Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2009-06-01SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2009 AT 8:00 P.M. Regular Meeting: San Rafael City Council Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, City Manager Robert F. Epstein, City Attorney Esther C. Beirne, City Clerk OPEN SESSION — COUNCIL CHAMBERS — 4:30 PM Mayor Boro announced Closed Session items: CLOSED SESSION — CONFERENCE ROOM 201 — 4:30 PM Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor Barbara Heller, Vice -Mayor Greg Brockbank, Councilmember Damon Connolly, Councilmember Cyr N. Miller, Councilmember Absent: None a) Conference with Legal Counsel — Existing Litigation Government Code Section 54956.9 (a) Case Name: Atwood. Doane v. Citv of San Rafael, et. al. U.S. District Court, Northern Dist. of CA, Case # CV085002 CLOSED SESSION — CONFERENCE ROOM 201 — 7:10 PM b) Conference with Labor Negotiators- Government Code Section 54957.6(a) Negotiators: Jim Schutz, Leslie Loomis, Cindy Mosser, Rob Epstein, Ken Nordhoff Employee Organization(s): San Rafael Fire Chief Officers' Assn. Western Council of Engineers San Rafael Firefighters' Assn. Assn. of Confidential Employees (Local 1) San Rafael Police Mid -Management Assn. SEIU Miscellaneous & Supervisory San Rafael Police Association SEIU Child Care Unit Unrepresented Management Unrepresented Mid -Management Elected City Clerk and Elected Part -Time City Attorney City Attorney Robert Epstein announced that no reportable action was taken. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE: 8:12 PM Sustainabilitv Commission: - File 9-1 Jonathan Frieman urged the City Council to reconsider their decision not to have a Sustainable Commission, particularly along the lines of Peak Oil and the Transition Town concept. He indicated that a lot of people were willing to work with the City on this issue. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as follows. ITEM Resolution of Appreciation for Chris Stephen for his Work on the Climate Change Action Plan (CD) — File 102 x 13-1 RECOMMENDED ACTION RESOLUTION NO. 12746 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR CHRIS STEPHEN, MEMBER OF THE LAND USE, TRANSPORTATION, URBAN FOREST AND GREEN BUILDING GREEN TEAM SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 1 4. Resolutions of Appreciation for City Volunteers: Andree Jansheski, Pam Dixon, Mark Lubamersky and Karen Nielsen (CM) — File 102 Summary of Legislation Affecting San Rafael (CM) — File 116 x 9-1 Report on San Rafael Ridge Access (CS) — File 9-6-65 Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into an Agreement with Sentry Control Systems, Inc. for Maintenance Services and Replacement Parts Needed to Operate Ski Data Revenue Control Systems used in City Parking Garages (MS) — File 9-3-87 x 11-18 x 12-14 Resolution Approving the 2009-10 Annual Report of the Downtown Parking and Business Improvement District and Declaring Council's Intention to Levy an Annual Assessment for the Downtown Parking and Business Improvement District for Fiscal Year 2009-10 and Directing the City Clerk to Schedule a Public Hearing for June 15, 2009 to Consider Levying the Assessment (RA) — File 224 x 183 Resolution Authorizing Temporary Closure of Fourth Street from A Street to B Street for the Christopher B Smith Rafael Film Center Ten Year Anniversary Celebration from 6:00 p.m. — 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, 2009 (RA) — File 11-19 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 2 RESOLUTION NO. 12747 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR VOLUNTEER ANDREE JANSHESKI RESOLUTION NO. 12748 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR VOLUNTEER PAM DIXON RESOLUTION NO. 12749 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR VOLUNTEER MARK LUBAMERSKY RESOLUTION NO. 12750 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR VOLUNTEER KAREN NIELSEN Accepted report. Item continued to meeting of June 15, 2009. RESOLUTION NO. 12751 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH SENTRY CONTROL SYSTEMS, INC. FOR MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND REPLACEMENT PARTS NEEDED TO OPERATE SKIDATA REVENUE SYSTEMS USED IN CITY PARKING GARAGES RESOLUTION NO. 12752 RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2009-10 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DOWNTOWN PARKING AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AND DECLARING COUNCIL'S INTENTION TO LEVY AN ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE DOWNTOWN PARKING AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010 AND DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR JUNE 15, 2009 TO CONSIDER LEVYING THE ASSESSMENT RESOLUTION NO. 12753 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF FOURTH STREET FROM A STREET TO B STREET FOR THE CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FROM 6:00 PM TO 11:00 PM ON SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2009 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 2 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 3 The following item was removed from the Consent Calendar at the request of Mr. Ivaldo Lenci: 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SPECIAL JT. REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 29. 2009 (CC) At Mr. Lenci's request, minutes amended to clarify Ivaldo Lenci's suggestion that a Quick Patch method (@ $6.85 per bag) was something the City might wish to consider to repair potholes, and he donated a bag of this asphalt. Councilmember Brockbank moved and Councilmember Miller seconded to adopt the minutes as amended. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None SPECIAL PRESENTATION: 10. PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS OF APPRECIATION TO CITY VOLUNTEERS: ANDREE JANSHESKI. PAM DIXON. MARK LUBAMERSKY AND KAREN NIELSEN (CM) — FILE 102 Mayor Boro invited Andree Jansheski, Pam Dixon, Mark Lubamersky and Karen Nielsen to the podium. He explained that each of these recipients had done work above and beyond their call as volunteers. Mayor Boro stated that Andree Jansheski started her mission against litter in her own front yard at the Bellam Self -Storage and Boxes, soon spreading the word to neighboring businesses. She had been an inspiration to many surrounding her community, including the Main Post Office on Bellam Boulevard, working with the City and others to add extra trashcans for public use. Her latest contribution to the San Rafael Clean Campaign was spearheading a campaign to enlist businesses throughout the City to sign on to help reduce litter. Andree had been a stellar example for the San Rafael Clean Business Partners Project, donating time and money to the cause. On behalf of the City Council and people of San Rafael, Mayor Boro congratulated and thanked Andree Jansheski and presented her with a Resolution of Appreciation. Mayor Boro reported that Pam Dixon had transformed the San Rafael Public Library with her professional leadership skills, serving two terms as President and twice as Vice -President of Friends of the Library, and had been co-chair of the Book Sale Committee for more than five years. She had been an integral force in the launching and running of Friends Books, turning an empty space into an attractive functioning bookstore, which earned a month's rent in the first two days of operation. Pam continues to spend many hours working to increase the financial support of Friends of the Library, which provides for literary programming and materials and she helped advance the premise that books and reading are enjoyable, fun and here to stay. Mayor Boro congratulated and thanked Pam Dixon and presented her with a Resolution of Appreciation. Mayor Boro stated that Mark Lubamersky had been a member of the San Rafael Park and Recreation Commission, the Critical Facilities Committee and twice was co-chair of the General Plan 2020 Steering Committee. He participates in and coordinates activities and fundraisers for Coleman Elementary School, including being President of Coleman's Dad's Club. Mark is a dedicated teacher and Board member of the San Rafael Little League and through being an active member and several times President of the Bret Harte Neighborhood Association, he built a strong connection to City Hall, coordinated events and volunteers and served as the main source of information and communication in his neighborhood. On behalf of the City Council, community and especially Bret Harte, Mayor Boro thanked Mark for everything he has done and presented him with a Resolution of Appreciation. Mayor Boro reported that Karen Nielsen served as a Friends of the Library Board member, book sorter and Book Sales Assistant Chair before becoming the organization's President one year ago. She had been an invaluable contributor to the preparation and completion of turning an empty space in downtown San Rafael into an attractive, functioning bookstore, which in the first two days of operation, earned the first month's rent. