this, he suggested they might charge them after a certain amount of calls. Member/Councilmember Shippey stated he was in sympathy with this problem, but indi- cated that a lot of care should be taken in analyzing these calls so a real emergency is not missed. Chief Marcucci answered that he is conservative and will have a thorough analysis back to Council. Mr. Shippey then asked for an explanation of the ACLS cost. Chief Marcucci stated this is a requirement that the Paramedics must have dealing with Advanced Life Support techniques. They are paid a percentage for having this skill. While the Firefighters get EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) pay, the Paramedics get ACLS (Accute Care Life Support) pay. Member/Councilmember Thayer stated that she was able to see the Paramedics in action and while there, Chief Marcucci showed her the detailed study on the number of calls they receive. She stated the areas with more Senior Citizens had the more serious calls, however, there were many from the Canal area and Lincoln Avenue area and others that were on a lesser scale. She asked what they could do within the parameters of the Paramedics' positions to deal with this problem. Chief Marcucci stated one of the facilities they get the largest number of calls from is the County Jail. He stated since the County is charging a booking fee, perhaps a Paramedic fee would be in order. Member/Councilmember Breiner that there is a group attempting to open a public health clinic in the San Rafael area and these statistics might be useful to them. She suggested the staff find out what group it is. Chief Marcucci stated they would be looking into this also within the report they are putting together for the Council. Recreation Director McNamee stated that in reference to the clinic in San Rafael, it is the Marin Community Clinic, and they have settled upon a site in Greenbrae as opposed to San Rafael because of its proximity to Marin General Hospital. She stated they have not abandoned the idea of having a clinic in San Rafael and she stated they are talking with staff about placing this within the Canal area. Member/Councilmember Shippey moved and Member/Councilmember Boro seconded, to approve the Fire Department's EMS Budget in concept, in the amount of $1,175,414. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Hazardous Materials - Page 68 Chief Marcucci explained this is a very intensive program and very helpful to the City. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Thayer seconded, to approve the Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Budget in concept, in the amount of $107,794. SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 7 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 8 AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None POLICE Consolidated - Page 70 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai explained the one frozen position. She stated there will be two Officers and a Lieutenant assigned to the Major Crimes Task Force, which reimburses the City for these positions. She stated they will be backfilling all but one of the Officer positions during this time period. Ms. Nicolai stated this Department has absorbed the biggest hits of the transfers of charges from the County. The full $320,000 of the increase in this Department relate to the Booking Fees and, in addition to that, they have the one year and second year payoff of the radio system which is a five year program. Also, this Department has the most number of vehicles, getting more of the DMV charges. She stated the MIS budget (Management Information Services) was created last year as the Police and Fire Departments' automation system came on. There are no personnel changes - it is just reallocating the manpower in the Department to reflect some costs related this new Department -wide program. Administration - Page 72 Police Chief Ingwersen explained the changes in the personnel relating to the Major Crimes Task Force. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Police Department's Administration Budget in concept, in the amount of $1,744,416. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Information Services - Page 74 Police Chief Ingwersen explained that this is the Records and Dispatch function of the Department. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Thayer seconded, to approve the Police Department Information Services Budget in concept, in the amount of $1,049,804. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Investigations - Page 76 Police Chief Ingwersen stated that the loss of one person from this unit was a transfer to the Patrol Division. He stated even with the personnel changes, the total cost of the Division stays the same. Member/Councilmember Breiner asked about the number of cases assigned to the Fraud Investigator and how many have been solved. Chief Ingwersen answered they have solved cases that have totaled well in excess of $2 million so far this year. Member/Councilmember Shippey asked if the Investigations Division was overwhelmed because of the number of arrests lately. Chief Ingwersen explained the case screen- ing process they have instituted over the last 3 years where they look at the solv- ability factors of a case to see whether it is worth the time to assign it to an Investigator. They are also tracking other areas that go into an investigation. This is necessary with the number of Officers available to handle the crimes. He also stated their caseload is not normal this year. For example, the latest homicide case reported is the fifth for this year. He added a normal year would have 1 or 2 homicides. Member/Councilmember Thayer moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Police Department Investigations Budget in concept, in the amount of $824,382. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 8 SRRA/SRCC h,,.NUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 JDGET HEARINGS Page 9 Patrol - Page 78 Police Chief Ingwersen stated that this is the backbone of the Department and what the citizens see on a day to day basis. Member/Councilmember Boro mentioned his recommendation for a foot patrol in the downtown area. He indicated there is an increase in harassment on Fourth Street, Albert Park, and Boyd Park from some of the homeless. He requested that Chief Ingwersen bring back some options and cost factors. Chairman/Mayor Mulryan stated he agrees with this and suggested using Reserve Police Officers or other volunteers. He also suggested using bicycles for the foot patrol. He stated it is being used successfully in Portland and Sacramento. Member/Councilmember Breiner stated she supports Mr. Boro's suggestion. She stated there are other places that need watching such as the 3rd and A Street Garage. She referred to a letter dated June 19th by some CPA's who have just recently relocated to the downtown area from Larkspur and have a real concern about the growing vandalism factor in this garage. She suggested a security camera be used. Ms. Nicolai stated that Assistant Executive Director Ours is looking into this and/or hiring someone to be more of an ongoing presence there to respond to these problems. Mrs. Breiner asked when they would know. Mr. Ours indicated it is in the Budget. Ms. Nicolai stated in response to the request to bring back information on the possibility of a foot patrol in downtown, do they divert from an activity being done now or see what it would cost with additional help. She asked Council what their recommendations are to fund this and should they make cuts in one of the other Departments to do this. Chairman/Mayor Mulryan answered he thinks this should be one of the alternatives. Member/Councilmember Shippey stated he supports Mr. Boro's proposal. He stated his main concern is with the Parks. He stated if the citizens know the Parks are being patrolled, then they will attend functions at the Parks and the downtown. Member/Councilmember Thayer asked how other cities do this in terms of hours. Would this person work a partial shift or what alternatives are there? Ms. Nicolai stated she and Chief Ingwersen talked about this and it would probably take two people to cover 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to at least 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. She stated they would evaluate all the options to bring back to the Council. Mr. Shippey indicated his concern is visibility of these Officers or people. He feels sworn Officers would have a better impact. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Police Department's Patrol Budget in concept, in the amount of $4,257,570. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None MIS (Management Information System) - Page 80 Chief Ingwersen stated this is a new Division added to the Budget last year. He stated it basically covers the salary costs for training on the new system and the Services and Supplies are the new costs associated with the automation. He explained the reduction in cost from last year to now is basically the Capital Account this year to try to stay within the budget constraints. He stated they were able to do some training, but the second year expansion of the automation will have to be delayed until next year. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Boro seconded, to approve the Police Department's MIS Budget in concept, in the amount of $64,684. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Chief Ingwersen commented that he has talked with the of Hughes, Heiss act as consultants to help them get date faster, and he will bring this information back SPECIAL ACCOUNTS BOND RETIREMENT - Page 81 City Manager about having the firm their automated system more up to to the Council. Finance Director Coleman stated the Terra Linda Recreation Bonds will be paid off SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 9 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 tsUDGET HEARINGS Page 10 this year and the Open Space Bonds in approximately 1z years. He stated this should be the last year the City is required to have an override tax which is approximately $190,000 to pay for this service. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Bond Retirement Budget in concept, in the amount of $199,160. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None SPECIAL PROJECTS - Page 82 Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai stated this was a list of special projects staff hopes to accomplish this year. She explained the individual needs of each project. Member/Councilmember Breiner moved and Member/Councilmember Boro seconded, to approve the Special Projects Budget in concept, in the amount of $538,000. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None NONDEPARTMENTAL BUDGET - Page 83 Finance Director Coleman explained a few of the items listed. He stated the Medical Insurance - Retirees continues to increase each year. Insurance is up primarily to cover the cost of claims administration for the Liability program. He also stated the Animal Control Budget this year currently is $168,000 and next year the cost is $196,400. He stated the Elections Budget has increased from $14,000 to $19,700. Chairman/Mayor Mulryan asked if there was funding for all the Workers' Compensation Claims being paid. Mr. Coleman answered negatively. He stated this only pays for the administration part of the claims operation. The actual claims are charged to the Department where the claim originates. Member/Councilmember Breiner requested staff to come back at the next budget time with ways to limit the rate of increase for the medical insurance for the retirees. She suggested a possibility of dealing differently with new hires in terms of a new retirement program. Mr. Coleman stated that the figure in the Budget is not the total cost of the program. He stated part of the total cost is paid by the retirement system through our retirement rates. They pay half of it and the City pays the other half. Ms. Nicolai indicated they would get back to Council with a report on this. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Nondepartmental Budget in concept, in the amount of $786,900, and the Elections Budget in the amount of $19,700. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None PARKING DISTRICT - Page 84 Assistant Executive Director Ours stated they have requested in this Budget a security patrol for the problems at the parking structure at 3rd and A Streets. He stated that due to the retiring of the Parking District's bonds, the parking structures are able to pay for themselves so they have a capital outlay program which is an ongoing maintenance program to keep the parking lots and structures clean and in shape. Member/Councilmember Boro asked about the $20,000 for the hand-held computers for writing parking citations, if the City is buying two of them. Mr. Ours replied they are buying four. Mr. Boro asked how many meter maids there were. Mr. Ours stated 3z. Mr. Coleman added that it would be faster for the meter maid to punch the citations out on the machine and the computer allows the Meter Enforcement Officer to know if there is a vehicle that has 10 unpaid parking citations when issuing the ticket and enable the Department to know about this faster and take immediate action. He stated it also saves about two hours a day of data entry work of key punching in the tickets. The machines can be loaded into a PC which would upload into the major computer. SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 10 SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 11 Member/Councilmember Breiner stated she is glad to see a security patrol in the parking structure, but is concerned that this is not 24 hours a day and they would probably still need the cameras to be connected to the Police Department. She asked what the coverage will be. Mr. Ours answered six random patrols during the day. He stated most of the parkers are there during working hours and they targeted for that time and that is when most of the incidents occur. Mrs. Breiner stated that during the Winter months many women are reluctant to leave their cars in the parking structure because of the crime problems. Ms. Nicolai stated that the camera does not necessarily mean a faster rate of speed in dispatching someone to the problem area. Mr. Boro suggested that when staff is looking into the idea of the foot patrol, they might want to look into this possibility, as well. Ms. Nicolai stated they needed to test a couple of options to see what is effective to alleviate this problem. Mrs. Breiner asked for a report from Mr. Ours on the income from the parking structures. Member/Councilmember Shippey stated he assumes that staff is looking out for the best deals on the items purchased for this Division. Member/Councilmember Thayer asked how critical some of the capital outlay is for the repainting and resigning and what priority this is. She wondered if it could be deferred for one year. Mr. Ours explained that it is a scheduled maintenance and can create problems with regard to directions in the garage and where the stalls are basically located. Ms. Nicolai stated now that the bond is paid off, the City can now do the maintenance needed in these parking lots and structures. Mr. Boro asked if they are obligated to use this money strictly on the parking structures, or can it be used elsewhere at some future point. Ms. Nicolai answered these funds are no longer restricted to this use. They were committed to paying off the bonds, but they are trying to keep it for the parking structure maintenance. Mr. Boro stated that there are repairs needed at Falkirk and Boyd House and maybe some of this money could be used there. Ms. Nicolai stated this funding becomes available to bond against for parking in the downtown area and this is basically what they are reserving it for. Member/Councilmember Boro moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the Parking District Budget in concept, in the amount of $429,321. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None REDEVELOPMENT CONSOLIDATED - Page 87 Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai stated this budget reflects the winding down of the projects the Agency had through the agreement with the County in 1985. She stated the staffing is the same projected this year as last year. The projects that remain are on Page 89: Andersen Drive, Transportation Terminal, West Fourth Street Parking, Downtown Master Plan, Downtown Promotions, Housing, Beach Park Road and Bellam Boulevard SWAT. She stated the critical item was the upcoming negotiations with the County on coming up with some new projects and finishing up projects on the original list. Member/Councilmember Boro asked about the Andersen Drive/Bellam Boulevard funding. Ms. Nicolai stated the funding was originally with the Andersen Drive project. Then it was put over to the Bellam project because they thought they could find other sources. She stated the amount listed for Andersen Drive is in case the negotiations do not go forward quickly, as she feels they need to go ahead with Andersen Drive. Mr. Boro asked if the funding was originally in the Andersen Drive project. Ms. Nicolai stated affirmatively. Mr. Ours stated the funding has been growing rapidly, as shown on Page 87. Member/Councilmember Thayer moved and Member/Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the Redevelopment Agency Budget in concept, in the amount of $10,390,790. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None Member/Councilmember Shippey commented that the City Manager deserved a note of appreciation for the job done on this budget. SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 11 SRRA/SRCC N.LN UTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 uJDGET HEARINGS Page 12 OUTSIDE REQUESTS - Page vi Executive Director/City Manager Nicolai stated that these are not usually incorpor- ated in the regular budget. The Rebate for Marin Renters is $18,000 to help low income families. She stated this program no longer exists as a way of getting money from the Foundation, but they asked to continue it. She recommended using funding from the Redevelopment Agency to fund this. The Downtown San Rafael Merchants Association is asking for $42,000 as part of their overall budget for various programs they have been doing over the last year and part of this year for activities to put them on a better financial footing. The Chamber of Commerce has submitted a request for $30,000. Mediation Services has requested $11,000, to assist in their valuable services in mediating renter disputes. This has come out of the housing money. The Rape Crisis Center has requested $5,393. Ms. Nicolai stated she is recommending this year to fund those things that have a direct relationship to services, such as mediation and the downtown projects, rather than getting into some services that the City really cannot afford at this time. She stated she is recommending funding the top four (Rebate for Marin Renters through Mediation Services) through the Redevelopment Agency as it relates to those programs and not the last one (Rape Crisis Center). Chairman/Mayor Mulryan stated he supports this, as well as Member/Councilmember Breiner. Member/Councilmember Thayer stated her support of these four items. Member/Councilmember Thayer moved and Member/Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve funding in concept for: the Rebate for Marin Renters ($18,000); Downtown San Rafael Merchants Association ($42,000); Chamber of Commerce ($30,000); and Mediation Services ($11,000), as part of the Redevelopment Agency budget. AYES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, NOES: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: None ADD ITEM: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman/Mayor Mulryan Member/Councilmember Boro requested staff to come back with a study on doing the budget on a two year cycle vs. a one year cycle. He stated he wanted them to address and talk about the advantages. He stated that Mill Valley does one and so does Santa Barbara. Ms. Nicolai stated Novato does, as well as Fairfield. Mr. Boro stated this might help the workload involved in preparing this budget. Ms. Nicolai added that the cities that do this have annual reviews, with the two year budgets. She stated she will look into it. Member/Councilmember Shippey stated he thinks it would not be practical in light of the fiscal situation now. Ms. Nicolai stated that Fairfield was the first city to do this many years ago when it was much easier. She stated she would be happy to look into it. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 P.M. JEANNE &ONCINI, Agency Secretary/City Clerk APPROVED ON THE DAY OF , 1991 CHAIRMAN OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY/ MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRRA/SRCC MINUTES (Special Joint) 6/19/91 BUDGET HEARINGS Page 12