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 3 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 4 Pam spent many hours volunteering at the library, in addition to representing the Friends of the Library on the "One Book, One Marin" committee, a countywide effort to promote interest in libraries and reading and she is dependable, enthusiastic and reliable in every aspect of her job. On behalf of the Friends of the Library and the City Council, Mayor Boro congratulated Karen Nielsen and presented her with a Resolution of Appreciation. Mayor Boro noted that last year, volunteers in the City of San Rafael contributed the equivalent of over $1 million in savings to the City. OTHER AGENDA ITEMS: 11. a) DISCUSSION OF CITY'S BUDGET (CM) — FILE 8-5 STATUS OF BUDGET — FISCAL YEAR 2008-2009 BUDGET PROJECTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS - FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010 PROGRESS REPORT ON RECESSION ACTION AND ECONOMIC VITALITY PLANS b) RESOLUTION APPROVING STAFFING REDUCTIONS (CM) Referring to pages 5 through 7 of the staff report City Manager Ken Nordhoff explained that the budget situation was not new to the City Council as both the Council and staff had been working on this issue for over a year. Public meetings were held in October, 2008, January, 2009, with a special session in April, 2009, together with several items and discussions concerning City finances, including outlining Goals and Objectives at the last City Council meeting, for the coming two-year period. The City Council took a number of actions along the way; however, this evening was the most serious and significant of many decisions made. He pointed out to those who might think this issue was being discussed for the first time or who might not have heard of the level of involvement the City Council had committed to the situation, that the problem had been worked on for quite some time. This evening a lot of that work would culminate into suggested recommendations for action. Finance Director Cindy Mosser explained that the City of San Rafael must adopt a balanced budget for all funds for the fiscal year and this budget for Fiscal Year 2009-2010 was exceptionally challenging. Noting budget information had been reviewed on several occasions she indicated she would point out some highlights of the information from 2009-2010. She pointed out that this information did not include any state actions that could happen with the state budget. With regard to Fiscal Year 2008-2009, Ms. Mosser stated that at the time of the mid -year review in February, 2009, the deficit was $473,000. Action would be forthcoming in July, 2009 to close that gap using reserves from the Radio Replacement Fund and reducing some of the General Fund transfers for support not needed for vacant positions. With regard to Fiscal Year 2009-2010, Ms. Mosser reported that Exhibit 1 showed sales tax projected with a 6.8% decline, @ $16.1 million. Sales Tax was the largest revenue generator and accounted for 34% of all tax revenues. Measure 'S' — Transactions and Use Tax — was projected to have a decline of 9.1 %, @ $6.1 million, with Property Tax anticipated to be flat. With regard to expenditures, Ms. Mosser reported that compensation changes would be made for current contracts only. No increases would be granted for units currently under negotiations and Management and Mid -Management had already indicated there would be no increases. Furloughs had been included for the assumptions for expenditures for non -safety. There would be no percentage increase for cost of living, which would remain at the 2007-2008 level. The only changes made were for specific contracts, such as the Animal Control contract. Ms. Mosser reported that all purchases for non -safety vehicles had been deferred for one year. Exhibit III identified expenditures of $402,000 — approximately $350,000 worth of vehicles would not be purchased. Because of this deferral, internal service charges of $750,000 to the General Fund would not be charged. Because of the abovementioned actions, Ms. Mosser reported that the total appropriation would be $81.6 million, of which Total General Fund Appropriations would be $58.4 million. Reserves would remain at $3.1 million, or 5.5% of the General Fund. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 4 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 5 Ms. Mosser explained that Exhibit IV referred to Capital Projects with new moneys. She noted that the General Fund only puts aside $100,000 for maintenance on public buildings. Referring to page 8 of the staff report, Mr. Nordhoff stated he would discuss on a macro level the proposed changes to service levels and staffing reductions. Providing background, Mr. Nordhoff stated that Attachment D had been discussed in terms of setting service prioritization, and specifically in that Exhibit, staff had called out those services paid for from the General Fund or General Tax Revenues. He recalled that other services provided, either administrative or support in nature, or paid out of restricted funds, were evaluated in January; however, they were not ranked or included as part of this document. Referring to Exhibit II — Authorized Positions — Mr. Nordhoff stated that staffing reductions were highlighted for 2008-2009, together with those that would occur in Fiscal Year 2009-2010. Should the City Council accept the recommendations put forth by staff, staffing levels would drop to 417 positions for the next fiscal year — a decline of 5% over the current fiscal year — the most significant loss being in the Public Works Department, with ten positions, followed by the Library and Community Development. Mr. Nordhoff stated that along the way staff had endeavored to make difficult service delivery and staffing choices by putting programs in place first that would allow employees the opportunity to consider taking some action on their own prior to the City's having to consider such actions as layoffs. Therefore, last February, a Layoff Severance Package was established that would at least help to provide some compensation transitions to those six individuals listed that would need to be laid off. A Voluntary Retirement Separation Program had also been instituted and as reported at the last meeting, eighteen applications were received, of which ten produced significant budgetary savings. Staff's recommendation was to accept these ten, which would save the City upwards of $1 million on an annualized basis. Referring to page 8 of the staff report, Mr. Nordhoff stated the chart demonstrated where the staffing losses over the two-year period were occurring. The number of vacancies — those retiring on their own, early retirements and other actions — indicated that a great majority of the staffing loss occurred by decisions of the employees. While he felt good about that, Mr. Nordhoff recognized that difficult and complex recommendations had to be made around reductions in the workforce that did necessitate layoffs. Referring to page 10 of the staff report, Mr. Nordhoff stated that in the Communitv Services Department - approximately 75% of a $6 million budget is recovered through user fees, rentals, childcare fees, etc. - roughly $1.5 million of General Fund moneys are used to support the department and keep the facilities open. The elimination of one Mid -Management position was being recommended, due to an early retirement. He noted impacts would include the elimination of many public events, holiday celebrations, art shows, etc. traditionally conducted at Falkirk Cultural Center. There would be reduced access to Falkirk's grounds; however, private rentals would remain. Mr. Nordhoff noted the Library was primarily a General Fund operation; however, it did oversee the Literacy Program, which had a fairly substantial grant -based operation. $100,000 of restricted transaction -based reimbursement funds would be used to help offset purchasing materials and books. There would be a decline of 2.11 positions — a combination of early retirement and some vacancies — resulting in $151,700 in savings. Impacts at the library would include less materials being acquired, the elimination of some magazine subscriptions, and staff would evaluate the discontinuance of several premium databases. In the area of Communitv Development, which includes the disciplines of Code Enforcement, Building and Fire Prevention and Current and Long Range Planning, Mr. Nordhoff noted a menu of recommendations. Positions being eliminated over a two-year period: • Vacant Code Enforcement Officer and Fire Prevention positions • An unfilled Planning Technician • Additional reductions from contracted services in the area of Fire Inspection • Layoff in the Planning Division Total savings - $374,000. Mr. Nordhoff stated that service impacts in Community Development would include: SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 5 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 6 • Slower response time to some of the complaints driven towards Code Enforcement • Slower pace of apartment and hotel inspection program • Less Planning staff available for assistance at the counter, together with a loss of hours • Discretionary permits — staff would present recommendations at a future meeting in an attempt to minimize some of the formal processes. • Permit issuance would be slower Mr. Nordhoff noted that the retirement of the Code Enforcement Manager was not included as a budget reduction. In this connection, Mr. Brown would evaluate the Code Enforcement related functions. With regard to the Police Department, Mr. Nordhoff stated that the elimination of a vacant Business Manager position was being recommended, together with the suspension of a vacant Dispatching and three vacant Officer positions, and deferring the replacement of a fourth Officer position for half a year. These aggregated to approximately $800,000 in savings. • Service impacts would include: • "Cover Cars" - additional officers on the beat that go beyond staffing the six beats — would not be provided on a regular basis, which could produce a decline in service response times • Non-violent crime reports would only be accepted through database or front counter reporting • Police Officers would not respond to private property non -injury accidents • Currently, three Police Officers were on injury or illness leave. This would entail moving officers around periodically; therefore, some specialty assignments could be impacted. • Motor Officers would be reassigned occasionally as appropriate • Slower response time to incidents involving the mentally ill because of reassignment of one officer • Highest priority to emergency calls with lower priority to non -injury type incidents or accidents Mr. Nordhoff reported that the Fire Department had a series of reductions and reorganizations, with some additional work to be done. He noted that Paramedics and Household Hazardous Waste were funded from outside sources and, although the Fire Department budget was close to $20 million, approximately $14 million related to the General Fund. Recommendations included two layoffs, one early retiring Executive Officer and some restructuring centered around reinstituting the training officer function and EMS Coordinator; however, the EMS Coordinator would utilize Paramedic taxes not the General Fund -- Aggregated savings of $600,000 annually. Service impacts would include: • Lesser attention to the Vegetation Management Program than anticipated • Diminished hours for the Household Hazardous Waste Program • Restructuring, to include the Matrix study underway, etc. Mr. Nordhoff noted that six stations would continue to be fully staffed 365 days per year, with three people on duty in each. Mr. Nordhoff reported that Public Works provides a variety of services, including park, street and sewer maintenance, together with fleet, facilities and engineering. Engineering, Parks and Street Maintenance were the area most affected. • Engineering - staff reduction of three: layoff, promotion to Sanitation District and a vacant position • Public Works Inspector layoff • Elimination of vacant position in Park Maintenance • Two early retirements • Streets — reduction of five total staffing positions: Three existing vacancies and two early retirements • Management level position layoff — responsible for overseeing most of the maintenance divisions. Mid -Management level positions and responsibilities in the Sewer, Parks and Streets disciplines remain. These reductions aggregate to approximately $1.4 million. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 6 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 7 Service impacts would include: • Degradation of services in terms of parks and median landscaping • Street maintenance resources in areas of greatest need ■ Loss of designated graffiti position — service reorganized • Engineering Impacts: • Commercial and Residential development — additional days required to review submittals ■ Delay in Encroachment Permit process • Two Management positions had been eliminated in recent years; therefore some of the related agency work, grant pursuits, etc., would either drop off or be done less frequently Referring to page 15 with regard to Furloughing, Mr. Nordhoff stated that although the City had the ability to do so in several labor unit current agreements, staff was in the process of fine-tuning some of the implementation details. A series of dates for City Department closure was proposed — second Monday of each month, plus December 28, 2009. He believed the implementation details were nearing completion as part of the labor contracts. In the area of Outreach, Mr. Nordhoff stated the staff report contained several Attachments: The San Rafael Connects Teams talked to a variety of homeowner and other groups concerning what was happening in City finances as well as the types of tasks and projects being worked on; Update or first progress report on the Recession Action Plan, adopted in March, 2009; Economic Vitality Plan Progress Report - Mr. Nordhoff noted that Nancy Mackle, Deputy City Manager, had been working with an Intern who was assisting in generating an Economic Vitality effort with a lot more substance. This would be presented to the City Council in the coming months and would provide a greater level of detail on issues such as working to reuse vacant retail, office building tenants, industrial properties, etc. Referring to page 16 of the staff report, Mr. Nordhoff noted a series of items summarizing approximately $3.2 million worth of actions; • Vehicle Replacement - $754,000 • Savings related to layoffs - $550,400 • Voluntary Separation Retirements - $997,400 • Elimination of a series of vacant positions - $1,300,000 • Not filling several Police Officer positions $583,300 • Furlough Program - $500,000 • Excess reserves in Workers' Compensation and Liability Funds $500,000 Mr. Nordhoff stated that were there no unknowns to consider, staff could probably present a balanced budget. He believed there was clear understanding that the state was in a dire crisis and looking for money anywhere it could. It was not simply the loss of Proposition 1A Property Taxes, which could be approximately $1.6 million, rather there could be losses of the balance of the Vehicle License Fees, Public Safety Tax, etc. He believed something was forthcoming; however, the question was when. Mr. Nordhoff stated that, even though what the City Council heard this evening and chose to do was significant, he did not believe the City was out of the woods, even absent what the state could do. The budget contained one-time actions that would assist in getting through the next twelve months; however, he begged the question of what to do in terms of some of those replacements if they were necessary, to keep the budget balanced in 2010-2011. Work remained to be done where staff was continuing to evaluate vacant positions that could arise; there could be additional reorganizational work; however, in spite of this work he was unsure whether additional layoffs could be avoided in the next fiscal year. Indicating that an extensive amount of time and thought had been put into the proposals submitted, Mr. Nordhoff stated they were not things staff would chose to do in terms of reducing or altering services or changing staffing levels; however, there was a responsibility to bring a balanced budget to the City Council. There were impacts across many segments of the organization that would affect the community, some immediately and some gradual. The full extent of these impacts would not be known for several months; however, staff would do everything possible to mitigate those losses and continue to provide the highest possible levels of service within the resources and staffing levels available. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 7 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 8 Mayor Boro reiterated that this did not happen between the last meeting and this evening, rather it was a culmination of at least seven months' worth of effort. Councilmember Heller inquired whether Falkirk Cultural Center would be closed completely to the public. With regard to Code Enforcement and the retirement of the Code Enforcement Manager, she inquired as to how many staff remained. Ms. McCart, Community Services Director, stated that with the reduction of one full-time management position at Falkirk, hours of staffing would be reduced from 47.5 during the week to 30. This would be achieved by maintaining the 10 hours weekly spent at Falkirk by the City's Volunteer Coordinator and adding 20 part-time hours. This was in addition to weekends; therefore, the house would not be closed completely. The primary concern was to preserve the mansion and grounds and to serve with the volunteers who she hoped would step forward and become program partners to maintain as many traditional events as possible. She noted that some of the staff -produced programs and events would need the assistance of volunteers. Noting a lot of concern had been expressed about Falkirk, Mayor Boro reported that a grant of $100,000 had been approved to paint the exterior. He stressed that he did not want anyone to believe the City was abandoning Falkirk. Ways had to be found to save dollars throughout the City and he believed the spirit of Falkirk could be maintained. With regard to Code Enforcement, Mr. Brown, Community Development Director, reported that the remaining staff would be composed of three Code Enforcement Officers and three quarter -time clerical staff. This compared with the loss of three staff members over the past six months meant Code Enforcement would be roughly half of what it was previously. Councilmember Brockbank confirmed that Furloughs would be on the second Monday of each month, commencing in July, 2009 and inquired whether this conflicted with any Holidays. Responding, Mr. Nordhoff stated that staff endeavored to look at the calendar of not only facility closings, but other meetings of Boards and Commissions, etc., and with the exception of having to adjust the MCCMC Legislative Committee meetings, those dates were clear. Referring to page 16 of the staff report and the 7 categories of savings, Councilmember Brockbank noted Mr. Nordhoff indicated they totaled $3.2 million when the total was actually $5 million. He confirmed with Mr. Nordhoff that these included cuts in the current budget year as well as the next budget year. With regard to the Police Department budget, Councilmember Connolly requested further explanation on the anticipated reduced service in terms of a Mental Health Officer. Mr. Nordhoff explained that currently one Police Officer holds a Doctorate Degree and the second is in the process of obtaining his Ph.D. They had been designated as Mental Health Officers working across a number of agencies in the County. One of these Officers would be reassigned to patrol. This did not mean he would not use his trained skills, rather he would not be designated extra beyond the basic patrol services. He confirmed that one full-time designated Mental Health Officer would be retained, with the second Officer as needed. Councilmember Connolly underscored that this was a critical service and the momentum should not be lost. On a public safety issue, Councilmember Connolly noted an anticipated reduction in open space clearing which directly implicated fire prevention issues. Fire Chief Chris Gray explained that the open space clearance began with funds of approximately $250,000, which this year was reduced to $50,000. This money had to be spread by use of some contract crews — inmate crews through Cal Fire — and this would be continued; however, there was a balance between maintenance of private property clearance and public open space, which was an arduous task. He noted there were thousands of acres of open space. Noting the work had been prioritized, Chief Gray stated that a real concerted effort had been made over the last two years to remove a lot of the growth; however maintaining this was of interest, because having been cleared it needed to be kept under control. He reported that grants had been applied for and utilization of the contract crews would be continued; however, SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 8 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 9 sometimes this was not a replacement for cash. He stated that at this point, some of the estimates with clearance would be reduced and a three-year program would be extended to a five-year program to get around the entire community. With regard to the Library, Councilmember Connolly inquired whether this was traditionally an area where more grant money or volunteer efforts could be sought to try to minimize the cuts in service. Mr. Nordhoff reported that grants typically did not offset daily operations. The most significant library grant achieved in the last several years was over $1 million from the state to help expand and renovate Pickleweed and install a designated library. He noted a number of grants were in place for the Literacy Program; however, he believed there had not been much success over many years with grants to run the basic services in the library. Concurring, Library Director David Dodd stated he was not aware of such moneys. Mr. Dodd stated that the library makes great use of volunteers. They supplement the library's budget considerably through their work, to approximately $40,000 annually; however, using volunteers in a public service mode had never proved to be either tenable or particularly legally acceptable in terms of privacy considerations, etc. Volunteers were not used for staffing aside from things such as mending books, etc. With regard to the Economic Vitality Plan, Councilmember Connolly stated he would like to see the City putting "even more teeth" into that piece of the solution. He favored being as proactive as possible to ensure the local economy remained vibrant. He looked forward to the report and recommendations in a couple of months and suggested an Economic Vitality Task Force as one of these recommendations. This could include members of the business community, labor and environmental people, etc. Mayor Boro reported that he and Councilmember Heller meet monthly with the Business Issues Committee, which included representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Improvement District. They were beginning to work together within the community and hopefully over the next few months Nancy Mackle, Economic Development Director, would have something to report. In going through each major department and discussing cuts, which totaled approximately $3.2 million, Mayor Boro inquired whether this figure included Furloughing in each particular department. Mr. Nordhoff explained this was the values of the staffing losses listed within each department. Added to that were items such as deferral of vehicle replacement, furloughs etc., which were not embedded in those numbers. Mayor Boro confirmed with Mr. Nordhoff that the budget was being cut by more than $3.2 million and requested more specificity in the next report regarding total numbers. Mr. Nordhoff confirmed there had been a culmination of approximately $5 million worth of decisions, some of which had been made along the way, the balance of which were before the City Council this evening. He stated that when the budget was presented for adoption this would be summarized. Expressing concern with the issue of graffiti and the theory that if nothing was done about it, there would be more, Mayor Boro suggested evaluating through the Volunteer Coordinator what could be done at least on City property with Graffiti Abatement. Should there be private property in a significant location he suggested working with the property owners to provide them with ideas on how to clean it up, noting free paint was available from Marin Sanitary Services for this purpose. While he was aware the position had to be eliminated, he believed the issue had to be addressed. Noting a newspaper article regarding the state closure of parks and its impacts, Mayor Boro stated that parks were an asset. Aware of the reduction in maintenance to an unfavorable level, he believed there needed to be some ongoing review of parks to ensure their integrity was not being jeopardized by the level of maintenance. With regard to Hazardous Waste, Mayor Boro noted the hours would now be Monday through Friday, instead of through Saturday when a lot of people used it. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 9 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 10 Mr. Nordhoff explained that the program was managed through the Solid Waste Joint Powers Authority and in light of everyone's economic circumstances, staff requested a "hold the line budget" from the Marin Recycling and Recovery Center. In order to do this there were some costs, some of which were passed down through the state, and not wishing to increase costs to the member agencies of the JPA, shrinking the hours of operation was suggested. While it would take effort to get people realigned to the new hours, he believed this would not impact the amount of hazardous material achieved. Mayor Boro inquired with regard to the 6 Police beats and the fact that at some point they might not be staffed at the preferred level. He also inquired on the status of the introduction of Red Light Cameras, and when they became operational, whether on a more permanent basis motorcycle officers could be used in the areas not having a full 6 officers to supplement the beats. Chief of Police Matt Odetto explained that with regard to the 6 Beat structure, staff's focus had always been to maintain the 6 beats. The only reduction discussed was the reduction of the "Cover Car." He explained the "Cover Car" comes on later in the shift and is used to back up officers on priority calls in other beats. In the absence of the "Cover Car", the neighboring beat car would end up responding to the call along with the assigned beat car, depending on the severity of the incident. With regard to supplementing the motorcycle patrol to cover vacancies, Chief Odetto stated that this is current practice; however, it takes away from traffic enforcement duties. Noting traffic enforcement was a big concern of the community, Mayor Boro invited Chief Odetto to project the situation with the red light cameras and how much of an impact, if any, that could have on the motorcycle patrol. Chief Odetto stated staff would respond to the City Council on this. Mr. Nordhoff added that the project had been studied and the intersections identified. Three intersections would be in place in the next couple of months with the cameras operational before the end of the year. Perry Litchfield, San Rafael, recognized this issue had been worked on since October, 2008; however, it had taken shape just recently in such a way that brought the public forward. He was pleased to hear the comments of Councilmember Connolly this evening about focusing in on Economic Vitality instead of dwelling on the Recession Action Plan. He stated that he saw 99% of what was presented this evening still doom and gloom and Recession Action Plan. He believed the importance of this to the City could best be pointed out by the fact that the Economic Vitality Plan was delegated to an intern to work on while the Recession Action Plan was being worked on by the City Manager, Finance Director and all Department Directors. Apparently, it was not a very high priority; however, it needed to be. With regard to graffiti, potholes, weeds and losses of services, Mr. Litchfield stated that according to the staff report the total City budget was over $81 million, with only $3 million in reserves. He stated that when things were good, the City Council set a goal of 10% for Reserves and he questioned what happened to have only 4% in reserves to deal with troubled times. Mr. Litchfield stated that according to the Board or Equalization San Rafael had the highest sales tax in Marin and one of the highest in the state. He questioned why the City with the highest taxes could not balance its budget without laying off employees and reducing public services. Noting the staff report referred to fee increases for business owners and others who wished to do business in San Rafael, Mr. Litchfield questioned that in trying to attract businesses why it was being made more expensive to do business in the City. Mr. Litchfield stated that in the 50+ years he had been in San Rafael, he had observed the bureaucracy grow larger and larger and in terms of Economic Vitality, he suggested taking an opportunity of figuring out how to better streamline the process. He noted that his recent sign application took ten months, over $11,000 in fees and in the process of going through that, all tenants had been lost. He stated that a way needed to be figured out to address business concerns to expedite applications and not look to raising fees and discouraging people from coming before the City. Ivaldo Lenci, San Rafael, stated he could not recall when he read that the City of San Rafael lost millions of dollars in foreign investment, General Motors, Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, etc. His understanding was that this SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 10 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 11 money went to pay retirees and questioned where the money would come from now. He suggested that perhaps it would be better to keep people working. David Maher, San Rafael, noted from a letter on the City's website that there would be a noticeable change in San Rafael's traditionally high level of public service. Addressing this, he stated that on Saturday, he reported a non -injury automobile accident at the Safeway Store on B Street and understanding that it takes time for the police to arrive, they eventually did. He called back to check on the status and also to inform the police of a smell of gasoline and that the Fire Department should be dispatched. The accident was cleared twenty-five minutes later; however, the Fire Department did not arrive. Mr. Maher questioned that if someone reported something that involved the Fire Department why they did not respond. Furthermore, he reported having inquired of a firefighter this evening why they shop at the Safeway Store on government time and the response was "we have to eat." While he understood the length of a shift, he believed it to be a waste of taxpayer dollars that these firefighters were not at the firehouse, which could be the reason why they did not respond on Saturday. Mr. Maher stated that in the private sector when times got tough people put in extra hours without pay, which he did not see happening in any governmental institutions. Unions had taken over and achieved higher benefits and wages in the private sector. He did not see cuts for those making over $100,000 annually at the expense of taxpayers. With regard to the Hazardous Waste Reduction Program, Mr. Maher questioned why it could not be closed on Monday to allow residents to go on Saturday. With regard to slower response time from the Police Department, Mr. Maher stated he always found it to be relatively slow. He was concerned about slower response times to all calls for service, noting that often a call was the result of some other action and people needed to know that the police would respond within a reasonable period of time. The most important part of government was public safety and he did not believe it would be appropriate to cut police hours. Traffic was a big issue and living on D Street, his vehicle and six others were totaled in a fourteen -month period while parked. Having spoken with Councilmember Connolly last week, he was aware of the situation and that there was a state law that prohibited the use of radar. He requested that motorcycle police patrol this area. With regard to graffiti and libraries, Mr. Maher stated that graffiti was a problem he did not see two years ago; however, it now was in Gerstle Park. Once it started, it spread and it could not be cut back on. He believed the root cause was gangs. With regard to the library, he noted the City recently spent money to have a public survey to ascertain how citizens felt and he believed this was well more than the $40 budget reduction under consideration this evening. He suggested that if people had something to say they should attend City Council meetings or write to Councilmembers. Before cutting library funds, he suggested not wasting money on frivolous surveys. Paula Kamena, San Rafael, stated she had the greatest respect for City employees, particularly the Police and Fire Chiefs. She believed the cuts being recommended by them were not by choice rather the dictates of the money available. Ms. Kamena stated she was a member of the Measure `S' Oversight Committee and realized that the money obtained from that Use Tax was in the General Fund and could be used as deemed appropriate by the City Council. However, she pointed out that one of the major points made when that tax was passed was that it was for saving police, fire and critical services. She requested that this be kept in the forefront. Ms. Kamena stated that making cuts was an extremely painful process; however, the easiest way was by attrition — offering early retirement. She noted the Police Department had 6 — 9 employees leave over the past year and those positions were frozen and empty. By voluntarily getting people to leave, the ax fell not on the people, rather on the services provided. She requested that the City Council look at providing reductions not only by attrition but evaluating at the end result. Margaret Bohan, recognized the difficult position of reducing the City's budget; however, staff's recommendation to lay off six employees could be avoided by other cost-cutting measures. She believed the process used was arbitrary and it was unfair that a position could be cut in one department; however, because of bumping rights, an employee in a totally unrelated department would be laid off. She commented SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 11 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 12 that balancing a budget by laying off these six employees was neither ethical or just. The City was aware months ago that this problem was likely to occur; however, functional restructuring was not introduced at that time nor a hiring freeze across the board. She understood that currently, the City was hiring new outside employees while at the same time cutting existing personnel. She commended the City for planning to cut 29 positions out of 445 by using vacancies, retirements and outsourcing; however, she strongly requested that 6 current employees not be singled out to lose their jobs at this difficult time. Paul Carroll, SEIU 1021, commended the City on the steps taken to mitigate layoffs, together with the severance plan. He had a concern with the path San Rafael was taking towards its culture with its employees. The process by which the recent layoffs was handled caused him a great deal of concern. Realizing that San Rafael had to shrink in order to survive, Mr. Carroll stated that employees had no knowledge they would be laid off until they were called to meetings and informed. They were requested to get their personal possessions and leave the building. They were informed that it was no reflection on them, yet when they left, it was through locked doors. In one case, the police were present down the hall and every other employee in the building saw these police officers. There was no time to say goodbye to their co- workers, no time to complete the project they were working on or no time to let the supervisor know exactly what they were working on. He did not believe this was the type of message to send to employees who could be recalled. Part of the policy stated that these employees had two years where they could be recalled and this level of disrespect shown could return and revisit the City of San Rafael, not to mention the message it conveyed to remaining employees. In representing employees for over 9 years, Mr. Carroll stated he had never seen this happen, as usually people could deal with such a situation. He believed very strongly that this was very wrong. Other Human Resource professionals he had discussed this with in other jurisdictions were aghast and he hoped the situation would be looked into. Should further layoffs be necessary he hoped this process would not be used. Unions were not informed about the process ahead of time and while they were aware there would be layoffs, they were not aware such a process would be used. There was an impact to the process and unions should have known about it ahead of time. William Calhoun, Library employee and member of the SEIU 1021 negotiating team, stated he was once told that when policies were considered over people sometimes in the process of implementing those policies, they could be misperceived as unfair. His observation when the policy of layoffs was implemented last week was that where the police showed up and where there was a lock out, it actually turned out that the person being removed from the building was black. Mr. Calhoun perceived this as an unfair policy. He was not indicating it was an unfair policy; however, he reiterated when policies were considered over people, sometimes in the process of implementing those policies, the policies could be perceived as unfair. Kennv Schmaus, San Rafael Public Works employee and member of the SEIU 1021 negotiating team, stated he wished to address this issue from the perspective of one who witnessed it with a lot of other employees and the impact it had and continues to have on them. Mr. Schmaus reported that layoffs took place at Public Works on Thursday, May 28, 2009, and at that time, the entire Parks Division was in the Public Works yard for training. Everyone observed the two unmarked police cars arrive and noted that a few minutes later facility repair staff closed the gate and began changing the code on the key pad, which caused alarm. On entering the building for a mandatory 2:00 p.m. meeting, they observed facility repair staff working on the front door. When questioned, the employee responded "I can't talk, I have been instructed not to talk, you need to talk to my supervisor" which heightened the surrealness of the situation. Mr. Schmaus stated they were informed at the meeting that personnel had been laid off. Mr. Schmaus stated that employees questioned how one went from a trusted employee one day to the next day having a sense of not being trusted. Noting everyone was concerned about their jobs, he stated this process had a negative impact on the environment and had fostered a certain amount of mistrust which did not serve anyone well. Employees wanted to figure out how to work through this together with a minimum amount of loss of services and personnel. Employees were concerned which ranged from anger to confusion, etc. Larry Mulrvan, former Mayor of San Rafael, stated he had never seen the City Council have to make such difficult decisions and respected the difficulty of what they were going through. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 12 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 13 Concentrating on Falkirk Cultural Center, Mr. Mulryan stated it was a wonderful Victorian house, which was acquired by a vote of the people as a Cultural Center, which it had been for 30+ years. He noted how broadly the support of that Cultural Center had been and continued to be. Representatives were in attendance from CASL (Cultural Affairs Service League) and Friends of Falkirk over the years had done so much to aid the public in volunteer efforts and donations. He reported that the greenhouse was a wreck when the City acquired the property. Twice, through volunteer efforts, the greenhouse was rebuilt and was currently in pretty good shape. Most recently, Marin Master Gardeners put in twenty-three hundred hours working on the new gardens, which transformed and improved the grounds. Mr. Mulryan stated he was concerned that access to the grounds would be limited. There was an agreement that the City, Falkirk and the University of California Extension Master Gardeners entered into about a year and a half ago, where basically the Master Gardeners agreed to provide services, which had taken place. With regard to costs, Mr. Mulryan stated he was aware that approximately 100,000 people visited the Falkirk grounds every year and it was not particularly cost-effective to consider closing it as a Cultural Center. Noting the hours would be reduced, albeit not dramatically, he requested that the City Council consider some other method, such as reduced hours and the use of volunteers, or a combination, to keep the Cultural Center open to the public. He stated that a lot of concerned people were in attendance this evening who would be willing to work with the City Council and staff to find a way to keep it open. Leslie Hutchinson, San Rafael, displayed some pictures of the changes that took place recently at Falkirk. She called attention to the professional collaboration in the community that contributes to making such a well designed, well installed and well accumulated collection of plants. The Director of Falkirk was very helpful in representing the City and the concerns of running a good garden for safety and compliance issues. She stated it was a demonstration garden and a wonderful resource on the west coast of an estate this large that was kept intact with such a garden to demonstrate so many ways to save water. She urged that Falkirk be kept open as much as possible as a Cultural Center, both interior and exterior. Margaret Farlev, business owner in San Rafael and President of the Cultural Affairs Service League, stated she had been volunteering at Falkirk for the past ten years. During this time every time there were budget problems, Falkirk got the ax. When she started there were full-time staff members who put on events; however, these were eliminated one by one, and now it was almost impossible for the staff members of the City of San Rafael to put on an event because of a lack of time and staff members. She stated that someone retiring did not mean elimination of that position. It did not mean a manager and director were not needed, rather the house needed to be marketed and made available for the public. Noting events would be eliminated, Ms. Farley believed this to be wrong. She explained that in these times people needed affordable places to go — arts, picnic on the lawn, Victorian holiday, tea party. This was what Falkirk served and there was a segment of the population in City Rafael that supported Falkirk that would be eliminated without staffing who could put on these events. Attention needed to be focused on the needs of the community, which included cultural. Ms. Farley noted with concern that the City of San Rafael was advertising for a new employee to be a Development Manager for the Pickleweed Center and Library, to work with their non -profits to develop grant money for those two institutions; however, this had never been done for Falkirk. A non-profit had been connected with Falkirk for 30+ years. They raised money on their own, fixed the house on their own and never once had the City partnered with that non-profit to develop funds for that house. Mark Hoffman, stated he had been a volunteer for Falkirk for over ten years and as an Historic building, he believed there were some requirements the City agreed to accept — maintaining it at a particular level of existence. He had seen people married and receive awards there and receiving an award at Falkirk as a volunteer was a very nice honor for him. Eliminating Falkirk to this level he believed would be eliminating a good percentage of San Rafael's volunteer basis because of the anticipation that it might not be there next year. It was almost eliminating a large percentage of the City's spirit. San Rafael was known as a family town, a town where people had their families grow up and he inquired as to what events families could go to year after year with toddlers and up. Mr. Hoffman stated that he did not live in San Rafael; he however, volunteered in San Rafael because of the Falkirk Cultural Center. Noting 75% of funding for Falkirk was from donations, should Falkirk's hours be cut SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 13 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 14 back, he questioned whether they would donate to anything else in San Rafael. Falkirk, being a symbol of San Rafael's Sister City, he inquired as to who was sending a letter to that city stating their Sister City representation was being cut down. He believed the City was admitting defeat and noting the City was only contributing 25% to maintain the building at a good level, he saw it as cutting off the 25% and allowing the "windows to be broken." Diana Havden, stated her grandmother was Alice Dollar Hayden and, had she been still alive, today would have been her birthday. She explained that Robert Dollar was very community and family oriented. He donated a lot of money to various causes and she believed the volunteers present demonstrated how important volunteering was. She was very grateful to those who maintained the inside and outside of the building. With regard to the spirit of Falkirk, Ms. Hayden stated it was a place for families to go. She had volunteered and had seen her friends visit with their families, and to have something that transcends generations was very important. She hoped the City Council would not do anything that affected the future of Falkirk. Heidi Hickinabottom -Cary, stated she was the last of the generation that resided at Falkirk. Being aware of the idiosyncrasies of the hose, she understood what it took to water the garden, the immensity of it and the people needed to maintain it. Having seen the recent additions to the garden, she was really excited and impressed with it. She believed the volunteers who worked on it carried the spirit forward and for that she was grateful. She hoped the City Council would consider keeping it open, noting it carried with it the spirit of San Rafael. Ms. Higginbotham -Carey realized that the City of San Rafael voters voted to take this project over; however, the intention of her grandfather, who died prior to the change of ownership, was that the house was for the people of San Rafael to enjoy and it was important to remember this. Should it be closed for a period of time people would be prohibited from visiting and enjoying it and in these times, this was important. Joel Eis, business owner, San Rafael, Scenic Properties Designer for the Marin Shakespeare Company, professional designer and teacher, stated that every time he attends a City Council meeting he has to congratulate the City Council as these were very difficult decisions and processes. He concurred with Councilmember Connolly that while regretting the changes, many had been visited upon the City, and that an equal if not greater amount of effort be put into trying to build resources under these situations. He noted the greatest resource was community involvement. He suggested that rather than hand picking from the City Council's perspective who to talk to with regard to Economic Development, perhaps opening it up to some type of full-day planning session. Mr. Eis stated he would be very interested in being involved and that creativity was the key. With regard to closing parks, Mr. Eis noted that state parks would be closed and this could be an opportunity for local parks and perhaps with a small use fee, they could support themselves. Things happening in the surrounds that could be responded to in a more creative way could produce answers. He indicated he teaches his students that sometimes the answer is in how the question was phrased. San Rafael could be the only city left standing if it were smart enough to look at the situation as a creative opportunity to do things in a new way. He suggested parking meter holidays because more money could be gained in sales tax from people stopping and parking than from parking meters. He reiterated that he would be willing to sit around a table and address those questions. Mayor Boro clarified that staff did not indicate any parks would be closed, rather that maintenance would be reduced on parks. Craia Murrav, San Rafael, stated he was present in support of the Dollar family and Falkirk. He recalled the last time he addressed the Council he spoke about the late night and public meetings and that they should be recorded using a system such Granicus, and a former councilmember at the time indicated he should read the Novato Grand Jury Report which indicated that San Rafael was not interested. He was glad that tune had changed and hoped the tune would change for Falkirk also. Mr. Murray stated that San Rafael supports programs for high quality of life, including Arts and Culture, and as a former member of San Rafael's Park and Recreation Commission, he helped establish Falkirk as a priority budget area, and targeted it for improvements. Falkirk was a namesake for San Rafael. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 14 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 15 Understanding the current budget problems that allowed for decreasing programs and public access at Falkirk, he stated the City Manager recently spoke to homeowner associations. This included identification of significant blight in various public buildings and infrastructure locations in San Rafael. Mr. Murray encouraged San Rafael to make improvements in capital areas, especially those needing General Funds. Aware that not all departments were revenue generators, Mr. Murray stated that redevelopment should be a significant revenue generator and growth of local tax increment. Noting discussion with regarding to funds that could be taken, including ERAF (Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund), Mr. Murray stated he did a comparison about how San Rafael was performing against a neighboring city. He explained that, should the state take ERAF from San Rafael it would result in a 10% hit - - $10,000 — in a neighboring city this figure was $2 million. This should be a level comparison about how redevelopment was performing in the City and how those funds could fund things such as capital improvements and needs, while freeing up some General Funds for other programs and this certainly should be part of the picture. Noting Pickleweed currently had an approximate $200,000 operating deficit, he stated consideration could be given to reducing that in half, which could go towards resolving the current problem at Falkirk. 0 Mr. Murray stated that San Rafael simply needed to perform better and generate revenue for its blight and meet its programmatic needs, such as Falkirk. Mr. Nordhoff responded to questions raised as follows: He noted Mr. Litchfield spoke on several subjects concerning the Economic Vitality Plan, and page 26 of the staff report — Economic Study — contained a variety of initiatives that he touched on generally regarding reusing and re -tenanting. The Economic Development Department was actively working with Home Depot on the Yard Birds site, the property owners on the GM site, was in deep discussions with the owner of the Shoreline Center and constantly in contact with the Northgate Mall in terms of encouraging the tenanting to move along, etc. He noted a number of investigations had been done around green building and green development, what they meant, what profiles they were looking for within communities, etc. With regard to Reserve, Mr. Nordhoff clarified it was 5.5% of the General Fund, not the overall budget; therefore, it was $3.1 million. With regard to Mr. Litchfield's comments on streamlining processes and expediting applications, Mr. Nordhoff stated that over a long period time staff had tried to strike a balance. Some of this played out in the General Plan and some in ordinances about the processes many of the neighborhoods would like to see the City go through in terms of approving development and new projects and running that against the tension of trying to be expeditious, cost-effective and efficient in streamlining those things. Mr. Brown and his staff regularly evaluate these issues. Should Mr. Litchfield like to have a long list of items that could be done quicker, this could be provided, if as a matter of policy less public process was desired. Noting Mr. Lenci referred to lost investments regarding bonds in Ford, General Motors, Fannie May, Freddie Mac, Mr. Nordhoff stated the City had not lost any money on public investments. There were restrictions on the City by the Government Code of the State of California on how idle cash could or could not be invested. A very narrowly defined investment policy looked at treasuries and agency paper and most of the City's money sat in the Local Agency Investment Fund, which was very common for municipalities. He reiterated that the City had not lost any money invested in terms of idle cash. Based on Mr. Lenci's comment, Mayor Boro stated there could be some confusion on the pension fund managed by the County, which had taken substantial losses in their investments. Mr. Nordhoff confirmed that the County pension fund had a much broader investment portfolio and opportunity; therefore, that question should be directed to the County Retirement Association. Concerning Mr. Maher's comments with regard to an automobile accident this past weekend, Mr. Nordhoff believed this should be followed up specifically with Mr. Maher to ascertain why the Fire Department did not respond. He invited Fire Chief Gray to elaborate on shopping for food and other ancillary duties, together with the Household Hazardous Waste program, specifically the hours of operation. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 15 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 16 Mr. Nordhoff stated that traffic enforcement was constantly carried out on D Street. Some years had been spent working with the neighborhood and the City was about to embark on some improvements converting D Street back to two-way up to Second Street, which would include a Stop Sign at First and C Streets, which hopefully would regulate some of the traffic flow. When these improvements were completed, staff would be spending extensive time with Public Works, in cooperation with the Police Department, to get people used to how things would re -circulate in that area. With regard to graffiti, this item would be returned with a specific plan. With regard to attrition, Mr. Nordhoff stated staff was looking at the end results of doing this and where the final consequences of these cuts would occur. Noting Ms. Kamena and other members of the Measure 'S' committee were present, Mr. Nordhoff reported that this committee would be putting a report together for the budget item on July 6, 2009. A meeting of the committee, City Manager and Finance Director was scheduled for tomorrow evening to discuss some of the issues under consideration this evening and how these could influence their report. On the question of the layoffs not being ethical or just, Mr. Nordhoff issued a reminder that the City had suspended filling a number of positions for well over a year. A hiring freeze had been in operation in a number of departments that had helped save money in the current year and some of those losses were memorialized in the recommendations this evening. With regard to the comments from Mr. Carroll and Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Nordhoff noted no layoff process was perfect. The Management team and the Human Resources Department spent an extensive amount of time trying to work out the best possible ways to put a process in place that honored the affected employees as well as those remaining. Specific meetings took place face to face with the affected employees. Meetings were held specifically with all employees subsequently. An extensive amount of time was spent writing up a process to be followed that contained a checklist to try to identify a number of issues arising along the way. While it was true that in some cases there was a police presence, Mr. Nordhoff recognized this would be reevaluated on a case by case basis should layoffs be considered in the future. Noting Mr. Calhoun's remarks about someone leaving the building who happened to be black, Mr. Nordhoff explained that this person was ushered out of the building by the employee's supervisor, not the police department; therefore, he did not see an issue of policy over people. With regard to changing the key pad and other levels of mistrust, Mr. Nordhoff explained staff was attempting to take the appropriate steps to provide a safe environment for those impacted and well as those remaining. Mr. Nordhoff noted a number of speakers addressed Falkirk Cultural Center, most of which centered on the cultural values, historical significance, quality of programming, etc. With regard to the recruitment of the Advancement Manager, Mr. Nordhoff stated that since the opening of Pickleweed there had been a desire to put a non-profit group together, which was close to finality. This would be paid for, not from City funds, but from the Friends of San Rafael -- a non-profit established several years ago -- which was instrumental in helping to gather money to construct the renovation and expansion of that facility. Now there was an interest from some of those key founding people, as well as others, in finding ways to sustain it, ways that would raise money from the private sector, foundations, non -profits, etc., in order to enhance the programming and ensure that the building was adequately maintained. Mr. Nordhoff indicated that staff looked at grants on a regular basis. One of the impacts to Falkirk, irrespective of budget considerations, was that there had been a long-standing grant to fund a curator of $50,000. That grant had historically, been paid by the Marin Community Foundation; however, they had moved away from a number of social service and non-profit enterprises regularly funded. Notification had been received that the grant would not continue which was having an impact on the programming. While this did not prevent staff from looking for other grants, it was difficult to find grants for ongoing services. With regard to Mr. Murray's comments on Redevelopment, Mr. Nordhoff clarified the City would not face an ERAF loss. He explained that going back to the early 1990s the state had the authority, thanks to Proposition 13, of collecting taxes and deciding how they would be redistributed; however, it could no longer take the money the way it used to. They were, however, permitted to borrow up to 8% of local property tax and were required to repay it within a three-year period with interest before borrowing again. This clearly was an item sitting on the table. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 16 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 17 Mr. Nordhoff invited Fire Chief Gray to comment on issues raised. Fire Chief Gray stated it was not the Fire Department's intention to disregard any calls for service. They had been doing this for 135 years and he was not aware of a missed call yet; however, he would investigate the circumstances and take care of the situation. While there could have been miscommunication, he issued an assurance that it was neither intentional or accidental. In terms of firefighters' activity in a response district, Chief Gray stated he encourages that. Being out in the community rather than sequestered to the fire station afforded activity with community members and seeing buildings within the community. While some firefighters who are on duty for forty-eight hours at a time bring food with them, many times they go shopping to supplement that. Personally, he had experienced seizures and any number of forms of assistance he had been able to render while in a store or at a business, etc. Chief Gray stated that primarily the Fire Department wanted to keep those fire companies ready and available for emergency response; however, they were also able to do preventative type work, mentoring and many other things while out in the community, which he strongly encouraged. With regard to Household Hazardous Waste, Chief Gray reported that this decision was made in conjunction with both the staff of the Fire Department, Marin County and Marin Sanitary Service and he believed in was based on volume and activity and value versus cost versus overtime. He indicated that staff was also evaluating supplementing services with curbside collection. They were looking at a full range of items to ensure the best cost benefit for what truly was an excellent program keeping San Rafael and Marin County environmentally sensitive. Noting the D Street realignment had been covered, Mr. Nordhoff encouraged anyone needing traffic enforcement in this area to call the Police Department for any number of those circumstances. With regard to Falkirk, Mayor Boro stated that the City Council valued Falkirk, its heritage and its future. He reported having been involved on two occasions when fundraisers were brought in to work at Falkirk which included the San Rafael resident who wrote the book "How to do Fundraising." They met to try to get people together; however, the effort never got off the ground. Subsequently a lady was brought in from Stanford, a renowned fundraiser, and again it proved impossible to generate any support in the community to work with her on this project. With regard to Pickleweed Mayor Boro explained that an effort was underway to sustain it to reduce the City subsidy, and to hopefully provide programming that would benefit the community. He noted the building gets huge usage with over 200,000 visits annually both on the field and gym, as well as the library and computer laboratory, and this needed to be sustained. Mayor Boro stated that with regard to Falkirk he was concerned about the situation at this point. From the chart the City Council used regarding services, one being Falkirk, he noted three Councilmembers felt very strongly about Falkirk while two did not value it at that level. He indicated he would support the early retirement at Falkirk. Noting the number of people present this evening who were "called to arms," and the fact that it was obvious the City did not have a lot of resources, Mayor Boro suggested getting a group together to discuss what could be done, through volunteering and fundraising, he would be willing to work with Mr. Mulryan and whomever else was interested. Mayor Boro believed the budget would need to be adjusted throughout the year and for the right reason it could be adjusted upwards; however, for the moment the situation was as presented. He found it heartening that so many people took the time to attend and speak about Falkirk, which was truly an asset. He believed there was momentum in the community, such as that at Pickleweed, and he would certainly like to see something done; therefore, it made sense to sit down and discuss the situation. Mr. Mulryan agreed to be the point of contact. Also feeling very passionate about Falkirk, Councilmember Brockbank stated he was surprised to learn that Flakirk's fees were a fraction of the cost of other comparable facilities on weeknights. While not suggesting the price should be raised he believe it was inexpensive and easy to access. He invited Ms. McCart to keep the City Council apprised as to how much Falkirk would be closed, how much usage was being lost and how much it would cost to restore that. Councilmember Brockbank expressed the hope that there would be no discussion concerning closing off access to the grounds, particularly at this time. With regard to the interior, SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 17 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 18 he questioned whether there could be occasional open houses Councilmember Brockbank commented that unlike the state, which was very dysfunctional, San Rafael had engaged in the most collegial and wonderful process. Questioning whether there was another way other than cuts, he noted that on a state level that fight manifested itself in "raise taxes versus cuts." Believing raising taxes or fees was not an option, the City was left with cuts. This was done in a remarkably responsible way for which he complimented the staff, and also for allowing the appropriate input of the City Council as well as the public. He noted this was not a one-night issue, rather it was an on-going process. With regard to fees, Mr. Nordhoff stated that, as had been the practice for many years, the City Council relooked at the entire cost of business and set a Master Fee Schedule. Some of these fees took effect this spring and the planning and building related fees would take effect on July 1, 2009. All fees, including rentals at Falkirk, had been evaluated. Some of the community center/Falkirk situations were market sensitive because of competition with hotels, etc., and staff was constantly striving to find the balance of maximizing usage while maintaining affordability. In the area of taxes, Mr. Nordhoff explained that taxes under a litany of propositions were voter driven. The Business License tax had not been updated since 1990 and to change it or any other tax was a process. With regard to the Falkirk Opportunity, Councilmember Miller stated that this opportunity was found, as Pickleweed Community Center and Library operated, in partnership. The City provides the venue and partners provide the programs, bringing with them the resources to provide these programs. Pickleweed is run on $1 million annually compared to others who spend much larger amounts. He noted that Ms. McCart would be happy to share with Mr. Mulryan the Pickleweed experience and model, which was being used by recreation centers throughout the state. Councilmember Miller stated he would like to concentrate his remarks on this evening's staff report, which included 20 pages of narrative and 20 pages of exhibits and addenda. Coupled with that was what this report had sparked in the people in order to see, examine and find new ways to go forward in process on this issue. Councilmember Miller thanked staff for this responsible, realistic report that he believed reflected the values of Celtic Tradition in the desire to begin each day compassionate of heart, clear in word, gracious in awareness, courageous in thought, and generous in love. "Compassionate of Heart — This report wells up from a truly caring group of workers, one with great concern for each other in their collaborative effort to enable one another in empowering our San Rafael communities to grow this City's sustainable network of safe, healthy, diverse and distinct neighborhoods. Clear in Word — This report with accuracy and without equivocation defines the plight of the times, the challenges that need to be met and the actions that must be taken. Gracious in Awareness — This report represents the best in performance budgeting in that the consequences of work are brought from the shadows of numbers to the light of impact on the results of the reduction of services. Courageous in Thought — This report fairly and forthrightly calls for what has to be done to have this City emerge with a smaller workforce, with fewer services on an affordable, balanced budget. Generous in Love — This report breathes the core spirit of the human experience and existence in working through these ever changing, difficult times with decisive and empathetic actions. This evening, then, I with open heart and mind gratefully receive this report from this extraordinary work community and will vote to approve the related resolution." Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Heller seconded, to adopt the Resolution SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 18 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 19 RESOLUTION NO. 12754 — RESOLUTION APPROVING STAFFING REDUCTIONS THROUGH THE ELIMINATION OF VACANT POSITIONS, LAYOFFS AND EARLY RETIREMENTS TO BALANCE THE FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010 BUDGET, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT SAID STAFFING REDUCTIONS AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: 15. None COUNCILM EMBER REPORTS: (Including AB 1234 Reports on Meetings and Conferences Attended at City Expense) 16. None There being no further business, Mayor Boro adjourned the City Council meeting at 10:40 p.m. ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY OF 12009 MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 19 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 20 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/01/2009 Page 20